The Ranger's Rodeo Rebel

by Pamela Britton

  “I’m right here.”

  They both turned. Caro had appeared at the entrance of the barn, and Chance could tell by the way she played with a strand of her hair that she was nervous. Cops didn’t make house calls, not normally, and that this one had could only mean bad news.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Caro’s stomach muscles were stretched so tight someone could strum them like a guitar.

  “Sorry,” she said, stepping aside to allow Officer Connelly inside her temporary apartment. Chance was right behind him. She’d insisted he join them for whatever news they were about to hear, especially since he’d taken on the task of bodyguard.

  “Don’t worry about the dog.” She motioned for Inga to stay. “She won’t hurt you unless I tell her to.”

  Officer Connelly didn’t look convinced as he stared at Inga. Her new dog had the eyes of a predator, and they fixed on the new arrival, gauging whether he was friend or foe.

  To give the officer credit, the dog’s appearance didn’t appear to intimidate the man. “Nice dog.”

  “Gift from my sister,” Chance said. “Former military dog.”

  “Yeah, I heard there was a rescue out here.” The tall man with the dark hair and light eyes looked around. She tried not to let her embarrassment show. She didn’t plan on staying long, and so there was still just the couch, the bed, and the rickety old kitchen table and chairs.

  “Inga, sit,” she told the dog when it appeared she would get up and investigate the new arrival. The dog instantly sat. “Let’s go to the kitchen.”

  The same place she’d sat last night when Chance...

  Don’t think about that.

  “I’m sure you know I’ve come out here to talk about James.” Officer Connelly glanced between the two of them as he took a seat. He was a big man. Taller than Chance, and...thicker. Not fat. Just bigger through the shoulders, arms and legs. Like a prizefighter without the boxing gloves. “Your report to me on Monday made me curious.”

  Caro’s pulse pounded at her neck. She glanced at Chance, who seemed equally on edge.

  “Men like your ex don’t usually go to such lengths to get back at a woman. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen,” he said with a quick look at Chance, almost as if he sensed Chance knew differently. “It’s just not normal for them to follow someone out of town.”

  Chance nodded. “That struck me as strange, too.”

  Caro spread her hands on the table. “Do you believe me now? About him shooting at me?”

  Officer Connelly had seemed a bit taken aback she’d reported the incident at the rodeo grounds. It’d almost been as if he’d been defending James, telling her he doubted someone would actually shoot at a horse and that she had to be mistaken. She’d left the police station disillusioned and depressed, especially when she’d learned the other police department had released James once he’d posted bail. But now here was Officer Connelly, and she wondered if she’d had it all wrong. Maybe he’d been playing devil’s advocate.

  “The fact that Mr. Edwards followed you out of town seemed a little extreme, but I never doubted it was possible. He’s clearly stalking you. I started checking around. Went out and spoke to a few people.”

  He pulled out his cell phone and scrolled until he found what he was looking for. When he did, he read drily, “April, two years ago, charged with assault, never convicted. And a year before that, different town, different assault, but same MO. Charges filed, never convicted. Why?” Officer Connelly stared at the two of them for a long moment. “That’s what got me curious. Files said nothing. Just charges dismissed.”

  “He scares them,” Chance speculated.

  Officer Connelly’s eyes flew up to meet Chance’s. He seemed surprised, then impressed. “That’s exactly what he does. Terrorizes his victims until they agree to drop the charges.”

  Caro leaned back in her chair. “But he hasn’t made any demands.”

  “Not yet,” Chance said.

  Her stomach twisted. This wasn’t over, then. Not by a long shot.

  “How bad did it get for those other women?”

  “Bad enough they refused to testify against him.”

  James would keep going. Scaring her. Terrorizing her. Driving her crazy.

  “What should we do?” Chance asked.

  “Be vigilant,” Officer Connelly said. “Keep your eyes and ears open.”

  “That won’t be a problem.” Chance dropped his words like a grenade—harsh, quick, angry. His face hardened, too. “Son of a bitch will have another think coming if he goes near Caro again.”

  “Good,” Officer Connelly said. “But we have to do things by the book.”

  “Do we?” Chance lifted a brow, and it was clear by his expression he had his own ideas of how to get James to leave her alone.

  Officer Connelly nodded. “He needs to be put away. Legally. With a public record.”

  Chance leaned forward. “My way won’t clog up the judiciary system.”

  What Chance talked about was wrong, but it still made her feel protected, safe and, yes, relieved he would go to such lengths.

  She touched his arm briefly. “Chance, it’s okay. We’ll figure out a way to lock him behind bars.”

  Connelly’s eyes had never left Chance’s. “Caro tells me you’re ex-military.”

  “Army Ranger.”

  “Shame to mess up a future career in law enforcement out of a need for revenge.”

  “Who said I was going into law enforcement?”

  She watched as Officer Connelly sized Chance up. He frowned, apparently disappointed by what he saw. “Private contracting then?”

  Chance nodded. “When the time comes.”

  Another long stare. “There are other ways to serve your country, you know.”

  Caro didn’t understand what was going on between the two of them. Chance suddenly gripped the edge of the table, appearing capable of injecting venom into someone’s veins. She leaned forward to get their attention. “Can we get back on topic?”

