Rodeo Queen (31 page)

He meant Scott. But she didn’t want to tame him, she simply wanted his love in return for her own. That wasn’t something she could control.

“You can’t really want to leave this behind?” Mike laughed. “If I have to, I’ll sue you for breach of contract,” he teased, his eyes glinting mischievously.

She gave him a weak laugh as she looked at the horses she had trained, a few in foal to Valentino. “No,” she admitted. “I don’t want to leave. I
have
to leave. I just can’t stay.”

“Sydney, you can’t keep the baby a secret from Scott. He has a right to know.”

“I’ll tell him, eventually.” Mike gave her a sardonic glare and pursed his lips. “I will, but I can’t just yet. It’s still too early.”

“I’ll keep quiet, but on one condition.”

“Mike—” she began.

He held up a hand to halt any conversation. “Nope, it’s this, or I tell him. You stay here.” She opened her mouth to protest, but he pressed on. “I’ll make sure that you are gone when he’s around. We have enough rodeos in the next few months to keep you both gone. Just let me know when you’re ready to tell him, and I’ll schedule you guys some time to be together.”

Sydney sighed. It would solve her predicament for the next few weeks at least. She wouldn’t have to see Scott with Liz, and it would buy her time to figure out a way to tell Scott without running away. She didn’t want to keep him from his child, but she didn’t want him to feel trapped by her either.

“You’ll keep this to yourself?” She hated asking Mike to deceive Scott, but she couldn’t risk him finding out until she was ready to talk with him about what he wanted.

“I promise, Sydney.”

“S
COTT, YOU HAVE
to go after her.” Jen was frantic. He’d never seen his sister act like this. She was always animated, but this was even beyond her usual animation. She pushed against his chest. “Get in that truck and go find her.”

“Damn it, Jen, you know as well as I do that she wouldn’t believe a word I say right now.” He ran his fingers through his hair before settling the baseball cap again.

“Then
make
her believe you, you stubborn idiot!” Jen cried.

Scott was torn. He wanted to find Sydney and explain what she had seen. But he still wasn’t even sure what the truth was. He
had
been in bed, nearly naked, with Liz. How she had gotten there, he still couldn’t prove, but from the pounding headache the next day, he assumed she’d slipped something into one of his beers.

If I ever see Liz Findley again, I’ll kill her.

“Even if I could explain why she found me in bed with another woman, do you really think she’d ever trust me?”

“Look, Scott,” Clay began. “You know that Jen and I can handle things here. Go find Sydney, tell her that you love her. Fix this.”

Scott eyed Clay. How could he admit to them that he wasn’t sure that he loved her? That he didn’t even believe in love?

“Scott, it’s in your eyes every time that her name is mentioned. Go tell her already.”

“Look, I’m a big boy. I don’t need you to ‘mother’ me right now. I will handle this my way, in my time. Back off.” Scott stormed off, leaving his sister and brother-in-law to wonder what would happen next.

S
COTT RETURNED HOME
after meeting with the rodeo production company and settling the accounts to find Mike waiting for him on the porch. “How’d it go?”

“Where’s Sydney?”

“That’s a fine ‘howdy-do.’”

It had been nearly ten days since she’d driven away from Cheyenne. That was far too much time to have let her speculate about what had really happened between him and Liz. He should have called her, but he didn’t want their conversation to get out of hand over the phone. He needed to see her face, hold her in his arms, when he finally told her how he felt.

“I don’t have time for this, Mike. I need to talk with her.”

“I know you do.” Mike shook his head. “Jen told me what happened between you and Liz.” Mike sighed. “I’m sorry, Scott. I had no idea of what she had planned. Had I known . . .” Mike’s words trailed off.

“I know, Mike.” He didn’t want to talk about Liz. “Tell me where she is so that I can talk with her and try to clear this mess up.”

“Can’t do that.” Mike pulled out a cigarette. “You know the doc says I’m not supposed to have these.”

Scott was growing impatient. Mike was wasting precious time, time he needed to explain, time he could be holding her. “What do you mean?”

“Because of the stroke.” Mike was deliberately avoiding Scott’s question.

“What do you mean, you can’t tell me where she is?” Scott clarified, quickly losing his patience with his friend.

