Ambushed!

“No, it wasn’t.” Gabe knew what she was talking about. Except for Nick and Dominique, the group had appeared less than thrilled about Morgan’s presence. “It’s just the real estate thing. It’ll be fine. Wave.”

“What?”

“Wave to the people on the sidewalk. It’s what you do in a parade.”

“Oh!” She immediately turned on the charm, swiveling in the saddle so that she could pay attention to the good citizens of Shoshone lining both sides of the street.

Meanwhile Gabe concentrated on keeping the pace slow. Mary Lou was throwing out wrapped candy, and kids scuffled for it. He watched carefully to make sure nobody ran toward the street.

“Hey, Gabe!” It was Elmer, who owned the town’s only gas station. “What’cha doing riding an Appaloosa?”

“Just trying to be different!” Gabe called back.

“I didn’t even think about that.” Morgan kept smiling and waving, but she sounded upset. “Because of me, you’re on the wrong kind of horse.”

“Lighten up, Morgan. I’m not going to ruin the family’s reputation with one ride on a different breed. Besides, you’re supposed to be having fun losing your parade virginity, not obsessing about my rep.”

That made her laugh. “I am having fun. Sort of.”

“You’d better start having even more fun pretty soon. It’s not a very long parade.” He wished like hell his mom and Jack had been more enthusiastic about having Morgan, but he could understand why they weren’t.

Morgan blew a few kisses to the crowd as she continued her conversation with Gabe. “So how bad was the real-estate-agent traffic around your house last fall?”

He blew out a breath. “Bad. After Dad died, a gazillion of them beat a path to our door with all kinds of dreams and schemes, thinking we’d want to sell all or part of the ranch and they’d make a bundle. They drove my mom crazy and the whole subject of real estate agents was taboo for months. Finally they quit calling.”

“So your family thinks I’ll do the same thing, now that I’ve met you and been invited to ride in the parade with them?”

“Maybe.” And Gabe wasn’t sure if she would or not. He hadn’t thought that far. “Would you?”

“Absolutely not! I love the idea that your family has owned that land for years. My parents never owned so much as a parking space for the van.”

And he could tell that still bothered her, even now when she was an adult and didn’t have to deal with their drifter ways. “Keep waving.”

“Oh. Sorry.” She went back to her parade duties.

“How are you liking the parade now?”

“Better. I wish I’d brought candy to throw out to the kids. I didn’t think of it.”

Gabe took advantage of a temporary halt and called out to Nick. “Hey, bro, can you snag a bag of candy from the wagon and pass it back?”

“Sure thing.” Nick trotted forward, reached for the bag Mary Lou handed him and fell back until he was on Gabe’s left. “Here you go.” He handed the bag over to Gabe. “Gonna impress the rug rats?”

“Morgan wants to.” Gabe held out the bag to her.

She took it with a smile. “Thanks! And thanks to you, too, Nick.”

“My pleasure, Morgan.” Nick touched the brim of his hat.

Gabe expected Nick to move back into his position ahead of them, but instead he stayed even with Gabe.

“Everything all right back here?” he asked.

“We’re doing okay.” Gabe glanced over at Morgan, who seemed totally absorbed in tossing candy to the kids. “Thanks for asking.”

Nick lowered his voice. “You know it’s the real estate thing.”

“I know. I explained it to her.”

“Did you also explain that she’d better not make a sales pitch for her services?”

“I didn’t have to. She has great respect for the Chance family heritage, probably even more than I do.”

“Good. Then rock on, bro.” Nick urged his horse forward and got back into line ahead of them.

Gabe wasn’t sure what rock on meant in this context. Nick had found himself a woman, one he’d no doubt marry some day. Maybe he thought his two brothers should do the same.

Gabe wasn’t thinking that way himself. He was enjoying competing too much, and that wasn’t the kind of life he envisioned leading as a family man. One of these days, maybe after Top Drawer made the Hall of Fame, he’d retire from the circuit, but for now he still loved the challenge.

Sure, he’d been temporarily sidelined by Jack’s penny-pinching, but Gabe wouldn’t allow his brother to deny him permanently and rob Top Drawer of his chance to shine. They’d work something out. Gabe believed his dad would have wanted him to continue competing, especially with Top Drawer getting closer to that milestone.

In the meantime, though, Gabe was here and so was Morgan. He admitted that he found her sexy. Each time she tossed out that candy her breasts quivered. He couldn’t help noticing the fit of her jeans, either. Yeah, if given the chance, he’d be more than willing to get cozy with Morgan.

She seemed to like him okay, too. They could have some adult-rated fun together until he managed to convince Jack to send him back out on the circuit. As long as Morgan didn’t expect wedding bells, the two of them could have a lot of fun.

3

THROWING OUT candy toward the end of the parade route lifted Morgan’s spirits considerably. At the other end of town another field had been designated as the gathering point for participants. Those who were on foot dispersed. Morgan noticed a large horse trailer with the distinctive intertwined L and C parked on the far side of the field.

Jack led their group toward the trailer, and because Morgan was on Gabe’s horse, she had to go along. Then she saw another trailer, considerably less elegant, from the stable where she’d rented Geronimo. The owners had agreed to meet her at the end of the parade. Belatedly she wondered if she’d have any liability for letting someone else ride the horse.

She looked over at Gabe. “How should we work this?”

“Simple. I’ll turn in your horse and you turn in mine.”

“If they ask you any questions about why—”

“I’ll tell them Geronimo needed a more experienced rider in a parade situation. They should be made aware of that.”

“Great. Thanks.” Morgan wondered what it would be like to feel so sure of yourself all the time. She never had, although she’d learned to put up a good front. Maybe, when she’d created a solid situation here in Shoshone, she’d feel more grounded.

Until then, she was in fake-it-till-you-make-it territory.

She headed over to the Last Chance trailer. At least she understood now why Sarah and Jack hadn’t been as warm as she might have hoped. They thought she’d try to talk them into selling their beloved ranch.

Her wayward shirt had behaved so far, mostly because she’d learned to breathe more shallowly. She kept up that program as she rode Top Drawer over to the trailer, where Jack had dismounted and was organizing the reloading operation.

He glanced up as she approached.