Rough Rider (Hot Cowboy Nights, #2)(26)

“Told you last night, I got one.”

“You mean Janice? She might be able to give you a lift as long as you’re headed in the same direction, but that won’t last long if you plan to do Cowboy Christmas. ’Sides, she can’t share your room expenses.”

Grady passed an assessing look over the trailer. “Who says I plan to have any?”

Dirk fought the urge to grind his teeth. “Don’t you think you should clear that with her first?”

“What with who?” Janice emerged from the tiny bathroom. She nodded to Dirk. “Sorry for keeping you waiting so long.”

She was dressed but he’d forgotten to give her her boots. She played it cool, nonchalantly grabbing a pair of socks from a drawer, sitting down, and then dragging them on along with her boots.

“Just talking about the rodeo schedule, Sweet Cheeks,” Grady dissembled.

Dirk noticed her slight grimace at the pet name. It annoyed her, but he guessed she was either too shy or too polite to say so.

“Great. We can talk about all that over breakfast.” Janice stood with a bright smile. “Let’s go. I’m starved.”

*

The diner was only a couple of miles down the road. As they drove, Janice and Grady carried on some small talk while Dirk was lost in his thoughts. He didn’t know why he’d made the decision to rodeo all summer. He’d actually looked forward to a break from it. He’d never planned to go pro and make a career of it as Grady wanted to do, but he also wasn’t ready to settle down to full-time ranching yet either.

They pulled into the diner with his mind still racing. Dirk ordered his breakfast without even looking at the menu and a minute later excused himself to make a call. He stepped outside, scowled at his phone, and dialed his brother.

“’Bout time,” Wade answered. “Was wonderin’ when I’d hear from you.”

“Now,” Dirk replied. “I need my truck back, *.”

“Look, Dirk. Wanna lay off now? You know you were in no shape to drive last night. I was only looking out for you the same way I hope you’d look after me.”

Guilt hit him between the eyes like a two-by-four. His brother was right. He shouldn’t have driven last night. “All right,” Dirk conceded. “I’m the *. Happy now, li’l bro?”

“Is that an apology?” Wade asked.

“It’s as close as you’re gonna get.”

“I can live with that.” Wade laughed. “You were getting damned tiresome, you know. Did you call home yet? Mama’s about out of her mind with worry after what happened to you last night. I told her you were OK, but it’d be best if she heard it straight from you.”

“I’ll call. You didn’t mention anything ’bout me and Rachel, did you?”

“Didn’t have to. Rae had already called to cry on her shoulder.”

“Shit.” Dirk kicked a boot toe into the dirt. “That’s all I need.”

“You gonna try to make it up to her?”

“Hell no,” Dirk said. “I’m letting sleeping dogs lie till I get everything figured out.”

Figured out? That was a tall order, Dirk thought dryly. It wasn’t that he didn’t want Rachel anymore. He did—or at least he’d thought he did. Hell, after last night he wasn’t sure about anything anymore. Which now brought things back around to Janice. He scrubbed his face. What the hell had he been thinking last night?

“You better not take too long deciding,” Wade warned. “You can’t keep stringing Rachel along. I told you last night there’s plenty of guys ready and able to take your place.”

“Let it go,” Dirk growled. “I’ll deal with it when I’m ready…and I’m not ready.”

Silence. “She’s too good for you.”

“Fuck you. And when you’re done, bring me the truck, will ya? I’m at Casper’s Good Cookin.’ Gonna have breakfast and then head out for Thermopolis with Grady.” He decided it would be better to make no mention of Janice. Things were already tangled enough to make his throbbing head want to explode.

“Thought you were taking a break from rodeo for a while,” Wade said.

“Changed my mind,” Dirk replied.

“All right. I’ll find someone to follow me over. Be there in a few…and, Dirk?”

“Yeah? What?”

“Call the folks. They really are worried sick.”

“Right. Bye, Wade.” Dirk clicked the phone off and stuck it back in his pocket, vowing to make the call home…after he’d come to some decisions.

Rejoining Grady and Janice, he slid into the booth opposite them, grunting absently to the waitress who came by with coffee. Still brooding over his conversation with Wade, he took up his cup and glanced at the television mounted over the lunch counter. The channel was set to CNN with a reporter giving an update on a recent bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan. A taxi packed with explosives had rammed a bus carrying thirty-three UN peacekeepers. The next story was on the Taliban bombing of an Afghani school for girls, one that had only recently been rebuilt.

“Animals. Fucking animals.” Dirk shook his head with rage, cursing when his coffee sloshed over the brim of his cup, splashing his hands. “The Taliban deserves to be blown back to the Stone Age.”