“Bad boy,” she said, turning away and dipping into the restroom.
“Yes, I am,” I said, grinning. I stood up and gathered my clothes. Slipping on my jeans, I buckled my belt.
Leah came back into the bedroom, grabbing her shirt off the floor without taking her eyes off me. Then she walked up, placed her hand on my stomach, and ran it up and down my chest.
“My view isn’t too bad either,” she said.
I dipped my head, and we kissed again, and as she walked away, I playfully slapped her ass. She giggled and picked up her bra, putting it on before sliding on her shirt and beginning to button it. Soon, we were both dressed, and I opened the door for her to exit the trailer. We exited and looked around quickly to see if there were witnesses, and when we saw none, we began to briskly walk back to the rodeo arena, laughing softly to ourselves as we did.
We slid into the arena’s backstage without anyone noticing, and by the time someone acknowledged us, we were in an area we would be expected to be. Leah and I kept sharing grins as we reveled in our little secret and the fact that no one knew. Frankly, it was pretty hot that no one was the wiser to our dalliance. The timing could not have been better as she was only two riders from her turn, meaning her horse was already saddled and ready for her in the pen. She mounted up and I gave her a little wave as she started to warm him up, and I went to the curtain.
The excitement of the crowd as they announced her name was infectious. She was a crowd-pleaser for sure, and she hit the dirt with gusto. Kicking ass all the way, she rode Renegade like they were one cohesive body. It was magnificent and sexy and inspiring. As she crossed back through the gate, into the pen to wait for the next run, I turned to go join her when I noticed I had been joined by another cowboy.
I vaguely recognized him as one of the guys who had been on the bronco runs, but nothing specific jumped out. He was tall and wide, not unlike most guys that tried and were mediocre at bronc riding. The really good ones tended to be about my height, an inch or two either way, and roughly my weight give or take ten or so pounds. We also tended to have low centers of gravity, which kept us from being too lanky, which made our bodies whip around too much. This guy looked like he was all legs and chest, almost like a cartoon of what a cowboy was supposed to be.
I nodded at him as I walked past him but his head never moved. Instead, his eyes trailed me as I made my way past him and out into the pen to congratulate Leah on another really good run. I was halfway down the ramp leading to the back when I noticed he was following me, though I didn’t turn around. I didn’t quicken my pace either. It was either a coincidence, or he was looking for a fight, and since I was feet away from the entrance to the pen, I figured I would know really soon.
Exiting the pen, I made my way to Leah in a deliberate pace, and the feeling of being followed left. When I made it to Leah, I made it a point to turn my body so I could see behind me. He was standing at the exit of the ramp. When he saw me make eye contact with him, he stared for a moment, then went back up the ramp to the curtains, presumably to keep watching the show.
“Great run out there,” I said to Leah, who was trotting Renegade around, keeping him warm without wearing him out.
“Thanks,” she said. “Not as good as earlier, but it was solid. Where were you? I looked for you when we were on the stretch.”
“I thought so,” I said, remembering how she waved and smiled at the crowd. “I was at the curtain at the end of the ramp.”
“Oh,” she said.
“Why? Should I not?”
“It’s nothing,” she said. “There’s just a few of the other boys that watch from there, and they can be a bit much sometimes.”
“What do you mean a bit much?” I asked.
“Nothing,” she said. “Just a bit rowdy, is all.”
“I can handle rowdy,” I said, grinning.
“I bet you can,” she retorted and grinned back. “But I’ve got to keep Renegade trotting. You going to go out to the crowd?”
“Maybe,” I said. “I think I like the curtain area. I get to see the whole arena watch you.”
She smiled, but I could see something behind that smile. Something uncomfortable but not scared per se.
Leah rode away and I straightened up. Whoever it was that was following me down the ramp was probably one of the boys Leah said was rowdy. Which meant that he might have been cruising for a fight with me, but I just happened to get out in the open before he could jump me. But why? Why would he have reason to attack me other than winning earlier? Was his ego that hurt that a newcomer came in and wiped the floor with him?
