Chapter Three
When Priscilla entered the house, she walked into the living room, picked up the remote control from where it lay on a side table then took a seat on the sofa and turned on the TV to watch the news. However, her thoughts weren’t with the images on the TV but on the man, she’d left outside.
Was she really going to try to keep up with Roark while he went about his work on his ranch? How in the world would she do that? He was in great shape. Really great shape. Oh, she exercised every day but she also knew ranch work had to be harder than anything she’d ever put herself through before, and she wasn’t sure she was up to it.
If she were as smart as she thought she was, she would have just gone home with her tail between her legs and let Earl say I told you so. She knew she wasn’t cut out for any of this anyway. Actually, what she wanted was to write the great American novel like her mother but she knew that was hard too. There were tons of authors out there far better than her and she knew how hard it was even to get published. She’d taken the job at Western Cowboy two years ago, and she’d always suspected Earl had only hired her because her mother had asked him to.
Priscilla wasn’t sure what their relationship was, but right after she’d told her mother she wanted to work for the magazine, Earl had called her and told her she had a job. However, Priscilla knew he was never happy about hiring her and so he gave her the worst jobs he could… everything from being his gofer to helping out in the mailroom. She’d had to beg him to let her try to write articles and the two sh e’d done, had bombed miserably. This was going to be her last chance. If she failed this time, she knew he’d fire her and to hell with what her mother wanted. She heard the front door open and then Roark appeared. He was way too sexy for her peace of mind.
“Tomorrow, I’m working in the barn. I have some horses to shoe and the stalls need mucking out. If you still want to do this… you’re welcome to tag along.”
“All right. That sounds good. I think I’ll head to bed then. The long day is catching up with me.” She stood and moved to head down the hallway.
“Do you need me to get you up in the morning?”
“Get me up?”
“Yes, I start around five.”
“Yes, please. I have to charge my phone so you can wake me tomorrow.”
“All right then. Goodnight.” Roark stared at her until she turned and walked to her bedroom.
Morning came fast and she about jumped out of the bed in fright when she heard a pounding on her door. She sat up straight in bed and pushed her hair out of her face. Her heart pounding, she pressed a hand to her chest.
“Priscilla,” Roark shouted from the other side of the door.
“I’m up,” she yelled back throwing off the covers and dragging her legs over the side of the bed while yawning.
“Good. Get your ass moving. I’ll be in the barn. Coffee is on and breakfast is on the table.”
“The man has to be insane,” she muttered.
“What?”
“Nothing! I’ll be out in a minute.” He obviously had super hearing too.
“Make sure you are or I’ll come back in and tip the bed.”
Priscilla raised her middle finger at the door. Damn him. Who got up when it was still dark out? Grumbling, she stood on not too steady legs since she didn’t feel totally awake, and headed for the bathroom. As she walked past the window, she glanced out then stopped in her tracks when she saw it actually was still dark out.
“He is insane.” She flipped on the bathroom light, squinting against the intrusion and after entering the space, slammed the door behind her.
****
Roark strode down the aisle of the barn and opened the door to the tack room. He put chaps on then gathered up his tools and headed for the first horse he needed to work on. A few minutes later, he glanced up when a shadow fell across him and he did his best not to grin when he saw the rather disoriented expression on Priscilla’s face.
“Not a morning person, huh?”
“How can I be a morning person, when it’s still night?”
Roark chuckled. “Get used to it. You wanted to write your story about what I do when I’m not on the circuit. That means your day starts and ends when my day does. This was your idea.”
She frowned with a groan then yawned.
“Can I take photos of you?”
“Sure. Whatever you want.”
“That horse is gorgeous.”
“This is Wild Breeze. He’s a three-year-old Paint. I got him from Lucy, Reid’s fiancée.” Roark stood beside the horse, ran his hand down the leg, making the horse lift it, and then he started working on removing the shoe with the clinch cutter.
“What is that?”
“Clinch cutter—it helps removes the nails.”
When she suddenly snapped the camera, the horse pulled back from Roark and dropped his foot down. “It’s all right, boy.” He ran his hands over the horse to calm him then looked to Priscilla. “Snap some more pictures so he’ll get used to the sound.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think.”
“It’s all right. He’ll get used to it the more you do it around him.” Roark heard her snapping pictures and finally Breeze calmed down. Nodding his head, he picked up the horse’s foot again, put it between his legs, and continued to work on removing the old shoe. Working with nail pullers to loosen the shoe, he finished removing the nails. After completely removing the old shoe with a shoe puller, he picked up a hoof pick and showed it to Priscilla. “Hoof pick. It cleans out any debris that got trapped under the shoe.”
