BUCKED Box Set: A Bull Rider Western Romance (14 page)

He had a
point. Another of my
habits that I have never
been able to break
has always been over-thinking things. My mind can
take the simplest of situations and turn it into a muddled mess. I knew I
needed to jump in with both feet. I also knew I needed to stop being so back
and forth. The only way to move forward is to take a step. And that’s all Noah
was encouraging me to do: take a step. I looked at him and a rush of affection
hit me. “You’re right,” I said and nudged Stella to walk. We picked up the pace
enough that we had a solid speed to carry us to the mountain.

Luckily,
the climb was a gentle path that allowed plenty of room for the horses to
maneuver. It didn’t take long to reach the peak once we got to the base of the
mountain. As we trotted along, I realized that Noah was right, again. The ride
had definitely cleared my head a little. For the first time since I’d arrived
at the ranch, I felt free and connected to my parents.

At the
crest of Sand Mountain, we looked out over the vast expanse below to find lush
greenery and rocks cascading into the valley below. It was a breathtaking
sight. I sat on Stella and took it all in. Noah slid down and stood next to
Greg, holding onto the reins, then took a deep breath and smiled.

“I never
get tired of this,” he sighed.

I could get used to this myself,
I thought. “You don’t get sights like this
where I’m from,” I told him. “It’s amazing.”

He waved
me over. I slid down and guided Stella over as well, and when I got to him, he
extended an arm and pointed. “You see that area over there with the long brown
line between the green squares? That’s where the ranches are. The long brown
line is the dirt road between them.”

“Really
puts things into perspective, doesn’t it? Makes you feel small.” I was feeling
particularly sentimental at the moment. I’d just taken an emotional ride that
connected me to my parents, and I was ready to open up a little. “My dad always
used to tell me that I need to keep my feet on the ground and be realistic.
This is a good reminder of that, you know? In the grand scheme of things, I’m
just a little tiny speck in the huge valley of life, yet I still matter. It’s
just a really cool thought.”

Noah tore
his eyes away from the valley and looked at me like I was a better sight than the
natural beauty below. “You’re not even remotely close to what I thought you’d
be like.”

“What do
you mean?”

“Well, I
think it’s pretty obvious that, at first, I thought you were a spoiled city
girl. I’ve dated a couple of city girls in my past; they both thought they were
the top of the heap and nobody could ever get better than them. You are nothing
like that. You’re sincere, intelligent, and caring, not shallow and vain like I
originally thought. You’re something else, Laci Daniels. Pretty amazing, actually.
I’m sorry I didn’t see it sooner.”

I moved
closer to him and held the reins behind my back. “Are you trying to get me to
kiss you?”

“That
depends
. Is it working?”

“Definitely.”

I stepped
up to him, arched up onto my tiptoes, and pressed my lips against his. The
reins in his hand dropped to the ground and he put the heel of his boot on
them, then curled his arms around my back, bending down enough that I didn’t
need to balance on my toes anymore. I mimicked him with the reins I was holding
and cupped my hands around his cheeks. He started to spread his lips, and I
opened my mouth to invite him in. The kiss deepened and our tongues began to
dance around each other. Not unlike before, I felt a passionate flame rise in
my chest. I drew him closer and took his hat off to wind my fingers into his
soft, dark brown hair. The weight of his hands moved to my hips to pull them
against his body as though he was hungry for more.

My heart
started to race and I could almost feel his pulse thumping in his chest. Just
as the fire began to burn hotter than I was ready for, Stella snorted and
bobbed her head, which pulled the reins from under my foot. Feeling the sudden
shift under me, I broke the kiss and turned to gain control of the horse again.
When I’d gotten a hold
of
her reins
again, I turned to Noah. A laugh bubbled up in my chest at the expression on
his face.

He was
standing there like something from a cartoon, his eyes closed and his arms
dangling with his lips still puckered. “You okay?” I chuckled.

“How are
you gonna leave me hanging like this?” he replied in a breathless daze.

“Well, I
didn’t want to lose Stella,” I explained, stepping closer to him again. “Or is
this,” I kissed him on the cheek, “more important to you?”

“I don’t
know how I’m supposed to answer that. On one hand,” he returned the favor and
kissed me on the cheek, “this is definitely what I like more. But on the other
hand,” he said, kissing my other cheek, “I don’t want you guys to lose your
horse.”

“Eh, she
was trained right. Stella here probably wouldn’t have run off, but it’s just an
instinct to make sure I’ve got an eye on her at all times. This guy, though,” I
said, crossing behind Noah and
patting
Greg’s neck, “Him, I’m not so sure about. You better do your job with him.” I
gave a wink and looked at Noah like I was sizing him up.

