Chapter 9
“Have you made any headway?”
Jimmy sighed. “No. He flatly refuses to sign it. I guess I could forge his signature―”
“And have that come back on you? No way. And that’s a lot of money, Jim,” Max reminded him. “We could attract some major talent with it.”
“I think we need to … Hell, I don’t know what to do. How do we make him get on board?”
“We’re going to have to be a bit more … persuasive. Just leave it up to me. I’ll figure it out,” Max told him. “Talk to you later.” As soon as he hung up, he rose from his chair and crossed the hotel room to the big boxes.
Pills. All kinds of pills. And all made by Zesser Pharmaceuticals. Wallace Bergman had been right to approach him because if anybody could get it done, it would be Max. And he was already formulating a plan. When they implemented it, it would be better than just getting that money.
It would literally kill two birds with one stone.
Monday and Tuesday, Shyanna rode bareback broncs again.
On Wednesday, she started on the saddle broncs, and she knew within a few minutes that she was going to have a hard time.
They were nothing at all like any kind of bareback riding.
There was so much more to take into consideration, primarily the fact that she was holding onto a rope attached to the horse’s halter rather than a handle on the rigging, and there were stirrups that had to be taken into account and dealt with while riding the animal.
She wanted to do it, but there was one thing about it that really bothered her.
She felt disconnected from the horse in a way she didn’t riding bareback.
That warm connection between her ass and the back of that animal seemed to her to impart some kind of knowledge of the animal’s thoughts and plans, and the saddle disrupted that.
But that didn’t matter―she’d figure out a way to work around that, because she wanted to do it.
She’d intended to work more on Thursday, but a discussion between her and Jensen told her they’d better spend the day packing up to leave that afternoon instead of that evening as they’d planned earlier.
After they’d gotten their personal things together, she wandered out the back door of the house and down to the creek where she and Jensen had sat just days before.
The big, smooth rock located, Shyanna sat down and stared at the water.
What the hell was she doing there? His parents had been nicer since that Saturday morning breakfast, but she knew they still weren’t crazy about her.
Leo was cool. But as she looked around, she knew she didn’t belong there.
They all had beautiful, warm family memories there.
She had none of that, and she never would.
The rushing sound of the creek still made her smile, though, and she sat there with her eyes closed, breathing in the fresh air and listening to the rustle of wind in the trees.
“You okay?” a voice asked, and she smiled. It only took a couple of seconds for him to sit down on the rock behind her and wrap an arm around her waist. “You look like you’re a thousand miles away.”
“I was. Trying to figure out where I belong,” she said, knowing her voice sounded weird and strained.
“You belong with me,” he whispered and kissed the back of her neck, and Shyanna melted. The guy was so much sweetness wrapped in a sexy package that it was hard to keep her wits about her when he was around. “Don’t you somehow get that, at least on some level?”
“I’m trying, babe. I really am. But look at this place,” she said, sweeping a hand around.
“What about it?”
“It holds all these memories for you. I have nothing like that―nothing.”
“Shy,” he said and, taking her shoulders, turned her to face him. “If you don’t have memories, you make your own. That’s how it works. I have some terrible memories from childhood. They weren’t all happy.”
“Yes they were,” she said with a snort.
“No. They weren’t. When I was twelve, I was tall and skinny and geeky.
I had acne, and my hair stuck up funny,” Jensen said, and she could hear the pain in his voice after all those years.
“I liked this girl, Amy, and she wouldn’t give me the time of day.
I tried to ask her to a dance, but she just laughed at me and said, ‘I wouldn’t go with you if you were the last boy on earth.
’ We were standing in the hallway at school and everyone heard what she said. I was humiliated.”
“And you came home and talked to your mom and dad and they made it all better,” Shyanna said with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
“Nope. I came home and tried to talk to them, but my dad said, ‘You’ve got chores to do. Nothing will get your mind off your problems like hard work.’ That was it. And he didn’t say another word about it.”
“Yeah, but your mama―”
“I said nothing to her. She was a female and because of what had just happened, I didn’t want to talk to anybody who wasn’t a guy. It was awkward and hard. And that wasn’t the only time something like that happened. So, no. My childhood and growing-up years weren’t perfect.”
She grinned. “I can’t imagine anybody saying you’re geeky. You’re about the most rugged and ruggedly handsome guy I’ve ever met.”
