Rodeo Rebel (Texas Rodeo Barons) Read online

  “You want to turn him out?”

  “Sure. I’ll put him in the corral with Bill and Bob.”

  Pax laughed. “Original names.”

  She grinned. “Mom and Dad’s. They couldn’t decide on names so that’s what they did. Picked the two most boring, common names possible.”

  She took Samson’s lead and walked him to the far gate of the paddock. She turned him out, holding the soft rope in her hand as Pax shut the gate again, and together they watched the gelding investigate the area as well as say hello to the other horses. “He likes it here,” Megan said, resting her arms on the fence. “He’s old friends with those two. Give it a while and they’ll be vying for his attention. It’s quite funny to watch.”

  “You’re feeling okay?” he asked quietly, leaning his arms beside hers, tipping his hat back a little.

  “Better. I still nap a lot. Have some headaches and other aftereffects of the concussion and stuff. But it’s much better. Mom is spoiling me. And I miss work. I feel so pointless.”

  He nodded. “You’re used to being active. It’s a pain having to sit around, even if you know your job is to get better.” He laughed. “My mom’s the same way since her knee surgery.”

  She chanced a look up at him. “And your dad? Was he like that, too?”

  Pax nodded. “He was in the hospital over a month at first, and then the recovery at home... He had to make peace with partial retirement. No more heavy labor. No stress.”

  Which meant it really had all been put on Pax—at the young age of twenty-two. That was a lot to dump on a person’s plate.

  “Well, I really appreciate you bringing Sam down here. And for looking after him the last week.” She smiled a little. “If you’ll let me know what I owe you for feed and stuff...”

  “Don’t be silly.” His hand snuck over and covered hers. “His feed was nothing. I was glad to do it.”

  “Pax...”

  “I didn’t just come to bring Samson home,” he confessed, turning and taking both her hands in his. “I don’t like how we left things at the hospital, Megan. There were things I didn’t say. Things I should have said. Things I want to say now, if you’ll let me.”

  “Things you should have said?” She hated the sliver of hope that refused to die every time he said something like that. Each time she ended up getting hurt, as if little splinters got under her skin and just wouldn’t go away, no matter how she picked at them.

  “I heard you crying the day I left you at the hospital.” He squeezed her fingers. “I’m so sorry, Megan. I never meant to make you cry.”

  She was mortified. “I thought I was alone...”

  “I never should have left you. I told myself that going back in wouldn’t be fair to you. You were already dealing with so much. I didn’t want to burden you with anything too...heavy. But I know now that I should have gone back and told you how I felt.” She saw him swallow, his throat bobbing as his earnest gaze captured hers. “I should have trusted in you.”

  What was he saying? She tried not to let hope get the better of her, but it was a losing battle.

  He lowered his voice a little. “I’m not entitled to another chance, and I know that. But I’m asking for one anyway.”

  “You...” The word stammered out of her mouth. “You are?”

  He squeezed her fingers. “Okay. So here it is. I’ve always loved you, Megs. I loved you so much five years ago and I didn’t know how else to let you go. I was so afraid of all the responsibilities that I suddenly had to shoulder. I certainly wasn’t sure I was going to succeed in keeping the family afloat, and I didn’t think it was fair to drag you into that sort of a situation. The logistics of us being together were always going to be challenging. I just couldn’t see how I could manage both, and I couldn’t walk away from Lantry. You could do and be anything you wanted and I wanted you to have that chance. To be able to take the risks I couldn’t. I knew that if I asked you to stay with me, I’d be taking your chances and opportunities away. In the end you’d resent me for it and then what? We’d be unhappy? You’d leave?”

  “So you broke my heart.” Tears stung the backs of her eyes.

  He tugged on her hand. “I did and I’m so, so sorry. I’m telling you what happened. But there’s something more you need to know.”

  “More?”

  He blew out a breath. “This is the hard part. I don’t like to admit that I was wrong, but I was. Totally. Because we were in love. It was a completely flawed plan. I never stopped loving you. When I saw you at the rodeo, I wondered if it was all in my head, that maybe it was the thought of you I was still in love with. But it wasn’t. It’s you. All it took was one dance. One kiss. Nothing’s changed for me, Megan. You still have the power to break me. And the power to make me into the man I want to become. Someone you can count on. Someone you can love forever.”

