“Stay back,” he cautioned her as he caught Steely Dan’s reins and then the reins of his own horse. The two geldings were wild-eyed, chuffing and quivering, but with soft words and the calming power of his presence, Buck soon had them under control.
Hot-faced and trembling, Cheyenne took Steely Dan’s reins from him. The way he’d protected her, as if she were a child, had left her seething. He hadn’t asked permissionto invade her space. But his hard body pressing hers against the stall gate, coupled with the danger, had made her pulse race—and stirred something else. She didn’t even like the man. But she couldn’t deny the shimmering current that puckered her nipples and trickled downward into the depths of her body. She struggled to ignore the feeling. It didn’t make sense—her response to a man she barely knew.
He scowled down at her. His deep-set eyes were gray, almost silver, framed in sun-burnished creases. A fresh bruise on his left cheek showed where he’d been grazed by a sharp hoof while protecting her. “Are you all right?” he asked.
She squared her shoulders and took a step back. “Don’t worry about me. I’m fine. What about the horses?”
“They look fine to me. But injuries don’t always show. Once they’re settled in their stalls, I’ll phone the vet to check them over. If Chief isn’t a hundred percent fit to compete tonight, I won’t push him.”
“But you’re the champion. How can you just walk away from another chance to win?”
“There’ll be other competitions, with other cash prizes and other fancy buckles. But there’ll never be another horse like Chief.” He stepped away from her. “Now, let’s get these horses to their stalls and give them some time to settle down.”
She walked ahead of him, leading Hayden Barr’s paint horse. Buck kept his eyes on her, admiring her easy stride and the way her dark hair hung like a silken veil down her back. By now, he was aware she was a rodeo star. He’d overheard some riders in the practice arena talking about her. But it wouldn’t be seemly to tell her everything they’d said.
He could probably have spared her the lecture about the dangers of cowboy romance. She was a little thing, but she seemed savvy and confident enough to handle herself around men. Still, the memory of her in the hotel, with Barr’s hands groping under her shirt, made him want to curse and blot it from his mind. She’d insisted that she wasn’t his girl. But it sure as hell had looked that way.
Not that it was any of his business, Buck reminded himself. And after the way he’d lectured her earlier, he could imagine what she must think of him. Telling him that he reminded her of her mother wasn’t exactly a compliment.
Still, when he’d pinned her against the stall to protect her from the stampeding horse, he’d found himself lingering a few seconds longer than necessary, savoring her warmth and inhaling the fragrance of her hair before he let her go. He wouldn’t mind getting to know her better. But not if she was sleeping with Hayden Barr. He didn’t need that kind of trouble.
She had disappeared into the next stall with the horse. He could hear her moving—a little grunt of effort as she lifted off the heavy saddle, the soft, feminine sound of her breathing as she removed the pad and bridle and began rubbing the horse with a towel.
He listened as he finished unsaddling Chief and rubbing him down. He was tempted to offer her his help, but if Miss Cheyenne McKenna was the horsewoman he’d been told she was, she wouldn’t need his assistance—let alone thank him for it.
Now she was talking to the horse, soothing the nervous animal as she worked. He couldn’t catch the words, but he liked the whispery sound of her voice.
Now that he knew more about her, he liked other things, too. She was smart, ambitious, and independent—very much her own woman.
He wouldn’t mind spending more time with Miss Cheyenne McKenna. After the vet had checked the two horses, maybe he would invite her to lunch. She might not think much of him, but if he offered to answer her questions about cutting, there was a good chance she’d accept.
Then he could turn on the Tolson charm—and yes, that was a joke. He had about as much charm as a thirty-year-old mule.
Buck finished rubbing down his horse. He was waiting for the vet when he realized that he could no longer hear her voice. Seconds passed, the silence broken only by the sound of the horse munching its feed.
When Buck opened the stall gate to check for Cheyenne, she was gone.
Seated in her hotel room’s single armchair, Jasmine faced the door and waited for the knock. She’d given the front desk permission to direct her visitors to her room. She wouldn’t be happy to see them, but how could she turn away her own brother and his wife?
The bed had been hastily made to cover any evidence of last night’s lovemaking. But something told her they wouldn’t be fooled. The only question remaining was what price Darrin and Simone would demand for their silence.
As the elevator dinged on arrival at the floor, her pulse quickened. She waited for the knock before she rose and took her time getting to the door and opening it. She’d never gotten along with her whining brother, and she could barely stand her sister-in-law, who hid her scheming nature behind a mask of vapid stupidity.
“Fancy seeing you here, Jasmine.” Simone sashayed into the room, followed by her husband. “And who, pray tell, was that man sitting across from you at breakfast? Idaresay he looked familiar. His hair had a cowlick in back, as if he might’ve spent the night and left the room in a bit of a rush.”
Jasmine motioned them to a seat on the foot of the bed, while she took the chair, swiveling it to face them. “Why don’t you just get down to business and tell me why you’re here?”
Darrin cleared his throat. “As you know, we’re still working to reclaim the family home. Now that Dad’s gone, Lila has no right to be there.”
“And, as you know, I couldn’t care less about the place,” Jasmine said. “Lila’s no friend, but she’s your problem, not mine. All I want is to be free of the whole mess. Anyway, I thought you were going to settle your claim in court.”
“That could take months,” Simone said. “And there’s always the chance we might not win. Your brother promised me …” She trailed off as Darrin nudged her with an elbow.
“One way or another, we’ve got to get Lila out of that house,” Darrin said. “We didn’t plan to involve you. In fact, we thought you were still with Mother. But now that you’re here, we could use your help. We’re family, Jasmine. You owe that much to Dad’s memory.”
“Do I?” Jasmine arched an eyebrow. She didn’t like where this was going, but so far, she wasn’t surprised. “What if I say no?”
“We were hoping not to have to bring this up,” Simone said. “But we know what we saw downstairs in the coffee shop. Your FBI lover could lose his job if it became known that he was sleeping with a person of interest in his case.”