Betting the Rainbow (Harmony) (25 page)

Chapter 41

TRUMAN FARM

R
EAGAN HAD SPENT THE DAY FIGHTING TEARS.

She knew Noah had left this morning for the Houston rodeo. Half the people in town knew it. He might as well have posted his travel plans in the paper. He’d left his old pickup parked in front of the sheriff’s office. His sister or Hank must have taken him.

That had been his way for five years. If she couldn’t take him or the weather was bad, Hank always drove him to Oklahoma City or Amarillo, depending on where he could get a flight out. Reagan loved to be the one to pick him up when he got home. They’d hug while waiting for the bags, and then they’d talk all the way home. Once they became lovers, no matter what time of day it was they’d drive straight to her place and spend a few hours in bed. Then she’d go downstairs in just her shirt and make him breakfast and they’d talk about what their lives would be like after his rodeo days were over. The house on his ranch. The kids they’d have. The fun they’d have chasing each other around the house even when they were old.

Only now, Reagan knew those dreams were only pipe dreams. They were never going to happen. The rodeo would never be over. Noah would never give up the life and come home to stay. At least not whole. At least not just to her.

Abby called to tell her Dusti was on her way to Vegas and that she thought she saw Noah stepping out of a big pickup as she was driving away.

Reagan had told a few people that she and Noah were over, but most of the town didn’t believe it. They’d probably grow old like her uncle Jeremiah and his next-door neighbor Pat Matheson, never marrying but folks still thinking they were a couple. Reagan had asked Pat once if she loved her uncle and the old woman said, “Yes, but that don’t mean I wanted to live with the man.”

Maybe women can’t help who they love sometimes, but they’re smart enough to know not to marry the fool. She was beginning to think she might be one of those women. Reagan didn’t want to worry about him being killed every time he ran off to the rodeo. She couldn’t live that way.

Picking up Utah, she whispered, “Your daddy is crazy, but I won’t hold that against you.”

Utah just stared at her, probably still trying to get her in focus. Only now and then she swore he understood something she said.

“I’d better get your diaper changed. It’s almost time we went to the western chairs. The sunset’s going to be a good one tonight. Clouds rolling in from the north. With luck the orchard will get rain tonight.”

Walking down the stairs, she held tightly to her bundle. It had been a month since Utah’s mother had dropped him off. If she was coming back, she would have made it by now. Reagan knew it was time to contact a lawyer and make it all legal, but Noah had never said anything about taking the baby home with him. Maybe he was waiting until he finished building. Maybe he just wanted to come over and hold Utah every night.

Babies and rodeoing didn’t go together.

“I’ll watch over you,” Reagan whispered as she walked out the front door. “I’ll make sure nothing bad ever happens to you.”

For a moment the setting sun blinded her as she crossed the lawn, and then she saw him sitting in one of the lawn chairs. His long legs were stretched out in front of him. His hat low over his face. His bandaged hand folded over his stomach.

Moving closer, she realized he was sound asleep.

“Noah?”

He jerked and shoved his hat back. “Reagan. I’ve been waiting for you forever.”

“Why didn’t you knock on the door?”

“After that good-bye kiss, I didn’t know if you’d answer the door.” He straightened. His best starched shirt looked wrinkled, and she didn’t miss the bag sitting beside his chair.

“So you figured it out. The kiss, I mean,” she said, deciding maybe Utah’s dad wasn’t as dumb as she thought he was. “I was saying good-bye to you.”

“It took me a while. I was at the airport rethinking every word we said last night and finally I figured something out. What I was running after was already behind me, so I turned around.

“It took me hours to get home. I thought I’d take the bus. Didn’t know it stopped in every little town in the panhandle. I think I could have walked home faster, or bought a horse and rode.”

She sat down, wondering how much of his story to believe.

“I told you once I need you and not the rodeo, and I meant what I said. I was just thinking about the money this time. That was all it was. That’s all it’s been for a long time, but I couldn’t seem to knock myself off the merry-go-round. I figured if I stayed here and didn’t go to Houston, you’d start to believe me.”

“What about the big money you might make?”

