Heavenly Angel (42 page)

The boy held on for several seconds before sailing through the air and landing on the mats, giggling. His older brother helped him up and then climbed on himself. He seemed more confident and stayed on the bull for quite some time. For his age, Joaquin thought he did well.

Michael’s eyes were big and round as he turned to his parents and said, “Man, did you see that? I’m gonna ride that bull when I get taller, just like he did.”

“Yes, you are, little dude,” Joaquin said, lifting Michael onto his shoulders. He grinned when Michael automatically balanced with him and braced against his daddy’s hands at his ankles.

“How about a corn dog, Daddy?” Michael said, leaning to the side to look at Joaquin then over at Angel.

“Sure, let’s all get one,” Joaquin said. They walked to the vendor and placed their orders.

Joaquin looked over Teresa’s shoulder and saw three of the girls from the other night walking by, giving her the evil eye before noticing that he was watching them. His heart plummeted in his chest as he recalled that he was better acquainted with each of them than he
ought
to be. What had he been thinking? He lost his appetite on the spot.

One of the girls, a rail-thin brunette, raised her voice a little as she drew near Teresa’s back and sniped, “She should be ashamed of herself.” The young woman threw her hair over her shoulder and would have sauntered away, but her path was blocked by Gwen Henderson.

“Who I feel ashamed of is your mama for not teaching you better manners, Judith Bowers. You needed more whippings when you were little and never got them. By the way, that drunk cowboy you took back to your trailer left the door hanging wide open when he finally climbed out of it a little while ago. You
might
want to go check on it. Close your mouth before you catch flies, honey. Leave decent married folks alone.”

Joaquin noticed Teresa’s smile as she looked on in awe at Gwen Henderson, who wasn’t finished yet. To the other girls with Judith, she said, “You girls need a new role model.” In dismissal, she turned her back and smiled. “Hey, how’s my handsome little-cowboy-man tonight?” She shook Michael’s hand from his perch on Joaquin’s shoulders.

“Doing good, pretty cowboy lady,” Michael answered jovially. Joaquin wished he could get a look at Michael’s face, but he’d be willing to bet Michael had the high beams turned on, going by the daffy charmed grin on Gwen’s face. “Been riding the rides and getting a corn dog now.”

“Ooh goody! I think I’ll get one, too. How’re you doing, Teresa? Don’t mind those girls. Judith can’t resist getting a dig, and I couldn’t ignore her catty remark. Not all the girls are that mean, by the way.”

Teresa introduced Angel to Gwen. Joaquin thought he might have seen a shadow of guilt in Gwen’s eyes when he greeted her. He could see that she genuinely liked Teresa.

Jack, Grace, Ethan, and Adam happened upon them in the midway, and Gwen had a chance to get to know her a little. Joaquin was comforted by the thought that Teresa was right. He could keep feeling guilty, or he could suck it up and embrace the future.

* * * *

The second night of the rodeo was as exciting as the first and not quite as scary for Teresa now that she knew what to expect. She’d brought her camera and was able to get a few good photographs of both Joaquin and Ash in action. Their scores meant Joaquin and Ash made it into the short go-round the following night.

Teresa was pleased to see Juliana Meyer show up. Juliana was unable to watch Ash compete the previous night because she had to work. Teresa commiserated with her, watching the horrified look on Juliana’s face when Ash’s bronc had bolted upright off of all four hooves out of the chute before going nuts trying to buck him off. The cast was off her wrist, and she confirmed that her back was completely healed.

After the rodeo, their group went to the dance for a little while. Teresa noticed that Angel and Joaquin and Grace’s men never let them out of their sight. They weren’t bothered by any of the girls from the carnival midway. Neither did they see the mouthy Judith again.

Juliana seemed to enjoy herself at the dance with Ash afterward. Teresa noticed that Juliana also garnered her share of dirty looks from some of the buckle bunnies at the dance. Ash kept her close at his side the whole evening.

* * * *

On the third night, Teresa protested when Angel escorted her to the food vendors for a soda refill then to the ladies’ room for a bathroom break once they were inside the arena building.

