Rodeo Queen (6 page)

He slipped his arm around her shoulders, shifting so that she lay against his chest, and traced her cheekbone before letting his hand slide down her neck to her collar where her dress began. She sighed softly and spread her fingers on his chest. Scott looked down, expecting to see her golden eyes burning into his own, dark with passion. Instead, he found her asleep.

He couldn’t resist the temptation any longer. Cupping her face, he gently pressed his lips to hers. He slid his tongue along her lips before slipping past the barrier of her small, even teeth to encounter the sweetest honey he had ever experienced.

O
NLY HALF-CONSCIOUS,
S
YDNEY
marveled at the passionate dream she was having. She’d been wondering all night what it would be like to kiss Scott. At least in her dreams she didn’t have to worry about the repercussions of following her desires. She gave herself completely to the kiss. Her pulse raced as she touched her tongue to his and felt herself tremble. Instinctively her hands found his neck, her fingers finding their way into the curls at his nape. She shivered as he blazed a path of burning kisses along her throat to her collar.

She let her head fall back to the headrest behind her. Headrest? Sydney blinked, realizing that this was not a dream. She instantly stiffened in Scott’s arms.
Oh my God, what have I done?
Scott lifted his gaze to meet hers, and the blazing desire she saw there took her breath away. As if she had thrown a bucket of ice on him, his gaze hardened.

“So my theory was right, after all.”

“What?” she asked, breathless.

Scott sat up, leaving the truck to open her door. “Save it, Sydney.”

“Scott,” she began, unsure of what she could even say about her behavior. How would she even begin to explain?

“You know,” he said as he climbed back into the driver’s seat and started the truck. “You’re pretty good. I almost bought your act, but not quite.” He dropped the truck into reverse and left her to stare at the taillights as he disappeared into the night.

Chapter Four

“S
YDNEY
,” A
LICIA CALLED
. “That’s your cue.”

Sydney tapped Valentino’s sides, giving him full rein to circle the arena with the sponsor flag snapping sharply in the April breeze. She exited the arena, cursing herself for not keeping her mind on the rodeo. She couldn’t stop replaying what had happened in Scott’s truck. Mike had even asked if she needed a break. As she made her way to drop off the flag at the trailer, she saw Scott leaning on his saddle horn, watching her intensely. His black eyes flared with raw desire for a moment before they clouded over. She was almost convinced that the bright sunlight was playing tricks on her.

“Good morning, Your Majesty.” Scott raised a hand to his hat brim.

Sydney winced at his sarcasm, knowing she deserved it. “Scott,” she began. “I need to explain about . . .”

“Don’t want to hear it,” he warned. He sat up in his saddle and spurred his horse into a lope. Sydney sighed and wondered what chance she really had with this job if they couldn’t even get along for one evening.

“Don’t know what happened last night, but Scott’s in one hell of a mood today.” Jake handed Sydney the sponsor flag she would be taking for the next event.

“You guys were fine when you left last night,” Mike pointed out. “A fight?”

“Yeah, there was a fight.” Sydney took the flag and rode toward the arena before they pressed for answers.

“F
INALLY
.” S
YDNEY SIGHED
as she rode back to the trailer.

She was mentally exhausted and was looking forward to getting home and relaxing before meeting with Mike the next morning. They would have a lot to discuss about whether or not they could actually make this job offer work. She loosened Valentino’s cinch and carried the saddle to the tack room. She grabbed a pick and began to work out the dirt imbedded in his hoof.

“Sydney.”

Her heart skipped at the sound of Scott’s voice, but she refused to meet his gaze. It was the first time he’d initiated a conversation with her all day. In fact, he’d gone out of his way to avoid her. She dropped Valentino’s front hoof and moved to clean the rear hoof. Balancing it against her thigh, she glanced up at him.

“What do you need, Scott?”

“I’ll be by the ranch tomorrow around ten if that works for you.”

She slid Valentino’s foot to the ground and stood with her hand on his rump. “I thought that Mike was coming.”

“Mike’s taking the stock back to the ranch tonight. He wants me to check out the horses tomorrow and bring everyone back by Thursday.”

