Getting Lucky (A Nugget Romance Book 5) (8 page)

“You’ve been holding out on us.” Harlee pulled her into a chair, grabbed a clean glass from the center of the table, and poured her a margarita. “Lucky Rodriguez, huh?” She mouthed
Oh my God
.

“Yeah.” Tawny huffed out a breath. Clearly word was out. “It was a long time ago. Well, obviously nine years and nine months ago.”

“And you never told anyone?” Darla asked.

“It’s complicated, but no.”

“It’s because of Raylene Rosser, isn’t it?” Darla asked.

Harlee and Darla had no qualms asking the most personal of questions. Of course, it was Harlee’s job. In Darla’s case, she took after her father. The old barber had no boundaries. But Tawny didn’t mind. The women meant no harm and had been better to her than most of the girls she’d grown up with. Although Owen had been here as long as Tawny could remember, Darla had grown up in Sacramento with her mom. Harlee had recently moved to Nugget from San Francisco, where she’d been a big-time reporter for the
Call
. Sam, who was more reserved, probably due to her Connecticut society upbringing, had only lived here nine months.

“Raylene was part of it.” Tawny didn’t want to get into the details. “But it’s all good now.” At least it would be if Lucky was a match.

“How’s Cecilia taking it?” Darla asked.

“Uh, we’re tiptoeing around each other. But she’s crazy about Katie.”

“Uh, duh. Who wouldn’t be? The girl is so cute, right? And Cecilia is so nice. She’ll get over it.”

Tawny sincerely hoped so. She liked Cecilia, always had, and didn’t want to be on her shit list.

“What about Lucky?” Harlee passed her the chips and salsa. “Is there a chance that you two might start where you left off?”

Tawny laughed because she and Lucky’s start amounted to a quickie behind the Taylor Park swing set. “Nooooo. There’s absolutely nothing there. He’s with Raylene.”

“That explains why last week he was the one to fetch her drunken ass from the Gas and Go in the wee hours of the morning,” Darla said. “Griffin saw the whole thing.”

Aha. So that’s where Lucky’s poor judgment comment had come from. “How drunk was Raylene?” Tawny asked.

“According to Griffin, drunk enough to pull the do-you-know-who-I-am card with Detective Stryker,” Darla said, and Sam burst out laughing. “Griffin said it was kind of sad, because afterward she fell apart. Just sat on the floor and bawled her head off about her ex leaving her for her best friend.”

“Okay,” Harlee said, “I’ve only met her once, but I don’t get what Lucky sees in her. Granted, she’s very pretty, but she sort of struck me as a narcissist.”

“Something about her, I guess.” Tawny shrugged. “But as long as I can remember, Lucky has been in love with her. I mean the guy literally carried her book bag in the eighth grade. By the ninth grade he beat up anyone who looked at her sideways. Perhaps part of the appeal was that she was forbidden fruit. Old man Rosser wouldn’t let his little princess date the help’s illegitimate son, so they carried on in secret. It was very Romeo and Juliet.” And kind of pathetic if you asked Tawny. But she’d give Lucky credit for his loyalty. Even after all these years.

“So how did you guys get together?” Leave it to Darla.

“Let’s just say I was his revenge sex.”

“Was it because of whatever happened at the Rock and River Ranch the night Lucky left Nugget?” Darla persisted.

Technically it was the morning after, but Tawny didn’t contradict. The whole town knew that something bad had happened at the Rock and River that night. Something so bad that Lucky had hauled ass out of Nugget without so much as a backward glance. There were all kinds of rumors, including that Lucky had shot and killed a ranch hand for trying to get in Raylene’s pants. But few knew the true story.

“I can’t say,” Tawny told Darla. “I’m sworn to secrecy. Plus, I don’t want any of it getting back to Katie.”

That stopped the questions, and the group went on to discuss Griffin’s love life at length.

“He’s dating,” Darla said. “But he’s still hung up on Lina, who pretty much lives in San Francisco full-time now while she’s going to school.”

“Who’s he dating?” Sam asked. “Maybe Tawny should go for him.”

The last thing she needed was another man who was in love with someone else. She’d done that with Lucky and it had crushed her. Although she’d just been a kid, he’d been her first love . . . her first everything. Tawny thought that she and Lucky were a lot alike. He’d never been able to get over Raylene and she’d never been able to get over him. Pitiful. And definitely time to move on.

