The Celtic Cowboy: Bear Creek Rodeo

by Jessica Marin

  RYAN

  It seems to me that I might be witnessing my first human tornado with the storm of emotions that are playing on this blonde spitfire’s face. Our reputations must have proceeded us as these two lasses seem to know exactly who we are.

  And by the look of them, they don’t like it.

  Tessa especially looks like she’s about to cry. My brother notices her change in demeanor and leans down to whisper something in her ear. Her eyes grow to big, round saucers, her lips part and she just stares at her friend in disbelief.

  “What’s your brother saying to her?” her friend asks in concern.

  “How the hell am I supposed to know? I’m sitting here trying to get to know you,” I tell her sincerely, because it’s the truth. This girl is feisty, exactly how I like them. If this is her personality normally, then her bedroom manner will be like fireworks.

  “Gerard Butler? Really? You really think you look like Gerard Butler?” She gives me an irritated look, her voice laced with sarcasm.

  “Of course I don’t look like him - I’m way better looking.” She rolls her eyes in disgust, the gesture so adorable that I throw my head back and laugh.

  “Excuse me, gentlemen,” she yells at Tate and the guys. “Just because Gerard Butler played an Irish man in P.S. I Love You doesn’t make him Irish. He’s Scottish, you jackasses.” She gives her cute little sarcastic smile at them and I can tell she’s relishing in the silence that follows as they ponder whether or not she’s right.

  My firecracker is a smart one because she’s absolutely right. Most people assume he’s Irish from that movie and don’t even bother looking up his nationality. Being from Ireland, we know he’s not from there, but I never correct anyone when they ask if I see him around town or am related to him because I’m Irish. Especially if I’m vying for the attention of a beautiful lady.

  “Seriously, Adeline? How do you even know that? Do you stalk him? Are you obsessed with him?” Tate teases her like she’s his little sister.

  That better be all she is to him.

  “It seems to me that we’re stuck with at least two of you boys this evening.” She gives me an evil side eye and I smile, proud of myself for being the smart one of the crew and not waiting on an invite to sit down. “Why don’t the rest of you pull up some chairs and join us already?” Cody and Casey find more chairs and everyone crams around the table. A waiter comes by and we order a bunch of appetizers to share.

  “Hey, Ryan, did you know Gerard Butler wasn’t Irish?” Tate asks me a few minutes later, clearly not being able to let go of the fact that he was wrong.

  “Of course I knew that, his accent is atrocious.” I smile as he laughs at my joke and look over to see my firecracker staring at me with narrowed eyes before turning her attention back to Tessa.

  “Are you finally going to tell me your name or do I have to ask one of your friends?” It’s time to switch gears with this one because if I want her attention, I need to be less arrogant and more engaging. She has no problems calling me out on my bullshit, which is quite refreshing for once.

  “You don’t need to know my name because we’ll never see each other again after tonight.”

  “Of course I need to know your name. What kind of gentleman would I be if I didn’t know the name of the girl I plan on making sweet, passionate love to?” I bite the inside of my cheek to contain my laughter at her horrified expression.

  “Wow, you’re really full of yourself, aren’t you?” she asks incredulously, a slow smile starting to appear on her face as she sees that I’m losing the battle of containing my smile.

  “I rather be fully inside of you.” I try to give her my best panty melting smile, but her gagging noises ruin the moment and I burst out laughing.

  “Eeeww!” she whines while laughing as well. “Do these lines really work for you back in Ireland?” We’re at the point that we’re laughing so hard at how ridiculous I sounded that our eyes are watering and tears threaten to spill out. I’ve never laughed like this with someone other than my family before and as I take a couple of deep breaths to calm down, I realize it came naturally with her.

  “Pretty bad, eh? And no, these lines don’t work for me back home. I was just hoping to get a glimpse of that beautiful smile of yours and hear you laugh.”

  She wipes the tears from her eyes, her giggles calming down to the point where she’s just beaming at me. We stare at each other, my eyes drawn to her lips like magnets. Her smile is genuine, making her face look angelic. She’s glowing right now and I suddenly realize that I want to make her laugh like that again.

