Barreling Through Christmas: (Sweet Western Holiday Romance) (Rodeo Romance Book 4)

by Shanna Hatfield

  Randi laughed. “This is so awesome!” She brushed a hand along the face of the unicorn then tipped her ear toward the mouth, pretending to listen to magical whispers. “Uni says he thinks you should ride him.”

  “Oh, he does, does he?” Paige asked, grinning at her sister’s playfulness. “I’m pretty sure riding a unicorn in a contest with you and four other people who were suckered into one of Cooper’s ludicrous competitions will rank right up there as the craziest thing I’ve ever done.”

  Randi smiled. “You have to admit, this has been a memorable trip. You have six good-looking cowboys with amazing model potential willing to work with you. We’ve made new friends, experienced some incredible things, and you are crushing big time on a rodeo clown.”

  “I am not!” Paige’s speedy and vehement reply only served to egg on her sister.

  “I knew it! You do like him. I wonder what he looks like beneath that makeup. His eyes are intriguing enough to make most girls stop in their tracks, and then there’s that magnificent smile. At least I assume it’s magnificent, although it is hard to see beneath all the makeup.” Randi walked around, looking at each of the horses, finally rubbing her hand across the back of a black horse with a white star on its face.

  Paige pretended to ignore her sister’s musings about Cooper. She’d spent considerable time pondering what he’d look like without his makeup. She’d never admit it if asked, but she’d even Googled Cooper’s name, trying to see if she could discover a photo of him online. All she found, though, were photos of him in full-on clown mode.

  Not that she was interested in him. Not at all. He was obnoxious and loud and…

  Cooper appeared in the aisle in front of her, laughing as he walked with a group of cowboys.

  Paige recognized two of them as saddle bronc riders and one as a bull rider. The fourth cowboy walked beside a beautiful redhead. They seemed to be friends with Cooper. Paige recalled seeing them a few times at various events, including the televised keister contest.

  In fact, she thought the woman was one of the official rodeo photographers. She carried a camera with her. Paige hoped her agreement to do something stupid wouldn’t be preserved in full color for all the world to see.

  Much to her dismay, she realized a television camera crew trailed after Cooper’s friends.

  “Just perfect,” she groaned.

  “Oh, buck up, baby girl. This will be fun!” Randi smiled and shook hands with the cowboys as Cooper introduced them. He turned to the redhead and introduced her as Celia Kressley, wife of stock contractor Kash Kressley, and rodeo photographer.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Paige said, shaking Celia’s hand.

  “Kressley?” Randi said, smiling at Celia. “You aren’t by chance related to Ransom Kressley, are you?”

  Celia grinned. “Ransom is my brother-in-law. He and my husband are twins.”

  “No way!” Randi grinned. “Ransom’s girlfriend, Kelly, works with my husband. We haven’t met Ransom yet, but Kelly speaks quite highly of him.”

  Celia’s eyes widened. “Kelly is one of my good friends. She loves working at the winery. Which one is your husband?”

  “Dave. He’s in charge of…”

  While the two women talked about the winery and people they knew in common, Paige watched Cooper as he talked to someone holding a stopwatch, a guy with a microphone, and the camera crew.

  Dread of what sort of torture he’d put her through in front of who knew how many people made Paige wish she could slink away unnoticed. In fact, she started to sidle toward the people gathering at the end of the duct-taped lanes, wondering if she could blend into the crowd. A hand on her shoulder drew a halt to her escape.

  She looked up into Cooper’s smiling face. “Going somewhere?”

  “No,” she whispered, expelling a resigned sigh.

  “Good, ’cause this is gonna be epic!” Cooper led her over to where the cowboys, Randi, and Celia waited. “Okay, guys, here’s the deal. You are racing these fine, furry beasts from here to the end of the lane. First one there wins. The prize is dinner out on me tonight and bragging rights, of course. If you’ve never seen these toys before, you have to bounce up and down to make the wheels turn. Simple as that.”