“All I know is that she’s a real estate agent—someone showing homes at Sierra Heights,” Darla said. “He hasn’t brought her around yet. But we’re getting a group together for bowling and hopefully he’ll bring her to that. You want to come too, Tawny?”

Darla and Harlee regularly organized bowling outings at the Ponderosa. They started doing it back when they were single, inviting all the other single young folks in town. Since then, Harlee had gotten married to Colin and Darla was engaged to Wyatt Lambert, a police officer with the Nugget PD. Now it seemed that even Griffin was hooked up. Other than Connie, the police dispatcher, Tawny would be the only single person there.

“I’ll have to see what’s going on,” Tawny said. Life was pretty much on hold until they knew whether Lucky was a match for Katie.

Harlee put her hand on Tawny’s arm. “I know you’re waiting to get Lucky’s results back. If he’s not a match, I want you to know that Colin and I plan to be tested.”

“Nate and me as well,” Sam chimed in.

“Uh, I’m totally in, too,” Darla said. “And you can count on Wyatt.”

Tawny’s throat clogged. “I don’t know what to say. You guys blow me away. The next logical person would be Cecilia, since she’s a blood relation. But if she’s not a match, I will take you all up on your generous offers.”

“Of course,” Harlee said. “You can include just about everyone in town. We’d do anything for Katie.”

“Thank you.” It came out like a whisper, because Tawny was too choked up to talk.

“Hey”—Darla motioned to the other side of the room—“look who just walked in the door.”

Raylene Rosser and her girlfriends made their way across the floor. Hannah, Debbie, Shelly—Tawny remembered them all from middle school. Not the nicest bunch. Although they seemed to be more toxic when Raylene was around. Of course they were all adults now. Debbie and Shelly lived over a few towns in Clio and were married with children. Hannah, divorced, lived and owned a gift shop in Glory Junction, thirty minutes away.

Tawny knew she’d been spotted by the group when the women huddled together and Raylene’s head popped up to stare directly at Tawny. Raylene did a double take, her face going pale, as she quickly turned away.

Tawny had to give it to Raylene, she looked good. Her hair was longer and blonder than when she’d left Nugget, and either she’d filled out in the chest department or had had a boob job. Either way, men seemed to be enjoying her new look from the way they were gawking at her. Although they always had. Raylene just exuded that all-American cheerleader look. Perky and doe eyed.

“According to Griffin, she looked really trashy the night she came into the Gas and Go, smashed,” Darla whispered. Why she whispered, Tawny didn’t know, since you could barely hear over the jukebox anyway. “Supposedly she had the girls completely on display. Nothing but a black lace bra.”

Tonight, Raylene dressed like the rest of the women in the Ponderosa. Jeans, sweaters, and Western boots.

“Perhaps we should go over and introduce ourselves,” Sam suggested. “I feel like we’re being judgmental. And snotty.”

“I’ve already met her,” Harlee said. “She came into the
Tribune
office to buy a want ad. The Rock and River is looking for ranch hands.”

“Well, I feel like I should at least say hi,” Sam said. “Anyone coming with me?”

“I’ll go,” Darla said.

When they both looked at Tawny, she shook her head. “I’ve known her my entire life.”

Sam and Darla walked over to Raylene’s table while Harlee poured Tawny and herself another margarita.

She held up the pitcher. “I’m gonna refill this at the bar. Be right back.” Tawny tried to give her money, but Harlee wouldn’t take it. “You can get the next one.”

Right after Harlee left, Sam and Darla returned to the table and grabbed their seats.

“FYI,” Darla said, “she’s a bitch.”

“Darla!” Sam reprimanded.

“What? I’m just being honest. All she did was bad-mouth Nugget—she called it
Deliverance—
as if she’d grown up in Denver instead of here. And, Tawny, she does not like you.”

“The feeling is mutual.” Tawny laughed.

“I think she feels threatened by you. She kept saying—”

“Darla, let it go,” Sam said.

Tawny didn’t need to hear. It was probably the same crap Raylene used to say when they were teenagers, when she’d called Tawny ugly, poor white trash, and a slew of other unoriginal names. The most clever one being hermaphrodite. Tawny had always wondered where Raylene had learned such a big word.

