Page 46 of His First Baby Rodeo

Mac’s heart accelerated. “I’m not in top shape,” he warned.

“Wouldn’t have thought you would be. But you know the Classic isn’t competitive — it’s a show. It’s all right if you’re not in peak condition for it, because you won’t have to worry about your wins and losses. And it’ll be a good opportunity for you to get back in the swing of things and prepare for when youarecompetition ready.”

“Well, it does sound amazing,” Mac said. “I can’t say I haven’t always wanted to be a part of the Classic.”

“Now’s your moment, then,” Domingo said. “We’ll be swinging through Austin in a week. You could meet up with us there. You’re still living in Texas, right?”

“I am,” Mac confirmed. “And yeah, I could meet the tour in Austin.”

“You can be good to go in a week?”

Mac laughed. “Believe me, I’ve been out of commission for way too long. It’ll be an absolute relief to get back in the ring. And a week is a lot sooner than I could have dreamed it would happen.”

“Well, great,” Domingo said. “We’ll look forward to seeing you in Austin, then. Give me your email address and I’ll send you all the tour details.”

Mac rattled off his email address and ended the call with a lightness in his chest that he hadn’t felt for a long time. This thing with El, whatever it was, might be coming to a necessary end, but that didn’t mean everything good in his life was over. The Western Classic! The tour would help him get himself back in shape, and he’d be in the spotlight again, and then, when it was over…

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on his door.El.

“Yeah?” he called, not sure he wanted to talk to her right now but unable to bring himself to refuse her.

She opened the door.

For a moment, he felt breathless.

Did she have to besobeautiful? It made everything so much more difficult!

And the hell of it was that he wasn’t even caught by his attraction to her right now. Hewasattracted to her, of course — he didn’t think that feeling was ever likely to go away. But what held him now was the fire in her eyes and the set of her chin. She looked powerful and intense and utterly determined, and he wanted to kiss her so badly it hurt.

“You’re getting back in the ring?” she said.

“It’s not like it sounds,” he told her.

“Because that sounded like you said you were getting back in the rodeo ring.”

“It’s different from what you’re imagining.”

She folded her arms across her chest. “Okay,” she said. “Tell me how it’s different. Are you going to be riding?”

“Well, yes, but I won’t be competing.”

“And what difference does that make? The horses are going to know that you’re doing it non-competitively, is that it? You’ll be safer because they won’t be bringing their A-game?”

“It won’t be as intense.”

“Mac, your arm is nowhere near fully recovered,” she said. “It was just days ago that you told me you weren’t ready for me to leave the ranch because you couldn’t manage thechoreson your own!”

That’s not why I wasn’t ready for you to leave.

But he couldn’t say that to her, of course. “I have to get back in the ring,” he said. “This is my whole life, El. You know that.”

Her voice softened slightly, and she came over and sat down on the bed beside him. “I do know,” she said. “I know how much it means to you, Mac. I get it. I know you miss it, and you want to get back out there.”

“Then you know why I have to do this,” he said.

“You’re not being smart about it,” she said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

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