  Paige had no interest in bouncing up and down and she certainly had no desire to do it in front of hundreds of people. However, she had a feeling bowing out now would only cause Cooper to shame her into participating. Reluctantly, she nodded her head and joined the others as they moved to stand by the stuffed horses.

  “Riders, please mount your stunning steeds!” Cooper called out in a booming voice.

  Randi giggled as she hopped up into the saddle of her horse.

  Paige couldn’t help releasing another sigh as she stood beside the unicorn, wondering how she was supposed to mount it. Her short legs didn’t reach the stirrups and, unlike her energetic sister, she had no intention of vaulting into the saddle.

  Before she could give it further thought, Cooper settled his hands on her waist and swung her onto the unicorn.

  “Somehow, I assumed this would be your sister’s choice,” he said in a surprisingly quiet voice as he guided her feet into the stirrups.

  “I did, too,” Paige admitted. Despite her inclination to be annoyed with Cooper, she had to admit it was fun to sit on the stuffed animal.

  When Cooper settled his hand on her thigh and gave it a light squeeze, Paige glanced down to see if he’d somehow seared through the denim covering her leg and burnt her skin. Heat-charged tingles spread from the spot he’d touched to her head and toes, leaving her insides molten and her limbs languid.

  Cooper jogged backward to the end of the racecourse and smiled. Paige glanced over at her fellow competitors and couldn’t keep from grinning. While she and Randi were barely bigger than twelve year olds, the cowboys were full-grown. The bull rider was on the short side of the scale, but the other three were tall. Kash Kressley looked especially comical as he sat with his long legs poking up on both sides of the brown stuffed horse he’d mounted.

  “Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen! Are you ready for a horse race unlike any you’ve seen before?” the announcer asked, drawing claps and cheers from the crowd. “Then let’s get to it. On your mark, get set, go!”

  Paige hadn’t planned to let the excitement of the moment sweep her into the silliness, but it did. Without giving it a thought, she began bouncing on the unicorn while grasping the handles, moving it forward.

  Randi giggled and bounced as she set her horse in motion. In fact, her sister laughed so much, she seemed to have lost the ability to steer as she collided with one of the cowboys.

  Determined to win, Paige forgot to be embarrassed or irritated or any of the other things she’d made up her mind to be. In truth, she felt like she was ten years old again. What little girl didn’t dream of riding a unicorn?

  Laughter burst out of her as she looked over at Randi and the bull rider trying to disentangle their horses from each other. One of the saddle bronc riders bounced so hard, he tipped over sideways. Kash Kressley gave up on bouncing and tried to move the horse forward using his feet to push it.

  Paige continued bouncing and was as surprised as anyone when Cooper frantically motioned her forward.

  “Come on, Paige! You’ve got it, girl!” he cheered.

  By barely a nose, she crossed the finish line before the other saddle bronc rider closed the distance between them.

  Paige held her hands above her head and pumped her fists in the air.

  The announcer chuckled. “Ladies and gentlemen, you’ve seen it here at the Christmas Show. A unicorn has won the race.”

  The crowd cheered, laughed, whistled, and clapped as Cooper gave her a high-five.

  Exuberant over her win, she swung off the unicorn and gave him a hug. Cooper hugged her back, holding on a little longer than was necessary before he turned his attention to the other contestants. Randi continued laughing as she and the bull rider walked together
to the end of the racecourse.

  “Look at you!” Randi gave Paige a big hug. “I’m so proud of you!”

  “That was fun!” Paige said, a little out of breath.

  Cooper handed Paige an envelope with a wink. “Thank you for being a good sport. You, too, Randi.”

  “Thanks for inviting us,” Randi said, fist-bumping Cooper as he gathered his things and disappeared around a corner.

  Paige tucked the envelope in her purse and smiled as Celia and Kash walked over to where she and Randi stood.

  Kash smiled at them both and took out his cell phone. “My brother sent me a text this morning. It seems you two are trying to track down a cowboy here in town. Ransom thought Celia and I might be of assistance. Who are you looking for and why?”

  Randi grinned. “Paige is searching for a model for a new clothing line and she spied the perfect guy for the job, but we haven’t actually seen his face or connected with him.”

