The Cowboy and the Angel (22 page)

Chapter Sixteen

D
EREK HAD NEVER
felt so relieved to finish a rodeo. He glanced up into the announcer’s booth and wondered where Angela had slipped off to. He rode the horse to his trailer, pulling the bridle off and clasping the halter behind the gelding’s ears, trying to dismiss the uneasy feeling centering in the pit of his stomach.

“Mike,” he called, “have you seen Angela?”

“Not recently. She was over at the trailer with Sydney earlier.” He shuffled papers to the side and handed a check to a cowboy in front of him. “But I’m kinda busy, so I haven’t been watching for her. If you see the rodeo secretary, send him my way.”

“Will do.” Derek spotted Sydney near the trailer putting Kassie into her playpen in the shade and jogged to her, scooping the baby from her kiddy-corral and tossing her into the air. Her giggle tickled him, and he couldn’t help but smile up at his niece.

“Have you seen Angela?” he asked Sydney, cuddling Kassie against his chest as she reached for his hat.

“Not since she left the trailer. She took her dad inside to get him something to eat.” Sydney’s brows knit together in a frown that worried him. “She came out alone, but he left a few minutes later. Did you check the announcer’s booth?”

Derek shook his head. “She’s not there.” He looked toward his trailers. “Have you seen her father since?”

She shook her head and Kassie copied her, making them both smile. “He didn’t say anything when he came out, but he looked upset. He headed back toward where our trucks are parked.”

Dread began to well up as Derek put Kassie back into her playpen. “I’m going to see if I can find her.”

“Is everything okay?” He could hear the worry in Sydney’s tone.

“I’m sure it is. I just don’t want her to feel like she needs to deal with him alone.”

She reached for his forearm as he turned to leave. “She told me she’s trying to work out a new story. I get the feeling she’s trying to run away from something. Is it him?”

“I don’t think so.” Derek couldn’t help but think about Joe. “It’s more complicated than that . . .” His voice trailed off, and he clenched his jaw. “Sydney, she’s been supporting them both, alone.” He shook his head in disbelief. “She keeps bailing him out and it’s taking its toll on her. She can’t keep doing this.”

Sydney gave him a gentle smile. “You care about her.”

He tilted his head at her and rolled his eyes. “I would do this for anyone. I’m just trying to help her out.”

“Oh, sure.” Sydney nodded at him, obviously skeptical. “Face it, Mr. I-Want-to-Save-the-World Chandler,” Sydney began, tapping her finger over his heart, “Angela has you thinking with this instead of this.” She touched her finger to his head.

Derek glared at her. “If you see her, tell Angela I’m looking for her.”

A
NGELA SLIPPED BEHIND
the trailer, listening to her father’s side of the conversation. When did he get a cell phone? She could hear the annoyance in her father’s voice but wasn’t sure if it stemmed from being dragged to the rodeo or from remaining sober all day.

“I don’t know.” His voice grated into the phone. “She said she’s still working but I don’t know what the story is about. She hasn’t talked about it with me.” Her father glanced back over his shoulder as Angela jumped behind the nearest trailer. “I think she has a
thing
for one of the cowboys. Seems like a nice guy. Yeah, the one who was at the jail. Tonight?”

He had to be on the phone with Joe, but why would Joe call him?
Is that where the cell came from? Maybe the phone was Joe’s way to “keep an eye” on him while she’d been working on the story.
She felt that familiar flip of her stomach that always seemed to guide her reporter’s instinct. Questions began to flit quickly through her mind like hummingbirds, never landing long enough for her to grasp answers to any of them.

“Angela?”

She heard Derek call her name and spun around, seeing him headed her direction. She didn’t want him to know what she’d overheard until she had the opportunity to ask her dad about the call.

“There you are.” Her voice cracked and she cleared her throat as she hurried toward him. “You made me nervous in the arena with those bulls.”

He gave her a curious look but shrugged. “They’re not so bad as long as you stay out of their way. Where’s your dad? He’s not in the trailer and I couldn’t find him.”

“He’s on the phone right now.” She thought it would be better if he didn’t know her father was talking to Joe after the stand-off between the men at the jail earlier.

