Love & Rodeo (27 page)

“
You stay away from me Levi Cavanaugh.”

“
Kallie!” he said as reached for her arm.

She turned to face him.

“
You don’t have to explain. Just go help Nolan with the guys in the barrel barn.”

He looked down at her. “I’m sorry.”

“
Levi, I don’t have time for this. I don’t have time for any of this,” she snapped.

He nodded. “I’m just going to change,” he told her.

“
Okay.”

They climbed the steps in silence. Kallie wanted to say more to him, but she couldn’t. Even though she was pissed at him for running away, she wanted to know what he was thinking. Did he hate her? Was he going to leave and never come back? As her insecurities settled over her, the urge to go to him was strong but time wouldn’t allow for it. She watched Levi climb the steps. She wanted to apologize to him for everything, but something inside of her told her not to. Instead, she went into the kitchen and helped Cookie with thank you bags for all the families.

A half-hour later, families started to arrive. Kallie went to the barn and all of the girls had their horses saddled and Nora even saddled Blaze for her.

“
What’s this?” Kallie asked.

“
Didn’t you and Levi say you were going to ride today? I mean Levi is here, right?” Nora asked.

“
Yeah. We did, didn’t we?”

Nora smiled at her. “You know you want to.”

Kallie rolled her eyes and hugged her sister. “Will you ride him while I do my little spiel?”

“
Of course!”

Nora jumped up on Blaze while Kallie hurried to greet the families. As she approached the crowd of thirty to forty people, she noticed a variety of men and women sitting around. In the crowd, was a little boy that looked to be about two. Kallie’s heart ached at the sight of him as her thoughts went back to the argument from the night before and how Levi left her. Heat coursed through her. She made a pitiful attempt to shake it, but instead decided to bottle it up and use it when she ran Blaze.

“
Hello and welcome to the Lazy K. I just want to thank everyone for coming out today. The Lazy K is the only barrel racing, bull riding clinic in the United States to pair both of the sports up. It is also the only clinic where you are taught by riders who have both won world titles. Here at the Lazy K, we pride ourselves with the one-on-one relationships between rider and teacher. So I bet your wondering what your family member has been up to the last couple of weeks. Well, the rider’s focused on strength training and equipment the first week they were here. Both bull riding and barrel racing take a lot of leg strength to hang on, and if you have none, well, you will most likely land on your back in the dirt.” The crowd laughed a little. She smiled. “The second week they were here, we focused mainly on riding and perfecting our craft. While two weeks isn’t nearly enough time to become world champions, I think everyone will be surprised at how well these ladies and gentleman have done. So, without further ado, I give you your family.”

The guys walked out, while the girls rode their horses out. Everyone clapped and cheered for them, including Kallie.

A few minutes later, the girls were off. Kallie had to admit, she was pretty impressed by the ladies. They were really looking good. Pride filled her chest until she felt someone stand beside her.

“
Are you going to talk to me?” Levi asked her through puppy dog eyes.

“
Actually, no. I’m not. Not right now.”

Kallie turned her attention back to the girls. He could suffer. He made her suffer all night. She hadn’t known if he was leaving for good or if she’d ever see him again. The pain she felt in her chest when she thought about him never coming back killed her. She pushed the thoughts from her mind. They were about halfway through the ladies when Nora approached her with Blaze.

“
You ready for him?” Nora asked.

Kallie nodded and climbed on top of her chestnut horse. Once in the saddle, she rubbed his neck and patted his rear. Immediately his ears perked up as he watched the other horses run. Blaze looked back at her and she nodded to him. He couldn’t talk of course, but he knew what was going to happen. The last girl ran and Kallie went to circle Blaze.

“
One more time, buddy,” Kallie told him before she kicked him.

They were off to the first barrel, Kallie holding him back a little not wanting to discourage the other girls. Blaze fought through her attempts to hold him back as he went right around the second barrel and hurried to the third. She dropped her outside rein and pulled the inside to her pocket while applying the pressure to his girth and they were around. He galloped toward that invisible line and Kallie closed her eyes, savoring the way it felt to be barrel racing instead of teaching it. When they crossed it, her heart was racing and she opened her eyes. The first person she saw was Levi. He looked up at her while she brought Blaze to a stop. All the girls clapped while her eyes never left his blue ones. She climbed off of Blaze and Nora took him.

She started for the stands to talk to the families about the bull riders but Levi was already there. Instead, she stood behind him inside the arena and listened.

“
I don’t know about you, but some of the guys I met when they first arrived here were sissies. They were afraid to grow some calluses.” The crowd laughed.

Kallie listened, but was quickly distracted as she thought about Levi’s callused hands and how they felt when he ran them over her soft skin. She shivered even though it was well over eighty degrees. She tried focusing, but Levi was finishing up. He left and she watched him jog toward the chute where he helped the guys get onto their bulls.

An hour later, all of the guys had rode, including Levi, and Kallie was concluding her goodbye speech. She watched as everyone started for the bunkhouses, while families followed to help them pack. Kallie watched as Nora and Nolan were heading toward the barn to assist in getting the horses put away, and Levi was helping a few hands get the bulls back out to pasture. Instead of going to help them, she retreated to the house to make sure that the shuttle would arrive on time.

