One Night With a Cowboy (6 page)

B
ecca watched Tucker bend at the waist. Mmm, mmm. He was sure built nice. From the
top of his felt hat to the tips of his worn leather boots. Those leather chaps he’d
just slung around his hips weren’t too bad, either.

He reached back to buckle the chap straps first around one jean-clad thigh, and then
the other. And she’d thought the rodeo would be boring. Ha! She could watch Tucker
do this all day. Buckle and unbuckle. Bend and stand.

She let out a sigh filled with pure contentment. “All right, Em. I’ll admit it. Cowboys
are hot.”

Next to her, Emma laughed. “Oh, yeah.”

“Go ahead and say it.” Becca shot a sideways glance at her sister.

“Say what?”

“Another I-told-you-so. I know you want to.”

“Nope.” Emma shook her head.

That was a surprise. “Really? Why not?”

“Because I’m happy to see you happy.” Her sister smiled in her direction. “Becs, I’m
really glad we did this together.”

“Oh, sure. Me, too. All New Yorkers should attend at least one rodeo in their lives,”
she teased.

One of Emma’s brows rose sharply. “Don’t think I didn’t hear that sarcasm. And I meant
the whole trip, silly. No matter what happens tomorrow with your interview and the
job, I’m still glad we came.”

Becca smiled. “Me, too. And thank you.”

This hadn’t exactly been on her bucket list of things to do before she died, but nevertheless
she was very glad she’d done it. Her attention went back to Tucker again as he bent
to get something out of his bag and the chaps acted as a frame for his very nice rear
asset.

“For what?” Emma frowned.

“For making me come here to the rodeo even though I didn’t want to. For being a little
sneak and applying for the job even though that was still very wrong of you. For all
of it.”

Thanks to Emma’s meddling, Becca wouldn’t have to live with regrets. She wouldn’t
have to wonder what if? And if nothing else, at least they’d have good stories for
the folks back home about their whirlwind Oklahoma adventure.

“Don’t be silly. No thanks necessary. My favorite thing is making you do things you
don’t want to.” Emma grinned.

“Yes, I know.” As sincere as her thanks had been, she still couldn’t help laughing
at the truth of what Emma had said. That was the kind of relationship they had, and
as annoying as her sister could be sometimes, Becca didn’t think she’d want it any
other way.

“Love you, Bec.”

“Love you, too, Em.”

“So, I’d like to make a proposal. More of a pact, actually.” Emma glanced at her sister
before turning back to watch the two cowboys again.

Becca’s brows rose. “All right. What’s your proposal?”

“Whatever happens tonight, there’ll be no judgment on my part. No walk of shame in
the morning. In fact, I hope I don’t see you again until breakfast before your interview
tomorrow. I want you to have a good time. I want you to get the thoughts of that bastard
Jerry and what he did to you knocked so far out of your system you can’t even remember
what he looks like. And if riding that cowboy all night long is the best way to do
it, then that’s exactly what I want you to do. Okay?”

Her heart beat faster at the thought of what Emma was suggesting. Two city girls out
at the rodeo with a couple of cowboys they’d just met was one thing. But Emma telling
her to spend the whole night with one of them was quite another. She was still having
trouble wrapping her head around what an entire night with Tucker might be like, but
parts lower, female parts long ignored, were warming to the idea nicely.

Finally, she gave in to it all. Her sister. Her desire. Tucker. “Okay.”

Emma smiled wide. “Good.”

The fact she was giving Emma the satisfaction of being right about everything—from
applying for the position at OSU, to coming to the rodeo, to a night with a cowboy—proved
how woozy Tucker’s mere presence made her. The two beers she’d had over the course
of the last couple of hours probably helped with that a little, too, but she was far
from drunk. Well, maybe she was a bit intoxicated, but on cowboy pheromones, not alcohol.

Her gaze fixed again on the men. They’d moved on to working with what she now knew
after her private rodeo tutorial with Tucker were their bull ropes.

Next to her, Emma let out a sigh. “I don’t know what it is about cowboys that makes
them so irresistible. It must be all the leather.”

“Could be.” Becca couldn’t exactly put her finger on the allure, either.

