Page 13 of Cowboy Friend Zone for Christmas

CHAPTER 4: SURPRISE INVITATION

One week later

“Good girl! I think…” Noelle stifled a yawn as she led Cookie from the indoor ring back to her stall. “Sometimes I have to wonder who’s training who here.”

With a nicker that sounded suspiciously like a chuckle, the filly pranced down the hallway with her head held high and her belly full of carrot stubs and apple slices.

Other horses leaned out of their stalls to watch their promenade toward the grooming station. Noelle patted a few noses as she passed by them.

“Yep, you sure know how to drive a hard bargain.” She was pretty sure the glossy black-speckled horse had purposely emptied out the entire bag of treats before allowing Noelle to lure her into a halter for the first time. “Because of you, I’m going to have to make yet another trip to the grocery store this week.”

“Want me to drive you?”

Noelle tensed at the sound of Nash’s voice. Glancing down the hallway, she found her favorite ranch manager standing in the doorway separating the stalls from the front office area. She tossed her braid over her shoulder, trying to act normal. “Hey! Didn’t see you there, boss man.”

His mouth tightened at her words. Slapping a folder of papers against his thigh, he growled, “Can we talk?” He angled his head toward his office.

“Of course!” Though she kept her voice light, her heartbeat stuttered over his request. It felt a little like being summoned to the principal’s office.

One of the grooms rushed forward to take Cookie off her hands.

“Thanks!” She gave him the brightest smile she could muster. “I owe you one.”

He merely winked at her without responding. Everyone on staff knew she didn’t normally hand stuff like that off to her coworkers. Brushing down the horses after their training sessions was an important part of the bonding process. The more rapport she established with them, the more cooperative they were in the ring the next day.

As she spun back in Nash’s direction, she found him gone. The fact that he hadn’t waited for her wasn’t a good sign. She moved in the direction of his office with a heavy heart.

An entire week had passed since the rodeo that had put him back on the map. Reporters had been hounding him ever since. Most of them were fixated on the same question: After setting a new personal record, was Nash Carson truly back on the circuit? As far as Noelle could tell, he’d been avoiding giving anyone a straight answer. For that reason, she’d been avoiding him. She wasn’t ready to hear that he was returning to full-time bronc riding.

When she reached his office, she found the door cracked open a few inches. She wasn’t sure what that meant, so she paused and knocked.

“It’s open, Noelle.” His irritated voice felt like a slap.

Grimacing, she pushed the door wider. “Am I in trouble?”

He snorted. “What kind of question is that?” He was lounged back against his desk with his arms folded. As usual, his sleeves were rolled up. He was making no effort to hide his bionic arm, which had very quickly become touted on social media as his superhero arm. The public’s response to it was mostly positive, though a few naysayers were speculating whether the technology built into it had given him an advantage over his competitors last Friday.

“It was kind of a joke.” A humorless chuckle escaped her as she waved vaguely at him. “You know…getting called to the principal’s office.” She reached up to adjust her Stetson self-consciously, suddenly wishing there was less sawdust sticking to her boots and the cuffs of her jeans.

“I’m your employer, not some tyrant.” He didn’t look like he found anything funny. To his credit, he wasn’t staring at her dusty boots. He was too busy studying her expression through narrowed lids.

She shifted from one foot to the other beneath his probing look. “You’re still my boss.” Like it or not.

“A week ago, we were friends,” he returned coolly.

Her eyebrows flew upward. “I wasn’t aware that had changed.”

“Is that why you’ve been avoiding me?” He shot the question at her so quickly that it threw her even more off balance.

She shook her head mutely, still not ready to hear that he’d decided to return to the rodeo circuit.

He abruptly straightened and lowered his arms, looking stricken. “If I’ve offended you in any way, hurt your feelings, or crossed any lines…” He shook his head bleakly. “I know I got a little carried away after my ride. Didn’t intend to manhandle you the way I did?—”

“It’s not that,” she cut in, feeling a miserable blush heating her face. She knew without asking that he was referring to all the paparazzi photos of their victory embrace. A few of the cameramen had made it look like they were about to kiss. She wasn’t sure if the photos had been shopped or what.

“Then what is it?” He stalked determinedly in her direction. When he reached the door, he placed a hand on the knob. “Mind if I shut the door and give us a little privacy?”

“I don’t mind.” Her voice came out high-pitched and thready.

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