“I can make it here in four or five years. But, Rea, I’ll be here with you and Utah. I won’t be busted up in some hospital waiting for you to come get me.”

“I don’t ever want to do that again.” She remembered picking him up and bringing him home once. She’d worried herself sick thinking he might never walk again.

Noah placed his hand over hers. “If it takes telling you every day for the rest of our lives that I love you, I’m going to do it. You’re a part of me, Rea, the best part. Cutting you out of my life would be like cutting out my heart. I don’t think I can do it.”

“You lied to me, Noah.”

“Yeah, as much as I talk, it’s hard to say only the facts, but I swear I’ll never lie to you again. Well, maybe about liking potato soup, but never about the important things between us.”

“Where were you the night before you called me? It was the last call you made before you showed up at my door the night of the game. I’d gone to see you, but I couldn’t find you. I called the Hampton in Vegas and you weren’t there.” She stared at him, knowing she’d see the lie coming if he tried.

He lowered his head a minute and said, “The guy whose phone I borrowed the next morning to call you will tell you. We were out drinking till after two. You must have called before we checked in.” He dug in his bag. “I’ve got the receipt here somewhere.”

“I don’t need to see it. I believe you.” She knew this time he was telling her the truth.

He looked doubtful. “You do?”

“Noah, you’re the worst liar in Texas.”

He looked offended. “Man, this is not my week. First you tell me that I can’t sing and now I can’t lie.” He knelt down in front of her. “Rea, I never lied when I said I loved you or that I’m sorry for what happened. I’ve hated myself every day since that time I slept with that woman. I wanted to tell you, but then we’d both hate me. I thought if you didn’t know, it wouldn’t matter, but it’s been eating me up inside. You’re my best friend and I hated having something I couldn’t talk over with you. It seemed easier just to keep delaying coming home.”

He looked into her eyes as if he could see all the way to her heart. “Most of all, I hate how I hurt you. I wish I could take all the pain into me. I never want to see you hurt again. I swear.”

“I know.” She realized what she said was true. She’d known for months that something was eating away at him. She’d thought it was that he didn’t want to come home or he thought he’d get trapped if he did. But he’d come home. This time he’d picked her over the rodeo.

He smiled at her. “The guys used to tell me that I was single and I should have a little fun before settling down, but, Rea, ever since the day I said I loved you, I’ve felt like we’re already tied together. I’m about the most married single man you’re likely to meet. I don’t care if folks say we’re too young to tie the knot. You’re all I want. You’re all I’ve ever wanted.”

He stood. “Look at me, Rea. If you don’t forgive me soon, I’m going to be dead. There’s only a few inches on me now that’s not bruised or cut or beaten half to death.”

She laughed, knowing he was doing what he always did, making her smile. And he was right. Almost every night he showed up with a new injury. The whole world seemed to be picking on Noah.

He smiled down at her. “Forgive me, Rea. Let me spend the next hundred years proving how much I love you. Only you. There will never be another drink in my hand or woman in my bed but you, or I promise I’ll buy Big a gun so he can stop beating on me and just shoot me.”

He didn’t look like he was kidding, but he did look like a man very much in love. He’d never had to fight for her. She’d always been his girl even before she knew it herself. But these last few weeks he’d had to fight for her and the life he wanted. And he’d fought hard.

“How do you feel about staying here?”

“I’m not leaving, Rea. This town is where I belong. I plan on being buried next to you in the Harmony Cemetery. Soon as Tyler Wright’s son gets old enough, I’ll go over and buy the plots. Little Jonathan Henry will probably be middle-aged before he plants us side by side in the McAllen plots.”

“No, I was asking how do you feel about staying here with me tonight?”

Noah froze like a preacher who was only half finished ranting and the congregation was already heading down to the front to repent.

“You mean here, with you?”

She nodded. “If you walk through that door, you’re staying, for good. Not till the next rodeo friend calls, but for good.”

He smiled back at her. “I’ll stay, only if you tell me you love me. I’m not into one-night stands.”

She stood, Utah in her arms. “I love you, Noah.”