“Angel, you don’t have to do this. I’m a grown woman.”

Angel gave her a flirtatious smile. “I know, beautiful.” His eyes took on a harder gleam, and he continued, “But those girls could have cornered you in the ladies’ room the other night when Michael was with you. I take that seriously. I’m not doing this because I don’t think you can handle yourself. I’m doing it because I don’t trust that girl, Judith, or her friends. I
need
to protect you.”

She could hear the sincerity in his voice and knew there was no point in arguing.

Grace joined them with Adam close on her heels. The men waited on the concourse while the women went into the restroom. One of the stalls opened, and Grace entered then Teresa waited for the next one. Unfortunately, it became available because Judith Bowers exited it.

The thin brunette did a double take, and her lip curled as she said, “Oh, crap.
You
again. Where’s your buddy to take up for you, huh? Not around to save your
little feelings
this time?” Judith glared as Teresa closed the bathroom door behind her to take care of her business. Not feeling the girl deserved any respect, she spoke to her over the stall door.

“I don’t
need
anyone to take up for me. I haven’t done anything wrong.” Teresa heard Grace gasp from the next stall. This situation was utterly ridiculous. It took a lot to piss Teresa off, but she knew she’d just reached that point.

“You say I’ve ‘claimed’ them as though they wear my brand. They both pursued me and convinced me that they loved
me
. You tell me where that’s unfair to you.”

“It’s not fair, you takin’ two eligible bachelors like that. It’s immoral. And you’re all BFF with Gwen Henderson when she just
had
Joaquin at Christmastime!”

Teresa slammed open the stall door and came out ready to have this out. “Not fair to who?
You?
I doubt the notion they were single even came into your thoughts until they weren’t. If you adored Angel so much, why didn’t you make a play for him two years ago? You’ve already had Joaquin. If you were so good, why didn’t he keep you? You are one of those people who wants what you can’t have.

“And as for Gwen herself, the big difference between her and you is that she understands that Joaquin has a commitment to me, and she’s not acting like I
stole her man
from her.”

Judith’s plan had backfired if she had hoped to inspire an indignant response from the women over her declaration that Teresa had two men. Teresa felt Grace’s reassuring presence beside her as she had her say once and for all. She was surprised by how calm she felt.

“My friend and I have had to be escorted every second that we’ve been here because you can’t resist backbiting,” Teresa said evenly as she approached the red-faced Judith. “But I’m here to tell you right now, Judith Bowers, you’d better back off from me—”

“Tell her, honey!” Fiona Wills said, laughing from one of the sinks.

Teresa continued, “Because I have had—”

“Go girl,” a woman she didn’t know said.

“—
just
about enough—”

“Tell her how you
really
feel,” Grace said then giggled.

“—of you!” Teresa finished with her finger right in Judith’s face.

Judith gave a hateful glare to the other women while backing out of the restroom then yelled at them, “Y’all are all a bunch of fucking idiots! You don’t even know! Both these bitches are married to more than one man. That slut has two husbands, and this
whore
has three. That’s immoral!”

The woman who spoke up earlier, whom Teresa didn’t know, said, “Judith Bowers, you gotta lot of damn gall accusing someone else of immorality. If you had as many sticking
out
of you as you’ve had stuck
in
you, you’d look like a porcupine. I don’t know these ladies, but I do know their husbands and that they’re involved in committed relationships, the circumstances of which are none of
my
business.”

Commanding respect as she stood there with her hands on her hips, she pointed her finger at Judith and said, “I don’t cotton to being called an idiot, nor do I think their husbands appreciate you calling their wives names. You should’ve stayed to the periphery where riffraff like you belongs. Pack up that tramp trailer and be out of here within the hour.” The serious look in the woman’s eyes changed to humor as she directed a grin over Judith’s shoulder. “Oh,
hello
, Angel. Hello, Adam. Good to see y’all!”

