Rodeo Nights by Patricia McLinn

thing.”
    Walker swung his leg over the top of the metal fence, but paused when Kalli took a quick step backward. He met her eyes, knowing he was baiting her again, knowing he was gambling again. Her chin rose, and he couldn’t resist.
    He pushed off, adjusting his landing to within six inches of her toes. She leaned back, almost swaying, but held her position. This time, the flicker across her eyes closely resembled anger.
    “Are you done playing games?” she snapped. Was she angry at him or herself?
    “Yes’m.” He made no effort to hide the amusement—he was living dangerously today.
    “This is serious.”
    That slowed him some. She not only looked tired, she looked worried. “Okay, let’s go to the office.”
    “No.” She stopped abruptly, her outstretched hand bringing him to a halt, too. “I mean, let’s go sit at the picnic table.”
    Neither said anything more. Sitting across from him, she silently handed him several sheets of paper, simply nodding at them when he looked at her in inquiry.
    A quick scan had him frowning. The figures didn’t improve any on closer inspection.
    “The Park Rodeo is in debt.” She sounded as if she couldn’t quite believe it.
    “Some,” he acknowledged.
    “But you know how Jeff and Mary preached against debt. They don’t even use credit cards. They wouldn’t advance us our allowances just to teach us the importance of responsibility. Remember?”
    She sounded so bewildered, he wanted to pull her into his arms. “I remember.”
    “You aren’t surprised.”
    “Not particularly.”
    He would have left it at that, but she demanded, “Why?”
    “Heard some things.”
    “And you didn’t do anything about it?”
    He’d give her that, considering the circumstances, but she was pushing it. He rested his forearms on the table and leaned forward.
    “Heard about it after the fact. Last summer and the one before were pretty rough around here. Drought two years in a row. Some folks didn’t have the financial reserves they should have. I knew it was tough, but I was on the road so much.... Wasn’t until Jeff’s stroke and spending time here that I heard Jeff had bailed out folks.”
    “I see. The good ol’ boy network passed you the word that Jeff had let his generosity go beyond his means, and you didn’t bother to tell me.”
    “Wasn’t anything that firm. More a worry than a word.”
    “And you didn’t think I’d be interested in a ‘worry’? Or was it that you didn’t think my feminine little head could take the stress?”
    “Not used to sharing worries.” He spoke the words before he’d considered them. Once out, he didn’t like leaving them solo. “No sense brawling about it now. Once the chute’s open, there’s no sense trying to close it back up. You make the ride the best you can. That’s what you have to do.”
    She jumped right on that. “Exactly. It’s time to make the changes I talked about. The first thing is finish getting computerized. If the rodeo’s books were on the computer, I would have known about this from the start and been able to take steps. And then, special promotions to—”
    “Hold on there, Kalli. These figures aren’t that bad.” He tapped the papers on the table between them. “If we just go day by day—”
    “Still living only for today, Walker?” Kalli’s voice, quiet as it was, cut. “Maybe you don’t want to look beyond today in your life. But if we don’t look beyond today on this, there might not be a tomorrow for Jeff’s rodeo.”
    He leaned back, tilting his head to consider her.
    “We got a rodeo to run tonight. And we both need some time to let this sink in. We’ll talk in the morning. Ten o’clock in that room where we had the meeting before. You bring coffee, I’ll bring doughnuts.” He held up his hand to stop her words. “For once, Kalli Evans, give something some time. We don’t have to decide things right this second. Not things that are going to have a long effect.”
    Before