  Chance had the grace to look abashed. Officer Connelly seemed amused, but he shot her a look of apology.

  “Did you confront James about what happened at the rodeo grounds?” she asked. “His shooting at me, I mean.”

  “He denied it. No surprise.” Officer Connelly shook his head. “But reading his files, I have no doubt he’s capable of doing that and much more.”

  “Maybe you should stay home this weekend,” Chance said.

  “No.” She looked between the two men. “I won’t let him ruin my life. Trick riding is my job. I get paid to do it. No work, no money and I’m broke enough as it is.”

  She hated admitting that in front of Chance. She already felt like a failure, but she needed him to understand he couldn’t ground her. She had to work, especially if she wanted to switch apartments. She’d need a security deposit, and she had Inga to take care of now. She glanced at the dog.

  “She goes where you go,” Chance said, clearly following her gaze. “Even to the rodeos.”

  “Good idea,” Officer Connelly said.

  Chance shot him a look that obviously indicated he didn’t need his approval, and then he shifted his attention back to her. “This weekend, you’ll stay in the trailer with me again. I’ll tell the girls they should stay with friends. It occurred to me last weekend he might think you’re in there with them and do something aimed at hurting you, but injuring all of them instead.”

  She hadn’t thought of that, and the idea sickened her. She’d never forgive herself if someone got hurt because of her poor choice of a boyfriend.

  “Let me know if anything else happens.” Officer Connelly stood. “I’ve put my cell phone on my card. Call me, even if it’s on a weekend.” He slid the card across the table. She caught his full name
then. Brennan Connelly.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  Officer Connelly turned when he reached the door. “I know it might be tough, but don’t let James bully you. That’s what he’s used to doing—and getting away with it. I would hate to see that happen again.”

  She nodded. “I don’t plan on letting him get close to me.”

  “Good.”

  The moment the door closed behind the officer, Chance said, “I still think you should stay home this weekend.”

  “No.”

  “If it’s money you need, I’m sure Colt could put you to work around the ranch, especially with Natalie out of commission.”

  “No,” she said more firmly, meeting his gaze, though doing so caused her stomach to flip. “I’m going to keep on doing what I do no matter what James throws in my direction.”

  She thought he might argue the point, but instead he smiled—a small one, but it was enough to make her look away, her cheeks filling with color.

  “He’s not going to hurt you.”

  She nodded, still refusing to look at him.

  “I won’t let him.”

  It was torture, him sitting across from her. Caro was aware of his smell and his heat, and, yes, damn it all, the primordial desire to be with him. He was a man who would do anything to protect her from harm. That was the attraction. It was stupid and cave woman–ish, but she couldn’t help herself.

  “Caro?”

  Could he see her breath quickening? Did he spot the pulse at the base of her neck? Had he taken note of how she clenched her hands into fists?

  “I should call the other girls.” She stood, too quickly, and pain shot up her leg. She tilted to the left.

  And he caught her.

  The world turned topsy-turvy. Her whole body ignited. Her gasp wasn’t because her ankle hurt. It was because her body lit up like she had fireworks inside of her, all booms and wooshes and zaps, and now she tingled in places she didn’t want to think about.

  “Sorry,” she said, her face heating. “I forgot about my ankle.”

  He seemed puzzled by her reaction. Or maybe it was concern she read in his eyes. And surprise. “You shouldn’t be walking on it.”

  “I’m fine.” She hopped for the couch, where she’d left her phone, and though she tried to hide it, she would bet he could see her grimacing. “I’ll see you later on for practice.”

  “No,” he said sharply. “You need to stay off that ankle for at least a couple days.”

  They needed to practice, to nail down the fine points of their new routine, yet she couldn’t find the courage to argue the point.

  “Yeah, maybe you’re right.”

  His eyes lit up. With relief?

  “I’ll send Natalie up here to check on you later.”

  “Thanks.”

  And he was gone. She grabbed one of the couch pillows, covered her face with it and screamed.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The Jacksonville rodeo grounds were nestled in the Diablo mountain range, halfway between the Bay Area and the Central Valley. It was pretty country, Chance thought. Different from the Sierra foothills, with more oaks and fewer pine trees. Warmer, too.

  Caro had caught a ride to the rodeo grounds with one of the girls. He shouldn’t have felt grateful that she wanted to ride with her friends. He should have insisted she go with him, but he didn’t. When she’d collapsed against him the night before, he’d nearly gasped from the reaction her touch had ignited. The thought of sitting next to her for the six-hour drive to the Jacksonville rodeo grounds was unbearable.

  “So you’re flying solo this weekend, huh?”

  Chance turned to see who’d spoken, smiling when he caught sight of Bill walking toward him. They’d been reintroduced at the last rodeo, but it was as if Chance had never stopped competing on the high school rodeo circuit where they’d both started out. Bill was still the wisecracking funny man he’d always been.

  “Yup. Gonna be performing on my own. Hope I don’t run you down.”