“Aren’t you afraid he’ll step on your foot?”
“Wouldn’t be the first time. I had one break my toe once. Hurt like a bitch.”
“I can imagine it would but it doesn’t seem to have made you skittish about working with them.”
“Naw, I’ve been around horses all my life. It happens.”
“How many times have you been stepped on?” she asked him.
Roark chuckled. “Too many to count. I’ve been bit and kicked too. Perks of being around horses.”
“I’m always afraid they’ll step on me.”
Roark nodded and continued working on the hoof, trimming, and then fitting it with a new shoe before moving on to another hoof. All the while, he listened as Priscilla took photos. Once he had shoed all four hooves, he straightened up with a stretch of his back to see her standing with her back to him and holding her long hair up on her head. Damn! His eyes skimmed down over her back and down to her sweet-looking ass in her tight jeans. She wore a green tank top. As he watched, she reached into her pocket and plucked something out. He realized it was a hair tie to pull her hair up. She pulled it into a ponytail and wrapped the tie around it. Every time the tie stretched around her hair, his dick stretched with it.
Holy Hell! He did not need this shit.
“I need to shoe a few more horses,” he said as he moved into the doorway beside her. She turned to look up at him and it was like a kick in the gut. Their eyes met and held. Her glasses made her eyes appear even bigger. He looked down to her lips and when she licked them, he groaned and started to lower his head.
“Boss?”
“Shit,” Roark muttered. “In here, Roy. Stall six.”
Roy appeared beside them and his eyes moved back and forth between them. Roark stared at him and raised an eyebrow in question. Roy cleared his throat.
“I wanted to let you know that we need to pick up some feed.”
“We’re low? Okay, call Ash and get some delivered.”
“I did but it will be a few days before he can get a shipment here. He said he’s busy as hell. I told him I could just get it from the feed store, but he wouldn’t hear of it. I just want to make sure we’re good on it since it will be next week before he can get any here. You have a habit of feeding the horses extra oats.”
Roark grinned. “Only when I think they deserve it.”
“Hell, you must think they deserve it every damn day.”
Roark slapped him on the back. “No comment. I’ll go pick some up along with a few salt blocks.”
Roy nodded and after giving Priscilla a courtesy nod, he walked off. Roark turned to look at her.
“I need to shoe two more horses. Are you still with me?”
“Yes. If you don’t mind.”
“Of course not. It’s what you’re here for, right?”
When she nodded, he re-entered the stall, picked up his tools then moved past her to head on to the stall with the next horse. He had to push himself past her without stopping. Get a grip!
He could hear her snapping pictures as they walked down the aisle of the barn.
“Who is Ash?” she asked him as they moved along.
“Ash Beckett. He owns Beckett Feed, the best you can buy. He lives in Hartland, next town over on the other side of Clifton. I always order a big shipment from him. I didn’t realize we were so low that we needed more, but then I’ve been gone. A few extra bags will hold us over until Ash gets a shipment here.”
Priscilla smiled at him then followed him into the next stall. As he worked on the next horse, he heard the shutter of the camera as she snapped pictures. The sound got more distant and he realized she must have been making her way outside since the sun was lighting up the morning sky.
All of a sudden, he heard her scream followed almost immediately by a splash. He tossed down his tools and ran outside to see her struggling to get up out of the water trough. He tried his best not to laugh as she sputtered and tried to get her footing. Her camera lay on the ground beside the trough. Roark strode to the trough and took her hand to help her out of the water. She glared at him as she stepped out of the trough pretty much dripping wet, top to bottom.
“Why are you pissed at me? I didn’t make you fall in.”
“Because I know you’re trying not to laugh, Roark Callahan.” Her hands went to her hips.
“Okay, I admit I was trying not to laugh but I’ve never seen anyone fall into a trough before,” he said while stifling yet another laugh. He was also trying his best to keep his eyes off her nipples poking out from under her shirt. Obviously, she wasn’t wearing a bra. Damn it!
“It’s not funny,” she muttered as she glared at him and stomped her foot making water splash up from her wet shoe.
Roark cleared his throat. “Uh, okay. How did you fall in there anyway?”
