Double the Trouble (Texas Trouble 3) (19 page)

It was going to take Karlie a long time to feel safe again, she knew, even though Gabe seemed determined to protect her.  With Jake Johnson still free, and so damned unpredictable, how could she not be edgy.  Now that she had the right to keep Sarge, and
Jake had
lost the five-thousand dollars a month, she knew he wasn't happy.
  He did okay in the rodeo, he wasn't
a
top ranked
rider
or anything,
but
he needed that money he got every month to keep him in liquor and women
, and to pay for that fancy truck of his
.
 

No wonder his grandpa hadn't left him any money from his huge estate, if he knew how Jake went through
money
like water, and knew what a low life he was.
  Maybe the man wasn't so crazy after all.
  Jake was the one who had called him crazy, which could explain things
,
Karlie
thought
.

Tommy cleared his throat and asked Karlie, "So
,
does this mean I'm losing my cutting horse trainer?"

Karlie hadn't even thought about her job here, and how today's events would affect it.  She liked it here, but
Bowie
felt more like home to her
, and that was where Gabe was
.  The people there had welcomed her with open arms and seemed to care about her.  She'd only left because she was afraid of Jake. 
Although s
he was still afraid, she felt better now that her sister was not with him, and since Gabe had warned him off.
 

But did she feel safe enough to go back now?
 

Karlie
felt Gabe's arm drop on her shoulders and he squeezed, then looked down in her eyes with questions there too.
  Indecision warred inside of her, and she knew her decision would affect more than just this moment...it could affect her whole life.  If she stayed here at the Rockin' D, that would mean she and Gabe were probably done.
  That was something she couldn't face, so she nodded then said, "Yeah, I'm sorry, Tommy...I have to go back to
Bowie
now."

Disappointment shown on his face, but h
e nodded too.
  Tommy
wasn't happy with her, and she couldn't blame him.  "I'm sorry if that comes off as flighty, and if I'm leaving you in the lurch," she looked into Gabe's blue eyes
for encouragement
and
found
happiness, along with something indefinable
t
here.  "I shouldn't have ever left in the first place...I was just scared
,
"
she said then looked back at Tommy. 
Sitting beside him, h
er sister's expression
matched Tommy's, disappointment and almost anger.

A sudden thought occurred to her and she asked Katie, "What are your plans now,
s
is?"

"Well, since you left
me
in the lurch too, I've decided it's time for me to hang up my spurs.  It's not the same without you, and if I'm not going to be able to find a partner as good, I don't want to do it
,
just to do it.  I want to win, and without you that's not happening.  Barrel racing is just a side gig for me...not worth staying for."

"I truly am sorry, Katie.  I should have told you what was going on with Jake, but I was scared he'd hurt you too...he said as much.  I had to leave because of him, but once I was out of that rat race, I realized I'm over it.  We've had a good run, but it's time to look at other options."

Kate nodded, but didn't smile, and then Karlie asked her, "You raised
Laramie
from a colt, and trained him, why don't you talk to Tommy about
training his cutting stock?
" she suggested then gave her sister a cocky grin, "You're
almost
as good as me."
 

Besides, she thought
,
Karlie noticed the
sparks going on between Tommy and her sister
and
she knew Katie wouldn't explore
them
unless she was forced to.
  More importantly, she could probably help him with
Dixie
, much better than Karlie
could.  The 'wild child'
helping the 'wild child' would never work.  B
ut Katie was used to dealin
g with someone just like
Dixie
...Karlie.

Katie snorted then said, "Almost, huh? 
Laramie
could out
-
corner JoJo with his eyes closed."

"I don't think so, sister mine...but you can think what you like, darlin'," she grin
ned and tilted her chin up.

"Well, I've had offers for him that were higher than you've gotten for JoJo, so he must be doing
something
right,
hu
h?"
Katie countered with a smug smile. 

It was true, she'd gotten an astronomical offer for
Laramie
and had refused to sell him.  Maybe she could contact that buyer now, and get seed money to start her
own
cutting horse farm.
 
Her sister had a lot of options now that she'd decided to retire from the rodeo, as did Karlie.

"You're talking money, and I'm talking proof's in the pudding performance, baby," Karlie told her sassily, just to aggravate her
.
"That guy
knew
I wasn't gonna sell him JoJo...he said as much...so what if he was a prince.
  Besides, he wanted to convert him to a polo pony
.  T
hat was ridiculous
, and I told him that
.
  I think I might have insulted him.
"

"Naaaah,
you
insult someone?
 
