Page 44 of A Cowboy in the Streets

Wow, way to slip a knife right in my gut.

“I know how,” I said through my clenched teeth. “What is it you think I do all day? Those cows we have aren’t for beef, you know.”

James was great at training horses for show reining and rodeo events, but ranch horses were still a good portion of our income. Horses that were intended for actual work on cattle ranches. That was my specialty. Teaching them how to take a pull and track a cow. I was damn good at it, too.

“Well, sure,” James said. “But that’s not the same thing as doing it in front of thousands of people, is it? I mean, you don’t even know the cow. It might not be so easy to rope as the ones you’re used to at Lodestar.”

Know the cow? I shot her a look that promised murder before I turned to my brother. “You got a horse for me to ride?” I asked him.

He whooped and slapped his thigh with his hat. “Hell yeah, I do.”

When I looked back at James, she was grinning smugly. Like maybe she had never doubted me at all. My suspicions mounted when Zack winked at her.

Dammit. I had been all set to spend my afternoon watching events, not participating in them. That was where I was comfortable. Unlike Zack, I didn’t crave attention. He could keep all the applause. I just wanted to do a job I was proud of.

But like a million men before me, I found myself agreeing to do something stupid to impress a girl. Suckered by a pretty face.

I could still back out, but I wasn’t going to. Because I didn’t want to let my brother down, but even more than that, I wanted to hear James scream my name.

In more ways than one, but this was the only way it was going to happen.

Chapter 18

James

I met up with Essie after her barrel race—which she won, no surprise—and together we took our seats in the stands to watch the team roping event.

“They’re not on first,” Essie said, scanning the list of names. She looked around, craning her neck. “Oh, there they are.” She pointed to the area behind the metal gates, but it was unnecessary.

I had spotted him the moment we sat down.

And damn, my boss looked good. Faded blue jeans and a red plaid button-down shirt. Black vest. Black chaps. Black cowboy hat. Hot as sin.

Oh, god, I had patted that man’s penis.

It wasn’t fair.

He deserved more than a dick pat, looking like that. He deserved a slow, thorough blow job. Too bad he would never let me be the one to give it to him. I wished he would. Just once, before we had returned to Lodestar Ranch and the real world. Seeing him sit there tall and proud in the saddle, I couldn’t think of a single thing I would rather do.

But nooo. He had to be a decent human being. Responsible. Dutiful. A fantastic boss who owned his mistakes and actually cared about the people who worked for him.

“Adam looks nervous,” Essie remarked.

That was true. There was a pinched look on his face. I chewed my lip, momentarily second-guessing myself. Maybe I shouldn’t have goaded him into this. There was no doubt in my mind that he would do well, but there did seem to be a doubt in his.

“He’s got this,” I said firmly. But in case he didn’t feel the same, I whipped out my phone and sent a quick text. I had no idea if he would get it before the event started. Maybe he didn’t have his phone on him now, during his warm up.

But a second later, he looked down at his hands and then up at the stands, searching. And then he found me. My heart kicked hard against my ribs as our gazes locked and held. His lips quirked, and he touched the brim of his hat. I grinned.

Essie hummed. “Zack is looking good.”

I arched my eyebrow. “Oh, is he?”

“Like you hadn’t noticed!” she teased, nudging me with her elbow.

I laughed like that was true, even though I honestly hadn’t noticed. I’d been too busy ogling his older brother. “You should come out with us tonight. We’re going for drinks at a local bar. I can text you the address.”

“Sounds fun. Brax isn’t coming, is he?”

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