“I made her a promise, Scott,” Mike said matter-of-factly. “She was going to quit, leave and head for who-knows-where. I promised her that if she would keep working here, I’d make sure she wouldn’t have to see you until she informed me she was ready. She’s at a rodeo.”

“With everything that has happened, and Kurt still running around looking for her, you let her go?” Scott threw his hands into the air. “Are you nuts?”

“Have you told her that you love her?”

“What? What is it with you and Jen butting into my love life?” Scott turned away guiltily.

“I didn’t think so,” Mike called after him. “Maybe if you had, if you would have put your stubborn pride aside for fifteen minutes, she would have seen through Liz’s scam.”

He spun on Mike and unleashed his fury, his hands slashing through the air. “Enough. When is she getting back?”

“Not until after you’re on the road this week for Texas.”

“I’ll be gone for three weeks.”

“Exactly.” Mike turned on his heel and walked into the house, leaving Scott staring after him, feeling betrayed. Mike looked back at him as he reached the front door. “Scott, I’m sorry, but I made her a promise.” He shook his head. “You should have told her.”

Chapter Nineteen

S
YDNEY TRIED TO
put Scott out of her mind as she circled the arena with the sponsor flag. Jake held open the gate for her as she exited the arena, allowing the pick-up men to slip in before the next event. So far, everything for the small rodeo had gone off without a hitch. Derek had taken control, and she was surprised to see how well he ran the event. She appreciated his attention to detail, except when he turned that attention her way. So far she’d been able to deflect any questions, but Derek was persistent. No matter how often she tried to change the subject, he managed to turn the conversation back to Scott.

When he cornered her at the trailer as she loosened the gelding’s cinch, she spun on him.

“Fine, Derek. It’s over. Is that what you want to hear?”

“Yes.” His honesty surprised her. After the last private conversation she’d had with him, she’d managed to avoid any personal discussions. She knew he didn’t like the idea of a relationship between her and Scott, but his blunt reply stung.

“Thanks for your sympathy.” She hoped he could hear the pained sarcasm. “I don’t need an ‘I told you so’ right now.”

“Are you all right?” His voice softened, reminiscent of their earlier friendship. She didn’t trust her voice, so she nodded. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not right now.”

“How about over dinner? We can finish the new opening for tomorrow, and if you want we’ll talk then.” He wiggled his brows at her. “I promise I won’t seduce you.”

She couldn’t help but smile at his impish charm. He was so different from his brother. “Fine.” She pointed a finger at his nose. “But no funny business. Got it?”

He snapped a salute to her. “Yep, nothing but boring business.”

D
EREK KNEW EXACTLY
what had happened between Sydney and Scott. When she returned from Cheyenne, Liz had informed him that her plan had gone awry. She’d even informed him of her intentions to take over the ranch in hopes that he would give her his share. He felt like a fool for ever helping her. He certainly wanted Sydney for himself, but not at the expense of his brother and sister. And if Scott was the person who made Sydney happy, he cared for her enough to seek her happiness over his own desire. He had been a spoiled screwup long enough. It was time to grow up and take some responsibility, even if that meant giving up his jealousy of his brother.

He glanced over at Sydney, glad they had opted for a dinner at a local restaurant rather than the rodeo BBQ and dance. They would be able to get the opening ceremony details finalized, and then they could have a private conversation without the rest of the crew around to overhear. He opened her door when they arrived. He appreciated the long expanse of curved thigh as he helped her from the truck, reminding himself that she loved his brother.

It didn’t help that she was incredibly beautiful with her curls framing her face. He pulled out her chair as the waiter led them to a table and ordered for both of them. He couldn’t help but wonder what it would have been like if this had been a real date.

“Is everything okay?” Sydney had barely picked at the food on her plate.

She gave him a sad smile. “Besides Scott?” She shrugged. “Sure, why wouldn’t it be?”

He shook his head and narrowed his eyes. “I don’t know. You seem more distant lately . . . like you’re off in your own world.”

“Do I?” she muttered, laying the fork down and curling her hands in her lap.

“Are you sure you’re not still sick?”

She shook her head. “I’m fine. You haven’t asked about what happened with Scott yet tonight?”

