Protect Me, Cowboy (78th Copper Mountain Rodeo Book 2)

by Shelli Stevens

  It was warming up fast and she tugged at the sweater. Maybe she should’ve stuck to a t-shirt.

  For the concert tonight she’d planned better. Dress, boots, and a denim jacket if she needed it. Usually she didn’t, though, because performing always made her run on the hot side.

  She slid a glance over the bleachers and the people sitting around her. Everybody seemed to know each other. They chatted and discussed who they thought would win.

  It was hard not to eavesdrop when she sat alone, waiting, and with no one to talk to.

  There were lots of names thrown about that meant nothing to Claire. Names of contestants who’d win the barrel racing, bull riding, or saddle bronc. But her ears perked up when a name was she was all too familiar with was mentioned.

  “Wyatt Marshall will win tie-down roping for sure.” A teen girl in front of Claire predicted. “He is so cute for an old guy.”

  Old guy?

  Claire’s lips twitched in amusement. Wyatt was probably around thirty, then again that was likely considered old when one was still in high school.

  But they were right. Wyatt Marshall was definitely cute. He’d probably been cute at sixteen, just like he would be at sixty.

  “Yeah, he really is cute. I even heard my mom saying he was sexy. Gross.”

  The teen girl next to her made a sound of disgust.

  “But I think he’ll win, too. I mean, he won the NFR last December. He’s so good. I think Jason could get that good, too, if he put in the time.”

  Claire watched the cowboys, trying to look like she wasn’t listening to the girls’ conversation. But really, who was she kidding?

  “Yeah. I think Wyatt and Shelby will win team roping, too. They’ve been practicing a lot.”

  Shelby?

  That sure sounded like a girl’s name. Did girls compete in this kind of thing? She’d seen the ones hanging around, but had kind of figured they were just there more for show. God, she was clueless on this stuff.

  Rodeos were a foreign language to her. The only thing she somewhat associated with rodeos was bull riding. And, really, her experience with that usually came from a mechanical bull in a bar. So maybe not the best source for information.

  The girls began discussing other competitors, including a local college-aged boy, and Claire tuned back out.

  So Wyatt didn’t just do this rodeo thing as a single contestant, but also with a partner in another category. A partner who also happened to be a woman. Shelby.

  Were they lovers?

  The thought hit her suddenly and viciously. Something bitter twisted inside her and she blinked in dismay.

  What would it matter if they were? She couldn’t be jealous. It had been almost a year since that crazy night with him. And that was what it boiled down to—one night where they hadn’t even ended up having sex. And, really, she could write the whole damn thing off to too much tequila.

  But even as she thought it, she knew it was a lie. Alcohol might’ve lowered both of their sexual inhibitions, but a deeper connection had driven them. The level they’d connected on had been beyond the sexual one.

  Maybe that was why it had rattled her when she’d seen him again. He wasn’t just some drunken cowboy she’d almost slept with. She’d really liked him. And she’d fled that night determined to forget everything that had happened—including Wyatt Marshall.

  Several of the competitors entered the arena on their horses and began riding them around the ring. It looked like they were warming up or something.

  One cowboy rode slowly around on his horse, a cell phone up to his ear.

  Claire gave a soft laugh, though she wasn’t quite sure why that amused her. Maybe because cowboys seemed so Old West and cell phones seemed so modern day.

  “Mind if I sit by you?” Katie bounded up the bleachers, a hot dog in her hand, to plop down next to her. “Thought you had to sound check?”

  Joy slid through Claire. She was so used to being alone; she’d forgotten how much she missed just having a friend to talk to. And Katie was quickly becoming a friend.

  “We finished early.”

  Her gaze caught on a familiar form entering the arena. Wyatt. Looking sexy as hell and full of male determination. Definitely no cell phone chatting for this cowboy.

  “They’re going to kick things off in a minute.” Katie informed her.

  Sure enough a few minutes later all the cowboys and cowgirls left the arena. A big tractor came out and raked the ring—permeating the air with the smell of dirt.

