Road to Glory (20 page)

“Glory? You ready?”

She gave herself a mental shake and looked up into his questioning gaze. “Uh, sorry, thinking about…” Lord, she couldn’t tell him. “Thinking about something at the ranch.”

“Grave Digger okay?”

“Grave—oh, yeah.” She shook her head. “Just some paperwork I think I forgot to finish.” She dismissed him with a wave of her hand. “Nothing important.”

She caught the narrowing of his eyes. He seemed to evaluate her excuse before dismissing her and moving back toward the boys on the other side of the mats. Glory closed her eyes and counted to ten. Yeah, she thought to herself, nothing important at all unless you count falling in love as an everyday thing. Falling in love, when she’d promised herself after Jax she’d never fall for another rodeo man. From ringside, she watched the fabric of his denim move over the sway of his backside. Travis Hargrove was testing that commitment and stretching it to the breaking point.

“All right, let’s roll,” he called out, lifting a hand and circling the air.

Glory put her hand on the knob and slowly began to move the bull as Travis had instructed. The cowboy concentrated on the motion. When Glory stopped and did a quick reverse, he jerked forward, to the howls of delight by his fellow classmates. A determined scowl crossed his face. He moved his shoulders back and regained his center of gravity as she increased the pitch and speed of the bull. A few of his friends called out encouragement as the contraption whizzed around. He did his best to imitate the riders he’d seen, moving his free arm back and swinging his feet as if spurring the machine on.

She caught the gentle rise of Travis’ fingers and flipped the bull up as far as it would go, then brought it down so hard the bell beneath it jingled wildly. This time the rider was tossed back, the muscles on his right hand straining to keep him in the saddle. A violent spin to the right followed, then another to the left, and a twirl catapulted the young cowboy into the mats.

Glory’s heart stopped as the rider lay still for a few brief moments before beginning to rise. She watched Travis wander over to help. “You okay?” she heard him ask. To her relief, the boy gave two swift nods of his head. He took a wobbling step or two before his knees grew stronger, then bent down to retrieve his hat. Head down, looking at his boots, he walked back to the silent group at the rail. Several of the young riders reached out to slap his back and murmur encouragement.

“Not so easy,” Travis said.

Cheeks tinged with red from both the thrill of the ride and the embarrassment of being tossed, the cowboy glanced at Travis and said, “Nope.”

His answer brought several good-natured chuckles.

“If it was, then everyone would do it. The good news is your time,” Travis explained. “Glory?”

“Seven seconds,” she replied and was delighted to see the young man’s face erupt in an earsplitting grin.

“Ride ’em, cowboy,” Connie shouted from the bar and twirled her towel high above her.

The kids grinned sheepishly below the shadows of their hat brims.

“All right, next rider,” Travis sang out. “Let’s see who can beat the seven-second record.”

Three more riders faced up against Glory and her “bull,” yet none seemed to get past six seconds. Seeing the frustration on the riders’ faces, Travis called a halt. “All right, let’s take a twenty-minute breather. It’s hot in here tonight. Get yourself a soda or a bottle of water,” he told the boys. “But be back on time.”

The cowboys nodded and shuffled toward the bar, mumbling to each other. Glory rose from her chair as Travis sauntered over. “Having fun?”

She nodded. “I’m getting used to that little black box.” Her heart turned over as the right side of his lips lifted in a come-hither look that made Glory’s knees go weak.

“You’re doing a fine job,” he remarked and stepped closer.

The smell of his warm aftershave overwhelmed her senses. Everything else seemed blocked from her mind except the smell of him and the feel of his warm fingers against her cotton shirt. For all she knew, he could be telling her the price of eggs in China. She really didn’t care. Her hands reached out and grasped the fullness of his plaid shirt to steady herself as her world spun out of control. Just standing next to him made the heat pool in the bottom of her belly. His fingers pulled her close and held her firm against his body.

“I’m afraid these boys are onto us now,” she said, breaking the spell and trying to get a little breathing room.

“You may be right. We’ll have to change it up a bit tomorrow.” He looked down at her, and Glory became lost in his eyes. The color reminded her of a spring day full of promise and renewed hope. Yes, that summed it up nicely.

“Is there a problem, darlin’?”

