The Bull Rider Meets His Match. Jeannie Watt

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СКАЧАТЬ some directions,” Lex said as she followed her friend into the cozy kitchen and took her place at the table strewn with wedding photos. She’d fess up to Danielle later, but right now she wanted to get back to the business of deciding whose wedding dress would best be altered to fit Danielle on her big day. In her opinion, none of the vintage dresses would work, but it was up to Danielle to either pick one or tell her mom and grandmother and great-grandmother no, thanks. It was Lex’s job to pour the wine after the task was done.

      * * *

      GRADY PULLED UP to his sister’s house and parked the truck behind the wind-damaged barn. He stepped over a few boards as he got out of the truck, thankful that Annie and the girls were still out grocery shopping. He’d yet to shake the black mood brought on by dealing with the she-devil. Who did Lex Benjamin think she was? He was pretty certain that Danielle wouldn’t have broken their engagement if it hadn’t been for Lex. They would have had troubles in the beginning, no doubt. All married couples did, but they would have worked them out. Thanks to Ms. Benjamin, they never had a chance. She’d been against their relationship from day one and had never been shy about saying so.

      He walked into the kitchen and hung his hat on one of the pegs by the door, only to have the peg fall off the wall. His hat hit the floor at his feet and the peg rolled across the worn tiles, stopping under his mom’s antique maple table.

      Even though his sister had a way with paint and bright accents, there was no getting around the fact that their childhood home was in deep need of a monetary infusion. The place had been run-down when Annie moved in, and even though she’d made it look cheery, nothing had been done to fix the real problems—leaky windows, worn flooring, aging plumbing.

      Grady picked up his hat and the peg, setting both on the counter as he tried to remember where he’d last seen the wood glue. The cellar? He started down the steps, not liking the way they sagged and creaked beneath his weight. He’d only been home for two days, but he already felt as if he’d made a mistake spending his winters practicing and working in Oklahoma. He should have hung closer to home, taking care of matters such as loose pegs and saggy steps.

      And relationships.

      Yeah. Relationships.

      Maybe if he’d taken one season off, given Danielle time to get used to his career, things would have worked out between them. But he hadn’t been able to make that sacrifice.

      Stupid move.

      And Lex. She’d been against their relationship from the beginning, and Danielle had listened to her. They’d been close friends for as long as he could remember, which had always struck him as odd because the two women were polar opposites. Danielle was fair—blond haired, blue-eyed—sweet, accommodating. Lex had a mass of dark hair and hazel eyes and she was in no way sweet or accommodating. She was hard. Brittle almost. But that mouth...he had to admit to being fascinated by those soft, full lips that seemed to be in a permanent pout whenever she was concentrating on something other than taking him out.

      Grady reached for the cord to turn on the overhead light as he stepped onto the stone floor.

      Shelves of home canning and dry goods lined both sides of the rock-walled space. At the far wall, a couple of old bureaus stood on either side of the hot water heater, and Grady crossed to them, opening drawers until he found one loaded with string, coils of wire and a few basic hand tools. An ancient bottle of wood glue lay on its side.

      He started back up the creaky stairs with the bottle. Another project he’d tackle before he left.

      After gluing the peg back in place and checking to see if the others needed reinforcing, Grady opened the fridge and pulled out a beer, then put it back and closed the door again. His stomach was still in a knot, and beer wasn’t going to change that. Hammering might, though, so he changed into his work clothes. He planned to head over to Hennessey’s ranch to take a look at the practice bulls later that afternoon, but he had time to knock some of the damaged wood off the frame of the barn before he left.

      His sister had really had an odd run of luck over the past few months. The company where she’d worked for five years folded, and while she’d found a part-time job, she still hadn’t found a full-time position that paid well enough to support her small family. The cows she’d hoped to sell to tide her over had come down with an ailment that required quarantine, and then, to top things off, a freak tornado had torn through the area, knocking down hundred-year-old trees and damaging only two buildings in the entire valley—Annie’s garage and small barn. That was when his sister had started to crumble, and Grady knew he had to come home.

      He and Annie owned the place outright and hadn’t insured the buildings for replacement value, so he was the one doing the rebuilding and watching the girls while Annie went to work part-time at the library. He had a feeling that babysitting was going to be more of a workout than riding practice bulls. The girls took after him, it seemed. Lots of energy and lots of ideas.

      Despite his dark mood, he smiled as he grabbed his work gloves. He didn’t want to see his nieces become bull riders—too much risk—but he was going to see to it that they got a proper foundation in whatever they chose to funnel all that energy into. Annie and the girls were all he had right now, and he was going to make certain their lives were good.

      * * *

      DANIELLE GATHERED UP delicate floral teacups—she’d gotten out the good china for her wedding gown summit—and carefully hand-washed them while Lex studied the photos on the table. The five women had not come to a consensus as to which wedding dress could best be altered for the ceremony, and Lex wasn’t certain they ever would.

      “The 1980s is out.” She pushed the photo aside.

      “Agreed,” Danielle said with feeling.

      “Which one do you like?” Lex asked. Danielle had spent most of the meeting pointing out the merits of each dress and trying not to hurt feelings, so Lex had no idea what she was really thinking. Danielle excelled at tact.

      “I like Great-granny’s, but she’s smaller than me and I don’t think it’ll work.” Great-granny’s was the best of the group. Designed in the mid-1940s, when fabric rationing had still been in effect, it was made of heavy satin, with a narrow skirt, a sweetheart neckline and broad shoulders that could be altered fairly easily. Or so Danielle said. Lex knew little about sewing.

      “Which leaves mid-1960s.” Lex shrugged. “It’s not a bad dress.” It had a waistline and full skirt. Lots of lace and satin...but it wasn’t the right kind of dress for Danielle, who was toned and leggy and needed a simpler body-skimming dress.

      Danielle wiped her hands on an embroidered towel. “How am I going to tell them that I want my own gown?”

      “By taking a deep breath and blurting out the words?”

      Danielle nodded and sat at the table, idly picking up the photo of the 1980s dress. “Mom was beautiful, even if the shoulders on this dress make her look as if she’s about to go out for a pass.”

      “I see no way you could alter this dress and have any of it left.”

      “Pretty much I would rip the sleeves off.”

      “And the butt ruffle?”

      “Definitely out.” Danielle set down a photo and met Lex’s gaze. “Who was at the door earlier?”

      There was no sense hedging. “Grady.”

      “I СКАЧАТЬ