He slid his hands into her loose hair and pulled her to him, his lips capturing hers in a kiss that surprised and delighted her. She felt her body instantly react, melting against him, all tension disappearing. Her hands found his back as she held on to him. What had begun as an innocent kiss quickly turned into an inferno of need as his tongue brushed hers, igniting her senses. She sighed with pleasure, and he circled her waist with his arm, holding her so that every delicious muscle was pressed against her. She could feel his arousal and briefly wondered if they might not sneak off to his trailer.

“Eh-hem.” Her father cleared his throat.

Angela’s eyes widened and she tried to pull away from Derek, a blush burning her cheeks. Her father had never seen her kiss anyone, not even Joe during the short time they’d dated. Derek’s arm remained wound around her waist, stubbornly holding her to him. She pushed her hands against the solid wall of his chest in an effort to loosen his embrace.

“Derek, please,” she whispered through clenched teeth.

He inhaled deeply, releasing his breath slowly as he looked at her father, still refusing to release his hold on her waist. “Sir, I apologize.” He looked into Angela’s eyes and smiled. “The next time I kiss your daughter, I promise to show more regard for her reputation.” He waited for her father to comment.

Her father’s face split in a grin for the second time in one day and his eyes held a merriment she’d never seen in them before. She looked at her father, really looked at him, for the first time in months. His jaw was covered by graying whiskers, making him look even older than his fifty years, and deep wrinkles surrounded his eyes. His clothing was beginning to hang on him, a result of too much drinking and too little food since she’d left. He appeared weak and tired, as if time hadn’t been his friend, and she could see the toll his grief had taken over the past fifteen years.

“Angel, why don’t you make sure the shower is free so your dad can use the trailer before we head up to the barbecue.”

“Barbecue?” Her father scrubbed at his jaw nervously.

“We always try to stay for the barbecue and dance so the rodeo committee knows we are supporting them. Why don’t you let Sydney know we need to be up there in about two hours?”

She still wanted to ask her father about the phone call, but it was going to have to wait until later. Derek kissed her temple before she headed to find Sydney and lay a towel out for her father. It was going to be a full time job keeping him from drinking tonight. This day hadn’t turned out the way she’d expected, but she was certainly learning she could trust Derek.

D
EREK WATCHED
A
NGELA
walk away, making sure she was out of earshot before he turned his attention back to her father. “I need you to steer clear of trouble tonight, sir.” He wanted to show Robert the respect he was due as Angela’s father but had to make sure his point was made: No drinking allowed.

“You better not hurt my daughter,” Robert replied. Derek appreciated the older man’s protectiveness even if the notion was coming far too late. Derek narrowed his eyes at Robert’s warning tone. “I want her to be happy, but I’m not sure everyone would feel the same way. You should be careful though.”

“Something specific you think I need to watch for?”

Robert shook his head and looked at the ground. “I don’t know. I just have a feeling. But if I were you, I’d be prepared for trouble when that news crew gets here. I don’t know much more than that right now.” He wiped a hand down his face and over his whiskered jaw. “Just keep an eye on her. She stays pretty closed off—that’s probably my fault—but I think she likes you. I’ve never seen her like this with anyone before.”

“Is this about Joe?” Warning bells sounded in his brain, and he was sure Robert knew far more than he was letting on.

He clapped Derek’s shoulder in a sympathetic gesture. “Do me a favor? Keep this conversation between the two of us. She’d be furious if she knew I told you any of this.” He chuckled. “Definitely has her mother’s fiery spirit.”

Derek looked back toward Angela’s trailer. The conversation with her father hadn’t done anything but intensify the foreboding in his gut. Something was going on but he wasn’t sure who needed his protection more: his family or Angela.

T
HE SMELL OF
hickory smoke from the barbecue drifted to where the crew waited impatiently for the two women to finish getting ready. Derek could tell there was going to be a coup if they didn’t leave soon. Several of the hands had already tried to convince Scott and Derek to allow them to sneak off. Kassie fussed in her father’s arms, leaning sideways, trying to get her uncle’s attention.

“Give her here.” Derek reached out his arms just in time to catch Kassie as she lunged for him. He laughed and tossed her up into the air. “How’s my cowgirl?”

“Today? Moody,” Scott warned.

“Oh, so you’re just like your daddy?” Derek caught his brother’s glare and laughed.

