Chapter 20
“Well, look at the two of you, just sitting here and looking absolutely adorable together.”
Trish’s shrill voice made Lily want to gag. She regretted having stuffed so much of the sandwich into her mouth as she smiled politely and tried not to choke.
“Hi, Trish. What are you doing here? I thought you only showed up on show day?” Camellia sounded tired, barely looking up at the woman hovering over them.
Trish had a bright smile on her face and a mischievous gleam in her eyes. “Normally, that’s true, but I happened to be in the area and figured I’d stop by to see how my hard-earned money is being used.” Trish looked at them critically, her smile having faded. “I didn’t expect you to be taking a coffee break so early in the workday.”
Camellia stood up, her cheeks flushed. Although Trish outweighed her by at least fifty pounds, they were both the same height, yet Camellia managed to appear more imposing.
With her hands on her hips, Camellia stood her ground. “Look, Trish, if you have some business with me, then state it and leave. We have a lot to do, and my sister has been here for hours already without a break while you’ve been curled up in your bed. Not that either of us owes you any explanation. We are volunteers . And as far as your hard-earned money goes, it’s over there funding the coffee bar, which is all we could afford to do with it. The rest of the rodeo was paid for with other donations, contestants, and Dakota himself, so stop acting like you own the place. You’ve never worked a day in your life anyway.”
By now, Lily had managed to choke down the sandwich she’d stuffed in, and it was a good thing she had because her mouth flew open in astonishment.
Trish stood silent for a moment, and Lily couldn’t tell if her face was red from anger or embarrassment. “Well, I never! I have a mind to ask Dakota to have you removed from the committee, Camellia Johanson, and if we didn’t go back as far as we do, that’s exactly what I’d do. My money can just as well be used elsewhere if you don’t want it!” Her eyes narrowed. “Of course, I’m willing to forgive your little outburst this time. I know how upsetting it is for you to have found out that your daughter would rather spend Christmas with her boyfriend’s family than with you. That must be quite a blow, isn’t it, dear?” With a final glare, Trish turned on her heel and marched away.
Camellia was still standing there, her face pale as she watched Trish leave, so Lily stood up to take her arm and guide her back into her chair.
Lily hated to see people upset. “Are you okay?”
Camellia seemed on the verge of crying, and Lily wasn’t quite sure if it was Trish she was upset about, or the news that her daughter wasn’t coming home for Christmas.
Barely nodding, Camellia sat down and swallowed a few times, looking over at Trish, who was talking to the red-haired, freckle-faced girl at the entrance.
Her sister’s eyes welled with tears, but she didn’t let them fall. She managed to hide her emotions from anyone who might be within hearing distance. It appeared that Camellia never let her demeanor slip in front of a crowd. “How did she know?” Camellia whispered. “I only found out yesterday.”
“You mean she’s right? Autumn isn’t coming home for Christmas?” Lily’s heart ached for her newfound sister.
Camellia had been talking non-stop about the plans she and Ray had for taking their daughter on a trip this year.
Camellia nodded. “She called me yesterday to tell me that since we weren’t going to Tahoe, she’s decided to stay at school and study. I was still hoping I could change her mind. But she didn’t tell me she was going to have Christmas with her boyfriend’s family instead of us.” Camellia looked at Lily. “Do you think Trish is right? How could she even know that when I didn’t know?”
Lily shrugged, unable to confirm or deny it as the truth. “She could have just made that up, Camellia. It’s clear she’s a very spiteful woman, and I think she was just trying to lash out at you. Probably none of what she said is even true.”
Unfortunately, Trish was right, as a phone call Camellia had with her daughter later confirmed. Camellia remained despondent the rest of the day, and even after Violet arrived and they all went to dinner, Camellia barely spoke, retiring as soon as they got home.
Once Violet and Lily were finally alone and the house was quiet, the two of them retreated to the guest room they were sharing at Camellia’s house.
“Wow,” Violet remarked later as the two of them got ready for bed. “The mood here is even more depressing than at home.”
Lily’s heart truly ached for Camellia. “I know how she feels, Vi. Having your kids tell you they’d rather be somewhere else over Christmas is like a punch in the stomach. It’ll take a while for her to get over it.”
