Page 20 of My Rancher Valentine

The drive didn’t take that long. I got out and headed for the stables to saddle up Valentine, my horse. They had a training area set up for us to trot out and practice before the rodeo got underway, and I planned on taking full advantage. Now that I finally had the guys from Patchwork interested, I needed to win this weekend. Hopefully, that would seal the deal, and by the time the full season was underway, I would have their logo on my vest.

I didn’t push too hard, but I definitely worked out a bit of frustration. Last night’s conversation with Kat filled in a lot of holes. I knew what she thought of my reputation, but I also didn’t think she honestly believed I was sleeping with everyone on the circuit. When would I have the time? Between training, riding, and working with the family, chasing women all the time just wasn’t in the cards.

It also helped that as I got older, I wanted more of what I saw with my parents. I couldn’t remember a single time I ever questioned the strength of their relationship. They were truepartners in every way. My father couldn’t function if it wasn’t for my mother. The same could easily be said for our whole family. Juliette Wynters was a force to be reckoned with. She was amazing and I wouldn’t be half the person I was today without my mother’s guidance.

I could see that same type of strength in Kat. I smiled, thinking of how pissed she was when I went out of my way to get her to stay, but she did it, and she did it on her own terms. Looking back, it made way more sense for her to stay with Maddie, but if I was being honest, I wanted her in my room. I liked the idea of her in my bed, even if I wasn’t there with her. The thought of taking care of her felt right.

“Yo.” Dallas almost bumped his horse into mine.

“What the hell?” I sidestepped him and pulled to a slower trot.

“I’ve been calling you for like ten minutes.” He matched my stride.

“There’s no way.” I looked around. The small practice area was fuller than it had been when I first got here.

“Yep. What were you thinking about?” He smirked. “Or should I ask who?”

“Guess you talked to your sister, huh?”

“Yeah.” He laughed. “Dude, this might be the craziest thing you’ve ever thought up.”

“I doubt that.” I had come up with plenty of crazy shit when we were first coming up.

“True.” He nodded. “But what are you going to do when she figures out how much you already love her?”

“I don’t love her.” Not yet, at least.

“Come on, man.” Dallas’s laugh got louder. “Every time she shows up, I have to hear you go on and on about her for days.”

“Not true.” He didn’t bother replying. “Alright.” I caved. “I don’t love her, but I don’t not love her.” I had no idea how deepmy feelings were for Kat. All I knew was that I wanted this to be real. I needed it to be real. We deserved a shot, and I intended for us to have it.

“If you talked to Maddie and Kat talked to Maddie, what did Maddie tell you?” I wasn’t above getting whatever information I could that might help.

“Only what was going on,” he said. “I mean, I had already figured something was happening when you asked me about having her hang out with Vic and Halle. I just didn’t think this.”

“Speaking of, are they here already?” I wanted to know if Kat was in the building.

“Yep. Vic is showing Halle around, and I’m assuming Kat is with them.”

“You’re assuming?” My eyebrows went up. “What if she is off on her own?”

“Relax, man. It isn’t like she’s new to the circuit. She interviews the riders all the time.” He reminded me.

I knew he was right, but after walking up and hearing the end of her conversation with Devon, I didn’t want him anywhere near Kat.

“It’s too bad Sydney and Cheyenne couldn’t be here,” I mentioned his two younger sisters. They were both up and coming on the rodeo circuit.

“They wanted to be, but Sydney got sick, and with Cheyenne graduating from college this year, she couldn’t miss the start of the semester.” He shrugged. “There will be plenty of time for them to get in rides when the season officially starts.” He wasn’t wrong.

“But if they were here there would be more people to keep an eye on Kat.”

“What do you think is going to happen? She knows pretty much every rider here.” He shook his head. “My family is here.Your family is here. I think she’s going to be fine.” Again, he wasn’t wrong.

“I know.” I headed for the exit. “I think I’m done.” I didn’t want to tell him I wanted to go looking for Kat just to ease my mind.

“Alright.” The smile on his face let me know he wasn’t fooled. Not by a long shot.

I HAD BEEN SO WORRIEDabout Devon finding Kat that it never occurred to me he might come looking my direction.

---