“That’s what I thought.” Roark carried Priscilla across the yard and up the steps into the house. She began to stir as he carried her to the living room where he laid her on the sofa then stood back.
PRISCILLA STARED UP at Roark and her mouth went suddenly dry. He stood there looking down at her with nothing on but low-slung faded jeans. His chest was magnificent. Hard pecs and a six-pack stomach that she wanted to run her tongue down. A thin line of dark hair ran down from his belly button only to disappear into his jeans that were zipped, but not snapped. Her eyes followed the line down and lingered on his crotch. Well, she most certainly had the answer to her question. The chaps hadn’t been what had emphasized his sex. It was all him. Dayum! The man had one hell of a body. Down his legs, her eyes continued their perusal until she came upon his bare feet and then traveled back up only to linger on his fly again.
Oh, man! He had that sexy V too...that delicious V that pointed to the prize between the thighs.
She snorted then slowly tore her gaze from there to look up to where she met his eyes. When she saw him raise an eyebrow, she cursed her fair skin because she was positive he saw the blush staining her cheeks. She cleared her throat.
“Did I faint?”
“Yep.”
“I’ve never fainted in my life,” she murmured.
“First time for everything. Do you feel all right?”
She pushed herself up and leaned back against the sofa. “Yes. Thank you for carrying me inside.”
“No problem. Do you want something to eat? Water?”
“No, thanks. I just need to relax. I think the traveling has caught up with me.” She stood and bumped into him. “Sorry.”
“Did you have your glasses on? I didn’t think to look for them.”
“No. I don’t wear them all the time. Just when I want to see.” She smiled.
Roark stepped back and grinned. “Okay. I think I’ll go take that nap now. I’ll probably see you later. I can put some steaks out for dinner, if you’d like, or don’t you eat beef?”
“Why wouldn’t I eat beef?”
“I just figured anyone who hates to see anything killed would be a vegetarian.”
Priscilla laughed. “It would make sense, wouldn’t it? It just so happens, I love beef.”
Roark frowned at her. “I will never, for the life of me, figure out women.”
Shaking his head, he turned and walked away, disappearing into the kitchen. He returned and after giving her a nod, walked down the hallway. She heard his bedroom door close. Priscilla grinned and then headed to her room to relax in the tub and then maybe, just maybe, she’d take a nap too.
Over an hour later, she was still trying to fall asleep. The day had worn her down but she couldn’t wind down enough to nap. She wondered if Roark was asleep. Tossing the covers aside, she swung her legs over the side of the bed, reached for her glasses then stood. What to do now? She sighed as she put her glasses on, walked to the window, and looked out. It was still early enough to see the yard in front of the house. It really was a beautiful place. The yard was green and lush with no trees shading the front.
She walked out of her bedroom to the living room. The front door was solid mahogany and heavy when she pulled it open, to then step onto the front porch. A rocking chair beckoned to her. She took a seat and watched as the sunset turned the sky from bright blue to shades of darker blue, pink, and yellow. The air was still hot but she wanted to enjoy this. She rarely sat and watched the sun going down.
As it slowly sunk below the Glacier Mountains, she took a deep breath. The air was so clean here—nothing like the air in California. Even living in San Jose didn’t allow her to breathe fresh air like what they had in Montana. This was just...nice. It was real nice to be able to take a deep cleansing breath, and not cough. She loved California but at times, the air would get so heavy she hated to step outside.
She smiled as she stared at those beautiful mountains and wondered how they would look in the winter capped with snow. Hearing a sudden noise beside her, she glanced over to see Roark standing in the doorway. Her breath caught in her chest.
“Did you have a nice nap?”
He nodded. “Except it was too short,” Roark said, as he took a seat in another rocking chair.
“Sorry. By the way, how do you know Earl?” She removed her glasses and swung them from her fingers.
“He’s a friend of my dad’s—actually, my uncles’ too.”
“Hmm...he doesn’t seem like the type to have friends,” she muttered.
Roark chuckled. “He can be a bit gruff at times but then so can my dad and uncles.”
“How did he talk you into this anyway?” She looked at the sun setting because it was safer than looking at him. Dimples peeked out from his cheeks and his teeth were straight, white, and perfect. Was there anything wrong with the man?
“He was visiting my dad and I just happened to be there. He asked about his magazine doing a piece on me.” Roark shrugged. “I didn’t think anything of it and said sure, why not. Hell, who knew he was serious?”
“I’ve never known him to not be serious.” Priscilla glanced at him then looked back to the setting sun.
“So, how did you get this job of following me around to document what a cowboy does on the circuit? Earl had mentioned a man.”
