Love & Rodeo (8 page)

They didn’t say much after that. They swayed to the music while a woman sang the words. It was clear, she had one too many to drink.

“
You ready to go?” Levi asked.

“
I’ll go by myself. You stay with Travis and Deuce.”

She looked over and saw them at the bar with two blondes.

“
Looks like they’re heading for trouble,” she said.

“
They can take care of themselves. You don’t need to be out on your own.”

She smiled and they walked toward Deuce and Travis.

“
Hey, we’re heading out,” Levi told them as he squeezed Kallie’s hand.

Travis looked at Kallie.

“
Be good to him.” He smiled a raunchy smile that sent chills up and down Kallie’s spine.

She decided that she didn’t like the ‘drunk’ Travis.

Levi punched Travis’s arm. “Shut up!”

Levi shook his head and they walked to the door.

It only took fifteen minutes to get a cab and be back at her trailer. She walked inside while Levi paid the cab driver. She couldn’t stop thinking about Luke. As she undressed, her thoughts moved to Levi and what he’d done to her earlier. A moment later, he joined her. She watched on as he undressed and when he was nearly finished, she went to him with the intentions of returning the pleasure he’d given her.

Chapter Eight

The following day was Friday and it was qualifying day. There were at least fifty barrel racers hoping to make this round. Kallie was one of them. She pinned the number nine to the back of her shirt. She had to get below a time of seventeen to move to the next round. She slipped on the collared shirt and buttoned it before she tucked it into her jeans and took one last look at herself. Once she was satisfied with her appearance, she walked to the barn to get Blaze.

She went to the outside warm-up arena and warmed Blaze up. When they both felt comfortable, she went inside to wait for her number to be called.

“
This is how today will work, ladies, so listen up! We will bring riders in ten at a time. You will run and if you get under a seventeen, you’ll move to the finals tomorrow night. If you get over a seventeen, well, we’ll see you in Nashville next weekend. Any questions?” the circuit director, Lenny told them.

His eyes found Kallie and he winked. Lenny had been with the circuit for years. He’d known Kallie when she was just a toddler in diapers. She smiled back at him.

There weren’t any questions and soon only the first ten girls stood there with their horses. The arena was a big one and a seventeen would be hard to get, but she believed she and Blaze could do it. They stood in the corner and waited patiently as they watched the eight girls in front of them receive high seventeens. They were next.

Kallie circled him as her heart raced in her chest, and then took off. They were out of the chute and headed to the first barrel. Dropping her outside rein, she pulled Blaze to her pocket. Her shin skimmed the barrel as he went around, but the barrel was up. They hurried to the second barrel as her shin screamed at her. They turned the second barrel with ease and headed to the third. She dropped the outside rein again and around they went. Kallie kicked toward the line. They crossed it.

“
16.828.
Woowee!
Ladies! She’s a fast one!” Kallie heard the announcer as she tried to catch her breath.

She leaned down and patted Blaze on the neck as she looked at the last runner. She had fear all over her face. Her horse was prancing around, and it was clear he could feel her fear.

“
Take a deep breath. Try to calm down. He knows you’re panicked,” Kallie told her.

She watched as the girl took a deep breath, and almost immediately her horse calmed.

“
See? Good luck!” Kallie told her as they started for the barn.

Levi met her at Blaze’s stall!

“
You’re in!” he yelled as he pulled her from the saddle and hugged her.

“
Now, I just need to do that tomorrow!” Kallie said as Levi set her down. Her shin burned and she winced.

“
What’s wrong?” Levi asked as she pushed her back onto a bale of hay.

She looked down at her shin. It was bleeding pretty bad, and had bled through her jeans.

“
You’re bleeding.”

He bent down and lifted her pant leg up. What she saw was pure ugliness. It was already swollen and black and blue.

“
This looks bad.”

“
It’s fine. It happens all the time. I’ll be fine.”

“
Why don’t you just go back to the trailer and I’ll put Blaze away?”

“
I don’t think so. A rider always puts her horse away.” Her father’s voice echoed in her head.

“
You are one stubborn woman.” He kissed her nose.

She stood and limped to Blaze’s stall. She unsaddled him and then sprayed him off before she headed back to the trailer. She pulled out the first aid kit, and started working on her leg, while Levi grabbed an ice pack.

“
Travis just texted me.”

“
Yeah? What’d he have to say?”

“
You’re holding the fastest time. There’s only a handful of girls that are going into the finals. Cass isn’t one of them.”

“
So they’re back together?”

“
I don’t ask,” Levi said, shaking his head.

“
I’m sorry she didn’t make it.”

“
Me too, but I’m glad you did,” Levi told her.

He stood and kissed her forehead. “I’m gonna go hang with the guys for a bit.”

She watched him walk out the door, and then hobbled into her room. She pulled out her cell phone and called her Grams.

“
Grams?”

“
Kallie? Is that you?”

“
Yep!”

“
How are you?”

“
I’m well. I just made the go round in Atlanta. We ran a 16.828. We’re holding the fastest time right now.”

“
That’s amazing, dear. Well done!”

“
Thanks. Is Nora around?”