She cleaned Valentino’s other hooves before loading the horse into the trailer. Scott seemed to be waiting for an argument from her, but she was just too tired of fighting with him, trying to prove to him that she was genuine and not out to play games with him or any other cowboy. She closed the back of the trailer and locked it. She made her way to where he waited near the driver’s side of her truck.

“Anything else?” She didn’t mean to sound short, but she’d been trying to apologize all day, and he’d wanted no part of it.

He looked as frustrated as she felt. He removed his hat and ran his fingers through his hair before putting it back on. “Look, about last night. Let’s just forget it and start over, okay?”

Sydney opened the door, not meeting his gaze. “Scott, from what I’ve seen, you don’t really forget things that easily.” She started the pickup and looked at him through the open window. “But, sure, we can start over if you think you can actually do that.”

S
YDNEY COULDN’T SLEEP.
She tried to convince herself it was because someone would be passing judgment on her horses—and, therefore, her work—but that didn’t explain the warmth that spread at the thought of Scott’s dark eyes and his request that they “start over.” She hoped he meant it, because if they couldn’t resolve their differences, she could not accept Mike’s offer, no matter how great it was. Today would be her only indicator as to whether they could have a working relationship.

Dressed in jeans and a t-shirt she headed outside to groom the horses. Hearing her enter the barn, Valentino nickered a quiet greeting. She headed for his stall as he hung his head over the gate, and she pressed her forehead against the cool bars before stroking his face.

“What is it about that guy?” she asked him. The stallion whickered a soft response and Sydney smiled at him. “You really think that’s it, big guy?” Valentino was so different from most stallions; he was practically human most of the time. “I just don’t get it.” He sighed as she opened the door to the hay room, measuring out his grain ration. “He’s so infuriating.”

She put her nervous energy to use cleaning the stalls and adding fresh bedding. The radio in the tack room announced that it was fifteen minutes before Scott was due to arrive, then launched into a twangy country song. Sydney decided to saddle a couple of the geldings. She heard the back door slam at the house and her brother calling to their father as the dogs ran, barking wildly toward the front of the house, announcing what she could only assume was Scott’s arrival.

The sounds of morning on the ranch were as familiar to her as breathing. She leaned her back against Valentino’s gate. “Boy, am I going to miss this.” The tug on her shirtsleeve brought her back to the present. “You have your food. Couldn’t you give me a minute?” Valentino tossed his head, shaking his long silvery mane. She laughed at his antics, standing and patting the rump of the young gelding tied in the aisle of the barn. “Here we go.”

She pulled the cinch tight and saw Scott leaning on the other side of the saddle as she stood. “Oh, I didn’t see you come in.”

He gave her a lopsided smile but didn’t say anything as he stood aside for her to finish. Her heart skipped at his smile as she slipped the bridle over the gelding’s head, trying to regain any shred of composure before facing Scott again.

“Ready?” She held the reins out toward him.

“You ride them. Let me see what they can do for you.”

“You sure? They’re bound to work better for me, I trained them.”

“Show off for me, princess.” His eyes glinted mischievously.

“Fine.” She shrugged as she swung herself into the saddle.

S
COTT CLOSED THE
arena gate behind her before leaning on it. He hoped he could pay attention to the horses rather than watching the rider. He’d tossed and turned all night, trying to forget how she’d felt in his arms and the heat that surged through him at the thought of kissing her again. He hated himself for it, knowing she’d probably get a good laugh at his expense, but he couldn’t help the desire he felt for her. He watched as she warmed up the horse. She rode up to him with a smile gracing her lips.

“Can you rope off of him?”

Sydney rolled her eyes and cocked her head at him. “I live on a cattle ranch, what do you think?”

“Let’s see how he handles the cattle.” She made her way toward the chute at the end of the arena. “Don’t worry about loading them.”

Sydney walked the gelding to an adjoining pasture where a small herd her brother used to practice roping grazed. Pulling a weather-beaten rope from the fence post, she loped behind the young calf, expertly tossing the rope around the steer’s neck. She dallied it to her saddle horn and stood in place.

“Good enough?” She loosened the rope from the calf’s neck and shook it loose before letting the steer run off. “Or did you want to see a few other tricks?” At her cue, the gelding began prancing from one front leg to the other, appearing to dance in place.

