Page 22 of The Cowboy's Downfall
Jazz wrangled what seemed like a hundred teenagers—although the number was likely closer to thirty—into teams, while Nix, Miles, and Ford monitored them from the sidelines. The boys were clearly trying to impress Jazz. Meanwhile Taryn, the lone girl in the crowd, was paying close attention to her instructions. If nothing else good came of this, at least Shauna now knew for certain that her sister could listen.
A clutch of parents conversed near the firefighting gear stashed on hooks to Shauna’s right. She recognized Jake McGregor, co-owner of the Wagging Tongue Ranch on the other side of the Tongue River. She knew him only because he was a client of the law firm where she worked. His nephew Mac, who he was raising, seemed a little young for bull riding to her, but the Grand locals were fanatic when it came to extreme sports, and Jake appeared to be no exception. And while Mac might be younger than most of the boys, he was far from the smallest. In a few more years, he’d be as tall as his uncle. That Jake was proud of him went without saying, and the feeling appeared to be mutual. Jake wasn’t given to talk, and neither was Mac, but the private looks the two exchanged could melt the hardest of hearts. Shauna’s own heart pinged with envy. Those warm glances of love, pride, and approval weren’t the ones she and Taryn exchanged.
They weren’t the ones she exchanged with Nix either. His eyes were on her and had been since she’d walked through the hangar doors, and she was afraid to stare back, in case Taryn noticed her staring at him.
Focus on what’s important here, Shauna.
Even if it wasn’t for Taryn, she should give the man a hard pass. He had problems. How could someone who used to ride bulls for a living be so intimidated by an ex-wife? Shauna knew the answer to that one, because domestic violence was a hot topic in law, and men like Nix, who were trained from birth to treat women with respect, were lousy at protecting themselves. They weren’t warned that abuse could be emotional too, or that it could be used as a weapon against them. They let women take over their social calendars and paychecks, considering it part of a fair division of labor, without ever noticing that they were losing their freewill in the bargain. She wasn’t a family lawyer, but she could pick the brains of her law school friends and give him free, friendly advice if his ex-wife continued to be a problem.
First, he had to quit staring at her like that.
Telling him he’d have to serve dinner naked if he lost their bet should have made him back down the other night, but no. All she’d accomplished was to let him know that she’d like to get him naked, too, and his eyes stated plainly he would have gladly stripped naked right then and there if she’d given the word. Instead, she’d slammed the truck door on him and left.
But only because no matter how much she wanted him naked, sex in the cab of a beat-up work truck was not going to happen. She was no seventeen-year-old newbie, and she had her standards.
A hotel room in some other town, where no one knew them, however…
And…
Now she was staring at him. The faint, self-satisfied quirk to the corners of his mouth said he was reading her thoughts and liked what he learned. He broke from his companions and trotted toward her.
“Hey,” he said cheerfully, as if she were simply another one of the parents to anyone listening, but the heat in his eyes said something decidedly different. “I thought you’d like to know that so far, Taryn’s doing great.”
Really? Because even though Taryn was paying attention to Jazz, when Shauna last checked, she was also watching the boys. Shauna checked again. No, Taryn was watching one of the boys.Remi.That was what Nix meant when he said she was doing great.
Remi had taken his shirt off, and Shauna could see the attraction. For a teenager, he was very well built. He had a lot of strength in his upper body, likely from hard work on the ranch, and he vaulted the obstacle he faced with the ease and grace of a show horse. Taryn would never settle for anything less than the best, and as far as bad news went, Remi was shaping up fine.
Christmas was three long months away. She had to quit worrying about the things she couldn’t change and focus on the ones she had influence over, no matter how slight.
“So I see,” Shauna said cautiously. “She’s paying attention. That’s a good first step.”
“Next up, Miles is going to walk them through the safety equipment and show them the proper way to gear up.” Nix angled his body so that no one watching them could read his lips. Unfortunately, her face was in plain view, and the clean male scent of his skin proved a major distraction. He lowered his voice and spoke fast. “There are offices in the main hangar, to the right when you go through the front doors. The hangar’s unlocked. Meet me there in an hour.” Then, a fraction louder, he added, “It’s great to see a girl trying out. We need more of them in the sport.”
He didn’t give her a chance to refuse—not that she could have. Not with everyone watching. His attention shifted from her to the small group of parents.
“Hey, Jake,” he called out, before wandering toward him, leaving Shauna to sort out what had just happened.
An hour.
She had an hour to come to her senses, because more alone time with him was not a smart move on her part. Except she didn’t know what he wanted to talk to her about. Maybe he didn’t like that she’d had the last word the other night. He didn’t strike her as the type who had to have the last word, though. That was more her problem than his. So, it had to be about Taryn.
Shauna couldn’t afford to take a chance that it wasn’t. And they’d be in a public place, since the main hangar was where the fire jumping operations were centered, so what was the harm? Her gaze strolled to Taryn, who was glaring at her, and Shauna sighed. They were not going to be exchanging private looks of love, pride, or approval any time soon.
Then, annoyance took hold. Was she really allowing a spoiled teenaged girl to run her life? Especially after she’d judged Nix for letting his ex-wife control him?
A hookup might do them both some good. In fact, he might be one of the few cowboys in this town she could pull it off with. He remained hung up on his ex-wife, even if their marriage was over, meaning he wasn’t ready for anything serious, which suited her fine. She wasn’t interested in a relationship either—although she hadn’t forgotten her boss’s advice about being a role model for Taryn. She had her career to think of as well, so the need for discretion was high.
But she felt like a pressure cooker with a lid about to blow off. She needed to let loose some steam.
By the time the hour was up she had it all planned. She was going to subtly hint around that they could meet up in a motel, maybe in a neighboring town. Once should satisfy their mutual curiosity. Three times, max.
No one would ever find out.
Taryn hadn’t made it around the entire obstacle course, but then most of the smaller teens hadn’t. One of the parents tried to reassure Shauna that it wouldn’t disqualify her from the clinic. “They’re checking to see who’s willing to put in the hard work and listen to instructions. The group next week should be smaller but more committed.”
Shauna was not reassured, but for a whole different reason. Remi was giving her little sister a pep talk and what looked like some pointers. Three months of worrying not only about her own sex life, but her sister’s.Put your shirt on, you little creep.
Miles Decker dragged a heavy gear bag onto one of the mats—Shauna’s cue to take her leave.
