Reined In (Rockin' Rodeo Series Book 3)

1

1976. A new year. A new rodeo season. Time for hard work to pay off.

Thursday night found Levi Banks at the Travis County Fairgrounds on the outskirts of Austin, Texas. He backed up his chestnut quarter horse, Chunk, into the back of the box at the end of the arena, preparing for his final practice run of the day. Bob Forney, one of the men from No Bull Roughstock Supply, loaded another steer into the chute, as Chunk danced beneath Levi, eager to run.

Levi’s hazer, Cooter Craw, was the best a bulldogger could ask for. As a friend, he was even better. Cooter nodded from the box on the other side of the steer, indicating he was ready. In turn, Levi nodded to Forney.

As the calf burst from the chute, Levi noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. Olivia Marsh. His heart stumbled a beat, and Cooter took off, catching Levi off guard. A split second behind, he put his heels to Chunk’s sides. His horse scrambled out of the box, galloping after the steer.

On his best black and white Pinto, Cooter rode hard to keep the steer running straight, but with Levi and Chunk playing catch-up, the calf veered too far to the left. If Levi had been smart, he’d have pulled Chunk up short. Diving off a galloping horse onto an animal with horns was dangerous enough without pushing a bad situation.

But this was the last practice he’d get before the first rodeo of the spring series kicked off the next day.

At least that was the excuse he went with instead of blaming his actions on ego, and a stupid, childish need of his to show off to the woman who’d made it abundantly clear that she wouldn’t spare the energy to piss on him if he struck a match and lit himself on fire.

He pressed Chunk faster. Leaning out of the saddle, he dropped into the hole, his arm across the steer, his right foot still in the stirrup. At the point of no return, Chunk surged a little too hard, a little too fast, cutting off the steer. The steer skidded to a stop.

Levi cussed, his body landing too far forward to wrap his hands around the horns. His boots slid through the deep arena dirt, the steer’s horn catching his shirt and raking across his ribs. Levi hissed, sucking up the pain.

Tumbling to the ground, he managed to tuck and roll, jamming his shoulder hard enough to bruise, but not hard enough to dislocate.

He grunted as he lay flat on his back in the dirt. He chanced a glance at Olivia. She had a supercilious grin on her face as she turned and walked away. Cooter rounded up the steer as Chunk ambled over and nibbled at the tear in Levi’s shirt. The gelding pulled on the ripped cotton, tearing the hole even wider.

Thanks, asshole. Levi scrunched his fingers through Chunk’s forelock and gave him a pat on the flat of his jaw.

Slowly, Levi rolled to his hands and knees and stood, dirt raining down.

Cooter and his horse trotted over. If you were tryin’ to impress the ladies, I think ya missed your mark.

Levi retrieved his hat and knocked off the dirt. I’m not trying to impress nobody.

Good thing.

Levi chuckled and he felt it in his stiffening shoulder. You’re an asshole, too. He gathered up his reins and led Chunk out of the arena.

Cooter laughed and dismounted, catching up with Levi. Together they returned to the barn. Levi wanted to give Chunk a good brush out and a bath now that it had warmed up.

I’d sure like to know what ya did to piss that Marsh woman off, Cooter said, his West Texas drawl as thick as it had always been. He spat a wad of tobacco, aiming for the scurrying dung beetle. Usually she’s right even-tempered for a woman.

Best not let her hear you say that. You think she’s mad now? Levi stopped at his stall and started untacking Chunk. For your information, I didn’t do anything. She’s probably mad because she still hasn’t found someone she trusts to manage her stock on the road.

Cooter looked at Levi thoughtfully and spat again for good measure. The old man scratched at the gray-grizzled stubble along his sun-weathered jaw. Naw, Cooter said at last. Ain’t that. She’s got her back up and her claws out like a woman scorned. Trust me. I’ve seen enough of ‘em in my time. I’d rather wrestle a rabid wolf than tangle with one of them.

Well, damn. That didn’t bode well. That may be, Coot, but for some reason, she’s latched onto me as her designated whipping boy.

Cooter got a knowing, sly glimmer in his old, rheumy eyes. That’s the kind of woman you want to tame and take to bed. If you’re man enough.

That the old man directly contradicted himself wasn’t lost on Levi. He threw his head back and laughed. That kind of woman chews you up and spits you out. There’s no taming that woman even if I wanted. Which I don’t.

It was Cooter’s turn to laugh. He collected his paint horse. As he walked away, he said, You keep telling yourself that.

Levi didn’t have to. He’d learned a hard lesson after breaking things off with Patty Bennett. That lesson? He still hadn’t gotten over Cora Hayes. Probably never would. How could he love another woman when his heart was still broken?

Once again, the rodeo crowd had taken over a local bar for the weekend, outnumbering the locals by three to one. In a dark corner of the Rough Rider, a country bar like any other, Olivia nursed a cheap, warm bottle of beer that tasted like watered down piss. She glanced around. Neon beer signs, jukebox, a scrap of wood on the ground people called a dance floor. Tight jeans and low-cut shirts. People laughing. People crying in their beer.