“Okay, showoff, bring him back.” Scott didn’t want to admit it but he was impressed. She’d had a way of getting a horse to trust her and coaxing a performance each time he’d seen her ride. Not to mention that she made one hell of a nice picture astride a mount. She might have even been right about her ability to outride him. He patted the gelding’s neck. “Are they all like this?” he asked. “Or did you start with your ringer?”

Sydney’s smile grew wider. “Dakota is the most difficult of them all.”

“What are you asking for them?”

“Three to five thousand. It depends on which ones you want.”

“I’ll give you twenty-eight for them all.”

“Hundred?” she asked, confused.

Scott grinned. “Thousand,” he said slowly. “Cash.”

“Are you serious?” He nodded. “Don’t you even want to see the rest?”

“It’s not like you won’t be at the ranch with them. I think I can trust you.”

She climbed off the gelding. “Then I think we have a deal.” She opened the gate and walked the gelding back to the barn. “Do you, Scott? Trust me, I mean?” She glanced back at him over her shoulder.

Scott wasn’t sure how to answer her. He wanted to trust her, but he knew that wasn’t what she wanted to hear. He was the one who had suggested they find a common ground, especially since they would be working together on a daily basis, practically living together. He just had to find a way to get past the desire he felt at the mere thought of her and forge a friendship.

“I’m trying.” He followed her into the barn.

She hung the gelding’s bridle on a hook and slipped the halter over his head. “I guess that’s as good a place to start as any.”

She loosened the cinch and slid the saddle off before disappearing into the tack room. Scott made his way to the gelding, grabbing the curry comb, and rubbed the horse down. She returned with two cold sodas and passed one to him. The radio still played quietly in the tack room and the gelding nosed the can in Scott’s hand.

“So, you think you can be ready to leave by tomorrow? Mike wants us back at the ranch as soon as possible.”

“I guess. I have a few things to tie up and to let the rodeo committee know. But none of it should take too long.”

He was surprised she hadn’t already relinquished her title, but imagined she’d been waiting to see if they were able to get along before completely committing to leaving.

“Jake will take the horses back into the stock trailer, Pablo can drive Valentino in the small trailer, and we’ll take your things back with the fifth wheel. It’s only a few hours up the road.” Scott crushed his can and tossed it into a nearby garbage bin as one of the songs they’d danced to came on the radio. He wondered if she’d noticed. “I’ll let you get started and take the horses down to the arena. That way they’re covered by the company insurance.”

Sydney helped him load the first pair of horses into the four-horse trailer he’d brought with him. When he’d closed the back ramp, he turned to face her and handed her a check. “I’ll be in and out, so if you want to turn them loose in the arena, I’ll pick them up.”

“I’ll leave the bill of sale and their registration papers with mom at the house.”

“I’ll pick you and Valentino up tomorrow at ten. We’ll just put your things in the back of the truck, so pack light.”

“Ten,” she repeated. She stuck out her right hand, holding the check up to him. “It’s been a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Chandler.”

He took her hand and felt the jolt of electricity that seemed to affect them both. “Let’s hope it only gets better, Miss Thomas.”

T
HEY SAT OUTSIDE,
relaxing under the shade from the trailer as the sun began to sink, turning the sky blue with streaks of pink and orange. Sydney knew quiet moments on the rodeo circuit were hard to come by, and the men with her wanted to savor each one fully. She laughed at dinner as Jake spun a wild story about Scott as a young boy working his first rodeo, then she snuck away to Valentino’s pen, pouring his grain into a bucket and reaching for a flake of hay. She put the horse between her and the men’s laughter, laying her head on his neck for a moment before heading to check the other horses.

Entering the other pen, she ran her hand over the back of a large bay mare she’d nicknamed Pie. She knew the guys were trying to help her feel included, but they had known each other for years, so well that they could finish each other’s sentences. She, on the other hand, was still an outsider and would be for a long time. It was difficult enough to be the “new kid” in any situation like that, but with the glances she’d seen from Scott today, it was nearly impossible for her to focus on anything other than his dark gaze.