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Lassoed into Marriage
Christine Wenger


From free-range cowboy to down-home daddy! When pilot Lisa Phillips was named co-guardian of her niece she did everything by the book: clipped her wings, took cooking classes and settled down to be a stand-in mum. But she hadn’t planned on playing house with her “frenemy” – rodeo rider and good-time cowboy Brett Sullivan.Sully stared down one-ton bulls on a daily basis, but a three-year-old girl struck terror in his heart. And so did the “Ice Queen” Lisa. She was too tempting…too dangerous. More than anything Sully wanted what he couldn’t have – a real family with Lisa and their little girl.










“Are you and Aunt Lisa going to get married?”

“Why do you ask that?” he said to Rose.

“Because I heard Grandma Sullivan say that it’s wrong for you to live together without being married.”

Leave it to my mother, Sully thought.

He was at a loss as to how to answer her question, but he knew he had to give it a go.

He was about to say no, when he thought about it.

Married to Lisa?

He could almost imagine being married to her. They laughed together. They had Rose in common, bull riding and the big house on twenty acres. They both liked RV-ing, and chili, and cowboy boots. He grinned. And the sex was great, too.

Some marriages were built on less.

Life had been pretty amazing during this arrangement.

So exactly what was his answer to Rose’s question?




About the Author


CHRISTINE WENGER has worked in the criminal justice field for more years than she cares to remember. She has a master’s degree in probation and parole studies and sociology from Fordham University, but the knowledge gained from such studies certainly has not prepared her for what she loves to do most—write romance! A native central New Yorker, she enjoys watching professional bull riding and rodeo with her favorite cowboy, her husband, Jim.

Chris would love to hear from readers. She can be reached by mail at PO Box 1823, Cicero, NY, 13039, USA, or through her website at www.christinewenger.com.




Lassoed into

Marriage

Christine Wenger





www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)






To my very special friends and fans of the Professional

Bull Riders: Pat Prestin of Florida, Marilyn Day of

Illinois and Necia Green of Australia.

And to PBR champion Chris Shivers of Louisiana:

I’ll miss watching you ride, but enjoy your retirement!




Chapter One


The door of the huge, white Victorian opened and Brett “Sully” Sullivan walked in, his cowboy boots making a dull thud on the gleaming hardwood floor.

Standing in the middle of the great room, he seemed to be larger than life, larger than the room. He held his black cowboy hat to one side, nervously turning it between his thumb and index finger.

Lisa Phillips hadn’t seen Sully in three years, and time had been good to him. His pitch-black hair was cut short with haphazard peaks on the top, and it gave him a devil-may-care look that fit his personality. Without the boots and hat and in his gray suit and maroon tie, he looked more like a lawyer than the bull rider that he was.

“Where’s Rose?” Sully asked, his turquoise-blue eyes full of concern.

“She’s in her room. My parents and your parents are putting her to bed,” Lisa answered, spooning sugar into her coffee.

He nodded then shifted on his feet. He seemed not to know whether to stay or go. He probably wanted to retreat back into his motor home instead of trying to make polite conversation with neighbors and relatives who were paying their respects.

Lisa would just like to fly to some place tropical. Some place where she could soak up the rays and water on a beach … and maybe stop crying.

“Is that coffee?” Sully finally asked.

“Yes. And it’s hot and strong.”

He pulled out a chair next to her and helped himself from the pot that someone had graciously put in front of her on a silver tray. She noticed that he drank his black—just like a tough cowboy should.

Lisa thought back to the day of Rose’s christening. She and Sully were Rose’s godparents and it had been a festive affair. No, it was a festive weekend—in direct contrast to today.

The evening of the christening, Rick and Carol, Sully’s brother and her sister, had called a meeting with the two of them and asked them to be Rose’s guardians in case something happened to them.

Lisa was stunned yet flattered that she had been chosen to see to Rose’s upbringing.

Then the unthinkable happened.

Rick and Carol were gone now. Deceased. Their car had hydroplaned during a rainstorm and hit a bridge support. Rose was with them in the car, but she escaped without a scratch, safely belted into her car seat.

The realization that she’d never see her sister, Carol, again rocked her from her hair roots to her toes, and tears pooled in her eyes. When would she ever stop crying?

And Rose … She was an orphan now.

And she and Sully were Rose’s guardians.

“Sully?”

“Yeah?”

He turned to her. His blue eyes were red-rimmed and bloodshot. For a second, she felt sorry for the cowboy. Rick was his brother and her brother-in-law. She had loved Rick, too.

“Remember sitting here three years ago?” she asked. “Rick and Carol had us sign guardianship papers.”

“Yeah.”

“We’re Rose’s guardians now.”

“I know.” He pushed his cowboy hat back with a thumb. “I never thought in a million years that—”

“Me, either. I’m not cut out to be a mother.”

“I’ll be the worst father in the world.”

“What was my sister thinking?”

“My brother must have been drunk.”

Lisa took a sip of coffee. It was too strong, so she added more cream. “What do we do now?”

“Damned if I know.”

Lisa kicked off her heels and shrugged out of her black blazer that matched her black skirt. Sighing, she thought how she hated the suit, which she reserved for funerals.

In the mirror on the wall she noticed that her pale blond hair had frizzed in the drizzling rain at the cemetery. Her face looked drained of all color despite the makeup she’d applied.

She was trying to hold her emotions together, but she felt another wave of tears threatening. All she wanted to do was to find the nearest bedroom, pull the comforter over her head and sleep. When she woke, she’d find that all of this had just been a nightmare.

Before they could talk anymore, the doorbell rang and more neighbors arrived, carrying casseroles and cakes. Lisa let the capable Mrs. Turner from across the street handle everything, bless her.

As if someone had turned up the volume on a TV talk show, the high-ceilinged room came alive with noise. Both sets of their parents, Gordon and Betsy Sullivan and Clyde and Melanie Phillips, were deep in discussion. It soon reached a crescendo.

“We can take the child,” Betsy said. “We have more than enough room at our Palm Beach condo. Eighth floor. Great views.”

“You can’t raise Rose in a condo,” Melanie argued. “We live in a child-friendly commune in Kentucky. She’ll have a lot of children to play with.”

“And to dig a new outhouse with at your commune,” Gordon added.

“How dare you!” Melanie pointed a finger at him. Former army colonel or not, she wasn’t going to tolerate that kind of slam against her parents from Sully’s father.

Sully stood up from the table, oozing authority. “That’s enough,” he said firmly.

Lisa nodded. “I don’t want Rose to hear her grandparents snapping at one another. Rose’s guardians have already been decided, and Sully and I are them!”

“I don’t want any fighting,” Sully said. “And I’m sure that you already know about Carol and Rick’s wishes.”

A deep voice cut through the noise. “I’m sure that they know, too.”

Everyone turned in the direction of a distinguished white-haired man in a three-piece suit.

“I’m Carol and Rick’s lawyer, Glen Randolph. I’m so sorry to interrupt, but my clients, who were also my good friends, warned me that this would happen. So while everyone is still here, I’d like to meet with Rose’s grandparents and Brett and Lisa.” The lawyer looked around at the guests who had stopped their conversations to listen. “Let’s adjourn to Rick’s office.”

The capable Mrs. Turner waved them away and called for the remaining guests to help themselves at the buffet table.

Little Rose’s relatives followed the lawyer soundlessly, single file.

After they all took a seat, they looked at him expectedly.

“Like I said, I’m Glen Randolph, and I was a personal friend of Carol and Rick.” He paused, making eye contact with each of them. He opened an accordion folder and pulled out a handful of typed papers. “As you know, they named Brett and Lisa as Rose’s guardians, and—”

“Sully? Are you aware that my son lives in a motor home?” Gordon Sullivan interrupted. “He’s a shiftless bull rider, for heaven’s sake. He travels from one bull riding event to the next. What can he offer a three-year-old?”

Gordon’s face was red, and Lisa thought he was going to have a heart attack. Although she wasn’t a Sully fan, she didn’t particularly like what Gordon was saying about him.

