Curves and the Rodeo Star (BBW Romance - Coldwater Springs 4) (2 page)

His gaze dropped to her
lips for an instant before he answered. “One. Spirit, my old
rodeo horse.”

“
Chase told me
you’ve competed for years.”

“
Until a couple of
years ago.” His answer was abrupt.

They walked in silence
the rest of the way to the south pasture. It sounded like Cade
didn’t want to talk about being on the rodeo circuit and Emma
didn’t like to appear nosy.

Shadow ambled over to
Emma, asking with a woofle if she’d brought him a treat.

“
Not this morning,
boy.” She patted the handsome colt. “Cade is going to
teach you a few things today.”

“
Hey, Shadow.”
Cade held out his hand for the horse to sniff. Shadow lowered his
head, allowing the man to scratch behind his ears.

“
I guess I’ll
leave you to it.” Shadow looked happy in the trainer’s
company and Cade had the air of a man who knew what he was doing.
She could always keep an eye on them surreptitiously while she
completed her morning chores.

“
Thanks for
introducing us,” Cade tossed over his shoulder as Emma walked
toward the barn. She waved a friendly hand in reply.

Emma couldn’t stop
thinking about Cade all morning. While she shoveled horse manure,
cleaned out stalls and polished Pirate’s saddle and bridle, the
man kept cropping up in her thoughts. Although Chase had vouched for
him, she didn’t know anything about him except he used to
compete on the rodeo circuit and now trained horses.

She wondered if he was
single. Chase hadn’t mentioned that. When Cade had been on
the circuit, he’d probably have been able to have his pick of
rodeo groupies. Emma looked down at her white t-shirt and faded
jeans and sighed. They probably hadn’t had a figure like hers,
well proportioned with generous breasts. No matter how many chores
she did, she couldn’t seem to whittle down her curves.

Maybe he likes curves.

Firmly putting that
fantasy out of her mind, Emma replaced Pirate’s bridle on the
hook. Looking up at the shelf above the bridles, she decided now was
the perfect time to clean a disused bridle that was practically an
antique. She’d been putting it off for a long time because the
shelf was so high up, but today she didn’t have any excuses.

Fetching an empty metal
bucket, Emma turned it upside down and hopped up on it. She
stretched her arms up, but two inches remained between her and the
bridle. Standing on tiptoe closed the gap by one inch. Maybe if she
jumped up, she’d be able to snag it. If she couldn’t get
it the first time, she’d go and get the stepladder from the
garage.

Hands outstretched, she
jumped, her fingers grazing the bridle just as she heard a muttered
exclamation.

“
What are you
doing?” The roughly spoken words sent a shiver down her spine
as large hands grasped her around the waist.

Startled, she jerked in
his arms, emitting a low shriek. He grasped her tightly, smelling of
horse, soap and hay in a tantalizing combination.

Emma relaxed slightly
when she realized it was Cade holding her. “You can let go.”
Her feet were back on the upturned bucket, but the bridle still
dangled out of reach, taunting her.

“
So you can jump up
again? I don’t think so.” His growl stirred the
delicate nerve endings in her ear.

“
I almost had it.”
Her pulse pounded. His arms still wrapped around her, she realized
she hadn’t been this close to a man for a while. A good long
while.

“
I’ll get it
for you.” One arm released her waist as he easily reached up
to the top shelf.

“
No, I can do it.”
She was used to doing things for herself. She sprang up, ignoring
the strong arm still clasping her waist.

“
Oof!”

She fell backwards,
landing on her butt. Cade lay sprawled on the dusty floor next to
her, and she realized one of her legs rested on top of his. She
jerked her leg away and glared at him.

“
What did you do
that for?”

“
Do what?”
He rose to a sitting position, dusting off his shirt.

“
You know what.”
Her eyes narrowed.

“
Try to help you?”
Cade rose and extended a hand to her, biting back a grin.

Emma saw the humorous
expression on his face and scowled. “Don’t you dare
laugh.” Wiping her palms on her jeans, she scrambled to her
feet, ignoring his outstretched hand. She hoped her breasts hadn’t
jiggled with her hasty movement. “I would have grabbed the
bridle if you hadn’t interfered.”

“
That’s not
what it looked like to me.” He shook his head, a glimmer of
amusement on his face.

She crossed her arms in
front of her chest. “Oh? And what exactly did it look like to
you?”

“
It looked like you
were doing something foolish.” His eyes glinted at her,
suddenly losing their humor.

“
Is that right?”

“
Yeah. That’s
right. You could have fallen.” He frowned.

“
I did fall.
Thanks to you.” Her crossed arms tensed.

He raised an eyebrow.
“Only because you insisted on jumping up again.”

Emma’s lips
tightened. The man was infuriating. She picked up the bucket lying
on its side and put it down in front of the shelf.

“
Oh, no, you
don’t.” Cade reached up and snagged the bridle from the
top shelf. “Here.” He held it out to her.

“
Thanks,” she
muttered, not particularly caring if she did sound ungracious.
Everything had been under control until he had entered the barn and
tried to take over.

“
You’re
welcome.” A hint of cockiness played around his lips

She took a deep breath
and straightened her spine, wondering if he was picturing her
lying
on her butt. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ve
got a bridle to clean.”

He waved a hand in front
of him. “Be my guest.”