  Because that smile of hers is a ray of sunshine… a ray that I want to steal for myself and keep forever.

  “Thanks for that - I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time,” she says with a chuckle and shakes her head to regain her thoughts. “Just for that, I’ll tell you my name. It’s Adeline.” She holds out her hand for me to shake and I take it, engulfing it into mine. Her skin feels soft and delicate, prompting me to gently squeeze. Her hand is tiny, yet feels perfect and I don’t want to let it go. She slowly removes her hand from mine and I gulp down this foreign lump of emotions that just formed in my throat.

  “Adeline,” I repeat, loving how easily it rolls right off my tongue. “That’s a beautiful name. Where did your parents get that name from?”

  “A deceased grandmother,” she responds with a shrug of her shoulders, the movement causing my eyes to gaze at her clavicle and then travel down the valley between her breasts. She’s wearing a V-neck, loose fitting hot pink dress that barely gives me a peek of what’s underneath her bra, leaving my imagination running rampant.

  Focus on her face, Ryan, not on that goddess body of hers.

  Laughter from Casey draws our attention and we listen to a story that he’s telling. Food arrives a short time later, but that doesn’t stop the laughter and storytelling from all the guys about rodeo life. I sit back in my chair with a full belly, contentment washing over me. Rhett and I needed a night like tonight. We needed to socialize and surround ourselves with good people in this country we barely know. I look across at him to see he’s watching Tessa like a hawk while he brings a glass of water to his lips. Shit, he’s stopped drinking alcohol. I didn’t even realize that he had. With his interest captivated on Tessa, I still might be able to get some alone time with Adeline. I glance at her to see that she’s also watching Tessa. Her food is barely eaten and she has switched to water as well.

  “Would you like another glass of champagne?” I ask, ready to signal the waiter to bring us another bottle. She shakes her head, a sad smile forming on her face.

  “No, thanks. I have a feeling Tessa is going to need me tonight and I want to make sure I’m fully alert.” I follow her line of vision to see Tessa barely able to keep her eyes open, swaying in her seat, inebriated.

  “Rhett can take her home. Let’s be young, wild, and carefree tonight. You and me.” She doesn’t look at me as if I’m crazy. Instead, I see yearning in her eyes, making me wonder if she lives some sort of sheltered lifestyle.

  “I’m not going to leave my best friend with a stranger. Besides, being left alone with you would be reckless in itself.” Her gaze flickers to my lips, her eyes becoming a warmer shade of brown as I see a flash of desire spark in them.

  “Adeline,” Rhett’s deep voice shatters our moment and I can’t help the groan of annoyance that escapes me. “How far away is Tessa’s house? She needs to go to sleep.” Tessa is beyond the point of no return. Rhett’s right, it’s time to leave.

  “We have a hotel room for tonight and it’s only a block away. Do you mind helping me get her there?” Adeline asks while standing up. I move her chair back out of her way and get up to help her.

  “It was always my plan to make sure you two got home safely,” Rhett responds while helping Tessa out of her seat. She gets to her feet fine, but as soon as Rhett lets go of her arm, she starts to wobble. Adeline moves to Tessa’s other side to help balance her upri
ght. With Rhett and Adeline on either side of Tessa, the only help I can offer is carrying the girls’ purses and opening doors for them. I pay our tab and we bid farewell to the other guys. We walk that one block to the hotel and as soon as we stand still in the elevator, Tessa wraps her arms around Rhett and lays her head against his chest. His arms instinctively wrap around her and he rests his chin on top of her head, looking as if they’re a couple in love. I give my brother a questioning look, not understanding how weird he’s being. He just met this girl and already he’s acting as if she’s his long lost love. The doors to the elevator open and he scoops Tessa up into his arms, carrying her as if they are newlyweds about to walk over the threshold.

  “Does your brother always come to the rescue of drunk damsels in distress?” Adeline asks playfully, thoroughly enjoying the show my brother is putting on.