Oh, all right, she might as well admit that she thought the same thing about Sully.

Sully bit down on his lower lip. “Rick trusted me with his daughter. I won’t let him down.”

“And I won’t let Carol down,” Lisa added.

“How can you say that?” Her mother rolled her eyes. “You’re just like Sully, Lisa. You can’t stay in one place long enough to raise a child. You fly those diesel-guzzling biohazard planes all over creation. You pay good money for an apartment that you’re never at. How do you expect to raise a three-year-old?”

I’m just like Sully?

No way!

“You two are going to make quite the couple,” her father said.

“We’re not a couple,” Lisa stated.

“That’s for sure,” Sully added under his breath.

Sully tapped his fingers on Rick’s desk. His large turquoise ring bobbed up and down. This was the same ring he had been wearing three years ago at Rose’s christening. Lisa remembered it. Funny, she remembered a lot of things about him.

And even though she didn’t care a fig about him, for some reason she looked for him on TV when the Professional Bull Riders events were on. He was riding hot lately and was near the top in the standings.

He couldn’t ride and take care of Rose at the same time.

She couldn’t fly and take care of Rose at the same time.

Lisa swallowed hard. She needed an income. She needed to fly. She was a pilot. That’s what she did. That’s what she was.

The lawyer continued, “I will be making surprise visits to ensure Rose is thriving under their care. This is as per the instructions of Carol and Rick. They have also left a generous stipend for the care of Rose, which I’ll dispense monthly for her needs. Carol and Rick also requested that Rose be raised in this house and have left it to Lisa and Brett. It’s paid in full. There is also a trust fund for Rose for when she either goes to college or turns twenty-one. They have also left a personal note for Lisa and Brett.”

Mr. Randolph handed the letter to Lisa. “You might want to read it at a later date.”

“Thank you,” Lisa mumbled, looking at her name and Sully’s written on the envelope in Carol’s rolling script. Tears stung her eyes. She’d never be able to pick up the phone and talk to Carol again or hop a plane and visit whenever she needed a vacation or a “Rose fix.”

“I know that this is probably overwhelming at this sad time,” Mr. Randolph said. “But if Lisa and Sully decide that they cannot accept guardianship, or if they fail my evaluation, then Rose will be awarded to the grandparents. Six months with one pair, and then six months with the other.”

The grandparents perked up, but Lisa was appalled. She had forgotten about the six-month split! That wasn’t the answer, either. It would be too hard on Rose, too disruptive. Certainly everyone could see that!

Everyone except the grandparents. No doubt they were already mentally packing Rose’s bags, certain that she and Sully would fail.

“Any questions?” Mr. Randolph asked.

“I’m asking the grandparents for their cooperation,” Sully said. “Lisa, Rose and I need some time to get to know each other. We need time to adjust. So I’m asking that you all leave within a week’s time. Feel free to call Rose anytime you’d like.” He stood. “Anything you want to add, Lisa?”

“I think that’s a perfect plan,” she said.

“I’m hoping that you two succeed,” her father said. “But we’ll be ready anytime you need us. Just call.”

Sully’s mother fussed with one of her diamond studs. “I’ll get Rose’s bedroom ready at our condo. Just in case.”

“Please, no more remarks like that,” Lisa said, standing. “You must know that we’ll do our best to raise Rose.”

Sully’s mother nodded. “You are absolutely right, Lisa. I apologize.”

“Thank you,” Lisa said, relaxing a little. “I know that you all have Rose’s best interest at heart.”

Lisa held the precious letter in her hand. Now that the sun was shining, she decided that she’d like to read it in Carol’s beautiful garden in the backyard, where the spring flowers were blooming.

Carol always had a green thumb and had spent hours digging in the dirt.

Lisa would much rather skim the clouds in a jet than garden.

“I think we’re done here,” Mr. Randolph said. “I’ll let you get back to your guests.”

Lisa made her way through the crowd of people gathered in the house. Mrs. Turner and some helpers were busy refilling the buffet and picking up the discarded paper plates and plastic forks.

As she walked by the gathering around the buffet table, Lisa pasted on a smile, thanking people for coming and for paying their respects. They were a friendly crowd, and Lisa had a pang of regret that she hadn’t made friends with any of her own neighbors in Atlanta, but it was near impossible considering her lifestyle.

She made her way out to the backyard to the garden. Sitting down on a concrete bench, she smiled at the little purple resin door in the tulip garden that said, “Carol’s Garden. Fairies enter here.”

Taking a deep breath, she inhaled the mix of floral scents—daffodils, tulips and hyacinths. That was the part of living in the city that she missed most—the spring flowers that bloomed after the snow. Soon the bulbs would die out and the perennials would bloom, and Carol’s garden would be a riot of color and different scents.

Could she possibly keep up Carol’s garden? She didn’t know a weed from a potential flower.

Could she be a good mother to Rose? She didn’t know that, either.

She stared at the back of the huge Victorian, admiring the turrets and the porches that jutted out. It had more rooms than most B&Bs, and she knew that Carol and Rick had wanted more children to fill those rooms.

Looking to her right, she saw a big statue of some goddess—maybe Athena, maybe not. Lisa didn’t know her goddesses, but this one was emptying water from some kind of pitcher into a concrete pool.

Currently, Sully was roping Athena. He twirled a rope over his head, then he’d let it loose and it would fly, catching under Athena’s breasts and above the pitcher. Every now and then, he’d stop and stare off into the distance, as if he were thinking.

He roped over and over again and stared, until finally he shook his head and walked over to where she was sitting.

“Mind if I sit down?” he asked, loosening his tie and undoing the first few buttons of his shirt. He tossed the rope on the ground.

“Are you done roping?” she asked.

“I always rope when I think.”

She moved over to give him room on the bench. “I’ve been thinking, too.”

“We have some decisions to make,” he said.

“No kidding. Maybe I should learn to rope, too, so I can sort things out.”

Sully raised a perfect black eyebrow. “I’ll teach you. It’s good therapy.”

Why did he have to have eyelashes like paintbrushes? In contrast, she was pale and had to glob on mascara and eyebrow pencil to show that she even had lashes and brows.

His blue eyes met her dark green ones. “First of all, do you think we can work together? I mean, we don’t even like each other. Rose will sense that.”

He certainly believed in laying his cards on the table, didn’t he?

Taking a deep breath, he continued. “We are two adults. And we both love Rose. And there’s no way I want her raised by my parents. They’re too controlling, especially my father. He always treated Rick and me like army privates. I can’t see him with a little girl.”

“I don’t want her raised by mine, either. They’re not controlling enough,” Lisa said. “And we don’t want her in a foster home with strangers. So we’re all she’s got.”

“Poor kid.” Sully smiled, and his eyes twinkled.

Lisa could understand why the buckle bunnies fell at his feet. The cowboy could be charming when he wanted to be.

“Yeah, poor kid,” she agreed.

They shared a smile, and Lisa couldn’t believe how much they’d agreed on in one sitting, unlike their past history.

Suddenly, Lisa’s smile faded and tears cascaded down her cheeks—not for herself, but for Carol and Rick, who’d never see their little girl grow up. And for Rose, of course, who’d never know her parents.

Sully hesitantly reached for her hand, and she didn’t have the strength to move it away. She appreciated the gesture. When his hand closed over hers, she could feel his strength, his warmth. For a brief moment, she felt confident that they’d do okay.

“I really don’t want her to have to do a six-month split between her grandparents,” he said again. “It’d be too disruptive on top of everything.”

“I agree, Sully. No way.”

“So we’re going to have to make this work, Lisa.”

“I know. And I’m scared.”

“I’m not scared of a crazy, two-thousand-pound bull with horns the size of baseball bats, but I’m damn scared of raising a little girl.”

“I’ve seen Rose with you. You’re great with her. And she adores you.” All her negative feelings about him aside, it was the truth.

“Back atcha.” He shook his head. “But I’m not the kind of guy who can stay in one place for any length of time.”