  When the announcer started talking, Claire perked up.

  “Welcome to the Seventy-Eighth Annual Copper Mountain Rodeo.” The announcer waited as everyone cheered. “I have a special announcement. A few weeks ago Harry Monroe lost his life when he stopped on Highway 89 to change a flat tire for a stranded couple…”

  Claire listened to the unexpected announcement about a firefighter who’d died tragically. She swallowed the lump of sadness in her throat. Hearing about things like this really put her life into perspective. No matter how badly things got, at least she was still alive.

  “So awful,” Katie murmured after the moment of silence. “Couldn’t believe it when I heard about it. Harry was a really good guy.”

  “He sounded like it.”

  Opening ceremonies started and Claire watched with mild interest. She grew more fascinated with each event. After bareback and steer wrestling, they announced team roping.

  Katie nudged her. “This is what Wyatt and Shelby are in. They’ll be up soon.”

  There was the mention of this Shelby girl again.

  Claire’s eyes narrowed and she was debating asking Katie to clarify the relationship when the gate swung open and the first competitors came riding out.

  They clearly weren’t doing well, struggling to even rope the steer and the crowd started groaning their disappointment. When they finally roped the steer, it was clear the score time hadn’t been good.

  A few more teams competed and Claire waited impatiently to see Wyatt. And then finally he was next. He and Shelby were announced and Claire slid forward on the bleacher.

  A moment later the gates opened and the two came flying out on their horses, chasing the steer that was running wild.

  She barely had time to drink him in. To appreciate the skill and focus he had, before they had the poor steer roped and on the ground.

  Wow. And she’d thought roping the dummy had been hard, this looked damn near impossible. Chasing and roping a moving animal, while on the back of a horse.

  Claire was trying to get an impression on Shelby, but really could only figure her for being on the shorter side with a braid.

  Any debate on whether Shelby was attractive or not was put to rest when the announcer—who’d been talking—added, “And Wyatt… way to pick the prettiest partner here today.”

  Jealousy pricked at Claire and she hated that she couldn’t deny the emotion.

  Katie cheered the pair on, then turned to Claire. “Six seconds is a great time. They’ve got this in the bag unless someone else beats it.”

  No one did and it looked like the team roping part was ending as they began gathering kids.

  “What’s this?” Claire asked.

  “Mutton busting. You’re going to love it.”

  As Claire watched, the gates at the other end of the arena opened and a sheep came shooting out with a little preschool aged kid riding it.

  “Oh, my god!” Her heart rose in her throat and she clasped her palm across her mouth.

  The tenacious, little boy clung onto the sheep’s fur for a few seconds, bobbing up and down. He seemed to have no fear as the crowd encouraged him, before he fell off the animal and tumbled to the ground.

  She rose to her feet, waiting for the crowd to panic. “Is he hurt? Is someone getting the medics?”

  “He’s fine, sit your butt down.” Katie clapped and hollered her support for the little boy.

  Claire sat down, watching in disbelief as another kid—a g
irl this time—came shooting out from the gate on another sheep.

  “This can’t be legal,” she muttered.

  Katie grinned at her. “Of course it’s legal. The kids wear helmets now, and it’s all in good fun. You city folks practically grow up in a bubble. It’s good to get a little bruised up now and then.”

  Claire’s bruises had come from her dad’s fist. She didn’t dare be the killjoy that admitted that, though. She’d buried that part of her life when she’d left home at seventeen.

  Fortunately, the rodeo competitions resumed with the saddle bronc and distracted her.

  Once that category was done they were back to tie-down roping, but this time it wasn’t in teams. She watched all the competitors and held her breath when Wyatt was up.

  From the way the crowd went wild, she knew he was a favorite and had won.

  When all was said and done, Claire was ready to make her escape.

  “Come on.” Katie grabbed her hand and tugged her to her feet. “Let’s go congratulate Wyatt and Shelby.”