A local boy who had been eying her for the past thirty minutes must have consumed enough liquid courage because he stood, hitched up his jeans, and sauntered her way. Literally, sauntered. He’d watched one too many John Wayne movies.

Ma’am. He tipped his jet-black cowboy hat. Everyone wanted to be the bad cowboy.

Olivia leaned back and finished the last of her beer. Can I help you?

The man got a grin on his face, and if Olivia squinted a bit, she might be able to call him cute. She squinted. Okay, maybe not.

He pointed to her beer. Can I buy you another?

Thanks, but I was about to leave. Olivia weighed the cheap price of a beer to the heavy toll of making idle chitchat while almost too exhausted to lift the bottle, much less flirt, dance, or have sex. Other women might gladly take him up on his offer.

It’s early yet, beautiful. The man confidently fed her the line as if the compliment had worked many times before. He pulled out a chair and went to sit down when a meaty hand clamped down on his shoulder. The man stilled and glanced over his shoulder at Levi Banks.

Great. She’d take the John Wayne wanna-be over Banks. The piece of shit.

Beat it, buddy, Levi said.

When a man wrestled six-hundred-pound animals for a living, people tended not to mess with them.

The man looked like he’d quickly calculated his options and chose the one that meant life. She your girl or something? He must have needed that final confirmation.

Something like that, Levi said.

Olivia decided an unknown beat the devil she already knew. Hardly.

One final cutting look from Levi and the wanna-be left.

Levi held two frosty mugs of dark draft in his hand. He placed one in front of her and sat.

She accepted the beer, because, hey, good, cold beer shouldn’t go to waste. What are you doing?

With half a smile he said, What’s it look like I’m doing?

Olivia didn’t have to squint or drink a gallon of beer to appreciate the way Levi filled out a pair of Wranglers or the way his crooked smile added to his so-called charm. She could see why her cousin had fallen for him not too long out of high school. Good thing Olivia knew the truth about him or she might be sorely tempted to take him to her bed for a quick tumble or two.

I’m not going to sleep with you. Maybe if she said it out loud, both he and her subconscious would get the message.

Levi grinned—full on—and Olivia’s heart betrayed her and kicked at her sternum like a damn mule. He took a long drag on his beer, and she couldn’t take her eyes off the play of his throat. His grin got impossibly wider when he caught her staring. Don’t flatter yourself, boss lady.

Boss lady. That got Olivia’s back up, and her laugh came out bitter around the burned edges. You’re telling me that if I invited you back to my motel room, you’d say no? Olivia expected him to disagree, after all, the rodeo had no shortage of randy cowboys.

His cocky smile fell away. What do you have against me anyway?

You’re an asshole.

You don’t even know me.

I know enough.

In Olivia’s opinion, any man who didn’t want to have anything to do with his own kid, especially one as cute as Clementine, wasn’t the kind of man Olivia needed in her life, even if he could scratch an itch. She held his gaze as Levi eyed her over the top of his beer.

How? How do you ‘know enough?’

Does it matter?

Does to me.

She hadn’t expected he’d be man enough to admit that.

Until you took over for Scottie Hines, I’ve never even talked to you, yet you hated me from the outset.

Hate is a very strong word.

His expression never changed, but the tick of muscle beneath one eye said she was trampling his patience. "Strongly disliked."

Someone turned the jukebox up. Olivia had to lean forward and practically shout when she said, You used to date my cousin.

Who? Levi hollered back.

Mae, Olivia said. Mae Jordan.

Levi’s mouth went flat, and he might have muttered a curse, but not loud enough to be heard over the jukebox and the general hubbub of the crowd. Nice girl, but you gotta know that if her lips are moving, she’s lying, right?

Yep. Certifiable, grade A asshole. Is that any way to talk about— Olivia cut herself off. She wouldn’t get anywhere going there with him. Lord knew Mae never had.

Talk about what?

Never mind.

Levi leaned back and took another drag from his beer. How is old Mae these days?

Olivia choked and spit out her beer. Dead.

Friday night at the rodeo had always been Levi’s favorite. Even more so than Sunday night when the checks were on the line. Fridays were a time of hope and anticipation for the weekend to come. Even the energy of the crowd differed. And even after his years of junior, amateur, and professional rodeo, Levi still got a slight twist in his gut in the time leading up to his run.

That knot of tension didn’t worry him. The tension told him that what he did for a living still mattered.

In the barn aisle, Levi adjusted the pad beneath Chunk’s saddle and tightened the girth. A few aisles over, Cora’s larger-than-life laugh blasted through the general noise of the competitors getting ready for their events. Horses whinnied, and Smokey Dunn’s pissy mare kicked at her stall, the bang, bang, bang, echoing throughout the barn.

Cooter came by and leaned an arm across Chunk’s withers. Ya doing okay?

Levi took the tail of his latigo and tucked it into the keeper on his saddle. The usual Friday night jitters. I’ll be —

That’s not what I’m talking about, and ya know it, son. With a finger, Cooter nudged up the brim of his sweat and dirt-smudged cowboy hat.