“I was backing up to get a picture of that beautiful horse over there, and I backed into the trough, lost my balance, and fell in. Now, I’m freezing.” Her teeth began to chatter.
“You need to go in and change. It may be late May but it’s still mighty cool in the mornings. I’ll be working in the barn when you come back out.”
“Oh no… my glasses fell off,” she said as she pe ered into the trough.
He reached in and moved his hand around until he found them, lifted them from the water then handed them to her. Shaking his head, he watched her pick up her camera then strode across the yard with her sneakers squishing as she walked. He watched her enter the house and slam the door. Shaking his head again and openly laughing, he returned to the stall where he’d been working.
A few hours later, Roark drove one of the ranch trucks to town. Priscilla sat in the passenger seat looking out the window.
“Why does this truck sit so high?” she suddenly asked.
“It’s one of the trucks we use on the ranch. It sits high so it can get over things off road.”
“I’ll need a damn parachute to get out of it.”
“It has running boards so you can use them.”
“They’re not much lower. Why not use your truck?”
“Because my truck is nice and this one has been beat to hell and back. That’s why we use it for hauling things. The bed is already dented. It’s a damn good ranch truck.”
“Yeah, okay.”
Roark shook his head as they drove on. He pulled into the parking lot of the Spring City feed store where he parked then opened his door and stepped out. He walked to the front of the truck and waited for Priscilla to join him. When she didn’t open the door, he strolled to the passenger side of the truck and looked up at her, motioning her to open the window.
“Are you getting out? You don’t have to but I’ll probably be a while. It looks busy. ”
She closed the window and opened the door. When she opened the door and looked precariously at the distance to the ground, he smiled.
“Come on, I’ll help you.” He put his hands up for her to take but instead, she placed her hands on his shoulders and immediately, he knew this was not a good idea. His hands settled at her waist. He helped her down, her body sliding along his until her feet hit the ground. She looked up at him and his breathing stopped. He cleared his throat and stepped back from her. Without a word, he spun on his heel and headed for the door to the store. He didn’t care if she followed or not. He had to get the fuck away from her. Now.
****
Once inside the store, Priscilla looked around and smiled. It smelled like leather. She saw all types of saddles along one wall with tack hanging on the wall behind them. She heard Roark laughing and turned to see him talking with the man behind the counter while he placed his order. The more she thought about this idea of spending all day with him she knew it wasn’t going to end well. When he’d helped her out of the truck, she swore something like an electric shot raced through her when their bodies touched. Roark Callahan was such a sexy man and she knew, for her own well-being, she had to stay far, far away from him or lose her sanity.
When they returned to the ranch, she continued into the house to get a cold drink while Roark remained outside. He told her he had to stack hay bales and she was welcome to take pictures if she wanted. Now, she walked to the door, peered out the window, and saw Roark and several of his men next to a flatbed truck loaded with hay bales. The other men had been unloading it a while before Roark even started helping. Organized and efficient, the men stood in a line and each would hand a bale off to the next until it reached Roark, who stacked it inside the barn. Most of them had their shirts off but Priscilla couldn’t keep her eyes off Roark’s wet chest.
She opened the door and stepped out onto the porch. Raising her camera, she took a picture of Roark standing in the doorway with his hand on the side and his head hung down while he took a break. His black hat covered his face. She would save this picture for her, and her alone. If she shared this one, women would be beating down his door, although they probably were anyway. Taking a deep breath, she skipped down the steps to get more shots. This was going to be a great story.
A few days later, Priscilla was sitting on the front porch watching the sun setting over the mountains when she looked over to see Roark leaning against the doorjamb with his arms folded. She smiled as he pushed off the door and took a seat in one of the rockers. It was like déjà vu.
“Roy just told me that some of the cattle need moving up to the north pasture so I’ll be going there tomorrow. You coming?”
“Overnight?” she asked, afraid to hear the answer. The thought of being off in nature alone with him was terrifying.
“Yep…possibly two nights. If you’re up to it, we’ll leave in the morning around five. Do you have any type of boots you can wear?”
“Yeah… I have hiking boots.”
Roark nodded. “Those will work. You’ll need to get some sleep so go to bed early. ”
“All right. I’m tired so I’m sure I’ll sleep like a rock.” She was lying, of course…to herself. She knew she was going to be up all night thinking about going with him. Just the two of them, alone, camping under the stars. “I don’t have a sleeping bag.”
“I have one for you. I’ll take a tent too.”
“You usually don’t?”
“No. I like to sleep under the stars. You can have the tent.”