“Neither am I,” Lisa said. “And we can’t live in your motor home, and my apartment in Atlanta wouldn’t work. Carol and Rick wanted Rose raised in this house.”

“I know. Rose needs—” He gestured to the huge house. “This white elephant.”

“How are we going to earn a living?” Lisa asked. “I know that we have some money coming in from Carol and Rick, but that’s Rose’s money.”

“We’re going to have to work something out. I’m really close to winning the Finals this year in Vegas. I need to compete.”

Vegas? That was the other side of the country from New York.

“But it’s only April, and the PBR Finals are in November,” she said, remembering the announcements on TV when she’d watched him ride.

“How do you know that?” he asked. “Do you watch me?”

“Of course not!” she lied. “I must have seen the Finals advertised somewhere.”

For some reason, she actually looked forward to the weekend when the bull riding, and Sully, would be on TV. If she was flying, she taped it, and she would never admit that she screamed for him to ride his bull for eight seconds.

Why? She didn’t know. On one occasion, it crossed her mind that she might be secretly attracted to Sully, but she quickly dismissed that. She just liked the sport. It was … different. Sully was a minor celebrity who she knew, and he was just someone to cheer for.

“We can worry about Las Vegas later,” Lisa said.

“No, we can’t. I have to compete to stay high in the rankings to have a chance at winning in Vegas. I have to work the circuit,” he said, his right leg bouncing like a nervous tick. “And that means traveling to all the events. By my calculations, there are seventeen left. That’s about four a month, with the summer off.”

“And I’m going to have to fly, Sully. I need to fly.”

He tightened the grip on her hand. “Shall we tell the lawyer that we’re not ready yet?” He looked at her with those damn blue eyes.

“That might be the truth, but we can’t do that,” she said. “And somehow I think Mr. Randolph knows that we don’t have the lifestyle to be parents. He’s going to be making surprise visits.”

“I know.”

Lisa sighed. “But besides our jobs, you never liked me, and I never liked you. You are a party animal, and—”

“And you’re a drag,” he finished.

She raised an eyebrow. “If you’re referring to Rose’s christening when you got a keg and you persuaded all the men to watch football, play cards and smoke cigars, then, yes, I’m a bore.”

“And you certainly speak your mind,” he added.

“I certainly do, especially when someone acts like a jerk. Let me remind you about Rick’s bachelor party,” she said.

“Please don’t. I still haven’t recovered yet—”

“And then there’s the time—”

“When you were such a snob, and—” Sully suddenly stopped. “This isn’t the time or the place, Lisa.”

“I know.”

They sat in silence for a while, until Lisa held up the envelope with the letter her sister and Rick had written. “You know, other than our parents, we were Carol and Rick’s only alternative. We’re their only siblings. At least on my side, we don’t have any close relatives.”

“My side, either,” Sully said.

“See? They had no other choice. Still, I can’t bring myself to open the letter yet.”

She tried to hand the envelope to him, but he held his hands up like a traffic cop.

“You’ll open it when you’re ready,” he said. “Then we’ll read it together.”

How did cowboy get so smart?

“We love Rose.” He met her gaze, and for a nanosecond, she got lost in the depths of his eyes. “And that’s why we can put our differences aside and do this.”

Lisa looked down and thought.

We’re just too different, but as long as Sully’s willing to try, so am I.




Chapter Two


“I want my mommy and daddy,” Rose said, tears swimming in her eyes. “I don’t want them to be in heaven. I want them right here.”

The pure-white cat, Snowball, who was curled up beside Rose, stared at the little girl’s face. Molly, a small, black, short-haired mutt, looked at her from the floor.

Lisa smiled. She’d never had pets growing up, but Snowball and Molly must have sensed Rose’s duress. They hadn’t left the little girl’s side for very long since her parents had died.

Lisa sat on the sofa, on the other side of Rose, her arms around the girl’s slight shoulders. Grandparents Sullivan and Phillips had all left for the airport this morning, and the house was blissfully silent.

Lisa had been reading Rose a book, and things were going well until Rose closed the book, her bottom lip quivering. “I don’t want them to be in heaven.”

“Your mommy and daddy are thinking of you all the time, just like you think of them,” Lisa said, hugging her niece closer to her.

She wished she could think of something more soothing to say to Rose, but she missed her sister so very much. She couldn’t even think about never talking to her again, never hearing her laugh. She wished her faith was strong enough for her to believe that someday they’d see each other again—somehow.

“They’re watching you from heaven, sweetie, and they love you very much. Just like I love you and Uncle Sully loves you. And don’t forget all your grandparents. They love you, too.”

She wiped Rose’s tears with a tissue and had her blow her nose. Molly rested her chin on Rose’s leg, and Rose reached down to pet the dog, then opened the book and started turning the pages, pointing to objects in the pictures and identifying them.

Lisa let her mind wander. It was hard to believe that a week had gone by since she and Sully had moved into Carol and Rick’s house. She hoped that someday the big Victorian would feel like her own home—well, hers and Sully’s and Rose’s.

Because she hadn’t gone back to Atlanta yet to get all her clothes, she’d been doing countless loads of laundry from what she’d brought in her suitcase. It had crossed her mind that she could borrow a couple of Carol’s tees and maybe a pair of shorts until she could go shopping, but she just couldn’t do it, couldn’t go into the master bedroom.

So she’d closed the door.

Sully had moved some of his clothes into a bedroom opposite hers on the first floor, but Lisa knew that he often sneaked out at night and wandered—out to his motor home, out on the front porch or the back porch, back in again. It was impossible not to hear him open the creaky doors and his boots clunk on the wooden floor as she lay awake nights, not able to sleep.

“Why don’t you read to me, Rose? You know the story.”

Rose wiped her nose on her sleeve and moved the book to her lap. Lisa smiled as her niece made up a story of a bunny going to the market and buying vegetables for a party he was having with his other woodland friends.

But Lisa barely heard Rose, thinking instead of how she should have gone to the grocery store or sent Sully and Rose with a list.

Sully didn’t mind doing errands. Matter of fact, he and Rose had a routine that he called their “walk around.” They’d drive to the village of Salmon Falls, park the van and have breakfast at Salmon Falls Diner. Rose would have cereal with a banana or, if she felt adventurous, she’d have a pancake.

Then it’d be off to the drugstore, the post office, the grocery store—wherever she’d sent them on errands—and they’d stop at the playground on the Village Square, where Rose would play. Sully called it her “swing and sing” time because she would make up songs and sing them as she swung.

She wondered who looked forward to their walk arounds more, Sully or Rose.

The walk arounds had started when the grandparents had become overwhelming, which was their second day here. Sully had pulled Lisa aside and told her that Rose needed a break from their constant hovering and trying to outdo one another. He said that he’d take Rose out to run errands for her.

That was considerate of him, but Lisa had wanted to come, too. They weren’t the only ones who needed a break from the grandparents.

She was always the responsible one; Sully was the fun guy. But as they raised Rose, she didn’t want to be cast into the role of disciplinarian while Sully was the one she had a good time with.

Based on the previous week, Rick and Carol were right in not picking a set of grandparents as guardians for Rose. She and Sully might not be the best prize behind curtain number one, but they couldn’t be any worse than the Sullivans or the Phillipses.

She could hear the drone of the bright-green lawn mower as it made its rounds in the front yard. After enough hints from her, Sully had finally stopped roping the darn statue and got the ride-on mower out of the shed.

After tinkering for hours and taking numerous coffee breaks, he’d finally got it working.

As she and Rose heard the mower approach, they both turned around on the sofa to look out the big picture window at Sully. Lisa kneeled next to Rose, who stood, and they waved to him.

In response, Sully raised an arm into the air. They heard him yell “Yee-haw” as he went by. On his next pass, he did the same thing. On the way back, he took off his cowboy hat and was fanning the engine.

He stopped the lawn mower, making like he was getting off a bull. Then he bowed to his audience.

He got back on, pushed the lever and clearly expected the mower to go forward, but it went in reverse.

The surprise on his face was priceless.

