Stockman’s Showdown (The Stockmen #4)

Thirty-six

People were sucking up to Charlie, as Bree hovered beside her grandfather. Those who remembered the time of Jack Price’s murder, and had blamed Harry, had come to apologise.

And so they should!

Bree had known word would get out, where plenty of Charlie’s friends had come to offer their condolences—but not like this. They’d barely made it through the front gate and people were seeking out Charlie, when all she wanted to do was grab a drink and find their seats.

Then she spotted Ryder, being his usual grumpy ass, frowning at her, with Cowboy Craig and Dex on either side. What was Ryder’s problem?

‘Well, if it isn’t my favourite redhead.’ The blond cowboy grinned at her.

‘Hey, Craig.’ As she hugged Craig, Ryder glowered at her. While Dex bobbed his eyebrows up and down at her, glancing at Ryder then back at her.

Aw, man! Ryder had spilled their secret to his brothers. The big mouth.

‘How are you, Charlie?’ Craig shook Charlie’s hand.

‘Good. Better than good. Dying of thirst.’

‘I’ll get you a beer, Pop. You stay with Craig. I’ll be right back.’ She headed for the outdoor bar.

‘You look nice.’ Ryder’s long, easy gait caught up with her in no time to escort her to the outdoor bar.

‘Thank you.’ She nodded at the barmaid as she held up two fingers. She was such a regular she didn’t need to say what she drank.

Ignoring the busy crowd, Ryder stepped in close to her ear to whisper, ‘You look good enough to eat.’

Didn’t that send a wave of heat to flush over her skin? She needed air. Especially when trapped by his eyes slowly crawling over her body with a sort of primal hunger she hadn’t seen before. ‘What’s with you?’

His open palm rubbed slow circles on her lower back. ‘I want to stop hiding.’

‘Listen, cupcake,’ she said, adjusting his collar, and wiping some lint off his broad shoulders. ‘What we do after dark is no one’s business.’

‘But I want to be able to be with you at any time.’

Saved by the barmaid and her beers, she freed herself. Call her crazy, but she enjoyed having power over the big man, who had power over everyone else.

The strange thing was he had power over her, too, and didn’t even know it.

‘I’ve got an idea.’ He grabbed her elbow, stopping her from running away.

‘Hmm…’ She sipped her beer, taking in his shirt that was so well wrapped around his body in a good way, and those jeans. Have mercy! Now that’s how you wear a pair of jeans.

‘You like cowboys.’

‘Why? Do you think I’m getting a little too cowgirl curious or something?’ Cowboys, nah. It was an insult to stockmen. Besides, Ryder knew this.

‘It is a rodeo. And you’ve got Cowboy Craig over there.’

‘So? Charlie’s an ex-rodeo cowboy, too.’ She shrugged, clueless as to where he was going with this. ‘Do you think you’re tough enough to ride a bull?’

He dipped his head, keeping his eyes on her. ‘Yeah, I do.’

‘Pfft.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘Everybody wants to be a bull rider until it’s time to be a bull rider.’

‘Sweetheart,’ he said in that rumbling tone, ‘I’m willing to bet on it.’ Ryder leaned in close with his eyes a warm, toasted hazelnut—which was such a contradiction for a man with ice in his veins. Yet, she’d seen behind that ice curtain, and it was changing.

‘Not with me.’

‘You make bets with my brother all the time.’

‘You have nothing I want.’ He couldn’t buy her.

‘Aww, that hurt.’ He grinned, patting his hand over his heart, but there was a definite mischievous sparkle in his eyes.

Who was this man? It was a whole new side of Ryder she’d never seen before—he was being playful .

‘If I ride a bull for the full eight seconds, we stop hiding from Charlie.’

‘You told your brothers about us, didn’t you?’ She narrowed her eyes at him, playing that game of question for question, and no answers. ‘Did you plaster it all over a billboard? Or did you pay your cousin, Monet, to do some skywriting in her little red plane?’

‘They guessed.’ But Ryder’s lips twitched into a quick grin as he rubbed his jaw as if trying to keep a lid on his full wattage smile. ‘But I’ll take my shot on a bull ride.’

‘Why? When you’re the type of man who only knows about bull trading markets. Get in your lane.’ She frowned and turned away.

But again, Ryder grabbed her arm, stopping her. ‘Because your grandfather was a bull rider, and your mate Cowboy Craig is a bull rider.’ He pointed to Craig in his rodeo leathers. ‘Did Finn ride the bulls, too?’