  “Nah,” the little man said, shaking his hand. Tonight his face would be covered with black makeup and the cowboy hat he currently wore would be replaced with a backward baseball cap. He’d be wearing clothes three times too big, too. Bill was one of the best barrel men in the industry, someone who wasn’t afraid to throw himself in front of a fifteen-hundred-pound animal and who would do whatever it took to keep someone safe. Chance respected that more than Bill probably knew.

  “Cutting things kind of close, aren’t you?” he said with a wide smile. “Rodeo starts in a couple hours.”

  “We decided to leave this morning.” He frowned. “For security reasons.”

  Bill’s face darkened. “You really think that guy will come after Caro again?”

  “That guy needs his ass kicked,” Chance muttered. “He sent her a text this week.” Just thinking about it sent his blood pressure soaring. “Told her he couldn’t wait to see her perform this weekend.”

  Bill stroked his face. “Hasn’t she got a restraining order against him or something?”

  “Restraining orders only do so much.” Chance tipped his cowboy hat back. “So, yes, we think there’s a good chance he’ll be here. It’s a public event, and as long as he stays at least a thousand feet away, technically, he can do whatever he wants.” He looked around, taking in the barren hills, the flat terrain and the aluminum grandstands that seemed to jut up out of nowhere. An elementary school sat in the distance, and beyond that, the only residential area of town. Jacksonville was truly a single-stoplight town with one grocery store, a tiny strip mall and not much else. “At least we should be able to see him coming.”

  “And everyone knows what he looks like,” Bill said with a nod.

  Chance had asked Caro for a picture of James. They’d distributed it to every person they could think of via social media, asking everyone to share. They hoped it would keep people on the alert.

  “Extra eyes on the ground should help,” he said, turning back to the trailer. “My plan is to set up a corral by our rig. The other girls are going to stay with friends. Caro’s staying with me. That’s why I pulled in next to you. I was hoping I could use one side of your trailer as a wall. I can make a bigger corral that way.”

  “Sure,” Bill said.

  They set to work, but it didn’t take them long to erect the portable panels Chance had brought. Having to use only three sides helped. He’d be able to pull the work trailer in and out when he performed. Caro and the other girls arrived shortly thereafter, and Chance did his best to ignore her while keeping an eye out for James. They filled hay bags and water buckets. Finally, they unloaded the horses.

  “Guess we should probably get ready,” Caro said, gazing up at him with trepidation in her eyes. It killed him every time. He hated seeing her worried. Hated that some lowlife putz of a man could wreak such havoc with her nerves. She had enough on her plate as it was.

  “Don’t think about it,” he said. “He sent you that text to mess with your mind, that’s all. I doubt he’ll be here this weekend.”

  She tried to put on a brave face, and damn it, he admired her for it. “I’m going to head over to Lori’s trailer and get ready.”

  He needed to get ready, too. The trailer was part of the act, which meant he’d need to pull it closer to the arena.

  His first solo performance.

  Okay, yes, that had him a little on edge, too. He’d been practicing for weeks, all of it leading up to this moment, and as his brother had said, there was no dress rehearsal in this business. You had to dive in and do it, and while Chance hadn’t fallen off the horse once this week, there was always the possibility something could go wrong during a live performance.

  It didn’t take him long to dress, and he wouldn’t need to move the trailer u
ntil it was time for his act, but that didn’t stop his hands from shaking as if he was back on the front lines. He tried to keep himself busy, checking in with the rodeo manager, making sure the pen they’d erected wouldn’t fall down, double-and even triple-checking buckets and feed bags. When Chance heard the first roar of the crowd, he nearly jumped, which irritated him to the point he almost bit the head off a little girl who stuck her hand between the metal rails to pet Rio. Her look of terror and distress made him realize he needed to calm down. He wasn’t facing a firing squad. Compared to running for his life, this was small potatoes.

  From that point forward, he kept himself firmly in hand. They were surrounded by trailers, with cowboys and cowgirls riding by. Chance scanned each person. Ever vigilant. Always on the alert.

  “You ready?”

  He turned to see Caro standing behind him, looking as sexy as ever in her stop sign–red trick-riding outfit. She’d pulled her long blond hair into a ponytail and applied extra makeup Not that she needed it. Her blue eyes always looked bright, but with eyeliner and mascara, they glowed like the stars in the sky. A ridiculously poetic thing to think, but it was true.

  “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

  She smiled. “See you over there.”

  He watched her grab Rio from the pen. She’d already saddled him earlier, so it was a simple thing to slip on his bridle. She mounted up shortly after, beautiful, confident and completely at ease. It made him feel like an idiot for being nervous.

  You’ve faced men with rifles pointed at your head. This is just a little rodeo. And a small-town one at that.

  It didn’t feel small-town.

  Concentrate on the routine.

  He did a mental run-through: Teddy in the trailer. Pull into the arena. Let Teddy out. First trick is circle Teddy. Right circle. Left circle. Stop. Rear. Dance on hind legs. Dance on all four legs. Stop. Teddy bares his teeth and smiles at the crowd. Bow. Climb aboard. Stand again. Circle without reins and wave. The girls come in then. They perform. Bill jumps at Caro. He rescues Caro. Caro ropes Bill. Done.