She and Rose laughed at him, and he feigned anger. They laughed even harder.

They’d both needed it.

Sully was good for Rose.

Maybe he was good for her, too.

Rose was occupied watching Sully, so Lisa went into the laundry room to put in yet another load of her clothes and Rose’s. Sully did his own laundry.

So far, they were doing okay, but the real test would come now—when it was just the three of them.

After loading the washer, she went into Rick’s office and turned to a website that she’d flagged—a basic website for young cooks. What the mothers had had her cooking was way too complicated. Probably that’s what they were counting on to use as ammunition for Mr. Randolph.

She’d have to look for something really easy and nutritious for Rose to eat. And Sully. She supposed that he’d eat with them, too. Like a family.

And she hoped that whatever she’d make would be eatable and that she wouldn’t make them sick.

She could boil water and make pasta with a jar of sauce and pre-made meatballs from the store and she could microwave anything and everything, but they couldn’t live on pasta alone.

Even though she could fly jumbo jets, she didn’t have a clue how to cook a real meal.

Sully washed his greasy and grass-stained hands at the laundry room sink. The air in the house smelled like something was … burning.

He ran into the kitchen just as the smoke alarm went off. Rose started to cry. The dog started to bark, then whine, and the cat scooted under the living room sofa. Lisa stood in front of the stove, fanning the billowing smoke with a dish towel.

Grabbing two pot holders, he hipped Lisa aside and pulled out a shallow pan with charred lumps of something inside. The pan and the lumps were on fire.

He dumped it, pan and all, into the kitchen sink, not realizing that the sink was full of soapy water. Everything hit the water with a sizzle and a blast of smoke. Then all became silent, even Rose and the dog.

Sully’s stomach growled. He hoped that the burned lumps weren’t steak. He’d had a hankering for steak.

Lisa’s face was as white as the lily on the kitchen table and she wasn’t blinking.

“Lisa, are you okay? Did you get burned?” He took her hands and looked them over.

She just stared at him in shock.

“Lisa?” He pulled her to the other half of the sink, the half that didn’t contain … uh … dinner. He ran cold water over her hands, still inspecting them for burns or blisters. They looked fine.

Rose had a grip on Lisa’s pant leg. Sully winked at her. “Everything’s okay, Rose. Lisa’s okay. Right, Lisa?”

Eventually, color returned to Lisa’s face and lips. He handed her a towel.

“I’m fine, honey. Don’t worry,” Lisa said, smoothing Rose’s hair.

Lisa dried her hands and shook her head. “That was supposed to be ketchup-covered meatloaf, sliced potatoes with oregano and baked carrots. Now it’s soapy wet charcoal.”

“Don’t worry about it.” He held out his hand to Rose, and she took it. “Why don’t we go out to eat? Where should we go?”

“Pete’s Pizza and Polar,” Rose answered.

He raised an eyebrow. “Polar?”

“Ice cream,” Lisa answered. “We ate there on my last visit.” Turning to Rose, she added, “Great idea.”

The girl grinned.

“I’m going to jump in the shower. Then I’ll be right with you,” Sully said.

“And we’ll get ready, too,” Lisa said, opening the windows over the sink. “It’ll be good to get out of here for a while, let the smoke clear.”

Sully hurried to his bedroom in the front-left corner of the house and found a clean change of clothes. Then he jumped into the shower off his bedroom.

He shaved in the shower to save a step, cut the water and towel-dried himself off. Slapping on some aftershave, he padded naked into his room and then stopped suddenly, his gaze settling on the closed door. He took a grateful breath, glad that he’d had enough sense to close the door to his bedroom. Alone, in his motor home, he never paid any attention to that kind of thing. However, here in Rick and Carol’s house, he had to be more careful.

Rick and Carol’s house.

He supposed he should get used to thinking of it as their house, the three of them, but that seemed impossible yet. Maybe being comfortable here would come in due time. And maybe not.

Running a comb through his hair, he made a mental note to stop at a barbershop on his next walk around with Rose. He didn’t want to take any ribbing from the TV announcers when they got a gander at his longish hair. They loved making comments about hair and tattoos, feeling that all cowboys must fit a certain mold.

A shot of adrenaline coursed through him whenever he thought of riding bulls. The next event on the circuit would be in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and it was scheduled this coming Saturday.

Just six days away.

He had to go. If he wanted to keep up his ranking, he had to compete.

Then he had to win the Finals.

Then he would retire.

This chain of events would shore up his career plan to be a TV announcer for the PBR events. He wanted to do special interviews with the riders and the stock contractors along with the sports medicine doctors, wives and fiancées and whoever else would be of interest to the fans.

He was approaching thirty, and bull riding was a sport for the young. Because he couldn’t picture his life without the PBR, announcing and commentating was the next best thing to riding.

He had to win the Finals and win the season to be seriously considered.

From Salmon Falls, Fort Lauderdale would be a twenty-four-hour, nonstop ride in his motor home. He could leave Thursday and be back here by Tuesday morning.

That’s just what he’d do.

He grabbed his hat from the top of the dresser and plunked it on his head. As he caught his reflection in the mirror, he realized that something was wrong with his plan.

Lisa and Rose. He had to think of them now.

That was a new twist for him. He had never had to think of anyone else before.

He’d enjoyed his first day alone with Lisa and Rose. He’d spent most of the morning trying to get the mower started and the rest of the day mowing the lawn, so it wasn’t much of a test. But so far, so good, in spite of the kitchen disaster.

This arrangement was going to be a snap.

He had to admit that he looked forward to seeing Lisa and Rose every day, and he just loved his outings with Rose. All the shop owners knew her by name, and she knew their names. The regulars at the Salmon Falls Diner looked forward to seeing her every morning, and she glowed from all the attention.

Rose was no shrinking violet.

Sully opened the door, grabbed the keys to Rick’s van off the dresser and went to find his two dinner dates.

An hour later, Sully was eating the best pizza he’d ever had. Rose was covered in it, and Lisa was dabbing at the girl’s face with a wet tissue.

“Can I play over there?” Rose asked sweetly, pointing. She looked enviously at the children playing in a ball pit inside a bright blue inflated castle.

Lisa looked over at the children yelling and laughing and hesitated. Turning to Sully, she said, “I’m afraid she’ll get hurt.”

“She’ll be fine,” he said. “What do you want to do? Go in there with her? Let the kid have some fun!”

“There’s a weight limit.” Lisa pointed to the sign by the mesh door of the inflatable. “I don’t think either of us would qualify.”

“I see you’ve thought of doing just that.” Sully chuckled. “There’s a worker stationed by the door watching the kids, and we can see Rose from here. Let her go.”

“I don’t think so,” she said.

“Lisa, let it go.”

Lisa nodded, then turned to Rose. “Be careful, sweetie.”

“I will.”

She scampered off, and Sully knew that it was a perfect time to talk to Lisa.

“I have to ride at the event in Fort Lauderdale this weekend,” he said, turning to catch a glimpse of Rose in the ball pit.

“She’s over there,” Lisa pointed, answering his unasked question. Lisa put down her slice of pizza and waved to Rose.

“Lisa, I have to go to Fort Lauderdale.”

Lisa dabbed at her mouth with her napkin. “When would you fly out? Saturday? And you’d return on Sunday night?”

“I don’t fly. No way. In order for me to get on a plane, I’d have to be drunk and hog-tied. I like my boots on the ground.” He gave a thumbs-up to Rose.

Rose shouted, “Look at me jump, Aunt Lisa!” Rose did a belly flop into the bright balls. Lisa clapped and the little girl grinned.

When Rose turned to talk to a newly found friend, Lisa asked Sully, “Why don’t you fly, Mr. Adrenaline Rush Bull Rider?”

“I keep thinking of Newton’s law of gravity. Like, how do three or four tons of metal, glass and luggage take off and stay up in the sky?” Sully waved when he saw Rose looking at them.

“Do you want the technical answer to that?” Lisa asked.

