Page 134 of Ride a Cowboy

“Jade doesn’t have a boyfriend either,” Doug suggested.

Daniel had met Doug’s cousin. The accident had injured his arm, not his brain. “I think Jade’s a bit unbroken for me. She’d be a wild filly to tame.”

Doug laughed. “Yeah. Uncle Sawyer says she’s ornery as a mule.”

Daniel had to agree with that assessment.

“There’s always my other cousins, Hope or Sterling. They’re not dating anybody either.”

Doug’s matchmaking was in full-force. “Well, I’ll keep that in mind. I haven’t had a chance to meet them yet.”

“If Sienna wasn’t dating Josh, you could go out with her.”

Daniel couldn’t resist digging for a little info. “You like Josh?”

Doug shrugged. “He’s okay, I guess. He doesn’t ride horses or rope or anything like that.” Daniel could tell by the crinkle in Doug’s nose those were big marks against Josh.

“Well, not all guys can be as cool as us.”

Doug laughed. “Yeah. You’re right. Can I go again?”

Daniel rubbed his shoulder, trying to ease some of the stiffness out. The damn thing was giving him fits today. “Aren’t you tired? You’ve been at this same drill for nearly two hours.”

Doug shrugged. “One more time. Please.”

Daniel nodded and started the clock. A car pulled down the driveway, distracting him. Sienna was home from work. She was the lone Compton who hadn’t fully embraced his arrival here. While she was friendly, he’d had to work hard to engage her in conversation after his playful teasing at his trailer. It had taken days for her to look at him without suspicion or nervousness. Oddly enough, her anxiety pleased him, made him realize he wasn’t alone in his attraction.

Sienna Compton was an equal mix of sweet and sexy, with long chestnut hair that was touched with just enough red highlights to match the fiery temper he’d seen the day they’d met. She had dark brown eyes and an hourglass figure that just begged to be admired and touched and caressed and…

Shit. If Seth knew all the inappropriate thoughts Daniel was having about his daughter, his boss would probably kick his ass from here to Mars.

On top of her pretty face and quiet disposition, Sienna was also a puzzle. Daniel had precious few challenges in his life now that his bull riding days were over. There was something about Sienna that called to him, made him long to figure her out.

He’d actually learned more than he cared to about her boyfriend, Josh, from Jade. Jade was a regular around the stable, a born ranch hand. She was tough, opinionated and funny as hell. Daniel had uncovered quite a bit about Sienna through her. Jade’s main concern about her cousin was the fact she’d never dated anyone except Josh. In Jade’s opinion, See was settling for the first boy she ever loved without bothering to “test drive” different makes and models.

While Daniel couldn’t fault Sienna for her loyalty and commitment—he admired both those characteristics—it was her unwillingness to live a little that bothered him. In the two weeks he’d been here, she’d done nothing more than go to work and hang out with her family each night. She constantly followed the same routine of work and home with nothing else to break up the monotony. Jade assured him that pattern wasn’t a fluke, but the norm.

Jade complained that her cousin was too set in her ways, and Daniel had to agree. He longed to take Ms. Sienna Compton out of her comfort zone and show her a good time, introduce her to a little spontaneity. From what he could tell, fun was something she was lacking in her life. Hell, it was something that had been lacking in his lately as well.

He lifted his hand in greeting as she emerged from her car. She waved back and then walked over to the paddock when Doug called out to her.

“Hey, See. Watch me!”

Doug returned to the starting line, then asked Daniel to restart the clock.

Sienna patted Daniel’s horse before approaching the fence. “Okay, I’m watching.”

Daniel gave Doug the nod to begin.

Sienna blew out a long, tired breath. She looked like a balloon with a slow leak, her shoulders sinking.

“Tough day?” he asked, observing her exhausted expression.

“Yeah. There’s a flu bug going around. We were booked solid on appointments today. I barely managed to squeeze in a ten-minute lunch break.” Sienna worked for one of the local doctors. While Compton Pass wasn’t exactly a small town, it certainly wasn’t large enough to classify as a city. It boasted five doctors, two dentists, a grocery store and, he’d learned from Sawyer, they’d just added a deputy to the police department, which meant Sienna’s uncle was no longer the lone lawman. The nearest Walmart was nearly sixty miles away, something unheard of in Daniel’s home state, where it seemed like you couldn’t throw a stone without hitting one of the stores.

“Hope you don’t come down with the flu.”

She glanced up at him. “I had a shot.”

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