Wendy Warren – Cowboy Comes Back / The Cowboy's Convenient Bride: Cowboy Comes Back / The Cowboy's Convenient Bride (страница 3)

“It’s in Boise,” Maddie continued, “so Grandma will be close in case I get homesick. And Shandy may be able to go, too!”

“Sounds cool.” Kade had tried to sound sincere.

“I really like the necklace you sent me.” Maddie happily jumped topics.

“Do you?”

“Yeah. Mom says I have to save it for good.”

“I want you to wear it, Maddie.” He tried not to contradict Jillian, figuring it was important that his daughter not sense hostility between the two of them, but this was getting ridiculous. Oh, yes. He and Jillian would be talking soon. “That’s why I bought it.”

“Okay. I’ll ask Mom if I can have it back. She’s keeping it safe for me.”

Kade decided to change the subject before he exploded. “I’m getting another horse.”

“Really? I hated it when you sold Blaze….”

Kade and Maddie talked about horses for several minutes more, the one love they shared that Jillian didn’t butt into, and then he heard Jillian announce it was bedtime.

“You better go, kiddo.”

“Yeah. Thanks for calling, Dad. I’ll see you tomorrow!”

The line clicked dead before he could say goodbye. Kade hung up feeling depressed. His daughter was growing up fast. So fast he was afraid that before he got his act together she’d be gone. And if Jillian had her way he’d never really get to be part of her life, just the bearer of gifts on her birthday and at Christmas. That wasn’t the role he wanted—or deserved.

The only times he hadn’t been part of Maddie’s life were when he’d been on the road rodeoing and making a living, and during the dark months after Jillian had left him, when he’d started drinking too much and messing up his life. Other than that, he’d been there, trying his best to do things right, to be a decent dad.

Hell, he was a decent dad—stellar by comparison to his own father. He walked over to the door of the trailer and stared out across the field at Libby’s place. He’d given up a lot to be a dad, but it was a sacrifice he’d had to make. He’d screwed up and he’d had to do the right thing.

His only regret was Libby.

CHAPTER TWO

THE MORE TIME KADE spent trying to fix the house, the more things he found wrong with it. Cracked moldings, saggy hinges, leaky plumbing, holes in the walls. Problems he needed to remedy if he wanted to hook a buyer for the property. He was on his second trip to the hardware store that day, trying to find a coupling for repairing the bathroom sink and knowing full well he’d probably discover some other part he needed, just as soon as he got home. Plumbing was like that.

“I heard you were back.” Startled, Kade looked up to see Jason Ross standing a few feet away, next to some big rolls of copper tubing. From his dark expression, it was clear Jason wasn’t there to welcome Kade.

“Hey, Jason. How are you?” Once upon a time they’d been friends, had ridden rodeo together in high school, but Jason didn’t appear to be all that friendly now. His lean face was set in harsh, unfamiliar lines.

“I’m good,” Jason said flatly. “Fixing up your dad’s place?”

“Hoping to get it on the market by the end of next month.” Kade shifted his weight as he spoke and waited for what had to be coming. There was a stretch of uncomfortable silence and then Jason finally got to the point.

“Have you seen Libby?”

“Not yet.”

“Maybe it’d be best if you didn’t.”

Direct. Very Jason-like. And uncalled-for.

“I don’t think you have a lot of say in the matter,” Kade said, twisting the PVC coupling he was holding in his hands.

Jason glanced behind him to see if anyone was within hearing range before he turned back and said, “I’m her friend, so yeah, I do have a say. You don’t need to shove your way back into her life. You did enough damage the last time.”

“If I want to see Libby, I’ll damned well see her.” Kade spoke slowly and deliberately. He wasn’t about to clear what he did or didn’t do with Jason. “And believe it or not, hurting Libby was the last thing I ever wanted to do.”

“You failed,” Jason said shortly. He gave a curt nod, then turned and headed back the way he’d come. Conversation over. Warning delivered.

Kade watched his former friend disappear around the end of the aisle before attempting to turn his thoughts back to plumbing. But it was damned hard to concentrate with adrenaline pumping through him.