  “If you haven’t seen his face, how do you know he’s perfect for the job?” Kash asked, confused.

  Celia giggled. “Is it a line of jeans?”

  Paige nodded.

  Celia lifted a shapely eyebrow and tossed her husband a pointed look. “They’re looking for a rear end model, Kash.”

  His eyes widened. “And how do you think I’ll be able to help?”

  “We were wondering if you might recognize this guy.” Paige held out her phone to Celia and Kash. They both grinned.

  Celia nodded to her husband then quickly tapped a text message on her phone. “I think we can help you with that. In fact, he should be here any second.”

  “Who?” Paige asked, staring from Celia to Kash as they smiled knowingly at each other.

  “Him.” Celia pointed to a man rushing toward them.

  Paige’s mouth dropped open in surprise. Shocked speechless, she gaped at the gorgeous man hurrying her direction.

  Cooper removed his makeup, consumed with thoughts of Paige.

  His mouth watered as he recalled how she’d looked bouncing her way to the finish line on that ridiculous unicorn. Her face glowed with happiness. Joy filled those amazing toffee-colored eyes, and excitement rode her wide, child-like smile.

  Then there was the way she looked in those dark jeans and that soft blouse that bounced with every move.

  Squeezing his eyes shut to block images of Paige, he changed into a pair of jeans. He’d just slipped one arm in the sleeve of his shirt when his phone buzzed. He glanced at the text message from Celia, wondering what disaster could have befallen her in the last five minutes.

  Need your help immediately if not sooner! Please hurry!

  How much trouble could she get in between leaving her with Kash after the race and the time it took him to change his clothes?

  He’d been friends with the feisty photographer since she was in high school and used to tag after her steer wrestler brother to rodeos. Back then, Cort McGraw and his best friend, Tate Morgan, a saddle bronc rider, presented a formidable duo who kept any potential boyfriends Celia might have encouraged at bay.

  Celia’s personal bodyguards both left the rodeo circuit and settled into domestic bliss. Cooper had kept watch over her until she married Kash almost a year ago, relinquishing his guard-dog duties to her husband.

  But the message he’d received made him yank on his boots and race out the door with his shirttails flapping in the breeze.

  He jogged around a corner and saw Celia and Kash talking to Randi and Paige. Celia smiled and said something to Paige that caused the woman to turn around and look his way. She appeared as though she’d just received the most shocking news in the world.

  “Hey, PP? What in the world is wrong with you?” he called out to her, still in his rodeo funny-man persona. “If flying on unicorns and beating cowboys in races doesn’t make you happy, I think you are a lost cause, sugar.”

  Her mouth dropped open and every bit of color drained from her face. For a moment, he thought she might faint, but she seemed to rally.

  As he moved next to her, she groaned, a sound of pure misery. “It can’t be you! No! Not you. Anyone but you!”

  “What can’t be me?” he asked, feigning innocence as he smirked at her. He knew exactly what she referred to, but he wasn’t admitting to anything.

  “You’re him! You’re the cowboy we’ve been searching all over Las Vegas to find!” Paige glared at him. “And you knew it! You knew it days ago, after I showed you the photo!” She smacked his arm and continued glowering at him.

  Cooper flinched, pretending she’d injured him by rubbing his arm. “That’s no way to treat your friends, PP. After all we’ve been through, aren’t we friends?”

  “No! No we are not friends. We aren’t even close to friends because friends don’t withhold pertinent, life-changing information.” Paige marched around him and lifted the hem of his shirt, staring at his rear. “And you are definitely him.”

  Her beleaguered sigh blew warm across the exposed skin of his back, making him fight down a tantalizing shiver.

  Cooper turned around and grinned at her, uncertain if he should be insulted, amused, or something in between as her eyes fired angry sparks at him.

  “Now, Paige, don’t go getting all…”

  She smacked his arm a second time. “Don’t you dare lecture me about staying calm, Cooper James. Randi and I have spent days running all over town trying to find the mystery man and you knew all along where I could find him. You lied to me!”

