Page 39 of Cowboy Wolf's Secret Baby

“What if she does something worse to him than just making him forget us?” Taryn asked.

“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”

Beth and Taryn stopped by the shop before they headed to the fairgrounds. Anna smiled widely when they came in and wrapped them in a huge hug.

“I hear that you’ve been a superstar,” Anna said. “You’re taking home all the prizes.”

“A lot of them,” Taryn said, smiling.

“I’m proud of you.” Anna smiled. Then, she looked at Beth. “You’ve made an enemy. Do watch your back.”

“I promise,” Beth said. “How are things here?”

“Perfect,” Anna said. “We stay busy. My daughter comes in during the afternoons because that’s when we get a lot of customers. The fair is bringing in people from all over the state, plus some folks from northern Colorado.”

“Awesome. Make sure that your daughter logs all her hours,” Beth said. “Call if you need me.”

“I will. Good luck tonight,” Anna said.

The place was buzzing when they got to the rodeo grounds. Some superstars came in to compete, and everyone wanted to catch a glimpse of them and get an autograph.

Taryn was a little nervous because she was competing against someone who had been barrel racing a lot longer.

“Just do your best. You and Pegasus are awesome together,” Beth said. “If you don’t win, that’s okay. You know that you gave it your all.”

Taryn nodded. She was over the moon excited when she took first by one-tenth of a second. Jenna took third place. The girls were over the moon. Beth loved seeing the huge smiles on their faces. She hadn’t liked the idea of Taryn getting involved in the rodeo at first, but now she was glad that she did.

Beth happened to look up and saw Matilda in the crowd, watching. The dark witch saw Beth looking. She smiled and gave a little wave. Beth’s heart clenched in her chest.

“Why is she here? What is she going to do?” Beth muttered under her breath. She threw a protection spell around Conner, hoping it would be enough.

She couldn’t breathe when it was time for Conner to compete in the bull riding event. Beth glanced over at Matilda, who was grinning. It was all Beth could do to keep from screaming Conner’s name and begging him not to get on that bull.

He mounted the bull in the chute and wrapped his hands in the rope. Conner gave the signal that he was ready and the chute opened. Beth counted the seconds along with everyone else in the arena. Conner was the favorite to win the night’s competition. They got to five and the bull twisted and bucked at the same time. Conner was thrown through the air, clear across the arena, and slammed into a fence post. He hit the ground hard. Beth imagined that she could hear the thud. All eyes were on Conner.

Everyone in the crowd gasped and started chattering about how they had never seen anything like that before. Sure, they had seen men thrown off bulls, but not that far.

Beth looked over at the spot where her mother had been. Matilda had disappeared into the crowd.

The rodeo clowns rushed into the arena to distract the bull.

The bull instantly calmed down and seemed to willingly go back into the chute.

“She did this,” Beth hissed under her breath.

The crowd cheered as Conner stood up and shook his head, as though he was trying to get the cobwebs out. He waved to the crowd and trotted over to the fence, climbing over, and disappearing.

Beth was actually surprised that Matilda didn’t do anything worse to him. Conner didn’t seem to be hurt. If anything, just a little dazed.

She thought about going to find him but decided that she would wait. Beth breathed a sigh of relief when his name was announced for the saddled bronc riding event.

Was that a warning? Beth wondered. She would be surprised if it was. Her mother wasn’t the kind to give warnings. She was the kind to go for the kill. Beth wasn’t stupid enough to think that her mother had gone soft.

Conner did well in all the other events, so there must not have been any lasting damage done. She was still anxious for the night to be over so she could see for herself.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, every horse and bull had been ridden, wrangled, and roped. It was time to go home. She quickly made her way through the crowd and spotted Conner in the center of a huge gaggle of women. Beth waited patiently until all of them had gotten their autographs. She smirked when she saw how Conner blatantly ignored flirting and even outright offers of a great night in bed. He simply signed whatever it was they had and sent them on his way.

He grinned when he saw her. Beth rested her head against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. She used the opportunity to scan for any injuries that he or the paramedics might have missed.

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