  Damn. So much for trying to get in and get out without Wyatt noticing.

  *

  Wyatt was still riding on a high from the two wins. He and Shelby were taking care of their horses and talking about their time, when he saw Katie and Claire making their way over.

  Katie was all grins, but Claire looked more than a little uncomfortable and kept shooting glances at the rodeo exit.

  “Congrats, you guys.” Katie hugged him first and then gave Shelby a hug.

  “Thanks. We’re pretty happy with the time. Hoping to do even better tomorrow.”

  Shelby spent so much time on his ranch practicing roping, she’d gotten to be good friends with Katie, too.

  Wyatt slid his gaze to Claire. She still wore the sweater and jeans from morning, but her blonde curls were pulled up in a ponytail now.

  Her cheeks were pink. Maybe from the heat? Maybe from him. Silently chuckling at his own ego, he gave her a slow smile.

  “You enjoy the rodeo, Claire?”

  “Yeah. It was my first time.” The cheeks got pinker. “First rodeo, I mean.”

  “I figured,” he drawled as he moved to unsaddle his horse. “Did you like it?”

  “Parts of it.” Her lips curled into a slight smile. “I’m not completely sold on the mutton busting thing.”

  He laughed. “Give it a few years and you’ll be ready to sign up your first born.”

  The image of Claire with kids suddenly flashed through his head. Adorable little girls with blonde curls and boys with big dark eyes.

  Wondering why the hell his imagination was filling in that part of Claire’s future, he scowled and shook his head to dispel the image.

  She looked a little uncomfortable by the turn of conversation, too, and shoved her hands into her jeans.

  “Anyway, congratulations on your win.” She glanced over at Shelby as she approached. “To you both.”

  “Thanks.” Shelby gave him a curious glance, and then looked back at Claire. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Shelby. Wyatt and I are team roping partners.”

  Claire gave a hesitant smile and shook Shelby’s hand. “Claire. Nice to meet you.”

  “Claire’s renting a cabin at the ranch for a few days,” Wyatt explained, knowing good and well Shelby would bring up more questions later. She knew they stopped renting out cabins after Labor Day.

  “So you’re not local?”

  “No, I’m from Bozeman. My band’s playing tonight at the steak dinner.”

  “Oh, that’ll be great. I look forward to hearing you guys.” She nodded to Wyatt. “Hey, I need to go find Tyler. Guess I’ll see you all at the steak dinner tonight then.”

  “Most likely,” he murmured, and watched her stride off to find her guy.

  “I’ve got things to do before tonight.” Katie glanced at her phone. “Did you need to go back to the ranch before the dinner?”

  Claire hesitated and then shook her head. “I have everything I need. I can hang out in town until I need to meet up with the band.”

  Katie nodded and turned to leave, calling over her shoulder, “See you guys tonight.”

  “You sure?” Wyatt placed the saddle into the back of the trailer and then wiped his hands on his jeans. “I’ll be dropping off the horses before I head back. You can catch a ride with me.”

  She swallowed visibly and shook her head. “I’m sure. A beer and burger at Grey’s Saloon will keep me busy.”

  Amusement lanced through him. So she’d rather kill several hours sitting alone in the local bar than spend fifteen minutes in the truck with him again.

  It was surprising she hadn’t run off with Katie, really.

  He approached her slowly. “Didn’t really think about it, but I guess you don’t get to eat with the rest of us tonight.”

  Her eyes flashed with wariness. “We go on stage just after dinner starts. Plus, I don’t like performing on a full stomach.”

  “That’s a shame.” He stopped just inches from her. “If I recall, you’re a big fan of steak, and I can promise you the stuff we grill tonight will beat that flashy dinner we had in Vegas any day.”

  If Claire truly wasn’t Sin from Vegas, she wouldn’t have reacted. She wouldn’t have had that flash of distress in her eyes. But she did, and maybe she tried to hide it, but he was damn quick on picking up on these things.

  “Steak is overrated.”

  He busted out laughing. “You can’t even say that with a straight face.”