“I wouldn’t believe you anyway.” He grinned. “That’s why I bought a motor home—so I can drive to events. I plan on leaving Thursday for Fort Lauderdale, and I’ll be back on Tuesday.”

“Are you asking me or telling me, Sully?” She clapped as Rose did a belly flop into the balls.

“I’m not used to asking anyone for permission, so I guess I’m telling you.” He laughed as Rose scrambled to stand and didn’t quite make it.

Lisa crossed her arms in front of her chest and sat back in her chair, looking at Sully for the first time since they’d started talking. “We knew this day would come, didn’t we?”

He nodded. “I’ll go to Florida, and in exchange I’ll let you fly somewhere.”

Lisa turned back to Rose. “You’ll let me fly? Let me?”

Sully shook his head. This wasn’t going right at all. “Did I put my boot in my mouth?”

“Try both boots.”

Sully pushed his hat back with a thumb. Most of the time Lisa reminded him of his second grade teacher, Mrs. Moth. The only thing she was missing was a ruler ready to crash down on his knuckles.

“You know what I’m trying to say, Lisa,” he said.

“Let me backtrack a moment, please.” She cleared her throat. “You stuck me with both sets of parents while you disappeared with Rose for most of the day every day of their visit. The rest of the time you hid in your motor home. I’m going stir-crazy.”

“Sorry about the stir-crazy part.” He nodded. “And you’re absolutely right. Sorry about abandoning you, but our mothers insisted on teaching you how to cook.”

“And both of our fathers enjoyed the spectacle,” she snapped.

He supposed he had unconsciously—or maybe consciously—stuck her with them all, but he’d had to get out of there. He was used to peace and quiet and solitude, for the most part.

When he was parked at one of the arenas and wanted company, all he had to do was walk out the door of his RV. Most of the other bull riders were there in their motor homes or truck campers, too. They’d all pitch in for potluck meals, and most of the time they’d all sit out in lawn chairs and talk until it was time to get ready for the event. Sometimes, it was like one big tailgate party and he could jump right into that. But most of the time, it was quiet.

A loud squeal came from the direction of the ball pit and both of them stood, searching for Rose. She was rolling around in the colorful balls, and Sully wished that he’d brought his camera.

“So, I’d like a change of scenery and want to get out of the house for a while,” Lisa said. “Here’s the deal. You can go to the bull riding on two conditions.” She sat back down.

He met her gaze. This was even worse than second grade at Mountain View Grammar School with Mrs. Moth. He slowly sat down.

“I’m listening,” he said, dreading her conditions already. She held up two fingers, just like Mrs. Moth. “One, I get two flights with you taking care of Rose.”

“Agreed.” That was easy.

“And two, Rose and I go with you to Fort Lauderdale.”

He pointed to his chest. “Didn’t I just rant about how I don’t fly?”

“We’d all go in your motor home. And we’ll make it a week-long trip. It would be the perfect opportunity for all of us to get to know one another—to bond, so to speak.”

He fished for the words, and with his mouth flapping, he probably looked like a freshly caught trout. Rose would love the trip, but he wondered how he and Lisa would get along in such cramped quarters.

“Us? Together for a week in my small motor home? Wouldn’t you and I kill each other?” he asked.

“Perhaps.” Lisa laughed, and he liked when she did that. As far as he was concerned, she didn’t laugh enough, but he wouldn’t count that against her just yet. She’d just lost her sister. Still, on the handful of occasions when they’d met in the past, she seemed to sit in judgment of him—and she appeared to find him lacking.

Granted, most of those occasions were party times—Rick’s bachelor’s party, the Super Bowl, Rick and Carol’s wedding, Rose’s christening—and he loved to party. Still, she didn’t have to seem so prim and proper all the time.

Did she ever have fun?

“Uncle Sully, Aunt Lisa, look at me!” Rose shouted.

They both looked as their niece jumped into the balls for the hundredth time. Lisa clapped and Sully whistled loudly and shrilly as if he were calling a bull for dinner.

“Sully.” Lisa inhaled deeply, and he braced himself for what she was going to say. “I think I’m going to put my name on the list for private charters for now instead of working a regular schedule with Cardinal Global. Private charters are on an as-needed basis, and JFW Aviation flies out of Albany, so that’s convenient to Salmon Falls and totally doable.”

He breathed a little easier. “Sounds like a good idea.”

“That’s what I was thinking. It’ll work out better for Rose.”

“I really appreciate that, Lisa. I do.” It was a totally nice and unexpected concession on her part. He’d do his best to reciprocate.

She nodded. “So, what about my idea of all of us traveling together to Fort Lauderdale?”

He paused, his hands itching for his rope and the cement statue so he could weigh the pros and cons more thoroughly. “Let’s do it,” he blurted.

Lisa held out her hand, and they shook. As his rough and calloused hand closed around hers, he decided that he liked her style. Keep everything businesslike, negotiable, but do the best they could do for Rose.

He looked over yet again at Rose jumping on the balls, her face red with laughter, her hair wet from the exertion. She was having a great time, and maybe for a while, she’d forget that she’d lost her mommy and daddy.

In their place were Aunt Lisa and Uncle Sully—pale substitutes for her parents.

He knew that he and Lisa would do their best to raise Rose. Yes, he made a slight blunder not asking Lisa if he could ride at the Fort Lauderdale event, but for heaven’s sake, he wasn’t a kid having to ask a parent for permission.

Well, okay, okay. Maybe he had to stop thinking of just himself. And, yeah, once in a while he could ask Lisa to go on his walk arounds with Rose. She’d dropped enough hints.

But sometimes he had to get away from her, too. Sometimes she could be just as demanding and rigid as his parents.

Especially when she looked at him with her green eyes flashing disappointment.

He’d never have a nine-to-five job. He’d always be ready for a party or to throw one of his own. He’d make sure that Rose would have a fun, happy life. Lisa could take care of the blah, boring stuff.

Sully knew he’d never measure up to Lisa’s expectations, nor did he want to even try.

So, he was going to hit the trail with his new family, and he’d try to get along with Mrs. Moth … er … Lisa Phillips.




Chapter Three


Three days later, Sully drove his rig back from downtown Salmon Falls. He loved the little town, loved the sidewalks, the flowers, the town square. He loved that there were no chain stores or chain eateries, and how the little shops were just that … little.

He’d just left Marv’s Garage. Marv was the town’s hangout for gearheads, gossip central for men and the home to a bottomless coffeepot.

Though Sully had gone over his motor home from top to bottom, he’d figured that Marv should check it anyway.

Marv had cleared the RV and everything was ready to rock.

When he pulled up in front of the Victorian, Lisa and Rose were ready to pack the RV. Over the next hour they made several trips to the vehicle, carrying loads of clothes, food, toys, shoes and more shoes. Heaven only knew what they’d put in the small bathroom cupboard. And there were plastic containers stacked all over containing bottles and tubes of stuff.

Lisa and Rose had gone shopping, so the closets and cabinets were overflowing with their purchases. That was okay with him. He traveled light. Mostly, whatever he needed—his wrap tape, rosin, bull rope and bell, jeans, shirts, underwear, socks and a couple of riding gloves—was in his gear bag.

Last night, he’d slipped out of his room in the Victorian and sat at the kitchen table with a map of the East Coast. He plotted the route he wanted to take and flagged some campgrounds along the way. Remembering how Rick had told him that Rose loved the water, he flagged the ones with swimming areas for her. He’d programmed them into his GPS.

Lisa and Rose were back with Molly and Snowball and yet more plastic containers. Sully looked on in amazement.

“Hey, we can’t fit the whole house into this motor home, ladies. We’re camping, not moving into a mansion in Beverly Hills.”

Lisa chuckled. “This is the last load—well, except for more food.”

“We bought hot dogs. And stuff for sloppy joe’s,” Rose announced to him. “And beans in a can … for you. Aunt Lisa said that cowboys like beans.”

Sully looked at Lisa. “Beans, huh?” He winked at Rose. “Well, your aunt was right. I do like beans … in a can.”