Glory had to remember to swallow, even though it seemed hard to do. “Fine,” she assured him. The word came out a bit higher in pitch than she liked. Recalling that she needed to breathe, she took a step back. Sensing his confusion, she asked, “Would you like a soda?”

Again that slanted smile sent chills racing up her backbone.

“I’d rather have a little kiss.”

Her heart hammered against her chest.
Here, in public
? He leaned close. Instead of kissing her lips, Travis pressed his mouth to her forehead and murmured, “But this will have to do till I get you home.”

A soft sigh escaped her lips, and she closed her eyes, satisfied to enjoy the thrill. All too soon, his lips were gone. Her eyes opened once again to his handsome face. “I will take that bottle of water.”

“Water,” she echoed and stepped back. All she could do was give a little bob of her head in agreement and walk away. With each step, she wondered how in the world she would survive until the rodeo. She glanced back over her shoulder, and another disturbing thought crossed her mind: What will I do when he leaves? Leaning against the bar, she brushed a strand of hair from her cheek and watched as Travis moved toward one of the cattlemen at the rail.

“Glory, what’ll it be?”

“Two bottles of water, Connie,” she called out.

Away from the training area, the music from the jukebox filled the Hitching Post. She marveled that, until now, she’d not noticed it. A smile tugged her lips. How could she notice when Travis seemed to be the focus of her world?

“Your smile gets any wider and it’s gonna outshine my disco ball.” Connie pretended to complain. Pulling two cold bottles of water from the chest freezer below the wooden bar, she plopped them on the surface. “Are you drinking it, or are we going to use it to cool you two down?”

Glory tucked her chin toward her chest and her brow furrowed.

Connie leaned forward and waggled her finger, signaling Glory to do the same. She leaned close.

“I know a woman in love when I see one.”

Glory blanched at her words. She grabbed the curl of the bar and felt her body stiffen. Love was that transparent?

Seeing her distress, Connie chuckled. “It’s okay. I approve of this one.”

Glory’s mouth gaped. “I-I don’t know what you mean.” She couldn’t bear to let Travis have someone ask if they were a couple. How would he feel? What would he do? Her stomach flip-flopped.

“I’ve been watching,” Connie continued, with a nod to Travis. “He treats you like a woman, not a possession. I like that.”

“It’s not like…” She stopped her protest. She didn’t want to say not like Jax. It was much too painful to recall how he’d ridiculed her in public, put down her dreams, and humiliated her by flaunting another woman in her face. But Connie was already ahead of her.

“You don’t have to explain it to me.” She picked up her towel and wiped an imaginary bit of dust from the bar. “You’re a grown woman. All of us have experienced those types of needs.” Her glance went back to Travis, and Glory followed. “I’m just thrilled it came in such a nice package.”

“Connie,” she hissed and hoped it would quiet her down. There were too many ears close by that might hear their conversation. “It’s not like that,” Glory said in their defense. “We-we’re exploring our options.”

“Options?” Connie’s eyes fairly twinkled. “Is that what they’re calling it these days?”

“No,” Glory flustered. “We’re not calling it anything. Travis has been here for the past couple of weeks to help Mickey.”

“Uh-huh,” Connie mouthed in disbelief.

Glory closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Nothing she said right now would stop Connie’s speculation. What was it Alma always told her? Best close your mouth when in doubt, otherwise the world might just find out. After counting to ten, she opened her eyes and took one bottle in each hand. “Thanks for the drinks and conversation, Connie.” Then, turning her back to the bar, she walked away.

“Don’t mention it,” Connie called after her.

With a shrug of her shoulders, Glory crossed to Travis’ side and held out the water. He took it without saying a word.

“Evenin’, Glory.” The rancher standing next to Travis nodded. “I was just telling Travis I sent a bunch of my men over to the fairgrounds to make sure the fences were in good shape. We don’t want anything happening there like what occurred out at your place. How’s Mickey feeling?”

“He’s doing well,” Glory replied. “Grumbling about having to stay in bed for a few days.”

“I bet.” He snorted in agreement. “Hard to keep a good man like Mickey down. I was saying to Travis here how great it is to have him listed on the rider’s side again.”

“Yes, it’s great,” she agreed and lifted the bottle in her right hand toward Travis.

