Cole swore. Then he latched both hands under her arms and dragged her up and into a hug that lifted her clean off the ground, and capped it with a quick, hard kiss.
“Does that mean yes?” she gasped, crushed against him.
“Hell yes.” Then he plunked her back down on her feet. “Now, quit screwing around and go kick ass.”
She grinned. “Yes, dear.”
And for once, Shawnee did exactly as she was told.
Order Kari Lynn Dell’s next book
in the Texas Rodeo series
Fearless in Texas
On sale April 2018
Keep reading for a sneak peek of the next book in the Texas Rodeo series
Chapter 1
The instant his fingers came to rest on her bare skin, they both cursed. A mutual, almost silent hiss, too quiet for any of the crowd encircling the nearly empty dance floor to hear. Their steps didn’t falter. They didn’t blink. But Wyatt also didn’t pretend he couldn’t feel the jolt at the inevitable, unavoidable contact…and neither did Melanie.
He smiled—a generic, just making conversation smile that would fool anyone not looking directly into the hot blue of his eyes. “Well. This is inconvenient.”
“Extremely,” Melanie agreed with a matching bland smile.
He didn’t bother to move his hand. The cut of her emerald-green halter-top bridesmaid dress left him with no alternatives but her exposed back or her satin-covered butt. Her long, straight chestnut hair had been pinned into a tousled updo with tendrils that trailed down her neck, begging a man to twirl them around his finger.
Damn Violet for being the one woman on earth who was determined to make her maid of honor look hot as sin.
As they circled the floor, eyebrows were raised and glances exchanged. He was aware of the picture they made—him blond and elegant, at ease in the tuxedo that made the other cowboys tug at neckties and fidget with cummerbunds; her following his lead as effortlessly if they’d been dancing together for years. They were sleek and athletic, glowing with the pheromones that had been accumulating, molecule by molecule, over the enforced proximity of two days of the standard pre-wedding hullabaloo.
He flicked a glance toward the bride and groom, so wrapped up in each other they wouldn’t have noticed if their attendants had broken into a tango. “Joe is the closest thing I have to a brother.”
Despite the fact that he did have a male sibling.
“Violet is my sister,” she countered. “Her family is my family.”
Despite the fact that her own parents were sitting at a table only a few feet away, pointedly ignoring each other.
He studied the circle of faces that surrounded them, let his gaze settle for a beat on Joe and Violet, then focused on Melanie again, his voice hardening. “I’m not giving them up.”
“Neither am I.”
“So this…” His fingers flexed, a slight, dangerous increase in pressure. “Would be incredibly stupid. Especially for us.”
She tilted her head in question.
“You don’t trust me,” he said.
“Depending on the circumstances. You are a good friend. If you hadn’t forced Joe to come to Texas in the first place, he wouldn’t be over there trying not to fall face-first into Violet’s cleavage—which is pretty damn impressive in that dress.” She smiled fondly at the two of them, then slid her gaze back to meet Wyatt’s. “I’ve seen you risk life and limb for him in the arena.”
He shrugged. “I’m a bullfighter. You do what it takes to make sure the cowboy and your partner walk away.”
He didn’t have to explain. She’d been on the rodeo trail long before she took her first steps, and her brother was also a bullfighter. But she shook her head. “You’d do the same for a complete stranger in a back alley. If I ever got caught in the middle of a convenience store robbery, you’d be the person I wanted standing at the Slurpee machine.”
“But not sitting across the breakfast table.”
She pursed glossy red lips as she considered the question. “It could be crowded—you, me, and whatever agendas you’re working. I’d have a hard time deciding where I fit into the scheme of the day.”
“Says the woman who makes a living parting the unsuspecting public from their hard-earned dollars.”
“Ouch.” But the edge in her voice was more amusement than offense. “I’ll have to tell Human Resources to add that to the marketing director’s job description.”
“And this conversation is a perfect example of why we would be a disaster. Despite this.” He traced a featherlight arc across her skin with his thumb, just to feel her shiver.
She let her lashes flutter lower, to match her voice. “We could sneak off for one night of depraved wedding sex. Get it out of our systems.”
For a moment the possibility hovered between them like a heat mirage. They both inhaled sharply, then exhaled slowly.
“Been there, done that, have the divorce papers to prove it.” He flashed a smile, bright and lethal. “And I have it on good authority that you can—and will—hold a grudge.”
“Every girl needs a superpower,” she said, with an equally toothy smile.
“Yours could make future Thanksgiving dinners a little awkward, don’t you think?”
Her eyes narrowed. “I think I am both reasonable and mature enough to handle myself.”
“History begs to differ.”
Color flared in her cheeks, a visible gauge of her rising temper. “Are you trying to irritate me?”
“Yes.”
She blinked. Then laughed in disbelief. “You really think that’s going to help?”
“Can’t hurt. And it comes so naturally. Just like your reaction.” He twirled her, then pulled her close again, nearly eye to eye with her in heels. “We can’t be friends.”
The song was winding down. One more chorus and he would have to step away to dutifully tap the groom on the shoulder and cut in for the best man’s traditional dance with the bride.