  “Honestly, no. My brother hasn’t even looked at a girl in the last two years,” I tell her, hoping she will see that Tessa is in good hands when it comes to my brother since I’m the scoundrel out of the two of us. He probably doesn’t even think of half the dirty thoughts that run through my mind on a daily basis.

  “Wait, I’ve got to get a picture of this for blackmail purposes,” Adeline laughs as she grabs her purse to retrieve her phone. She tells Rhett to smile and snaps a couple of photos of him holding Tessa, who remains passed out the whole entire time. Adeline leads us to their room and I can’t help but watch how her delectable ass sashays down the hallway.

  So much for my plans to have alone time with her.

  Adeline stops in front of their room and opens the door for Rhett. He lays Tessa down on the bed closest to the bathroom and starts caressing her forehead while Adeline takes off Tessa’s shoes. There must be a body snatcher running around because I have zero clue who this person that’s in my brother’s body. He stares at Tessa like a love sick puppy dog. His face looks like he’s in physical pain at the thought of leaving her.

  “Adeline, can you please give me her phone number?” he pleads with her, almost teetering on the edge of begging. Adeline stares so intensely at him that I’m just waiting for that gorgeous, sassy mouth of hers to tell him to bugger off. She sighs heavily and retrieves the pen and paper out of the nightstand drawer.

  “Hurt my friend and I’ll personally poison the next beer you drink,” she threatens, looking him dead in the eyes. There’s my firecracker that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed talking to tonight.

  And I’m going to thoroughly enjoy her in the bedroom as well.

  “Rest assured, I’ll never intentionally hurt her,” he states, taking the piece of paper that contains Tessa’s cell phone number from Adeline. “Thank you for this. I’ll call her in the morning.”

  “Fair warning, she might not pick up. Tessa is pretty adamant about not getting involved with cowboys,” she sighs and moves toward the door, indicating she’s ready for us to leave.

  “Hey, where’s my digits?” I whine as we follow her. I try to think of a way to stall us from leaving, but no good excuse is coming to me. I need to stop acting so selfish and think of Adeline. She’s probably worried about her friend and won’t sleep very well tonight. I should just let her go to bed, but not before I get her number. An overwhelming feeling of needing to see her again consumes me.

  “You didn’t properly ask for it, so therefore, you don’t get it.” She smiles sweetly at me, making Rhett chuckle at her brazenness as he exits into the hallway. There goes that sass of hers again and I just want to shut it up by plunging my tongue into her mouth, tasting its delicious warmth. Imagining how good she tastes starts to make my jeans feel snug in all the right places.

  “You’re a sassy little minx… and I like it!” I let her know as my gaze roams her body in appreciation, causing her to roll her eyes. Needing to see her smile one more time, I wiggle my eyebrows up and down at her and mentally pump my fist in victory when I hear that sweet giggle. With Rhett having Tessa’s number, I know I’ll be seeing Adeline again.

  “You better start getting used to seeing me around as well, Minx.” Before she even has a chance to answer, I swoop in and kiss her on the cheek as I head out into the hallway. She narrows her eyes at me and looks between Rhett and I.

  “We’ll see if both of you are men enough to prove it.”

  And with that, she slams the door in our faces.

  I stare at the door, never having a lady slam one in my face before. I blink a couple of times to regain my thoughts before looking at my brother, who has a devilish smirk on his face.

  “And you say I need lessons on how to pick up women?” He shakes his head at me and starts heading toward the elevator. This wasn’t how I pictured my night ending, but that’s okay. Tomorrow’s a new day and with a small break before our next rodeo, I’ll have plenty of time to woo the exquisite Adeline into my bed.

  Chapter Six

  ADELINE

  Between helping Tessa with her bouts of throw up and dreaming of a green-eyed Lucifer named Ryan Kearney, sleep eluded me. Thankfully I took the whole weekend off from work and can sleep and be lazy.

  As soon as Tessa woke up, we packed up our belongings and stopped for breakfast before heading back to Bear Creek. She looks rough this morning, her thoughts a million miles away as she thinks about how one handsome Irish cowboy rocked her world within a matter of hours. I chew my toast and wonder if Rhett has called her yet. Rhett doesn’t seem like the type of man who plays games by waiting to call a girl he’s interested in.

