The Rodeo Rider

“Yeah, I know her. Uh, Miss Vandeveer, I mean,” he muttered.

“Call me Jules,” she told him.

He stared at her outstretched hand and then up at her face. The boy certainly resembled his father. Thick, black hair and lashes, tanned skin and blue eyes—though Shawn’s eyes were a little grayer than Tanner’s. Still, Jules felt sure he had to be one of the most sought-after boys in school. Even his scowl would draw the girls like a magnet.

She looked past him to the horse he’d been riding, which was now trotting placidly around the confined area. “That’s a beautiful horse. How long have you been riding?”

“Shawn was practically born on a horse, just like all the men in the family,” Bridey answered for him.

Shawn gave Jules a measuring look. “Do you ride?”

Jules had answered the question too many times to count, so it didn’t catch her off guard. “I used to, when I was a girl. But nothing quite as wild as that one.”

“Temptation isn’t wild. He can be gentle.” There was no sneer in the boy’s voice, no ridicule. “Come on, I’ll show you. Climb through the fence.”

Jules regarded the horse with trepidation. It did look gentle at the moment, a far cry from how it had looked when Shawn had been on its back. But she wasn’t ready to get close. Not yet. “Maybe another time.”

Bridey stepped closer. “Don’t be afraid, Miss Vandeveer. That horse loves Shawn. And Shawn won’t let anything happen to you.”

Jules didn’t follow as Shawn approached the horse. She saw the animal’s ears go back when he reached out, and then heard the soft nicker when he stroked the horse’s head. She wished she could do the same.

“Come on, Miss—Jules,” Shawn said in a calm, quiet voice.

Jules heard birds singing in the distance and felt a soft breeze moving past her. The scent of horses and ranch surrounded her. But she couldn’t take a step forward. It had been so long ago. She remembered only that her mount had shied at the jump, and she had sailed over his head. Losing two weeks of her life wasn’t much, but the struggle to regain her speech had been long and arduous. She longed to take that first step and climb through the fence to touch the animal, but she couldn’t. She wasn’t ready. Not yet.

WITH THE CALVING over and both cow and calf doing fine, Tanner stepped out of the barn into the yard. After three steps, he stopped. “Well, I’ll be damned.”

Beth, following him, collided with his back. “Sorry. You just stopped and—”

“Why didn’t you tell me you brought her?”

Stepping up beside him, Beth shaded her eyes and looked in the direction he was looking. “To be honest, I forgot. We were busy, remember?”

Tanner looked down at her. “That we were, but all is well, thanks to you.”

“And thanks to good Rocking O stock.”

From the corral, they heard Shawn saying, “Come on, Jules.”

Now Tanner’s attention was on the woman who’d been on his mind for more than a week. A woman with green eyes that took his breath away.

“Come on,” he said, taking Beth’s arm and pulling her along behind him. She stuttered and stammered, but he paid her no heed until she literally dug in her heels.

“No, Tanner. Whatever it is you’re thinking, don’t. I must have been crazy to bring her here. But I had hoped…”

He turned to look at her and saw the stubborn streak he’d heard about but never seen. “What?” It was clear as day that she had hooking them up in mind. It wasn’t the first time someone had put a woman in his way. But why the sudden change of mind?

“She’s…” Beth shook her head, scowled and stared at the ground between them. “You don’t know her, Tanner.” She turned to watch her friend, the scowl turning to a worried frown. “And I’m not so sure I want you to. I never should have introduced you to her.” She started for the corral, but Tanner stopped her.

“Wait just a minute.” His hand gripped her upper arm. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Beth stared up at him and opened her mouth to speak. She glanced at Jules, who stood at the fence shaking her head. “She’s a good person, Tanner,” she said in a quiet voice before looking him in the eye. “Not that you aren’t, but I know your type. You’re a love-’em-and-leave-’em cowboy. A one-night-stand man.”

He felt about an inch tall and it made him mad. “Says who?”

Her smile was lopsided. “Everybody. I’ve heard the tales.” Her smile vanished. “Unless you’re halfway serious, leave her alone.”

“Well, they’re old tales,” he said between clenched teeth. He’d finished with one-night stands, as few as they were, long ago. And this, coming from a tiny woman not much bigger than the newborn calf she’d just helped birth, was more than he could take. “Hell, I don’t know that I even want to know her.” He clamped his mouth shut and kicked at the dirt.

He couldn’t honestly say that he was immune to the blonde’s charms. She definitely presented a challenge. And he did love a challenge. If he took it, he wouldn’t do any harm to Beth’s friend. And that was a big if.

Without a saying a word, he walked in the direction of the corral. “I see you like horses, Miss Vandeveer,” he called to her.

“I mean it, Tanner.” Behind him, Beth’s voice held a threatening note. “You and Shawn are good at breaking horses. Don’t break Jules.”

“Not on your life.” He watched Jules turn toward them, looking fine and sassy in a pair of blue jeans that hugged her hips and long legs to perfection. He knew for certain her emerald-green T-shirt matched her eyes. He’d have to remember not to pay any attention to the tempting sight.

“Hello, Mr. O’Brien,” she said when he reached the fence to stand beside her. “Your son’s a very intelligent and talented young man.”

Tanner stared at her. “My what?”

“Your son.” She looked at Beth, then back at him, her eyes wide.

“Shawn is Tanner’s nephew, Jules,” Beth said. “His brother’s boy.”

“Oh. I suppose I should’ve asked.”

Tanner couldn’t contain the laughter any longer. “And I guess I’m supposed to have a wife tucked away somewhere.”

“I thought…I didn’t…”

“It’s okay,” he told her with a grin. “There are some people around here who don’t have a high opinion of me.” He shot a look at Beth and turned back to Jules. “No reason to be afraid of Temptation there. He looks rowdier than he is, and Shawn keeps a tight rein on him.”

“I don’t doubt that.”

But she didn’t look convinced, and that had him wondering. “You don’t like horses?”

“Not everyone is horse crazy, Tanner,” Beth said quickly. “That may be your area of expertise, but not everyone’s.”

“It’s okay, Beth,” Jules said. “As they say, it takes all kinds. He may think I don’t know the front of a horse from its backside, but as I’ve told him, I do. And I’m sure I know more about the finer points of law than Mr. O’Brien does.”

Tanner recognized the soft dig and acknowledged it with a smile. “You’ve got me there, Miss Vandeveer. But we’re all open to a little learning, aren’t we?”

She hesitated before answering, “Yes, of course.”

Something about the way she glanced at Beth told him there was something wrong. She didn’t strike him as a woman who was afraid of anything. She could certainly hold her own in a verbal sparring match with him, and he admired that.

“Are you sure you don’t want to get to know Temptation, Jules?” Shawn asked, joining them. “Or we could saddle another horse for you.”