  He looked away, inhaled deeply, then turned back again. “I don’t deserve a second chance, Megan, but I’m standing here asking for one anyway.”

  Those words. They were the ones she’d been longing to hear. At the same time, she was frightened by the enormity of what he was proposing. He’d hurt her so badly before. Should she really, truly give him another chance to do so again?

  “What does that even mean?” she asked, her voice shaking. “How do you see this working? Because back in Palomino, you were very clear that nothing had changed. That I have my life and you have yours.”

  “What I meant was that those obstacles are still there and we’d have to find a way around them. Besides, I was sure you weren’t interested. I was prepared to let you go until the day I left you at the hospital. Then I knew, Megs.” His blue eyes pleaded with her. “Whether or not you say yes, I still love you. This time I’m ready to do everything I can to give us a fighting chance.”

  He cupped his hand along her cheek. “Please give me a chance to make this right. Say you still love me.”

  He leaned forward, dropping his head and kissing her, not with the wild passion that had consumed them outside the bar but with a gentleness and vulnerability that reached in and touched her heart.

  Whether she should or shouldn’t, she trusted him and trusted his word. If they went back to square one, they were left with their feelings for each other. Everything would work itself out from there. It had to, because the foundation of their relationship had always been love—even when they’d made mistakes.

  “I love you, too, Pax. I always did. All I ever wanted was a partner. Not someone to look after my life, but to share it with me.”

  “Can we put it back together?” He pressed his forehead to hers. “One day at a time? It’s not so far of a drive from the ranch. We can see each other on weekends. Skype each other and talk on the phone.” He gave a little laugh. “All the things we should have done the first time but I was too dumb to trust would be enough.”

  “And then what?” she asked, threading her fingers through his, enjoying being wooed despite herself. She could put him out of his misery now, but she wanted to savor the moment a little longer. She wanted him to tell her how the new Chapter of their story began so she could help him write the ending.

  “I don’t know. I guess we figure it out together. As long as you love me, I know we can make it work.” He frowned a little. “The problem is, Megan, I don’t see a way around Lantry Meadows. I’m telling you I want to compromise, and feel guilty because I can’t see a way around my commitment there. It’s not fair to ask you to make all the sacrifices.”

  Her heart melted. This was what he’d meant when he’d said nothing had changed, and she loved that he wanted to meet her halfway. But she knew very well that he couldn’t leave the ranch. “Pax, you love that ranch. It’s in your blood. It’s enough for me to know you appreciate the circumstances, that you wish you could meet me in the middle. Don’t you get that? I would never
have wanted you to give up the Meadows for me. It’s too special of a place.” She squeezed his hand. “It’s where I fell in love with you. Why would I ever want you to let that go?”

  She looked up into his face. “I knew you came with the ranch all along. I’d always thought that maybe I’d finish school, find a job in a practice close to you, or maybe even open my own practice. The choice I’d wanted to make was you. The risk I’d wanted to take was you.” She pressed a quick kiss to his lips. “And I think it still is.”

  The way his face changed nearly made her laugh. The worry lines melted away as he smiled and his brow smoothed. “Really?”

  “Yes, really,” she grinned, looping her arms around his neck. “I’m not a complicated woman, Pax. All I ever wanted was for you to give us a real fighting chance. To believe in us like I did. Like I do.”

  He pulled her close. “I do believe in you. In us. I’m sorry I wasted so much time...”

  “Hush,” she whispered, snuggling into his chest. “You’re here now. That’s all that matters.”

  Their embrace was knocked off balance by a head butt from a curious Samson, who’d wandered back over to the fence to see what was going on. They laughed and Pax rubbed Sam’s neck, looking at her over the top of the horse’s nose.

  “You know, Samson really seemed to like it at my place. Wouldn’t be hard to find him a spot there.”

  “I’d have to start searching for a job,” she mused, giving Sam’s muzzle a light rub. “Once I’m cleared for work again.”

  “You won’t have a hard time leaving the practice?”

  She pondered a minute. “I like it there, and I like my work. But sometimes change is good. It’s not like my family’s that far away.”

