Roses and Rodeo (Rough and Ready) (3 page)

He settled into the seat and relaxed in a casual male pose. He had a worn black duffel at his feet and wore brown boots that were clean but clearly broken in. His Wranglers were faded and fit him well and he wore a plain black T-shirt along with a straw western hat on his dark hair that was pushed up slightly and she could get a better look at his gorgeous green eyes.

He was even more handsome up close and personal in the daylight where she could clearly see his tanned skin and the smile lines around his mouth. He was clean-shaven and he had a spicy, masculine scent. His eyes glittered with interest as he studied her in return.

“Headed back to San Diego?” he asked in the soft drawl that Arizona cowboys tended to have.

“I have to work Monday.” She rubbed her palms on her jeans. “Off to the next competition?”

“Not yet.” He shook his head. “Need to stop home and check in with my mom.” The corner of his mouth curved into a smile of fondness. “Haven’t been home for a while and she worries.”

“I wonder why,” Danica said dryly.

He laughed. “There are worse things than dating a bull rider.”

“You mentioned last night that your family’s in Kirkland.” Danica adjusted herself in her chair so that she could talk with him better as she changed the subject. “I imagine they’re ranchers.”

“McBrides were some of the earliest ranchers to settle in that part of the state,” he said with a nod. “Sometime back in the eighteen hundreds.”

“Sounds like we both have deep roots. It was the same for my family in southern Arizona.” Danica pushed her long hair over her shoulder. “Camerons were among the first to arrive.”

“San Rafael Valley?” he asked. “Around Sonoita and Patagonia?”

She nodded. “About twenty-five minutes outside of Patagonia.”

“There’s a competition over Labor Day weekend in Sonoita,” he said. “I was thinking about heading there.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Little old Sonoita is big enough for pro bull riding?”

“It’s become popular and has been attracting crowds from all over central and southern Arizona.” He rested his ankle on his knee. “It was added to the circuit just this year and it will be televised.”

“Wow.” She shook her head. “Have I ever been out of touch with my home area. In two years things seem to have changed.”

“I’d like you to come to the competition.” His words were filled with a certain conviction that reminded her of her four older brothers. She’d never met a man who quite measured up to them.

She shook her head, but said, “Maybe.”

He gave a sexy little grin, as if knowing he had her. “Rather than waiting that long, there’s a competition in Prescott coming up soon.”

“Whoa.” She held up her hands. “I’m not going to be following you from competition to competition like one of your groupies. As a matter-of-fact I don’t plan on seeing you ever again.”

“What can it hurt, Danica?” The way he said her name made her feel a little gooey inside.

“We’ve been through that.” She put her palms on her thighs. “I’m not going to date you, Creed. So give it up.”

“I’m no quitter,” he said in a teasing tone, but his eyes were serious.

Her phone rang, thankfully breaking the train of conversation they were on. She glanced at the caller ID then looked at Creed. “Just a moment. I need to take this.”

She answered as she held the phone to her ear. It was her doctor’s office calling with the results from her well-woman visit. Then she was transferred into the nurse’s voice mail instead of to the nurse herself, and was instructed to leave a message with her phone number. She identified herself then rattled off her number before disconnecting and tucking the phone into the outside pocket of her backpack.

When she looked at Creed she found him studying her. “You’re tough,” he said.

“So I’ve been told.” She smiled. “That’s what growing up with four older brothers will do to a girl.”

“We’ve got that in common,” he said. “I’ve got four older brothers myself. Wouldn’t that be some family reunion?”

She found herself picturing her now very large family with her brothers, four sisters-in-law, and her niece, and then Creed with his four brothers and who knew how many were married. And then she wanted to slap herself upside the head just for letting the thoughts enter her mind.

They fell into a conversation about what it was like growing up the youngest of five. From a couple of the stories they each told, it sounded like Creed’s brothers were a lot tougher on him than Danica’s brothers were on her.

“Even though they teased me and played pranks on me, to tell the truth, they spoiled me.” She crossed her legs at her knees. “I got away with a lot growing up. They would even take the blame for some of the things I pulled, just so I wouldn’t get into trouble.”