As a matter of fact, they’d already loaded in a supply of microwaveable foods—beans, hot dogs, chicken and TV dinners.

Since the burned meatloaf incident, Lisa had given the oven in the house a wide berth, like it was a Brahma ready to charge at her, but the microwave was her pet.

He had both in the motor home.

Rose looked up at him with brown eyes, the color of his brother Rick’s. “When are we going to see Mickey Mouse?”

Huh? There wouldn’t be any time for that! He raised an eyebrow at Lisa. “We’ll leave as soon as Aunt Lisa is ready.”

“I just need to lock up the house, and that’s it,” she said. Her face was flushed, maybe from slogging everything, but Sully liked to think that she was excited to go on the trip.

That would be a change for her—being excited about something.

She dropped an armload of groceries on the table. “You could have helped, you know.”

“I was securing everything,” he said. “Can’t have all those plastic boxes flying around.”

“I’ll do it. I’ll do everything.” She rolled her eyes, turned and left the RV.

What was her problem?

He shrugged it off, hoping that everything would go well on this trip. If it did, maybe he could convince her to travel to the next stop on the bull riding circuit.

He’d have to get through this trip to Florida first.

Lisa didn’t seem to be the camping type, although traveling in a motor home was a step up from camping. He thought of camping as backpacking or pitching a tent. A motor home was luxury camping.

But he still wondered how he and Lisa would get along. They were superficially being nice to one another for the sake of Rose, but Sully knew that underneath their façade they were one word away from an argument.

But slowly Lisa was growing on him. He saw how sad she was over losing her sister. She’d sit on the garden bench and stare endlessly at the note from Carol and Rick, still not opening it.

Sometimes, he’d wanted to sit next to her and say a couple of comforting words, but then he decided that his sympathy wouldn’t be welcome. Instead, he’d rope the statue, think and watch her out of the corner of his eye, pretending he didn’t know she was crying.

He liked how she read books to Rose. She pointed to the pictures, asking her questions, and got her to make up her own stories.

He liked how she tried to cook, too. He saw the recipes she’d printed out from the Young Cooks website. Basic stuff. He supposed he ought to roll up his sleeves and do some cooking—he didn’t mind at all—but he didn’t want to seem like a know-it-all. She was doing fine.

Lisa climbed up the steps of the RV. “I think we’re ready to go now. Oh-nine-thirty hours. Just as scheduled.”

He didn’t remember insisting on a time or a schedule.

“Then let’s roll! Everyone buckle up.” He pointed to the table with bench seats. “You can sit there, or someone can sit in the copilot’s seat.”

Lisa slid into the bench seat and Rose slid in opposite her. They both clicked on their seat belts.

He guessed that he’d be traveling without a copilot.

Nice and quiet. That was the way he liked it. Right?

This isn’t a bad way to travel, Lisa thought as she tucked Rose into bed. She liked how the sides of the bed/kitchen table formed a barrier and secured Rose from rolling off. Traveling with a bathroom was another good perk.

But it still didn’t beat flying.

Her cell phone rang, and she looked at the caller. It was her friend Luann at JFW Aviation. She was in charge of booking charters.

Her heart began to race and the blood started zinging through her veins at the thought of flying again. It had been too long.

“Hi, Luann! Got something for me?”

“Yeah, I do. I have a charter of high rollers going from Albany to Vegas. This would be perfect for you since you’re somewhat near Albany already. It’s just a quickie. You’ll be back in three days.”

“You want me to stay in Vegas?”

“Sure. It doesn’t make sense for me to fly you back commercial and then send you back again the next day just so you can fly the charter back.”

But she’d be gone for three days.

“When?” Lisa asked, pulling her appointment book and a pen from her purse. No electronics for her when it came to her appointments.

“Okay, got it.” Lisa wrote down the information and blocked out the dates. “Should be no problem, but I’ll let you know for sure. Thanks, Luann.”

She was going to fly again! As she hurried toward the front of the RV to tell Sully, she felt like she was walking on sunshine.

Wait! A cloud blocked her sun when she remembered that the dates for the charter fell on a weekend. She’d told Sully that she’d fly during the week so he could ride on weekends. Now what? She didn’t want to turn down her first charter, and it’d be round trip from Albany. Just what she’d wanted.

She had to discuss it with Sully.

Taking the passenger’s seat, she turned toward him. “Where are we?”

“Pennsylvania. We’re not as far as I thought. I forgot that Molly had to be walked, and I didn’t know that Snowball would be barfing up hairballs.”

“I’m the one cleaning up cat barf,” she said. “Not you.”

“And I’m the one walking around with plastic bags picking up dog poop.”

Lisa chuckled. “I never thought I’d ever be doing this.”

“Me, either.” He picked up a bottle of water and took a big draw.

“Thank goodness we don’t have to follow Rose around with a plastic bag,” Lisa said.

Sully spewed his water all over the windshield and the front of his light blue shirt. His laughter bounced around the motor home. Lisa joined in.

When they both sobered up, they fell silent. Lisa watched the lines on the road flash by, and she was beginning to drift off to sleep. She yawned, then pinched her top lip to wake herself up.

“How about if I relieve you for a while?” she asked.

“You’re too tired to drive.”

“I guess I am. When can we quit?”

Sully pointed to the sign on the left that said “Sleepy Bear Campgrounds and RV Park.”

“We can quit just as soon as I get a site and hook up the RV.”

She yawned again. “Good.”

He pulled the rig in front of the office, put the RV in Park and hurried down the steps behind Lisa’s seat. “I’ll be right back.”

Lisa closed her tired eyes, thinking that she’d talk to Sully in the morning about the charter flight.

She must have dozed off because the next thing she heard was Sully talking on his cell.

“Of course I’ll be there, Chet. Wouldn’t miss it. Sure. I’ll be glad to sign autographs at the Boot Yard. What’s the date again? Got it. That’s the Anaheim event? Two weeks from this weekend? Got it. No problem.”

And she hadn’t told Sully about it yet. Now he’d committed to an autograph signing.

Lisa sighed. If she remembered correctly what Sully had told her, the next event was the one event at which some cowboys would be dropped from the tour if they had low scores. Others would replace them. It was important for Sully to ride. He was high enough in the rankings to not worry about being dropped, but other riders were hot on his tail, trying to pass him in the standings. If a rider had a good day in the go-rounds, anything could happen.

She and Rose weren’t going to follow Sully around like a couple of buckle bunnies. Rose needed stability, and that meant the big Victorian, not a home on wheels where she slept on the converted kitchen table for weeks at a time.

So far, Rose was having the time of her life. While Sully was driving, they’d played games, colored and put together puzzles on the table. She wanted Rose to have fun on this trip, to be a little girl without a care in the world, and so did Sully.

Now they were stopping at a park where there was an indoor pool, and Rose had put on her bathing suit fifty miles away in anticipation.

It was only seven-thirty at night, but all Lisa wanted to do was sleep. Yet it was time to be a mother and take Rose to the pool for a while.

She sure hoped that Sully brought his bathing suit, too.

Bonding. Wasn’t that what she’d wanted on this trip?

They pulled into their campsite, and Sully hooked up whatever needed hooking up while she changed into a pair of shorts and a dark T-shirt to swim in. She didn’t bring a bathing suit with her from Atlanta, never thinking that she’d need one, and didn’t have time to go clothes shopping to any great extent.

Neither did Sully, although he found a pair of cutoffs. The three of them walked together to the indoor pool, hand-in-hand, with Rose between them. The stars were shining bright in the black sky and a full moon was smiling down on them.

Sully looked down at Rose, then at Lisa, and grinned. He winked. “What a beautiful night.”

“Sure is.”

“So we’re going swimming, right, Rose?” Lisa asked.

“Yes! I want to swim!” She turned to Sully. “Will you go swimming with me, Uncle Sully?” Rose asked.

Why didn’t Rose ask me to take her swimming?

“I sure will. All three of us are going swimming.”

At least Sully included me.

“Yippee!” Rose yelled, suddenly jumping.

