Page 6 of Rough Ride

Eli gave a carefree laugh. “I like her. She’s funny.”

“She’s not going out with you,” Johnny said.

Eli swung his brown eyes back to me. “Okay, Sophie, help us out here. Purely hypothetical. Who would you rather date?” He puffed himself up. “Me?” He then gestured at Johnny. “Orhim?”

“Hmm.” I made a show of thinking about it. Even though I had no intentions with either of them, I was having fun stoking their playful rivalry. “I’d rather date the next cowboy to walk up to the bar.”

Just then, a deep, raspy voice called out from the other end of the bar. “Whiskey. Neat.”

I held my breath. I recognized that voice, and the bloodshot eyes beneath a midnight-black hat.

The other guy from the rodeo camp.

3

Sophie

“For fuck’s sake,” Eli muttered. “He’shere.”

Johnny’s eyes widened. “Sawyer?”

The man in black—Sawyer?—walked over to our side of the bar, but his expression was anything but friendly. “Elijah. Johnny.” He bit off their names like curses.

Eli swung back to me. “You cannotdate him. Even if he was the next cowboy that walked up to the bar.”

Sawyer’s brow rose a tiny fraction, but he didn’t say anything.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I don’t date rodeo guys.” I nodded at Sawyer. “Whiskey, neat. Any preference?”

“Something cheap,” was all he said.

I poured his drink while he watched. His dark eyes were intense, but not in a lustful way. It was like he didn’t trust me to make the drink right, even though all I was doing was pouring straight liquor into a glass.

He nodded at me as I placed the drink in front of him.

“Tell you what,” Eli told me. “Opening ceremonies are tomorrow. How about you agree to a date with whoever gets the biggest cheer from the crowd?”

Johnny rolled his eyes. “Yeah, you’re popular. But I’m good where it matters: the actual rodeo competition.”

“Youusedto be better than me,” Eli boasted, “but this is my year.”

“Keep dreaming,Elijah.”

Sawyer hung his head over his drink and said nothing.

Eli’s expression suddenly brightened. “Hey! How about that? Whoever does best in the rodeo gets the honor of taking you on a date?”

“Not interested,” I said.

“Same,” Johnny added.

“You’re not interested because you know you can’t keep up with all ofthis.” He gestured down at himself and gave a quick little two-step dance.

I couldn’t help but laugh, which drew a look from Sawyer. “What about you?” I asked him, unable to look away from those intense eyes. “You want in on this ridiculous competition?”

Sawyer downed the rest of his whiskey and slammed the glass down hard. “I don’t play games.” He jabbed a finger into Eli’s chest. “Thanks for the drink.”

His gaze slid across me for a split second. Then he stalked away like a panther.

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