His laughter died as he saw Angela emerge from the trailer wearing a white sundress with green flowers that matched her emerald eyes. The skirt was soft and flowing, reaching just to the tops of her borrowed brown dress boots, which matched the brown belt Sydney had loaned her. She’d pulled some of her flaming hair back, making her look young and innocent and oh-so-sexy, with the low-cut neckline showing off her ample endowment. Kassie shoved her fingers into his gaping mouth.

Scott laughed out loud as he took his daughter back. “Maybe if you didn’t have your mouth hanging open, she wouldn’t have done that.”

Derek pecked a quick kiss to Kassie’s hand. Angela was so beautiful she’d actually made his jaw drop, and Kassie had taken advantage. As she came near, Derek could see that Angela was blushing at his reaction. He winked at her.

“You look amazing.”

She eyed him appreciatively. “You don’t look too bad yourself, cowboy,” she teased.

“Isn’t Sydney ready yet?” Scott grumbled impatiently.

“I’m right here.”

Derek didn’t even bother to tear his eyes from the vision in front of him. “Hey, Syd.”

“Here you go,” Mike said as he approached and handed each person a ticket and a wristband. “These are for dinner and drinks. Angie, these are for your dad, wherever he might have gone.” Mike looked around.

She bit her lip and looked at Derek. He immediately understood her concern. She didn’t want her father to start drinking and get out of control. “I’ll give them to him.” Derek tucked the wristband and Robert’s ticket into his back pocket, out of sight.

Angela mouthed a quick
thank you
to him as Mike shuffled the hands into the bed of his truck. Her father came out of the trailer to meet the group, freshly showered and shaved, dressed in a pair of jeans and a borrowed Western shirt. She was surprised. She hadn’t seen him look this good in a long time.

“Dad, you look nice.”

“Thank you.” Her father pinched his lips together and looked at Mike. Derek didn’t miss the glance and wondered if Mike hadn’t already issued a warning to Robert.

“Let’s get going before these guys starve.” Derek led Angela to the truck and opened the back door for her. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before leaping into the bed of the truck, taking the spot beside Robert. “Here’s your meal ticket.” He handed the man the slip of paper and leaned toward him. “Save us both the trouble. No drinking tonight at the dance, okay?”

“I’ll do my best,” Robert said. Mike leaned over and said something to Robert Derek couldn’t hear. “I’ll try. I mean it,” he promised.

Most of the hands hopped out of the truck and headed toward the food before Scott had even parked the truck. Derek shook his head at Mike, saying, “They act like we don’t feed them.”

Mike laughed. “They’re just ready for some fun.” He jumped out of the truck and went to Sydney’s door, scooping Kassie from her car seat. “You can come with Grandpa, little girl, and your Uncle Derek and Angie can go get the food while we find a place to sit.”

Derek wondered when Mike had started calling Angela by her father’s nickname. He nodded at Mike, knowing that Mike was giving him an opportunity to discuss Robert’s concerns with Angela. Derek had asked Mike for his advice, but he’d assured him the family trusted Derek’s instincts. He didn’t understand their blind trust in him, but Mike insisted he had grown up over the last year. He wished he had the same confidence in himself that they seemed to have in him, but after what had happened to Sydney, Derek didn’t trust himself when it came to Angela. She had him spinning in every direction, desire ruling his brain instead of logic, and he refused to take that risk again. He glanced over at Kassie cuddling against her mother’s shoulder. As much as he wanted Angela, he had to protect his family first.

Derek slid his hand to Angela’s lower back, testing his resolve, and led her toward the growing line while Scott pointed Mike and Robert toward a table near the back where the crew would have some privacy—at least until the band started playing.

Angela reached back and took his hand, sending a jolt of pleasure up his arm. The sizzle of fire and ice joined, creating a burning need he didn’t want to acknowledge. The joyful anticipation he could read in her eyes shook him.

Get control of yourself
.
Family first.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” she said, dragging him into the lengthening line of hungry patrons. “There’s a band?”

Derek tried to suppress his smile at her childlike wonder. “That’s usually the case when there’s a dance,” he said with a chuckle, glancing back at the table and Mike’s vigilant eye. “Angel, I need to ask you a question.”