Gambling On a Heart (29 page)

“Yes, but nothing concrete.” What the hell did Jake do to her?

“Can’t talk about it?”

He shook his head and winced at her wide eyes, but he couldn’t discuss the case with her. “No, I can’t.”

She surprised him again by not pushing, and simply changed the subject. “I wish Bobby didn’t have a game tonight. I’d love to have you and Mandy over for dinner again.” She then let out a giggle. “But this time we’ll order pizza.”

He smiled at her. “You really can’t cook?”

“Nope. Mom tried to teach me when I was a teenager, but I never took much interest in it. And after we moved in here with Granddad and Maddie while Dad was overseas, Maddie wouldn’t allow Mom anywhere near the kitchen. She considered it beneath Mom to want to be a chef. I was a kid and thought maybe Maddie was right.” She blushed and glanced away. “Maddie was one of the most glamorous women I knew. She took me under her wing, in a way, and... Well, she helped me. But I never learned to cook.”

He remembered Madeline Ferguson, the daughter of a Houston oilman and only two years older than her stepdaughter, as mostly a bitch on wheels. However, Tracy had been close to the woman who was more like an aunt than a grandmother.

“Josie insisted on Logan and me learning to cook. You remember Josie, Mom and Dad’s housekeeper when we were kids?” Tracy nodded, and he went on. “I’m glad she taught me something. Mandy would’ve starved otherwise.” He looked at his watch. “Let me help get the dishes cleaned up, then I’d better get going. You still have to drive to town.”

When the kitchen was spotless, she walked him to the door, and he turned toward her. “You’ll be at the game tonight?”

“Yeah, it’s in Valley Mills.”

The thought of Tracy and Bobby away from home, and Jake coaching a whole team of little boys made his blood run cold. “Let’s go together. Before the game, we can stop and get pizza. Afterward, we can get ice cream to celebrate Bobby’s big win against the Valley Mills Bulldogs.”

“That sounds great.” Tracy smiled and stepped closer to him, slipping her arms around his neck. Unable to resist her closeness, he pulled her to him. Her kiss was soft and tender, but it tingled clear to his toes. “Now, go home and get some sleep.”

* * * *

Despite it only being four-thirty in the afternoon, Angelo’s Pizzeria was busy. Zack held onto Amanda’s hand on one side, and Tracy had entwined the fingers of his other hand. Bobby led the way into the pizza joint in the Mills Plaza Mall along Highway 6 not far from the ball field the Colton Cowboys would take on the Valley Mills Bulldogs in an hour.

A teenage girl, wearing her uniform of red polo shirt and black jeans much too tightly, flashed them a cheerful smile and led them to a booth in the corner. Once they were seated and she rattled off the specialty pizza special of the evening, she took their drink orders.

“So, what do y’all think you want?” Tracy asked as soon as the waitress scampered away.

“Extra cheese and pepperoni!”

Zack glanced up from his menu, amazed at the perfect chorus from the kids.

“You like the same pizza I do.” Mandy looked up with near worship in her big blue eyes at Bobby. Zack’s heart twisted at the thought of how hard the end to the farce with Tracy would be on Mandy.

“Yeah.” Bobby glanced at Mandy, then looked around the restaurant.

“Well, then I guess we’re gonna have extra cheese and pepperoni.” Tracy closed her menu. The waitress returned with their drinks and took the order for a large, extra cheese and pepperoni pizza.

“I wish everyone wasn’t looking at us,” Bobby said with a deep furrow in his forehead.

Mandy lifted her child-sized drink with both hands and giggled. “That’s because you’re the only Colton Cowboy in here.”

“I know. I wish we ate in Colton.”

“This place has better pizza than we can get back home.” Tracy sipped her sweet tea.

“I don’t care.” Bobby continued to frown at the other boys peering at their table. “I don’t like being stared at.”

Zack shifted in his seat. Tracy’s thigh pressed against his. Was she sitting so close simply because she knew how it affected him? “Ignore them. They’re only trying to intimidate you.”

Bobby turned his narrowed hazel eyes on Zack. “What does that mean?”

Zack shrugged and picked up his Coke–and nearly dropped it when Tracy’s hand landed on his thigh only a few inches from his groin. He snapped his gaze on her, but she seemed focused on her son. When he reached down to remove her hand, she entwined her fingers through his. Fighting the sudden knot of desire that seared though him, he cleared his throat.

“When I rode rodeo, other cowboys loved to do the same things before someone went out. At first, it would affect me. When a horse is doing its crazy best to buck you off, concentration is essential.”

“So, they’re trying to psych me out so I can’t play as good?”

“Yep.” Zack leaned back as the server paced the pizza on the table. After she served each of them a slice, Zack thanked her and picked up his piece. “The best thing you can do is to ignore them. That way they’ll think you aren’t bothered by them.” He winked at the kid as he reached for the shaker of red pepper at the end of the table. “And that will psych them out.”

* * * *

Tracy looked over at Zack, amazed by his advice to Bobby. She remembered the time shortly after she and Jake had started dating when they’d gone to a football game in Crawford. Brent had been a high school linebacker for the Colton Mavericks. The Crawford Pirates had always been Colton’s biggest rival. After the game, Jake and she had run into some of the opposing team’s players. One of them had made a smart comment about Jake, and she’d begged him to ignore them, but he wouldn’t. He’d brushed her off and ended up in a fight. Jake never backed down from something he considered a challenge. She could imagine if Jake were here instead of Zack, he’d have made a scene by now.

Bobby sat a little straighter and squared his shoulders under his jersey, which mimicked that of the Dallas Cowboys. His number was ten–the same as Jake’s in high school–and his name was printed on the back. He ate his pizza and drank his chocolate milk with as much pride as she imagined he could muster.

