Oliver wasn’t about to look a gift distraction in the mouth. He backed up another step and was beyond relieved when Renee followed his lead. “Chloe will be able to make everything right.” She wanted the rodeo? This was her chance to prove she could handle it. Oliver gave his sister a look. “Mr. Gibbons says there’s a problem with the dressing room.” Chloe nodded and Oliver gave thanks he had at least one intelligent sibling.
“I’d be happy to see what I can do to make you more comfortable,” Oliver heard Flash say, which was followed by something that, if Oliver had to guess, was the sound of Chloe punching their twit brother.
Oliver didn’t care. He spun, tucking Renee against his side and all but dragging her away from the crowd. He glanced back over his shoulder to see Gibbons peering past people. Crap. Hopefully, Chloe would be able to communicate to Flash—either with words or fists—to keep his mouth shut about Renee if anyone asked questions.
Oliver was so busy looking over his shoulder that he nearly clocked into Pete Wellington. “Lawrence,” the bigger man all but spit.
Jesus, what else could go wrong? “Not today, Wellington,” Oliver growled, shouldering past the man.
“Your sister is ruining this—”
“She’s in charge—take it up with her,” he called over his shoulder as Renee crammed her hat back onto her head. “We’re leaving.”
If he’d expected her to shrink and cower, he was wrong. “Slow down.”
“What?”
Still holding on to him, she pulled back, forcing him to take smaller steps. “If you run, they chase.” She glanced up at him. “And for God’s sake, stop scowling.”
Confused, he slowed down. “Because...”
She sighed. “Because they’re sharks, Oliver. If they smell blood in the water, they’ll go into a frenzy.” Somehow, she managed to smile up at him. “Trust me on this.”
He damn near stumbled over his feet at that smile. It was warm and carefree and, if he didn’t know her so well, he’d think she was just another cowgirl having a good time before the rides.
But he did know better. Her shoulders were back and her chin was up and she had every single piece of her armor locked into place. And she was right, he realized. She had a lot more experience dealing with unfriendly crowds than he did.
So he forced himself to go at a snail’s pace. “I’m sorry you’re going to miss the rodeo,” he said, guiding her around a pair of cowboys making a beeline toward Brooke Bonner and her leather miniskirt. “I’ll make it up to you, babe.”
“It’s fine,” she lied. And it broke his heart because that lie rolled right off her tongue like he was supposed to believe that things would ever be fine again.
After what felt like a century but was probably only about ten minutes of semileisurely strolling, they made it to where he’d parked his truck. He helped her up into the cab and then fired up the engine.
Anger boiled through him. He’d told Chloe this was a bad idea, although it wasn’t her fault it’d all fallen apart so quickly. No, he had Flash to thank for that. His father was going to pitch a fit over this.
For years—years—Oliver had kept his promise to his mother that he’d take care of the family, because Trixie Lawrence had known then that her death would devastate Milt.
She hadn’t been wrong. But he’d tried and tried and tried, for God’s sake, to be the glue that held the Lawrence family together. He’d given up on his dreams of moving back to New York and working for anyone other than his father—because that was the truth. He wasn’t going back to New York as anything more than a tourist.
He’d given up so much more than that. He dealt with the damned rodeo and he ran an energy company and he didn’t like either one. His whole life had been in service to the Lawrence family name. Yeah, he had money to show for that. Money was great.
But it wasn’t a life.
And he wanted his life back. More to the point, he wanted a life with Renee. He wanted to make those daydreams a reality. He wanted to do what he wanted, not what was best for the bottom line or his father.
Maybe he wasn’t that different from Renee, after all. He wanted her for himself.
If he lost her because of his brother, so help him God, he would not be responsible for his actions.
They were silent while he navigated through traffic, but he was thinking the whole time. He could deal with his rage and his dreams later. Right now, he had a problem—a huge one. The Preston Pyramid Princess had been confirmed at the All-Around All-Stars Rodeo by someone who’d probably lost a lot of money in the scheme.
Oliver was a man of means. He had options. He didn’t have to put everything and everyone on lockdown. He didn’t want Renee locked away. He wanted her to be safe—and free. And more than anything, he didn’t want those two things to be a contradiction.
Once they made the roadways, he began to talk. “Here’s what I’m thinking.”
“Oliver...” she said softly.
He kept going. “I have a vacation home in Colorado—Vail. If I charter a flight, we could leave first thing in the morning.”
“Oliver.”
“But we could plant some rumors—be proactive. Say you were seen in Florida or something. I know a media specialist and—”
“Stop.”
“I see the red light,” he muttered as he braked. “If you’re not up for flying, we can take a car, but it’ll take longer. We should probably still hire the charter and send them in the other direction so—”
“Oliver.” Her voice was sharp, hard. It cut through the cab of his truck like a knife. “No.”
“You’d rather fly?”
“Jesus, men,” she said under her breath as the light turned green. “No, I’m not going to Vail.”
“That’s fine. Where would you like to go? I
