Page 2 of A Cowboy Of Her Own

“Earl? Earl Sanders?” She nodded and Roark swore. “Damn it, he told me he’d send someone who’d fit in. You sure as shit ain’t it.” The fact that she didn’t even blink in reaction to his language impressed the hell out of him.

“You won’t even know I’m around.”

Roark stepped forward and smirked when she backed up. “Sweetheart, there’s not a man alive who wouldn’t know when you’re around.” He swore under his breath and turned away from her. “Now, I’m going home. If you want to follow me around there, you can. But you’ll have to work alongside me. Can you shoe a horse?”

Roark knew he was baiting her to get her to leave and he also knew it was wrong, but he just wanted to go home and sulk. Turning around, he faced her again and raised an eyebrow.

“Uh… no.”

“No? How about file teeth? Brand cattle? Repair a fence? Bale hay?” He looked her up and down. “Hell, do you even own a pair of cowboy boots?”

“No. But I can buy a pair.”

Roark shook his head and laughed. “A new pair would have your feet in so much pain you’ll want to cut them off after just a day.” He took his white straw cowboy hat off and tossed it onto the bench.

“I can do something else then. Please, Mister Callahan, if I don’t do this article, I’ll lose my job. I’ve screwed up too many times already. I’ll even shovel out stalls. Anything. I need to do this.”

“Just what is it you’ll be doing?”

“Following you around. I told you that. You know, learn about what you do.”

Roark placed his hands on his hips. “I’m up before dawn. I ride the fence every morning. I takethe cattle to different pastures and when I do that, I sometimes have to camp out. Then there’s the cleaning of the stalls. Stacking hay—”

“Please.” Her plea stopped him when she nibbled on her bottom lip. He found himself wanting to grab her and chew on it himself.

He swore under his breath yet again. He knew he had to be out of his damn mind even to consider allowing her to do this. “Can you ride?”

A big smile brightened her face. “Yes.”

Fuck!He combed his fingers through his hair and stared at her. “All right, but I’m telling you if you do one thing wrong or get in my way, you’ll be out on that pretty little ass of yours in no time. We clear?”

“Yes. Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“Yeah, I’m out of my fucking mind. Now, get out so I can get changed. I’ll be out after I shower. Unless, you want to follow me in there too?”

She gasped and spun away from him in such a hurry, she smacked into the door.

“Are you all right?” Roark asked concerned yet stifling a chuckle as he stepped toward her.

“Yes.” She reached for the handle and pulled the door open.

“Wait. What’s your name?”

“Priscilla… Priscilla Butler, but everyone calls me Cilla. I’ll be outside.” Without another look back, she walked out the door.

Chuckling at how he’d made her blush, Roark stripped and walked to the shower. After turning it on, he stepped in and groaned when the hot water hit him. Damn. Thinking about the beautiful woman he’d just agreed to have following him around all day, he groaned again for a completelydifferent reason. This was not going to end well. What had he been thinking saying yes? Apparently, he hadn’t been thinking at all.

****

Priscilla leaned against the wall outside the door and smiled in triumph. He was going to let her follow him on his ranch and her article would be written and hopefully, printed. The smile left her face when she thought of following him around all day. Roark Callahan was any woman’s wet dream. No wonder he’d been named theSexiest Cowboy Alive. The man was sexy as hell and devastatingly handsome. He towered over her five foot eight by at least nine inches. His body was hard and muscular, and she’d love to know if it was the chaps that made his crotch look that good, or if it was the man himself.

A shiver ran through her. She’d seen pictures of him but not one of them had done him any justice and she had thought he was hot when she’d looked at those. His picture was probably under tall, dark, and hot in the dictionary. His black hair was a little long and curled on the ends at his neck, but it suited him. A straight nose sat above sexy, kissable lips and his light gray eyes were beautiful. Sexy stubble covered his lower face, neck, and jaw. The man was too good to be true.

Frowning, she also knew of his reputation. She’d tried for days to get close to him but buckle bunnies always surrounded him and she wasn’t surprised when he’d mistaken her for one. They probably slipped into the locker room any chance they had to have a shot with him. It was getting awfully hot in here. She pulled her T-shirt out and blew a cool breath down the front. Sweat trickled between herbreasts and shoulder blades.

“Hey, hon. Are you waiting for Outlaw?” a cowboy asked her as he leaned against the wall beside her.

“Yes.”

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