She sat back, stunned. He must have thought she was a complete ignoramus. There she’d been going on about how she knew all about rodeoing, all the while proving that she was just an oblivious, unworldly small-town girl. She covered her face with her hands. How utterly mortifying.
Spreading her fingers, she looked at the screen again. Row after row of thumbnail shots of him hanging on to bulls as they bucked to a practically vertical position, or smiling confidently at the camera from underneath the very Stetson he’d been wearing earlier that day.
Accepting his national championship belt buckle. She leaned in to get a better look at that one. It just didn’t make sense. What would a national rodeo champion be doing working as a ranch hand?
Humiliation met up with anger and sparked like wildfire down her spine. What kind of game had he been playing with her? Challenging her to compete against him in the rodeo without bothering to tell her that he was a professional bull rider? Did he think that was funny?
She was so mad, she could have spit bullets. What was she supposed to do about this?
And worse, how was she supposed to keep herself from hoping to catch a look at him again tomorrow?
Chapter 3
Micah hoisted a bag of feed into the back of his truck and tried, as he’d been trying all morning, to figure out where he’d gone wrong with Janessa the day before. She seemed like a great girl, but she obviously thought he was a first-class jerk.
Early that morning, she’d driven off in a car that looked and sounded like it could use either a tune-up or a trip to the salvage yard, and he figured she had gone to work for the day. Still, the notion that he might see her kept him from fully focusing on his chores. It had come as a relief when Adam had sent him and Owen into town to pick up a few supplies. Janessa had mentioned her job was in Halston, which he knew was a few miles up north. Going into Thornton Springs gave him a little break from hoping he’d see her.
A review of their first conversation only boggled his thinking more. He was used to being around people who valued his opinion about horses, but it was clear from her response to his helpful observation that she didn’t know who he was. That was good in a way, since he’d been trying to escape the old Micah Brody and everything that went along with him. Deep down though, her reaction to him felt like a spur to his heart.
It hadn’t gotten any better at dinner, or later out on the porch. If anything, he’d made it even worse. He had wanted to atone for the horse comment, but he’d been so nervous he hadn’t known what to say. Instead of making small talk like a normal person, he’d resorted to his usual big talk. She must’ve thought he was making himself out to be some kind of Casanova or something. While it was true he’d dated more girls than he could probably remember, that wasn’t exactly something he was proud of. Why had he even brought it up?
He shook off the thought, focusing instead on Owen’s ongoing overview of the town, which was teeming with both tourists and locals.
“Over there you have the movie theater—they’re getting ready to show North to Montana, the movie they made here last summer. Then there’s the barbershop and the hardware store.” A slight smile played on his lips. “Next to that’s the ice-cream parlor. I never go in there on account of that’s where Keely works. She’s the manager now.”
“Keely?” Micah frowned. “The girl from the rodeo?”
“Yeah.” Owen nodded, his smile turning south.
“You mean to tell me you’ve been dodging her on purpose?”
“I just get so flustered when she’s around.” He lifted another bag. “I figure it’s better to steer clear.”
“Well, I’ll tell you one thing for sure—you’re never going to win her over with that tactic.”
“It’s not really a tactic. I’m just trying to avoid making an even bigger fool of myself.”
“By hiding from her?” Micah chortled. “Interesting theory.”
A couple of young women wearing jeans and lacy cowgirl shirts strolled down the sidewalk, slowing to admire Micah’s truck. Then their eyes landed on him and they stopped cold.
He smiled inwardly. Now this was the kind of response he was used to. “Morning, ladies.” He touched the brim of his hat.
Giggling at his acknowledgment of them, they continued on, casting flirtatious glances over their shoulders after they’d passed.
Owen rubbed his jaw. “See, a guy like you can have any woman he wants. Me...well, I’m a one-woman kind of guy. Keely’s it for me, and I already blew it with her.”
“You give up mighty easy, don’t you think?”
Owen shrugged, as if he’d signed off on his fate and any hope of a reversal.
Micah shook his head. In a way, he envied Owen, thinking of himself as a one-woman kind of guy.
As they continued to load the truck, he thought about the way his own life had been for the past few years. Living on the road. The ever-present groupies—‘buckle bunnies’ as they were aptly named. It all added up to a pretty hollow life, one he missed only on a surface level, where his pride sat raw and exposed.
Those girls had always understood when he said he wasn’t serious, and he’d just figured that was part of the game, kind of like a rodeo event. They knew they’d eventually get thrown off the bronco, but they all wanted to take the ride anyway.
None of them had mattered enough for him to even think about once he moved on to the next town. But Janessa was different. She was beautiful, with her long wavy hair and creamy skin that made her look like a china doll, but there was something else. Something he couldn’t quite get a rope around.
That was why her remark about him being self-absorbed ate at him the way it did. It had come cloaked in a mantle of shame, serving as an unintentional reminder that his mother wouldn’t be too pleased with the man he’d grown to be.
Maybe now was the time, in this new phase of his life, to reinvent himself. Stop showing off, and start thinking more about other people. He needed to prove that he could do something for someone else. A selfless act. But what?
