Tom had forgotten about it, or why else would he have asked him to stay at the ranch knowing that Jenna would be there?
As if on cue, Jenna snatched the duffel from him, and held the door open, giving him a wide berth to maneuver inside the living room.
Damn. He hated feeling like an invalid.
He should have holed up in his apartment, done things for himself. But the surgeon who’d operated told him that if he took it easy, he’d heal quicker, and he’d return to the PBR quicker.
That was his goal. He was poised to win the PBR World Finals in Vegas, and that was just what he was going to do. With the money he’d win, he could hang up his spurs and finally settle down on a ranch of his own.
That’s what he’d been saving for all these years on the road. His own spread.
But first, he had to heal, and Tom had convinced him that this was the best place for him. Maybe it was—but being with Jenna 24/7 was a bonus.
“Uncle Dustin! Uncle Dustin!”
Andy came running into the living room of the Santa Fe-style house and stopped two feet from where Dustin had collapsed into a side chair and stretched out his leg.
“Hey, partner! How’ve you been?” He held out his hand, and Andy shook it. “It’s been a long time.”
“I see you on TV all the time, you and my dad. Oh, and J.R., and Skeeter, and Cody and Robson and Adriano and—”
Dustin laughed as Andy named the entire roster of riders. The boy couldn’t be cuter. His eyes were bright blue, his hair sandy and he was probably taller than other kids his age. But ever since his mother had left, the spark had faded a bit from the boy’s eyes.
“I think you’ve gotten taller,” Dustin said.
Andy grinned. “Really?”
“I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it.”
As Andy read what his father and some of the other riders had written on Dustin’s cast, the cowboy eyed Jenna, who was sitting on the couch opposite him.
She was more beautiful than he remembered, all wholesome and not made up like the buckle bunnies he often met on the circuit. Her blond hair tickled her chin, and turquoise stones dangled from her ears.
He glanced at his duffel. It barely had enough clothes for two days. He’d only packed it for the Albuquerque bull riding, not for a stay in the hospital or for a long stay at Tom’s ranch. Beside it lay his crutches.
“I need to go shopping. All my clothes are in my apartment in Tubac,” he said mostly to himself.
“You live in Tubac? The artist colony?” Jenna asked wide-eyed.
“Yep. That Tubac.” He lived two floors above a shop that sold various types of jewelry, pottery and paintings.
“I’d be glad to drive you to your apartment,” Jenna said.
“I don’t want to impose on you any more.”
Tubac was an hour’s drive from Tucson. Maybe he could pay one of the ranch hands to drive him there and get some of his stuff.
He didn’t tell Jenna that he painted western scenes—riders on bucking bulls and broncs. Cowboys mending fence. The saguaros and mountains around Tubac and Tucson. It had been just for fun at first, but then he’d started selling his work through some of the local craft shops.
“Well, I’d better show you the guest room,” Jenna said, moving to hand him his crutches.
“I can do it.”
Her perfume drifted around him—something light and flowery. It suited her.
“You’re probably hungry, too. How about if I make you a sandwich or something?” Jenna asked.
“I promised Tom that I’d ramrod his ranch while I’m laid up. I’ll try and stay out of your way and not bother you.”
She shook her head. “It’s not a bother, Dustin. I’m happy to help.”
He was sure that she was trying to be polite, but he didn’t intend to be a burden on her, or anyone. That wasn’t his style. He was just here to help Tom while he was on the road, and he could do that on crutches.
And he was going to enjoy Jenna’s company while he was here.
In spite of his injury, one good thing could come of it—he would finally get to know her better. But no matter how much he was still attracted to her, nothing would come of their close proximity—he’d see to that. He’d made a promise to Tom. And Dustin Morgan was a man of his word.
Jenna’s senses were reeling as if she were back in high school. She tried to play it cool, just as she had back then, but her cool probably seemed standoffish.
Later, as she made Andy and Dustin ham-and-cheese sandwiches, she thought of Dustin’s blue eyes—his sexy gaze was more intense than ever. His lips seemed more sensuous and his black hair looked even softer.
But his smile and good nature were what always charmed the high school girls. When he turned on his smile, flashing those whiter-than-white teeth, no female was immune.
Jenna had attended several PBR events through the years, but to see him up-close and personal for the first time in ages made her heart race and her cheeks heat. She hoped that as they spent more time together, she’d get over her high school reaction. After all, her schoolgirl crush on him was over. Wasn’t it?
She was too old for crushes, darn it. She was just admiring a handsome man. That’s all.
At the table, Dustin and Andy were deep in conversation about bull riders and their statistics. Too bad that Andy didn’t pay as much attention to his arithmetic as he did riding percentages.
Jenna smiled as she set the sandwiches down in front of them. “Anyone want anything to drink?”
“Please,” Dustin said.
“Please,” Andy said, and Jenna figured that if Dustin asked for a glass of fish oil, Andy would want the same. Just looking at Andy, she could see that the boy was under the spell of Dustin Morgan.
Well, Jenna Reed was going to fight her attraction. Her thirtieth birthday was right around the corner, for heaven’s sake, and she wasn’t going to fall for one guy. It was time for her to live, to explore and to take risks.
But how was she suppose to do that at Tom’s ranch?
She set glasses of milk in front of Andy and Dustin. Dustin pulled out a chair for her from his sitting position as best he could. She smiled her thanks and sat down next to him, looked straight into his dark blue eyes and took a long breath.
“I prepared the guest room for you. It has its own bathroom and shower. I thought that would be more convenient.” Jenna took a bite of her sandwich, but she was too nervous to eat any more, sitting so close to Dustin and inhaling his musky scent.
“Thank you. I’m dying to take