“Oh...well, Andrew Abbott was supposed to do it but he broke his leg. I begged Earl to let me do it instead. He finally gave in but told me if I screwed up this time, I’d be out of a job.”
“Nice guy.”
“This article means a lot to the magazine. I’ll try not to screw it up.”
“You said you’ve screwed up too many times before. How many and what happened?”
Priscilla groaned. “Twice actually. Once was when I was writing an article on a western style wedding. I had written an article that no one was supposed to see. It was just me ranting. The bride had been a total bitch and I wrote some nasty things. I sent the wrong copy to Earl. He chewed me a new one. The other time was at a dude ranch. Bees stung me several times and I had an allergic reaction. I had to cut the trip short and Earl was not at all happy when he had to send out a replacement two days before the article was due. I’d been there a week and hadn’t written a thing. I was having too much fun.”
Roark chuckled. “I guess I’d better not take you to my cousins’ place then. They own a guest ranch here in Spring City.”
“You said uncles earlier. As in plural?” He nodded in response, but her curiosity got the better of her. “How many?”
“Four...three are married with sons. I’m real close to my cousins. Two of us, Reid and I, are the same age. Devin and Jackson are thirty-one.
“Four of you? Oh, wow. I bet you were a bunch of hellions.” She laughed.
“Oh, darlin’, you have no idea.” Roark chuckled.
“Do you all compete in the rodeo?” The thought of the possibility of three more like Roark made her heart speed up and other parts of her sit up and take notice. No way they could all be as hot as Roark—no way.
“Not anymore. Dev and Jax are both retired from bull riding now. Reid retired from bull riding about two years ago. He’s getting married this summer to Lucy Albright.”
Priscilla smiled because of the way Roark’s face lit up when he talked about his family. She was just about to comment when she noticed a vehicle coming up the road. Dust flew behind it, as it got closer to the house. When she glanced at Roark, she smiled seeing the big grin on his face.
“Speak of the devil. It’s Reid.”
She watched as Roark stood and walked down the steps. The truck came to a stop and dust swirled around it as the door opened and a tall man with a cowboy hat on stepped out. Wow. Were all the Callahan’s hot? She watched him grin at Roark and then they hugged. He glanced up and his brow furrowed when he saw her.
“Who’s this? You bringing ’em home now?”
Priscilla gasped and stood up quickly. “I am not a buckle bunny!”
Roark laughed. “Reid, this is Priscilla Butler. She’s a writer for Western Cowboy magazine. She was to follow me around the circuit and write an article on my activities but you know how that went. Priscilla, this is my cousin, Reid Callahan.”
Reid stepped forward and removed his hat. “I apologize, ma’am. I was just teasing Roark. It’s nice to meet you.” He put his hand out to her.
“That’s all right. It’s nice to meet you too, Reid. I hear you’re getting married.”
A big grin split his handsome face. “Yes, ma’am. Next month. I can’t wait.” He turned to Roark. “Since you’re done on the circuit, you can be in the wedding. You said you would be, if you were eliminated.”
“Shit. I did, didn’t I? All right. I’ll do it.”
“Great. You’ll need to be fitted for your tux. Go into Paxton’s as soon as you can.” Reid winked at Priscilla.
She couldn’t help but laugh at the look on Roark’s face. He looked like he’d just tasted something bad and had nowhere to spit.
“I’ll go inside so you two can talk.” She entered the house and closed the door.
ROARK KNEW HE WAS IN for it when Reid turned to look at him and raised an eyebrow.
“If she’s supposed to follow you around the circuit and you aren’t on the circuit, why is she here?”
Roark groaned. “She begged me to let her follow me around here...you know, to show what a bull rider does when he’s not on the circuit.”
“And you agreed?” Reid burst out laughing.
“Piss off, Reid. What was I supposed to do? Earl told her he’d fire her if she screwed this up.”
“Sanders? Ah, hell. Okay, I get it now. Good luck. Get to town as soon as you can though. The wedding isn’t far off.”
“I will. Hey, you know I’m really happy about you and Lucy. I know Zeke would be happy too.”
Reid grinned. “He is.”
“I didn’t mean little Zeke.” Roark stared at his cousin not wanting to bring up an old hurt.
Reid slapped him on the shoulder, and then walked to his truck before turning to look at him. “Yeah, I knew who you meant. Later, cuz.”
Roark frowned at the sudden sadness reflected in his cousin’s eyes then watched Reid climb into his truck and drive off. He shook his head as he walked up the steps and entered the house. He knew his cousin’s heart still ached over the loss of his best friend.
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 she’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.”
A Cowboy of Her Own Page 3
