that wasn’t the best example, because after he started making serious money, he flew to most of his events. During his off time, he lived and worked on his friend Hank Fletcher’s Oklahoma ranch. It was a job that gave him a decent paycheck and offered him the flexibility he needed to follow the circuit. He’d sent money to his sister, and sometimes she’d even accepted it; but now that he was around her and the girls more, he was kicking himself for sending a check instead of coming back. Two years hadn’t seemed like a long time, but it was. He’d missed out on a lot, and Annie, even though she was stubbornly independent—at least until a tornado turned her life around—could have used his help.
He hadn’t been thinking about anyone except for himself, and that wasn’t good. Now that he knew what was going on, had become a larger part of his nieces’ lives, he’d started crafting a plan. He was going back on the circuit, taking part in the traveling Bull Extravaganza in the fall, because that was how he earned his living, but he was no longer stationing himself in Oklahoma during the off-season. He was moving back to Gavin, taking care of his family. So when Hank called to touch base as Grady was driving home from practice, it was the perfect time to break the news to him. Hank had sounded delighted.
“So it worked out with your lady?”
Hank had met Danielle several times, and even though Grady hadn’t said anything to him, he must have deduced that Grady had thought of giving his relationship with Danielle one last shot.
“Nothing to work out. She’s getting married and the guy ain’t me.”
“Hey. Sorry to hear that.” Hank sounded genuinely shocked.
“I’m okay with it.” And he was all for moving on to the next topic. Hank, however, had a few more things to say on the matter.
“You know what this means?”
“Not really.” His tone was not encouraging, but Hank didn’t get the hint. Hank had never been a hint kind of guy.
“You need to get back out there, man. You haven’t seriously dated in how long?”
Long time. Which had been part of why he’d planned to revisit his relationship with Danielle. He’d figured that she had to be a reason he wasn’t that wild about any one particular woman. He’d been wrong.
“A while.”
“I’ll give you this. Danielle is a real looker, but it takes more than good looks to make a relationship, you know. Especially for a guy in your profession.”
“So I’m discovering,” Grady said facetiously, still trying to keep things light.
“And now that you’ve figured that out, you know what you need to do?”
Grady knew.
He needed to get back out there. “I’ll keep you posted,” he said, and even though he spoke wryly, he realized Hank was totally correct. He needed to develop a social life. A local one, since this was where he planned to live from now on.
After hanging up the phone, he dialed Jess Hayward. If anyone was going to get him back into the swing of things locally, it was a Hayward twin. Even if he didn’t find someone to hook up with, he needed to get out of the self-imposed isolation in which he’d existed since Danielle broke up with him. Yeah. He needed to meet some women. Have some fun.
Be the Grady Owen he used to be.
* * *
DANIELLE AND LEX threw a going away party for Kelly at the Shamrock Pub, two doors down from Annie Get Your Gun, after her last day of work. Curtis, Danielle’s fiancé, joined the party after getting off at the bank and soon the four of them were headed to an impromptu dinner. He was the physical opposite of Grady—tall and blond and built like the football player he’d once been. Needless to say, he was also Grady’s emotional opposite, being serious and dependable. In other words, he was better suited to Danielle in all respects, and Lex liked him.
After dinner, Danielle and Curtis made their apologies and went home, leaving Kelly and Lex sharing a bowl of molten chocolate cake as a long evening stretched in front of them.
“Are you in any hurry to get home?” Kelly asked as they left the steak house. She pulled the elastic out of her long red hair as she spoke, shaking her head so that the waves spilled around her shoulders. She was obviously getting into party mode and it was only nine o’clock, so Lex shrugged.
“My dogs might worry, but no.”
Kelly jerked her head toward the bar on the other side of the parking lot. “One for the road?”
“Sure.”
It’d been a while since Lex set foot in Shardlow’s and when they walked in, she had an instant flashback to her college days. The place was filled with cowboys and cowgirls. Loud music pulsed over the speakers, accented by the clack of pool balls on the three tables lined up side by side in an alcove. Kelly had to point to a table, since it was hard to hear over the noise.
It was quieter along the wall, and a tall bar guy appeared almost as soon as they were seated, a towel tucked into the front of his Wranglers, a smile on his handsome face. “What can I get you ladies?”
Kelly beamed up at him, and Lex began to understand the reason behind the nightcap. “A draft, please.”
“Same.” Lex waited until he was gone before meeting Kelly’s gaze across the table. “Okay. Spill.”
“Not much to spill.” She smiled cheekily. “Yet. He’s the owner’s nephew. Gus Hawkins. Just moved here from Nevada.” The drinks arrived, and Kelly started a tab. The barkeep smiled at her, and Lex had to admit that there was some chemistry behind that smile. Kelly leaned closer after he’d left. “Thank you for coming with me. You can see why I didn’t want to come here alone.”
Indeed she could. Especially with the bar in full swing. This was not the place for a woman hoping to have a few minutes with the attractive barkeep and not be hit on.
“You don’t have to stay long,” Kelly said. “I know you have things to do tomorrow. I just—” she smiled again “—wanted a taste.”
Lex laughed, wondering if she was a bad friend because she was more in the mood for home and bed than partying and was tempted to take Kelly up on her offer of not staying long.
There was a bit of a commotion toward the rear exit then, and she and Kelly glanced over simultaneously to see none other than Grady Owen and two of his high school buddies, the Hayward twins, Ty and Jess, walk in. And then she pretty much lost sight of Grady as the buckle bunnies started swarming the guys. Bull riders attracted women. That was a flat-out fact.
“You know I’m no fan of rodeo guys, but Grady’s hot,” Kelly murmured, echoing Lex’s grudging thoughts. A server happened by the group and handed each of the bull riders a beer off her tray, making Lex wonder if someone else was doing without a drink for the moment. The girl turned around and headed back to the bar. Yes, bull riders got special favors here.
“That appears to be the consensus.” Lex couldn’t argue with it, either. Grady had killer good looks and he could be charming. Even now she could see the flash of his smile from between a blonde and a redhead.
“I might