He swung her and the baby up. “Then I’m running through that door, Rea. Eyes wide open with you in my arms.”

As he carefully carried his family up the steps, he added, “I’m thinking we should get married right away and start working on giving Utah a few more states as brothers and sisters.”

She looked at this man she’d loved for so long. He wasn’t perfect. Not even close, but he was the only one for her. There would always be a part of him that was the wild bull rider, but she knew he would come home to her every night and love her dearly.

“I think you are right, Preacher. Raising a family might turn out to be a much tougher ride than bulls.”

“I’ve no doubt, but you’ll be with me, Rea. That’s all that’s important. No matter what, you’ll be with me. I never knew how much you meant to me until I almost lost you. I never want to have that feeling again. Never.”

“Me either.”

That night, after they’d put Utah to bed in his cradle in the corner of her room, Noah made love to Reagan with more tenderness than she’d thought possible. As he had every time they’d made love, he whispered her name.

When they were both exhausted, he held her close and played with her hair. “I love you, Rea. Even if you decided never to forgive me, that wouldn’t have changed. I love you more than old Jeremiah loved sunsets. Do you think, just once, you could say you forgive me?”

“I forgive you, Noah.” She already had. She knew her Noah. She’d seen him die inside when she’d told him to leave. She’d watched him fight to grow into the man she needed. He’d proved it this morning when he hadn’t stepped on that plane. He was proving it to her now.

He rolled close and kissed her cheek. “You’ll never regret it, I promise. If I ever break that promise, Hank and Big have both sworn to make you a widow that same day.”

“That’s comforting,” she said, as if serious. “Just promise not to sing to our children.”

He fell back on his pillow. “You drive a hard bargain, Rea.”

She laughed as he pulled her to him, and she knew this time he planned to never ever let her go.

“By the way,” she whispered, “Utah’s middle name is Truman.”

“Who said?”

“He told me. Said he wants to be the last Truman standing one day.”

“Go to sleep, Rea. I’ll talk him out of that plan tomorrow.”

Chapter 42

A
S
D
USTI WALKED BACK TO HER ROOM, SHE COULDN’T STOP
smiling. All she could think about was that she was in the money. Tomorrow she’d be in the last round. The final table of winners played now; the first man out in the next game would walk out with ten thousand dollars.

Her phone vibrated.

“Did you win?” Kieran asked.

“I did. How’d you know the game was over?”

He laughed. “I figured it had to be. They just put your name up on the Internet as one of the players in the last round.”

“Want to go celebrate?” she whispered. “I could get champagne delivered to my room.”

“No. You’ve got another round to play in the morning. Get some rest. Eat something. Go for a walk. Keep your head clear.”

She walked toward her room. “Talk to me for a while.”

“Sure, but only about poker. Call me back when you’ve taken a shower and settled in.” He hung up.

Dusti stared at the phone. The man was driving her mad.

She called her sister, ate two bags of M&Ms, and finally called him back. When he answered, she asked, “When this is over, will we have anything to talk about?”

“Of course. When this is over we’ll do whatever you want. I’ll bore you with my life story and you can talk dirty to me all you like, but right now, you’re still in the game. I’ve been saving up conversations to have with you since we were kids and went swimming in the lake naked.”

They laughed and settled down to business, discussing anything that might come up in the last round.

He tried his best to keep her mind on the game, but Dusti kept drifting to what she planned to say when this was all over. After he hung up, she’d almost fallen asleep when Abby called.

“Start packing, Abby,” Dusti said. “You’re going back to school.”

Dusti closed her eyes and smiled as her sister rumbled. She’d done what she’d set out to do. Even if she went out first, she’d finished in the money. Abby would have her last few classes of college. She’d become a nurse.

When the game started the next morning she was still smiling. Thirty minutes into the last round a man stepped away from the table, and her take-home went up to fifteen thousand. Ten minutes later, another fell and she knew she’d be taking home twenty. Now she could pay the college and buy camera equipment.

Half an hour passed in slow motion before the next man stood and left the table. Dusti almost giggled. Her take-home at this point just jumped to thirty thousand dollars. Abby could finish school, they could repair a few things around the house, she might even rebuild the darkroom.

