a hard time stopping it.”
Houston downed half a glass of water in response to the fantasies rolling around in his mind. Like that would help extinguish the heat building below his belt. He seriously needed to get a grip on his libido. “Nothing wrong with being passionate about your work. It’s the best way to get ahead in life. Do what you love and love what you do.”
“For you that’s rodeo,” she stated.
“Yep. And ranching.” And making a woman feel really good all night long.
Jill took a quick check of her watch. “Wow. It’s almost dawn. Way past bedtime.”
Not if he had any say-so in the matter. Down, Houston. “Guess that’s my cue that it’s time to go.”
She put her palm over her mouth and yawned. “I could use some sleep, and I’m sure you should grab a few minutes before Tyler returns. Are you heading back home today?”
“Yep. I hadn’t planned on it, but with a bum wrist, looks like I don’t have a choice. What about you?”
“I’m laying over here until next weekend, then I’ll move to a motel near Mesquite.”
That meant she was free for the week, a good thing if she agreed to the interview, provided he asked her about it. Houston pulled out his wallet and tossed a fifty onto the table. “Let’s go.”
Jill eyed the bill for a few seconds. “Don’t you need to wait for your change?”
Houston slid out of the booth and came to his feet. “Nah. She needs the money more than me.”
“Very generous, Mr. Calloway,” she said as she stood. “I’m sure Ashley will appreciate your contribution to the college fund.”
Knowing he still had the job offer hanging over him, Houston trailed behind Jill as she headed out of the glass door and started toward the car. “I can walk from here,” he told her before she climbed inside the sedan. “I could use some fresh air before I enter that musty room.”
“Suit yourself,” she said with a slight smile. “And if you need any advice on your medical facilities, feel free to give me a call or a text.” She set her purse on the hood, pulled out a card and offered it to him. “Here you go. If I don’t answer immediately, it’s probably because I’m trying to put a broken cowboy back together.”
He’d been that broken cowboy before, and she had always been an expert at trying to put him back together. She was an asset to the rodeo sports medicine program. She’d be an asset to any program. Hell, anyone would be lucky to have her, in a medical sense. Any other sense, for that matter.
It occurred to Houston that he wasn’t quite ready to say goodbye to her yet. Not until he posed the question that could lead to a favorable response, at least for his brother, or a literal slam of the door before she drove away, leaving him to eat her dust as easily as he’d eaten breakfast. But if she agreed to consider coming to work for Texas Extreme, he could still look at her, even if he couldn’t touch her. Even if he’d have to take several cold showers a day until he went back on the road. Damn Dallas for putting him in this predicament.
“Before you go, Jill,” he began, “I have something else I need to say. Actually, it’s an offer.”
She looked more than a little leery. “What kind of offer?”
“One that I’m hoping you can’t refuse.”
The comment robbed Jill of her speech, but only momentarily. “If you’re about to proposition me, you can—”
“Do you want me to proposition you?”
She didn’t intend to hesitate even a split second, but she did. “Of course not.”
“Hey, relax. I have a proposition for you, but I promise it doesn’t involve scooping you up and carrying you into the motel for a little predawn delight.”
That stirred up a few inadvisable images in her muddled mind. “What a relief.”
“Besides, that would be tough to do with my hand in a cast,” he said, topping off the comment with a wily wink. He leaned back against the car, as if he had no intention of going anywhere. “First, a couple of questions.”
So much for getting that snooze any time soon. “All right.”
“Where is your home base?”
“Actually, I don’t really have one. At least not a place of my own. I list my permanent address as my parents’ house in Florida.”
“You travel that much?”
“Most of the year. I live in hotels and motels and the occasional corporate apartment. I don’t even own a car, so I have to rely on rentals, like that sedan you’re polishing with your behind. Why?”
He shifted his weight from one leg to the other. “When you were gone earlier, I called Dallas. And when he found out you were with me, he suggested you might be a good candidate for the medical position at Texas Extreme.”
That threw her for a mental loop. “He’s offering me a job?”
“He wants to interview you first. It’s my understanding you’d have full control over the medical program, hire anyone you want and make all the decisions.”
She considered several problems with that setup and prepared to bat all his arguments away like a practiced tennis player. “Thanks, but I like the job I have.”
“You’d have your own apartment. A brand-new apartment.”
“I have no problem traveling. Makes life less boring.”
“He’ll double your salary.”
He’d just served up a surprise backhand. “How can Dallas promise that if he doesn’t even know how much I get paid?”
He pushed away from the car and smiled. “Doesn’t matter. We can afford it.”
That she didn’t doubt. Still, she realized one serious obstacle remained, and she planned to lob it right to him. “No offense, Houston, but I’m not sure I could work for you.”
“Not a problem. You wouldn’t be working for me. You’d be working for Dallas. Besides, I’ll be back on the circuit before you know it and you won’t have to deal with me.”
Having Houston’s brother as a boss could be a major concern if Dallas Calloway happened to be as stubborn as his younger sibling. And she would still encounter Houston on a regular basis until he took off again for the next rodeo. That wouldn’t be for another two to three months.
But double the salary? She’d be foolish not to give it some thought. She might be a bigger fool if she accepted without knowing all the particulars. “Look, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I wasn’t tempted, but—”
“I can tempt
