The Ranger's Rodeo Rebel (6 page)

“I'm all right,” he told her.

She let go. He somehow managed to stay put, because he'd be damned if he fell off while she stood up—actually stood up on two feet—behind him. Talk about humiliation. He wondered if she knew how often he got up in the middle of the night to check on her, just in case that crazy ex of hers showed up. He might suck at riding, but nobody better mess around with him when it came to protecting what was his. Well, not
his
, but his responsibility. That's for sure.

“That's good,” Colt said. “Caro, quit worrying about him. He's not going to fall off. Chance, use your body weight to guide Teddy toward me. See if Caro can grab the rope.”

Rope? What rope? Somewhere in the middle of all this Colt had snatched a rope from the horse trailer. He held it out. Chance shifted his weight to the left, relieved when Teddy obeyed the silent instructions and headed for his owner. Chance's legs were growing weak, and though he hated to do it, he grabbed Teddy's mane. Maybe the horse sensed Chance's growing desperation to prove himself in front of Carolina, or maybe he was hanging on so hard Teddy became confused, but one minute they were trotting and the next Teddy was in a lope.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” he told the horse, pulling back on the animal's mane as if it were the reins.

“Lean back,” Colt yelled.

He couldn't lean back. Carolina was there. “Teddy, whoa!” he heard her order.

But it was no use. Worse, he could feel himself slipping. Carolina clutched the fabric at his shoulders, and damned if she didn't hold him in place for a stride or two, but he was too much deadweight.

“Caro, let go!” Colt shouted.

The stubborn woman refused to listen, and Chance knew they were both going down.

“Shit.”

It was the last word he said before he fell. Caro said something, too, but he didn't catch it because he hit the ground hard, and he'd somehow managed to land on his back, and then, in that strange way that time seemed to slow down when something bad happened, he saw Carolina fall toward him. He reached for her, used his arms to absorb the impact, but she still landed on top of him with an
oomph
.

They both lay there, trying to catch their breath. She lifted her head, and the world did that freezing, dizzy thing. She peered into his eyes, inches away, and it didn't matter she had a crazy ex-boyfriend and Chance had no intention of sticking around. Nothing mattered except the color of her eyes, the way the sunlight touched her skin, turning it as translucent as a pearl. Nothing mattered except how her body felt in that skintight costume and the way his body responded.

“Sorry.” He abruptly thrust her away.

“You guys okay?” Colt asked, running up to them.

“I'm done,” Chance said, hopping to his feet. He held out a hand for Caro. He didn't want to, but he did it anyway. She took it, and he actually felt relief.

Relief!

It was in that instant Chance realized he might have a problem. A big problem—and her name was Carolina Cruthers.

Chapter Six

Clearly, the man didn't like her, or maybe he was just embarrassed by his lackluster performance. Carolina didn't know, but a week later, as they set to depart for a rodeo, she realized she missed the Chance who had teased her in the kitchen.

“You ready?” he asked, slamming the door of Colt's truck. She glanced back at the Rodeo Misfits trailer hooked up behind them. The competition didn't start until tomorrow. She and Chance were to go ahead and set up camp and settle the horses. The other girls would make their own way north later in the afternoon.

Colt's plan was to perform with Carolina this weekend, then for Chance to take over next weekend, but she feared that wouldn't happen. Every time they'd practiced, Chance had fallen off. Not as much as he had that first day, since he'd been practicing with his old rope horse, Frosty, to get himself in better shape. But he wasn't quite ready. If Chance fell off just once during the performance, it would ruin the act. Her boss knew it. Chance knew it, too, and Carolina wondered if that was what had soured his mood.

“Let's hit it,” she said with a smile.

He didn't respond, and she tried not to feel offended again. No matter what bothered the man, she still owed him a huge debt of gratitude. She hadn't seen James in over a week, and she felt reassured by the can of pepper spray in her purse and the Hello Kitty on her key chain. He hadn't been by the ranch, either, and she'd taken matters into her own hands and changed her cell phone number, which had stopped the texts. With any luck, he'd given up on his scare tactics, too. She could go back to her own place on Monday and quit having to depend on others for help.

Quit having to be around Chance. Well, except on weekends. And during their practice sessions. And when they traveled to rodeos together.

Okay, maybe she wouldn't be able to avoid him.

“Listen,” she said as they pulled out of the driveway, light dots of water sprinkling the windshield. Coastal fog—common in the fall—had pushed its misty fingers inland and covered the land like a kid hiding his eyes. It would be like this every morning until spring came along. “I don't think I ever really said thank you.”

He glanced at her quickly. She kept her gaze off him, too. They were leaving Misfit Farms behind them, the white fences on both sides of the road a muted gray.

She sighed. “I'm sure this wasn't how you hoped to spend your time Stateside, babysitting me.”

He shook his head. “I'll tell you how I didn't plan to spend my time.” His expression was wry as he glanced at her again. “Falling on my ass every five minutes.”