Sully and Lisa tightened their grip on her hand and caught her before she fell.

Just like real parents, Lisa thought.

A half hour later in the pool, Sully was supporting Rose as she splashed, making like she was swimming.

Sully turned to her, water dripping down his strong chest. His arms were thick with muscles, especially his riding arm. His disheveled hair glistened with beads of water, and she liked how he smiled. His whole face lit up.

She understood why the buckle bunnies found him sexy.

A sense of calm came over Lisa as she watched Sully play with their niece. He was good with Rose. Actually, he was like a kid himself.

She wondered how long it would take before he “forgot” his responsibilities and skipped out to party with his pals and a gaggle of groupies, like he was known to do.

Things were going great so far, but it was only day one.

Could Sully go the distance?

Could she?

Rose was safely tucked into the dinette bed. Molly the mutt was sleeping on the floor beside her, and Snowball was currently using the litter pan in the bathroom.

Rose had told them that she was going to say her night prayers, and Sully silently gave Carol and Rick kudos for teaching her right.

“I want to pray for Mommy and Daddy in heaven. I hope they saw how good I was swimming. And I want to tell them that I’m going to Disney World.”

Her prayers broke his heart, and he found himself at a loss for words. Rick would never see his little girl grow up. Would never see her graduate, get married or have children of her own.

It wasn’t the first time he’d heard Lisa and Rose mention the theme park. He’d better take her, or he’d never forgive himself.

As Rose drifted off to sleep, he and Lisa sat on the seats in the front of the RV. He popped the top of a beer as Lisa drank a diet cola.

He took a long draw of his beer. Delicious. “You know, Lisa, you could have told me about your plans.”

“I didn’t have a chance. I just mentioned that we were going to Florida and would be near the park, and Rose took it from there. I’ll have to be more careful about what I say.”

“I’m not mad. I just feel bad that I didn’t think of it myself. I’ll work it in, even if I have to drive all night coming back home. It’ll be worth it.”

“That’s really nice of you, Sully.”

Her emerald eyes met his, and for a brief moment Sully thought that she actually liked him.

Nah!

He noticed Lisa unsuccessfully trying to stifle a yawn.

“You take the bed in back,” he said. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“I couldn’t take your bed, could I?”

Lisa tilted her head, almost flirtylike. He must be mistaken. Lisa was not the flirting type. She was too serious, too straight-laced. As a matter of fact, he thought she was a bit of a snob.

Obviously, she wanted the bed.

“I can handle the floor. I spent many days sleeping under the stars in Montana mostly during round-up. At least there’s a carpet here.”

Lisa seemed surprised by what he’d said. “I knew you were from Montana, but I didn’t know you did real cowboy stuff.”

“Bull riding isn’t real cowboy stuff?”

“I think of it more like a sport,” she said.

He shrugged. “You’re right. Bull riding isn’t something that occurs on a typical day on the ranch. I only got on bulls at the ranch to practice. Now I practice at my buddies’ ranches. Someone always has a spread near the events.”

Suddenly her eyes grew wide. “Wait a minute. You had a ranch?”

“Sure did. The Mountain View Ranch in Elsie, Montana. The best place in the world.” He’d loved the place while he had it. “But I sold it to a buddy. Riding the PBR circuit, I was never there.”

He and Sid Peterson had a handshake agreement. If Sid ever wanted to sell, Sully had first dibs on it, but that would never happen. Not now. Not when he had Rick’s daughter to raise back at the big old Victorian in Salmon Falls, New York.

He sighed. If he ever went back to Montana now, it’d only be to visit.

“Funny, I never pictured you as the ranching type,” Lisa said.

“Which means?” He raised an eyebrow.

“I guess I always had you pictured as tumbling tumbleweed.”

“Just drifting along, huh? Just like you? Isn’t that what our respective parents pointed out?” he asked.

She rolled her eyes. “I so want to prove to them that we can be good guardians to Rose.”

“I know.” But proving to his parents that he could do anything major like raising Rose seemed too much of a long shot. However, his brother Rick had been Gordon and Betsy Sullivan’s pride and joy. A Wall Street millionaire, who didn’t even have to work on Wall Street, he had been a total success. He’d even married the perfect woman. They’d adored Carol, and when Rick had put their first grandchild into their arms, he’d become even more perfect, if that was possible.

Sully could never be jealous of Rick. Rick was a great guy, a stand-up guy, a good-natured guy and a terrific big brother. Rick would have gone to the wall for him, and Sully would have returned the favor.

However, Brett Sullivan, second son, was a big disappointment to the Colonel and Mrs. Sullivan. He chose the cowboy lifestyle instead of a civil service job or the army. He did go to West Point briefly after high school, which got their hopes up, but he wasn’t there long enough to unpack before he hitchhiked to the first PBR event.

He’d be considered by many to be a nomad, a rolling stone, a carefree cowboy who was doing what he wanted and living from go-round to go-round. His relationships with the opposite sex were mutually satisfying and perfectly shallow. That’s the way he wanted it. Then he moved on.

How did that old country song go? Something about never loving a woman enough to stay—instead a cowboy saddles up and rides away.

“Sully?” Lisa said. “A penny for your thoughts?”

“They aren’t worth that much.”

“The day went well. Don’t you think?” Lisa asked.

He knew that she wanted him to say yes.

“Sure. It was a great day. We didn’t fight. Rose laughed a lot and enjoyed the long ride, mostly because you played with her. She loved splashing in the pool. And now she’s sleeping like a three-year-old should.”

“You were the one who made her laugh. I was the one who was making sure she didn’t drown.” Lisa yawned, then stood. “I’m still nervous about us raising her.”

“You have to relax, Lisa. You hover over her too much.”

“And you need to hover more!”

“Look, Lisa, anyone in their right mind would be nervous about raising children. We both love her, so it’ll be easy. I think that confidence will come in time. If not confidence, then at least competence.”

Her eyes grew large with surprise. “You are absolutely right about that!”

Her reaction made something in him wake up after a long sleep. Maybe he was lacking confidence and competence in his personal life. In his bull riding career, he’d always had plenty of both.

However, according to his parents, he had no track record of doing anything right.

So what made him think he could do right by Rose?




Chapter Four


Lisa never imagined that her life would consist of trips to the bathroom to assist her niece, playing dollies, feeding animals, picking up dog poop, cleaning a litter box and doing laundry. She looked forward to Rose’s afternoon nap when there was a bit of time to just sit and read. Thank goodness for microwave meals. They were a blessing to the unskilled cook.

However, microwave meals weren’t nutritious enough, so Lisa always made a nice salad and had plenty of fruit available. She’d even grilled hot dogs and hamburgers in the oven of the RV. She was pretty proud of herself that they were edible.

She walked to the front of the RV and sat down in the passenger’s seat. She was just about to ask Sully if he’d like hot dogs again for dinner, but he spoke first.

“Three days on the road is enough. I’m going to drive all night. We’ll roll into the arena in Fort Lauderdale in the morning,” Sully announced while checking his GPS. “Then we can park this rig at the arena for the next two days.”

“Park it where?”

“At the far end of the arena. The other guys and some of their families will be there in their RVs.”

Lisa had heard all about how the cowboys circled their wagons, so to speak, and partied day and night. She wanted no part of that, and it wasn’t appropriate for Rose.

“Have you lost your mind? Rose and I are not living on a parking lot.” She kept her voice as low as she could so she didn’t wake the little girl.

“But there will be children for Rose to play with and—”

“You never said anything about a parking lot. I thought we’d be camping at a campground like we’ve been doing,” she whispered, but it was a loud whisper.

“I didn’t think that it’d be—”

“That’s right. You didn’t think.”

Sully kept on driving, but Lisa could see his white-knuckled grip on the wheel. She didn’t care how mad he was.

Sully let out a loud breath. “I’m trying to tell you that the riders bring their families and there are children that Rose can play—”

“And there will be drinking and the buckle bunnies will be trolling, and … and … I don’t want Rose subjected to all that. Nor do I want to be subjected to it!”