Maybe it was the leather. Or the easy way they said ma’am and darlin’. That hint of
a drawl in Tucker’s voice reminded her every time she heard it that she wasn’t in
New York anymore. Since she had particularly bad memories for one particular New York
man, as well as a certain New York college that had let her go, that was a good thing.

Of course, it could be the jeans and boots and the swagger, which seemed to come as
a package deal on all the cowboys. But most likely it was the sheer amount of attention
Tucker paid to her, as if she were the only woman in the room when that was far from
the case. Except for the few times they’d gone to get food or drink, or take a bathroom
break, the two cowboys hadn’t left their sides for the whole night, until now when
they had to prepare for their rides.

She’d gotten the promised explanation on all the night’s competitions, but it was
the details about the bull riding, Tucker’s event, she’d listened to most intently.
It wasn’t hard listening to Tucker speak. She let the soothing warmth of his voice
wash over her. She had memorized every detail as if there would be a quiz later. Except
for that one part when she’d gotten distracted watching Tucker’s mouth, but that wasn’t
her fault. When a man that attractive licks his lips, a girl’s got to look. And imagine
. . .

He straightened now and said something to Jace, who was getting ready next to him.
When Tucker glanced in Becca’s direction and saw her watching, he smiled and winked.
That one move, just a wink, made her knees go weak. She swallowed hard and knew with
complete certainty, she was going to do it—she was going to spend the night with him.

“Em, should we have some sort of signal?”

“What kind of signal?” Emma asked.

“If I want you to, you know, leave us alone.” Becca couldn’t believe that suggestion
had just come out of her own mouth. Or that she was planning on doing this. Then the
practical side of her took over. “But wait, that’ll leave you alone for the night
in a strange place—”

Emma held up one hand to stop her. “Oh, no. Don’t you dare back out of doing this
because of me. Don’t worry about me. I’m the older sister and I can take care of myself.
You worry about yourself, but you’re right. We do need a plan and some signals.”

“Agreed. So what should they be?” Becca could plan out an entire semester’s lessons,
but it seemed tonight she was incapable of coming up with a simple strategy to signal
her sister when it was time for her to be alone with the cowboy. She was so far out
of her comfort zone, it wasn’t even funny.

“Relax. It doesn’t have to be anything complicated.” Emma shook her head. “Jeez, you
have been off the market for too long.”

She let out a snort. “Tell me about it.”

“How about if you want to be alone with Tucker, you say you have to go to the ladies’
room and of course, I’ll go with you,” Emma suggested.

“Mmm, hmm.” Becca thought that plan seemed simple enough. She and her sister always
went to the ladies’ room together anyway. Didn’t all women?

“Then when we come back, I’ll say I’m tired and I’m going to turn in for the night,
but you should feel free to stay out with Tucker and enjoy yourself.”

“Okay.” Becca nodded. “But wait. What about Jace?”

“I’ll ask him if he’ll walk me out to the car, and then once we’re away from you two,
I’ll tell him you want to be alone with Tucker.”

“Oh, my God. No. Emma, you can’t say that.” Appalled at the thought, Becca felt her
face heat with shame. This was a bad idea.

“Will you stop, please?”

“I can’t. This is too embarrassing. I don’t even know Jace.” Or Tucker, for that matter.

“Fine. I won’t tell him that.”

“Then what will you do?” She had a bad feeling Emma was humoring her and would end
up saying exactly what she wanted anyway.

“I guess I’ll just have to come up with another creative way to occupy him so he doesn’t
want to go back inside and hang out with Tucker.” Emma shrugged, but there was a sly
and very suggestive smile on her lips and a sparkle in her eyes.

Becca let out a loud breath filled with frustration. Now not only were her own morals
plummeting, she’d dragged her sister right down along with her. She leaned closer
to Emma, aware they weren’t alone. “I can’t ask you to sleep with him just so I can
be alone with the other one.”

“I don’t have to sleep with him.” Emma mimicked Becca’s hissed whisper, but exaggerated
it. “I haven’t had a nice long make-out session in a while. I bet he can really kiss.”