Violet looked at her strangely. “Kids grow up and move on, Lily, just like we did. You and Camellia are both going to have to get used to that fact. She’d better get it together by tomorrow, though. From what I heard, you’ve already had a pretty busy day.” Violet stopped fluffing her pillow and stared at her sister with something akin to intrigue. “How’s it going with that cowboy? Has he thrown anyone to the bulls yet?”
Lily smiled weakly. “Not that I know of, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m the first he’ll toss into the pen. I think he’s still pretty upset with me.”
Violet snorted. “Upset that you didn’t leave two immature kids to get into trouble on their own? Not even he can be that cold. I mean, I get that he was disgusted with them last night and all, but he has to realize by now that you did the right thing. You’d probably be reading about them in the papers this morning if you had left them there.”
Lily sighed. “I don’t think he sees it that way.”
Violet was already under the covers, and Lily crawled in with her, placing her head on her older sister’s shoulder just like she had when she’d needed comfort as a child.
“I didn’t realize how tough it was going to be helping out this weekend. I regret ever having agreed to do it. I feel like everywhere I turn, I’m offending people. I honestly just want the weekend to be over so I can go back to Tahoe and hide out for a while. Funny thing is, I’m actually looking forward to when my apartment is done so I can get back to my boring, mundane life. Things are a lot less complicated when I’m on my own.”
Violet stroked her hair. “That’s so much like you, Lily, to want to just run off and hide. I’m glad you’re here. It will do you some good to be forced to deal with people and everything that goes along with it. Give it a chance, little sister. I’m not saying everything will go smoothly, but after a while, you might even realize that interacting with people can be rewarding.” Violet looked down and kissed her sister’s forehead. “Not everyone is like Scott, Lily. Some people are genuinely good. Just give it a chance.”
The next day, as Lily was running around after Dakota, trying to follow his orders and stay out of his way at the same time, she didn’t have much time to think about what Violet had said the night before. It seemed like she’d been there for hours, and Dakota hadn’t stopped once. The man seemed to have his thumb on every aspect of the rodeo, from who was handling ticket sales to how the livestock in the pens were being cared for. No detail was overlooked.
“Lily!” Dakota’s voice was firm, and she hustled over to where he was standing, looking at a huge bull pawing at the ground.
“Yes?”
He pointed to a man in coveralls on the other side of the holding pens. “Do you see that guy over there? Please tell him that Rambo needs some water. He’s knocked his bucket down, and I don’t want him to be thirsty.”
As Lily hustled over to the man, the cowboy boots she’d borrowed from Camellia dragged a bit in the dirt. This was how the whole morning had been going so far, with Dakota giving her tasks to take care of while he went on to deal with the next problem. So far today, he hadn’t been overly friendly, but at least he was talking to her. And he’d only growled once.
After instructing the man about which bull needed water, she looked around to find Dakota standing with Ray. Camellia was at the ticket booth, selling entrance tickets and promoting the fifty-fifty tickets with an elderly woman. She was looking spry with her fringe cowboy skirt and white boots, and the lively crowd seemed to have lifted her mood somewhat. Her face was less despondent today, with a smile even crossing her face as she saw Lily waving.
After checking to see that Violet was at her station on the far right of the arena, where the kids from the cancer hospital were to be set up, Lily walked over to see if Dakota needed anything more from her before she went up to the announcer’s booth. She’d decided that morning to forgo the skirt Camellia had offered her in favor of her jeans, assuming correctly that it would be more practical with all the running around she had to do. As she walked toward Dakota, she noticed more than one appreciative look from a few of the male contestants and wasn’t sure if she should be pleased or embarrassed.
As she approached the men, Ray waved and quickly walked off while Dakota turned toward her, waiting until she was next to him to speak.
“Thanks for your help this morning. You’ve been doing a great job. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
She stared at him for a minute, speechless. She would never figure that man out. She was seriously starting to wonder if he suffered from some form of bipolar disorder. He seemed to swing from one mood to another in the blink of an eye.
“Thanks. I appreciate that. I’m happy to see you’re not mad at me anymore,” she replied.
He blanched, visibly confused. “Mad at you? Who said I was mad at you?”