Tawny thought that after ten years of living in a metropolitan city and going through a nasty divorce, Raylene would’ve grown up a little. But when Tawny’s cell phone pinged with a text message from Cecilia, she didn’t give Raylene Rosser a second thought. Tawny had real problems.

L
ucky paced his mother’s living room. “You sure we shouldn’t take her to the hospital?”

“Yes,” Tawny said. “The fever is mild and at the hospital there’s always risk of Katie getting an infection. I’ll just watch her tonight and if necessary take her to Stanford tomorrow.” Tawny turned to Cecilia. “Thanks for texting me.”

“The poor baby wanted her mother,” Cecilia said, and Lucky had never seen his own mother look so worried. Well, maybe once before.

“You okay, Mama?”

“Of course. I’m just worried for Katie.”

“So she always gets these fevers?” Lucky asked.

“It’s a common symptom with AML,” Tawny said. “That and rashes, bruising, and sometimes bluish-green lumps around her eyes.”

“
Pobrecita
.” Cecilia dabbed her eyes. “I hope you don’t mind, but I also called Jake. I panicked because she was completely fine when she went to bed and then suddenly she was burning up.”

As if on cue, Lucky heard a door slam outside and a few seconds later Cecilia ushered Jake into the house.

He gave Cecilia a hug. “I was on duty when you called, but Rhys agreed to fill in.”

“Thank you.” Cecilia burrowed in closer to the detective.

“We’re okay.” Tawny gave him a wan smile. “The fever is down now and Katie’s sleeping.”

“I’ll make you a bed,
mija
.”

Lucky was surprised that his mother had used the endearment on Tawny.

“I’ll just sleep with Katie,” Tawny said.

Cecilia took Jake into the kitchen to fix him a snack. Lucky eyed Tawny’s outfit.

“Were you out?”

“Just at the Ponderosa with a few friends.”

“You see Raylene there? She was going with Hannah.”

“Yeah,” was all Tawny said, and Lucky suspected Raylene got the surprise of her life when she got a load of Tawny.

Every time he saw her, he couldn’t believe how beautiful she’d become. Despite a rather long awkward phase, he’d always thought Tawny was cute in a tomboy sort of way. Back then, she’d been all bones and sharp angles. Now, she looked like freaking Angelina Jolie. And he liked the Western getup she had on. It was real sexy, without being slutty.

“You make those boots?” He toed her foot with the point of his Ariat.

“I did.”

“Nice.”

“Thanks,” she said. “You think your mother has a nightshirt or something I can borrow to sleep in?”

“If she doesn’t, I probably do.” He got up, went to one of the guest rooms, and rummaged through his spare stuff. When he came back, he held up a brand-new toothbrush and a National Finals Rodeo shirt. “Will this work?”

“That’s great,” she said, and took both items.

The shirt would probably swallow her up, but Lucky kind of wished he could see her in it. Funny, because he’d spent most of the day seeing Raylene in nothing. Things were going well between the two of them. Tomorrow he’d hoped to introduce her to Katie. But with Katie being sick, he wanted to wait.

“You hungry?” he asked her.

“No. You?”

He shook his head, tossed her a throw blanket, and sat on the couch next to her. “What friends?”

“Huh?”

“I was just curious about who you hang out with. When we were kids, you didn’t seem to have too many friends.”

“I was busy taking care of my dad. And later Katie. But recently I’ve been socializing with a few of the women who are newer to Nugget. Harlee Roberts, Sam Dunsbury Breyer, and Darla, Owen’s daughter. Remember her? She used to come around to visit her dad when we were growing up.”

“A little bit, I guess. How come you’re not dating anyone?”

She let out a breath. “Between being a single mom to a daughter with AML and running my own business, I don’t have a lot of time. Before Katie got sick I was seeing a park ranger. For a while there we were pretty serious.”

“What happened?”

“Katie and I were spending a lot of time in Palo Alto and he and I drifted apart. Last I heard he got transferred to Southern California. How ’bout you? You marry or get serious with anyone while riding the circuit?”

“Nah. Too busy moving around.”

“Did you know about Raylene’s divorce when you came back?”

He stretched out until his shoulder rested against hers. She didn’t seem to mind, so he stayed that way. “I’d heard about it. It’s not why I came back, though. That just turned out to be a coincidence.”

