The Rancher and the Runaway Bride Part 3

“Tomorrow. I want to buy at least two, maybe three. I’ve been tracking bloodlines on the computer. I’m going for the leaner stock. If I could come up with a low-fat filet mignon, I’d be rich.”

Two young boys darted toward them. Brady released her hand and stepped aside. When the kids had zoomed past, he moved close again and put his arm around her shoulder.

“Any horses?” she asked.

“I think we have enough for now. What do you think?”

“I agree. They get worked steadily, but they all have a couple of days off to rest.”

“Agreed. So I’ll concentrate on the bulls.”

She leaned against him, absorbing his heat. The sun was bright, the afternoon warm. Smells from the livestock blended with barbecue and meat smokers. Conversation and laughter surrounded them in a pleasing cacophony.

She would remember this, she told herself. Whatever happened, they would have had this time together.

“Brady? Brady Jones?”

Brady stopped when he heard his name and turned toward the sound. Instinctively, Randi stepped free of his embrace, prepared for flight. But she didn’t recognize the man approaching.

“Travis!” Brady grinned and held out his hand. “What are you doing here? Why aren’t you heading for a rodeo?”

Travis shrugged. He was good-looking, in a rugged sort of way, with sun-streaked brown hair and brown eyes. He winked at Randi. “Ma’am,” he said, pulling off his cowboy hat.

Brady turned to her and touched her arm. “Rita, this is an old friend of mine, Travis Stockwell. We were on the rodeo circuit together. Travis, this is Rita Howard. She works for me.”

“Hi,” Randi managed to say past the tightness in her throat, listening to Brady use her alias.

“Nice to meet you.” Travis plopped his hat back on his head. “I got hitched,” he said.

Brady raised his eyebrows. “You’re married? What happened? You get struck by lightning?”

“Just about. I got hurt pretty bad at the last one and took some time off to heal.” Travis smiled proudly. “While I was getting better, I met a woman. Her name is Peggy and we’re married.”

Up until that point, Randi had only been half listening to the conversation. While the two men chatted, she’d been scanning the crowd, trying to find the source of a sudden prickling at the back of her neck.

Peggy? She blinked. She knew a Peggy. Peggy Saxon who worked in City Hall back in Grand Springs. Her chest tightened.

Stop it! she ordered herself. They couldn’t be the same woman. There were thousands, probably millions, of Peggys in the country.

Brady slapped Travis on the back. “I don’t believe it. Congratulations.”

“Thanks.” Travis grinned. “I sure didn’t expect something like this to happen to me.” He glanced at Randi and winked. “I was one of those guys who liked the rodeo circuit and thought I’d be single till I died. But Peggy and the babies have changed me.”

Babies? Her heart froze. Randi felt as if she couldn’t move. Peggy Saxon had been pregnant…very pregnant the last time she, Randi, had seen her.

“Babies?” Brady asked.

“It’s a long story.”

Randi forced herself to speak. “Where did you find this wonderful new family?”

“My hometown, Grand Springs. It’s a nice town in Colorado.” He looked at Brady. “You’d like it there. Now, stay right here. I want to introduce you to my bride. If I can find her.”

She had to get out of there, Randi ordered herself. She had to! Now! But it was impossible to think, impossible to move or breathe. Oh, Lord, what if Travis recognized her? What if Peggy walked up and saw her? Who else could it be but Peggy Saxon from Grand Springs? The same woman who spoke to Randi every time she’d gone to visit her ex-fiancé, Hal.

Images began to spin in front of her eyes. Run! a voice in her head screamed. She decided she’d better listen.

She touched Brady’s arm. “I don’t want to be rude,” she said through stiff lips, “but I’m not feeling well. I need to find a rest room.”

His eyes darkened with concern. “You look a little pale. Go on. I’ll catch up with you by that tent,” he said, pointing to a green-and-white striped tent at the entrance to the food area. “Are you going to be all right?”

She nodded, then turned away. She walked toward the rest rooms, then ducked behind a vendor stall selling earrings. From here she could see Brady talking to his friend. A couple of minutes later a woman joined them. Randi bit back a groan. It was Peggy. The three of them chatted for a bit, then they split up. Travis and Peggy headed in one direction while Brady made his way to the tent.

Randi closed her eyes and tried to think. She’d never seen Travis Stockwell before, so it was unlikely he knew her, either. Even if her running away from her wedding had made the paper, it would have been in the back pages, and wasn’t something likely to interest a rodeo cowboy.

Peggy was another matter. She would know Randi on sight and would be very intrigued at the events surrounding the wedding. But she hadn’t acted as if she’d seen anything unusual. Surely if Peggy had spotted her, she would have said something and Brady would have reacted. Yet nothing about his body language indicated anything unusual.

After taking a couple of deep breaths to clear her head, she walked to the tent. Brady waited for her. He frowned when he saw her. “You still look pale. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she said, touching his arm. “I think it’s just a reaction to the crowd. Really. I’m fine. What happened to your friend?”

“Travis and I are going to have a drink later. But only if you’re sure you’re going to be all right. I don’t want to leave you alone otherwise.”

She searched his brown eyes, reading the caring there. Caring and affection, and nothing else. Peggy hadn’t seen her. Randi’s secret was safe.

As she stared at Brady, she was filled with a strong desire to make love to him. She’d done nothing to deserve this wonderful man in her life. If things had been different, she would have wanted to be with him forever. But they weren’t. Sharing his bed would imply a commitment she wasn’t ready to make. No, she was ready to make it, but he wouldn’t want it, once he knew about her. He still hurt from being left at the altar. How could he ever understand that Randi had done the same to Hal. Brady would hate her. Maybe she should just come clean, she thought. And she would, she promised herself, suddenly realizing it was time to stop running from him, as well. As soon as they got back to the ranch, she would tell the truth about her past. She just wanted these few days together, first. Sort of a last chance for them.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and held him tightly. “I’m going to be just fine,” she said. “Enjoy your drink with Travis. But first, I’m suddenly starving.”

“Rattler taco?”

She laughed. “You’re an amazing man, Brady Jones.”

He tugged on her braid, forcing her to look up at him. “That’s what all the girls say.”

“Guess what?” she teased. “In this case, all the girls are right.”

* * *

The smoky bar reminded Brady of countless others he’d frequented when he’d been on the rodeo circuit. Places with scarred floors and cold beer on draft. Whenever he found himself in bars like this, or meeting with friends from the “good old days,” he waited for a yearning to go back to his youth. When a good ride meant the difference between money in his pocket or not, and the women had been pretty, starry-eyed and willing. Not that he’d been all that eager to take them up on what they offered, he thought with a grin.

But no matter how many old friends he met up with, or how many bars he stopped in, the yearning for those days never came. They’d been lots of fun, a hell of a way to see the country and grow up, but that time was over. Now his life was where it should be. If he occasionally fought the demon of loneliness, he’d learned to win that battle. One day he would find someone to love. Maybe he already had.

He searched the crowd, then spotted Travis already seated at a back booth. The cowboy motioned him over, then pointed to the frosty glass waiting.

“I thought you’d be thirsty,” Travis said, and took a drink of his beer.

Brady grinned his thanks. “You always were a thoughtful fellow.” He took a sip of his beer and leaned back in the seat. “Tell me what’s been happening with you.”