Curves and the Rodeo Star (BBW Romance - Coldwater Springs 4)

Curves and the Rodeo Star
(BBW Romance - Coldwater Springs 4)

by

Jenn Roseton

Copyright © 2013 by
Jenn Roseton

All rights reserved

No
part of this publication may be copied, reproduced in any format, by
any means, electronic or otherwise, without prior consent from the
copyright owner and publisher of this book.

This
is a work of fiction. All characters, names, places and events are
the product of the author's imagination or used fictitiously.

This is a sexy
contemporary romance novelette.

Cover Art by
Diana
Carlile

“
Good job, boy,”
Emma murmured as she left the dusty ring, the faint fragrance of dirt
and horses teasing her senses. The chestnut quarter horse whickered
softly as she led him to the trailer, the June sun beating down on
them. She thought she’d had a good chance of winning the
barrel racing at the Coldwater Springs rodeo, but her timing had been
slightly off. It wasn’t Pirate’s fault.

“
Hey, Emma!”
She turned around to see Sarah McCord, a curvy brunette, waving at
her.

“
Hi, Sarah.”
She smiled in response and walked over to Sarah and her cousin Libby,
a voluptuous blonde.

“
Hello, handsome,”
Libby crooned, holding her hand out for Pirate to sniff. “He
really does look like a pirate with that white patch over his eye.”

“
Congratulations on
coming second.” Sarah joined Libby in making a fuss of Pirate.
“You looked good out there.”

Emma smiled wryly.
“Thanks. I know it’s not the National Finals, but I
still wanted to win.”

“
Sarah told me
you’ve won practically every year since she was in high
school.”

Emma’s cheeks
warmed and she patted Pirate’s neck. “We both like
winning.”

Libby waggled her left
hand in front of Emma. “Ahem.”

Sarah chuckled. “She’s
been doing that with everyone she hasn’t seen in a while.”

Emma gazed at the
sparkling cushion cut diamond ring on Libby’s finger, then
smiled at the blonde. “Are you engaged, Libby?”

Libby grinned. “The
wedding is set for September.” She stared at her ring. “I’ve
been engaged for four months and I don’t think I’ll ever
stop admiring it.”

“
You’ll have
to stop admiring it next week, so you can concentrate on sending out
the invitations,” Sarah reminded her.

“
You’re
right.” Libby patted Pirate, then grinned. “You’re
invited, Emma.”

“
Thanks.”
Emma smiled in pleasure. “Are Cassie and Luke back from their
honeymoon yet?”

Sarah shook her head.
“They’re coming back next week.”

“
Aruba.”
Libby sighed dreamily. “I hope Jake is taking me somewhere
like that.”

“
Oh?” Emma
raised her eyebrows.

“
He wants to
surprise me.” Libby giggled. “He knows I love
surprises.”

“
Hey, Emma!”
A burly man approached the trio. “A guy’s been looking
for you. He was over by the holding area.”

“
Thanks, Fred.”

The man nodded and
continued on his way.

Emma shrugged. “I
have no idea who could be looking for me. I guess I better take
Pirate back to the trailer.”

“
Bye, Pirate.”
Libby patted the horse one last time.

Emma led her horse back
to the area that housed the competitors’ trailers. Once she
rubbed down Pirate, she’d check out the holding area and see
who was looking for her. Maybe someone was interested in agisting
their horse.

“
I’ll be back
soon, boy.” Emma put away her grooming kit and took a long
swallow of water. Checking that Pirate was secure in the trailer,
she turned in the direction of the holding area.

“
Emma Banks?”

She blinked. Six feet of
pure male blocked her way, dwarfing her height of five foot six. His
dark russet brown hair brushed his denim shirt collar, while his
emerald green eyes looked at her assessingly. A hint of five o’clock
shadow graced his ruggedly handsome face, and his broad shoulders
filled out his denim shirt nicely. Appearing to be in his early
thirties, his faded jeans clung to his leanly muscled hips and
thighs, ending in practical, dusty boots.

“
Yes?” Her
stomach fluttered. He was the finest looking man she’d seen in
a while.

Cade frowned at the woman
standing in front of him. Her honey blond hair was tied back in a
practical braid touching her shoulder blades. Heat stirred in his
lower body as he realized he’d been silently cheering her on in
the barrel racing, admiring her skill. Her jeans and light purple
long-sleeved western shirt clung to her luscious, ripe figure in all
the right places.

He cleared his throat
when he realized he’d been staring, and met her eyes. Violet.
Damn.

“
Bernie Smithell
hired me to train his horse. He said he’s agisting him at your
place.”

She wrinkled her brow.
“And you are?”

“
Sorry.” He
held out his hand. “Cade Winters.”

She placed her small hand
in his large, strong one. A shot of warmth ripped through him. His
tanned fingers enclosed hers.

“
Bernie hasn’t
mentioned you.”

