Page 7 of A Cowboy Of Her Own

She really hated him at times. She took a deep breath and blew it out.

“All right. I’ll send updates through email. Goodbye.” She hung up and tossed the phone onto the bed. Earl didn’t like her working there but a fewdays after she mentioned to her mother that she’d love to work at the magazine, Earl had called her and offered her a job. At first, he gave her the worst jobs he could, possibly hoping she’d quit, but she hung in there. She wasn’t sure what kind of hold her mother had over Earl, but it was because of Jackie Butler that Priscilla worked there at all.

After changing into her sneakers, Priscilla took her glasses off and placed them on the bedside table. After picking up her camera, she left her room, walked to the kitchen and then out the back door. The heat hit her hard even before she stepped off the porch. It was incredible that it was late May and the heat was already staggering.

Skipping down the steps, she headed toward the barn. She shaded her eyes and glanced around. Horses stood in pastures, along with cows, munching on grass. Their tails swishing to chase away flies. The area between the house and barn was dirt with no grass growing and her footsteps stirred up little puffs of dust.

Priscilla smiled as she entered the barn. A blended aroma of horses, hay, leather, and manure assaulted her nostrils. She stopped to let her eyes adjust to the dimness of the barn, and then walked down the center aisle. However, the inside of the barn wasn’t much cooler than outside. She lifted her hair off her neck and fanned it with her hand. An older man came striding toward her.

“Can I help you?” he asked stopping a few feet from her.

“I’m just looking around.” She smiled at him.

“Why? For what?” he asked with a frown.

“Excuse me?”

“Why are you looking around? Does Roark knowyou’re here? Who are you?”

“Okay, first, I’m just looking at the horses. Second…yes, he knows I’m here. Third, my name is Priscilla Butler. I’m a writer with Western Cowboy magazine.”

His eyes narrowed as he stared at her. “Magazine? Are you sure Roark knows you’re here?”

“Of course I’m sure. He brought me here.”

“Ah, I see.” The man folded his arms across his chest and nodded in a far too condescending way.

“I don’t think you do. I’m not a… buckle bunny. Lord, who thought of that name anyway?” she muttered.

The man laughed. “Just another term for groupie. Those women follow the circuit hoping to land a night with a cowboy. Their kind of rock star.”

Priscilla smiled. “Well, I’m not one of them. Cowboys don’t interest me.” At least they hadn’t…until she’d seen Roark Callahan.

“You’re here to interview Roark then?”

“Iwasgoing to follow him around the circuit…you know, get his story but he was eliminated today.”

“Yeah, I saw it. That damn Burke won. I’m sure Roark is finding that hard to swallow. They hate each other.”

“I don’t think Burke would be loved by many.”

“You got that right.” With a chuckle, he stuck his hand out. “I’m Roy Jefferies. I’m the ranch manager.”

She put her hand in his. “Nice to meet you, Mister Jefferies.”

“Call me Roy. We’re not formal around here. Where’s Roark?”

“He said he was going to soak in the hot tub andthen get some sleep.”

Roy nodded. “I’ll get with him tomorrow then. You have a nice day, Priscilla. Be careful walking around. Snakes are looking for shade and if you see one, whatever you do, don’t antagonize it. They’ll strike.” He tipped his hat and walked off.

Snakes?Antagonize it?There was no way she’d ever provoke a snake—not on purpose, anyway. Priscilla glanced around the floor. Bits of straw lay scattered around. Hay was stacked against one wall and the opposite one had a row of stalls. She wasn’t going to either side. Staying in the center seemed like the safer thing to do. She knew she would seriously freak if she saw a snake. She trembled as if chilled.God!She hated snakes.

****

Roark sat in the hot tub with his head resting against the side. The water felt fantastic. The jets were doing their job of soothing his tired muscles.Damn Justin Burke!There was no other cowboy on the circuit he hated more. Hate was such a strong word, he supposed. Disliked immensely? Oh, yeah. He certainly disliked him immensely.Shit, who was he trying to kid? He fucking hated the man.

Shutting the jets off, he reached for the towel hanging next to the tub and stood. After stepping out, he dried off and entered his bedroom. He dropped the towel onto the floor and crawled between the sheets. He’d just closed his eyes when a distinctly feminine blood-curdling scream ripped through the air.

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