After tossing the last bag, Owen nodded across the street. “You want to go over to Cal’s Market to pick up some sodas for the drive back to the ranch?”
“Sure.” That sounded like a fine idea to Micah, who was feeling the heat of the day even though it was only just past ten.
A minute later, as they entered the cheerful and surprisingly busy market, Owen greeted the man behind the counter. “Hey, Cal. Did you meet Micah yet? He’s our new hand over at the Bar-G.”
As Micah exchanged a greeting with Cal, he noticed a handwritten sign taped to the cash register that read Rodeo! Sign Up Here. His chest squeezed for reasons he couldn’t quite tie down and wasn’t sure he wanted to.
As he joined Owen at the cold-drinks case, the bell above the door pulled his eye to a blonde girl wearing a pink-and-white-striped dress, a little white hat and a very pretty smile.
Owen gulped and dove behind a laundry softener display.
Micah chuckled to himself as he contemplated the selection of sodas. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who this girl was.
From across the store, she called out to Cal. “We’re all out of chocolate syrup over at Moo, if you can believe it. With all these folks coming to town to see the movie, we’re selling ice cream like it’s about to be outlawed.”
“I’ve been expectin’ you to come in to sign up for the rodeo, Miss Keely.” Cal spoke to her as he rang up the groceries for a young mom with a toddler in tow.
Keely’s shoulders drooped as she filled her arms with bottles of syrup. “Not this year, Cal. I just never seem to be quite good enough to win.”
“You can’t give up, Miss Keely.” Cal sounded concerned. “I thought you had a mind to join the professional rodeo circuit.”
That caught Micah’s attention. The gir
l was serious about rodeo.
“I think maybe it’s time to admit I should stick to scooping ice cream.” Her smile flatlined as she crossed to the counter and set down her load of bottles.
Glancing from Keely to what he could see of Owen, Micah had a moment of complete clarity. This was it. This was the thing he could do to prove to Janessa that he wasn’t totally self-absorbed.
“Well,” Cal continued. “I’m mighty sorry to hear that. You know, I haven’t had one person sign up all mornin’.” He held up a clipboard and flicked his fingers at it. “I think this might be about it for the competition this year.”
“Actually...” Micah closed the gap between himself and the counter in two strides. “Owen and I are here to sign up.”
Keely flashed a curious look at Micah while Owen made a strangled sound from behind the pyramid of plastic bottles.
Cal broke into a grin. “That’s mighty good news, young man. We could use some fresh blood in our little rodeo.” He chuckled. “No pun intended, of course. What’s your event?”
“Team roping.” He looked in Owen’s direction, hoping he’d catch a little of Micah’s confidence and come out of hiding. “Owen on one team and me on the other.”
“Team ropin’, huh?” Cal shuffled through the papers on the clipboard. “Why, we haven’t featured that event in more years than I can count.” He found the right page and flipped the rest of the papers over the top of the clipboard. “Who will your teammates be?”
Micah tipped back his hat. This was going to take some finagling. He turned his gaze to Keely. “Well, I—”
Just then the door jangled again and a gaggle of teenage girls made a boisterous entrance. Micah tensed, on alert for what generally happened next for him in these situations.
The girls all chatted spiritedly, except for one—a pretty brunette whose focus immediately zeroed in on Micah. Her eyes expanded to the size of a couple of horseshoes as she jabbed the arm of the girl next to her.
“Look.” The brunette’s proclamation came out on a choked whisper.
The friend she’d jabbed looked at Micah, then yanked on the sleeve of the girl on her other side. “Tawny, look.”
In spite of an apparent attempt at keeping their voices low, Micah heard them clear as anything. Judging from the heads now turning in his direction, so did everyone else in the store.
“Guys. Over there. Look.” The first girl thrashed her hands wildly at her friends, ensuring she had all of their attention. “That’s Micah Brody.”
Her companions shrilled in unison, and Micah winced at the all too familiar sound. He braced himself for what he knew was coming.
The gang headed his way with all the subtlety of a stampede, their faces scrunched up in thinly veiled enthusiasm. He cautioned a glance at Keely, who now displayed the same wide-eyed excitement, having clearly made the connection for herself. Sometimes it took a while. Not everyone recognized his face, but most folks who paid any attention at all to the sport of rodeo knew him by reputation.
A burst of giggles followed as the girls clumped closer.
Well versed in the art of the meet and greet, he put on his best smile. “Well, hey, ladies.”
The words were met with a round of blushes and renewed titters.
“Micah Brody. Sure enough. I thought you looked familiar.” Cal stuck out his hand. “What brings you to our little town?”
This was hard to answer, since he wasn’t entirely sure himself. “Well, I’m taking some time to enjoy working at the Bar-G. I wasn’t planning on participating in the rodeo, but it seems I’ve gotten myself involved in a friendly competition with Miss Janessa Greene.”
A noticeable reaction went up from the store patrons, who had slowly edged in closer.
“But...” The brunette worked her way in next to him. “I thought Janessa had decided not to compete.”
