Chapter 23
OLIVIA
Charlie was a little tense before the concert started.
I could feel the sudden stress vibrating from him.
When I glanced up, I saw the hard set of his jaw under that dark, neat beard.
Just before I could ask what was going on, a man carrying a guitar and wearing a hat very much like my own strode onto the stage and the crowd around me went wild.
The guy chuckled and waved, sitting down on a stool in front of a microphone. He slung the guitar strap over his shoulder. While he got settled, a few others joined him, one guy going to sit down behind a drum set while others picked up a variety of instruments from stands on the stage.
I watched in enraptured awe as the band got ready only a few feet away from us, the energy radiating from them infusing the people around me and increasing even my own heartrate.
The first guy started strumming his guitar.
A smoke machine billowed and the guy leaned forward, opening his mouth to start singing as the other instruments joined in.
Every last person around me knew the words to the song, and even Charlie was belting out the lyrics within seconds. The actual artist grinned at the crowd, finally joining in his own verse once it sounded like it was nearing the chorus.
I’d seen many live performances in my time, but this felt a lot more intimate and lot more lively than any other. The crowd started jumping up and down. People grabbed each other to start dancing. Charlie took my hand and spun me toward him. I laughed, literally hanging onto my hat.
“This is so much fun!” I called above the din of the music. “Is it always like this?”
He nodded, the tension gone from his features.
He looked into my eyes and pulled me flush against him, one hand in mine and one cradled at the small of my back.
Realizing that I was way out of my league here, I melted into him.
He started leading me around what appeared to have become an impromptu dance floor.
Clearly, he and everybody else loved this song, singing along to every word with their heads dipped back and their eyes closed even as they danced.
I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face as I went along with him, holding on tight and thoroughly enjoying the vibe, the music, and definitely the sensation of his strong body pressed so close to mine.
One song transitioned into the next, and when the intro started, I realized I knew this one too. Deciding to toss caution to the wind, I smirked up at Charlie and started singing right along with everyone else.
Surprise flickered across his features that I knew the words to the country hit, but then he grinned and pulled me a little closer, adjusting his movements to the new beat.
He started pushing me around the dance floor again.
The other Anderson boys appeared not long after, big smiles on their faces.
They approached girls in the crowd and drummed up dance partners for themselves.
The concert was a blast, the songs upbeat and every performer trying to outdo the last. I still didn’t know where Charlie’s sudden tension had come from before the first band had started, but he seemed to have shaken it off completely.
We had a blast, singing and dancing our hearts out with his brothers. It was the time of my life. Once the concert was over, I looked up at Charlie while we waited for the crowd around us to disperse.
“So that’s it, huh? That was the rodeo?”
“Sure was.” He grinned, his hand twitching as if he was about to reach for me again, but then he seemed to remember that we were surrounded by people and that his brothers were still around here somewhere too.
For just a moment, exasperation flickered in those blues, but he blinked it away the next moment, gaze softening as it held mine. “How’d you like it?”
“I loved it,” I gushed without letting any inhibitions or pretenses hold me back. “It was incredible. All of it. I’m assuming you’re not leaving just yet, though?”
“Nah.” He inclined his chin in the direction of the livestock pens. “Mom and the others will be packing up our booth, but I have to go help Dallas and the crew load up the animals for the night.”
“Do you mind if I walk with you?” I seriously wasn’t ready to say goodbye to him just yet. We’d managed to spend some time together, which was great, but I didn’t quite know when I’d see him again and I wanted to buy myself at least a few more minutes.
Charlie grinned and motioned for me to join him.
He started walking, thumbs hooked into the pockets of his jeans and his gaze aimed straight ahead.
“I’m glad you had fun tonight, Liv. The rodeo is a big part of our business and of our family.
It would’ve been hard for you to do that part of the brand justice if you’d hated being here. ”
A tiny sting of disappointment smarted somewhere in my chest. I’d known this hadn’t been a date and that we’d both been here for work, but he’d made it sound like that was the only reason he was happy I’d enjoyed it.
I glanced up at him, keeping a few inches of space between us despite how much I wanted to close the distance.
“Well, thankfully, I didn’t hate it.” I made a point of looking around the arena as it cleared out. “It was a whole new experience for me, though. I’ll admit that. Sometimes, it’s like a different world down here.”
He chuckled. “You seem to be adapting to the new world just fine.”
I smiled, hoping that I wasn’t about to cross a line but needing to be honest with him. “You’ve played a big part in that. Thanks for taking the time to show me around again.”
“Anytime.” He nodded at a few people we passed on our way to the pens, seeming relaxed, but not completely.
“Are you okay?” I asked as I saw the words Anderson Crew emblazoned across shirts just up ahead.
Those blues cut to mine, curiosity in them but no stress or tension. “All good. Why?”
Relief trickled through me as I held his gaze. “No real reason. You just seemed a little tense before the show and you’re pretty quiet right now.”
“It’s been a long day.” A ghost of a smile crossed his lips and he winked at me. “Besides, my throat hurts a little after all that singing and screaming.”
I chuckled. “That seems fair. I may even be a little hoarse tomorrow, but it was so totally worth it.”
“Agreed.” He kept staring into my eyes, but then we reached Dallas and the others. Dallas led a horse into a massive trailer.
