LITMIR.BIZ

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the sofa, please,” she whispered, fighting back a sharp moan as he lowered her gently to the cushions.

      “I’ll get your pain capsules and something to drink,” Tim said, moving into the small kitchen.

      “Thank you,” Jane told the tall cowboy. It was a grudging thank-you, because he’d said some harsh things and she was angry.

      “No need,” he replied quietly. “You might have stopped me before I made a complete fool of myself. I suppose you’ve forgotten more about racing than Cherry will ever learn. Cherry’s my daughter,” he added.

      That explained a lot. She grimaced as she shifted. “I’m sorry you took the criticism the wrong way, but I won’t apologize for it,” she said stiffly. “She’s got the talent, but she’s afraid of the turns. Someone needs to help her…get better control of her fears and her horse.”

      “I can ride, but that’s about it. I don’t know enough about rodeo to do her any good,” he said flatly, “even though we’re as crazy about rodeo in Wyoming as you Texans are.”

      “You’re from Wyoming?” she asked, curious.

      “Yes. We moved to Texas a few weeks ago, so that…” He stopped, strangely reluctant to tell her it was because he’d moved his company headquarters there to deal with an expanded market in Texas. “So that we could be closer to Cherry’s mother,” he amended. In fact, that hadn’t influenced his decision to move to Victoria. Marie was no one’s idea of a mother, and she’d been overly critical of Cherry for some time. It was a coincidence that Marie and her husband moved to Victoria from Houston about the same time Todd had moved his company headquarters there. Or so Marie said. “She and her second husband live in Victoria.”

      She let her eyes slide over his lean, hard face. “Does her mother ride? Couldn’t she help her?”

      His eyes seemed to darken. “Her mother hates horses. She didn’t want Cherry in rodeo at all, but I put my foot down. Rodeo is the most important thing in Cherry’s life.”

      “Then she should be allowed to do it,” she agreed, and she was thinking how sad it was that he and his wife were divorced. His poor little girl. She knew what it was like to grow up without a mother. Her mother had died of pneumonia when she was barely in school.

      She glanced back at the man. He’d said they were from Wyoming. That explained the lack of a Texas accent. She lay back, and the pain bit into her slender body like teeth. Hot tears wet her eyes as she struggled with the anguish it caused her just to move.

      Tim came back and handed her two capsules and a cola. She swallowed the medicine and sipped the cold liquid, savoring the nip of it against her tongue. If only the pain would stop.

      “That’s sweet,” she said with a sigh.

      The tall man stood looking down at her with a frown. “Are you all right?”

      “Sure,” she said. “I’m just dandy. Thanks for your help.”

      She wasn’t forthcoming, and he had no right to expect it. He nodded and moved out of the trailer.

      Tim came after him. “Thanks for your help, stranger,” he said. “I’d never have got her here by myself.”

      They shook hands. “My pleasure.” He paused. “What happened to her?” he added abruptly.

      “Her daddy wrecked the car,” he said simply. “He was killed instantly, but Jane was pinned in there with him for three hours or more. They thought she’d broken her back,” he concluded.

      There was a harsh intake of breath.

      “Oh, it was a herniated disk instead. It’s painful and slow to heal, and she’ll most always have some pain with it. But they can work miracles these days. She couldn’t walk right away, though, and we weren’t sure if she’d be paralyzed. But she got up out of that bed and started working on herself. Stayed in physical therapy until even the doctors grinned. Never knew a girl like her,” he mused. “This thing has taken some of the fight out of her, of course, but she’s no quitter. Her dad would have been proud. Sad about her career, though. She’ll never ride in competition again.”

      “What in hell was she doing on that horse this morning?”

      “Showing everybody that nothing short of death will ever keep her down,” Tim said simply. “Never did catch your name, stranger.”

      “Burke. Todd Burke.”

      “I’m Tim Harley. I’m proud to meet you.”

      “Same here.” He hesitated for just a minute before he turned and went back along the aisles. He felt odd. He’d never felt so odd in his life before. Perhaps, he thought, it was that he wasn’t used to proud women. She’d surprised him with the extent of her grit and stubbornness. She wasn’t a quitter, in spite of impossible circumstances. He didn’t doubt that she’d ride again, either, even if she didn’t get back into competition. God, she was game! He was sorry he’d managed to get off on the wrong foot with her. He’d been irritated by the remarks she’d made about his daughter. Now he realized that she was trying to help, and he’d taken it the wrong way.

      He was sensitive about Cherry. His daughter had taken more vicious criticism from her own mother than she was ever likely to get from a stranger. He’d over-reacted. Now he was left with a case of badly bruised pride and a wounded ego. He smiled a little bitterly at his own embarrassment. He deserved it, being so cruel to a woman in that condition. It had been a long time since he’d made a mistake of such magnitude.

      He wandered back down the lane to join his daughter, who was excitedly talking to one of the rodeo clowns.

      “Dad, did you see her, that blonde lady who accepted the plaque?” she asked when he was within earshot. “That was Jane Parker herself!”

      “I saw her.” He glanced at the young cowboy, who flushed and grinned at Cherry, and then quickly made himself scarce.

      “I wish you wouldn’t do that,” Cherry said on a sigh. “Honestly, Dad, I’m fourteen!”

      “And I’m an old bear. I know.” He threw an affectionate arm around her. “You did fine, partner. I’m proud of you.”

      “Thanks! Where did you disappear to?”

      “I helped your idol into her motor home,” he said.

      “My idol…Miss Parker?”

      “The very same. She’s got a bad back, that’s why she doesn’t ride anymore. She’s game, though.”

      “She’s the best barrel racer I ever saw,” Cherry said. “I have a video of last year’s rodeo and she’s on it. The reason I begged to come to this rodeo was so that I could meet her, but she isn’t riding this time. Gosh, I was disappointed when they said she’d retired. I didn’t know she had a bad back.”

      “Neither did I,” he murmured. He put an arm around her and hugged her close. She was precious to him, but he tended to busy himself too deeply in his work, especially in the years since her mother had walked out on them. “We haven’t had much time together, have we? I’ll make it up to you while we’re on vacation.”

      “How about right now?” She grinned at him. “You could introduce me to Miss Parker.”

      He cleared his throat. How was he going to tell her that her idol thought he was about as low as a snake?

      “She’s so pretty,” Cherry added without waiting for his answer. “Mother’s pretty, too, but not like that.” She grimaced. “Mother doesn’t want me to come up next week, did she tell you?”

      “Yes.” He didn’t add that they’d argued about it. Marie didn’t spend any more time with Cherry than she had to. She’d walked out on the two of them for another man six years ago, declaring that Cherry was just too much for her to handle. It had devastated the young girl and left Todd

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