Teresa watched as Judith turned and looked up into Angel and Adam’s faces, their eyes glowing with anger at having heard the names she’d called Grace and Teresa. Judith wisely ducked her head and strode from the arena.

The woman gave a friendly hug to both men and said, “I am so sorry that happened. If we’d known she was harassing y’all, we would have asked her to leave sooner. I’ll tell Caughlin, and he’ll make sure she leaves and doesn’t cause any more trouble.”

Angel said, “Thank you, Mrs. McIntyre. We appreciate that. Until we heard Teresa give her a piece of her mind, we didn’t realize that girl was in there.”

Mrs. McIntyre cackled happily. “Woo! Did she ever! So, these are your lovely brides, huh?” she added, turning to Teresa and Grace.

“That they are, ma’am,” Adam replied as he introduced Grace and Teresa to the wife of the rodeo’s operator, Caughlin McIntyre.

Several women exited from the bathroom as they stood there talking and nudged Teresa or Grace and gave them the thumbs-up or shared a kind word with them before walking away. Mrs. McIntyre departed to seek out her husband, and the four of them returned to the VIP seating.

The evening got exciting as Ash took second place in bareback bronc riding, which also carried a hefty purse. The short bull-riding round began when the seven top-scoring riders from the previous two days all had a third chance to add to their scores.

Angel groaned when the commentator announced the name of the bull Joaquin would be riding. Teresa looked at him nervously, waiting for a response.

“Texas Bucking Bull of the Year two years ago. I’ve ridden him before. He’s rough and…hooky.”

Hooky? That couldn’t possibly be a good thing when he was referring to an animal that had horns. “What does ‘hooky’ mean?”

“Battleship will likely give chase after Joaquin jumps off. He’ll try to catch Joaquin with his horns. Joaquin knows him, so he’ll stay light on his feet. He’s probably pumped about the draw because it could mean a good score for him.”

Teresa took Angel’s hand and started praying as Joaquin settled onto the bull’s back and tightened down the flat rope that would be the only thing keeping him astride the bull. Joaquin and one other rider were in close competition for the first-place prize, and this ride would make the difference.

Michael puffed out his chest and hollered along with everyone else. “Come on, Daddy! You can do it! Ride that bull!” Joaquin became very still as he prepared to ride Battleship. Teresa felt her phone vibrate in her purse at her feet but ignored it, in no frame of mind to answer it.

The gate swung open, and the crowd went crazy. The 1,600-pound bull erupted from the bucking chute, making up what it lacked in weight with a tenacious ability to buck, roll, and twist, rotating back and forth from left to right with no predictability whatsoever.

Teresa kept her eyes on Joaquin and was mesmerized by the way he rode the bull. Exuding confidence, he spurred the bull and
grinned
, moving with the animal like he was a part of him, as though they’d rehearsed beforehand. Nothing Battleship did could unseat his rider. He twisted and turned, kicked his back legs, rolled and even leapt in the air, all to no avail.

The bull snorted angrily and switched directions. Joaquin evidently anticipated it and moved with him in the right direction. The spectators went wild as the buzzer sounded. Teresa watched on, wanting to see for a fact that he would be okay. Joaquin released the tether rope and leapt to the pickup rider’s horse and clung to the back of its saddle.

The bull turned angrily and charged, catching Joaquin below his knee and attempting to flip him off the back of the horse. The horse proved to be the better athlete though and maneuvered the rider and his passenger out of the way while the rodeo clowns distracted the bull. The other pickup rider herded Battleship to the exit. Teresa was worried about his knee, but Angel assured her he probably only suffered bruises. Joaquin jumped down, showing he was all right as he landed without difficulty and collected his hat, which had come off in the wild ride.

His score of 92.5 flashed up on the screen, and he jumped in the air triumphantly as the crowd cheered for him. Loud music played as they applauded, and Joaquin did a little victory dance, locating Teresa in the VIP seating and blowing her a big kiss. She smiled and cheered, blowing kisses back to him, and read his lips as he yelled, “I love you,” to her. She yelled back and waved as he made his exit while the next rider prepared for his ride.