11. Beth

"Taryn, it's time to get ready to go to the rodeo grounds. Why don't you get ready? Unless, of course, you are planning on competing in your Eeyore jammies."

"I don't think that would look very cowgirl, would it?" She grinned. Taryn slid out of her chair and took her dishes to the dishwasher.

"She is taking all of this extremely well," Conner said. "She's not shy at all. Instead, she is more like, ‘Hello. You're my dad and this is my life.'"

"Taryn is very mature and processes information quickly. She overheard the argument between Mother and me about the situation. She saw us at the restaurant and warned me to stay away from you. I told her that the only reason you hurt me before was because she put a forget spell on you. Taryn demanded to know what was going on. She knows what kind of person Mother is."

Conner clenched his jaw and his face turned bright red. "I'd love to have five minutes with her. She stole ten years of life with my daughter and you."

Beth put her hand on his arm. "She'd kill you without blinking an eye. Mother is not a good witch or a good person. I think that her soul withered away a long time ago. Please, just avoid her at all costs."

He put his hand on top of hers and nodded. "I've got a lot of thinking to do. I have to figure everything out. My world just got turned upside down with a quickness. I need to get to the rodeo grounds. I'll see you there."

Conner brushed a kiss across her lips and left. Beth sank down in the chair, trying to process everything. This was what she had dreamed about for the last eleven years. Never, in a million years, did she really believe that Conner would suddenly regain his memory and come back to her. Breathing a sigh of relief, Beth felt as though the weight of the world had been lifted off of her chest.

She buried her face in her hands and a dam broke. Her shoulders shook as the tears poured down her face. The stress from these years of loving a man who didn't know she existed, knowing that she would never let another man touch her, and not being able to tell him that he had an incredible daughter poured out.

"Mom, are you okay?" Taryn asked.

"Honey, yeah. It's just been a lot to process in the last few days. I never thought that I would see him again. Now, he's here and he remembers me. I've always wanted him to know about you, but I couldn't tell him."

"I'm sorry," Taryn said, helplessly.

"Don't be. None of this is on you. You've been a trooper. I can only imagine that it's been a shock to you, too. You've always wanted to know about your father and then poof, here he is."

"I think that he's going to be a good dad."

"Me too, Baby Girl. Are you ready to go?"

"Yep, but you should probably change out of your bunny slippers and put on shoes," Taryn pointed out.

Laughing, Beth grabbed her socks and shoes, and they headed out. Taryn was talking a million miles an hour about her father and all the things they could do together. "You don't have to worry about me shifting and running alone. He can go with me."

"Taryn, I need you to slow down. He just found out that he is a father. We don't know if he's going to stick around or continue on the circuit. He probably doesn't know which way is up. My guess is that his mind is in complete shock. Don't be disappointed if he doesn't want to stay here."

"I think that he's going to want to be a part of our lives and be a dad," Taryn said. "Even if he travels around, I think he'll be here a lot."

"I hope so," Beth said.

I know that he remembers the love we shared. Does he feel any of that love now? If he did, would it be true love or a memory of what once was? They pulled into the rodeo grounds and Beth rubbed her temples. Take it one day at a time. Give him a chance to breathe and take it from there. Don't get your hopes up, though. You can't afford another disappointment.

Beth realized that the voice in her head was giving good advice, but she couldn't help but hope that now Conner remembered her, he would fall in love with her again, and they could have a life together.

"Are you okay?" Taryn asked.

"I'm fine," Beth said. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yep. I've got apples for Zephyr and for Pegasus."

Pegasus ran up to Taryn as soon as he saw her and started rubbing his head against her. Then, he wrapped his head around her neck, giving her a hug. The other horses in the corral gravitated toward her, including Zephyr. She tried to pet all of them. Beth could hear Taryn talking to them, telling them what good boys and girls they were and how beautiful they were. Taryn truly had a good, gentle soul. The complete opposite of Matilda.

Conner sat on the top rail of the corral and watched. Taryn saw him and made a beeline for him. She climbed on the fence and sat next to him. Beth just watched them. The look on Conner's face told her everything that she needed to know.

She joined them when they walked over to the arena to hear the rodeo manager's speech announcements for the day's events. He stressed the importance of sportsmanship because apparently a couple of people got into a fight the night before and had to be banned from the rest of the events. He droned on about the rules and then talked about the order of events, which was exactly the same as it had been. Beth was only half listening.

The hair on the back of Beth's neck stood on end, and she felt as though someone was watching her. She looked around, half expecting to see her mother stalking her. Groaning, she realized that it was Kelly, staring at her, giving her the stink eye.

