Lassoed into Marriage

“Of course I’ll be there, Chet. Wouldn’t miss it. Sure. I’ll be glad to sign autographs at the Boot Yard. What’s the date again? Got it. That’s the Anaheim event? Two weeks from this weekend? Got it. No problem.”

And she hadn’t told Sully about it yet. Now he’d committed to an autograph signing.

Lisa sighed. If she remembered correctly what Sully had told her, the next event was the one event at which some cowboys would be dropped from the tour if they had low scores. Others would replace them. It was important for Sully to ride. He was high enough in the rankings to not worry about being dropped, but other riders were hot on his tail, trying to pass him in the standings. If a rider had a good day in the go-rounds, anything could happen.

She and Rose weren’t going to follow Sully around like a couple of buckle bunnies. Rose needed stability, and that meant the big Victorian, not a home on wheels where she slept on the converted kitchen table for weeks at a time.

So far, Rose was having the time of her life. While Sully was driving, they’d played games, colored and put together puzzles on the table. She wanted Rose to have fun on this trip, to be a little girl without a care in the world, and so did Sully.

Now they were stopping at a park where there was an indoor pool, and Rose had put on her bathing suit fifty miles away in anticipation.

It was only seven-thirty at night, but all Lisa wanted to do was sleep. Yet it was time to be a mother and take Rose to the pool for a while.

She sure hoped that Sully brought his bathing suit, too.

Bonding. Wasn’t that what she’d wanted on this trip?

They pulled into their campsite, and Sully hooked up whatever needed hooking up while she changed into a pair of shorts and a dark T-shirt to swim in. She didn’t bring a bathing suit with her from Atlanta, never thinking that she’d need one, and didn’t have time to go clothes shopping to any great extent.

Neither did Sully, although he found a pair of cutoffs. The three of them walked together to the indoor pool, hand-in-hand, with Rose between them. The stars were shining bright in the black sky and a full moon was smiling down on them.

Sully looked down at Rose, then at Lisa, and grinned. He winked. “What a beautiful night.”

“Sure is.”

“So we’re going swimming, right, Rose?” Lisa asked.

“Yes! I want to swim!” She turned to Sully. “Will you go swimming with me, Uncle Sully?” Rose asked.

Why didn’t Rose ask me to take her swimming?

“I sure will. All three of us are going swimming.”

At least Sully included me.

“Yippee!” Rose yelled, suddenly jumping.

Sully and Lisa tightened their grip on her hand and caught her before she fell.

Just like real parents, Lisa thought.

A half hour later in the pool, Sully was supporting Rose as she splashed, making like she was swimming.

Sully turned to her, water dripping down his strong chest. His arms were thick with muscles, especially his riding arm. His disheveled hair glistened with beads of water, and she liked how he smiled. His whole face lit up.

She understood why the buckle bunnies found him sexy.

A sense of calm came over Lisa as she watched Sully play with their niece. He was good with Rose. Actually, he was like a kid himself.

She wondered how long it would take before he “forgot” his responsibilities and skipped out to party with his pals and a gaggle of groupies, like he was known to do.

Things were going great so far, but it was only day one.

Could Sully go the distance?

Could she?

Rose was safely tucked into the dinette bed. Molly the mutt was sleeping on the floor beside her, and Snowball was currently using the litter pan in the bathroom.

Rose had told them that she was going to say her night prayers, and Sully silently gave Carol and Rick kudos for teaching her right.

“I want to pray for Mommy and Daddy in heaven. I hope they saw how good I was swimming. And I want to tell them that I’m going to Disney World.”

Her prayers broke his heart, and he found himself at a loss for words. Rick would never see his little girl grow up. Would never see her graduate, get married or have children of her own.

It wasn’t the first time he’d heard Lisa and Rose mention the theme park. He’d better take her, or he’d never forgive himself.

As Rose drifted off to sleep, he and Lisa sat on the seats in the front of the RV. He popped the top of a beer as Lisa drank a diet cola.

He took a long draw of his beer. Delicious. “You know, Lisa, you could have told me about your plans.”

“I didn’t have a chance. I just mentioned that we were going to Florida and would be near the park, and Rose took it from there. I’ll have to be more careful about what I say.”

“I’m not mad. I just feel bad that I didn’t think of it myself. I’ll work it in, even if I have to drive all night coming back home. It’ll be worth it.”

“That’s really nice of you, Sully.”

Her emerald eyes met his, and for a brief moment Sully thought that she actually liked him.

Nah!

He noticed Lisa unsuccessfully trying to stifle a yawn.

“You take the bed in back,” he said. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“I couldn’t take your bed, could I?”

Lisa tilted her head, almost flirtylike. He must be mistaken. Lisa was not the flirting type. She was too serious, too straight-laced. As a matter of fact, he thought she was a bit of a snob.

Obviously, she wanted the bed.

“I can handle the floor. I spent many days sleeping under the stars in Montana mostly during round-up. At least there’s a carpet here.”

Lisa seemed surprised by what he’d said. “I knew you were from Montana, but I didn’t know you did real cowboy stuff.”

“Bull riding isn’t real cowboy stuff?”

“I think of it more like a sport,” she said.