  Don’t lie to yourself, Adeline… you not only want him to call to prove to Tessa that he’s serious about her, but you also want an excuse to see Ryan again.

  “Have you checked your phone yet?” I ask casually in between bites. She looks up at me, her eyes questioning why I would even ask that. “To see if Rhett called,” I say in my “duh” kind of voice because why else would I ask if she’s checked her phone.

  She shakes her head and continues concentrating on her food. “I didn’t give him my phone number so how could he call?”

  “I gave him your phone number!” I reveal in exasperation, needing her to check her phone because the suspense is killing me. If he has called, I wonder if I can convince Tessa that we need to see the boys again tonight?

  “Why would you do that? You know I won’t date cowboys.” There she goes again on her anti-cowboy stance. Sometimes hearing how much she hates cowboys is exhausting, especially when she knows not all cowboys are bad guys.

  “I gave him your phone number because he wasn’t going to leave our hotel room without it and I’ve never seen you react toward a man like the way you did to him,” I emphasize, needing her to be honest with herself.

  She shrugs her shoulders nonchalantly as if her reaction last night to him was no big deal.

  It was a huge deal! Tessa Mandel never goes quiet and all googily eyed over guys. Not since her ex-boyfriend shattered her heart into a million pieces and made her question every single guy’s motive for looking her way. She met a guy who was completely enamored by her and she’s going to sit there and make excuses, acting as if it was nothing?

  “Cut the bullcrap, Tessa - this is me you’re talking to. You felt something way more than lust for him. He rattled you,” I respond sternly, annoyed with her for not acknowledging her feelings.

  She shakes her head at me, her lips in a tight, straight line in annoyance. “Yeah, he rattled me, okay? In the most uncomfortable, yet delicious way. How can a stranger evict such intense feelings out of me? It’s got to be just from lack of attention.”

  I understand what she’s saying because although Ryan didn’t render me speechless like Rhett did to her, he still made me feel things that no one has ever made me feel. I’ve never felt such intense lust for someone, nor have I ever had the crazy dreams I had of him doing very dirty, delicious things to me.

  “What did he whisper in your ear? Do you remember? I wish I could’ve taken a picture of your face. You mouth was so wide open from shock that bees were get
ting ready to make a new hive inside of it.”

  Her eyes get wide for a brief second before she tries to mask her reaction at remembering. “No, I don’t remember.” She has always been a horrible liar.

  “Tessa, you get hit on all the time at the rodeo, so you can’t say it’s from lack of attention. There’s a reason you reacted the way you did. Maybe he’s the one?” She looks at me in disbelief and even I’m surprised that I just uttered those words, that I even dared to believe it’s a possibility. But as I get older, I can’t help but want to believe that it is. I’ve always been guarded with my heart because most guys who’ve shown interest in me have always had an agenda of what my family can do for them. I’m not as bitter as Tessa is about love, maybe because I’ve not opened up my heart to risk getting broken, but I refuse to believe that all men have an ulterior motive. Not everyone knows who my daddy is - I just need to find the ones who want me for me.

  “I think you’ve read too many love stories, Adeline. Besides, he’s exactly the type of person I don’t want to date.”

  “Who cares if he’s a cowboy, Tessa! Not all cowboys are the same.” I continue with my reasons as to why she needs to give Rhett a chance, even telling her that it doesn’t matter if he lives in Ireland. Either he can move here for her or she can move there, although that would really suck and I prefer she doesn’t leave me. Besides, if he’s going to continue competing in the Pro Rodeo, most of his time will be here in the States.

  She stops arguing back against all of my points and I decide to let the matter go. It’s her life and if she’s too scared to take a chance on this guy, then that’s her prerogative. I just have this feeling that Rhett would be really good for Tessa. He’s just like the kind of guys I like in my romance novels.

  Hot alpha males making it known that you’re theirs.

  Ryan made it very clear that all he’s interested in was getting in my pants. Total opposite of how his brother reacted to Tessa. Rhett was a respectable gentleman, whereas Ryan acted more like a dog in heat.