Page 38 of The Undercover Cowboy

Several hours later,Dolly was feeling better about the whole Blevins and the UPRC situation. She’d figure out something before things got too bad. And she had Nash working full-time on his investigation. She’d make sure that Shelby personally got Nash into Laredo as a VIP and, together, they would check out the Rocky Ridge storage area and the Jaripeo storage area. Unfortunately, that still left one suspect: Taylor Keating. As she was thinking about it, her phone buzzed on the small night table.

Reaching over, she saw a text from Finn.Meet me in the VIP area.

What the hell? Bull riders didn’t send her texts like that.

Why?she texted back.

He sent back emojis of cheerleaders.

Dolly flashed hot and then cold. She started to shake. Finn had sent the uniform. And the nasty“How much?”card that had gone with it. The only question now was what was he going to do with that knowledge? Had it been a sick joke? Or something more sinister?

She pushed back the covers and took a quick shower. Thoughts flew around in her head. How was she going to spin this? What damage control could she do? She was still shaking when she got dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. After she laced on her sneakers, she turned to Nash who was dozing with one muscular arm over his eyes. She didn’t have to do this alone. But she wasn’t sure how to bring him in on this. She wanted him for backup, but she didn’t want him to be broadsided by the information about her past. Biting her lip, she considered just leaving him here.

“Nash?” Dolly nudged him.

“Hmm?”

“I need you to meet me by the bull-riding arena.” She’d get there first. Find out what Finn wanted and do damage control. By the time Nash got there, it would be all over or he’d be charging in like a white knight.

“What? Why?” he said grouchily. “I don’t have to do promos there anymore.”

“Thanks for reminding me. We still need you to do some work with Donnan.” Donnan was the last thing on her mind at the moment, but she was glad to use him as an excuse.

Nash groaned and rolled over with the pillow over his head.

“We have a week until Laredo to get a series with you and that cute little calf all over social media. If we make you famous, no one is going to look twice at you being backstage at the rodeo.”

“Where are you going?” he asked, rolling back over.

“I told you, the bull-riding event. The last show is at three p.m.”

“Why do I have to be there?”

Yeah, that was a good question. She racked her brain and came up with the perfect excuse on the fly. Dolly unplugged her phone from the charger. “I know Shane and the Viking Ranch are innocent. I’m hoping Taylor Keating is too. I want to get Taylor out of the way today so you and I can concentrate on the other two ranches in Laredo.”

“Wait,” he said, sitting up.

“Just meet me there. I’ll set up the promos so it won’t look suspicious that we’re questioning Taylor.”

“Dolly,” he started to say, blinking confusedly at her.

But she was already out the door. Should she have told him everything and waited for him to go with her? Probably. But there was still a chance she could salvage the situation without revealing her past. If she didn’t have to, she didn’t want to ruin this perfect afternoon with Nash. If things went to hell in the next couple of days, well then at least she’d have one pleasant memory of today to look back on.

But she really hoped it didn’t. For the first time in a long while, Dolly wondered what it would be like to be in a relationship again. Of course, she would have to let Nash in on her secret past. But that was getting ahead of herself. One day at a time. One week to Laredo. If they were able to pin something on Blevins, then her job was safe and she would feel more secure in her life and be able to tell Nash everything. In theory.

Pushing that aside, she headed back into the rodeo grounds from her employee spot and made a beeline to the bull-riding area.

“Hey, Dolly,” Finn said, coming up to her.

She tensed. Looking around, she realized that they were relatively alone. Was this when he would reveal that he sent her the uniform and that obnoxious note?

“Hey, Finn.” Dolly feigned nonchalance, but she scanned the area looking for exit routes and people she could shout to for help if she needed to. “So what’s with the cheerleaders?”

“Mr. Blevins wants you to do some reels with me.”

“He does?” Dolly checked her phone, but there wasn’t anything from Blevins specifically about that today. But that didn’t mean anything. He had a tendency to assume she could read his mind.

“Yeah. Come on back to the VIP area.”

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