Edwina cleared her throat.
Suddenly Debbie Sue’s supper roiled in her stomach as if it might come back up. She swallowed a big gulp of iced tea. “Ed’s niece had a court hearing today. Ed and I went along for support.”
“I’d like to buy you something a little stronger than tea. At some place a little quieter where we could talk. Catch up on the good ol’ days.”
Hah. Buddy Overstreet would kill you and me both. “I can’t take the time, Quint. Got to get back to Salt Lick.”
“That busy, huh?” He picked up his mug and sipped his beer, then with a chuckle, set it back on the table. “You know, moving back to Midland has brought back a lot of memories, Debbie Sue. Know what I was thinking about just the other day?”
I’m afraid to guess. Debbie Sue bit into her ear of corn.
“The National Finals. You ever think about that?”
“I have nothing to do with rodeo anymore, especially rodeo in Las Vegas.” Debbie Sue dabbed at her mouth with her napkin. “It’s almost that time of year though. I suppose, if you’ve got two good bulls, you should be thinking about a big rodeo.”
“It ain’t bulls that was on my mind, sugar. I was remembering those three days we spent in that fancy Vegas hotel after I won that little contest the first time.”
Quint had the money—and the scars—to show for his wins. The year of his first championship had been momentous for her as well as for Quint. That year had been her debut performance as a professional barrel racer.
He ran his fingers down her arm. Her cheeks warmed. Goosebumps raised on her skin. Why was he affecting her this way? She stole a glance across the table at Edwina. She had never discussed details of her relationship with Quint with Edwina or anyone else.
“Hah,” she said. “The National Finals isn’t exactly a little contest.
“Back in those days, my body was in top shape and yours was, too. No broken bones, no sprains, no bumps and bruises. Plenty of energy. I could go all night. Remember that?”
Oh, Jesus. Debbie Sue’s cheeks flamed. He was talking as if Edwina weren’t sitting across the table two feet away. Shit! Shut-up, Quint.
He grinned like a monkey. “We didn’t come up for air or put on a stitch of clothes for three days and nights.”
“Quint, stop it.” She slashed the air with a flat hand. “That train has left the station.”
“Oh, yeah? Then why is your pulse fluttering in your throat? See? I notice those little things, darlin’.”
Reflexively, Debbie Sue’s hand lifted and her palm flattened on her collar bone.
“Look at me, Debbie Sue.”
Everything inside her told her not to turn her head toward him, but she couldn’t resist. He was still a beautiful man—chiseled features, sky-blue eyes that constantly showed a twinkle, thick caramel-colored hair. Brad Pitt probably had no idea he had a doppelganger in Texas who was a world champion bull rider. And this evening, he smelled like a men’s cologne counter in a fancy department store.
His eyes captured hers. “I’ve been wanting to say some things for a long time, Debbie Sue, but every time I’ve thought I had the chance, something always screwed it up.”
“Oh, yeah? Probably that parade of buckle bunnies that’s always followed you around.”
“For me, that week in Vegas was outstanding. I don’t think it’s ever been as sweet as those three days.”
Damn him. He had always been able to skate right past anything that cast him in a bad light.
“How about you?” he said. “You ever think about us? Is it still good with you and that long-legged cop?”
“Sure is. He’s doing great, isn’t he, Ed?” A comment from Edwina would surely kill this embarrassing conversation.
“He’s a captain in the Texas Rangers now, with a sterling reputation,” Edwina put in.
Thank God Edwina had caught the cue.
Quint didn’t even look at Edwina. His eyes were still locked on Debbie Sue. “Sure he is. But that doesn’t mean a damn thing to me. When y’all crawl in bed at night, does he make you scream like a banshee? The way I used to?”
Debbie Sue’s cheeks turned to pure fire. Her face must be the color of a fire engine. “Cut it out, Quint. You’re wasting your time and embarrassing me in front of my friend.”
“It was hot between us, darlin’. Women don’t forget that. And I haven’t forgotten it either.”
Edwina cleared her throat with a loud rumble, climbed over the bench seat without stumbling and falling on her face and stalked away.
“See what you’ve done?” Debbie Sue snapped. “Now I’m going to have to listen to a raft of shit from her all the way home.”
“I want you back, Debbie Sue. I mean it. It was more than sex between us. It was spiritual. When ol’ Ace of Spades got the best of me that time, if I hadn’t known you were in that surgery waiting room, I might not have come back from that tunnel.”
She well remembered that night in Denver. After a wild ride on a dangerous bull that had bucked him off, gored him and left him with a skull fracture and a broken femur, he had been close to death. During a long recovery, he had talked then about “going through the tunnel,” but knowing she wouldn’t be on the other side had made him come back. But that incident hadn’t made him a steady, loyal man. Nor had it cured his roving eye.
“You had no idea I was there, Quint. They hauled you out of that arena unconscious.”
“I admit it took me a few years and a few women to figure it out. But I finally did. No woman nowhere does it for me like you did. I know that now.”
She lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “Maybe it has nothing to do with me. Maybe you’ve finally grown up. It doesn’t matter anyway. I’m a happily married woman. This