He looked
me up and down—probably sizing me up, too—and then, in one swift movement, he’d
mounted Greg and started on the path back down the mountain. “Hey!” I called
after him. “What the hell are you leaving me for?” I jumped on Stella’s back
and followed him toward the base of the mountain. When we’d caught up, I asked
Noah what that was all about.

He smiled
over his shoulder at me and replied, “Instinct. I had to get moving before I
made an ass of myself.”

“Not like
you need my help for that,” I smirked.

“Ha, ha,
always the comedic genius.”

“I’m here
all week,” I countered as I tugged myself back into Stella’s saddle. “And just
how, pray tell, might you have made an ass of yourself? Inquiring minds want to
know.”

“By doing
things that a Southern gentleman shouldn’t do,” he called out without a single
glance back at me.

My breath
caught in my throat. So, he was having the same, not-so-appropriate thoughts I
was. Good to know. His sculpted back bobbed along in front of me, and I let my
mind wander while he couldn’t see me. I thought about how it felt to have his
lips against mine, with his minty, Tic-Tac-flavored cool breath. I thought
about the surge of warmth—and quite frankly, lust—that sliced through me when the
heat of his skin pressed against mine. I thought about those incredible deep
mahogany eyes with specks of amber shining through them in the sunlight—and
that heart-melting crooked smile.

I suddenly
realized that his appearance, which used to be off-putting, was now sizzling
hot times ten. His longer-than-average hair went from “eh” to something I could
run my fingers through when I kissed him; his unshaven chin went from an eight
o’clock shadow to a ruggedly handsome
scruff;
and
the dusty cowboy boots he favored were now endearing as opposed to
the epitome of “
hick
gone wild.” Maybe
it’s because I was gaining a new appreciation for the Southern way of life,
which was far less fussy than city life. Or maybe it was because my perspective
on Noah himself changed. Either way, his unrefined look had a charm to it that
I couldn’t resist.

When I
didn’t come back at him with a witty response, he raised his voice a little and
said, “I didn’t scare ya away, did I?” The he glanced back to make sure I was
still trailing behind him. I forced my mind back to the current situation and
replied.

“No, I was
just thinking, is all.”

“So
that’s
why there’s smoke coming out of
your ears.”

“Ha, ha,
always hilarious,” I mocked, sticking my tongue out at him when he glanced back
again.

“Well, ya
gonna share with the class or what? What were you thinking about?” he called
out.

“Just
thinking that I probably wouldn’t have had any problem with you being less than
a gentleman when I’m thinking thoughts that are less than ladylike.”

The horse
in front of me came to a dead stop. I steered Stella to go out and around so
that she and Greg were neck and neck. “Why’d you stop?”

“You’re a
lot more
upfront
about that than I
thought you’d be,” he choked out, dumbfounded.

 
“I’m full of surprises, Mr. Tucker.” I decided
I was going to beat Noah at his own game. He wanted unexpected, he was going to
get it. I took off. “I’ll beat you back to the ranch,” I called back to him.

And with
that, things got interesting.

Chapter Fourteen - Noah

The first
kiss was incredible. Unforgettable. And, a lot unexpected.

It was
unbelievable. So were all of the ones after that on the top of Sand Mountain.
Standing there with a beautiful girl looking out over a beautiful view was
nothing short of amazing. The way her fingers tangled
through
my hair. The heat and hunger in every kiss made me want to
take her right then and there, which I had to admit, made me feel a little like
a sleaze ball. So, when she pulled away to make sure she had a hold on Stella,
I jumped on Greg and got to moving to keep myself from being a bad boy.

A few
minutes later, when she’d caught up and then admitted that she was feeling
“less than ladylike,” I stopped in shock. Then—wouldn’t you know it—she pulled
a total Jamie and started a horse race. Don’t get me wrong, she’s much better
than Jamie, but I just couldn’t quite explain why it was that the two girls I’d
been interested
in over
the last two
years both wanted to start races with me. “I’ll beat you back to the ranch,”
she said, before taking off like a bullet out of a gun—while knowing that Greg
wasn’t a fan of kicking it into high gear if he didn’t have to, mind you. After
quite a bit of coaxing and telling him that we were in this together, he
finally stretched his legs and showed me the full extent of his speed. He
easily outstripped Stella and passed her after a few seconds of galloping.
“Atta boy, Greggie! Keep it up!” I cheered.

Just then,
she passed us again. Apparently, she enjoys mocking me because she did it for
the second time in less than five minutes.

“Atta
girl,
Stellie
! Keep it up!” she shouted
as she looked over her shoulder at us and threw up a thumb to display just how
proud she was of herself. She may be a city girl, but I have to hand it to
her—she certainly knew how to ride and get a horse to reach its full potential.
After a little back and forth in the lead, we reached the ranch. It was a much
faster trip than I expected since I’d never ridden at a full out
gallop to
or from Sand Mountain before. If
you’re wondering who won, it happened to be the devilishly handsome bull rider
on a horse that wasn’t fully trained. Laci could ride, all right, but she had
just learned that she could never match up to Noah Tucker.

