Destiny Wears Spurs (17 page)

Monica called out across the barnyard, “Hank. Before you go to dinner, could I speak with you?”

“Anytime, darlin’, but I have to finish up out here first.” His horse nickered as Hank walked her out.

“Great. I’ll be waiting.” She smiled as she strolled into the barn, concentrating hard on swinging her hips, and nearly ran into the door. Pressing her lips together, she hurried the rest of the way in.

When Cody strode in a few minutes later, she decided he’d seen and heard enough. He hesitated when he saw her talking to Buggy and looked like he wanted to say something.

She waited, hoping he’d stop being so stubborn. Nothing. The man was almost as pig-headed as her father. He ended up nodding hello, stiffly, then stomping off to his office. But he left his door wide open. Well, that was something, at least.

Hank entered the barn. She’d get Cody’s attention or die trying. She could be stubborn, too.

“Hey there, pretty lady,” Hank said. “You wanted to see me?” He swaggered over and swept his white hat from his head. Running a hand through his blond waves, he tossed the hat on a hook and sat on a bale of hay, patting his knee. “Have a seat. Let’s talk.” He wagged his eyebrows.

She laughed. “You really are outrageous, you know.” She sat down next to him but
not
on his knee. “I’ll bet you’ve left a string of broken hearts in your wake.”

He fixed innocent, pale-green eyes on her. “Why, Miss Hammond. I’m sure I don’t know what you mean. I’m just a lost puppy, looking for the right owner to take him home.” His puppy dog eyes pleaded. “Wanna take me home, Mo?”

“Sorry. No pets allowed in my building.” She laughed again, thinking no woman stood a chance against all that charm. Except maybe Nat. She was just like him. And herself, because she was probably the only female on earth who
wasn’t
into him. She was into another cowboy, who was too darn stubborn to admit what he wanted and go for it.

“Since I’m trying all these new experiences, I thought it’d be fun to learn the two-step, and maybe some of the country line dances,” she said even louder.

“Really, now.” He leaned away from her, wiggling his pinkie in his ear. “Little lady, you’ve come to the right place. I’ve been dancing since I learned how to walk.”

“Wonderful.” She glanced over her shoulder.

He looked beyond her, and his eyes widened when he saw Cody’s open office door. He winked and whispered, “It’s about time you two got together,” then raised his voice to match hers as he finished with, “You’ve got yourself a date. Though, I can’t believe you haven’t been snatched up yet.”

She thought it was about time as well. Now, if she could only convince Cody. “No one else has asked me, so I guess that makes you my first cowboy.”

“The men around here are crazy fools if you ask me, but I’m not complaining. You won’t be disappointed.”

“I guess I’d better go practice my fancy footwork, so I won’t disappoint you.” It was hard to purr while shouting.

“No chance of that, darlin’.” He glanced at Cody’s door again and chuckled, hollering over his shoulder as he left, “I’ll come by at seven. We’ll walk over to the barbecue together.”

Monica nodded, waited a beat, and then said goodbye to Buggy. Turning to leave, she peeked at Cody’s office door, which was still wide open. Had he heard? He
had
to have heard.

The people in the next county had to have heard.

She sure hoped he did, because the thought of coming up with another idea gave her a headache. As she strolled out of the barn, a loud slam and an angry curse rang out behind her. Oh, he’d heard, all right. Now, she wondered what he was prepared to do about it.

She danced back to her cabin to get ready for what was sure to be an interesting evening.

CHAPTER TEN

Monica fanned her face with a cocktail napkin, sipped a glass of Planter’s Punch, and then sighed in pleasure. The cool evening breeze felt heavenly against her heated skin. She’d tried every line dance there was, without much success. This city chick did
not
know how to get jiggy with it.

Hank had been a wonderful dance partner and a good sport, but Monica knew he had his eye on a pretty redhead. She’d turned him loose to have a little fun while she took a breather. The evening had been perfect except for one small detail.

Cody hadn’t bothered to show up.

Trying not the let her disappointment ruin the night, she plucked at the front of her full peasant skirt with the wildflower print and smiled. The skirt wasn’t something she would normally wear, but it was pretty. She tucked in her white, billowy peasant blouse and, after a moment’s hesitation, pulled the sleeves off her shoulders. Why bother?

Deciding not to waste another second stewing over a stubborn cowboy who didn’t know a good thing when he saw it, she marched toward the bull pen.

The mechanical bull stood in a roped-off area beyond the dance floor, with a number of thick mats surrounding it for safety. The mats were covered with loose hay to give it an authentic feel.

Monica signed the release form without hesitation, freeing the ranch from any responsibility should she be injured, and stared at the monstrous contraption. Rusty started to say something, but Monica ran a few steps, slapped her hands on the back of the beast and jumped high, doing a straddle in mid-air like a cheerleader. She landed perfectly, with a flurry of skirts billowing around her.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” he muttered instead.

The musicians stopped, and everyone stared. Cheers broke out, and Monica beamed. The bull rotated slowly, but when she proved able to handle the ride with ease, the controller moved the lever, increasing the speed, spin and ferocity of the bucks.

