Rodeo Blues by Karen Michelle Nutt Read Free Book Online Page A

could always withdraw from the
event.
    "What's the hurry to get an annulment?" he
asked her.
    She narrowed her eyes. "What's the hurry? " she looked at him as if he'd grown horns.
    "Well?" he added, wanting to hear her
explanation.
    "When the rodeo is over, I don't plan on
being married to a man who's working the circuit with no plans of
returning to Skeeter Blue."
    So, she thought he would pack up and abandon
her again. He'd have to make his intentions clear. He strode over
to her, stood toe to toe…so to speak. Her eyes were large and wide
as she stared at him. He touched her chin and ran his thumb over
her lips. "Who said I was leaving?"
    She slapped his hand away. "Stop it. This is
not the time for teasing. You find a way to make this right!" She
whirled away and grabbed her purse sitting on the dresser. "I mean
it, Tye." She stormed out of the room, leaving him staring after
her as she slammed the door for good measure.
    He ran his hand through his hair. She had the
right to doubt him. However, he married the girl and he planned on
keeping her. "Should be easy," he said then chuckled. "As easy as
taming a feral horse," he muttered. He'd better come up with a plan
to win her heart before she stomped all over his.

Chapter Nine

    Tye's event didn't start until after noon –
plenty of time for him to drive over to the old homestead. He
hadn't been there since he left home, and probably never would have
stepped foot on the land again if he hadn't received notice from a
lawyer stating his father had a will and left the land to him. Go
figure. His father couldn't seem to remember to pay the electric
bill without having the lights turned off, but he proved
responsible enough to make a will.
    The land was his to do with as he pleased. As
he drove up the gravel road, he spotted the oil drill in the
distance working its magic. Sam Miller had wanted to know who
bought the old homestead. What the old man should have asked: who
inherited the old homestead? Then his gaze landed on the trailer,
which still stood there like a monument to his crappy former life
he wished to put behind him. Easier said than done, but then
perhaps he shouldn't forget, but remember and make sure he never
became like his father.
    His father had refused medication when the
doctors told him it would help him cope with life. Unfortunately,
Gunther Casper couldn't accept life without a bottle in one hand.
Everyone in the world could have been there to help him, but in the
end, the only one who could have made the difference was his father
wanting to change. He didn't want to – said so a million times.
    Tye pursed his lips as he shook the
melancholy thoughts away. He wasn't his father. He just had to
remind himself of the fact now and again. He eyed the mobile home
and vowed to have it hauled away the first chance he got. He
wouldn't let this part of his past mar the present. His coming back
to Skeeter Blue needed to be a fresh start. No one would call him
trailer trash or other such lovely words to demean him. Not
anymore.
    He stepped out of the car as he fastened his
gaze to the left of him, where the house sat nice and pretty
beneath a pecan tree that had survived decades – judging by its
forty-some glorious feet. The shade from the tree would be a
welcome reprieve on hot summer days. The house wasn't quite
finished. There were still things to be done, but he hoped it would
be completed by the end of the month, if not sooner.
    He had a copy of the plans for the place
behind the seat in his truck. The house would include twelve-foot
ceilings to allow extra relief from the hot Texas summers. Cypress
siding and glass-paneled windows would give the house good
circulation and the flooring would be what Jolie had always liked,
longleaf pine. The plans also included a raised deck around two
thirds of the house, a porch with a swing too, so he and Jolie
could relax and watch the sunset over the horizon, or perhaps they
could watch the sun rise as they sipped