“Well, it seems like she might be persuaded as long as we can get a couple of teams together.” He nodded toward Owen, who now peered around the display. “We’ve got Owen to rope with her. Now all we need is another woman to be on my team. I figure we need someone with some experience.”
“What about Miss Keely?” Cal flapped a hand, encouraging Keely to move forward.
Micah looked at Keely, whose eyes expanded even more than would have seemed humanly possible.
“Keely.” He gestured toward her name tag, which was hot pink and shaped like a cow. “I take it that’s you.”
She nodded. “I...I’ve been roping since I was a kid, but I...couldn’t...you’re Micah Brody.”
The girls spoke to her in low, animated encouragement.
Micah gave her the raised-brow look that had been known to sway the thinking of more than one young lady. “If I heard right, you want to compete on the national circuit?”
She nodded, her face becoming as pale as the white stripes in her ice-cream uniform.
“Tell you what. If you agree to compete on a team with me, I’ll teach you everything I can about roping.”
She opened her mouth but no sound came out, as if her lips had been frosted on her last foray into the ice-cream freezer. Seeming to give up on a verbal response, she resorted to a slow nod. The room broke out in a chorus of happy chatter, and the girls started to bob up and down as they surrounded Keely.
Owen had snuck around the other side of his barricade and now pulled Micah by the arm down the canned goods aisle.
“What are you doing? You know I can’t compete in the rodeo.”
“You’re a ranch hand.” Micah kept his voice low. “You know how to rope, right?”
“Sure, but I’m not any good at it.” Owen’s voice trembled. “When people are watching, I freeze up.”
Micah gave his shoulder a reassuring slug. “Listen. If anyone can turn you into a first-class roper, it’s me. You want to win Keely over?”
“Well, yeah...but—”
“Then it’s a done deal.”
Owen sputtered what looked like an objection, but came out more like the sound people make when they have a dentist’s drill in their mouth. Looking over Micah’s shoulder, his face turned pasty. Micah twisted around as Keely approached them.
“Is it true, Owen? Are you really going to enter the rodeo again?”
“Why, sure it’s true.” Micah stood like a sentry in front of Owen, hoping his friend wouldn’t bolt down the aisle and out of the store.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” Dipping her chin, she gave Micah the classic doe-eyed look. “I think I must be dreaming.”
Micah smiled, pleased that, with Keely and her friends, he was back on familiar territory.
Now all he had to do was persuade the one person for whom his charm held no sway that she should go along with his plan, too.
* * *
After putting in a long day at the restaurant, Janessa walked into Joe’s Diner with Andra, her best friend and favorite coworker. Spying an empty booth near the windows, they wound their way through the maze of mostly full tables.
Janessa continued to fill her friend in on the details of her exchanges with Micah. “It just seems like he’s hiding something.” Slipping into the booth, she took her phone out of her purse.
“Hiding something?” Andra set her laptop down on the Formica table and slid into the seat opposite her. “Like what?”
“I wish I knew. But every time anybody asks him about himself, he changes the subject real fast.” Clicking on her phone, she checked for the millionth time that day for an update from her future roommate, Hana. She hadn’t heard a word since Hana had started looking for apartments for them, and she was dying to hear how it was going.
Seeing that there were still no messages, she sighed and returned her focus to Andra. “It just doesn’t add up. Why would he give up a lucrative career i
n the rodeo to work as a ranch hand?”
Andra shrugged, opening her laptop. “Something serious must have happened to him.” As usual, she had her light auburn hair pulled up in a neat bun with a colorful rolled scarf wrapped from nape to forehead. Not only was she a sous chef extraordinaire, but she always managed somehow to look cover girl fresh no matter how many hours she’d put in or meals she’d cranked out.
“I have to get this figured out.” Settling in, Janessa did a quick visual sweep of the room, wondering what had drawn this unusually brisk post-dinner rush. “Bull riders... Sheesh. I mean, any guy who wants to make a living by getting tossed around on a bull for eight seconds is just a different breed.”
One corner of Andra’s mouth lifted as she fired up her computer. “He’s really getting to you, isn’t he?”
“What do you mean?” Janessa unfurled the paper napkin which had been neatly rolled around her silverware.
“Oh, I don’t know.” Her voice held a teasing lilt. “You’ve been talking about him all day.”
“I have not. Not all day.” Janessa twisted the napkin in her lap. “I mean, you’d be upset too if some guy had totally tricked you.” Glancing past Andra, she waved to a couple of women she knew, seeming to reinvigorate their already lively conversation. Puzzled, she continued her line of thought. “He could have at least told me who he is.”
Andra started to type as she spoke. “You’re not actually thinking of competing against him, are you?”
“No way. Besides, I think he was just pulling my leg. He’s a bull rider, not a roper.”
“Mmm...” Andra looked up from the screen. “I’ve seen some mighty handsome bull riders. Does he look more like Justin McBride or Sean Willingham?”
Janessa regarded her from under an arched brow. “More like a young Brad Pitt, but that’s not the point.”
“Brad Pitt.” Splaying her hand on her throat, Andra let out a faux-dreamy sigh.
Janessa tossed her wadded napkin at her.
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