Page 58 of Back in the Saddle

The last of the bull riders didn’t last eight seconds, and a break was announced before the next event – barrel riding.

‘Come on. Let’s get another drink.’ He took her hand in his, helping her up.

As they slowly weaved through the crowd, she felt a bit self-conscious with her clearly not local accent and no knowledge about where they were going or what was going on.

Hunter, contrary to her, looked like rodeos were something he did all the time. His crisp, navy shirt was tucked into his dark, faded Wranglers with a buckled black belt. His black leather jacket made him look effortlessly sexy. She couldn’t help it – she’d always had a thing for guys in leather jackets. Matching black cowboy boots and an elegant Stetson completed the picture. She knew that this was just the way he dressed. But she also noticed the number of women who smiled at him, batting their eyelashes. He nodded several timesto acknowledge them. She couldn’t work out whether he knew them or was just trying to be polite.

It’s none of your business. You’ll be gone soon. This is just casual … Well, whatever it is.

‘Did you ever get injured when you did the bronc riding?’ she asked, trying to push the jealous thoughts away.

‘Sure.’ He shrugged, slinging his arm around her shoulder as they passed a group of giggling teenage girls, men putting bets on the team roping event, and four middle-aged women gathered at a tall round bar table.

‘Don’t know anyone who hasn’t. But it was never anything serious,’ he added quickly, seeing concern creep up on her face. ‘Some bruises, mostly. I broke my wrist once,’ he said, lifting his left hand. ‘But that’s it.’

‘Good.’ She instinctively put her hand on his wrist and gently tugged it down. Her palm slipped into his, fingers intertwining. ‘I’m glad you don’t do it anymore.’

‘Why? Would you be worried for me?’ he asked in a teasing voice.

She stopped, not letting go of his hand. ‘Do I even need to answer that?’

‘No, but can you blame me for wanting to hear it?’

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. ‘I think I’d find it hard to feel sorry for you if you got hurt doing something like that. An accident? Sure. But this? This is just silly.’

‘Oh, come on, I’m sure you wouldn’t tell me I deserved it if I really got hurt.’ He briefly untangled his arm from hers to let a large group of people pass. When he reached for her hand again, Caroline felt a jolt of electricity shot through her, from the tips of her fingers all the way up her arm.

‘I’m glad we don’t have to find out,’ she said, feeling her cheeks go warm.

Hunter just laughed in response.

‘Mr Jackson! What a small world, we were just talking about you.’

They both stopped when they heard a male voice behind them. Hunter slowly turned round, and Caroline couldn’t help but notice how his smile faltered fast when he faced three middle-aged men.

‘Mr Tealey.’ Hunter tipped his hat in greeting, but his expression remained cloudy. He looked to the other two men.

‘Oh, of course, you haven’t met. These are my colleagues, Mr Fox—’ Mr Tealey nodded towards a taller, bald one ‘—and Mr Yates.’ The shorter, rounder man with wispy, blonde hair also gave a curt nod. He looked at Hunter but he didn’t say anything.

‘Well, I hope you enjoy the rodeo,’ Hunter said.

Caroline could swear he was about to turn back and walk off, when Mr Tealey said, ‘Did you receive the letter we sent two weeks ago?’

‘You mean, did my father, who’s the owner of the ranch, receive it?’ Hunter asked with a stormy expression. ‘He did. I think it ended up in the trash.’

The corner of Mr Tealey’s mouth twitched. ‘Mr Jackson, you must see that in the current climate, selling up is a great solution for many family ranches. We’re happy to discuss our offer further, perhaps we could—’

‘No, we couldn’t. My father already told you where you could put that offer,’ Hunter said in a stern voice, squeezing Caroline’s hand harder and pulling her away from the men. ‘Have a good day.’

‘Are you OK?’ she asked when they were standing in a long line to the bar.

Hunter took a deep breath, looking into the distance. Whenhe let it out, she thought he looked a bit deflated, more tired. He wasn’t holding her hand anymore.

‘Those bastards have no conscience. They know my dad isn’t well, yet they keep pestering him.’ He rubbed his hand on his temple. ‘They want to buy our land and plant alfalfa there. Two other ranches in the area went down last year. Now they want to expand here and ours is the biggest target.’ He shook his head. ‘They came to the ranch last year, after they bought Williamson’s ranch.’

‘I take it that didn’t go well?’

‘Dad ran them off the ranch with a gun.’

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