The Bull Rider Meets His Match

“My famous pot roast.” He stepped back, silently inviting her into Annie’s cozy kitchen. She came inside, and he closed the door. Then for two or three silent seconds they simply stood, like two complete strangers that unexpectedly found themselves sharing a small space. Danielle cleared her throat and met his gaze.

“Lex said you came by today.”

He hadn’t expected that. He’d figured Lex would do her best to shield her friend from the evilness that was him and never mention his visit. “I did. She said you and your grandmas were busy talking wedding plans.”

She gave a slow nod. “That’s true.”

“Good guy?”

“The best.” She spoke with conviction. “I’m engaged. I’m happy.”

“And you don’t want me to mess things up.”

An expression of relief crossed her face as he said what was obviously on her mind. “In a nutshell, yes.”

Fair enough. When she’d broken up with him, over the phone, since he’d been in the middle of his season and she’d apparently taken all she could take, she sounded torn, as if she wasn’t entirely certain she was doing the right thing. But now...now she looked like a woman who knew her mind.

“I won’t mess up your life.”

“Thank you. I didn’t know if you’d come to see me—” her expression shifted to a tentative one “—with thoughts of us getting together again.”

“The thought might have crossed my mind.” It definitely had. He’d wondered more than once if they might now be in a place where they could reevaluate their relationship...maybe even pick it up again.

She gave him a suspicious look. “Might have?”

“Well, I hadn’t seen you in a while, but I thought about you a lot. I wondered...you know...” He gave a small shrug. “I wanted to see you one more time. To make sure.”

“And now?”

It was funny how standing here in this kitchen with Danielle, the flesh and blood Danielle, not the Danielle in his memories, made things so much clearer. He felt no strong urge to take her in his arms, hold her close, ask if it was too late. “I’m happy for you.”

Her expression cleared at the sincerity in his voice. “Thank you.” She reached out to gently touch his shoulder. “We were never meant to be, Grady.”

“What if I hadn’t ridden bulls?” A small part of him had to know if it had been the bulls.

“Ultimately...I don’t think it would have mattered.”

“I think you’re right.” He’d thought he loved her, but he hadn’t been able to sacrifice for her. “We had some good times.”

“We had some excellent times. You taught me a thing or two about taking risks.” Danielle smiled at him, the old smile he remembered so well. “If you’re comfortable with it, I’ll send you a wedding invitation.”

“I’d like that. Thanks.” He realized then that it felt totally right for him to be in the audience instead of at the altar on Danielle’s wedding day. He had an affection for her, deep respect for her, but he knew in his gut they didn’t belong together.

After she drove away, Grady went back to the gravy simmering on top of the stove and gave it a stir. Strange how things worked out. For two years he’d essentially stopped dating. He’d used Danielle as the standard by which he’d measured all women, and no one had measured up.

And now it seemed that his standard had been something he’d worked up in his head, not the woman he’d once thought he’d loved.

* * *

ANNIE GET YOUR GUN smelled of potpourri, spices and flowers, and Lex always inhaled deeply as she walked into the homey space she and Danielle had worked so hard to create after she’d lost her father and Danielle broke up with Grady. She loved this place.

On the far wall was a framed poster of Annie Oakley with her rifle, embellished with paint and glitter. The store itself was filled with quirky Western-themed decor items as well as personal accessories, books, jewelry, T-shirts and fun gift ideas. Most of the stuff they purchased outright, but they had consignment stock—antiques and small furniture items—as well as items that Danielle and Lex made themselves. Lex’s father had been a silversmith, and Lex used his tools to create funky metal jewelry accented with beads and gemstones. Danielle made one-of-a-kind collector’s quilts, and Kelly, their one employee, was a potter.

“Is that you, Lex?” Danielle’s voice came from the back room, where they kept extra stock as well as a refrigerator and electric teakettle.

“Yep. I got the scones.” She shook the white bag. The pleasant aroma of the cinnamon tea Danielle always made for their weekly business meetings wafted from the back room. She set the bag on the antique table they used for their conferences and sat down.

“Kelly won’t be here for the meeting,” Danielle said as she came out of the back room carrying a tray with the teapot and cups. She smiled tightly as she approached, the picture of stress, and Lex’s first thought was, What did Grady do now? She’d had a feeling that Danielle would contact him after she left, just to finish unfinished business. She kept her mouth shut, though, as Danielle set down the tray and opened the bag of scones to arrange them on a porcelain plate embellished with small cowboy boots. When she finished pouring the tea, she finally met Lex’s gaze.

“You look like you could use a shot of whiskey in your tea,” Lex said.

Danielle waved her hand dismissively. “I told my mom and grandmas that I was going to buy my own dress this morning. I hate disappointing any of them.”

Okay. At least it wasn’t Grady that was bothering her. And as for Danielle buying her own dress, it had to be done. That ’80s dress...

“I have a feeling,” Lex said, raising her cup, “that your mom might have disappointed her mom, who in turn disappointed Great-granny, since they all have their own dresses.”

“Good point.” Danielle frowned and then said, “Great point. Anyway, now I’m going to be gown shopping, and I was hoping you might be able to squeeze some time in to help me.”

“As long as it’s not Saturday morning, I’m at your disposal.”

“Big plans?”

“I promised Jared I’d bring quiet horses to the Kids’ Club riding lessons that start this weekend.” Her only cousin, a single dad, worked long hours in a machine shop during the week and then volunteered for the local recreation program on his weekends. “After all the help he gave me after Dad died, I figured it was the least I could do.”

“Are you helping with lessons?”

“Just providing mounts. Jared has high school kids helping with lessons.” Lex frowned at Danielle. “Where is Kelly?” Who was the kind of person who never missed work, never missed a meeting.

Danielle’s mouth flattened as she said, “Job interview.”

Lex set her cup back on the saucer. “No.”

“Afraid so. County courthouse. Primo benefits.”

“Wow.” They paid Kelly fairly well but weren’t in a position to offer anything better than bare-bones benefits. “What now?”

“She’ll know tomorrow if she gets the job and has promised to do everything she can to help us find someone.”

“I don’t think we can find someone like her.” Kelly made every customer feel special, even the crotchety ones like Mrs. Lacombe, who came to browse and complain about prices at least once a week.

“I know,” Danielle said wearily, “but we have to think about what’s best for Kelly.”

* * *

OF COURSE KELLY got the job. Danielle called later in the afternoon to break the news to Lex, who was just heading out to feed.

“I can help out at the store until we get someone.” Lex loved stocking the store and guiding the business decisions, but she wasn’t the warm and fuzzy people person that Kelly and Danielle were. She’d been in deep mourning for her father when she and Danielle started the business, and because of that, Danielle had taken charge of the day-to-day operations. She also pulled in a larger percentage of the proceeds. It worked well. Danielle had more income and Lex had the time she needed to focus on her farm.