“I was telling Travis about my new bull…” But the rest of his words faded away, as far as Glory was concerned. For some reason, the hair on the back of her neck began to rise. As the two men talked, she scanned the horizon for trouble. Over the rancher’s right shoulder she caught a glimpse of a dark wide-brim hat cutting through the crowd like the fin of a shark. She held her breath as it circled and then headed straight for them. The crowd pushed out of the way to let him pass, and she caught sight of a familiar square jaw. The bottle of water she held slipped through her grasp and fell with a thud onto the mat as her voice came out barely above a whisper. “No, it can’t be.” But it was. Jax Martin was back in town.

Chapter Fifteen

“Glory?” Travis’ voice echoed in the distance, yet she couldn’t look away. Even though the shadow of the hat brim shielded the man’s face, Glory knew who he was. Heart thumping, she could feel the bite of his glare from across the room. Mickey had told her he would be there, but she’d hoped it was only a veiled threat. Half of her wanted to run and hide, while the other half, the sensible one, refused to let flight take over. She came to her senses slowly and discovered Travis’ fingers firm against her arms as if he were holding her upright.

“Glory, are you all right?”

She glanced at his face and noticed the lines of tension creasing his brow. She needed to reassure not only him but herself. “Yes.” Although her voice sounded a bit weak, his grip lessened and his hands slid down her arms to grasp her hands.

“Here, give me that.” He wrestled away the one bottle of water she still held and put it down somewhere behind him. “Your hands are like ice.”

She needed to tell him. She dampened her lips, then whispered, “He’s here.”

“Who?” Travis asked.

Glory looked down and concentrated on the stroke of his fingers as he rubbed her hands, hoping to restore circulation. Dread swelled in her soul. “Jax.”

She closed her eyes. Just saying his name brought back all the memories of how he’d humiliated her three years ago. She took a shattered breath and tried to gain control over her emotions. When she’d found him with Angel, she promised herself then and there she’d never give him the satisfaction of seeing how much he’d hurt her.

“I know.” Travis’ words opened her eyes and brought her rapidly beating heart to a standstill. Stunned, she opened her mouth to demand how. Instead, his arm brushed her around to his left side and pulled her close, her hands coming to rest upon his chest. There, a mere four steps from her, stood a brooding Jax Martin.

“So, we meet again,” Travis said, yet she noted he didn’t extend a hand in welcome.

Glory’s heart did a somersault. Jax’s grim smile bordered on contempt as he glanced from her to the man standing by her side.

“Came here to ride,” Jax began. “Did you quit early? I understand that might be the nature of your game.”

Glory sucked in a breath; however, Travis took the jab in style. “We’ll be getting started up again in a minute. You missed the first round. Are you always late?”

Jax glanced around the room, perhaps trying to see who was close enough to hear their exchange. When no one seemed interested, he brushed off the taunt as if he didn’t care. “Had things to do.”

She felt Travis’ muscles stiffen. “Don’t let it happen again, or you’re out on your ear as far as this training class is concerned.”

Jax glanced back. Venom laced his eyes, and Glory knew Travis had made an enemy. She shivered as Jax pulled his upper lip up over his teeth in a sneer.

“I don’t need you.” He laughed.

Travis’ arm fell away. She watched wide-eyed as he stepped closer. His six-foot two-inch frame stood nose to nose with the man who’d ruined her life and taken her self-esteem. Like two bulls squaring off, she watched them stare at one another, each waiting for the other to blink. The only visible signs of anger were the twitch in Travis’ jaw and his fingers pulled into fists at his sides.

“Let me tell you this, cowboy.” Travis’ words were punctuated with a heavy dose of sarcasm and outright contempt. “If Big John Parker sent you here, you aren’t as good as you think you are. Now get your gloves and hit the rosin, because you’ll be the first
and
the last up on this go-round. You understand? You paid money for this rodeo camp, and I’m here to make sure you get your money’s worth.”

Jax’s mouth thinned to a single line. Glory knew of his temper. Half of her wanted to reach out and pull Travis back; the other half wanted to throw her arms around him and plant kisses on his cheek for standing up to Jax for the bully he was.

“Glory, you round up the boys. Tell ’em it’s time to start again.”