Next she phoned Santos and Andy, the crew all three of them were sharing. They’d driven her rig and quarter horses here from the Dobson ranch. She knew from an earlier text that they’d arrived at ten that morning and had pulled into the RV equestrian park in Las Vegas. It had several big arenas, nine barns and all the amenities to work with the horses like steer dummies and practice barrels. It saved having to go over to the Thomas and Mack Center all the time where the National Finals Rodeo was being held starting the day after tomorrow.
“How’s it going, Santos?
“Despite a flat tire and a long wait while a herd of migrating elk crossed the highway, we’re fine.”
“Do I want to know how bad it really was?”
“Nope. You’ve got enough on your mind.”
What would she do without their crew. They were her greatest support. “Is Bombshell settling in?”
“She’s good. So is Sassy. But Duchess is missing you.”
“I’m not surprised. Now that I’ve checked in to the Cyclades Hotel, I’ll pick up my rental car and drive over so I can exercise her.”
“That’ll perk her up.”
“If all goes well, I won’t be riding her during the competition. But I need to keep her happy and in shape, just in case of a problem.” Though Duchess was fast, she required more cosseting than the other two.
“You can always expect something will go wrong, Nikki.”
“Don’t I know it.”
She’d learned that when her parents had been killed, and again when she realized she couldn’t marry Ted, not to mention the pain inflicted when she’d overheard a certain conversation the other night.
As for her rodeo experiences, she’d been riding horses on her own from the time she was seven. Her childhood dreams were all to do with riding in the rodeo one day. At fourteen she’d competed in the teen rodeos. At eighteen she’d started college and had begun competing on the state and national circuit.
For the last six years Nikki had gone through everything that could go right or wrong personally and professionally during her exhausting schedule. It still wasn’t over and anything could happen until this competition came to an end after ten grueling nights. Then she’d retire in order to promote the rodeo in a brand-new way with her brother who was also a rodeo champion along with his famous team roping partner.
When the pro rodeo championship finals were over, Mills planned to retire as well and go into business with her. The two of them had talked about it a lot. Neither of them had been lucky when it came to romantic relationships that were destined to last. His recent breakup with one of her best friends, Denise Robbins, had torn him apart. She was glad that when Finals were over, they had each other to rely on for the future.
“Any sign of Mills yet?”
“Yeah. He and Toly pulled in at noon and parked their rig next to yours.”
She guessed he hadn’t had time yet to answer her text. Technically it was Toly Clayton’s rig. They’d lived out of it while doing the circuit this last year. He was the youngest son on the renowned Clayton Cattle Ranch located at the base of the Sapphire Mountains outside Stevensville.
“I’m glad they got there safely.”
“Their horses are stalled right by yours. It’s a good thing you guys made reservations last January. The place is full up.”
“We knew it would be.”
“I’ve already spread several bags of soft shavings in all three stalls. Andy filled the buckets with water and is measuring their intake. When the vet comes around tomorrow, he’ll want to check them.”
“There’s nothing you haven’t thought of. Thanks, Santos. I couldn’t do any of this without you guys.” She got to her feet. “I’ll freshen up here, then be over.”
“In that case, I’ll saddle Duchess and put a soft bit on her.”
“Terrific. See you soon.”
Nikki hung up, realizing she’d be running into the drop-dead gorgeous Toly Clayton before long. Knowing how he felt about her, it was the last thing she wanted, but being around him was inevitable.
After a year of seeing him coming and going, both on the circuit and at the ranch, she’d thought they were all good friends. But just the thought of him now cut her to the quick.
The other night, on the way to her bedroom after coming home from the Ford dealership, she’d passed by the den, surprised anyone was still up. Toly’s words had drifted through the crack in the door.
The last thing you ever want to do is get hung up on one of those rodeo beauty queen types. They’re in love with their own image and probably have been all their lives. The dude who’s hooked and can’t see through it is doomed to be an afterthought, if that.
Stung by words she would never forget, Nikki had run down the hallway to her bedroom so they wouldn’t know she’d been in hearing distance. She’d lost sleep that night wondering what that conversation had all been about. But she’d had enough time since Friday to believe that what Toly had said was probably his general opinion of rodeo queens.
In this business he’d met and dated any number of them over the years. After apparently finding all of them wanting since he was still single, it might explain why he’d never tried to get to know Nikki better.
She’d known pain when she and Ted Bayliss realized their relationship couldn’t go anywhere. He was a big advertising executive from Laguna Beach, California, who’d asked her to marry him. But he wanted her to move there where they would lead a different lifestyle with his friends that had nothing to do with horses. As he’d said, she could always go back to her ranch on vacations and ride her horses with Mills.
When she told him about the elaborate plans she and Mills had talked about once they’d both retired from the rodeo, Ted recognized that marriage wouldn’t have worked for them no matter how attracted they’d been to each other. He had a business rooted in Southern California he couldn’t leave. It would mean Nikki would have to uproot herself, something she couldn’t do. At that point they stopped seeing each other.
For a time it was hard to accept that there could be no future for them, but she’d finally gotten over it. That’s why it surprised her how much she was still hurting over Toly’s comments to her brother. It didn’t make sense. She’d never been on a date with him or spent hours of time alone in his company, let alone had a relationship with him like she’d had with Ted.
She would love to get into a discussion with Mills about how he felt over his friend’s blanket repudiation of women like Nikki who’d been steeped in the rodeo world all their lives.
But in order to bring up the subject with her brother, she would have to admit that she’d overheard the two men talking. She hadn’t meant to eavesdrop. After a few seconds she’d fled the scene, but her good intentions didn’t matter because Mills would have seen it as an intrusion on his privacy.
After mulling it all over, Nikki wasn’t sorry it had happened. What she’d learned had removed the blinders. Toly might be Montana’s favorite rodeo champion and a bona fide heartthrob, but his insensitive remarks had ensured she would never be one of his worshippers. She didn’t care how many gold buckles he’d garnered, or the fame he’d won before he’d ever asked her brother to team rope with him.
Too bad Toly had been her brother’s idol for years. The fact that he’d chosen Mills to be his team roping partner for the current year had been a dream come true for him. Though Nikki had every desire to see them win the national finals championship, she would avoid Toly as much as possible.
Nikki wished the side-by-side reservations for their rigs hadn’t been made eleven months ago. She couldn’t