“I’d like to meet them sometime,” Creed said.

An announcement came over the loudspeakers loud enough to interrupt their conversation. It was the call to board the plane to San Diego.

“That’s me.” She got to her feet and Creed stood.

“I want to call you.” He took her hand and squeezed it.

“Like you said, you’re no quitter.” She didn’t withdraw from him immediately. “But I’m stubborn as hell.”

He laughed. “I can see that you are.”

She drew her hand from his. “Take care, Creed.”

He touched the brim of his hat. “I’ll be seeing you, Danica.”

She shook her head but returned his smile then turned and joined the line of people ready to get on the plane.

As she stood behind other passengers, she felt Creed watching her and couldn’t help looking over her shoulder at him. With his hands tucked into his rear pockets, he gave her a nod but she couldn’t read his expression. He looked so good standing there and she had a sudden feeling, like déjà vu…like they’d done this before.

The feeling made a shiver shoot down her spine and she turned away, determined to not look back at him again. She took a deep breath as the line started to move forward at a faster pace.

Why hadn’t she just given him her number? What would it hurt to talk to him again? She sighed. Maybe she was being too stubborn. But then again, maybe not.

She still felt his gaze on her as she entered the ramp and headed down to the plane. It was almost a relief when she knew he couldn’t see her any longer.

It was time to put one ultra-sexy cowboy completely out of her mind and get back to her life.

Chapter 3

It was always good to get home after a trip. Danica blew out a breath as she let her backpack slip from her shoulder and onto the couch in her living room and tossed the duffel beside it. Even after nearly two years her townhouse didn’t have the same warmth and hominess as the home she’d grown up in on the ranch. She’d surrounded herself with pictures of family and touches of home with western décor, but of course it wasn’t the same.

Sometimes she felt lonely even though she’d had plenty of friends and no shortage of men who wanted to date her. But she was used to a rowdy home with four males and Aunt Grace who had raised the five of them when their parents died.

Danica kicked off her shoes then stretched out her arms toward the ceiling and did a few other stretching exercises before starting toward her kitchen for a bottle of water and lunch.

Her phone rang inside her backpack so she turned back and dug the phone out of the outside pocket. She checked the caller ID and saw that it was an Arizona area code but didn’t recognize the number. She answered it with a “Hello.”

“Hey, Danica.” Creed’s voice sent a thrill through her belly.

“How did you get my number?” she asked with surprise. “Did Kelsey give it to you?”

“I overheard you when you were on the phone,” he said. “I have a good memory for numbers.”

“I should just hang up,” she said, but a smile touched her lips.

“But you won’t.” His voice held a confidence that might have irked her if it had been someone else. For some reason his self-assurance did just the opposite. It attracted her in a way that surprised her.

“How was your trip?” he asked before she could respond.

“Crowded. Full flight.” She walked into the kitchen the phone pressed to her ear. “Other than that it was fine. How was yours?”

“Let’s see…” He sounded like he was counting things off on his fingers as he spoke in his low drawl. “First there was the year-old twins with their mother in the seats beside me and the poor kids had twin ear infections and let everyone know about it. Then there was the woman’s five-year-old son sitting behind me kicking my seat and singing “I’m sexy and I know it,” while his two older brothers fought the entire trip. All in all it just reminded me of my brothers and me when we were young.”

The way he said it in an amused tone made the parts about the kids behind him sound comical and she found herself laughing. “I have to say your trip was far more eventful than mine.”

“Are you home?” he asked.

“Just walked through the door about five minutes ago.” She headed into the kitchen and grabbed a bottled water out of the fridge. She held the phone between her shoulder and her ear as she cracked open the bottle then held the phone in her hand again. “I’m ready for a little relaxation but I have laundry to take care of and the house needs a good cleaning.”

“Just managed to get out of Sky Harbor,” he said, “I’m headed north now. Or I’m trying to. This Phoenix traffic sucks sometimes.”

