Heidi Hormel - The Bull Rider's Redemption

The Rico Pueblo concept of “culturally appropriate” entertainment and retail mixed with residences would transform the town and its economy. There would be jobs and money coming in. It would change Angel Crossing, and for the better—obviously—because right now there wasn’t much to recommend the place. Faded facades, uneven sidewalks, potholes on the main street and homes with peeling paint and sagging roofs. She could see the revitalized “downtown” with meandering side streets radiating out to climb into the rugged terrain of the mountains. The residential area would be a combination of time-share rentals and housing managed by VCW. Then in additional phases there would be homes owned by individuals. This was the first project of its kind the company had tried. If they could iron out the kinks, this type of planned community could be used throughout the country. She already had ideas for at least six more venues. She just needed to make the numbers work here.

She nodded to a man walking a dog, which made her think of Mama and her own part in that sad story. Then Danny strolled up the road, stopping to talk with the dog walker. Of course. Because her evening had been going too well. She studied the changes between sixteen-year-old Danny and nearly thirty-year-old Danny—none of which were bad. He’d grown into his height, his shoulders filling out and his gait gaining confidence. Unlike many bull riders she’d seen over the years, he didn’t have any hitch in his step or even a visible scar. How had he ridden and won all of those years and come out unscathed? Because he was Danny Leigh.

He turned his head to her almost as if she’d called his name. He smiled. Her heart beat a little faster, just as it always had. Darn it. She was a grown woman, not a naive girl. More important, she had only one reason for being here and that was Rico Pueblo, not reliving a summer love affair.

Her eyes hadn’t left Danny, though. He lifted his hat in greeting and stumbled on an uneven bit of street. He righted himself easily, his smile never wavering. If she’d been her vain, beauty-queen self, she would have imagined that she’d made him stumble. Ha!

“Hello, Clover. I heard you were renting Dead Man’s Cottage.”

“That’s very funny.”

He came closer. “Really. That’s what it’s called. The first four owners were hung—one by mistake, the other three for stealing horses or silver.”

“Colorful,” Clover said, hoping alone at night she wouldn’t imagine feeling or seeing the ghosts of the men. “How’s Mama?”

“She’s settling in. I’ve got feelers out for a new home for her. It won’t be long until my landlord figures out that I’ve got a dog. But that’s not why I’m here.”

“Oh?” He was on the narrow porch now, standing over her. She was not intimidated nor interested. She was an MBA-toting businesswoman on her way to running an international corporation.

“I was speaking to Loretta and Irvin Miller. They’re on town council, and they told me something intriguing.”

“Did they?” She’d hoped her plans would be ignored a little longer, but she was prepared for this situation. She’d studied the town and her father’s venture, laying out every scenario and contingency.

“What are you up to? They said you want to tear down the town and rebuild it but restrict what and who can go where.”

“Is that what I’m doing?”

“Fine. What Van Camp Worldwide is doing. Since your last name is Van Camp, I’d say it was you, too.”

“I submitted a concept plan.” She didn’t need to tell him anything until she was ready.

“Are you trying to ruin my town because I dumped you?”

She couldn’t stop the laugh. “I have an MBA from one of the best business schools in the US. I’m in line to become CFO of VCW. Why would I care about a teenage fling?” He stared at her, as if he was expecting her to really answer his question. “You actually believe that? That you dumped me? You must have very different memories than I do.”

He crossed his arms over his chest and didn’t blink. “I know I didn’t call you after that last show. I know you asked about me.”

He sounded triumphant. She checked his denim-blue eyes for mischief. Not an iota of levity. He was dead serious. “I was eighteen when we parted ways and on my way to Milan then college,” she said, not adding that she’d nearly given up on college to stay with him. She’d been a stupid-in-love girl then. “I never thought about you until I was assigned to come to Angel Crossing.”

“I know the ‘first time’ for a girl is a big deal.”

Dear Lord. She definitely remembered their first time. It hadn’t been a magical moment and was a memory she’d rather forget. They both had been nervous and inexperienced. The disappointment had been epic. “It must have been a big deal for you, too, since you told anyone who would listen.” She sounded snippier than she’d planned. She must still feel a little resentment. Who would have known?

“I apologize for that. My mama taught me better,” he said, dropping his arms and dipping his head.

She’d accept his meager apology. “Thank you. It’s a little late, though.”

“I’d have said it sooner, but my buddies kept ragging on me that a college girl who’d been to Italy wouldn’t be interested in a cowboy who was still in high school.”

She shrugged and took a sip of beer. He might be right but she still would have liked to have heard from him. To know that she wasn’t just some stupid, macho, cowboy conquest. “Would you like a beer?”

Danny hesitated, his blue eyes darkening to something akin to the brightening of a morning sky. “Thank you.”

She indicated that he should sit and went in to get him a beer from her limited stock. She’d invited him to have a drink because it was polite. There might be a little bit of the old chemistry. The tingly spark was just an echo of what they’d felt, that intense connection that happened only with a first love. He’d been her first love before he’d been her first lover. She smiled as she thought of their first and only time. His hands had been shaking so badly she’d had to unzip her own jeans.

“Here you are,” she said as she handed him the beer and pushed away the old memories. She had a job now. Get the properties VCW needed and convince the town to agree to their rezoning requests and restrictions, which would make Rico Pueblo possible. She couldn’t worry about what she’d heard about Danny. That he was starting a rehab and contracting business by buying properties in the same area VCW had slated for its entertainment zone.

He looked at the bottle carefully. “I never pegged you for a beer drinker.”

She shrugged. “The label has a horse’s head on it.”

He took a sip and then said, “You went to Wharton business school? I remember you saying that you wanted to be a designer.”

“I thought I wanted to follow in my mother’s footsteps. But my talent was more about the numbers and less about creating the perfect hemline. I switched gears partway through my undergrad program. What about you? Weren’t you going to go to your mom’s alma mater?”

“That was my mom’s idea anyway and I tried, but you know what I thought about school. When I started winning big at the bulls and bringing in a decent living, I knew if I went full-time I’d make it.”

“I can’t imagine your parents were thrilled you quit college.” She could imagine her own parents’ reaction, if she’d done something like that.

“They just wanted me to be happy. I can always go back to school, with all of the online classes.”

She nodded. “I heard you’ve become a builder or something?”

He talked about his work, then about his family, including his nearly new niece. “Jessie and Payson were so excited when she got pregnant, and now that little Gertie is here, they’re awful. Jessie has taken thousands of pictures and sends me all of them. See,” he said, passing along his phone with the picture album app open. Clover could hear and see the love he had for the baby. She would never have imagined that of the swaggering cowboy he’d been. Perhaps he really had changed. After all, she had. Being the prettiest girl in the room had stopped being important to her.