Lily cocked her hip and crossed her arms. She knew her posture was defensive, but who was he kidding? “No one said you were mad at me,” she tried to keep the irritation out of her voice. “But it was pretty obvious from the way you acted that you weren’t exactly thrilled with how things went the other night.”
“I wasn’t thrilled. Those two needed a lesson in manners and how to be grateful. Of course, I should have figured you wouldn’t have it in you to teach the hard lessons kids like that need to learn. You’re way too much of a softie.” He winked at her, and she dropped her arms, standing up straight.
“I’m the softie?” she snorted. “You’re the one who pulled over in the first place and offered them a ride. If you really wanted to teach them a lesson, you could have just left them there to fend for themselves. If you ask me, you’re just as much of a softie as anyone.” She realized that he wasn’t quite as hard-nosed as he wanted people to believe.
His eyes locked onto hers, penetrating. “No. I just did what any decent person is required to do. No more, no less. You, on the other hand, seem to think it’s perfectly acceptable to allow yourself to be taken advantage of and used by whoever feels inclined to do so. I just didn’t appreciate being dragged into that with you.” And there was the difficult personality she associated with Dakota.
She flushed. Clearly, he wasn’t as over it as she’d thought. “You didn’t need to take any of us back with you. You could have left all three of us at the truck stop. You made the choice to help us all on your own.”
Shaking his head, he said, “You’re right. I could have left you there, and by all rights, I should have. I don’t like being pressured or coerced into doing things I don’t agree with, and that’s exactly what you did.”
She scoffed, utterly dumbfounded by his arrogant attitude. “I wasn’t pressuring or coercing!” Lily protested. “I was appealing to your sense of decency, and clearly, you do have one, or else you would have just driven off! You don’t have to be angry with me for helping you find it!”
“I’m not angry with you for helping me find anything,” he snapped. “I’m mad at myself for having let you get under my skin. It’s not like me to care what someone thinks, and I don’t like it!” With that, he turned and strode toward the steps leading up to the announcer’s booth, leaving her gaping after him.
Letting her thoughts trail off, Lily snapped her mouth shut and hurried after him, deciding that, for now, she’d let the matter rest. It seemed that every time she thought she saw a shred of decency in the man, he had a way of proving her wrong. She would just have to accept that Dakota Clifton was a bitter old man without a kind bone in his body, and after that weekend, she wouldn’t have to deal with him again.
As soon as Lily caught up with him, he immediately started barking orders at her.
“Look over the roster and make sure you can pronounce all the names,” he instructed, handing her a sheet with a list of names and numbers. “I’ll have the list down in the arena with me as well, but sometimes, with all the action going on, I lose my place. I’ll need you to remind me where I am and give me the next contestant. I don’t like to mispronounce names. The contestants deserve to have their moment of glory without their names being wrong.” Once again, there was that hint of human decency that he desperately tried to hide from everyone he came into contact with.
She looked over the list, amazed at how many contestants were on it. The show was only two hours with a twenty-minute intermission; how on earth were they going to fit them all in?
Dakota handed her a small earpiece with a microphone attached. “Here, pin this to your shirt and stick that in your ear. I have one as well. I want to make sure I can hear you when you talk to me.”
Without waiting for her to take it, he started to fuss with the tiny microphone, attaching it to her shirt, while she frantically tried to study the names on the list she held. She had a sneaking suspicion that if she fed him a wrong name, she would finally see the real angry side of the man in front of her.
“So, I’ll be up here in the booth, and you’ll be on your horse down in the arena the whole time?” she asked, looking up from the list just long enough to adjust the earpiece.
Dakota nodded. “Yup, unless something goes wrong. There are a number of contestants not here yet, and we’re not sure if they’re late, no-shows, or scratches. Depending on if and when they show, I may need you to come down to the side and help me find them, but I’ll let you know.”
“Okay,” she nodded, studying the names in front of her again.
Once he was satisfied she understood her role and that the communication worked, he dismissed himself. “I’m going to go see to my horse right now,” he said. “We can test the microphones once I’m down there. Just make sure you can hear me.”
Before he could turn around, Lily said, “Hold on there!”