Twenty minutes later, while she was thinking about all the money she was making, she lost three hands in a row and had to be the one who stepped away. Only she couldn’t stop smiling. She’d done it. She’d showed in the money.

She was winding her way out between people who came to watch with a check for thirty thousand dollars folded in her pocket.

As she patted her pocket one more time, making sure it was there, her phone buzzed.

“Good job, lass,” Kieran’s wonderful voice sounded in her ear. “I’m proud of you.”

“Did you already hear about my losing on the Internet?”

“No,” he said, laughter in his tone. “Turn around.”

She slowly turned around and there he was, standing near a pillar where rows of chairs had been set up for spectators. She’d paid no attention to them. No one had come to see her play.

Only there he was. Tall, redheaded, adorable Kieran.

Dusti ran and jumped into his arms. She wrapped her arms and legs around him as tight as she could, and she couldn’t stop crying. He’d been with her the whole time. He’d been watching over her.

Sunglasses guy walked by and pulled off his glasses. “Figures,” he said. “The good-looking girls who play always have a guy waiting in the wings.”

Neither of them answered his comment. They were too wrapped up in one another.

Kieran held on to her and walked out of the area. He must have known that she wanted to be with him alone for a few minutes.

Dusti watched the bright lights fly by, but she couldn’t stop crying.

She’d won. She’d followed her dream, and best of all Kieran had been there beside her all along.

He finally stepped out into the warm, dry, desert air and sat down on a bench without turning loose of her. People were passing on both sides of them, but she still felt all alone with him.

“I’m so proud of you,” he whispered, kissing the top of her head. “I knew you could do it.”

He just held her for a few minutes, letting her nerves settle down. While she rested in his lap, he whispered, “You’ve got lots of people to call before you board the plane in the morning. Everyone you know is sitting at home waiting for the news.”

“You’re staying with me tonight. Aren’t you?”

“I can’t. I had to move heaven and earth to get a flight out here this morning. I’m due back in Dallas by midnight for a flight out to Heathrow.”

“But . . . don’t you want to spend the night with me?”

He laughed. “More than you know, Dusti, but I don’t want to be a one-night stand. It’s going to take a lot longer to cool the fire I have for you. It’s been building for years.”

“Then why did you come?”

“Because win or lose, it’s about time I give you that kiss you want.”

Then, as if he’d done it a hundred times before, Kieran lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her like no one else had ever kissed her. The people passing by were no more than water parting as they drifted in a river of feelings. All the times she’d dreamed of kissing him didn’t come close to measuring up to this one moment.

A few times they stopped long enough to laugh and talk, but before her blood had time to cool, he was reaching for her again as if starving for one more touch, one more kiss.

Once they walked inside, he asked if she was hungry, then laughed when he saw the desire in her eyes. She’d tried to pull him to her room, but he wouldn’t budge. Both knew they only had a short time, and this kind of passion wouldn’t be satisfied in an hour.

He was still kissing her when they got to the airport two hours later.

When he ran for his plane, she turned and walked away, thinking she’d finally been completely kissed. And, touched, she added. The feel of his hands moving over her body warmed her skin. She had no doubt how dearly he wanted her and he’d left a longing in her.

The twenty-minute ride back to the hotel seemed like five. She felt like she’d been diving under deep water and needed time for her breathing to come back to normal.

Once she was in her room, she stripped off her clothes, lay down atop the covers, and turned the air conditioner on freeze. It was going to take her body hours to cool off. Kieran had been right about one thing: If they’d kissed while she’d been learning to play, she never could have concentrated on learning to play poker.

That evening as she talked to all her friends, she didn’t mention that Kieran had watched her win. She couldn’t, for if she did, she’d never stop talking about him.

Once, during the kiss, he’d whispered that this was only a first taste of what was to come on the date.

He’d been there for her. Win or lose, he’d been there. And now he was promising to be there again, this time for just her.

Dusti no longer had to look at the check on the dresser; she already knew that today her life had changed. It would never be the same and it had nothing to do with a poker game and everything to do with Kieran O’Toole.