Page 15 of The Roper & the Author

She stood near the edge of the ring as they pulled off their shirts.

“Chaco,” she cried out.

They both looked at her.

“All that weightlifting, roping, and bull riding makes a body incredible, eh?” She blushed as they both smiled. “Forgive me. I’ll just stand over here and be quiet.”

She gawked at Walker’s wide shoulders, striated muscles, and taut waistline. She loved that he had a farmer’s tan, a truehard-working cowboy, the sigma male who didn’t need to prove anything to anybody.

“You don’t need to be quiet,” Easton said. “You can admire me all you want.” He flexed and winked at her.

“You both are giving me oodles of writing material.” She pressed her hands together and bowed slightly. “Muchas gracias.”

“Anytime,” Walker said.

Easton let out a low growl that surprised her. The brothers exchanged a look, then they wrapped their hands and put on protective head gear.

As they started duking it out, she couldn’t hold it in. She cried out in surprise, she cheered—mostly for Walker, though she tried to cheer evenly—, she gasped, and she screamed in horror.

“Oy! No, no, no, …Si! Yes, yes, yes …Bien hecho! That was impressive. Ouch! Oh,se amable, be nice!”

The twins seemed to be evenly matched, but Easton got more intense as they smacked each other with their fists, knees, and legs. Neither of them said anything, which made all the noise she was making even more pronounced.

Footsteps approached from behind her, and she forced herself to look away from Walker’s beautiful upper body flowing like poetry to see Papa Jared approaching. He nodded to her, then called, “Boys, it’s time to stop. Walker and his girlfriend Miss Sue have a plane to catch.”

The men broke apart and turned to their father.

Girlfriend? Miss Sue? Marci’s stomach flipped over. Walker had a girlfriend and the woman traveled with him to his rodeos. Of course she did. Oh, no. Miss Sue was probably the perfect cowgirl. The lady Walker loved. Marci’s heart beat dully in her chest. Her hopes and dreams plummeted to the concrete floor, shattering in a horrific heap.

The men circled slowly once more as they deescalated. Both took their head gear off and started unwrapping their hands. The fight was over. She’d thought it was impressive and catalogued some emotion and sound and ideas for her books but wondered if it had resolved any of the tension with the brothers or made it worse. Neither seemed eager to end the session.

Walker had a girlfriend, Miss Sue, but he’d gifted Marci with interested looks, touched her, and flirted with her, right? Was she making that all up in her head? How could he be her perfect match and already have a girlfriend? No wonder Easton seemed frustrated with his brother. Walker was leading Marci on, and he was in a relationship. Her stomach curdled. She was going to be sick.

“I’ll walk Marci back to the house so she can shower up and have some breakfast,” Jared said.

“Oh. Thank you.” Marci didn’t mind the shower or the breakfast, but … when would she see Walker again? Ever? If he had a girlfriend, it shouldn’t matter. How could he have a girlfriend and feel like the love of her life? She’d known from the first moment their gazes caught, him tall and brave on his horse, that he was her future.

Could she have been wrong? She suddenly despised real-life romance. A girlfriend? Her stomach felt full of acid and it was climbing her esophagus.

She let herself focus on Walker. His chest was heaving from the exertion of the fight, he was glistening with sweat, and his thick hair was messy. Though he looked as if he’d been in a fight, no skin was broken and there were no obvious bruises forming. He looked absolutely glorious, the most beautiful man she’d ever seen.Una chuleria.

He held her gaze and something deep passed between them. He yearned for her. They had a bond that was unequaled by anything either of them had experienced. Girlfriend. He couldn’thave a girlfriend. It was obvious he liked Marci. Why did he have to leave? Worse, why did he have to have a girlfriend?

He glanced at his brother and the connection broke. Marci’s stomach turned over and she had the awful feeling that she’d never see Walker again. Even if he longed for her, felt the tenuous bond growing between them and realized Marci should be his girlfriend not Miss Sue, he wasn’t going to come for her. She was an awful person to want him to dump Miss Sue for her.

Jared directed her toward the main part of the barn with a soft touch on her elbow. Marci didn’t know how to refuse.

They were through the barn and outside in the beautiful and chilly September morning when Jared muttered, “Sorry about my boys. They’re the best of men, but sometimes even the best act like darn fools when there’s a beautiful lady come between them.”

She whipped to look at Walker’s dad. “You think … I’m coming between them?”

He nodded.

“But that’s silly. I wouldn’t want to do that. Easton flirts with everyone, so I know I can’t mean anything to him, but the problem is … Walker’s leaving and with his girlfriend Miss Sue.” She felt morose and was probably saying far too much to Walker’s father. What did she know about fathers? She missed her dad, but it got harder and harder to hold onto the memories as the years rolled around.

“Girlfriend?” Jared chuckled. “No. Miss Sue is his roping horse.”

Marci stopped walking and turned to him. “Are you serious?”

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