Page 91 of Falling for the Cowgirl
“And that’s it folks!” Mack Custer strode out into the middle of the paddock, his pocket bulging from the coins he’d managed to collect. “Sorry we can’t keep goin’—”
“Hold up! We’ve got one more contestant!” Flynn shouted excitedly as he shouldered through the bystanders. When he reached the rail, he glanced in the direction he’d come, as though waiting for someone to follow him.
“Who is it?” Mack lifted on his toes to see behind Flynn.
Before Flynn could answer, a man with a strong, lean frame stepped up to the fence, a man with a determined, proud bearing in his shoulders and an assured way of holding himself.
Ivy’s stomach bottomed out. Jericho.
As if she’d spoken his name aloud, his attention darted to her. His face was covered in a scruffy layer of stubble, a sign he hadn’t shaved in days. His garments were dusty, as if he’d ridden hard and hadn’t changed. And the light brown hair showing beneath the brim of his hat was curled up and overlong.
But he’d never looked better or more handsome.
“Well, I’ll be. It’s Jericho Bliss himself.” Mack Custer’s scowl disappeared, replaced by a gleam that said he was busy tallying how much more money he could make by letting Jericho compete.
As the level of enthusiasm in the crowd escalated, Jericho climbed the fence and hopped down into the main area. He did so with such ease, Ivy’s heart sped with an undeniable attraction, one that hadn’t lessened with time. His strong jaw, the determined set of his lips, and the proud jut of his chin still made him one of God’s finest specimens of manhood.
Ivy gave herself a mental shake and focused on the steer. Nope. No how. No way. She wasn’t gonna give Jericho the satisfaction of even looking at him.
What was he doing back in South Park anyway? Did he have another outlaw he was hunting down? Someone else like Otis pretending to be an ordinary citizen? Even as the questions pushed forward like a bloodhound hot on a trail, she shoved away the thoughts. She didn’t want to think aboutJericho Bliss again, didn’t want to care, didn’t even want to watch him compete.
But she couldn’t just walk away, could she? She had to stay at the fence and at least pretend to observe.
She tried for a nonchalant pose and expression, sitting on the railing as casually as possible, even though her insides had knotted as tight as a stake rope. She kept up a steady stream of conversation with Ty, mighty glad for the kid’s presence at her side and his ability to jabber on about everything and nothing at the same time.
When the steer was unleashed, Jericho was on its trail in the better half of a second, had his rope looped around its horns, and was dragging it down to the ground before she could take a full breath. In the next instant, he dismounted and landed so near the creature, he was grabbing the steer’s front legs and tying the hooey knot all in one motion. As he jumped to his feet and raised his arms, the crowd went wild with cheering.
Nobody needed to hear the official time to know Jericho Bliss had won the contest. He was amazing. Although she didn’t want to think about Jericho or admire him, she gave herself permission to appreciate his skills for just a few seconds. He deserved the accolades.
But even as she watched him tip his hat to the crowd, somehow his beautiful eyes found her. His gaze locked in on her, a gaze filled with such longing, it sent her heart tumbling in an avalanche to the bottom of her chest. The pain of the hard landing jarred the breath from her lungs, and she ripped her sights from him.
A sudden urgency jabbed at her. She had to get away. She couldn’t be around him and act like she didn’t care. Becausethe fact was, she still cared. Way too much. Just the sight of him was unleashing things she didn’t want to feel, things she’d thought she’d been able to put behind her ... all the hurt, disappointment, and heartache.
Now that the emotions were welling up, she’d never be able to hide her feelings. He’d come over, talk with her, give her one of his crooked grins, and she’d be helplessly in love with him all over again, unable to stop herself from throwing herself at him just like she had every other time.
She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t humiliate herself again. She had to get away.
With a frantic glance around, she hopped down and started weaving through the crowd, putting as much distance as she could between herself and the corral. Once out of the thick of onlookers, she picked up her pace and raced toward the cabin. As much as she wanted to go inside, slam the door, and bar it shut, it was one of the first places people would come searching for her once they realized she’d run off.
Yep. She was being a big coward. But she aimed to hide until Jericho left for the night. In fact, if she had to, she’d hide from him until he left South Park, which hopefully would be real soon.
Chapter
29
Jericho pushed past the people slapping his back and congratulating him. His heart thudded hard with the need to find Ivy. She’d been there on the fence watching the competition. And then in the next instant she’d disappeared.
Had she run off to get away from him? If so, he wouldn’t blame her. He didn’t deserve to see her again, didn’t deserve to be anywhere near her. But even if the sun and moon conspired against him, he had to talk to her at least one more time.
He made his way to the middle of the yard filled with teams, wagons, and young children running around playing. He caught sight of Flora, Linnea and Flynn’s redheaded little girl, and almost grabbed her to ask if she’d seen Ivy. But at the flash of something in the woods behind the cabin, he stopped.
Ivywashiding.
His chest pinched painfully. He’d made a mistake in coming back. He shouldn’t have done it.
After putting his affairs in order in Chicago, he’d telegrammed Flynn with his plans to head to Denver. A return telegram from Flynn had been waiting for him when he’d arrived after daybreak this morning at the Pinkerton office in Denver. It had informed him of the date of the surprise barn raising and asked him to be there. At first Jericho hadn’t planned to come, hadn’t felt worthy to be there on the special day. But when the morning had ticked away, an urgency had seized him and hadn’t let go until finally he’d headed on out.
Didn’t matter that Flynn had seen him riding up to Ivy’s place and was the first to approach him when he dismounted. Didn’t matter that Flynn stretched out his hand to greet him warmly—and that neither his gun nor his fist made an appearance. Didn’t matter that Flynn invited him to participate in the roping contest.