When we’d
both slowed and eventually come to a halt, we dismounted and made sure to guide
the horses straight to their water troughs so they could quench the thirst they
had undoubtedly worked up during our race. As they drank their fill, I could
sense Laci looking at me: not unlike those cheesy romantic
comedies
my mom loves to make my dad sit
through. She averted her eyes every time I caught her looking over at me.

“May I
help you?” I asked.

“Sorry, I
just can’t help it. Things have always been easygoing between me and Mark, but
nothing quite like this.” She blushed.

A burning
anger suddenly boiled deep in my chest. Who was this Mark, really, and why did
I feel so threatened by him when I didn’t know a single thing about him? Other
than she’d felt a little guilty about him earlier. But more importantly, why
was I—the King of Cool—getting jealous? I bit back the smart remark I felt
coming to my lips
and, instead
, I put on
my most innocent and calm face and asked, “Who’s Mark?”

“My
friend. The guy I mentioned earlier,” was all she said, looking at me like she
had no idea what was going through my head.

“Well, are
you going to tell me about him?” I urged.

“Oh, yeah.
Sorry. He’s my second best friend, like I said, beat out only by Emily. I met
him in an acting class when we were seven, our parents became good friends, and
we’ve been close ever since. He gave me this,” she explained, lifting up the
necklace she had shown me briefly in the kitchen.

Unless he
was gay, I highly doubted any guy could be close to Laci for eleven years and
have no feelings for her. I took the charm into my hand and had to admit that I
appreciated the idea that it was a smiling mask. I flipped it over and saw
words etched into the back. “Even at three a.m.?”

She
nodded. “Mmhm. Before he moved to California, he told me that I could call him
at any time, even at three a.m., and he’d answer. He got me this as a
graduation gift. He has the other mask; it says ‘I’ll always answer’ on the
back.”

Yep, I was
right. He’s in love with her. No guy gives a girl a necklace as meaningful as
that with the promise that they could even call at three in the morning without
having some kind of deeper meaning behind it. The look on my face must have
given my thoughts away more than I’d
intended
because she blushed an even deeper shade of red and squeaked out, “Have I said
too much?”

“
At least,
you were honest with me,” I said.
“But you do know that he’s definitely one hundred percent in love with you,
right?”

“Yeah, he
told me when he gave this to me. I told him that I adore him, but I need to
focus on my career right now. His is already established, and mine’s about to
launch with this movie.”

“What do
you mean his is established?”

“He’s
already had two movies out,” she replied.

“Umm. Mark
who? Who are we talking about here? Would I know who this guy is?” Something in
my gut already told me I would.

“Maybe.
Mark Hannon.”

My head
felt like it was about to explode. For the longest time, I’d been the kind of
guy who’s essentially afraid of commitment; I never thought I deserved it or,
frankly, even wanted it. But with Laci, something felt different. Sure, it was
early on, but there was some kind of unexplainable spark between us that I
thought could develop into something special. I thought it could turn into a
real relationship, but here she was telling me that she needed to focus on her
career, and that’s why she had turned this Mark guy down. Not just any Mark,
though. Mark fucking Hannon. If she turned him down, a name even I knew, and
after knowing him and being attached at the hip for eleven years, how could I
have a shot in hell?

To avoid
saying something really awful and dickish that I would regret later, I cleared
my throat, put Greg in his stall and his saddle where it belonged. Then, I
started back toward my house. For a while, she kept trying to talk to me and
get me to listen, but I just shook my head and continued about my business
until she gave up and I was away from her. When I was, I felt
th
e hot sting of tears at the corners of my
eyes.

“What the
hell?” I said out loud. I’d never, ever cried over a girl before. Like I said,
I’m the King of Cool. I wiped my eyes and told myself to buck up, but for some
reason, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d gotten punched in the balls and
then told my horse died. It sucked to have the hope of a relationship for the
first time—one that, for some unknown reason, I thought could’ve had the
potential to turn into my white picket fence life—ripped away from me before it
even got started. It hurt, and I kind of hated myself for being hurt by it.

I trudged up
the stairs and flopped face-down onto my bed, kicking my boots off and flipping
my hat next to the bed. I willed myself to be a man and stop moping, but it
didn’t work. All I wanted to do was lie there on my bed and listen to music. I
rolled over and docked my iPod on the sound system, then turned the volume up
so the somber notes filled my ears. Just as I lay back down on my bed, my mom
knocked on the door.

“Honey?
You okay?”

“Yeah, Ma.
I’m fine.”

“You
didn’t answer me when I asked if you wanted brownies. They’re fresh out of the
oven.” She slowly pushed the door to my room open and peeked in.