  And she hadn’t even acknowledged the part about them having steaks in Vegas. What the hell was this woman’s game?

  “The black hair you had that night, was it a wig?”

  Her lips tightened. “You seem awfully hung up on this Vegas woman when it sounds like she was nothing but a one-night stand.”

  “We didn’t quite make it through the night.” He reached up and caught one of her blonde curls, sliding it between his fingers. It felt soft and silky. “Which, I’ve got to tell you, was a real disappointment.”

  “Life is full of them. It can’t be the first time for you.” She jerked her head and the curl bounced free from his fingers. “And I guarantee it won’t be the last.”

  It was obvious she intended to deny who she really was with every breath she took.

  Exasperation ate at him again and he flexed his jaw. “Well, thanks for checking out the rodeo but, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get these horses loaded.”

  “Actually, I left my bag in your truck earlier. It has my change of clothes for tonight.” She paused. “That’s mostly why I walked up to the rodeo.”

  He should’ve figured she’d had an ulterior reason for showing up.

  “And here I thought you were just coming to see me.” He moved around to the passenger side to retrieve her bag, which was tucked under the dashboard.

  “I said it was mostly the reason.” She accepted the bag when he handed it to her. “There was a part of me—like itty bitty—that wanted to see if you were as good as I heard you were.”

  Surprised she’d fessed up to that past, he gave a slow smile. “And?”

  “You’re good,” she admitted grudgingly. “Not like I really know much about all this rodeo stuff, but just comparing you to those you competed against, you’re good.”

  “I am.” He said it matter-of-factly, without gloating.

  “And you have the belt buckles to prove it.” Her gaze dropped to his waist and she nodded at his NFR buckle.

  “I do.” His smile widened. “You’re welcome to come inspect it for authenticity. You can even touch it if you want.”

  “Oh no.” Her eyes crinkled with amusement and her cheeks turned a little pink. “My mother taught me better than that.”

  “Did she now? Good mother.”

  “Oh, yeah. The best.” Her smile faded and her gaze grew shadowed in a way that he knew there was a story there.

  She looked over at the road that led back to town. “I should probably head back in
to town.”

  Before she could completely turn away, he caught her hand and stopped her.

  “You been thinking about that kiss this morning.” It wasn’t a question.

  He waited for another lie, and was pleasantly surprised with her quiet, “Yeah, I have.”

  Good. He liked knowing she’d been thinking about him just as much as he’d been thinking about her. That the kiss they shared had maybe rocked her to the core, too.

  She drew in an unsteady breath. “But it’s not going to happen again.”

  “You don’t think so?” He touched her cheek, his determination to have her in his bed getting stronger by the minute. “Because I think it will. And I think this time I won’t be disappointed at the end of the night.”

  She swallowed visibly. “I’m not going to sleep with you.”

  “You sure about that?”

  “You really are one arrogant son of a bitch, Wyatt Marshall, but I’m sure I’m not the first person to tell you that.”

  There it was. The hint of the Sin he’d met in Vegas. Not afraid to say what was on her mind or swear a little. Or a lot.

  “You’re not. I’ve been called a lot of things. Actually, if I remember correctly you called me cocky in Vegas.” He tucked one of her curls behind her ear, then traced his fingers over the curve of her jaw.

  He was being stupid to touch her like this when there were still people around. This was a small town and gossip spread like wildfire. But he couldn’t seem to stop his fingers from tracing the softness of her skin. He couldn’t make himself step away, and it didn’t help she seemed to almost lean into him.

  She broke first. Turning her face away from his hand and stepping away. “I need to go.”

  He let her get a few yards away, before calling after her.

  “What are you running from, Sin?”

  She froze, but didn’t look back. A moment later, she resumed her brisk stride away, never answering his question.

  Chapter Seven

  Wyatt absolutely knew who she was.

  The thought had resounded in her head throughout the day. It started early in the morning, ramping up to a constant loop as Claire got ready to go on stage that night.