Was that what bothered him? Wounded male pride?

“It's not every five minutes,” she said, smiling again. “It's every ten.”

His expression said it all.
Great.
Thanks.

“But you're doing good considering it's been nearly ten years since you've ridden.”

“It's not the riding that's the problem,” he said. “It's when you climb onboard that I get into trouble.”

It was true. He'd been able to lope Teddy around on his own for the past two days, but when she jumped up behind him, it threw him off.

“You'll figure it out.”

“Better be soon. Colt doesn't want to have to leave the ranch again, what with Wes and Jillian's upcoming wedding and Natalie about to pop. Colt's the best man and has too much to do. They should have done a shotgun wedding in someone's backyard like Colt and Natalie did.” Carolina had heard about the infamous wedding. They'd surprised everyone after a charity event held at the ranch. They'd been married in front of every A-list celebrity in Hollywood, many of whom still popped by, including Rand Jefferson. But that was to be expected, Caro reminded herself. Rand had married her friend Sam, one of the former Galloping Girlz, and Sam couldn't resist coming out and riding with the girls from time to time. Carolina had gotten used to having a world-famous actor as a friend.

“How long have you known Wes and Jillian?” she asked.

It was because of Jillian that Natalie had met Colt. From what she'd heard, Colt had been happy living a life secluded on the ranch, his sister less than a mile away, and only leaving on the weekends to perform. Natalie had been in a bad horse accident, and Wes and Jillian had suggested Colt could help her learn to ride again. They'd fallen in love along the way. And the rest was history.

“I've known Wes my whole life,” Chance said. “His mom was friends with our mom, but he's mostly my brother's friend.”

“Wes seems nice,” Carolina observed. “And Jillian is amazing with animals. Once one of Natalie's jumping horses was limping and they couldn't figure out why. Jillian came over and told her it was a torn muscle. They took the horse to the vet clinic, and Mariah used some kind of infrared device to confirm the diagnosis. It was unreal.”

“I've heard it's crazy how good Jillian is reading animals.”

It was the first conversation—their first real conversation—since their practice session in the arena. She smiled. She liked talking to him. It was easy. Not awkward and uncomfortable. “I think she does more than simply read them. It's almost like she can talk to them or something.”

“Dr. Doolittle,” Chance said. “That's what Colt calls her.”

“Exactly like—”

She bolted upright in her seat. Chance slowed down as quickly as he could with horses in the back of the trailer. They'd reached the end of the drive and the iron gates that guarded the entrance of Reynolds Ranch. In the distance was James's truck.

Son of a—

Chance must have realized who it was, too, as she'd given him a detailed description of James's truck, as well as a picture of the man himself. It might still be early enough that the headlights painted the pavement gray, but James's big silver truck was hard to miss. Her ex must have realized they'd spotted him, because suddenly his lights flicked on. He peeled out so fast his tires kicked up a stream of dust and rubber.

“Damn,” Chance said.

Yes, damn. She'd truly hoped he'd leave her alone now. That he'd had his fun. But being faced with the reality of James's presence was like discovering a gaping hole in her arm, one so big and ghastly she didn't know how it could ever be fixed.

“I don't understand,” she whispered.

They both watched as James sped off, his taillights fading to small points of light before disappearing altogether.

She clenched her fists. “Why won't he leave me alone?”

The side of Chance's jaw ticked, his eyes slits as he stared at the spot where James had been parked.

“Bastard's gonna be sorry.”

* * *

S
HE
HARDLY
SAID
a word the rest of the ride. That was okay. Chance was busy checking his six, even doubling back once, not that she seemed to notice. Carolina seemed too lost in her own thoughts, fiddling with a strand of her hair, probably wondering what she could do to keep James away.

Nothing.

The simple truth was, there were some men who didn't want to take no for an answer. Who were crazy. Who did things no sane man would ever do. Over there, in the Middle East, Chance had seen things. He shook his head, not wanting to think about it. Suffice to say, he'd probably taken James a hell of a lot more seriously than she had, knowing what he knew about certain individuals.

He gripped the steering wheel. “I won't let him hurt you.”

“He knows where the rodeo is,” she said in a small voice.

He glanced at her, about to ask how that was possible, when he realized she was right. Of course he knew. Colt's rodeo schedule was posted online. It was no big secret where they would be. And even if it hadn't been online, rodeos had their own websites, and they listed who their performers would be. He was an idiot for not thinking of that sooner. Of course, he'd been hoping the guy had given up. The sight of him sitting in front of the gate had changed all that. It'd been nearly two weeks since Carolina had moved to the ranch, and James clearly still had it out for her. That meant he was capable of anything. Maybe even scary things. Like the stuff Chance had seen while serving.

“If he shows up, I'll take care of him.”

She nodded, her gaze firmly fixed ahead.

“In the meantime, maybe you should call the lieutenant in charge of your case.”