Derek shrugged. “I figured you’d talk about it when you were ready.”

“You were right.”

“About Scott.” He wasn’t asking.

“You told me exactly what would happen and I didn’t listen to you. I should have.”

“Sydney, about what I said. There’s a lot between me and Scott you don’t understand. Jealousy, I guess.” He folded his hands on the table, staring down at them. “Scott has always gotten whatever he wants. Things just always seem to go his way. When I first saw you, I knew he wasn’t right for you. I think you realize by now that I want more than just a friendship with you.” He glanced up at her nervously, then back to his hands before he hurried on. “I know you don’t feel the same way, but I would take care of you. I would never hurt you.”

Her eyes misted. Derek couldn’t believe he was revealing his feelings to her, but he didn’t want to lose the one opportunity that had presented itself. If he didn’t take this chance to tell her, he never would.

“I know, Derek.” She reached across the table and took his hand. “I care about you, I really do, but I’m in love with someone else.”

His heart fell like a stone to his stomach. “Have you told him?”

She nodded. “I guess it wasn’t enough.”

Guilt assailed him. Should he tell her that Scott had ordered Liz from the ranch? If he did, she’d find out that they had been working together to destroy her relationship with Scott. She would hate him if she found out, but could he live with the lie?

“Sydney, Liz set out to ruin anything you and Scott had from the start.”

“I know that.” She sat back in her chair. “It looks like she succeeded.”

Derek took a deep breath, pressing on before his bravado failed him. “What you don’t know is that I was helping her.” The look of horror on Sydney’s face was almost his undoing. “At least, at first. Sydney, I’m sorry.” He reached for her hand but she jerked it from his grasp, her eyes flashing fire across the table.

“You what? Why?”

“I told you, when I first saw you . . . I couldn’t stand for Scott to have you. He doesn’t deserve you, and I guess I thought I did. I knew she wanted to break you guys up, but I didn’t know why, at least not then.”

“And Kurt? What did you have to do with that?”

“Nothing, I swear!” Derek threw his hands in the air. “All I knew was that she wanted him to help her make Scott jealous, like before.” Derek ran his fingers through his hair, hating himself for what he had done. “She wanted to play on Scott’s feelings for her, so he would give up his shares of the ranch. You were in her way. When you went to Cheyenne, you played right into her plan.”

A tear slid down Sydney’s cheek, and Derek could barely keep himself from wiping it away. “Looks like Scott did too.”

Derek sighed. He might as well get it all out in the open now. His part in Liz’s schemes had cost him any chance with Sydney, but he couldn’t stand to see her unhappy, even if that meant losing to his brother again. “No, he didn’t. Nothing happened between them. Liz drugged him and was going to try to trap him the next morning. You just made it easier for her.”

“None of it matters anymore.” She sounded defeated, a tone he would never have imagined he would hear from her. “It’s more complicated than Liz.”

S
COTT WAS ALREADY
gone when Sydney returned from the rodeo. She wanted to see him. After her dinner with Derek, it had been a sleepless night. She had to make some decisions, but she couldn’t do that without knowing how Scott felt about her and their child. She’d had short, stilted conversations with her family, not wanting to give anything away, and the secrecy was wearing on her.

Not to mention the way Jen and Mike seemed to hover over her every waking moment, trying to force her to work behind the desk instead of with the animals. She sighed and closed the record book, tossing it into the filing cabinet and rising from behind the desk in the barn office to look out the window at the mares in the corral. She was tired of allowing everyone to dictate her decisions. She’d been hired for a job and, pregnant or not, she was going to do it.

Cougar whinnied and trotted toward the fence as Sydney approached. “Hey, mama. I certainly didn’t think we’d be doing this pregnancy thing together.” The horse snorted and tossed her head, shaking her copper mane. “What do you say we head out for a little ride?”

Sydney reached for a halter hanging on the fence post, and after slipping it over Cougar’s head, led her into the barn. She groomed the mare and saddled her, her stomach doing a flip of excitement at the small taste of rebellion. She felt as if she’d been under someone’s watchful eye since she’d arrived. If it hadn’t been Scott’s scrutiny, then it had been the danger presented by Kurt, and now her pregnancy had Mike and Jen watching over her as if she were made of glass.