“What about a… um…” She knew she was blushing and so looked away. “A potty?”
Roark burst out laughing. “A potty? Honey, you’ll use the woods.”
“That’s easy for you to say. I can’t just stand there and go like you can.”
“The perks of being a man, darlin’. You’ll have to go behind a bush.”
“Wonderful,” she muttered. “I hate camping.”
“Why? It’s great being in the great outdoors.”
“I don’t have anywhere to plug in my curling iron.”
“I’m going to make us some sandwiches. It’s too hot to cook, but then it’ll be time for bed.” When he walked away, he was shaking his head and she heard him muttering something that sounded like potty and curling iron then he laughed.
Damn man. It was so unfair that he could just pee wherever he wanted. She didn’t have that option. She hated the idea of going into the woods to do her business. A snake could bite her ass. She suddenly grinned. Of course, she could have Roark suck out the poison. Then she sobered at the thought of them being alone. She didn’t think she could handle having him so close to her. He was pure temptation. A temptation, she was so tempted to give into, the thought sent a shiver over her.
Then again, what could it hurt? Nibbling on her bottom lip, she wondered if she could handle a man like Roark Callahan. She was sure he had way more experience than her but she couldn’t deny she wanted him and if the opportunity arose, she might just go for it.
Two hours later, dinner was finished and the kitchen clean again. They headed into the living room together when Priscilla heard a dog barking. She watched as Roark walked to the back door and opened it. A white dog with one black ear ran in and wagged his tail so hard, she was surprised he didn’t take flight. Roark squatted down and rubbed the dog’s ears.
“Hey, where have you been? Out running the woods again, huh?” He laughed when the dog knocked him down and tried to get as close as he could.
“Who is this?” Priscilla asked him. When the dog saw her, he ran to her barking.
“This is Snowy. He’s a Border Collie and the entire ranch is his home. Although, I’m surprised he wasn’t here when I got home. He has an uncanny way of knowing when I’m home or gone. Don’t you, boy?” Snowy ran back to him.
“It looks like he missed you.” She laughed. “Don’t you worry when he disappears? You’ve been back for two days.”
“Nah, he never leaves the ranch. He likes to run and with five hundred acres, he has plenty of room. He’s my best bud, aren’t ya, boy?” Snowy sat down then rolled to his back to get his belly scratched.
“He’s so pretty. ”
“Smart too. Border Collies are very intelligent dogs. Devin and Jaxon have his brother and sister. Someone abandoned the mother on their ranch and right after she gave birth, she died. Devin, Jaxon, and the staff at the ranch, took care of the puppies. I would have loved to find out who dumped her. Devin had asked around but to no surprise, no one knew anything.”
“How sad. Do you ever get them all together?”
“Oh yeah, it’s always fun. They can all do tricks. Snowy knows hand signals and can do anything, except act embarrassed like Jaxon’s dog, Jinks, can. Devin’s dog, Dolly, can fetch a beer from the fridge. I’ve never been able to teach Snowy either of those tricks but their dogs can’t do hand signals either, so I have that on them.” He chuckled as he stood and looked at her. “I’m going to bed. We have to get an early start, so I’ll see you in the morning. Should I wake you up or can you set an alarm?”
“Mind waking me? My phone still needs charging since I forgot to charge it. I’m going to bed too. I’m really tired.” She followed him down the hallway. He snapped his fingers and Snowy trotted along behind him. When she reached her door, she opened it. “Goodnight.”
“I’ll wake you. Night,” Roark said as he entered his room with Snowy on his heels, closing the door behind them.
Priscilla entered her room and closed the door. She pulled out a suitcase and started packing some clothes for the trip then she stopped and realized he’d probably laugh his ass off at her for taking a suitcase on a camping trip. What was she supposed to use then ?
Sighing, she opened her door, stepped across the hall, and knocked on his door. He opened it almost immediately. Her mouth dropped open and she quickly closed it. He stood there in nothing but jeans that were unzipped and hanging low on his hips. She could almost see where that happy trail led.
“Priscilla?” he snapped at her when she didn’t say anything.
“Oh, uh. I need something to pack clothes in for the trip.” She was sure her face was beet red. Damn this red hair.
“Hold on,” he said and disappeared into the room.
She tried to look inside the room but all she could see was the king-size headboard against one wall. She peered in leaning more than she thought so that when he opened the door, she almost fell into him. He raised an eyebrow at her.