“It does.” She took a long drink of water then set it on the countertop. She wandered out of the kitchen and plopped onto the couch beside her backpack that contained her laptop, causing it to bounce and almost fall onto the floor. She caught it before it fell and pushed it back to safety. “When’s the next competition?”

“So you are interested.” Satisfaction was in his voice.

“Just being polite,” she said but smiled.

“Since you asked, the next one I’m headed to is in Montana next weekend,” he said. “Then in two weeks the Cowboy Capital competition in Prescott, my stomping grounds.” He paused. “I can send you tickets to the Prescott event.”

“You really think I’m going to hop on a plane to go see you get beat up by a bull?”

“Yeah.” His voice was low and sexy and her belly flip-flopped. “I’d like you to be there.”

She put her feet up on the coffee table and wiggled her toes. “I’ll think about it.”

“What’s your email address?” he asked.

She thought a moment. She liked talking with him, liked the way he made her feel. “If I give it to you,” she said, “it doesn’t mean I’m saying yes to dating you or going to Prescott.”

“You bet,” he said but she heard a touch of triumph.

She took a deep breath then gave him her email address.

“Got it.” There was a grin in his voice. “I have a great memory for numbers and this one I won’t be forgetting.”

She almost groaned as she thought about what she was doing. She was letting Creed in. But if she was honest with herself, she liked it. She liked talking with him, had enjoyed being around him.

They stayed on the phone while he drove to his family’s ranch. He was easy to talk with and somehow she ended up talking with him the entire two hours it took him to get from Phoenix to Kirkland. Spending that time with him on the phone made her feel as if she’d known him far longer than less than twenty-four hours.

“Pullin’ up to my folks place,” he said. “I enjoyed talking with you, Danica.”

“I kinda did, too.” She realized her ear was sore from talking so long and shifted the phone to the other side. “That still doesn’t mean I’m going to Prescott.”

He laughed. “We’ll see.”

When she disconnected the call she shook her head. When Kelsey found out about this she definitely would not hear the end of it.

Something genuine and nice about Creed drew Danica and she knew she was about to get herself in trouble. Not only was he a man who faced danger for fun, but he also was on the circuit and on the road all of the time.

“Not a good recipe for a relationship,” she said aloud and shook her head but she was still smiling when she set to work cleaning her townhouse.

She was just about finished cleaning when her phone rang again. She dug it out of her pocket and looked at the caller ID screen.
Barry Hobbes.

With a mental groan she connected the call. “Hi, Barry.”

“Hi, babe.”

A flash of irritation went through her.
I’m not your babe.
“What’s up?” she asked.

He sounded put out as he said, “Why didn’t you respond to my last text messages?”

“My phone died and I forgot the charger. I wasn’t able to get a charge until I got home.” Okay, so it was a lie, but a good one. “What’s going on?”

“I have two tickets to join Ambassador Baxter in his box at the ballet Friday night,” he said. “I’d like you to go.”

When she’d first started dating Barry, she hadn’t really paid much attention to how he threw around names of those he considered important and influential, and flaunted his connections, but it had become increasingly annoying.

“Sorry.” She mentally ran through excuses. Bathing a cat would be more fun than going with Barry to the ballet. “I’ve got something going on Friday night. In fact, the whole weekend is packed.”

“What do you have going on?” he asked in a tone that told her he didn’t believe her.

Clip my toenails, floss my teeth, and clean the toilets, any number of things that would be more exciting than spending time with you.

“A big project for work is going to take some overtime.” Stretching the truth was better than spending another minute with Barry since he couldn’t seem to take a hint. She added, “Missing a couple of days at work has put me behind.”

“What were you doing in Las Vegas this weekend?” he asked, sounding perturbed.

With a sigh, Danica said, “I went to a bull riding event with Kelsey.”

“Why the hell would you want to go to a rodeo?” He sounded condescending as he spoke and she wondered why she had ever thought he was a great guy. “I thought you left all that behind when you moved here.”

Danica frowned. “No, I didn’t, Barry. I may be in a large city, but I’ll always be a country girl at heart.” She pushed her hand through her hair. “Got to go.” She glanced into the kitchen at the cold stove. “My dinner is almost finished.”