Connor decided she was like her dad, who didn’t have a resentful, paranoid bone in his body. “Not a thing.”
“Liar,” she said with a smile, but it soon faded when stronger than usual gusts of wind buffeted the trailer. “Whoa—”
“Another storm front is moving in, but we’re making good time so far. I’m glad we’ve reached Kemmerer. There’s an RV park a mile away where I made a reservation, just in case. We may have to spend the night in Wyoming after all. I don’t want to take chances with priceless cargo.”
“You’re right, of course. Our horses are precious.”
“I was referring to you,” he murmured.
Though she didn’t dare take him seriously, her heart jumped anyway. “You sounded like your grandfather just then. Between your father and Ralph, you’ve had remarkable role models in them and it shows.”
She saw his hands grip the steering wheel a little tighter. “You don’t know my history. I’m afraid Grandpa has about given up on me.”
There he went again. Something was going on where his grandfather was concerned, and she was curious. “Why would you say that? While he was hugging you, he had tears in his eyes, he’s so proud.”
“Those were tears of disappointment. I should have quit the circuit several years ago in order to help him and Jarod.”
Liz decided to take a risk. “Don’t tell me your cousin Ned got to you, too, before he was put in that mental health facility—”
She heard his breath catch and knew she’d hit a nerve. “Sadie told me he about destroyed Jarod’s confidence before they got back together. It sounds like he did a pretty good job on you, too. What did he tell you? That you didn’t have what it took to run the Bannock ranch? Or did he make digs that you were running away from your responsibilities by letting the rodeo take over your life since your father’s death?”
Connor stiffened. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“You need to talk about it! Don’t forget your grandfather was a rodeo champion in his day. He’s in heaven watching you rack up the gold buckles.”
Snow started to pelt the windshield, but she hardly noticed. “No doubt Ned accused you of leaving the work to your brother. Ned Bannock caused more trouble than Sadie’s father ever did. Don’t you know how jealous he was of you?”
Liz was all wound up and couldn’t stop. “Ned never had your horsemanship and couldn’t keep up with you. You were given a special gift. After you won your first buckle, why do you think he quit competing in rodeos so quickly? All he could do was undermine you, so you would feel guilty. He probably had a coronary when you married Reva Stevens, who looks like a movie star.”
The windshield wipers were going full force while she kept on talking. “I’ll bet he loved baiting you when you were divorced. Ned always did like to kick a man when he was already down. Well, I’d say he did a pretty fantastic job on you to make you feel like your grandfather is disappointed in you. But you would be wrong!
“Ralph adores you! I ought to know. I’ve been friends with him for years. If he’s disappointed, then it’s because he’s afraid you’ve believed Ned. Shame on you, Connor!” Her rebuke rang in the cab.
By now, he’d turned into the RV campground and drove to the first place where they could stop. They were in a whiteout. But for the din of her voice, there was an eerie quiet. When she dared to look at him, his shoulders were shaking in silent laughter.
He turned in the seat, resting his head against the window where the snow was piling up and stared at her. “And here I thought you were a quiet little thing. But I should have known better after watching you on a horse. There’s a spitfire inside of you. Feel better now that you’ve gotten it off your chest?”
Heat washed over her body in waves. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what got into me.”
His eyes played over her. “I don’t think you left a thing unsaid. In fact, you mentioned a few things I hadn’t even thought of that went straight to the gut.” She wanted to crawl in a hole. “Who would have thought Liz Henson from the Corkin ranch, who’s always in her own world, had so much insight?”
Always in her own world?
“I’m afraid Sadie and I spent a lot of time on the backs of our horses discussing Ned, who never left her alone. Worse, he never wasted a chance to berate his cousins in front of us and any audience who happened to be around. It wasn’t just Jarod he hated. He had plenty to say about you.
“When you trained Firebrand, a feral no one else could handle, he was furious at your success. Worse, every girl on the Montana circuit would have given her eyeteeth to go out with you and he knew it.”
“Not every girl,” he said in a quiet voice.
“You mean Sadie, but we both know why.”
“I meant you, Liz.”
“Me—?”
Connor cocked his head. “Don’t you remember the time I asked you if you wanted to celebrate with me after you won at the Missoula Stampede?”
Liz blinked. “I figured you asked me for Wade’s sake in order to set us up.”
“He has a girlfriend now.”
“I’m glad. He’s kind of shy. Though I’ve always liked him, I was never interested in him that way.”
“Ouch. Now you’ve wounded him and me.”
“What do you mean you? You were married.”
“Nope. Divorced. If you’d agreed, I would have told you I was single again, but you didn’t give me the time of day. Before you shut me down cold, I figured we were far enough away from home that old man Corkin wouldn’t find out the off-limits neighbors were getting friendly.”
Her heart thudded. “Even if I had known the change in your marital status, I wouldn’t have said yes. Being in love with the woman you married doesn’t go away because of a piece of paper. Jarod and Sadie were still head over heels in love after eight years, even after she wrote him that awful goodbye letter he actually believed, and all because of Ned!”
“That’s a fact.” Connor reached to shut off the engine. “I think your explanation for rejecting me has helped a little.”
“Give it up, Connor,” she teased with a chuckle.
“I’ll keep everything you told me in mind and cogitate on it.”
“You do that.”
“What do you say we go back to the trailer and enjoy some of your mom’s chili while we see how long this storm is going to last.”
* * *
WHILE SHE WARMED up their food, Connor put on his hat and jacket before walking back to check on the horses. The wet snow was coming down fast. The horses were better off inside their stalls where it was warm. He didn’t want them catching a cold and made sure they had what they needed before he headed for the trailer.
He shook off the snow before entering. When he saw her seated at the kitchen table, a sense of guilt swept over him. Not for the things she’d deduced about his troubled psyche, which were right on, but because he hadn’t given her life the same amount of thoughtful attention she’d given his. Most of the time he’d been too immersed in his own problems to think of others. He was the opposite of his grandparents.
They knew all about Sadie’s and Liz’s dreams, but they’d never divulged the essence of their conversations with Connor. His grandparents were saints who worried about everyone and did the little things that endeared them to friends and family. Take that charm bracelet. Connor had seen the loving expression on her face