Letting herself get lost in the moment, oblivious to all but the ride, Monica rode the bull until the buzzer went off after eight seconds. When the machine finally stopped, the crowd cheered, tugging her back to reality. She’d never felt this alive. She climbed down, and the very air around her seemed to vibrate.

“Since when have you liked being on ‘top’, darling?” a male voice said from behind her.

A chill swept over Monica, and her good mood plummeted to her boots as she turned to stare at the perfectly groomed, perfectly sophisticated, perfectly out-of-place Ken doll. Thank God she wasn’t Barbie anymore. “Wendell. Why am I not surprised to see you,
darling
?” she drawled back at him.

“Honestly, Monica, this is beneath you. I mean literally. Bull riding? Line dancing? Country music, for God’s sake. What were you thinking? Look at how you’re dressed.”

“You’re worried because I’m good at it. It’s inspired me. I’d show you what I’ve come up with, but you might try to ‘steal’ it from me. I’m onto you, pal. Trust me; it’s not going to happen.”

“You can’t prove anything.”

“I don’t need to. I just need to convince Rafferty to go with my campaign, and convince my father I can handle running his company. You lose. By the way, I’m having a great time without you. Have
you
looked in the mirror lately?” She glanced over his stiffly pressed dress shirt, pleated trousers, right down to his tan loafers and wondered briefly why they no longer appealed to her.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” She willed the heat not to climb her neck and changed the subject. “I’m practicing your ‘hands-on’ approach to advertising, but even you would be out of your element here.”

Wendell glanced around at all the people watching and loosened his tie. “Fine.” He marched over, signed the release form, and clambered on top of the mechanical bull, winking at a woman in the crowd as he said to the controller, “Turn it on, Roy. Let me show these ladies how a city boy likes to ride.”

Monica clamped her teeth down hard on her tongue, halting the comeback that desperately wanted to break free. The bastard wasn’t worth her time, she thought, and stepped back to watch. Maybe the weasel would fall off.

The mechanical bull moved slowly while Wendell rotated to the rhythm, not doing a bad job, she admitted. He nailed her with a smug look and said, “Is this hands-on enough for you, or do you need me to show you how a real man does it?”

Monica sashayed over and gave the cowboy a wink, unable to resist the temptation of teaching Wendell--the cheating bastard--a lesson. “Allow me.”

The cowboy gave her a crooked grin and stepped aside. She flipped the switch to the same level that she had ridden at.

“Hey, what are you doing? Jesus, she’s trying to kill me.” Wendell held on with both hands, and his legs slapped against the side of the mechanical beast.

“Oops, my mistake. This whole ‘hands-on’ business is just too complicated for a measly woman like me. Guess it takes a ‘man’ to understand it.” Monica wasn’t vindictive by nature, but there were some things even she couldn’t let go.

“Damn you, this isn’t over,” Wendell snapped, then flew off the bull to land in a heap on the mats.

“Uh-huh.” Monica turned to leave, feeling a whole lot better, and Wendell’s curses were drowned out by all the hoots, hollers and back-slapping of the cowboys.

Cody’s back went rigid.

Monica had cruised onto the dance floor with some slicked-up dude. He had to admit the guy was good-looking, in a GQ sort of way, but there was something about the way he held himself. An arrogance that irritated the hell out of Cody. He couldn’t control who she danced with, but something seemed different with this man. She seemed uncomfortable.

Cody had been lurking in the shadows since this whole shindig started, but he had no intention of letting anyone know he was there. He just wanted to keep his eye on Hank and make sure he was treating Monica right. That basically meant keeping his
hands
the hell off her. He’d do the same thing with this city slicker.

Cody felt like a lowlife skulking about in the shadows, spying on her, but he couldn’t stay away. The man pulled her close, and Cody noticed with satisfaction she remained stiff, but he still didn’t like it.

“Dammit.” Leaning back against a tree, he closed his eyes, thinking he had no claim on her, but that didn’t stop him from wanting her. It was stupid to keep fighting this attraction between them when they were both willing adults.

Opening his eyes, he glanced back to the dance floor. Reality slammed him in the chest as he acknowledged he should be the one out there holding her. It should be
his
shoulder her hand rested on. It should be
him
bending over to ....

“What the hell?” He sprang to his feet with every muscle bunched and ready. “Don’t you dare ... don’t even think it, or I’ll ... son of a ....” He shoved away from the tree and stormed off toward the dance floor.

Monica jerked her head back when Wendell tried to kiss her. “What are you doing?”

He stared at her. “I thought maybe we could try again.”

“Are you out of your ever-lovin’ mind? I heard you on the phone. You don’t love me, and you don’t even want to run the agency. You just want to destroy it. Why?”

“You’re wrong about the phone call. Yes, I had a plan to marry you and run the agency. I’ve worked hard. Dammit, I deserve it. And I still care about you.”

“Don’t play me for a fool, Wendell. I heard the whole damn conversation.” He was so smooth, so charming … so deceitful. He knew exactly how to get what he wanted. That was why he was good at his job, why she’d fallen for him, why she’d
dumped
him. She had to find out what he was up to. “Why are you here?”