Raylene had told him it was fate.

“What would’ve happened if I hadn’t come back?” Lucky asked.

“I would’ve finally gone to your mother.”

It pissed him off that she would’ve waited until Katie was out of options. “You know how messed up that is, Tawny?”

“I can’t go back and change things. If I could, I would. I am truly sorry, though.” She started to get up, but he pulled her back down.

“Just sit with me for a while.” When she settled back next to him, he said, “I’m worried that she won’t get better and this is all the time I have with her.”

Tawny tilted her head against the back of the couch as if to hold back the tears rolling down her cheeks. “We can’t think that way. We just have to stay positive. If you’re not a match, maybe your mom is.”

He reached out and dried her face with the sleeve of his shirt. “Don’t cry. I didn’t mean to make you cry. How do you think it’s going so far between the two of us?”

“You and Katie? I think good. She feels comfortable with you, that’s for sure.”

“How do you know?”

“I’m her mother, Lucky. I know these things. She talks about you a lot. Wants to know about your ranch, about what kind of animals you have. That sort of thing.”

He liked that. He liked everything about Katie. Who would’ve thought of him with a daughter? Damn!

“Anything new?” she asked.

“This reporter wants to come up and interview me for
Sports Illustrated
. One of those stories about how an athlete changes careers after his heyday is over.”

Tawny sat up straight. “Your heyday isn’t over, Lucky. Is that what you think?”

“I don’t know. I wrecked pretty bad in Billings. Had to be hospitalized. I’m getting to that age where it’s hard to compete with the younger guys. I thought about going into announcing, but to tell you the truth I’m sick of the traveling. I won’t lie, though, I’ll miss the celebrity of it. I may not be Tom Brady, but I have my fair share of fans. I like being recognized and signing autographs.”

She smiled at him. “I don’t think that’ll go away. You’re a world champion, Lucky. That doesn’t stop when you retire.”

He shrugged. At least winning this year would make him the longest reigning world champion in the history of the PBR. If he had to go out, breaking his own record would be the only way to do it. Plus, having Raylene in the stands watching him ride would mean a lot to him. As far as he knew, she’d never seen him compete in any Professional Bull Riders events, unless she’d watched on ESPN. Back in high school, when she’d been the Plumas County rodeo queen, she’d cheered him on when he’d competed locally. But that had been small potatoes.

“I’d like Katie to come watch me compete in Vegas,” he said, and hastily added, “You too.”

“We’d like that.”

“Yeah?” He grinned at her. The woman had always been nice to talk to. That night they’d made Katie, she’d been his salvation. Calming him after the nightmare at the Rock and River and helping him come up with a plan.

“Of course.” She smiled back. “I think I’ll turn in now.”

“Is it okay if I look in on Katie first?”

“Just don’t wake her up.”

“You’re bossy, you know that?”

She elbowed him in the ribs. “I am not.”

He watched her collect the toothbrush and shirt and walk to the bathroom, enjoying the sway of her backside. He tried to visualize Raylene’s ass instead, but found that he couldn’t.

 

Katie’s fever disappeared the next day and Tawny took her home. The girl could use a little less excitement. Between Cecilia’s fussing and Lucky’s constant roughhousing, Katie needed some downtime. And Tawny needed to start Clay McCreedy’s boots.

“I’m bored, Mommy.” Katie got a carton of orange juice out of the refrigerator and poured herself a glass.

“How about reading a book?” Tawny said, and Katie made a face. “What? You like to read.”

“Can we go to my dad’s ranch?”

“Not today, baby. I want you to rest and I have work to do.”

Katie pouted, finished her juice, and went in search of her e-reader, another gift while she’d been in the hospital.

Tawny heard a car pull up and moved toward a window so she could see the street. Sam got out of her Mercedes convertible, carrying a basket, and made her way up Tawny’s porch stairs. Before Sam could knock, Tawny opened the door. Startled, Sam jumped back, then started to laugh.

“Sorry,” Tawny said. “Didn’t mean to scare you. You come for your boots?”

“And to see how Katie is and deliver this.” Sam held up the basket. “It’s an autumn root gratin with ham, from Brady. Very fancy.”

“It sounds delicious. Come on in.” Tawny took the basket from Sam and took it into the kitchen. “Who’s Brady?”

