"You sure?" the cowboy asked. "I'm sensing he's a bit angry."
That's an understatement, she thought. She had no doubt that Brian was furious. She couldn't suppress the tiniest of smiles.
"I think he's learned his lesson."
The cowboy seemed to evaluate her answer. "Maybe you should check with him," he suggested, pushing his hat back on his head. "Just to make sure."
Surprising herself, she smiled at him before leaning over. "Are you going to leave me alone, Brian?"
Brian gave a muffled yelp. "Get him off me! I'm going to kill him ..."
The cowboy sighed, putting even more pressure on the back of Brian's neck. This time, Brian's face was pressed hard into the dirt.
She turned to the cowboy, then back to Brian again. "Is that a yes or a no, Brian?" she asked.
The cowboy laughed, revealing even white teeth and a boyish grin.
Although she hadn't noticed it earlier, four other cowboys had surrounded them in the meantime, and Sophia wondered if this whole incident could become any more surreal. She felt as though she'd stumbled onto the set of an old western, and all at once, she realized where she'd seen this cowboy before. Not inside the barn, but earlier, at the rodeo. The one Marcia had called eye candy. The bull rider who'd won it all.
"You doing okay, Luke?" one of the circle asked. "Need a hand?"
The blue-eyed cowboy shook his head. "I got it for now. But if he don't stop wiggling, his nose is gonna get broke whether he likes it or not."
She looked at him. "You're Luke?"
He nodded. "You?"
"Sophia."
He tipped his hat. "Nice to meet you, Sophia." Grinning, he glanced down at Brian again.
"You gonna leave Sophia alone if I let you up?"
Defeated, Brian stopped moving. Slowly but surely, the pressure eased off his neck and Brian cautiously turned his head. "Get your boot off my neck!" he grunted, his expression simultaneously surly and fearful.
Sophia shifted from one foot to the other. "You should probably let him up," she said.
After a beat, Luke lifted his boot and stepped back. In that instant, Brian leapt to his feet, his body tense. His nose and cheek were scraped, and he had dirt in his teeth. As the circle of other riders tightened, Brian turned from one bull rider to the next, his head swiveling back and forth.
Though drunk, Brian wasn't stupid, and after glaring at Sophia, he took a step backward. The five cowboys stayed put, appearing not to care one way or the other, but Sophia sensed it was only an illusion. They were prepared for whatever Brian might do, but Brian again took another step backward before pointing at Luke.
"You and I aren't finished yet," he spat. "You understand that?"
He let the words hang before focusing on Sophia. There was anger in his expression and betrayal as well, and with that, he turned and started back toward the barn.
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Contents
COVER
TITLE PAGE
WELCOME
DEDICATION
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
AlSO BY NICHOLAS SPARKS
MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE RIDES A WAVE OF PRAISE!
READING GROUP GUIDE
PREVIEW OF THE LONGEST RIDE
NEWSLETTERS
COPYRIGHT
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright (c) 1998 by Nicholas Sparks Excerpt from The Longest Ride copyright (c) 2013 by Willow Holdings, Inc.
Reading Group Guide copyright (c) 2010 by Hachette Book Group All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author's intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author's rights.
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Second ebook edition: October 2011
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ISBN 978-0-759-52334-0
Message in a Bottle Page 32