Judy Christenberry - Randall Pride

“Randalls breed true, Elizabeth. There hasn’t been a bad one yet.” His grin was wide and warm.

Elizabeth smiled back. But she realized she might’ve broken that chain if she’d married Cleve and had his children. Why hadn’t she realized that earlier? She stood. “Thanks for your cooperation, Bill. We’ll have everything settled very soon.”

“I appreciate that, Elizabeth.”

DARK WAS STARTING to come earlier, and Toby was glad. His first day back in the saddle took a lot of stamina. He was strong and skilled, but he was tired.

“Good job today, Toby,” his Uncle Pete said, pulling up beside him. “I figure we got a lot more done today with your roping skills.”

“You’re no slouch yourself, Uncle Pete.” His uncle was the only one of the Randalls before Toby who had rodeo experience.

“I wanted to tell you I appreciate you not encouraging the boys to head out for the rodeo, too. Rich has mentioned going several times, but Russ always reminds him about what you said.”

Toby grinned. “I didn’t want them making that their life. It’s too hard, and it can lead them down the wrong path.”

“True. So why did you stay so long?”

Toby stiffened. He hadn’t been prepared for that question. “I wanted to earn enough to pay for my own place.”

“Oh. Have you talked to your dad about land around here? I’m sure he’d be glad to help you.”

“I’m in no hurry.” He’d already decided if Elizabeth and Cleve settled down in Rawhide, he wouldn’t be doing the same. He told himself she’d be married then, but it didn’t seem to affect his hormones.

“Your dad—”

Toby interrupted. “I’d appreciate your not mentioning this to Dad just yet. I want to enjoy being home with the family for a while.”

“Sure thing, boy. Jake loves having you home.”

“I love being here,” Toby returned as they reached the barn, and he caught sight of Elizabeth’s car. She was home. He started trying to stifle the desire that rose up in him. Damn, he only had to know she was there, without even seeing her, to start yearning for her.

After taking care of his horse, he headed for the Pad with Russ and Rich, telling his father he was going to clean up.

“Okay. Red will ring when dinner is ready,” Jake assured him.

With a wave, he walked with the cousins.

“Hey, we didn’t have a chance to ask last night,” Rich began. “You haven’t told us about any of the women.”

“What women?” Toby asked, his mind on Elizabeth.

“The women that chase all the rodeo guys,” Russ explained.

Toby shrugged his shoulders. “There’s not much to tell.”

“Come on, Toby!” Rich protested. “Don’t tell me you’ve lived like a monk all these years.”

Toby knew his cousins would be shocked if he told them how seldom he’d indulged in feminine company…and how dissatisfying those few encounters had been. “Guys, those women are like the ones who hang out in a bar hoping to pick up a man for the night.”

Russ frowned, considering his words. Rich grinned. “Some of them aren’t so bad.”

“Yeah, but do you want one of them as mother to your children?”

Rich frowned then. “Of course not! But one night doesn’t make a marriage.”

“Depends on whether or not you’re lucky, friend,” Toby pointed out. “If you play with fire, you can get burned.”

“You sound like Dad,” Rich protested.

“Uncle Pete is a pretty smart man. Besides, there are some great ladies around here.”

“I haven’t seen you courting anyone,” Rich said. “I think you’re just saving all those models for yourself.”

“Models aren’t interested in settling down.”

“That’s the good part,” Rich explained. “Neither am I.”

Toby chuckled and shook his head. He’d try to knock some sense into Rich’s head later.

“Toby?”

The feminine voice brought him to an immediate stop. He’d recognize Elizabeth’s tones anywhere. Turning slowly, he said, “Yes, Elizabeth?”

“Could I talk to you a minute?”

“How about after I clean up?”

“It won’t take long.”

She had an anxious look on her face, and he couldn’t reject her. So much for being strong. “Yeah, sure. I’ll be in in a minute, guys.”

There was a bench on the porch of the Pad. Without any urging on his part, Elizabeth sat down. She was still wearing the blue-jean jumper and pale blue blouse she’d worn to school that morning. Her blue eyes looked huge.

He put a booted foot on the bench but didn’t sit down. He didn’t trust himself to get that close. “What is it?”

“Uh, I’m supposed to— You’re really staying?”

Toby drew a deep breath, taking in her sweet scent. His hands tingled with the desire to touch her, to press her against him and tell her he’d stay forever if she wanted him to.

But ever since he’d realized, the summer she turned sixteen, that his feelings for Elizabeth weren’t cousinly, he’d fought them. Elizabeth was his cousin, even if not by blood. His father would be horrified if he admitted the truth. And the one thing in life he wanted to accomplish was to make Jake proud. Not shame him.

“Why do you want to know?”

She gave him a funny stare. “But you said—”

“Okay, I’m staying, at least for a while. What do you want?”

“Abby—you remember Abby Gaylord, don’t you?”

“Yeah.” He was getting impatient. It was draining to resist Elizabeth and he was already tired. Who cared about Abby Gaylord?

“She wanted me to ask you— We have the Halloween festival for the area, remember, at school?”

“Yeah!” he snapped, wondering where this was going.

Elizabeth stood and crossed her arms over her chest. “You don’t have to growl at me. I’m asking you because Abby asked me to.”

“What? What are you asking me?” he persisted, trying to sound like a reasonable man when she was driving him crazy.

“She wondered if you’d sign autographs for a dollar and give the money to the teachers’ fund.”

The teachers’ fund? That hadn’t been what Toby expected. “What’s the teachers’ fund?”

“We try to make money each year and give a scholarship to a deserving student. And the rest is used to buy cards, or goodbye gifts, or flowers for funerals, things like that.”

“Are you a member?”

“Of course I am. Will you do it?”

“I don’t usually charge for autographs.”

“But it’s for a good cause.”

With a sigh, he said, “Yeah, okay.” As he took his foot down and turned to go in the Pad, she stopped him again.

“Wait!”

“What? I agreed.”

“I know but—but Abby had another idea.”

He thought she seemed even more reluctant about the second idea than she had the first. Warily, he asked what the second idea was.

“She wants to hold a raffle.”

Toby frowned. “What does that have to do with me?”

“Um…you’re the prize.” She stared at him, wariness in her eyes.

He exploded. “What? I’m not a prize. What are you talking about?”

The door opened and Rich and Russ, fresh from their showers, stepped out on the porch. “Wow, Elizabeth, you must be in big trouble if it takes you this long to convince Toby to get you out of hot water,” Russ said with a grin.

“I’m not in trouble!”

“You sure? You’re still engaged to that, uh, to Cleve, aren’t you?” Rich pointed out.

“That has nothing to do with what we’re talking about.”

“Okay,” Rich continued. “But I was going to offer to help if that was what you wanted.”

“Go away!” Elizabeth shouted at them.

“Why don’t you ask one of them to do the raffle,” Toby suggested. “I don’t want to hog all the fun.”