“I will once we get there.”

“Not that it'll do any good,” he said, checking his six once again as he merged onto a new road. “James's gonna do whatever he wants. His type of man always does. He's mad at you for breaking up with him, and he's trying to make you pay.”

She stared out the front windshield, clearly oblivious to what was around her. “I never should have started seeing him.”

“Hindsight is always twenty-twenty.”

“Yeah, but I wasn't even looking to get involved with someone. From day one, my whole focus has been the Galloping Girlz. When he asked me out on a date, I actually said no.”

“Sometimes you can have a gut feeling about someone.”

They were headed into the Sierra foothills, to a town whose claim to fame was the rodeo they held every fall. It was getting to the end of rodeo season. Any cowboy that found himself behind in earnings would be at the Tres Rios grounds in the hopes of a last-minute score of cash that might nudge them toward the top of the standings, and the National Finals Rodeo.

Carolina hugged herself. “When we first started dating, he was really charming.”

Chance simply nodded, keeping quiet. He sensed she wanted to talk to someone. He would listen.

“We had so much fun. He was so attentive, and I liked that. I'd never met a man who so clearly wanted to spend time with me, but then it got to be a little annoying. One day, I decided to go out to a bar with everyone in our group. I wasn't planning on picking up anybody or dancing. It was just a night of fun for us girls to relax, you know, away from a rodeo or practicing out at Colt's place.”

She shook her head, her lips pressing together for a moment. Her hands clenched.

“James told me I couldn't go.” She looked at him then. “I laughed.”

She shook her head again, her gaze shifting to the scenery in front of them once more—the mountains in the distance capped with snow, the hills nearest them scorched brown by the California sun—her face as cold as the stone in the hillside.

“He hit me.
Bam.
” She mimicked the motion of being struck in the head. “One minute, I was standing, and the next, I was on the ground. I remember thinking,
did he really just do that
? Only he had, and then he was holding me and telling me how sorry he was, and I wanted to believe him...”

So she'd forgiven him. She didn't need to say the words. Chance knew she'd let him back into her life, as many women did with their partners.

“He was good to me after that, and I started to think he'd just had a bad day. You know, that I must have pushed him too hard. That it was somehow my fault.” She pinned him with a stare, her gaze so intense it was as if she tried to turn back time with her mind. “It's amazing how easy it was to believe it was a onetime thing. Two months later, he hit me again, and that was the time I told him to go to hell, only he didn't take the news well.”

She touched the side of her face this time, as if touching invisible scars. “Thank God one of my neighbors came along when he did. He said he'd heard my screams. I honestly don't know if James would have stopped. I ended up in the hospital. I don't remember much about how I got there. The police came. I filed charges. I thought James would leave me alone after that, especially since he'd be in jail, but the bastard posted bail the next day and then he was out and the phone calls started.”

“He's angry.”

“I'm the one who should be angry.” She inhaled, a sigh of resignation and possibly disgust. “But I'm scared.”

“Don't be.” He'd said the word so sharply she had immediately turned to look at him. “Don't be afraid. I haven't served eight years protecting this country to let some lowlife scumbag push you around. He has no idea who he's messing with.”

He was driving, which made it hard to maintain eye contact, but he did his best, and he hoped she saw how serious he was.

Carolina swiped at her eyes. “He's going to make an appearance at the rodeo. How much do you want to bet?”

“I'm not going to take that bet. Not when I think you're right.”

She pulled her legs up onto the bench seat and hugged her knees. “Maybe I shouldn't perform.”

“Don't,” he said again, just as sharply. “You've changed your life around enough already. Don't let him take this away from you, too.”

He didn't realize what he was doing until he did it. He pulled over to the side of the two-lane county road.

“What's the matter?” she asked.

“First of all,” he said, stopping the truck, “I'm checking to make sure he's not following us. With the hill behind us the way it is, he'll crest the top before he realizes we've pulled over.”

She glanced behind them, trying to see through the horse trailer and the road beyond. “I noticed you doubled back earlier, but he's not following, is he?”

“Not yet. But he might have been smart. Might have left ahead of us, but I think you're right. He knows exactly where we're going. Sitting outside the gate this morning was his way of telling you he knows your schedule, and man, I'd like to beat his face into a pulp because of it.”

She looked ahead again, still hugging her knees.

“But I won't, because there's more than one way to skin a cat.”

He rested a hand on her knee, and she jumped. He hated that she jumped. This week, he'd done his best to keep his distance from her. Easier to do that, considering his inconvenient attraction to her. However, trying to maintain space hadn't helped his concentration riding Teddy. He'd fallen off more times than a drunk on a bar stool. Still, his need to comfort Carolina in that moment outweighed his common sense, and he squeezed her leg. She looked up at him, and those blue, blue eyes drew him down and down and down, and it wasn't until he was inches away from her face that he realized he'd dropped his head toward her own. And that she hadn't moved away while he did so.