as soon as Tom figured out when he’d return. She was needed by her family, and that was okay.
But it seemed as though she was always needed, mostly by those she called the “four Ps”: her pupils, their parents, the principal or her peers, and she always had to postpone her dreams of romance and adventure.
She sighed. Now, Dustin Morgan, fresh from the hospital, needed her.
Then she smiled as she began to pick up her clothes. She might still be a geek, and Dustin might be one of the most popular bull riders in the PBR, but maybe her stay at the Bar R would somehow give her a chance to spread her wings, just like she’d planned to do on her European trip.
And maybe … Just maybe … Dustin would turn out to be the adventure of a lifetime.
Chapter One
Dustin Morgan struggled to get out of a taxi in front of Tom Reed’s ranch house.
He tugged his crutches out of the vehicle and positioned them under his arms while the driver unloaded his duffel bag.
Unfortunately, in the short-go round in Albuquerque, a bucking, whirling, two-thousand-pound Brahma named Cowabunga bucked him off, then stomped on his ankle, crushing it. After surgery, Dustin sported a massive amount of hardware to keep his bones together, along with a heavy cast.
Damn it.
Thanks to Cowabunga, he’d have to skip the usually profitable summer circuit.
After a couple of years of always being a bridesmaid, he’d finally hit number one in the rankings, and now he couldn’t ride. While he sat at home and watched the Professional Bull Riders on TV with his leg up, there’d be several young guns who would jump over him in the standings. But maybe, if everything went as planned, when he got back he could move up again in time for the PBR World Finals in Las Vegas in early November. Fingers crossed.
He paid the taxi driver, turned toward the house and took a hearty breath. He could smell the scent of animals on the air. Damn, how he loved that smell!
He was itching to do something where he could work up a sweat, but his surgeon had told him to take it easy. Dustin couldn’t grasp that concept. There had never been a time when he’d taken it easy.
When he was younger, he entered junior rodeos and rode anything with fur. As a sophomore in high school, he played football and caught rodeos every chance he could. When he turned eighteen, he was able to qualify for the Professional Bull Riders circuit as well as the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. He rode bulls in the PBR. In the PRCA, he rode broncs.
And he’d managed to avoid serious injury—until now.
Dustin studied the long ranch house and the outbuildings of the Bar R Ranch. Someday, he’d have a spread like this.
He looked at his duffel bag lying on the Arizona dust. Dustin couldn’t believe that he’d agreed to stay at Tom’s place. The only thing that had convinced him to come here was the fact that Tom needed him—and to be honest, he owed Tom big time. Tom had saved his life two years ago by pushing him away from a rogue bull. His friend would always sport scars from being gored.
“I have a favor to ask of you,” Tom had said when he’d visited Dustin in the hospital after his surgery.
Dustin had struggled to stay focused, still a little groggy from the painkillers he’d been given. “Hit me with it.”
“Since you’re going to be laid up for a while, how about heading to my ranch and overseeing the operation? I don’t want you to work, just supervise the foreman and the hands. You’re going to be recuperating anyway—how about doing it at the Bar R?”
“I—I don’t—”
“My sister will be there taking care of Andy for me. And Andy would just love a visit from you. It’s been a long time, Dustin.”
“Jenna?” His eyelids drifted closed for a moment, but Jenna’s image appeared in his mind. In high school lugging a load of books. Studying under the big tree by the school cafeteria while everyone else was having fun. Being elected class president every year for four years. Giving the valedictorian speech at graduation.
He’d always liked her energy, her sense of independence, her willingness to get involved and the fact that she was comfortable being alone and didn’t follow the crowd, like he always had.
Back then, she’d had long blond hair that she usually wore in a ponytail tied with a piece of rawhide and usually pierced by at least one pen and one pencil. That was Jenna, always studying, always writing in a notebook. Her spring-green eyes were magnified by wire-rimmed glasses that rode low on her nose.
He’d spent many a high school class secretly watching her.
He’d wanted to talk to Jenna on numerous occasions—to ask her out—but he’d always thought that she wouldn’t give him the time of day. It wasn’t as if she was a snob—she was very friendly to everyone but him—so he figured that Tom had told her to stay away from him. Tom was very protective of Jenna after the death of his parents, and Dustin had to admit that he’d had many girlfriends. Jenna could see that for herself. But they were just friends—or they were buckle bunnies—and they weren’t Jenna.
So, to get his Jenna fix, Dustin often went to Tom’s house, not only to hang out with Tom, but to catch a glimpse of her, too.
“You’re going to need someone to help you manage,” Tom continued. “With your folks being in Alaska and your apartment on the third floor of a building without elevators, you don’t have much of a choice. You help me, and Jenna will help you.”
There was something wrong with his reasoning, but Dustin couldn’t put his finger on it back at the hospital. If only Tom would leave so he could sleep.
Sleep … blessed sleep. The pain was exhausting him, and he didn’t want to take too many pain pills if he could help himself.
“It’s okay with Jenna,” Tom said. “She’s looking forward to seeing you again.”
That struck Dustin as strange. He doubted if Jenna even remembered him from high school. He hadn’t had a decent conversation with her in years. Matter of fact, the last time he’d talked to Jenna for any length of time was at Andy’s christening ten years ago. He was Andy’s godfather; Jenna was Andy’s godmother.
Now, as he stood at the gate of Tom’s ranch, he remembered the promise he’d made to Tom years ago—a promise he regretted to this day. He’d given his word to Tom that he’d stay away from Jenna. Therefore, his interaction with her was limited to fleeting glances and some short blips of conversation whenever she attended the PBR events.
He might as well be back in high school.
Dustin flung his duffel over his right shoulder and thought of Tom. When you traveled with a man to and from rodeos you got to know him really well. Tom was more than a good friend, he was like a brother, and he didn’t want to betray Tom’s trust.
Dustin had almost told Tom that he wasn’t going to stay at his ranch to recuperate. He didn’t want to be a burden on Jenna or on anyone. He could take care of himself—somehow, someway—but he hadn’t been able to find his voice.
He