Kallie climbed the steps and walked into the kitchen. She called the shuttle and it was running on time. She reached into the refrigerator and grabbed a beer. She opened it and took a big gulp as she tried to prepare her heart for what was going to happen next. She was about to lose the best thing that had ever happened to her—again. The thought sickened her. She spun and placed a hand on her head. She replayed their argument over in her mind and wished she had said something sooner to him. It didn’t matter though. It was all over now and there was no way for her to escape it. Instead, she’d have to grin and bear it.

Kallie heard the shuttle coming down the driveway. She took one last drink of her beer and then walked outside to meet them. Most of the families were already waiting. Kallie hugged the girls and wished them the best, as did Nora. She heard the little boy squeal behind her and she turned to see Levi throwing him in the air. Her heart caught and she gasped at the sight. All of a sudden it was hard to breathe and she was overcome with a wave of emotion. She choked it back. She wouldn’t cry in front of all these strangers. She watched Levi as he handed the little boy back to his mother and then turned to look at her. She didn’t have to guess what he was feeling. She knew it because she was feeling the same thing. It was pain, regret, sorrow, grief, and guilt, all wrapped into one big ball and shoved inside of them. He just looked at her. She fought off the urge to go and comfort him.

Kallie felt an arm move around her and turned to see Nora. She pulled her younger sister into a hug and squeezed. Nora always knew when she needed a hug.

A few minutes later, everyone was loaded onto the bus and the four of them stood in the driveway, waving goodbye. She heard Nolan clear his throat.

“
Ms. Kallie.”

She turned to look at him.

“
Yes, Nolan.”

“
Would it be okay if I took Nora into town for some ice cream?”

Kallie smiled at him and then nodded. “That’s fine. Thank you for all of your help today. I really appreciate it.”

Nolan dipped his head. “Not a problem.”

Nora hugged her sister and she watched as they climbed into Nolan’s truck. She turned to see Levi retreating to the house, so she headed to the barn to start the process of graining the horses. When she got to the barn she relieved all of the ranch hands for the evening. Sending them home before she went to the tack room and started to pour the grain into the small buckets.

Kallie enjoyed graining the horses. It was a repetitious task and it was always the same. It never changed. Each horse got one scoop and that’s how it was all the time. That’s how it would always be. She found peace in that. She finished filling the buckets and carried them to each stall. The second time she came out of the tack room, Levi was standing there.

“
Can we talk now?” he asked and she jumped and the grain went everywhere.

“
Damn it, Levi! You scared me!”

He laughed. “I see that.”

“
I hate you!” she told him.

“
Can we talk?”

“
Don’t you talk to me, Levi Cavanaugh!”

“
Kallie, we have to talk about this,” he said steadily.

“
Why? It’s not like you’re going to stay, and the last thing I need is someone walking in and out of mine and Nora’s life. We need someone who’s going to be here. Not someone who runs when we have a fight.”

“
Who says I’m running? I’m here, ain’t I?”

“
You left! You left and I didn’t know if you were coming back. I’ve had enough people leave me, Levi,” she said as a tear fell.

He closed the distance between them and wiped the tear from her cheek, while he held her face. Her hand found his.

“
I never want to leave you again. I didn’t understand why you left me before, but I do now and I don’t know how I’m ever going to repay you.”

“
Levi—”

“
Will you shut up for a second and let me finish?”

She smiled at him.

She watched as he dropped to his knee. “What are you doing?” Kallie asked as she wiped her eyes.

“
This is the last time I’m going to do this, so pay close attention.”

A whole new set of tears filled her eyes as she watched him pull the box from his pocket and opened it. It was the same ring he’d presented to her three years ago.

“
Kallie Davis, the sacrifices you’ve made for me... I’m not sure I’m ever going to be able to repay you for, but I do know that I’m going to spend every day of the rest of our lives trying to give that back to you. I’m not going to tell you that this is going to be easy, because it’s not. There’s going to be times when you’re gonna want to kill me and me you, but I’m gonna work at this because I love you. If the last three years have taught me anything, it’s that my life is miserable without you in it. If there is anything the last few days have taught me, it’s that I don’t feel complete without you by my side. I hate that I wasn’t there for you when you needed me the most. I can’t do anything about that now, but I can and will be there now. Kallie Davis, you’re my everything, my home, and the other half of me. I love you. I think I’ve loved you since the first time I laid eyes on you.”

She looked down at him as the tears welled in her eyes.

“
What do you think? Will you marry me?”

She didn’t have to think about her answer. She knew it before it came out of her mouth. It was the three-letter word she wanted to say three years ago.

“
Yes! A thousand times, yes!”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and crushed his lips with hers while he stood and lifted her. She pulled away and looked into those Cavanaugh blue eyes.

“
I thought you were leaving. I thought you were going to leave me forever,” Kallie said looking at him.

“
Looks like you’re stuck with me.”

She smiled at him, and then kissed him once more, this time a little deeper.

He pulled away. “Are you going to put this on?”

She held out her hand to him and as it shook he slid the ring on her finger. “Perfect,” she said as it fit snugly to her finger.

“
That’s a relief. I don’t know if the shop in Vegas would re-size it after three years.” Levi joked.

“
How did you know? Were you planning this all along?”

“
No. I’ve always carried it with me. For good luck,” he clarified.

She looked at him and he lifted her again. “I’m taking you to bed,” he told her.

She smiled wickedly at him. “Who needs a bed when you have a bale of hay?”

“
Damn, you’re sexy.” Levi captured her lips with his as she pulled him toward the hay room.