When the speeches were over, Taryn said, "Do you want to walk around the fairgrounds with us until the rodeo begins?"

"You two go ahead. I need to get to the shop and make sure that Anna is okay and if she needs anything. I'll be back in time this evening before anything starts."

Beth started to pull some money out of her wallet, and Conner shook his head and simply said. "No."

She reminded herself that Conner was Taryn's father and he would want to pay for whatever Taryn wanted or needed. That was going to take some getting used to.

"Okay. You guys have fun, but don't go on the rollercoaster too many times. I don't need to remind you what doing the loopty loops does to your stomach."

Taryn giggled. Conner looked at his daughter questionably. The little girl looked up at him, stuck her tongue out, and said, "Blech."

"Everywhere. Projectile." Beth laughed. "It's not a pretty sight."

"Gotcha. No rollercoasters, because that is another thing, besides the sight of blood and needles, that I can't handle."

"Yet you go out there and risk broken bones and worse all the time."

Connor shrugged and said, "What can I say? I'm a masochist."

Taryn and Conner hugged Beth and they went toward the fairgrounds. Beth walked toward her car, well aware that she was being followed.

She had just gotten to her car when she whirled around and confronted Kelly. The blond looked startled. "Why are you following me?"

"I just wanted to talk to you," Kelly said.

"Yeah? You could have come up to me earlier instead of being creepy and stalkerish."

Beth had the idea that Kelly didn't want Conner to see her talking to Beth. She was trying to be sneaky.

"I noticed that you and Conner seem to be cozy. You told me before that you two just met."

"We've become friends," Beth said.

"You need to stay away from him. He's not available."

"Funny. Conner didn't mention that he was in a relationship with anyone else."

Kelly wiggled her shoulders, stuck out her chest, and stretched her neck. "We are together. You know how it is in the professional world. It's important that we keep our relationship on the down low. Part of the appeal of the rodeo queen is that she is single – for cowboys, too. All the single ladies come to watch them ride. But he belongs to me."

"Yeah, okay. If you say so," Beth said. "Please excuse me. I need to be going."

"Stay away from him," Kelly warned. "He's mine."

Beth just shook her head, got into her car, and drove away. She knew that Conner wasn't with Kelly, because he wasn't the type to cheat. If he was in a committed relationship, he would stay true to that woman. Beth knew about the kind of woman that Kelly was – desperate, lying, and conniving. The kind of woman who liked to play games with others to try to intimidate or impress them.

She frowned as a question popped into her mind. Has he been with Kelly? How many other women has he been with since we've been apart?

The thought of Conner kissing, touching, and loving another woman over the last eleven years cut Beth's heart like a knife. She instinctively knew that there was no way that Conner had been without female companionship all this time.

"It's not your business," Beth reminded herself. "He didn't know that you existed. He wasn't cheating on you. Let it go."

Beth knew that she had given herself good advice. She just didn't know if she could follow it. However, she would never ask him.

Everything was fine at the shop. Anna, an older woman who had helped Beth run the shop since it opened, had her daughter helping her.

"We've been busy. How is Taryn doing?"

"Cleaning up the trophies and prize money. She'll have enough to pay for college, dorms, books, food, and everything else she needs by the time she's fifteen at this rate."

"Good, I'm glad." Anna, who was an intuitive, stared at Beth. "There will be bumps in the road, but everything will work out in the end."

"Thanks, My Friend. You know I worry."

"Too much about everything." Anna laughed.

Beth tried to get some paperwork done, but her mind kept slipping to Conner and wondering what his next move was going to be. She knew that her whole life was going to change. Even if Conner didn't want a relationship with Beth, he would want one with Taryn. They would want to spend holidays and summers together, as well as other times. It had always been the two of them, Beth and Taryn against the world. If Conner wanted to be a family, there would be three of them and it would be incredible. If he didn't, she would be alone sometimes when Taryn was with her father. She wouldn't deny them the time together, but she dreaded the thought of rattling around in an empty house.

Beth realized that she hadn't accomplished a single thing when her phone alarm went off, letting her know that it was time to head back to the fairgrounds.

"Call me if you need me," Beth told Anna, knowing that she would neither need anything and wouldn't call if she did.

Beth took her place in the stands just as the events were starting. As usual, Taryn did exceedingly well. Annoyance took over elation when Beth saw Kelly walk over and start talking to Taryn. She started to get up to tell Kelly to stay away from her daughter when she spotted Conner walking over to them. She knew that look on his face. He would take care of business.

A cold finger of dread trailed down Beth's back. She knew that there was going to be trouble. Kelly wasn't about to give up easily.