“No, we...happened to park near each other. Jordan’s been so insistent about this, I decided to see for myself while he’s away.”
“A bigger crowd today,” Jenna said, “with our local celebrity here. Wonder if he’ll sign autographs?” She fanned her face. “Um, I’m wild about Hadley, and Dallas is my brother-in-law, but that is one good-looking man. Must run in the family.”
Dallas was also a happy force of nature, so different from Elizabeth, who fretted over everything, including what other people might be thinking. She worried about his reaction when she found the courage to tell him about the baby. It was a good thing she’d driven herself today instead of riding with him. “The kids look so excited,” she managed. “I can’t imagine my mother allowing me to play cowgirl. Different times,” she said.
“Different moms.” Jenna’s gaze tracked Harry’s daughter Emmie, who’d been lifted onto a calf’s back and was being led around by Logan. “I saw your mother yesterday at the Bon Appetit having lunch with Bernice Caldwell. They play mah-jongg every week, they said.”
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “They’re bosom buddies, aren’t they? I don’t know which of them is harder to deal with.” Or more critical, she added silently.
Jenna took her arm. “The first event’s starting. Let’s get a seat on the fence over there.”
The kids’ rodeo was a casual affair. In the mutton busting, the competitors’ time and score counted but hardly mattered—everyone got a prize. Elizabeth was relieved to see that even on this hot summer day, they all wore helmets, long-sleeved shirts and jeans for protection. Soon, she stopped thinking about the speech she had to give Dallas. Several boys went head over heels off the sheep, which stopped on a dime then ran off around the ring. Luckily, one parent was permitted to be in the arena to supervise and, if necessary, intervene so no one got hurt. Dallas stood nearby, observing, giving pointers and shouting encouragement.
He’d been right. It was nothing like the rodeo Elizabeth had watched on TV with him. The people here were noisy too, but there was a generally festive, good-natured air that didn’t come across as well on-screen. Elizabeth cheered along with everyone else.
After the event, Dallas strolled over to the fence and said hi to Jenna too.
“You’re a great teacher,” Elizabeth said, a bit breathless. Beside her, Jenna shot her an interested glance, then focused on the center of the ring where the pint-size entrants had lined up and were taking bows, none of them in sync.
Dallas grinned. “Wait till you see the next event.” It involved the adorable calves, all of which had bright red ribbons now tied to their tails. There was a lot of swishing of flies and some bovine bellowing as the sun climbed overhead into the noon sky, increasing the heat and humidity. And the smells. Elizabeth mopped at her forehead but couldn’t look away from the action. As the first calf took off running, so did the first contestant.
After saying, “It’s not calf roping or tie-down, but it’ll do,” Dallas left the fence rail to again monitor the goings-on in the ring.
Jenna explained, “The idea is to chase down the calf, then grab the ribbon. Each child who does wins a few bucks.”
Elizabeth edged even nearer to Jenna as they watched the last boy—or, no, that was a girl—sprint like a gazelle the length of the arena then hold up her ribbon, clear triumph in her eyes. Elizabeth laughed. “Good for her!”
She’d joined in the fun, but she wasn’t about to let Jordan ride sheep or chase calves, though nothing seemed as dangerous as she’d expected. She wondered if it had become more a matter of not wanting her son to have that connection with Dallas. She didn’t want Jordan to feel disappointed when Dallas left. By the time the rodeo ended, she had to admit she’d enjoyed herself. Most of all, she’d liked watching Dallas sign autographs, taking time to bend down and talk to each child in the line just as he’d made each of them feel special during the guidance he’d given them about the events. The kids all gazed up at him as if he’d truly hung the moon.
As Elizabeth walked to her car, Dallas fell into step beside her.
“You’re quite the celebrity,” she said.
“Maybe I was. My star’s not on the rise these days...but it will be again.”
Another reminder she didn’t need that he’d be gone soon, but she regretted having to walk with space between them now as if she were ashamed of being seen with him. That wasn’t fair to Dallas. Neither was keeping her news from him, but now didn’t seem to be the right place after all, and she needed time to get used to the idea herself, to rehearse exactly what to say. “Are you worried about getting back into competition?”
“It’s not like mutton bustin’, that’s for sure. And unlike these kids,” he admitted, “I get sick before I ride.”
“You do? Really?” He always seemed so confident and in charge of himself.
“Every time.”
“Know how I cope with stress? Ice cream,” she said. Last night had been dulce de leche.
Dallas laughed, then changed the subject. “Did the kids help you see things my way about our rodeo?”
“It’s not ours. It’s yours,” she insisted. “But this was really fun.”
Dallas was undeterred. “Then what would you say to a junior rodeo to go with the adult version we’re planning?” His slow grin warmed her clear through. “We’ll make more money for charity, plus the kids will have a blast.”
She sighed. “Since this rodeo is growing like Topsy, what about other competitions, even a chili cook-off—”
“Clara would like that.”
“—maybe garden produce and baked goods too.”
Dallas agreed that would make for a great day. “Jams, jellies,” he said. “Sawyer mentioned those.”
Elizabeth hadn’t planned on getting even more involved, and in spite of the good time she’d had, she was glad Jordan wasn’t here.
Which didn’t let Elizabeth off the hook with Dallas.
She had to tell him she