“Did you want to come in and look around?” He smirked.
“Why on earth would I do that?”
He grunted. “Here. Use this duffle bag.”
She took the bag from him and turned away from him. The door closed behind her. Did she want to go in and look around? Pffft. Of course she did! Although, she’d never admit that to him or he’d think she was attracted to him—which she was. It was hard to comprehend how attracted she was to him but afraid to let him know. The man was way out of her league. She had a feeling she’d just disappoint him in the sex department. She liked sex but the few men she’d been with hadn’t exactly rocked her world. Roark Callahan could probably rock her universe .
Returning to her room, she sat on the edge of the bed and toed her shoes off then stood and undressed. After pulling on her lounge pants and a spaghetti strap tank T-shirt, she crawled between the sheets and closed her eyes.
****
Roark clasped his hands behind his head and stared up at the ceiling. He had to be out of his damn mind to take her with him tomorrow. He was sure he’d get more done without her distracting him. Fuck! There was no doubt he wanted her so the best thing to do was stay the hell away from her. He also knew he had to let her follow him around to get her story or she’d lose her job. Earl was a big enough ass to do it too. Roark couldn’t let that happen. If she lost her job because he didn’t want her with him, he’d be the ass.
No matter how much he wanted her, he couldn’t let that happen either. He’d just have to control himself around her. Easier said than done. His damn dick wanted to grow anytime he was around her. When he’d found her sitting on the porch earlier just enjoying the sunset, he’d had to sit down or embarrass himself. Her watching the sunset shouldn’t have turned him on, but it had. The expression on her face had been one of awe at the sight and he’d never seen a woman look more beautiful.
He was no saint when it came to women. He’d always enjoyed as many as he could. Buckle bunnies had always surrounded him at every rodeo. Whether he’d won or lost. They wanted to either celebrate the win with him or console him in a loss. However, he never wanted them when he lost. He wanted to move on from the disappointment and the best way to do that was to go home and work the ranch. He raised bulls bred for the rodeo and that was how he intended to spend his retirement. They were registered rodeo bulls, and in high demand. Not that he needed the money. His family was beyond rich but he liked making his own money.
Roark rolled to his side and looked toward the window. The moon lit up the yard at the back of the house. He yawned and closed his eyes needing to sleep. Five o’clock was going to come way too soon. Snowy jumped up on the bed and lay by his feet. They both needed to sleep.
The next morning, he rolled out of bed in the dark, dressed, then opened his door and walked across the hall to knock on Priscilla’s door. When there was no answer, he pounded on the door.
“Priscilla? Time to get up,” he called out.
The door creaked opened. She looked at him with a scowl on her beautiful face, her still sleep-filled eyes squinting against the light from his room making him grin.
“Hey, you’re the one who wanted to see what I do on the ranch.”
“This is ridiculous. Why does it have to start while it’s still dark?”
“Because this is a working ranch, and daylight’s wasting. If you don’t want to go, maybe you should call Earl and tell him why.”
“I’d rather eat dirt.”
Roark laughed. “That unpleasant, huh?”
“You’ve met Earl so you can’t be surprised.”
“True. We gotta get moving. I’ll meet you in the kitchen.” Roark walked away, entered the kitchen, and made himself a cup of coffee. He was leaning against the counter sipping his coffee when she entered the kitchen, dragging and still scowling. “Get yourself some coffee. Where’s your duffle bag?”
“There.” She jerked her chin toward the doorway before elbowing him aside to get at the coffee.
“I’ll carry it out. My stuff is already outside. I need to saddle the horses anyway.” After placing his cup in the sink, he put his hat on his head, picked up her duffle bag, and walked out the door. Outside, he dropped her bag by the steps, breathed in the cool fresh early morning air, and strode to the barn.
Once inside, he turned the lights on and walked down the center aisle to his horse’s stall. The Appaloosa stuck his head over the gate and nibbled on Roark’s shirtsleeve.
“Hey, Apache… ready to take some cattle up to the north pasture?” Roark rubbed the horse’s soft nose. He gave the animal some food before moving away to get the tack from the storage room. He’d saddle Apache first then saddle Dazzle, a gentle Paint, for Priscilla.
After saddling the horses, he led them and a packhorse from the barn to see Priscilla sitting on the top step of the porch looking anything but pleased about going. He dipped his head down so she wouldn’t see his grin. When he raised his head, she was glaring at him. Well, so much for her not seeing.
