Page 11 of A Cowboy Of Her Own

“I didn’t mean little Zeke.” Roark stared at his cousin not wanting to bring up an old hurt.

Reid slapped him on the shoulder, and then walked to his truck before turning to look at him. “Yeah, I knew who you meant. Later, cuz.”

Roark frowned at the sudden sadness reflected in his cousin’s eyes then watched Reid climb into his truck and drive off. He shook his head as he walked up the steps and entered the house. He knew his cousin’s heart still ached over the loss of his best friend.

Chapter Three

When Priscilla entered the house, she walked into the living room, picked up the remote control from where it lay on a side table then took a seat on the sofa and turned on the TV to watch the news. However, her thoughts weren’t with the images on the TV but on the man, she’d left outside.

Was she really going to try to keep up with Roark while he went about his work on his ranch? How in the world would she do that? He was in great shape.Reallygreat shape. Oh, she exercised every day but she also knew ranch work had to be harder than anything she’d ever put herself through before, and she wasn’t sure she was up to it.

If she were as smart as she thought she was, she would have just gone home with her tail between her legs and let Earl say I told you so. She knew she wasn’t cut out for any of this anyway. Actually, what she wanted was to write the great American novel like her mother but she knew that was hard too. There were tons of authors out there far better than her and she knew how hard it was even to get published. She’d taken the job at Western Cowboy two years ago, and she’d always suspected Earl had only hired her because her mother had asked him to.

Priscilla wasn’t sure what their relationship was, but right after she’d told her mother she wanted to work for the magazine, Earl had called her and told her she had a job. However, Priscilla knew he was never happy about hiring her and so he gave her the worst jobs he could… everything from being his gofer to helping out in the mailroom. She’d had to beg him to let her try to write articles and the two she’d done, had bombed miserably. This was going to be her last chance. If she failed this time, she knew he’d fire her and to hell with what her mother wanted. She heard the front door open and then Roark appeared. He was way too sexy for her peace of mind.

“Tomorrow, I’m working in the barn. I have some horses to shoe and the stalls need mucking out. If you still want to do this… you’re welcome to tag along.”

“All right. That sounds good. I think I’ll head to bed then. The long day is catching up with me.” She stood and moved to head down the hallway.

“Do you need me to get you up in the morning?”

“Get me up?”

“Yes, I start around five.”

“Yes, please. I have to charge my phone so you can wake me tomorrow.”

“All right then. Goodnight.” Roark stared at her until she turned and walked to her bedroom.

Morning came fast and she about jumped out of the bed in fright when she heard a pounding on her door. She sat up straight in bed and pushed her hair out of her face. Her heart pounding, she pressed a hand to her chest.

“Priscilla,” Roark shouted from the other side of the door.

“I’m up,” she yelled back throwing off the covers and dragging her legs over the side of the bed while yawning.

“Good. Get your ass moving. I’ll be in the barn. Coffee is on and breakfast is on the table.”

“The man has to be insane,” she muttered.

“What?”

“Nothing! I’ll be out in a minute.” He obviouslyhad super hearing too.

“Make sure you are or I’ll come back in and tip the bed.”

Priscilla raised her middle finger at the door. Damn him. Who got up when it was still dark out? Grumbling, she stood on not too steady legs since she didn’t feel totally awake, and headed for the bathroom. As she walked past the window, she glanced out then stopped in her tracks when she saw it actually was still dark out.

“Heisinsane.” She flipped on the bathroom light, squinting against the intrusion and after entering the space, slammed the door behind her.

****

Roark strode down the aisle of the barn and opened the door to the tack room. He put chaps on then gathered up his tools and headed for the first horse he needed to work on. A few minutes later, he glanced up when a shadow fell across him and he did his best not to grin when he saw the rather disoriented expression on Priscilla’s face.

“Not a morning person, huh?”

“How can I be a morning person, when it’s still night?”

Roark chuckled. “Get used to it. You wanted to write your story about what I do when I’m not on the circuit. That means your day starts and ends when my day does. This was your idea.”

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