Picking up some cloths
and a tin of saddle soap, Emma walked over to the battered wooden
table in one of the empty stalls. Expertly unbuckling the bridle,
she placed the bit to one side. In a few minutes she’d fetch a
bucket of warm water from the house.

“
Got enough rags?”

She felt his presence
behind her before he spoke. Her gaze flashed to the four rags in
front of her. “Yes.”

He picked up the tin of
soap and took off the lid. “Sure you’ve got enough left
in here? That leather looks like it needs a lot of cleaning.”

She gritted her teeth,
trying not to let her irritation show. “I’m sure.”
Rubbing the cloth over the old leather, she tried to tune him out,
but his nearness distracted her.

He peered over her
shoulder, his body almost touching hers. “Missed a spot.”
His forefinger touched a loop that had a speck of dirt remaining.

Emma bit the inside of
her lip. “Haven’t you got a horse to train?” Was
he trying to aggravate her on purpose?

“
Finished for the
day.” His voice held a touch of smugness.
“That’s
why I came in here, to let you know I’d be back tomorrow.”

“
Fine.” She
kept her eyes fixed on the bridle in front of her.

“
I’ve always
used this technique.” He covered her hand with his. “Longer
strokes are better.”

A sensual thrill ran down
her spine when his fingers touched hers. He took control of her
hand, moving it in long, slow strokes over the dark leather. For a
second, she allowed herself to become lost in the moment.

She shook off his hand.
“I’ve been cleaning bridles for twenty years. I think I
know what I’m doing.”

She sensed him shrug.
“Okay. See you tomorrow.”

“
Not if I see you
first,” Emma muttered under her breath. She knew it was
childish, but that man was just too - too - ooh - for his own good.

###

The next day, Emma tried
to stay out of Cade’s way. She didn’t want any helpful
tips from him on how to fetch items from shelves or how to clean a
bridle. But that didn’t stop her reliving the way his hands
felt on her waist when he’d steadied her on the bucket, or the
way she’d quivered when he’d growled in her ear.

Unfortunately, it seemed
as if he deliberately sought her out.

She stayed inside the
house when he arrived at nine o’clock and watched him walk over
to the south pasture where Shadow waited for him. When she judged it
to be safe, she headed to the barn to finish mucking out.

She had the last bit of
horse manure on her shovel when he appeared in the doorway. A lock
of hair escaped from her neat ponytail and fell over her eye. Emma
blew it away from her face but the strand of blond hair merely
settled back over her right eye.

“
Let me.” He
tucked her hair behind her ear, his fingers lingering.

She caught her breath at
his gentle touch. “Thanks,” she murmured.

He cleared his throat.
“About yesterday.”

She looked up at him.
“Yes?”

“
Maybe I
overreacted.” He rocked back on his heels.

“
Oh?”

“
When I saw you
jumping up to the shelf - well, I just didn’t want you to get
injured.”

“
I don’t--”

“
I know what it’s
like to break an arm or a leg.” A muscle twitched in his jaw.

“
You do?”
Curiosity crept into her voice.

“
Yeah.” He
grimaced. “I used to be a bull rider and I also did some
roping.”

Emma looked at him with
respect. He’d mentioned bull riding when they first met, but
to do it professionally… Bull riding was the most dangerous
rodeo event. And roping required a lot of skill. “Do you miss
it?”

“
Sometimes.”
He shrugged. “
Rodeos were a big part of my
life, ever since I was a kid watching my dad in the chutes.
”

“
Used to be?”
She didn’t want to be nosy, but she definitely wanted to know
why this tall, powerfully muscled man quit rodeoing.

“
A broken arm,
broken leg, bruised ribs and concussion can make you rethink your
career.” He stared straight ahead, as if reliving some of his
injuries. “I eventually realized I was getting too old to keep
breaking bones.”

“
How long ago did
you quit?”

“
Last year, when I
turned 32.” His lips pressed together in a tight line. “I
thought of staying in Texas, but I’m Wyoming born and bred. I
saw the Henderson’s ranch on a real estate website and used my
prize money and savings to buy the place. It had everything I was
looking for.”

His hooded gaze swept
over her. Emma suddenly wondered if
she
was part of what he
was looking for.
Don’t be silly,
she scolded herself.
He could probably have his pick of women, in the rodeo or out of it.

Cade looked at the woman
in front of him. Brains, beauty and a figure that wouldn’t
quit. She seemed totally unaware of the tempting package she made.
But what did he have to offer her? Bones that had been broken and a
fledgling horse training business. She deserved more. Much more.
“Anyway, when I saw you yesterday, I just didn’t want you
to hurt yourself.”

“
Maybe I was taking
a chance,” Emma admitted reluctantly. “But it can be so
annoying having to grab the stepladder every time I need to get
something from a high shelf.”

Cade tried to hide a
smile. She looked so cute when she wrinkled her nose. “It’s
not a problem grabbing something off a shelf for you. Just let me
know what you need. Anytime.”
And anything,
he
added silently.

“
Thanks.”
She offered him a smile and his day suddenly seemed brighter.

“
So, I’ll see
you tomorrow.” He took one last look at her, his body
tightening, before heading out of the barn. He was in big trouble.

###

In the weeks that
followed, Emma grew used to Cade being around practically every day.
She had even started to offer him coffee after he finished the day’s
training. They’d sip their drinks on the front porch, and
although he could still be cocky
at times, Emma realized she
was developing feelings for him. And she didn’t know if she
liked it.