Page 31 of Rough Ride

“Both,obviously.”

When we rounded the corner of the building where the employees parked, there was a man waiting for us. My first instinct was to call one of the Billy Bob’s bouncers. Female bartenders often had creeps waiting for them to finish their shift, and our bouncer was an ex-military guy with nine granddaughters and a bone to pick with anyone who harassed women.

It wasn’t a creep, though. It was Johnny leaning against my car with his arms crossed over his chest. Liz made an excited noise in her throat when she realized who it was.

Johnny gave me a rueful look as we approached. “I’m not drinking for at least a week,” he announced. “But I’d love to buy you dinner.”

14

Johnny

Today had been a rollercoaster of a day.

Waking up with an atomic bomb of a hangover.

Catching naps all day in a vain attempt at getting my body to feel anywherecloseto normal.

Fucking up the bronc riding competition, my best event.

Telling Sky Eyes that I was going to leave her alone.

It was all an important life lesson. I shouldn’t let distractions get in the way of what I was here to do, which was compete in the rodeo. If I performed poorly, my ranch would send one of the other employees to the rodeo next year. That was, quite literally, my worst nightmare.

I meant what I said to Sophie. It wasn’t a game; I wasn’t playing hard-to-get. I was doing the one thing that was so taboo in the world of dating and romance: bluntly telling someone the truth.

Then she came running after us as we left Billy Bob’s, apologized to me, and invited me to join her when she got off work.

“You have to fucking do it,” Eli said after we had ditched the two random women who tried flirting with us as we left.

“I literally just told her I needed to focus on the rodeo,” I replied.

“So fucking what?” Eli insisted. “You already blew the Saddle Bronc riding competition. If youdon’tgo out with Sophie, that failure will be in vain.”

I turned a suspicious eye on my competitor. “Yesterday, you were trying to out-drink me to impress this girl. Now you’re convincing me to take her out?”

“I call ‘em like I see ‘em,” he replied. “She’s totally into me, don’t get me wrong. I still think I can win her over before the rodeo ends, especially once I break out mysecret weapon. But you’ve got a shot now, and I’d hate to see you blow it.”

“This is downright wingman behavior.”

“What can I say? I’m a good guy. A hero, some have said.”

“Who’s called you a hero?” I asked.

He ignored the question and stabbed a finger into my chest. “She’s not like the other girls we’re always flirting with at the rodeo. She’s something different. She’sspecial. I know it, and I can tell you know it, too. So what the hell are you waiting for?”

Eli drove back to the cowboy camp, but I took a walk around Billy Bob’s. Walking always helped me think, and the chill January air felt good on my skin after the warmth inside the honky tonk.

Sophie’s offer felt like a pity-invite. She felt bad that I’d blown it at the rodeo, and was trying to assuage her guilt. That wasn’t the way I wanted to earn a first date with a woman. It made me want to get in my car and drive back to my trailer without a second thought.

But shehadtold me about her ex last night. I didn’t know Sophie that well, but she seemed like the kind of woman who rarely opened up about her personal life. Yet she had shown me a sliver of the person she was, a glimpse at her soul. I’d been speeding toward drunkenness at the time, but I distinctly remember her face—she looked surprised that she had told me.

There was a spark of something there.

“Damnit,” I muttered, glancing at my watch and heading for the employee parking lot. I had to wait half an hour, but eventually Sophie and her friend came walking out. The parking lot lights were behind her head, giving her an angelic halo in the evening fog. I felt my breath seize in my lungs as she turned those penetrating blue eyes on me, flashing with surprise, then joy when she recognized me.

I shot my shot, inviting her to dinner.

“She can’t tonight,” her friend answered for her. “She’s going home to put on pajamas and watch—”

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