“Come here and get on Dazzle, and I’ll adjust the stirrups for you.”
“Which one is Dazzle?” she asked him as she walked down the steps then stumbled a little before she got to him.
“Trip on an ant?” he asked .
“Funny. I’m not exactly what you’d call graceful. Which one is Dazzle?” she asked him again.
“The Paint.”
Roark saw her frown as she stared at the horses.
“I thought you said you knew how to ride?”
“I do but that doesn’t mean I know what kind of horse I’m riding.”
“Breed. What breed you’re riding.” He shook his head when her expression remained one of confusion. “Never mind. This one is the Paint. The other is an Appaloosa. I would have thought since I told you that Wild Breeze was a Paint, you’d see the resemblance.”
Priscilla shrugged. “Sure. Whatever. Why are there three? Is someone else going?”
“Bouncer is the pack horse.” At her frown, he grinned. “Surely you’ve heard of a pack horse. He’ll carry our bags and supplies.”
“Oh. Okay.” She walked toward him, stopped by Dazzle’s head, and rubbed the animal’s velvet nose and Roark swore he felt her touch on his dick. She handed him her camera and smiled at him.
Son of a bitch!
“Get on the horse,” he snapped suddenly, and then felt like an ass when she flinched and looked at him startled. “Sorry. I didn’t get much sleep. Do you need a leg up?”
“I don’t think so.”
He watched Priscilla grab the saddle horn, put her foot in the stirrup, and try to pull herself up but all she did was bounce on the ball of her foot while trying to get her leg up. Roark groaned low and put his hand on her ass before giving her a shove. Once in the saddle, her lips tightened and she glared down at him, blotches of pink riding high on her cheeks.
“We’d never get out of here if I had to wait for you to get your ass in the saddle.” He handed her the reins, adjusted the stirrups, then walked to his horse and vaulted into his saddle. Apache shifted under him in excitement so he turned him in a circle glancing over his shoulder at Priscilla. “Ready?”
“Yes.”
He gave her a nod and nudged Apache forward and grabbing the reins to lead Bouncer behind him. He looked back at Priscilla to see her following him on Dazzle. At least she knew how to go. At the gate, Roark leaned down and opened it then signaled for her to go through and closed it after she passed by then rode up beside her.
“See that pasture over there?” He pointed off to the right. At her nod, he continued. “Whatever you do, don’t go in there. My bulls are kept in that area.”
“Bulls are kept together? I didn’t think you could do that.”
“It’s not a problem. They don’t pay much attention to each other since I don’t let the cows near them. If I have a cow I need bred, I’ll take the bull out and take him to her.”
“Do you raise them for beef? Oh, my God! Did we eat one of your bulls the other night?”
Roark laughed. “No. I raise them only for bull riding.”
“Oh. Thank God.”
“You make no sense. You don’t like to see anything killed, but you eat steak. But you get upset because you think you may have eaten one of my bulls.”
She shrugged. “What can I say? I like steak from the grocery store. I don’t think of them as cows that way.”
Roark reined Apache to a stop. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Nope.”
“I will never understand women.” He nudged Apache to move forward again.
Priscilla laughed. “I will never understand why a man gets on the back of a creature that weighs over a thousand pounds either.”
“Got me there,” he said with a chuckle, not wanting to get into the dangerous appeal of it with her.
“Earl mentioned that you would have competed in more venues if you’d won that round. What else do you compete in?”
“He’s behind the times. I don’t do that anymore. I’ve just been in bull riding for over seven years now. I can’t risk getting injured and not being able to ride the bulls. But I did used to compete in the reining competition.”
“I love watching that. How do you teach the horse to do all that?”
“Just get a good trainer… someone who does it for a living. Jake Stone in Clifton is one of the best.”
“I’ve never seen it live. I’d love to though.”
Roark stopped his horse again. “How long are you here?”
“Earl wants me to stay the three weeks I would have followed you around on the circuit.”
“Okay then, I’ll take you to the rodeo in town next month. There’s a competition there for fun. Jake will compete in reining. His brother, Gabe, will compete in calf roping, and his youngest brother, Wyatt, will compete in cutting. There is no one better than Wyatt in cutting. His horse is amazing.”
“I’d love it. Thanks.” Priscilla grinned at him.
He frowned realizing he’d made plans for them that far ahead when he really should be figuring out a way to get her to finish up early and go back to wherever she came from. Nudging Apache to move along, he rode away from her.