Then soon, Greased Lightning would meet his match.
Seven. He almost made the fatal mistake of loosening his grip on the rope, ever so slightly, when he knew how dangerous that could be, and predictably the Angus took advantage. The Sutherlands’ bull wasn’t done with him yet. A sinuous spiral torqued his entire body in midair—gotta hand it to him—and he nearly unseated Dallas. The crowd gasped.
Oh, no, you don’t, he silently told the bull. We’re in this together. All the way.
And in that moment, he spied Lizzie at the rail. She’d stayed. The buzzer sounded at the same second Dallas did the final count in his head. Eight!
The bull rope slithered through his hand as he hit the dirt. Standing on his feet.
“IS HE ALIVE?” Elizabeth wondered if her own heart was still beating. Seconds before, she’d joined her children at the fence but had to cover her eyes. Still, in the last instant she’d seen Dallas almost fall then recover his balance, and as she opened her eyes again now, she saw him standing, whole and strong and manly, in the center of the ring. With a shout of victory, he tore off his hat then flung it high in the air.
Jordan patted her shoulder. “He’s fine, Mom. I bet he won!”
Stella leaned against her side. “I didn’t think he would.”
Seth clung to Elizabeth’s hand. “When I’m bigger, I can ride too. Like him and Jordan.”
Her oldest had come in third in the calf riding, perhaps thanks to Dallas’s coaching. Even with his stomach churning, anticipating his own ride, he’d found time to help her boy. Elizabeth told herself the rising dust in the arena had caused her eyes to water. She didn’t realize she was moving until she’d flung open the gate, run into the ring and thrown herself in Dallas’s arms. He smelled of the animal he’d ridden, conquered, but most of all he smelled like Dallas. “Oh. My. Goodness. You were magnificent!”
His mouth quirked. “The part you actually saw, maybe. Let’s not get carried away. Thanks for trying, Lizzie.” He gazed above her head to beckon to someone in the crowd.
Elizabeth was riding high too over the look in Claudia’s eyes when she’d told her mother she was pregnant. Yes, she loved him, but how would today turn out for her and Dallas? With his rodeo coming to an end, nothing held him in Barren any longer. He’d be ready, eager for the circuit again—he’d just proved that. Could she trust in that something more he’d mentioned?
As Dallas took her hand and left the ring before the next rider entered, two older people approached, their faces wreathed in smiles, and Elizabeth guessed who they were—another powerful reminder of Dallas’s priorities.
Grinning, he walked toward them with Elizabeth. “Hey, Mom, Dad. Not a bad restart, huh?”
“You’re our son,” his mother said. “We’re always proud, but today you were spectacular.”
Releasing Elizabeth, Dallas leaned down to kiss his mom’s cheek, then shook his father’s hand, but got pulled into the kind of rough male hug that involved a lot of back slapping. “The next Finals in Vegas will be yours for the taking,” his dad told him.
Nursing her doubts, Elizabeth held back until their three-way embrace ended and Dallas turned to her again. “Now you’re in it,” he said. “Meet my folks, Millie and Joe Maguire. This is Lizzie Barnes, my neighbor and...friend.” He added, “For the time being.”
Did he mean temporary friends, as she’d always thought? Elizabeth’s spirits dropped even lower. Perhaps since their kiss and her laughter he’d changed his mind about her. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Maguire.”
Millie glanced between Elizabeth and Dallas. Her warm eyes danced. “If you’re brave enough to put up with this one, you have my full support. You’ll need it.” Her gentle tone seemed to say instead that Dallas wasn’t a problem. At that moment Elizabeth’s children ran toward them in a pack, like young coyotes, and talking over each other. Millie clapped her hands. “These must be your children.” She shot a look at Dallas.
“Three of them, remember?” he said.
“Lizzie, do you know how long I’ve been asking your ‘friend’ here to give me some grandchildren?” She studied Jordan, Stella and Seth in turn.
Stella’s mouth set. “I already have a grandmother.”
“She’s mean,” Seth put in. “She doesn’t like us.”
Jordan stiffened. “Yes, she does. She just doesn’t know how to show it.”
Millie’s gaze faltered. “Oh, my.”
Dallas said, “Mom, you’re jumping the gun, aren’t you?”
A small frown darkened her expression. “You know time is not on my side, Dallas, and don’t give me that look. I feel wonderful today, but none of us has forever. That includes you. Don’t waste any more time.” Her face brightened as she addressed the children. “Do you three like snickerdoodles?”
And with that, she herded Jordan, Stella and Seth across the dusty yard toward the food tents, where all sorts of delicious pastries would be waiting. Dallas’s father followed, giving him a wry look over his shoulder. “I hope they’re hungry.”
“Here we go,” Dallas muttered to Elizabeth, who was standing there, feeling dazed. “There’ll be no controlling her,” he said, but he looked happy. From the top of the grandstand, where Hadley held the microphone, came another announcement. With the last few riders now done, the awards ceremony would start as soon as the winners’ tallies were checked, and the judges delivered their verdicts from the competitions held in the tents. “Gotta run,” he said, “but after all that prize money gets put in the pot for Dusty’s care, we need to talk again, Lizzie.”
She was holding her breath now. Elizabeth had no idea how that would go, but his parents, her children...appeared to