Dakota was clearly in a hurry, and his look told her this better be good. “What?”
She held up the sheet, stabbing her finger at a name on the list. “What’s this? Under bull riders? It says, Raymond Marshall.”
He tried, but Dakota couldn’t quite hide the sly smile on his face. “That’s right. Ray has decided that this event was as good as any to get his final ride in. The bulls aren’t quite as tough as the usual ones, and it’s a charity showcase where the winner donates his winnings. He liked that idea.”
It all dawned on her at once. “That’s why you were at the house, wasn’t it? You were picking something up he needed for this ride?”
“Well, I wouldn’t exactly say he needed it, but he wanted his old championship buckle to wear as a kind of good luck charm. I don’t really believe in that stuff, but if it makes him feel better, then I’m all for it.”
“Does Camellia know about this?” The look on his face told her exactly what she needed to know. “I have to tell her! She has a right to know what her husband is up to!”
For the first time since she’d known him, Dakota’s voice sounded truly angry. “You’ll do no such thing! She’ll stop him from doing what he needs to do. A man has a right to end his career the way he needs to end it, without interference from anyone.”
She shook her head. “From my understanding of things, Ray has already ended his career with bull riding. In fact, I believe the last bull he rode ended it for him. Am I right?”
Dakota glared. “That’s right. That godforsaken creature ended his career and almost his life. Ray was one of the best, and he should have gone out in a blaze of glory, not on a stretcher like a broken man! That’s how he’ll be remembered from now until eternity. All those bulls he beat forgotten, all those championships he won, and he’s just a name on a roster in some archive. All anyone remembers when they hear the name Ray Marshall is a broken cowboy being carried out on a stretcher.”
Dakota grabbed her arm, bringing her in close to him. He wasn’t rough with her, but she could see the seriousness in his eyes and feel the emotion in his tone.
“This is his chance at redemption, Lily. A chance to win back his name and his dignity. All he wants is one last chance to erase the memory of his defeat and replace it with a victory. Camellia can’t, or won’t, ever understand his need to regain his dignity. He just needs a chance to prove to her—and to himself—that he’s still the champion he always was. Are you really willing to take that away from him?”
Dakota held her gaze with his, and she knew he was right. When he put it like that, she couldn’t take Ray’s chance at closure away from him. If she told Camellia, her sister would find some way to stop him, and neither Ray nor Dakota would ever forgive her. Even more than that, if Camellia interfered now, she worried for the future of her sister’s marriage. Camellia was already losing Autumn to adulthood, and if she stopped Ray from achieving his final goal, he would resent her, possibly forever. Lily knew Camellia wouldn’t be able to handle that.
Finally, she acquiesced. “Okay, I won’t say anything,” she said quietly. She already had the feeling that she was about to ruin any chance of closeness she might have had with her newfound sister. All she could hope for was that once Ray had successfully completed the ride, Camellia would find it in her heart to understand and forgive her.
Dakota seemed satisfied with her answer and continued to make his way out of the booth, down to the arena, and to his horse.
Once he was gone, Lily was suddenly engulfed with a sense of stillness and loss. After the busy and chaotic morning of following Dakota around, the booth felt exceptionally quiet and removed from all the activity going on below her. She seemed to be in a world of her own, far removed from the bustle below. She studied the list of names and checked the microphone with Dakota. Except for the occasional person checking in with some need or another, Lily was left to let her thoughts wander.
The first thing she did was send out a prayer that none of the contestants would be hurt and that, at the end of the night, all the livestock and people would go home healthy and safe. Dakota had told her he was concerned about his horse, as the horse hadn’t been used much lately. She didn’t know much about the animals, but the way he’d described how a horse could spook, slip, or break a leg worried her. She’d never seen Dakota on a horse, but from all accounts, he was supposed to be a fairly good rider. She just hoped he would be good enough to keep himself and his horse safe.
A tall, slender cowboy interrupted her daydreaming to introduce her to the young girl who was going to sing the national anthem for them tonight. The girl was slight and nervous, but having been a cancer survivor herself, she was eager to do her part. After Lily reassured the girl that she would be just fine, she showed her where to stand. Lily sent her back down to get some water and try to calm her nerves.