The remainder of their meal went well, until it came time to pay the server.
“I’ve got it.” Ty reached for the bill.
“No problem.” Garth beat him to the punch by a scant second. “I already told the waitress lunch was on me.” He signed the slip with a flourish.
“All right. I’ll buy next time.”
“Deal.” Garth grinned, and for a moment they were friends again.
Outside the saloon, they made plans to go their separate ways.
“You need to head back to the ranch right away?” Reese asked Adele.
“If you don’t mind. I’ve got a bunch of work at the office stacked up.”
“It’s Sunday. Don’t you ever take any time off?”
“I just did.”
“You work way too hard,” Reese scolded, and slung an arm around Adele’s shoulders. “Come on, we’ll drive you home.”
“She can ride with me,” Ty offered. He’d assumed Adele had driven herself, or he would have offered earlier.
“You don’t have to,” she answered a little too quickly.
“No problem. I’m going that way.”
“I hate cutting your trip to town short.”
“You’re not. I was just thinking of heading back to the ranch.” In truth, he’d been planning on driving down the road to Little Twister Creek and the fishing spot Stick had mentioned earlier. Noting Adele’s hesitancy, Ty couldn’t help himself and pressed the point, if only to see if she’d rather inconvenience her friends than ride with him.
“Why don’t you come by one day for a visit?” Garth suggested. “Have a look around.”
Ty had seen pictures of Garth’s place in various rodeo publications. It was a roper’s dream. Part of him wanted to go, just to check out the setup and salivate. The other part of him resisted. He would, after all, be walking into the enemy’s camp.
“Thanks. I may take you up on that one day.”
“Bring your horse. When you and Adele have worked out the kinks,” he added.
Ty bristled. With competitiveness, not anger. He recognized a challenge when it was issued, and would like nothing better than to take Hamm over to Garth’s and show him what he could expect to see on the circuit next month.
“I’ll do that. Soon.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“I don’t know about you,” Reese said to Adele with exaggerated weariness, “but I’ve had just about as much testosterone as I can handle in one day.” She looped her arm through Garth’s. “It was really nice meeting you, Ty. And I do hope you’ll come for a visit. With or without your horse. Bye, sweetie.” She blew Adele a kiss. “Call me tomorrow.”
“You okay?” Ty asked Adele as they were heading to his truck. “You’ve been awfully quiet.”
“A little tired. I ate too much at lunch.”
“We can walk a bit if you want.”
“I really should get back to work.”
He was pretty certain there was more to her subdued mood, but didn’t ask, opening the passenger side door instead.
“Sorry about me and Garth back there,” he said as he drove. The ranch was only about a fifteen-minute ride from town. Ty didn’t intend to spend it all in silence. “We probably got a little carried away.”
“It’s understandable. All things considered, I think you two behaved quite well.”
“Meaning he could have rubbed his championship belt buckle in my face?”
“That, and you could have retaliated with something equally petty. It had to be hard for you, sitting there, pretending you weren’t bothered.”
“Not as hard as watching him win last December. You have no idea how much I wanted his rope to land short that day.”
“I do,” she said absently, staring out the window. “I’ve watched men compete in roping for years, and known that no matter how good I was, no matter how hard I trained, I’d never be allowed to compete against them.”
“Do you want to?”
“I do and have. In local jackpots where women are allowed to enter. But it’s not the same as a professional rodeo.”
“You’re the exception. Not many women can go head-to-head with a man in this sport.”
“Not yet.”
Ty had to smile. He had no doubt if a member of the fairer sex could break into professional tie-down roping and pave the path for others, it would be Adele Donnelly.
Which was why he should probably give her every opportunity to help him with his problem.
“Selfishly,” he admitted, “I’m glad you’re not competing professionally.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because after the last few days, I’m thinking you’re the only person who can help me.” Her expression softened. So did a place in Ty’s heart. “Unless you think it’s a conflict of interest. Garth’s your neighbor and friend.”
“No conflict. He understands business is business.”
“Just out of curiosity, have you ever beaten him in a one-on-one match?”
Her green eyes sparkled. “Frequently.”
Ty burst into the first true belly laugh he’d had in months.
Moments later, they pulled up in front of the main lodge. He put the truck in Park but left the motor running.
“Thanks for the ride.” Adele had her hand on the door handle but made no move to open it.
Was she also reluctant for their afternoon encounter to end?
“Thanks for letting me tag along during your lunch,” Ty said.
“Are you serious? It couldn’t have been that much fun for you.”
“There were a few high spots.” Like the seating arrangement.
“Next time I try to warn you—” she gave him a stern look “—pay attention.”
“How ’bout next time we go to lunch just the two of us?”
The pause that followed lasted a little too long.
“I…uh…” She inhaled slowly and squared her shoulders. “Thank you for asking, but I don’t date guests.”
He hid his disappointment with a joke. “Is that one of those rules on the list I haven’t read yet?”
“No, a personal one. Less messy that way when the guest leaves.” Without another word, she pushed open the passenger door and hopped out, giving him the briefest of waves as she climbed the steps to the lodge entrance.
Her abrupt departure had Ty wondering if she’d been there and done that, and been left behind with a wounded heart.
And since he was leaving after the Buffalo Bill Cody Stampede, he certainly couldn’t argue the logic behind her rule.
“WHAT’S WRONG?”
“Nothing, Pop.” Adele had practically steamrolled her grandfather in her haste to get inside.
“You sure?” He studied her with concern.
She suspected he’d been watching her and Ty from the lobby window. “Absolutely.