That
is what's ridiculous, sugar.
" Gabe hooted then slapped his thigh
and leaned back laughing
.
  Karlie elbowed him in the gut and he
let out an
oomph, then sat up again.

Katie chuckled, then started laughing, and Tommy did too.  Karlie saw her
sister
put her hand on
Tommy's
knee and watched him look down at it in amazement then over at
Katie
.  It was an unconscious gesture, Karlie knew, but so telling. 
"So, you gonna ask him Katie?  You
say you're
always cleaning up behind me anyway, so why not take my place here?"

Shyly, Kate glanced up into Tommy's eyes and asked, "You need me to clean up her mess?"

He nodded then told her, "I'd love to hire you to take her place, if you're interested."

"Okay, that's settled then," Katie told him then grinned
, before adding with a put-upon sigh,
"Another Karlie disaster averted.  Looks like you're
off the hook
,
s
is
.
"

Karlie got up and went over to her
sister, then
pulled her into a big hug,
saying
against her shoulder, "I'm so glad you're okay, Katie...thank you for helping."

"That's what
good
twin sisters
do when
badass
twin sisters get in
to
trouble. 
I love you,
Karlie,
" she told
h
er
with humor
and affection
in her eyes
, when Karlie stepped back from her
.

"Look, I'm older than you and can still kick your ass, don't be getting smart..." Karlie
told her
in a choked voice then added, "I love you too."

Gabe stood up and walked up behind her to say, "Well, if this love fest is over...we probably should be heading
home
,
"
he said then kissed the s
ide of Karlie's hair.  Cole already has a head start on us...I told him to go ahead in the patrol car, that I'd ride with you."

"Won't matter, we'll be in Freddie," she said haughtily. "We'll catch up..."

"Hell no we won't, because I'm driving," he told her flatly and held out his hand.
  She pursed her lips then reached in her pocket and handed him the keys. 

Katie let out a guffaw and then belly laughed.  "Never thought I'd see the day," she said and hooted again.  "Oh, god
,
you must have met your match, sugar, to hand over Freddie on command."

Karlie snorted, which made Gabe laugh and then they were all laughing
again
.  It felt good to laugh
again
, it had been a long time since she'd had a reason, Karlie thought.  Meeting Gabe had brought back that laughter.  She sobered and then tiptoed
to kiss
his cheek
and tell him
, "Thanks for taking care of Jake, darlin'."
 

Turning to Tommy, she walked over there
and kissed his cheek, "And thank you for hiring me, and helping today.  My sister will do a good job for you and
Dixie
.
..I'll say goodbye to
Dixie
on my way out
.  I'm going to miss her.
"

"
She'll miss you too, I think she sees a lot of herself in you
," Tommy told her with a chuckle then invited, "
Y
ou
come visit anytime you want, sugar.  You're welcome here."

"
Thanks, Tommy
...
take care of my sister
,
"
Karlie told him wi
th her eyes burning,
then w
aggled her fingers at them
, before turning to walk toward the front door with Gabe.

"You still have to pack your suitcase, don't you?"
he asked
when they got to the door
.

"I never took it out of Freddie's trunk, in case I had to leave fast.  I just filled up an overnight bag," she told him and patted the small bag she had over her shoulder.

Once outside, t
hey w
alked
around back of the house and hopped in a golf cart to head to the round pen, where she'd seen
Dixie
and Sarge. 
Karlie knew this conversation with
Dixie
wasn't going to be easy, but she was going to try to make her understand.

"Hey, sugar, Sarge in a better mood now?" Karlie asked her and slid out of the cart.  Gabe stayed in the cart giving her room to talk to the little girl.
 
She was thankful he had that insight.

"I think so, yeah...seems to be," she smiled and told Karlie, then pulled his leash to get him to quit sniffing horse hoof clippings.  Dogs loved those, Karlie knew.  "I need to talk to you,
Dixie
..." she told her and
squatted down to pet Sarge.

"Oh, Lord...am I in trouble again?"
Dixie
asked with a little snort.

Karlie gave a snort of her own, and she heard Gabe chuckle behind her, then she looked into
Dixie
's eyes and told her, "No, you're not in trouble...I wanted to tell you goodbye."  Karlie figured she might as well come out and say it, nothing she did was going to make it easier after all.

Dixie
's eyes teared up and she said in a whisper, "You're leaving?"

"I have to go back to
Bowie
, where I was before I came here.
..but guess what?"
she said and forcing excitement into her tone.