He held onto her hand a
few seconds longer than necessary before reluctantly letting it go.
“Bernie called me last night, asking me to train Shadow. He
said he’d call you today about it.”

“
Let me check my
phone.” Emma rummaged through her bag until she found her cell
phone. Turning it on, she saw a missed call from Bernie and played
back the brief message.

Putting her phone away,
she smiled at him politely. “I haven’t seen you around
Coldwater before.”

“
I’ve been
getting that a lot,” he said wryly. “I’ve just
bought the Henderson place on Coldwater Road. Chase McCord can vouch
for me.”

“
You know Chase?”

He grinned. “Chase
and I met at the rodeo here about ten years ago. He beat me by a
split second in the bull riding.”

The corners of her mouth
tilted upwards. “Chase always was great in the ring.”

“
I heard he got
married.”

Emma nodded. “A
year ago. I talked to his wife earlier.” She waited for him
to respond, but for a few seconds he just gazed at her. She hoped
she didn’t have a big dirt smudge on her face and he didn’t
know how to tell her.

He rubbed the back of his
neck. “So about Shadow. Bernie wants me to start ASAP.”

“
How about
tomorrow? Shadow’s in the south pasture.”

“
Nine o’clock
okay?”

“
Sure.” She
usually got up at 6.30 to feed the horses. By nine, she’d be
breakfasted, showered and dressed.

“
Bernie mentioned
you live on Mountain Road.”

“
Yep. 1247. The
number’s on the gate.”

“
I’ll guess
I’ll see you then.” He turned to leave, then swiveled
back. “Good riding today.”

He’d watched her
compete? Her face flushed. “Thanks.”

###

Emma turned off the alarm
clock. Getting up at 6.30 in the morning in summer wasn’t
nearly as bad as in the winter. At least it was light outside.

Pulling on her clothes,
she thought about her phone conversation with Chase last night. He’d
confirmed that Cade was whom he claimed to be and that he had a
natural affinity with horses. He’d also been pretty successful
on the professional rodeo circuit, until he’d retired two years
ago. That had set her mind at rest; then she remembered what Cade
looked like.

Six tall feet of yummy.

She told herself not to
think about him in that way. At twenty-eight, she’d had a few
boyfriends, but hadn’t yet met the man she wanted to spend the
rest of her life with. One day she hoped to discover
the same
kind of happiness Sarah, Libby and Cassie had found, although
sometimes she wished that day would hurry up and get here.

Emma made a face at
herself in the mirror. She guessed it would happen when the time was
right. Maybe there just weren’t that many guys around who
preferred generously proportioned women. Apart from Chase, Jake and
Luke.

Emma made sure she’d
fed the horses, showered, and dressed well before nine o’clock.
She’d just put the breakfast dishes away when she heard a
vehicle pull up outside the house.

A dusty white pickup
parked in the driveway. She watched Cade exit the vehicle before
she stepped back
from the window, not wanting him to catch her
peeking.

She opened the front door
just a few seconds after he knocked
.
“Hey. Just
thought I’d let you know I was here.” He rocked back on
his heels.

Emma swallowed, taking in
his muscular body clad in a blue long-sleeved shirt and jeans.
D
efinitely
six tall feet of yummy. “Thanks.” She
tried not to think about what he would look like with his shirt off.
She did
not
want to blush.

“
Shadow’s in
the south pasture?”

“
Yes. The black
quarter horse.” She gestured to the left of the house where
Shadow munched on lush grass.

“
How many horses
have you got here?”

Somehow, she’d
fallen into step beside him as they walked over to Shadow. “I’m
agisting five horses at the moment as well as breeding quarter
horses.”

He looked at her with
respect. “How long have you been doing that?”

She shrugged
.
“Six
years. Ever since I graduated college and came back home.”

“
This is all
yours?” His eyes scanned the large pasture where several
horses grazed.

“
My parents’,”
she admitted. “They retired and moved to Florida a few months
ago, to see if they’d like living there permanently. But the
stud farm and agisting is all mine.”

“
How's it going?”

Emma decided she might as
well be honest. “Slowly. I have one stallion and two mares,
but I’m planning on buying another mare in a few months’
time.”

“
And you do this
full time?”

“
I have a part-time
job at the feed store,” she confessed. “I work there
Thursdays and Fridays.”

“
What about the
horse you rode yesterday?” He turned to look at her, his green
eyes gleaming with interest.

A smile touched her lips.
“Pirate? I’ve had him for ten years. He was a combined
graduation and birthday present from my parents.”

“
He’s a good
looking horse.”

When Cade looked at her
like that, she didn’t know what to say. He’s only
interested in the horses, she scolded herself. Why would he be
interested in you? He’s just being nice, making conversation.
But she couldn’t help the ripple of awareness that told her she
was in the company of a very attractive male.

“
Have you got
horses?” The instant the words came out of her mouth she
nibbled her lip, hoping he wouldn’t think it was a dumb
question.