Free Taking the Bull by the Horns, a Cascade Texas novella by MJ Fredrick Page A

against the burners. “I have a right to a life, to not being lonely, okay? I deserve to be held, to be touched, to feel beautiful and wanted. And if I never see him again, if he never comes back, I have how he made me feel last night.”
    Gertrude sat at the table, her jaw set. “You’ve already been hurt so much.”
    “No one has that power anymore.” But even as she said it to the two women who stared at her, she knew it wasn’t true. Taylor had already breached her defenses.
     
    ****
     
    Taylor pulled his truck up in the circular drive in front of his ranch house, shut off the ignition and just sat.
    He’d never had a hard time leaving an event, never spent an entire drive thinking about the woman he left behind.
    What was different about Lavender?
    Her acceptance of him, for one thing. After her initial reluctance to get to know him, she hadn’t cared that he was a rodeo rider, didn’t know about his former life, just accepted him for who he was.
    That made it easy to be with her, to tease her, to coax out that pretty smile, that fun personality that seemed to be buried under all those layers of loneliness.
    He looked through the dirty windshield at the mountains edging his ranch, framing his dream house.
    His empty dream house. God, he knew what loneliness was.
    He pulled the door handle and shoved his shoulder against the truck door. It creaked open and his housekeeper appeared on the wraparound porch, wiping her hands on her jeans, glancing at the truck in alarm. He didn’t usually park this truck up here, usually left it at the stables with the trailer, but he had been too weary to walk up from the stables.
    “Mr. Creighton?” She used his real name, not his alias. “Are you all right? We were getting worried. Are you hungry? Dinner will be in a couple of hours, but if you need-”
    He held up a hand to stop the flow of words and hefted his bag onto his shoulder. “I’ll just get a sandwich or something later, Mrs. Bennigan. Don’t go to any trouble.”
    Her lips tightened in disapproval, reminding him of Gertrude. “It’s what you pay me for.” She reached for his duffle.
    He relinquished it reluctantly. What would she think of the shirt Lavender had shredded? She’d probably throw it away and think he was a man-whore. At the last minute, he closed his hand around the strap.
    “There’s a few things I need out of here.”
    “I’ll bring them to you.”
    “I’ll just toss the clothes in the hamper.” He shifted the duffle back onto his shoulder.
    “Mr. Creighton? Is something wrong? Are you feeling all right?”
    “I’m good.” But he stopped and looked over what passed for a front lawn. “Do you think roses would grow out here?”
     
    ****
     
    “I figured it out!” Jerri burst into Lavender’s classroom after the morning announcements, waving a magazine.
    Lavender looked up, startled, from tying Bethany’s shoe. “What?” She straightened, her focus on the magazine.
    “I knew I’d seen your cowboy somewhere.” Jerri jabbed a finger at the picture.
    Lavender took the teen magazine. And there, in the middle of five young men known as Crushin’, Taylor Craig smiled up at her, with a very white, very fake smile.
    “He was in a boy band!” Jerri blurted, as if Lavender couldn’t see the page in front of her. “I’d seen an interview not too long ago on one of those entertainment shows, you know, and they were talking about how Crushin’ was going to get back together and they showed Taylor’s picture and said he couldn’t be reached. He’s the only hold-out, I think. They’re going back on tour, can you believe it?”
    Lavender lowered herself slowly to the edge of one of the tables, oblivious to the children, only staring at the fake Taylor smile. Taylor Creighton was the name he went by then. He’d liked romantic dinners on the beach, mint chocolate chip ice cream and girls who had the natural look.
    Naturally. She dragged her hand through her hair.
    Taylor