I sighed. It wouldn’t be the first time, now that I thought about it.
I shook my head and made my way back to the ramp. My eyes slid over to where Leah was trotting Renegade and she looked over at me, a wary smile on her face. I waved and smiled wide. No fear. Whatever old big bones had in store for me up there by the curtain wasn’t anything I hadn’t dealt with before. I was pretty sure I could take him without too much fuss. Especially sober.
He’d be like a Hayes boy. All size and talk and then fall like a damn tree in the forest the first time you hit their glass jaw. Only this guy wouldn’t have the law on his side like the Montgomery family rivals back home. Presumably, ol’ big bones wasn’t a sheriff.
I made my way up the ramp and to the curtain area. The massive cowboy was still standing there, a bit shifted from the spot he had been in before. I walked right past him and stood in the spot I had been in, which was a few feet in front of him. I could hear a grimace-type sound behind me and couldn’t help the slight uptick of the corner of my mouth. I was damn near excited to see what the rest of the day was going to bring.
The girls cycled through pretty quickly, and before long, it was Leah’s turn again. As she started, the cowboy took a step up and positioned himself right beside me. It was pretty obvious he was trying to intimidate me with his size, and I stuffed my hands in my pockets as she rode.
“She’s a hell of a girl, isn’t she?” I asked nonchalantly.
He snorted. “Yeah,” he said, sarcasm in his voice. “She sure as hell is. Who are you again?”
“Colt,” I said, sticking my hand out for a shake without taking my eyes off Leah. I didn’t want him to think I was eyeballing him or sizing him up. I’d rather him think he was no threat at all. It was an even bigger insult. “Colt Montgomery.”
No hand reached out to shake mine.
“Will,” he said. “Will Brentwood. You competed earlier, didn’t you?”
“I did. Got first,” I said, still watching as Leah rode down the ramp toward the pen again. Her score was even better than the one before.
“That’s what I thought,” he said. “Just know that just because you’re new doesn’t mean she’s interested.”
“Excuse me?” I asked, finally turning and meeting his stare.
“I said, just because you’re new doesn’t mean she’s interested. I’ve had my eyes on Leah for a long time now.”
I laughed. “What is that even supposed to mean?”
He looked at me with contempt and jealousy in his eyes. If he only knew where I had been an hour before, I was sure it would have been even more intense than it was. As it was, it was already damn near fighting worthy. It felt like a lit match would blow the whole damn arena up.
“It means don’t get too cocky,” he said, his voice grumbling. “You don’t know these people. You don’t know Leah either. I’ve known her going on four years. She’s a good girl. She doesn’t need trouble.”
There it was. The Warning. In caps. I had seen that warning doled out before, and it was always by the guy that wanted the girl but couldn’t have her, told to the guy who had her already. It was meant as a threat, an implicit promise that one day she would run back to him and he would come find me and exact revenge for her. And then, when that was done, she would surely realize how much she loved him and would fall head over heels.
Only it never worked that way. Instead, guys li
ke him stood by on the side, limply fantasizing while a relationship played out, for better or worse, and then he would either move on or the couple would break, and the cycle would start all over again. He was friend-zoned, only I wasn’t even sure he was Leah’s friend. He certainly didn’t sound like one. He sounded way more possessive than a friend.
“Trouble?” I asked. I looked him up and down, my fist clenching by my side just in case. “From where I’m standing, you’re the one who looks like trouble. Smell like it too.”
The gauntlet thrown, it was put up or walk away time. I was ready for either and was actually a little surprised when he took a step to my side. He was grumbling deeply, but I knew it was the effete grumble of an already defeated man. He didn’t want a fight, at least not yet, and wasn’t expecting me to not kowtow to him.
“Why don’t you get back in your shitty pickup truck and take a hike?” he said nastily.