“
I don’t…”

“
She has to talk to me soon, Grams. Put her on the phone.”

“
All right, but I don’t think you’re going to like what she has to say.”

There was a pause while her Grams took the phone to Nora.

“
Hello?”

Kallie sighed with relief when she heard her younger sister’s voice.

“
Hey, Nor!”

“
Kallie?”

“
Yeah.”

“
What do you want?”

“
I just wanted to hear your voice. I miss you.”

“
Well, maybe you shouldn’t have left in the first place,” Nora snapped.

“
I know, but this is the only way I’m gonna get the money I need to adopt you.”

“
Why do you have to adopt me? Grams is taking good care of me.”

“
Nora, we’ve talked about this.”

“
I know. I just wish you were here. Why can’t you get a normal job?” Nora’s attitude dissipated.

“
It’ll take me forever to earn the money that way. A couple of wins on the circuit and we’ll be set. We’ll have money for the adoption, and it will get us a nice place. Then I’ll get a normal job.”

“
How much longer?”

“
I don’t know. Hopefully not much longer.”

“
Will you be near Houston any time soon?”

“Next is Nashville and then Cincinnati, New York, and Boston.”

“
Did you make the go-round?”

“
I did. 16.828.”

“
Wow.”

“
I know. You’ll never believe what I did last night.”

“
What?”

“
I got a tattoo.”

“
What!
” Nora squealed.

“
Yeah. I got angel wings on my back with Mom and Dad’s name and dates.”

“
You have to take a picture and send it to me.”

“
I will. Oh, and I got this nasty gash on my leg today, running Blaze.”

“
I want a pic of that too.”

Kallie laughed.

“
You’re so gross!”

“
What? I can’t help it.”

“
You’re such a dork.”

“
I can’t help it.”

The tension between them was gone and Kallie was happy to hear Nora’s voice. They talked for an hour about school and her new friends in Houston. She sounded happy. So happy she started to second-guess adopting her sister. They hung up and Kallie fell fast asleep.

Chapter Nine

“
You and Kallie skipped out early last night,” Travis said as they sat on the fence, watching the bulls in the arena.

“
Yeah.”

“
She must have gold between those legs.”

Levi laughed. “What are you talking about?”

“
I mean she’s got you wrapped, and it’s only been a week.”

“
I really like her. Why does that matter?”

“
I just thought when you finally decided to join the circuit, you and I would spend most nights partying. I didn’t think you were looking for anything serious.”

“
Kallie and I are having fun.”

“
Yeah, well, you’ve got Luke’s panties all in a wad.”

“
Yeah, well, Luke can go piss on a tree. She doesn’t belong to him.”

“
That’s not what Luke thinks. Before she came back, he kept telling everyone how they would get back together.”

“
She doesn’t want him anymore. Why can’t he just let it go?”

“
Like I said, she must have gold between those legs.”

Levi shook his head. “Don’t talk about her like that.”

“
I’m just saying. You and Luke are two of the top riders, and she’s got you both wrapped around her pretty little fingers.”

“
I’m not wrapped.”

“
Yeah? Prove it!”

“
I don’t have to prove anything to you, but what?”

“
Come out with us tonight. Just guys. No Kallie.”

It didn’t feel right to him. “Fine. Whatever.”

They each climbed down off the gates and walked to draw their bulls for the following night.

Later that evening, Levi walked out into the living room.

“
You look handsome,” Kallie told him, looking up from the book she was reading.

“
Thank you. I’m going to go hang out with the guys for a bit.”

She smiled. “Have fun,” she told him as she looked back at her book.

He walked over and sat down, pulling her legs into his lap. He caressed her thigh until she looked at him.

“
Can I get a kiss before I leave?”

She smiled at him and his heart fluttered in his chest. He looked deep into those green eyes—those green eyes that he could lose himself in. He took the book from her and threw it over his shoulder before he cupped her face. Stopping an inch from her, he looked deep into her eyes and breathed her in. Honeysuckle filled his senses as he felt that familiar need work at his core. She looked back at him with a fire in her eyes that could have set him up in flames. Kallie was already breathing heavy and he barely touched her. She was beautiful and he thought briefly that he could be falling in love with her. A little frightened at the thought, he closed the gap between them and took her lips with his. Just as expected, her body responded, melting into him as she spread her legs, allowing him to be closer to her, but it wasn’t close enough.

Levi sat up and pulled Kallie into his lap so that she straddled him. Satisfied with their proximity and her hips pressed against his, he deepened the kiss. Her long brown hair fell around them, acting as a curtain that shut out the rest of the world. He could only see her in that moment and damn was she beautiful. He grasped her backside and pulled her until she grinded against him. She rocked and came back to him while her hands moved over his body, igniting something deep inside of him. She rocked backed once more, this time digging her nails into his shoulders and tilting her head back to expose her neck to him. He kissed her neck and trailed kisses to her shoulder. Her hips moved more quickly, moaning his name in response. A few rocks later, he watched as she came undone on top of him. She clung to him as she called out his name. His name coming from her lips was more than he could handle. He wanted this woman something awful. He wanted to be inside of her more than he wanted to breathe.