Marry Me, Cowboy (Copper Mountain Rodeo) by Lilian Darcy Page B

see?”
    “I did,” Jamie told her. “Did you see the last two?”
    “Oh, they beat me?”
    “No, that’s the point. They didn’t. You won.”
    She let out a whoop that startled her mare, and only then noticed that Jamie’s parents were standing there, too. “Hi, Rob and Melinda, sorry about the scream.”
    “That’s okay, honey,” Mom said. “I love your pretty shirt.”
    “Thanks.” She looked down at it, fingering the soft cotton for a moment. “You’ve come to see Jamie in the saddle bronc? That’s great.”
    “See if he wins, first,” Dad joked in his gruff way.
    “Oh, now, Rob...” Mom said. “Jamie, RJ is here somewhere, and Jess said this morning that she thought she might drive over, too.” In an aside to Tegan she added, “She’s in Bozeman.”
    “Wow, half the family,” Jamie said.
    “Everyone but Rose and Jodie, but they’re too far, you see.” It wasn’t clear who she was talking to.
    “I know that, Mom,” Jamie told her, in case it was him.
    “Could we have something to eat?” she asked almost shyly. “Seems like a long while since I’ve had rodeo food. Remember, Robbie, when we were dating?”
    “Long time ago,” Dad said.
    “I still remember, though. Sitting in the bleachers with those corn dogs. I was wearing that dress with the flowers, pink peonies, and I had a bracelet on, with the charm you gave me… We were so young, weren’t we?”
    He smiled down at her. “Sure, we can get corn dogs, if you want.”
    “Tegan, will you come?” Mom asked.
    “If you can wait for me to take care of Shildara, first.”
    “Of course, honey.”
    It ended up so nice. They found Jess pulling out her phone to call them, and RJ heading toward the food concession area, and Dad introduced Jess to Tegan, and both siblings joined the family group. They all had corn dogs, standing where they could see the action, leaning forward so they didn’t spill anything down their fronts. Jamie almost missed his event. It was Tegan who pointed out the fact. “Shouldn’t you be getting ready, Jamie?”
    “Hell, yeah, I should.”
    He raced off, leaving her to watch with his family, liking the fact that they seemed to be getting along.
    His ride was average. The horse not sluggish enough to warrant asking for a re-ride, but not impressive enough to allow him to post a high score, even though he’d stuck the eight seconds. Dawson O’Dell came in right after him and had the crowd whooping with his ride. He had an excellent chance at winning Best All Around Cowboy, now. He was a great guy and a good rider, trying his best in a difficult situation with his little daughter. He deserved it.
    “Bad luck,” Dad said, when he got back to them. “You rode well.”
    They were all still standing there, Mom smiling, Jess texting a friend to see if they could meet up, RJ looking at the pretty women passing by, when he thought no one was watching. He needed a girlfriend, but he had a lot of Mom’s shyness and some of Dad’s gruff impatience, and the right girl - the right serious girl - hadn’t come along yet.
    “Best I could,” Jamie said in answer to Dad, “but not good enough.”
    “Can’t get ‘em all.”
    “If I could, I’d be Trevor Brazile.”
    They separated shortly afterward, Jamie and Tegan heading back to the trailer parking lot, RJ ambling off on his own, Mom and Dad wandering away for a stroll around, and Jess standing where she’d arranged to meet her friend.
    “That was nice,” Tegan said to Jamie.
    “It was.” He felt a deep wash of relief about it. Nicest moments he’d had with his family in a long while. Well, since before he’d stuck to his rodeo plan against all opposition, he realized.
    He’d always intended to have some kind of a confrontation about that, force his father... and maybe RJ, too... to concede that he hadn’t made such a mess of his life, after all.
    But maybe it wasn’t necessary. Maybe if he forced the issue, it would only make things tense again.