I thought of a hundred things I could say, but none that would infuriate him more than simply smiling in his face. So, I smiled.
He walked away, heading back to the pen and then out to the trailers as I made my way back to Leah.
Chapter 12
Leah
A week later, we were in Montana. Anybody who knew anything about Colt Montgomery knew this was his home state. I didn’t know if he noticed or not, but something seemed to come over him when we got there. It was like he was more uncomfortable, less sure of himself now that he was back at home.
Not that there was ever a point when he didn’t seem confident in himself or completely secure in his skills. It was just that being around here took his talent and ability to another level, almost like it was out of spite. And probably his cockiness, too. This was a man who had a definite swagger, and when he got back onto his home turf, that only amplified. It was like he was on a constant mission to prove himself, and when he was in Montana, it was magnified in a huge way.
I didn’t mind it a bit. In fact, I liked watching him puff up a little more like he was showing off for the hometown folk. He wanted them to be proud of him, to feel good about laying claim to him as one of their own. To feel like he deserved it.
We were at the first rodeo in the state and he was already giving the audience quite a show. As soon as he rode out into the ring, the crowd in the stands went wild. The sound of their cheering was thunderous, and I couldn’t help but get a little bit of a thrill from the reaction.
I wanted to stand out there and watch him through his entire exhibition, but I had to get Renegade ready for our run coming up. Even in the stable, I could hear the cheering and knew Colt was doing well.
“What do you think, buddy?” I asked Renegade, rubbing his neck and giving him a nuzzle. “Think he’s going to beat his own record?”
“You can’t be serious.”
The sound of the voice behind me made me roll my eyes, but I tried not to show it when I turned around. That would only fuel them even more. Looking behind me, I saw a group of the guys from the circuit walking through the stable toward me. They all had arrogant looks on their faces, but Vince at the front was the worst.
He looked like he had just walked out of a bad Western movie with his thumbs hooked in his waistband, chewing a toothpick with the brim of his hat pulled down over his eyes. Any second now, I expected him to challenge one of us to a duel at high noon.
“Hello, Vince,” I said.
I turned back to Renegade and ran my hand down the side of his neck again.
“You aren’t having a heart-to-heart with your horse over that new guy, are you?” he asked
“His name is Colt,” I said.
They all laughed.
“Is that really his name?” Vince asked. “Or is that some sort of bad pun? He does realize he doesn’t need a stage name in the ring, right?”
I let out a sigh. “It’s his name.”
That made them laugh even harder. I was doing my best not to react to them. I was used to this group of guys. They had been crushing on me since I joined the circuit, and it wasn’t unusual for them to act like this. They were like obnoxious preteen boys trying to show off and get my attention. At the end of the day, we were friends, and I didn’t want to get into anything with them.
They were just hazing me over Colt. It was annoying, and I really hated standing there listening to it, but I hoped if I just dealt with it for a little bit longer, they would get over themselves and it would be over. Maybe I would even get a chance to get back out and see a bit more of Colt riding before it was my turn in the ring.
But they were in rare form that day.
“Do you hear that audience out there?” Vince asked. “They’re acting like the god of rodeos is out there performing a sermon.”
I decided not to comment on the painfully strained mixed analogy and just nodded, keeping my lips pursed together as I continued to prepare Renegade for our run.
“Do they not see he’s just a bunch of flash and show?” one of the other guys said. “The way he loops his damn riggin’ is a joke.”
I looked over at him incredulously. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
It was just too absurd for me to ignore.
“Are you saying you think he’s something special?” Alan asked.
“He’s been on the big rodeo circuit for years,” I said. “Everybody knows his name and he’s had some really huge endorsements. Or are you trying to say he just hoodwinked them all into thinking he’s something when he’s not?”
Vince held up his hands. “I’m just saying he looks like a lot more show than he is substance. All he cares about is time. Good lord, it ain’t how long you can ride. It’s how good you are doing it.” He snickered and elbowed one of the others in the ribs. “Doesn’t look like there’s too much dirt on those boots and there’s a bit too much starch in his jeans, if you know what I mean.”
