Page 15 of The Cowboy's Downfall
The glare from the screen highlighted the opinion expressed on his face. “Would you like me to handcuff her to me until you get back?”
She knew he was kidding, but still. “If I said yes, would you do it?”
He bumped her shoulder with his. “Don’t worry. I’ll shoot the first one who moves.”
“Thanks. That’s all I ask.”
Outside, the brilliant blue of the sky had deepened to twilight and there was a distinct bite in the air that had her wishing she’d brought a sweater. The thin cotton gauze of her blouse didn’t offer much by way of warmth. She followed the solar-powered lights bordering the footpath that led past the bunkhouses to the outbuildings and barns.
The sliding door to the machine shed was open, but except for a work light hooked to the underside of a tractor, the interior of the building was dark. The work light banished enough of the shadows for her to see legs protruding from under the tractor. She recognized the boots and the frayed cuffs on his jeans.
Her lips pressed together.
“I’m glad you could make it,” she said to his boots. “I was worried you might be too busy to talk.”
She hadn’t meant to sound so sarcastic, but when Taryn batted her eyelashes, grown men climbed on bulls to impress her. Shauna, however? No need for men to waste time or effort on rizzing her up.
He slid out from under the tractor and sprang to his feet, wiping grease-stained hands on a rag he then stowed in his back pocket.
Unbelievable. Even unshowered, unshaven, and covered in grease, he made hiccups form in her chest. Meanwhile, it had taken her an hour that morning to decide what to wear, she’d put on makeup, and she got zero reaction from him.
“I have plenty of time to discuss ways to get your little sister to change her mind about taking my clinic,” he said. “I’m just not sure her mind can be changed.”
Shauna wasn’t sure either, but she hated to admit that she had so little sway. “I’d planned to let her find an excuse to back out on her own, because I don’t really believe she wants to ride bulls, but we both know what the real attraction for your clinic is, and I want a stop put to that sooner rather than later.”
“You and me both,” Nix said, with feeling.
Enough feeling, in fact, that it made her defensive. Taryn might be a terror, but she was still her little sister.
“If I thought she was more interested in bull riding than boys, I’d be in favor,” she added, and where had that come from? Because no, she was not in favor. Not for anyone, let alone Taryn, who weighed maybe a hundred pounds at the most.
Nix’s eyebrows framed an equal surprise. “You think she signed up because she’s interested in boys?” Then he began backpedaling, which raised all sorts of questions. “Of course. Of course, she’s interested in boys. She’d have no other reason to sign up. What other reason could there be?”
Shauna was lost. He was hiding something from her, but she had no idea what it might be. “Hold on a second. Why doyouthink she’s here?”
His eyes darted past her as if mapping the shortest route to the exit. “Your sister is the kind of girl who likes a challenge. The bigger, the better.”
“What could be a bigger challenge than bull riding?” she demanded, truly bewildered by now.
“Don’t ask me. She’s your sister, not mine. You know her better than I do.”
Not strictly true. They didn’t have a whole lot in common, and there was a big age difference between them. Taryn was interested in attention—it didn’t matter what kind—and boys. Pretty much in that order. So, what was more challenging than boys to a teenaged girl who liked attention, especially from guys?
And it hit her. The look on Nix’s face when they’d emerged from the shed now made more sense. She started to laugh. Not much wonder he was so jumpy.
“What’s so funny?”
“I’m laughing with you, not at you,” she said.
“That’s not how it looks from where I’m standing.”
She swiped her eyes with the back of her hand and tried to get her fit of giggles under control. She was just sorelieved. “I wouldn’t take her too seriously. She once propositioned a female police officer who patted her down.”
“She didwhat?” Nix’s jaw slackened, which made her laugh even harder. “This isn’t funny. You’re a lawyer, aren’t you? She’sa child. And the young cousin of one of the ranch owners. Do you not understand that she could get me fired over something like this?”
The giggles subsided. He had a legitimate concern. “I understand completely,” she assured him. “But I was so worried you were the one chasing her.”
Now he looked mad as well as insulted. “I prefer women, not little girls.”