Charlie’s demeanor changed now that we were with them, the softness wiped away from his features and his gaze suddenly alert. “Thanks again for coming, Liv. I should help these guys or we’ll be here until the morning.”
“Can I help you somehow?” I asked, intrigued by how the whole process worked, but Charlie shook his head and sent me a tiny smile.
“I’ve got it,” he said. “You should get some rest, but I’ll call you tomorrow and maybe we can see each other again soon?”
Elation swept through me like little pockets of joy had taken up residence in my very bloodstream. “I’d really like that.”
I took a quick look around to make sure no one was looking and pressed up on my tiptoes, planting a light kiss on his cheek. “Goodnight, Cowboy.”
“Good night, City.” He smiled as I turned to leave. “See you soon.”
“See ya.” I tossed my hand up in a wave but didn’t look back, too afraid that if I did I would offer to wait until he was done and invite him back over to my place.
Tonight had been another spectacular time with him. If I was being completely honest with myself, I’d admit that Cowboy Charlie was making me feel things I had no right to be feeling. Our connection just seemed to be growing and growing, the chemistry between us more volatile now than ever.
Although I still didn’t know him all that well, I felt like I did.
I felt like we’d known each other forever despite the details I didn’t have about him.
Like his favorite color or even his favorite food.
Shaking my head at myself for the direction my thoughts had taken, I reached down to rummage through my purse for my keys and then realized I didn’t have my purse at all.
I’d given it to Dallas to keep for me while we were at the concert, and I groaned when I realized it was probably still at the stables. A good way out of the rodeo at this point, I doubled back to grab it, hoping they hadn’t already left yet.
I had my phone in my back pocket, but that was it. At least I could call them to do a U-turn if I had to, but I was hoping it wouldn’t come down to that.
The arena had emptied out fast, the crowd completely gone and only a few people still milling around. Out at the livestock area, there were significantly fewer animals than there had been, but trucks were still being loaded and there were still people around the stables.
Most importantly, the giant Anderson Ranch trailer was still there, its yellow and red logo visible as I approached. A couple of crew members seemed to be getting the horses situated and I passed them, searching for Dallas and Charlie and keeping a lookout for my purse at the same time.
I finally saw it hanging safely over a hook on the side of one of the stables. A bunch of jackets, backpacks, and other personal items probably belonging to the Andersons surrounded it, and relief rolled through me.
I lifted it off the hook. All that remained now was to let them know that I had it, and I strode toward the stable I’d seen Dallas heading toward before I’d left. Voices filtered out of the space, completely audible considering that the music and the general humdrum of the crowd was gone.
“I made it completely clear to my dad that I would never work with a woman again,” Charlie was saying. “I told him straight up that I did not want to work with this girl.”
Dallas chuckled. “Fat lot of good that did you.”
“Exactly. I had zero choice in any of it. Dad told me that he was sure Nathan had taught her well and that was it. We had that meeting set up already and then bam, we were working together whether I liked it or not.”
My heart plummeted, dropping to my shoes. I’d known he hadn’t been happy to work with me at first, but after everything that had happened these last couple weeks, I’d thought I’d earned his trust.
“Poor Charlie,” Dallas joked, his tone light and teasing. “It must’ve been so hard for you, being forced to work with a beautiful woman.”
“As if you would’ve liked it,” Charlie retorted. “One day, I’m telling him that I do not want to work with her at all, and the next, she’s living in my house, working on my ranch, and riding my horse. She’s at every meal and my brothers are all over her. Talk about a nightmare.”
I blinked hard. Tears burned my eyes. There could be absolutely no doubt who they were talking about. Worse yet was that the way in which they were talking about me, so light and easy as if none of what they were saying even mattered.
But it sure as hell mattered to me.
Obviously, Charlie still didn’t respect how much I’d accomplished or how good I was in my role at my father’s firm. Clearly, he still didn’t want to work with me only because I was a woman. Frankly, I wasn’t about to stick around to listen to them mocking me behind my back any longer.
Spinning around, I turned and stormed out of the arena. My heart cracked in half but my footsteps were sure and determined.
If he’d been so vocal about not wanting to work with me, then his father should’ve listened. I could never collaborate with someone who refused to acknowledge my hard work or my talent. On a more personal level, I could never be with a man who didn’t understand, respect, or love that side of me.
I’d done nothing since I’d arrived in Houston but try to understand what the ranch meant to him. I’d learned how deeply he cared about it, and sure, it’d been my job, but I cared just as deeply about Walker Marketing. That was the point.
I hadn’t been over the moon about going to stay on the ranch either, but at the end of the day, I’d given it my all. Because I was a fucking professional.
Just like he’d spent all his adult life preparing to take over the ranch one day, I’d spent mine learning the ropes at my dad’s firm. I’d worked just as hard. I’d put in just as many hours, often working long past midnight or getting back to the office before dawn, and yet, they were ridiculing me.
Because I had been born with something different between my legs.
Charlie would never take me seriously or want to work with me simply because I was a woman, and while I could handle a great many things, I would not stand for that.
If the last few days hadn’t been enough to change his mind about me, then overhearing that one conversation had sure as shit changed my mind about him.
I was done with Charlie Anderson, and as much as it broke my heart to even think about severing that rare and precious connection between us, it was time to put my cowboy out to pasture.