Page 9 of The Cowboy's Downfall
“I doubt if she’ll give it,” Shauna said. Natalie might not be a hands-on type of mom, and common sense might not be her strength, but she knew all about rodeos and bull riding, and she wasn’t a fan.
“Nix says lots of women ride.”
A challenge clung to Taryn’s response in a way that had the other adults at the table fixating on their food. How best to handle this without escalating matters?
Shauna stuck an over-large piece of steak in her mouth and took her time chewing. A case could be made that she was Taryn’s temporary guardian, since they were living together, and her address had been used to register Taryn for school. Why shouldn’t she give permission? Why not call her bluff?
This had win-win written all over it. All Taryn really wanted was to hang out with boys and brag to her California friends about her brush with an extreme sport. When it came time for her to get on a bull, she’d bail for sure. Even Taryn the Terror couldn’t make a decision this bad.
“I’ll sign the forms for you,” Shauna said.
Everyone looked at her in surprise.
Except for Freda. Freda looked anxious. “Maybe you should both think about this for a bit.”
“Is it true Nix McCray is the most famous bull riding trainer in Montana?” Taryn asked Dan, ignoring her aunt’s sage advice.
“Uh… It depends on who you’re talking to,” he replied cautiously, shooting dark looks at Shauna, as if she should be helping him out, when the opposite was true. He knew more about teenagers than she did. He’d probably arrested plenty of them. Plus, his ranch ran a group home. And he had nieces this age. If he owned the secret to stopping them once their minds were made up, then he was the one who should share. She downed two large mouthfuls of wine and emptied her glass.
“What’s the old saying?” she said brightly, plunking her empty glass on the table and accepting a refill from Ian. Taryn could drive. “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach?”
Dan looked at her as if she’d let him down. Or lost her mind. “I don’t think that applies in this case. He’s good friends with Miles Decker, a former world bull riding champion. Miles oversees our annual PBR rodeo. He’s the only reason Nix works at the Endeavour. We’re lucky to have them.”
Shauna didn’t need to hear how wonderful Mr. Wonderful really was. He was a cowboy, not a god, no matter how fascinating she secretly found him.
Besides, he didn’t like her. Why didn’t he like her? She frowned at her plate. She was nice. Everyone liked her. Maybe he didn’t like lawyers. Maybe he didn’t like brunettes. She took another long sip from her glass and perked up. Maybe he didn’t like women.
“Why don’t you ladies come out to the Endeavour tomorrow afternoon and check out the program before you commit?” Dan suggested.
And risk running into the fascinatingly hot cowboy who didn’t like her? Shauna didn’t think so.
“That’s a great idea,” Taryn said. Her earlier enthusiasm had returned with perkiness to spare. “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to,” she added to Shauna.
“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll be there.”
Freda refilled Shauna’s glass. “Here, dear. Have some more wine. Taryn can drive.”
*
Nix
“Have you gonecrazy?” Nix couldn’t believe what his ears had just told him. “That little bitty piece of California ain’t no Katie Moore.”
He liked to talk country when he wanted to annoy his annoying ex-wife, and annoying women were fresh on his mind. Peggy had called again, demanding to know when he intended to get off his lazy ass and go visit her parents, who couldn’t understand why he’d cut them out of his life. Hadn’t they always treated him like a son? Didn’t they deserve his respect? She had a way of making him feel he was wrong even when he knew he was right.
Dan asking him to spend the afternoon with Too Good and Trouble added an extra layer of irritation to his already fracked mood.
Too Good had set up camp in his head and he didn’t have enough room for another woman in there. Thinking about her and how she’d look naked meant he had needs, but no way was he shopping local to fill them. His next evening off, he might head to a rodeo town to see how lucky a drifter cowboy could get. For a fifty-buck entry fee he’d at least get a ride.
Dan rubbed his forehead with his shirt sleeve. His sleeve came away streaked with dirt. The morning was hot for September and the earth had dried out, coating everything the wind touched in a layer of dust.
“Believe me, I understand your reservations,” he said. “I don’t want this any more than you do. All I ask is that you give them a demonstration of what to expect if Taryn decides to go through with the clinic. So far, she’s the only girl to sign up. Shauna swears she’ll change her mind when none of the guys want her on their team.”
Nix had his doubts. He wondered if he should mention that Remi had his eye on Taryn, then decided to mind his own business. Chasing a girl was better than stealing, and this was one girl who could take care of herself.
The men leaned against the fence surrounding the pen where they kept the young bulls separate from the cows, because not surprisingly, males of all species lost their minds around females—especially females in heat. Most of the Endeavour’s cowboys, along with the kids from the group home, were spending the day moving cattle to ungrazed land closer to the winter pastures in a final attempt to fatten them up before cold weather hit.
Nix and Dan weren’t alone, however. Levi Harrington, Miles Decker, and Ford Shannahan were with them. Levi was the genetics expert who ran the ranch’s bull breeding program. His job—along with Nix’s—was to select the bulls they’d use for the clinic.
