“Is Roger taking retirement hard?”
“Yes.” Johnny changed the subject. “What’s new in your life?”
“Not much since we spoke twelve hours ago.” Will chuckled. “What are you gonna do now that you can’t boss us around?”
“Just because I’m living at the Triple D doesn’t mean I won’t be keeping tabs on all of you.”
Will’s expression sobered. “I can’t believe you’re the official foreman now.”
Neither could Johnny, but he was determined to impress Shannon’s father because he needed the job to work out. He hadn’t gone to college after graduating high school, and pecan farming wasn’t his real passion. He only competed in rodeos to bring in extra money. Working with horses and punching cows was his calling in life.
“Douglas treats his foreman dang good.” Will pointed to the fifty-two-inch TV. “Is he charging you rent to live here?”
“No, the furnished cabin comes with the job.”
The door opened and Hank rose from his bed ready to bolt. Johnny grabbed his collar. “Whoa, boy.” Worried the dog might escape he pushed the bed pillow across the floor and positioned it next to the couch, then tied the end of the leash to a sofa leg.
For the next half hour, the brothers drank beer and talked rodeo on the porch while the brats cooked. “Are you riding in Yuma tomorrow?” Conway asked.
The special event featured only bull riding and chuck wagon races. “I don’t think so.” But Johnny intended to watch Shannon compete. His big-brother instinct insisted he make sure she was okay after they’d... And there was a part of him, which had nothing to do with brotherly concern, that wanted to find out if the attraction was still there between them, or if what they’d shared two weeks ago had been a fluke.
“What about you?” Johnny asked Conway. His brother rode bulls on occasion but his preference was the saddle back competition.
“I’m heading to Tucson to visit a buddy.”
Buck removed the brats from the grill and set the plate on the porch rail while he toasted the buns. “If you get lonely living by yourself, you can always come back to the bunkhouse.”
Thanks, but no thanks. As far as bunkhouses went, the one on the farm wasn’t bad. They’d installed a bathroom and two window air-conditioning units kept the place cool. Mack had sweet-talked an old girlfriend into selling them a secondhand refrigerator for fifty bucks so there was always cold beer on hand. The place had all the creature comforts except privacy. “I’ve got it pretty good here,” Johnny said.
The matter of his residence resolved, the brothers dug into their food and swapped rodeo stories. Halfway through the meal, Porter brought Hank outside and they all took turns tossing scraps to the hound.
After the meal, Will pulled a deck of cards out of his pocket. “I’m calling the first game,” he said. “Acey deucey.”
Porter grabbed Hank’s leash and the brothers carried the leftover food inside. After the tenth hand of poker, it occurred to Johnny that even though he was ready to move on with his life, his brothers weren’t quite ready to cut the apron strings.
* * *
“HEY, CLIVE.” JOHNNY jogged across the dirt drive and walked into the barn with his boss early Saturday morning. “You plan to go to the rodeo in Yuma this afternoon?”
“Nope.”
Clive’s curt response startled Johnny. He’d expected his boss to want to see his daughter compete.
“I’d be happy to watch things here if you want to take the afternoon off.”
“Got too much work to do.” Clive pushed the wheelbarrow through the center of the barn and parked it next to Windjammer’s stall.
Fourteen days had passed since he and Shannon had made love and the knot in Johnny’s gut hadn’t unraveled. “Would you mind if I went to the rodeo?”
Clive grasped a pitchfork and flung clumps of soiled hay into the barrow. “You competing?”
After landing my dream job? “The last thing I need is an injury to prevent me from doing ranch chores.”
“Makes no difference to me what you do. You’re not officially on the clock till Monday morning.”
“Is there anything you want me to tell Shannon?”
The boss wiped his brow. “I don’t know what in tarnation I did to make that girl believe riding bulls is acceptable behavior for a lady.”
Johnny didn’t like the idea of Shannon riding bulls, either, but he felt compelled to defend her. “She’s darn good at the sport. It takes courage to do what she does. I’m sure she got that from you.”
“Only a matter of time before she gets hurt.” Clive spat tobacco juice into the soiled hay.
“I didn’t realize you disapproved of Shannon rodeoing.”
“I didn’t mind her keeping up with her brothers when she was a little tyke, but I never thought she’d take bull riding this far. I figured when she grew into a young woman she’d find other interests.”
Johnny wished he understood what drove Shannon to compete in the dangerous sport. Maybe the answer was as simple as she enjoyed the challenge. A lot of rodeo cowboys were adrenaline junkies who loved pitting themselves against a bull.
“What did you say to Dixie to convince her to quit riding bulls last summer?” Clive asked.
Evidently Shannon hadn’t told her father that Dixie had scratched the final Five Star Rodeo because she’d discovered she was pregnant. Not many people knew that Dixie had miscarried weeks later and Johnny was sure his sister did not want the news to become public knowledge. “Dixie sprained her ankle and couldn’t compete.” That was the lie his sister had used.
“Why didn’t she ride after her ankle healed?”
“She became too busy with her gift shop in Yuma.”
“Wish my daughter would find a new hobby.”
Hobby? Dixie’s Desert Delights was a reputable business that helped support Dixie and her husband.
“Maybe you can talk sense into my daughter.”
After their night at the Hacienda Motel, Johnny wasn’t sure Shannon cared to speak to him. He’d find out shortly. “If you’re sure you don’t mind, I’ll catch that rodeo in Yuma.”
“Makes no difference to me.”
“Roger was worried Hank would run off after he left, so I’ve kept him tied to the porch.” He’d given the hound plenty of leash and set extra water and food outside.
“I’ll check on him after I’m through here.”
“See you later.”
Before he reached the barn doors, Clive called his name. “Johnny.”
“What?”
“Tell Shannon—” his boss struggled to speak “—to be careful.”
“Will do.” Johnny jogged to his truck, his chest tightening with anticipation and dread.
* * *
THE OUTDOOR ARENA for the Yuma Rodeo Days Ride-off was packed to the gills. Despite the hundred-plus temperature, Shannon smiled for the cameras and signed autographs for young girls who dreamed of becoming lady bull riders. For the past three hours she’d manned the Dynasty Boots booth, waiting for C.J. to take her place. She guessed he’d snuck off—most likely to a horse stall in the livestock barn—with another ditzy buckle bunny. At least he wasn’t flirting with women out in the