‘Yeah, Charlie taught him.’ Then the penny dropped. Her eyes flared open as she spun around. ‘No. Don’t do it.’ Because he was doing this to prove himself to Charlie. ‘You’ll get hurt.’

He stepped back, his voice deepening to match his frown. ‘Don’t you think I can do it?’

‘It’s dangerous.’ She put down her beers at the nearest table to grab his arm, hoping to talk sense into the stubborn man. ‘You should see the scars on Charlie’s body after what that bull did to him. And Craig has had his own close call to never ride bulls again. Bucking bulls are—’

‘If I win, we go public.’

‘And if you lose, you’ll end up in a pile of—’

‘I have medical insurance. Have faith I can do this.’

‘What is with you? You don’t need to prove yourself to me.’

His smile ripped wide.

O-oh! She did not just admit that to Ryder, but also to herself that she cared way too much for this tall, hot and broody man, with his neatly trimmed beard highlighting his chiselled jaw, and lips good enough to bite—if this dark warrior-king wasn’t acting like some child.

‘Do we have a bet?’

‘No.’ She crossed her arms.

‘You can’t tell me what to do.’

The a-hole was now using her own words against her! ‘You don’t do spur-of-the-moment things.’

‘Like you?’

She scowled at him. ‘There’s only room for one rebel in this family.’

‘I’m not like Dex.

‘No. You’re thoughtful, dependable, and cautious even.’ Traits she liked about him. ‘You’re that rock wall that stops someone from doing dumb things. And this is dumb. I can’t believe I’m saying this, when it’s usually me doing the dumb things. Not you.’

‘Look, Bree…’ He gently held her upper arms, lowering himself to meet her eyes. ‘You have bets with Dex all the time. And you bet on him for his illegal fights while selling your gin.’

‘This is different, you could seriously get hurt. For a smart businessman who doesn’t play, this isn’t like you.’

He stepped in closer. ‘Because I have to do something bold to prove how much I care.’

‘You don’t have to.’

‘I do.’ He held out his hand. ‘Do we have a bet?’

‘I understand life is full of questionable life choices…’ Hell, she had a long list of experiences in that department. ‘And if you want to get stomped on by a land walrus to change your fairytale ending—’

‘That’s exactly what I’m doing.’ He towered over her.

This man was chasing his happily ever after. With. Her.

She couldn’t promise anyone that, certainly not herself.

Wait. Maybe he was bluffing? Which made sense. Kind of. ‘Fine. Not like you’re giving me any choice, I’ll take that bet.’ Because Ryder was going to do this with or without her consent. She shook his hand.

But Ryder held it, while sharing a wolfish grin. He pulled her close to kiss her cheek, then whispered into her ear, ‘If I win, I’m sleeping with you tonight, in your bed and sleeping in late tomorrow, too.’

She pushed away from him. ‘I’m not serving breakfast in bed, if that’s what you think. It’s not a hotel.’

‘No, Bree. It feels like a home to me.’ He gently smoothed down her hair, then winked at her. ‘Back soon, babe.’

She watched him swagger off in the jeans that blessed that man. Only realising where he was going—to the working side of the rodeo grounds. He really was being serious!

She grabbed the beers, and hurried back to Craig and Dex, talking with Charlie. ‘Dex, your brother has just lost the plot.’

‘What’s Ash done now?’

‘I’m talking about Ryder. He’s going to sign up to ride a bull.’ She’d ridden plenty of bulls in the yards as a teenager, and she had a pet bull called Freckles, she’d hug like a puppy. But this was different, rodeo bulls could be dangerous. ‘You have to stop him.’

‘What the hell did you do to him, Bree?’ Dex grinned at her.

‘Nothing. Now go talk your brother out of this. This is your station’s bank. You don’t want him hurting himself.’

‘You never did that for me.’

‘This. Is. Different. Dex, you’re a professional fighter. Ryder is a stockman, about to ride a professionally trained bull.’ But Dex just kept grinning at her. ‘Craig, you need to explain to Ryder how bad those bucking bulls are.’

‘Nah, Ryder’s a grown man.’ Craig chuckled.

It did nothing to dampen her fear of Ryder getting hurt. ‘Ryder knows nothing about rodeos.’

‘Well, if he’s that keen to ride a bull, I’ll go give him the same tips you taught me, Charlie.’ Craig patted Charlie’s shoulder, sharing that bond of father and son. It’s what Ryder was aiming for. Had to be.

‘Pop?’ She gave him a pleading look to stop this.

‘Maybe I should give Ryder some tips myself.’ Charlie snatched up his beer. ‘Lead the way, lads. Ryder will need our help to survive.’