“You have it all wrong, Lisa. It’s not like that. I—”

“This discussion is over.”

“But we haven’t discussed anything. You won’t even let me talk.”

“There’s nothing more to say.” Lisa shot the words at him like darts.

“Fine!” He said the word through gritted teeth. “I’ll rent a car.”

“Rent a car? Why?”

“So that I can get back and forth from the campground to the arena. You might want to rent a car, too. I’m sure that you don’t want to go as early as I have to be there. Or you could drive this thing, but you’ll have to unhook it from the utilities.”

“Oh.” She never thought of that. It was a possibility, but he’d have to show her how it was done. How hard could it be compared to a jet? Not that she ever had to do that kind of thing; that’s what ground crews were for. “Where’s the closest campground?”

He leaned over and pushed some buttons on his GPS. “It looks like the closest one is almost an hour away. I don’t know if it has a pool for Rose and all the amenities that you require. I’ll have to research them later. I’m a little busy driving.”

She could detect the ragged edge of sarcasm in his voice. She didn’t particularly want to drive in an unfamiliar city with Rose to find the darn arena from the campground.

“Maybe we could skip watching the bull riding,” she suggested, even though she was dying to see the event in person. And Rose would probably never forgive her. All she talked about was “the big, mean bulls” that her uncle Sully rode and how she wanted to cheer for him.

He shrugged. “You could.”

“But what would I tell Rose?”

“Tell her the truth. Tell her that you’re too uptight to meet new people, people that might not be pilots or flight attendants or air traffic controllers. Tell her that you can’t have fun in a place that’s a gathering of people who are hardworking, salt-of-the-earth types.”

Lisa swallowed hard. There might be some truth in what he said, but it made her seem so … shallow, so snobbish. She wasn’t really like that. Was she? She was just thinking of Rose.

“Maybe I did jump to conclusions,” she decided. “I should have let you talk.”

“Boy howdy. You think?”

“First, tell me why you think I’m such a snob.”

“Remember when Carol and Rick got married? All of the ladies in the wedding party and a lot of Carol’s friends went to a male strip club. You didn’t go.”

“That’s right.”

“You announced to everyone that it was crass. Yes, I believe that was the word you used,” he said.

“I think you’re probably right.”

“You threw a wet blanket on their fun. Carol and the rest of the ladies blew it off, but I could tell that Carol was very disappointed, sad even, that you wouldn’t participate in her party.”

Carol was disappointed? Sad? Was he right about that? She would have hated for Carol to feel that way.

“What should I have done? Gone with them even though I knew I’d have an awful time?”

“My point is that you assumed you’d have an awful time. Maybe you would have laughed and had the time of your life. Maybe you would have put the first dollar in the dancer’s bikini briefs.”

She grunted. “I doubt that.”

“Well, you’ll never know, will you?”

She remained silent, although she was ready to blast him. Where did the cowboy get the nerve to criticize her? Just because he was a party reptile and she wasn’t didn’t mean that she was a failure.

Just another example of how they are so different.

“Remember Rose’s christening?” he asked.

“How could I forget? You hauled in a keg of beer and a box of cigars. All the men sat around drinking and smoking those smelly things and watching football.”

“We smoked outside, so we didn’t bother anyone.”

“And you all were drinking like the world was ending,” she said. “It was a christening party, for heaven’s sake! Carol had planned a nice gathering inside the house.”

“It was a nice gathering, and we did come inside.”

“At halftime,” she reminded him. “To eat. That’s all. It would have been nice if we all could have sat and—”

“Talked each other to death?”

“Yes. I mean … no. All the guests could have had a nice conversation—together. Instead, it was like two separate parties—the women in the living room and the men on the patio.”

“And you think that was my fault?”

“Absolutely.”

“Because I brought the keg and the cigars.”

“Correct.” Now he was understanding her.

“But the Steelers were playing the Ravens that day,” he said.

She let out an unladylike grunt. Sully was just trying to get her riled even more, and she walked right into it.

“You know, you could have passed up that wine in a box and joined us in a brew. Some of the women snuck out, including Carol, and pumped herself a beer. She even took a puff on Rick’s cigar.” He chuckled. “Now that’s a real woman!” He glanced at her, then quickly turned back to look at the road. “But you never came out to the patio.”

She turned to him, feeling like she had to stick up for herself. “It was Latour!” She was so frustrated that was all she could think of to say.

“Huh?”

“The wine. I brought Latour. And it wasn’t in a box.”

“Oh, fancy stuff.”

“Forget it, Sully. Just forget it!” She was just about to head for bed when she turned back. “You know, we have nothing in common except Rose. We’re as different as … Let me put this in terms you might understand … as different as a bull and a chicken. Carol and Rick were wrong in picking the two of us.”

“They were wrong in dying,” he muttered.

“Drive to the parking lot of the Fort Lauderdale arena,” she said slowly. “We’ll stay there. However, as soon as I feel that things are getting out of hand for Rose—and for myself—we are out of there.”

“Yes, Colonel.” He saluted. “Oh, sorry, Lisa. I thought I was talking to my father for a moment.”

Her mouth went dry. Was she really that bossy?

She was just about to call him something unflattering but decided against sinking to his level.

She took a deep breath and tried to explain how she felt. “I have a very serious job, Sully. I am responsible for the lives of hundreds of people every time I fly. They have families and loved ones, and I don’t want to make a mistake. I don’t have time for what you think is fun.”

“Then what would you do for fun?” he asked.

Good question. She hadn’t thought about that recently, but she’d had an old dream from before she got her pilot’s license. “Ballroom dancing lessons.”

She prepared herself for a big laugh from him.

“Ballroom dancing, huh?” he asked but didn’t laugh. “So what’s stopping you?”

Someone to dance with, she thought. She had never had the time to date. All she did was study. In high school, in college and in flight school she drove herself to be the smartest, the best, the brightest. She wouldn’t settle for anything less. On the rare occasion when someone had dared to ask her out, they never asked her again. Either her studiousness or her seriousness drove them away.

In flight school, she was given several nicknames: Ice Princess, Ice Pilot and Frigid Phillips—her personal favorite.

“Lisa?”

“What?”

“Did we just have a fight?”

“It sure seemed like a fight.”

“From now on, could you just let me finish a sentence?” he asked gently. “We could have avoided all of this.”

She took a deep breath. “I think we got some things off our chest—things that needed to be said.”

“Maybe.”

“It just shows how different we are,” Lisa pointed out.

“Yeah.”

“But I promise to let you finish a sentence.” She laughed.

Sully snapped his fingers. “One more thing.”

“Go ahead.”

“Did you ever realize how much you are like my parents? Kind of rigid, inflexible, aloof—”

“How about stopping there?” she asked.

“Hey, you didn’t let me finish my sentence!” He laughed. “You promised.”

“Sully, since you started this topic of conversation, did you ever realize how much you are like my parents? Kind of unconventional, a maverick, a free spirit with no roots, a—” She stopped to take a breath. “Aren’t you going to stop me?”

“Hell, no. I like what you said about me. Thanks for the compliments.”

“You’re just … impossible!”

“Thanks again!”

She smiled. She couldn’t help herself; when Sully wasn’t drinking, womanizing or otherwise being a jerk, he could be fun.

He was also insightful. She’d never realized that they were like each other’s parents until he’d pointed it out. They were rebels in their own different ways.

From what she knew about the Sullivans from Carol and by her own observations, she had to admit that he was probably right. She hated to admit it, but she was kind of similar to them.

Merciful heavens!

Maybe she did need some fun in her life. All she did was fly and sleep, preferably not at the same time.

Ha! She’d made a joke.

Maybe … just maybe … Sully was waking up a part of her that had been buried too long: her sense of humor.

“Sweet dreams,” Sully said.

“If you’d let me drive this thing, I could take a turn.”

“You stick to planes. I’ll drive my rig.”

“Good night, then.”

She walked the six steps to check on Rose. She was still sleeping, as peaceful and as beautiful as an angel.




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