Levi should have never told Cooter about Mae’s death, but the old man had known her in those early days before Levi had gone pro. As such, he felt he’d owed the old man the courtesy of the notification.

Way back then, Cooter had been the only one he’d shown the engagement ring he’d bought for Mae before their relationship had tanked. His friend had been privy to how hard it had been for Levi to break it off in the end, and he’d witnessed Mae’s pre-breakup downward spiral turn into an ugly, gut-wrenching nosedive.

One she hadn’t been able to pull out of.

Apparently, in Mae’s case, rock-bottom meant six feet under.

It’s almost been a year since she died.

Yeah, and ya found out about her dying last night. It’s okay to let yourself grieve. Deep down, Mae was a good girl.

A troubled girl. I couldn’t love her enough — Levi’s throat got tight and his voice caught, even after so much time. Even after he’d discovered what true love was. Fuck. Maybe if I’d—

No, son. Don’t be letting your mind go there. That ain’t your burden to bear. If you’da hung on any tighter, she’d have sunk you just as surely as that hunk of ice sunk the Titanic.

If things had been different, if she had accepted the help, maybe then—

You can’t force people to change. They gotta want it for themselves.

Levi pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed at his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. Cooter was right. Didn’t make accepting the truth any easier.

Cooter patted Chunk on his muscular neck and stepped back. Time to get your head on straight. Those steers ain’t gonna wrestle themselves.

Clearing his throat, Levi said, Yeah, sure.

Because he had time to spare, Levi warmed Chunk up in the practice arena. After he finished, to clear his mental cobwebs and get his head into the game, he rode Chunk to a field behind the rodeo grounds, a place where the cheers of the crowd faded, and the announcer sounded a world away.

Time must’ve gotten away from him because the next thing Levi knew, Cooter had ridden out to the edge of the field and whistled for him. He glanced up, and Cooter hitched a thumb over his shoulder toward the arena.

Levi put his heels to Chunk’s sides and started trotting back. To save time, he cut through the outdoor pens where the roughstock were kept.

Olivia worked the chutes off to his right in preparation for the steer wrestling. A man with a little girl—maybe two or three-years-old—carried a small suitcase, his other hand wrapped firmly around the girl’s wrist, half dragging her along.

Ollie, Ollie. The little girl broke free from the man’s grasp and ran toward Olivia.

A husband? No, the kid hadn’t called her mommy. A boyfriend then?

Olivia looked up, confusion on her face, and happiness—then she saw the man and froze.

The man didn’t look as much happy to see Olivia as he looked relieved. She caught the little girl up in her arms and held her tight to her chest, giving the kid a kiss on the top of her head. Levi turned away and headed for the main arena.

What the hell are you doing here, Randy? Olivia’s voice carried over the rattle and clank of the chutes and the bawling of the cattle. The distress in her voice had Levi turning his horse in the aisle to watch. Something wasn’t right.

The man, or Randy, apparently, tried to hand Olivia the suitcase, but she refused to take it. Randy’s face turned the color of the pickled beets Levi’s grandma always ate. He dumped the suitcase at her feet.

The girl cried out, No, no. Dat mine!

Levi pushed Chunk into a trot and rode up to Olivia. Is there a problem?

No one answered him or looked his way except for the waif of a girl with blond ringlets around her head like a living halo. The girl squealed, her face lighting up at the sight of Chunk. Horsey, horsey.

Olivia ignored the kid, and him, but held on tight as the girl struggled to be put down. You can’t do this, Olivia said to Randy.

You’re right, Randy said, "I can’t do this. I tried. I can’t."

You promised.

The girl put her little hands on Olivia’s face to get her undivided attention. Ollie, there’s a horsey.

Clementine, baby, please—

I no baby. Look. She turned Olivia’s head until Chunk and Levi were in Olivia’s line of sight. Horsey.

Levi dismounted, looking Randy up and down, the man’s face somehow familiar, yet not. Always good with names and faces, Levi was certain he’d never met the man before.

You need me to get rid of this guy? Levi asked Olivia.

One of Olivia’s stockmen waved his hat to get her attention and called out, We’ve got to get the steers to the arena. We’re holding up the show.

Give me a second, Olivia hollered back. Then she tried to hand the little girl back to Randy. The guy backed away, his hands up, his eyes wide as if she held a rattlesnake in her hands, not a little girl. Randy, you can’t do this. You promised your sister. Her words came out more like a plea.

"That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. I just can’t. It’s past time her father stepped up." Randy turned and walked away.

Clementine made grabby hands toward Chuck, leaning so far out of Olivia’s arm’s Levi worried she’d take a tumble. He stuck a hand out to catch her if she fell.

Marsh, another one of Olivia’s stockmen called out. We’ve got to go!

Olivia still hadn’t answered Levi. He put his hand on her shoulders and turned her to him. You want me to stop that guy?

What? Olivia asked as if she’d only now realized he