Her gaze drifted to her hand as it rested on his arm, nails bloodred against his black jacket. “We also can’t avoid each other completely.”
“Close enough. Between your job and mine, we’ve barely crossed paths since Joe and Violet got together. If we work at it, we shouldn’t have to see each other except at the holidays.”
“Not a problem for me. I’ve had years of practice behaving myself at Miz Iris’s house.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Also not what I’ve heard.”
“Hey, it was all at least half Violet’s fault.” Her soft laugh was laced with affection. Then her eyes narrowed again as she scraped a fingernail lightly down his neck on the pretense of flicking off a speck of the infernal glitter Violet’s son had blasted them with upon arrival at the reception hall. “So we agree on one thing. This—”
“—is not worth the risk.” Wyatt kept his voice cool, despite the sizzle in his blood.
“And we swear never to speak of it to any of them.” Her gaze sharpened on his face, suspicious. “Ever.”
He curled his lip. “Would you like to spit on our hands and shake to seal the deal?”
“Sunshine,” she drawled, “if I decide to swap spit with you, I guarantee it’ll get a lot messier than that.”
He gave a strangled laugh, dropped his hands, and took a step back as a passing waiter shoved plastic champagne flutes at them for the latest in an endless series of toasts.
Ignoring the drunken ramblings of some distant cousin, Melanie lifted her glass. “Here’s to no lovin’ between this man and this woman.”
“For as long as we both shall live,” he agreed mockingly.
They tapped their glasses together and both tossed back the champagne in a single long swig.
She handed him her empty glass before sauntering over to join Joe and Violet. Wyatt rocked back on his heels, apprec
iating the view…as he was sure she had intended. Then he turned and walked in the opposite direction—straight to the bar.
Order Kari Lynn Dell’s next book
in the Texas Rodeo series
Fearless in Texas
On sale April 2018
Rodeo 101
Professional Rodeo: Also known as pro rodeo, refers to rodeos that have been approved by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. The PRCA sanctions around 600 rodeos each year across the U.S. and Canada, establishing the rules for competition, requirements for membership, and standards of care for livestock. Money won at rodeos throughout the season is tracked via the World Standings, and at the end of the season the top fifteen money winners in each event qualify to compete at the National Finals Rodeo.
National Finals Rodeo: Also referred to as the NFR or just the Finals. It is the culmination of the rodeo season, and qualifying is the goal of every full-time cowboy. The nationally televised NFR stretches over ten days in early December, with the money won during the ten rounds of competition added to a contestant’s season earnings to determine the World Champion in each event. Since 1985, the NFR has been held in Las Vegas, and is contracted to remain there through 2024.
Circuit: A large percentage of cowboys and cowgirls who compete at pro rodeos are not able to travel extensively due to work or family commitments. For their benefit, the 600+ rodeos of the PRCA are divided into twelve regional circuits (e.g., the Texas Circuit, the Montana Circuit, the Great Lakes Circuit). Money won by members within each circuit is tallied in a separate set of standings, and at the end of the season the top contestants qualify for their regional circuit finals. Champions of the twelve circuits then qualify to compete in the National Circuit Finals Rodeo. Usually held in April, the National Circuit Finals Rodeo provides an opportunity for these skilled part-time cowboys to win a national championship.
Would You Like to Know More?
For more information on the sport of professional rodeo, the events, athletes, stock contractors, and the rodeo nearest you, visit prorodeo.com.
And for live streaming action online from some of the biggest events of the rodeo season, visit wranglernetwork.com.
Acknowledgments
To my publisher, Sourcebooks, for their incredible support and their amazing art department. Thank you, Dawn and company, along with photographer David Wagner, for allowing my covers to showcase authentic rodeo gear used by myself, my family, and friends. It makes this whole crazy ride even more special.
To Rhonda, Vincent, and Beau Michael and Black Eagle Rodeo for providing the gear for this specific cover and letting us feature their logo. The trophy saddle I won at the first Tal Michael Memorial Rodeo remains one of my most treasured possessions.
To all of the people who make it possible for me to continue to tell my stories, and the readers who make it worth all the times I’ve wondered why I didn’t just keep selling insurance.
To my son, Logan, who has shown us that autism can be simply a unique set of abilities, and the world is a pretty cool place when you quit worrying about “normal.”
And finally, for all of those who have gone a round with cancer and know that, deep inside, the battle never ends. Here’s to hope, and to everyone who makes a contribution that helps researchers around the world in their race to win the war. Yes, even on Tough Enough to Wear Pink nights.
About the Author
KARI LYNN DELL brings a lifetime of personal experience to writing Western romance. She is a third-generation rancher and rodeo competitor existing in a perpetual state of horse-induced poverty despite a degree from Montana State University and a career in sports medicine that took her to Texas, South Dakota, and eastern Oregon before returning to the family ranch in northern Montana. She lives on the doorstep of Glacier National Park along with Max the Cowdog, Spike the Junior Cowdog, her husband, and her son—who resides on the same general segment of the autism spectrum as Cole Jacobs.
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Tougher in Texas Page 33