“He’s the new chef at the Lumber Baron. Fabulous cook and very hot—if you don’t mind tattoos. He’s got loads of them on his arms. Maybe more elsewhere too. But I wouldn’t know, being a married woman and all.” Sam held out her ring finger and wiggled it, the gem beaming so bright that Tawny needed sunglasses.

No question the woman was in love. Tawny didn’t know Nate Breyer well, but he was certainly good-looking and not your typical Nugget rancher or railroad worker. The man owned something like ten hotels, most of them in San Francisco.

“How’s Katie?” Sam asked. “When you left the Ponderosa last night, we got word from Rhys, who got word from Jake, that you weren’t taking her to the emergency room.”

“No. The fever went down and it seemed like a better idea for her to rest at home. Today she’s much better.”

“Ah, Tawny. I’m so glad she’s okay, but I’m sorry that you’re going through this.”

“We should hear fairly soon whether Lucky’s a match for the stem cell transplant.” Tawny knew she was putting a lot of faith in the transplant. Even if Lucky turned out to be a perfect match, a chance existed that it wouldn’t work and that Katie would continue to get sicker. “Let’s go out to the studio and get your boots.”

Tawny quickly checked on Katie, who’d curled up on her bed with her nose buried in the e-reader. Once they got inside the studio, Tawny handed Sam her boots to try on.

Sam squealed. “They’re stunning, Tawny. Absolutely perfect.” She slipped into them and walked back and forth across the studio. “I’ve never worn cowboy boots before. They’re so comfortable.”

“That’s because they’re custom made to the shape of your feet and calves. It makes a big difference.”

“I love them.” Sam turned her legs this way and that as she examined the boots in the mirror. “I’m wearing them to our monthly sales meeting in San Francisco next week.”

Tawny laughed. She couldn’t see the boots going too well with Sam’s wardrobe, which as far as Tawny could tell consisted of a lot of designer suits.

Sam must have read her mind because she looked up from the mirror and said, “I’ll wear them with jeans and a nice blazer.”

“Sounds perfect.” Tawny gave Sam instructions on how to take care of the boots and included a bootjack in her package.

“I know this is a bad time with Katie and all,” Sam said. “But is there any chance you would be interested in a setup?”

“You mean like a blind date?”

“Yeah. Sort of. Brady, the chef I told you about, is single. He just moved here, doesn’t know a lot of people, and is a really sweet guy—and a good listener. I thought you two might hit it off.”

“I don’t know, Sam. Everything is up in the air right now with Katie’s treatment. It just doesn’t seem like a good time.”

“I understand,” Sam said. “But just come into the Lumber Baron one day and introduce yourself. Nate’s petrified Brady will leave us if he doesn’t make any friends.”

“I will definitely do that and personally thank him for the casserole.”

“Just make sure you call it a gratin,” Sam teased. “Fancy chefs don’t do casseroles.”

She wrote Tawny a substantial check, which would keep her and Katie in Top Ramen for a while, and wore her boots out of the shop. No sooner had Tawny gone back into the kitchen to heat up Brady’s
gratin
than Lucky showed up with an armful of grocery bags.

“There’s more in my truck,” he said, and went outside to fetch them.

“What are you doing?” Tawny took one of the packages out of his hands on his return flight.

“Stocking you up.”

“Lucky, I don’t need charity.” It was one thing to send over a covered dish, a whole other to send an entire supermarket.

“Charity? I’m feeding my daughter. The way I look at it, I’ve got nine years to make up for.” He stopped and tossed her an acid look as if to say
And that’s your fault
. “From here on in, I’ll be clothing her too.” And then he handed her a check. She took one look at the amount and nearly gasped. “The rest is coming.”

“The rest of what?” she asked.

“Nine years of child support. Where’s Katie?”

“She’s in her room, reading. I want her to rest, so don’t go in there riling her up.”

“I don’t rile her up.” He headed for Katie’s bedroom door.

“She’s fragile, Lucky. All that tossing her and spinning her . . . It’s too much.”

“I’m gentle,” he said, dismissing her. Then he knocked on Katie’s door and popped his head in the room. “Hey, kiddo.”

Tawny heard Katie say hello and went into the kitchen to put away the groceries. Half of them would spoil before she and Katie could eat everything.