“You really rode broncos?” Bobby asked between bites.

Zack wiped his mouth on a paper napkin and nodded, but it was Mandy who answered. “Yep. My Daddy has tons of silver buckles from all of the rodeos he’s won. He has a couple from the National Finals Rodeo, too.”

Bobby’s eyes widened. “Wow! I like to watch rodeo, but Dad hates it. He doesn’t like horses.” He took a bite of his pizza, and his brow lowered pensively as he chewed. “Were you ever hurt by a horse?”

Zack sipped his drink, and his expression turned somber. “I was hurt a few times. Nothing too serious though.”

Mandy wiped her face on a napkin, smearing more pizza sauce than she removed. “Daddy was hurt really bad the last time, though. That’s why he quit. Momma wouldn’t let him do it anymore.”

“You quit for a girl?”

Zack shrugged and glanced at Tracy.

How would he answer Bobby’s question?

“It was time to give it up and settle down. I’d always said I’d only ride for a few years.”

“My dad said that he was thrown off a horse and hurt his knee real bad, and that’s why he couldn’t play football anymore. He said you made him ride the horse.”

“Bobby.” Tracy knew the story. Zack and Jake had gone riding, and when Jake’s horse had thrown him, his foot caught in the stirrup, causing major injury to Jake’s knee. She also knew Zack had blamed himself for the accident for a long time afterward because Jake had been unable to play football their senior year and lost his scholarship.

“I asked him if he’d like to go riding that morning. He could have said no. I knew he didn’t like horses, but he often went riding with me. I’m not sure what happened, but I think his horse saw either a rattlesnake or something else spooked it. I felt really bad about what happened to your dad, Bobby. Still do.”

Bobby furrowed his brow again as he picked at the crust of his pizza slice. What had Jake said to him about that morning the two weeks before the start of their last year of high school? She’d bet it wasn’t the same as what Zack had told him.

The pizza devoured, Zack looked at his watch. “We’d better get going.”

Zack scooted out of the booth and wiped Mandy’s mouth. Tracy watched the gentle way he took care of his daughter. The task finished, Mandy stood on the seat and wrapped her arms around his neck. He pulled her to him and kissed her forehead, before setting her on her feet beside him. Tracy didn’t miss that Bobby watched the exchange with something akin to longing in his eyes. Not that he’d wanted the same treatment from Zack, but Bobby had never had it from his own father when he was younger and would have appreciated the reassurance of being cherished.

They reached the cashier, and Zack pulled out his credit card. Tracy still wasn’t happy he insisted on paying for the tab. He claimed it was his way of paying her back for the meal last Friday night.

Once they arrived at the community park, Tracy, Zack and the kids made their way to the area where the rest of the team gathered on the side of the field. Jake was barking instructions as he normally did before the game. Bobby joined the edge of the circle of boys, and Jake turned. When he saw she was with Zack, his expression became wary. Zack’s hand tightened on hers, before he dropped it and slid it around her waist. Mandy’s fingers clasped around Tracy’s, and Zack laid his free hand on Bobby’s shoulder.

The picture perfect family,
Tracy thought wryly.

Jake strode toward them, his arms folded over his wide chest. “About time you showed up. I was wondering where my quarterback was.”

“Sorry, Dad.” Bobby shuffled his feet and fiddled with his helmet. “We stopped for pizza.”

“Jake.” Zack’s grip around Tracy’s waist tightened, pulling her into his side. Jake stiffened and scowled at them, but what delighted her more was when Zack ruffled Bobby’s hair and said, “Good luck, buddy. We’ll see you later.”

Bobby smiled up at Zack and nodded. “See ya later. We’re still going for ice cream, right?”

“You bet.” Zack winked at him.

“C’mon, we have a game to win.” Jake laid his hand on Bobby’s shoulder, turning him away from Zack and Tracy.

After they found an area to spread her blanket, Tracy, Zack and Mandy settled down. She expected Zack to put some distance between them by pulling Mandy down between them, but she shifted to the other side of Tracy. He had no option but to sit next to her. She suspected he’d only held her earlier to send a message to Jake. Maybe he hadn’t even been aware of his actions. Or maybe he was like a stud staking claim to his mare. She didn’t know what to make of it, but she knew she aroused him and that encouraged her.

He loved me once
. She hoped everyone was right, and he could love her again.

Chapter 14

The Cowboys trailed by a touchdown, and his dad paced the sideline. He wouldn’t be happy if the Cowboys lost.

Bobby stood on the sideline, gripped his helmet under his arm, and bit his bottom lip when the Bulldog’s quarterback tucked the ball in and ran for the goal line. The Valley Mills crowd went wild. Bobby sniffed and his gut rolled. He should have played better. He knew that; he wasn’t looking forward to his dad pointing out his mistakes in front of the team.

Maybe if he ’fessed up to his mistakes, Dad would go a little easier on him. He dragged his feet over to where his dad stood by the end of the bench watching the rest of the team come off the field.

“I’m sorry, Dad. I know I screwed up big time when I threw that interception. I’ll do better the next game.”

His dad looked down at him. “Yeah, you better win next time.”

Bobby flinched at the ugly scowl and the harshness of his dad’s voice. He kept his head down because he didn’t want to see the rest of the guys watching him. “I will, Dad.”

“Hey, T-Rex.”

Surprised by the change in his father’s tone, Bobby looked up at him, but his dad was looking over his head. A muscle jumped in his jaw. Bobby glanced over his shoulder. Mandy ran toward him, and his mom and the sheriff were holding hands following her.

He still wasn’t sure what he thought of the sheriff. He seemed nice enough at the restaurant. “Yeah, Dad?”

“Do you think you can tell me if you hear the sheriff tell your mom anything about me?”