Page 10 of Captured By the Billionaire Cowboy
“Ciara?”
She started at the call that originated from outside, then relaxed as she recognized the speaker. “That’s my uncail.” She took a few steps, hesitated. “You’re not going to share your incorrect assumptions with Rowan, right? The crush Ididn’thave.” Of course, Rowan knew she had a crush on him; they had, after all, dated. Yet after all that had happened, the reminder was not welcome.
He seemed to be fighting to maintain a straight face. “That might be a little difficult.” She glared, and he raised both hands. “I promise I won’t say anything.”
Frank called again. She took a step on the dusty ground, pretending not to notice as the ranch hand stared after her. Then he was in motion again. “Hold on a minute, Cowgirl,” he called, but she neither stopped nor looked back. The world brightened as she reached the double-height entrance, just as Frank entered the stable.
He strode to her. “I’ve been looking for you.”
“Am I glad to see you,” Ciara grasped the older man in a big hug. Warmth surrounded her, from the man who had been like a second father. Yet all too soon, the tension returned. Too much was at stake.
She pulled back, nodded to the stables. “This morning has been quite a surprise.”
“I’m sure you noticed the workers.” Frank tipped his hat at a passing handler. “Rowan arranged everything.”
“That’s… surprising.” Accepting the horses had been kind, but providing care was beyond expectation. She searched the field. “Do you know where he is? I want to thank him in person.” The thought tasted bitter, yet it was the right thing to do. The past didn’t diminish his current assistance, or what it meant for the horses’ survival.
Footsteps boomed behind her, prickling Goose bumps on the back of her neck. She pivoted, but it was just the cowboy fromearlier. She turned back to her uncail, who was now staring in clear confusion. He gestured behind her.
She twisted once more to the cowboy, yet he also didn’t speak. Frank looked as if she’d taken a vicious spill off a racing stallion, the ranch hand the same. Frank gestured again, “He’s right here.”
Ciara looked back at the cowboy. “The only person here is… is…”
He smiled.
She frowned.
He winked.
Her heart skidded.
Oh. No. Oh. No. Oh. No. Oh. No. Oh. No. Oh. No. Oh. No. Oh. No. Oh. No. Oh. No. Oh. No. Oh. No. Oh. No. Oh. No. Oh. No. Oh. No. Oh. No. Oh. No. Oh. No. Oh. No. Oh. No. Oh. No. Oh. No. Oh. No. Oh. No. Oh. No. Oh. No. Oh. No. Oh. No. Oh. No. Oh. No. Oh. No.
Ciara closed her eyes. Opened them. How had she not seen it? “Rowan,” she breathed.
“Hello, Cowgirl.”
The world froze, or at least hers did, at the person who had once been her closest confidant, a man where the boy had once been. Now that she knew his identity, it seemed so obvious. Maturity had darkened his hair and defined his features, yet he possessed the same piercing blue eyes, the same intense manner. Of course, the last time she’d seen him he’d been a tall, lanky teen, like a colt with limbs too large for his body. Time had filled him out to perfection, turned him into a man.
A very handsome, powerful man.
“You look different.” She clamped her mouth shut.
“Do I?” he said softly. “So do you.”
Heat emblazoned her. A horse stumped in the background, recapturing her focus. She couldn’t get distracted from the animals who depended on her. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
He showed no remorse. “At first, I figured you knew my identity. By the time I realized you didn’t, I didn’t want to interrupt you.”
She winced. He didn’t want to interrupt her admitting to her childhood crush. No wonder he couldn’t keep the revelation from the object of her affection. Hewasthe object of her affection. “About what I said…”
His eyes twinkled. “Yes?”
“You got the wrong idea.”
“Oh yeah?”
Yup. She didn’t have a little crush on him. It was massive. Gigantic. As large as that stallion who–