“Mom, I’m
not seven anymore,” I told her as I sat up.

“You’ve
never turned down brownies before. And besides, you’re never too old for a
nice, hot brownie.” She shoved a plate stacked with brownies under my nose, and
the intoxicating aroma instantly made my mouth water. “Go ahead. Take one.
It’ll make you feel better. And, don’t you lie to me, boy; I know something’s
wrong.”

Gotta love
my mother; she’s nothing if not persistent. “Thanks, Mama,” I said, taking one
off the top. She patted my leg, which I took to mean she wanted to sit down, so
I scooted over to allow room.

She took a
brownie for herself as she said, “So, tell me what’s going on.”

Already
feeling slightly better, I obliged. “Don’t say you told me so, but it’s Laci.
We were sort of…maybe we still are sort of…” I started, sighing and running a
hand through my hair. “Jesus, I don’t know. Remember how I told you we saved
Jack last week? Ever since then, something just clicked. There’s something
there I’ve never felt with anyone before. We have this chemistry, and I thought
things could’ve been going somewhere. But she just told me that her best friend
of eleven years is in love with her, and she turned him down because she wants
to focus on her career. If Mark Hannon, who she’s known for that long, doesn’t
have a chance, how do I?”

Mama was a
great audience; she clapped her hand to her chest and said “tsk, tsk,” at all
the right times. When I’d finished and blew out a breath of air, she took a
second to mull over her response, then spoke slowly and deliberately.
“Sweetheart, tell me. Why is it this upsets you so much?”

“You know
how I am, Ma. I ain’t really the sentimental type, but she makes me feel like a
big,
ol
’ sap. I just thought that we
could have a really great relationship, but she shut it down.”

“Did she
actually shut it down, or did you assume that?”

“What else
was I supposed to think when she just told me about Mark? Mark Hannon, Mom!”

“Look at
it like this, sweetheart, she is something different to you, right? Something
special that none of the other girls have been able to make you feel. Who’s to
say you aren’t the same thing to her? For all you know, she just didn’t feel it
with Mark, but she does with you.”

“She might
not anymore. I walked away earlier without saying a single word like a total
jerk.”

“Was she
trying to explain herself? If she was, she might have been trying to tell you
just that while you walked away. That she wants to be with you in a way she
didn’t with him.”

I grabbed
another brownie, handed one to Mom, and tapped mine to hers like they were two
frothy mugs of beer. “Here’s to you, Ma. You always know just what to say.”

“Well, I
do know my boy,” she said, ruffling my hair and kissing me on the forehead. “I
also know the way women work; trust me, she thinks you’re the best thing since
sliced bread. Now, I want you to go to my garden and pick her some flowers.
Then, I want you to go back over there like the Southern Gentleman I raised you
to be, plant a big kiss on that girl, and tell her how you feel. She’ll be
putty in your hands.”

I gave my
mom a squeeze and thanked her, then put on my boots and hat, dabbed on a small
amount of cologne—not Old Spice—and went back outside. I opted for a single
sunflower, then walked toward Sara’s barn. I couldn’t help but grin when I saw
her sitting there cross-legged on the ground, talking to the horses. That’s
exactly the reason I started to fall for her in the first place: she talked to
horses just like I did. I stepped up and said the famous line: “Expecting them
to speak up and answer you? I’d reckon they can’t speak human.”

She looked
at me and her whole countenance changed from sad and pensive to full of joy.
Those soft, perfectly-shaped lips curved in a smile made my heart slam against
my ribcage. “Hey,” I greeted. She
leaped
up and threw her arms around my neck. I folded my arms around her. It was the
type of hug that communicated more than words ever could.

“You smell
like Ryan Reynolds.” She pulled away just enough so she could look me in the
face and giggled slightly, then changed her gaze to a very intimate one. “I’m
sorry, Noah.”

“You don’t
need to apologize, I do,” I breathed. “I’m the one that didn’t let you talk.”

“No, you
didn’t,” she started. “If you had, I was going to say that I feel something
with you that I just don’t feel with Mark. It’s not that I don’t adore
him
because I do, but it’s not the same kind of
fire that I get with you.”

“So, you
weren’t just dragging me along in a little game?” I
asked
though I already knew the answer. I guess I just wanted to
hear her say it.

“No, not
at all.”

Hearing
those words completely changed my mood, and I pulled her close again and buried
my face in her hair, then kissed the top of her head several times. I know, not
the most macho move, but I was happy. When I finally let her go, she looked down
and saw the sunflower in my hand. “Would this happen to be for me?”

“As a
matter of fact, it would.”

She stuck
her nose in the center of it and frowned. “It doesn’t smell like anything,” she
complained.

I laughed.
“No, it wouldn’t, would it?”

“Well, why
not?” she pouted. It normally bothers me when girls make the puppy dog face,
but on her, it was adorable.