He glanced at his watch. He had to drive to Elko to pick up Maddie for their weekend together and if he didn’t get going, he’d be late. Another black mark against him in Jillian’s book. As it was, she would act as if she were sending her baby into a war zone or somewhere equally dangerous when she handed Maddie over, and Kade would try not to react since Maddie was so observant. He didn’t want her picking up more bad parental vibes. The divorce had been hard on her and it wasn’t until Mike had come into the picture that Maddie had settled—possibly because Jillian was finally happy.

Kade’s cell phone rang as he walked to the truck with a bag of plumbing parts that he hoped would cover all eventualities. He waited until he’d unlocked the door to answer, catching the call on the sixth ring, just before it went into voice mail.

“Kade. I think I may have something.” Sheri Mason sounded excited.

Kade frowned. “What do you mean, have something? You aren’t supposed to be looking for anything.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s not definite, but Rough Out is talking about a campaign with an indestructibility theme. You know—no matter what you do to them, how much you beat them up, these jeans can take it. And they want big-name veteran rodeo stars. Guys who have been beat up but keep on going. You fit the bill.”

“I’m unreliable.” Which was why Rough Out had fired him in the first place. Apparently they wanted their spokesman to be sober and show up for work.

“And I’m good. I think we have a shot at this.”

Kade couldn’t handle another yo-yo experience. The old yes, they want you … no, they don’t. He’d had his hopes dashed a few too many times of late.

“Tell you what, Sheri. You do what you think is best here. If you want to pursue this, great, but I’m telling you not to waste your time if you think this is a waste of time.”

“Sweetheart, if I thought you were a waste of time I would have stopped being your agent when I stopped dating you. I’ll keep you posted.”

“Don’t.” Kade spoke before thinking. But it was the truth. “Just tell me if I make the short list, all right?”

“You got it. Bye, love.”

Kade flipped the phone shut and stuck it in his pocket.

“AND THEN KADE told Jason he could do as he damned well pleased where Libby was concerned. I was right on the other side of the aisle weighing nails. I heard him.”

“Well, don’t announce it to the world, you fool. That could affect the odds.”

The men’s voices were loud enough to be heard at the door when Libby opened it, but they fell silent as soon as she stepped inside the almost empty bar and waited a moment for her eyes to adjust. She found it amazing that anyone was in a bar at 7:00 a.m., but Nevada was a twenty-four-hour state and some people had developed unusual circadian cycles. The only reason she was there at such a ridiculous hour was that she’d picked up a package at the Wesley post office as a favor to the owner and was delivering it on her way to do her Saturday-morning shopping.

Libby set her jaw and went up to the bar. It was dumb to let the dealings of two morons upset her, since nothing happened in Otto without a flurry of betting amongst the local ne’er-do-wells. Marriage, divorce, weight loss. Everything that happened had a few bucks riding on it. Libby was not the betting kind and generally ignored such activity. But she’d never been the subject of it before.

“So, what are the odds?” she asked Julie, the bartender, setting down the box she carried.

“For which bet?” Julie idly pushed the lank brown hair that had escaped her up-do away from her face.

“Which bet?” Libby did her best not to look outraged. She normally didn’t become outraged unless she was dealing with bureaucracy or fuel prices. “How many are there?”

Julie shrugged her thin shoulders, making her tank top slide off to one side, before reciting in a monotone, “Rekindled romance, eight to one. One night of passion, even money.”

Libby’s eyes widened still more.

“And I’m betting against one-night stand, so if you do have one—” Julie made a please-cooperate face as she pulled her top back into place “—don’t tell anyone. Okay?”

Libby slapped her palm on the bar, then headed for the door. She had had enough.

Kade would do as he damned well pleased where she was concerned? She’d see about that.

Libby felt remarkably calm as she got into her truck and drove to Kade’s ranch. They were about to get a few things straight, she and Kade. It was time to meet face-to-face. Get it over with, rather than dying a thousand deaths wondering when she was going to bump into him. Libby wasn’t one to avoid confrontation, but she’d been avoiding this one, which made her feel weak. Time to change that.

Kade’s truck was parked under a scraggly tree at the edge of the yard, but Libby somehow knew the house was empty before her knuckles touched the rough wood of the kitchen door. No one answered, so she peered through the curtainless window in the door. The kitchen was empty—the fridge was gone, the counters were bare and the table and chairs were nowhere in sight.