The guys laughed and I planted one hand on my hip, glaring at Vince. This was starting to drift too far. I could deal with their immature bantering up to a point, but they were starting to get too harsh.
“No, Vince, I don’t know what you mean,” I said. “Why don’t you elaborate for me?”
“Are you trying to tell me you think he fits in around here? Like he’s one of us? He’s a show pony, Leah. He got in good when he was young, and people are impressed with a good face and smooth talking. We could all ride circles around him and hang him out to dry, and he knows it. But he thinks he’s too good to even talk to us.”
“That’s not true,” I said. “You don’t even give him a chance. How is he supposed to get to know you when you’ll barely even look his way unless you’re finding some new and creative way to mock him? Except I should probably point out that you’re not exactly new or creative.”
“Sounds like you’re mighty fond of this boy,” Vince said. “Maybe he’ll whisk you off to his family’s fancy Dude Ranch.”
The guys looked like they were going to burst, they were laughing so hard.
“The Montgomery Ranch has been operating for generations,” I said. They rolled their eyes and I stepped up in front of them. “Look. I’m really done with this. I don’t know what the hell is wrong with you guys, but you need to get over it. Right now, you’re acting like you’re so intimidated by the new guy you can’t even stand it and are too afraid to act like decent people. Colt is a good guy. And he’s also good at what he does. Whether you want to admit it or not, everybody knows it.”
“Then he should have stayed in his own territory,” Vince said, his voice taking on a slightly surly edge.
“And what is that supposed to mean, exactly? Did you draw a line in the sand somewhere and he dared step over it? Is there a clubhouse with a piece of wood out front that says members only and you aren’t taking any new members? Cut the shit, Vince.”
Vince wiggled his fingers at me in a mocking way and the boys laughed.
“Sounds like someone’s sweet on Hollywood,” Alan said. “Will was right. He’s a show pony, Leah. You’re bette
r than that.”
“I’m better than you, I know that much,” I said, feeling heat rising in my cheeks. Alan’s jaw dropped and Vince couldn’t help himself but laugh. “You too, Vince.” Vince’s laughter suddenly stopped, his jaw set and his eyes narrowed. “Colt is a wanderer, just like us. He’s meant for a group like us. If you bothered to get to know him, you’d know that. But instead, you want to act like damn children and make fun of the new guy. If I were you, I’d worry about how the new guy is going to win all the prize money and leave you boys broke and embarrassed the rest of the time he decides to stick with us before he gets fed up with your hillbilly bullshit and leaves.”
Turning my back on them, I stormed off, straight to the trailers outside to find Macy. I knew she would be out soon to see me ride, but right about now, she would be in her trailer, doing receipts and dealing with concession supply ordering. I stomped up to her door, hearing a few mutters behind me of the boys I left behind, and rapped my knuckles on it.
“Hey, sweetie, shouldn’t you be getting read—oh, just come on in then,” Macy said as I brushed past her into the spacious trailer.
I tried not to get too jealous of Macy’s trailer since she was my friend, and as an actual employee of the rodeo, she got better amenities than the talent. She even let me crash there on occasion, though not too often because we didn’t want people thinking there was some kind of favoritism going on, even though everyone knew we were best friends. Still, it was double-wide and roomy, and as I slammed myself onto her couch, an actual couch and not a futon, I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to have such a comfortable pad to be so damn angry in.
“The boys are acting like damn kids about Colt,” I said. “They won’t stop teasing him, and now they are teasing me about him. It’s not just teasing either. It’s gone full-on cruelty and illusions about his character now.”
“Oh, Leah. Don’t let those boys get under your skin. You and I both know they are just jealous, and have nothing better to do than to haze the new guy.” She sat down next to me. “Do you want something to drink?”
His Sexy Smile Page 7