“You’re right.” She liked this idea. “I don’t have to . . . you know . . . go all
the way with Tucker, either. We could just kiss.” That would be nice, and far less
out of her comfort zone than having sex with a stranger.

Emma spun toward her, eyes wide. “Oh, no. You’re going all the way.”

“Why?” She took a step back from Emma’s intensity.

“Because you need it. Desperately. And besides, don’t tell me you don’t want to.”

Becca pursed her lips. She did want to, but she still hated when Emma was right. “We’ll
see how it goes.”

“Yes, we will.” Emma sealed the pack with one definitive nod. “Did you stay on the
pill after you broke up with Jerry?”

Discussing birth control for her one-night stand in the middle of a rodeo—could this
be any more embarrassing? Blood rushed to her cheeks. “I can’t believe you asked me
that. And keep your voice down.”

“What? It’s a valid question. Even as cute as he is, I’m not sure I’m ready to be
an aunt to a tiny Tucker quite yet. Though I could buy lil’ Tuck one of those adorable
cowboy outfits they make for babies. Oh, he’d be so cute.”

Becca couldn’t believe the direction this conversation was headed. And she wished
Emma would lower her voice and be a little more discreet. She eyed the people milling
around near them and tried to judge whether they’d heard the whole appalling discussion.

“Yes, for your information I did stay on them. But I’d still prefer to use . . . other
protection, too. I barely know him. We need to stop talking about this now.” Becca
glanced around them again.

This topic was embarrassing enough, but to be having it in public was making it even
worse. No matter how low she tried to keep her voice, she was still convinced the
people moving around behind the chutes could hear.

Emma smiled. “Okay fine, but I know you. You’re still thinking about it.”

Unfortunately, yet one more time, Emma was completely right. Even worse, the cowboy
in question, the subject of all of their conversation for the past five minutes, was
on his way over. “Shh. He’s coming. Not another word.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Emma smirked but Becca couldn’t deal with her smart attitude now.

Instead she planted a smile on her face and aimed it at the cowboy heading her way.
“Hey. Almost your turn?”

Tucker grinned. “Yup, almost my turn. I just wanted to check and make sure you were
good before I got too busy to come over. I’m gonna have to help Jace pull his rope.
He’s up before I am. Unless they change the lineup, I’m a few riders after he goes.”

She pushed aside naughty thoughts of what she’d like to pull on Tucker. Jeez, apparently
months without sex, mixed with a hot cowboy and a couple of beers, brought out the
bad girl in her. She’d have to remember to avoid that combination in the future. “We’re
fine here. Thanks.”

“Good.” He hooked a thumb in the direction of the chutes, where Jace was already climbing
up. “I’m gonna go help.”

“Sure. Of course. Do what you have to.” He turned to go and she called after him,
“Tucker?”

“Yeah?” He glanced back at her.

“Good luck.”

“Thanks. See you after.” His smile lit his face and warmed her heart.

Becca nodded and watched him head for where Jace had just climbed inside a really
small-looking metal enclosure. She frowned and looked closer. “Holy cow. Emma. He’s
in there
with
the bull.”

Actually on top of the bull. She hadn’t been paying much attention to what had been
happening around her. She’d been too distracted by watching Tucker and then talking
with Emma about her crazy ideas of what was going to happen later. But now Becca looked
closer, she noticed every one of the teeny tiny metal cagelike areas contained a bull,
and cowboys were straddling the railings right above them.

“Of course he is.” Emma laughed. “Haven’t you ever seen bull riding on television?”

“No.” If bull riding was on television, it wasn’t on the stations she watched. Though
she supposed
Masterpiece Theater
and BBC had a different demographic from the audience interested in extreme sports.

There were so many cowboys surrounding Jace, Tucker included, Becca couldn’t see much
more than the top of his hat every once in a while. The sound of metal clashing had
her eyes opening wide, just as the bull reared up and tried to climb out of the chute.
Its front legs were actually on top of the metal railing, all while Jace clung to
its back.

Tucker grabbed the back of Jace’s vest and held him while another cowboy waved a hat
in front of the bull’s face and tried to get him to back down into the chute.