Liz thought about his invitation all the rest of the day.
“Yoo-hoo!” she called to her mother when she got home from work.
“Is that you, honey?” Millie Henson always said that when Liz arrived.
“Who else?” she teased, and walked through the house to the kitchen.
“You’re late. Your dad and I had Zane over for dinner an hour ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I was afraid something might have happened to your truck in this snow.”
Liz stood at the sink to wash her hands. “I had to help with a birth at the Critchlow ranch. Mother and foal are doing well.”
“That’s good.”
She turned to kiss her mom’s cheek. “Something smells wonderful.”
“Sit down and I’ll serve you some roast chicken. I tried that new recipe with the lemon and garlic from the food channel. The men said it’s a winner.”
“That’s no surprise. You’ve never fixed a bad meal in your entire life.”
Her mother drank coffee at the table with Liz while she dug into her meal. “This really is delicious, Mom.”
“Thank you. Now, I want to talk to you about something serious. I’m worried about you driving all the way to Las Vegas in that old truck.”
“It has enough life in it to get me to Nevada and back before it dies. But what if I told you I could drive there in total comfort?”
When Connor had told Liz he’d rather not be alone with his own thoughts, the statement had sounded lonely, troubled even. Before that he’d snapped, You think I don’t have feelings?
Those two unexpected revelations in their conversation had made her decide to take him up on his offer, but telling her mom would only escalate her motherly concern. Still, they always talked things over. No matter what, there was honesty between them. Might as well get this over with right now.
Her mother put down her coffee mug. “Is Kyle taking you?”
“No.”
“No?” She sounded disappointed. Her mom kept hoping Liz would meet the right man and settle down. “Then Sadie must have prevailed on Jarod to drive you.”
Sadie’s world had been transformed since she’d married Jarod Bannock six months ago. “They offered to take me, but I said no.”
“That leaves Dr. Rafferty. Did he offer you the loan of his truck?”
“Yes.”
“But you turned him down, too.”
“I don’t like being beholden to anyone.”
“So you decided to rent a new truck. That’s awfully expensive. I happen to know you’ve been saving your winnings to pay back your vet school loan.”
“No, Mom.” Liz put a hand on her mother’s arm. “Early this morning Connor came by the arena and asked me to drive with him.”
Like clockwork a shadow crossed over her mother’s face. “Connor...as in Connor Bannock.”
“Mom...”
Liz knew that came as a huge shock to her mother, who got up from the table. “You mean in his fancy hotel on wheels?”
“Unless he has to fly, it’s the way he’s been getting around for the past four years. It’s not nearly as luxurious as some you see at the events. His handlers will bring Polly and his second horse down in his older rig. He’s not a show-off, Mom, that much I do know about him.”
He was all cowboy, tough and daring to the point that she often chewed her nails watching him shoot out of the barrier on his horse. He was so fast, his event was over before you could blink. Any pictures the journalists got of Connor had to be taken while they ran after him, because he never hung around after the required autographing sessions and photo shoots for his Wrangler sponsor. She and Sadie had often commented that both Bannock brothers were the least vain cowboys they knew.
“After all these years, why would he suddenly ask you now?”
Liz wanted an answer to that same burning question, but she said, “Ralph put him up to it. You know he did.”
“I’m sure you’re right about that, honey.”
If Liz went with him, then she’d find out why he’d decided to honor his grandfather’s wishes, but she’d known this would be her mother’s reaction. Without hesitation she spent the next few minutes telling her the gist of their conversation at the arena. When she’d finished, Millie started to clear the dishes.
“Mom?” she prodded her.
“You’re a grown woman, honey, and don’t need my permission about anything.”
Picking up her water glass, Liz took it over to put in the dishwasher. “I wasn’t asking for permission,” she said quietly.
Her mom turned to her with a sober expression. “You want my approval, otherwise you would have let me find out after the fact. But I don’t want that responsibility. For years I watched you and Sadie grow up, both of you dying for love of the Bannock brothers. In Sadie’s case, her love was reciprocated, whereas—”
“Connor hardly knew I existed and married someone else,” Liz finished the sentence for her. Although they’d been neighbors, she’d never spent time alone with him, not even at the competitions. “Even having gone through a divorce, I doubt he’s ever stopped loving her. Wasn’t that what you were going to say?”
“Only that your infatuation with him has never ended,” her mother murmured.
“You’re right. I’ve been thinking about that all day. Infatuation isn’t love. It’s a crush I never outgrew. After all these years of being haunted by him, I have an opportunity for the first time to get a real dose of him, one-on-one. I’m convinced that driving to Las Vegas with him will be a revelation and provide the cure I’ve been needing.”
“And if it isn’t?”
Liz took a deep breath. “If it isn’t, then I’ll have to take a serious look at my life and make changes.”
Her mother turned to look out the window. “That’s what has me worried. Bannocks never pull up roots. That means you’ll be the one who leaves us and move somewhere else.”
“You’re so sure of that? I’m thinking this will be my one and only chance to see who he really is and get over what has prevented me from moving on with another man.”
A sigh escaped Millie’s lips. “I only know one thing. I’m afraid to tell your father. He hasn’t wanted anything to distract you before the competition. When he hears about this...”
Liz hugged her mom for a long time. “I’ll talk to him and make him understand.”
Connor’s black-and-silver horse trailer, hitched to his four-door black truck, contained everything you needed for comfortable living on the road. Two horse stalls with an extrawide floor and nonslip rubber matting, a niche with a bed and a sofa/pullout bed, a living/dining room, satellite TV, kitchen and bathroom, all in a nutmeg-colored wood with a ranch motif.
While Connor stashed her bags on board and showed her parents around, Liz took Sunflower’s temperature one more time, and checked her eyes and nose before putting her in bell boots for protection during the journey. Now that the horse was ready to travel, she led Sunflower from the barn and loaded her into the trailer stall next to Firebrand.
Liz threw light rugs over each of