  “We’re really going to do this, then?”

  She nodded. “We’re really going to do this.”

  He abandoned Samson and pulled her into his arms, holding her tight as he picked her up so that her feet dangled an inch off the ground. “God, I love you, woman,” he said roughly, before putting her down gently and kissing her.

  “And I love you. I’m starting to think it was a very lucky thing that you had to transport the stock this one time.”

  He held her close. “And lucky you came through okay. Are you still going to ride, Megs?” He pulled back and she saw the worry in his face.

  It was something she’d been thinking about a lot since she’d arrived home. On one hand, she didn’t want to give up bull riding. She didn’t want to be a quitter. On the other, the injury and the close call made her think twice about risking another head injury. “I don’t know,” she answered. “I’ve kind of been thinking about what you said. I love rodeo, but I can participate in other ways. They always need vets on-site, that sort of thing.”

  “Well, that’s something else to be sorted out one day at a time,” he said, holding her hand.

  Another roll of dust up the road announced an oncoming vehicle, and Megan realized her mom was probably on her way home. They left the corral and started walking to the house holding hands, only a few more moments to be quiet and alone. Dutch followed at their heels, trotting along happily. Megan turned her head and looked up at Pax, her heart so full she thought it might burst. Who knew, when she was standing at that fence last Saturday, that this would be the end result?

  “Hey, Pax? How do you feel about dogs and kids?”

  His answering smile filled her with joy as their hips bumped, walking down the path to a new future together.

  * * * * *

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  SPECIAL EXCERPT FROM

  Looking for more exciting all-American romances like the one you just read? Read on for an excerpt from THE TEXAN’S BABY, the first book in a new series, TEXAS RODEO BARONS, by New York Times bestselling author Donna Alward.

  Lizzie Baron pressed the buzzer.

  There was a click and then a voice. “Hello?”

  “Uh…hi. I’m looking for Christopher Miller?”

  “That’s me.”

  “It’s…uh…” She scrambled to think of what she’d said to him that night. “It’s Elizabeth.”

  There was a pause.

  “From the bar in Fort Worth.”

  The words came out strained.

  “Come on up.”

  She could do this. She paused as she got off the elevator.

  A door opened and Christopher stepped into the hall. Her feet halted and she stared at him, her practiced words flying out of her head.

  He was staring at her, too. “It really is you,” he said. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  For weeks, Chris had been wondering if he should try to find out who she was. They’d met at a honky-tonk after a less-than stellar rodeo performance on his part. He’d figured he’d nurse his wounds with a beer and head back to the motel where he was staying.

  And then he’d seen her. He’d ordered another beer, looked over at her and she’d smiled, and all his brain cells turned to mush.

  When he’d woken the next morning, the bed had been empty.

  That had been nearly two months ago.

  “Elizabeth.” He stepped aside so she could enter his apartment.

  “Call me Lizzie. Everybody does.”

  “You didn’t say your name was Lizzie the night we met.”

  “I was trying to be mysterious.”

  “It worked.” He put his hands in his pockets. “How did you find me?”

  “Rodeo’s a small world.”

  “You’re saying that you got my address from rodeo records?”

  The blush was back. “Yes.”

  “Why would you do that?”

  “Because I need to talk to you.”

  Quiet settled through the condo. Whatever she wanted to tell him, she was nervous. Afraid.

  And then it hit him upside the head. “Look, do I need to be tested for an STD or something? Is that why you’re here?”

  “What the hell would give you that idea?”

  “Hey, you’re the one who disappeared and only gave me your first name. Now you show up weeks later, looking completely different, and say you need to talk to me. If it’s not an STD, what the hell…”

  His mouth dropped open.

  “No,” he whispered. “No, it isn’t possible. We used condoms.”

  She looked up, misery etched in every feature. “I assure you it is possible. I’m pregnant, and the baby’s yours.”

  Look for THE TEXAN’S BABY by Donna Alward in June 2014 wherever books and ebooks are sold.

  Copyright © 2014 by Donna Alward

  ISBN-13: 9781459256194

  RODEO REBEL

  Copyright © 2014 by Harlequin Books S.A.

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