“Wow. Thanks! But I’m not special at all.
I’m just an average guy who decided to run away from his problems instead of sitting around and stewing in them.
” He gave her a squeeze with the arm around her waist and kissed the tip of her nose.
“We need to get going. I’d really like to drive more than four hours before we have to stop for the night. ”
“Okay.” He rose and reached for her hand, and she let him pull her to standing. “By the way, thank you for bringing me. This place is nice.”
“You’re welcome. Thanks for coming. We’ll come back sometime. Right now, it’s the rodeo life for us, baby,” he said with a grin and pulled her along behind him.
They stopped at the university farm for the horses and talked to Roger for a little while. Shyanna had gone to the stall Rhubarb had stayed in to look for her rubber feed bucket when she heard someone call out, “Shyanna!”
Amber’s smiling face popped into view when she turned. “Hey! How are you?”
“I’m good. You guys aren’t leaving, are you?” the girl asked, a little frown turning down the corners of her mouth.
“Yeah. We’ve got to get on the road. Wish we could’ve spent a little more time together. Thanks for being kind to me,” Shyanna said.
Amber shrugged a little and slipped her hands into her front pockets. “You said that before.”
“Said what?”
“‘Thanks for being kind to me.’ Why did you say that?”
Shyanna could feel her face heating up. “Because people usually aren’t.”
A little chuckle escaped the girl’s lips. “Then you’ve been hanging around with the wrong people!”
That’s some sage wisdom coming from a kid, Shyanna thought. “You’re probably right. I probably have been. But it’s been nice hanging around with you and SammyJo. I hope I get to see you again sometime.”
“Oh, you’re going to. We’re going to come to some of the rodeos and watch! SammyJo looked up the schedule, and we can make several of them. We could hang out. It’ll be fun!” she said, her eyes twinkling with excitement.
She hoped the girl wasn’t just saying that to be nice. A couple of friendly faces would be more than welcome. “Well, hope to see you soon then. We’ve gotta get on the move. Good luck with your rodeo events.” Shyanna started to walk away, then turned back to the girl. “Can I tell you something?”
Amber shrugged again. “I guess.”
How to say it? She’d never said anything like that before, something that would make her feel so vulnerable, but it felt right. “I just wanted to say … um, I’ve never had girlfriends. So thanks for hanging out with me. And thank SammyJo for me, wouldja?”
The smile Amber gave her was gentle and warm.
“Sure. It’s been a lot of fun. I really like you.
You’ve been kind to me too. Most women would’ve thought of us as little kids and wouldn’t have given us the time of day, but you took time to talk to us and be friendly.
We appreciate that too.” The girl stopped for a second, then said, “So I guess we’ll be seeing you on the circuit? ”
“If you show up somewhere that we are, you’ll most certainly see me. Bye, Amber,” Shyanna said and headed toward the trucks.
“You okay?” Jensen asked when she walked up where he and Roger stood talking.
“Yeah. I’m okay.” The look he gave her told her he didn’t believe her. “I just had to say goodbye to Amber. Wish SammyJo had been around. I would’ve liked to say goodbye to her too.”
“I have to tell you something,” Roger said, leaning toward Shyanna. “Those two girls idolize you. They want to be just like you. They’re talking about going to some of the dates for your association. I really appreciate you being so nice to them, even though they’re just kids.”
“They’re nice kids, but they shouldn’t idolize me. I’m nobody and nothing. They have their whole lives ahead of them. I envy them―I really do,” Shyanna said, and she meant it.
“You’re not nobody or nothing, Shyanna. You’ve got a bright future ahead of you on the circuit if you’ll just remember the things you learned here. But thanks anyway for taking some time to talk to them and get to know them. I know they’ll never forget you,” Roger said and stuck out a hand.
Shyanna took it and shook it. Roger had been nothing but kind and accommodating to them, and she envied Jensen for having such nice friends. “I’ll never forget them either.”
“We need to hit it, babe. Roger, thanks again,” Jensen said as he shook his friend’s hand one last time. “I promise next time we have some down time, we’ll come visit again.”
“I’m gonna hold you to that, cowboy!” Roger said with a laugh. “Y’all be careful on the road.”
“Will do.” Jensen gave Shyanna a tiny kiss on the cheek and squeezed her hand. “Time to go. If we get separated, call me or I’ll call you. Let me know if you need to stop so I can stop too.”