  Cooper’s smile melted and he straightened. “I did not lie, Paige. Not at all. I don’t lie. I might tease. I might evade telling you everything, but I did not lie. I never once said I didn’t recognize the guy in your photo. I just didn’t volunteer the minor detail that it was me.”

  “Oh! You are the most insufferable, arrogant, frustrating, horrid man I’ve ever met!” she fumed, then spun around and stalked off.

  Randi grinned at him. “She’ll calm down, eventually, Cooper. We’ll catch up with you later.”

  He nodded and watched her rush to catch up with Paige. He didn’t know how such a small woman could move so quickly, but Paige ate up the distance between where they were and the nearest exit in seconds.

  Celia and Kash both shook their heads and laughed. “You are in it deep, my friend,” Celia said, giving him a teasing look.

  “Tell me something I don’t know, Seal.”

  Chapter Nine

  Paige had never been more livid in her entire life. Considering the gamut of emotions she’d experienced since meeting Cooper James that was saying a lot.

  How could he let her prattle on the other day about finding the mystery man, knowing the whole time he was the one she sought? What kind of creepy guy did that?

  He was probably telling all his friends about the gullible, goofy ad executive who chased his tail all week.

  Furious, she stormed off the elevator at the hotel, not even listening to Randi as she tried to spin the situation into a humorous experience.

  At Paige’s enraged glare, Randi snapped her mouth shut and followed her inside their suite. Paige plopped down on the couch, tipped her head back, and released a long, frustrated sigh.

  Wisely, Randi retreated to her bedroom, leaving Paige to calm down on her own.

  She closed her eyes and pictured Cooper as he strode toward her with his shirt open, giving a teasing peek at his washboard abs and muscular chest.

  Her mouth went dry just thinking about it. About him.

  She had no idea what possessed her to walk around him and stare at his all-too-attractive backside either. It was necessary to confirm he was the mystery man, although she’d known it the moment he stepped into her line of view.

  Cooper James, rodeo clown and barrelman, was funny and engaging, with broad shoulders and an athletic build.

  Cooper James, cowboy, was steal-your-breath-away gorgeous with a beefcake body that would make even the most stalwart prude begin to drool. Without makeup hiding his face, she couldn’t help bu
t notice his glorious smile, the cleft in his chin, or the incredible line of his square jaw. Thick, dark eyebrows matched his short-cropped hair, giving his face a balanced symmetry.

  The infuriating clown had to be one of the most handsome men she’d ever seen. But to keep him from being too visually faultless, a sprinkling of freckles dotted his nose, making him infinitely more attractive, in her opinion. Then there were his eyes. They sparkled with mischief and life, warmth and interest. She’d never seen such deep, intense eyes, and the brilliant shade of blue he owned didn’t hurt anything either.

  Aware of her physical attraction to a man she found more maddening than any she’d ever met, she wanted to scream. Why, of all the thousands of cowboys in the city at that particular moment, did Cooper James have to be the one with a backside that would make octogenarian women wish they were twenty again?

  Paige considered the other cowboys she’d gotten to sign agreements to model Elliott’s line. They were all handsome, photogenic, and engaging. Every one of them would make the clothing line look good.

  But none of them would sell it like Cooper could.

  For the sake of her client and her own career goals, Paige was going to have to dig deep and move past her current sense of loathing toward the galling clown if she hoped to salvage this trip and get him to agree to model for her.

  She considered if it was worth it, the months she’d have to work closely with Cooper to complete the campaign, to make Elliott’s line a success and write her ticket to a cushy job at the L.A. office.

  Finally, after several moments of debate, she concluded it was. She could do this. All she had to do was keep Cooper at arm’s length, steel herself to overlook his teasing and taunting, and come out the victor a year from now when Elliott’s line premiered.

  Recalling the envelope Cooper had handed to her, she retrieved her purse and pulled it open. She lifted the flap and read the sheet of paper. Cooper had hand-written directions for the bearer of his certificate to order a dinner of their choice, up to a hundred dollars, and have the bill sent to him. His cell phone number was written on the bottom of the paper.