took a breath. “What’s your name?”
“Calhoun.”
“Are you going to ride Bloodthirsty Black?”
Calhoun nodded, amused by her question. “Yes, I am. Shouldn’t you kids be with your parents?”
“Mom works with the rodeo,” Minnie said bravely, thinking that the cowboy was awfully tall, the tallest one she’d seen in a long time. Maybe the biggest, too. “I’ve seen more rodeos than you’ll ever see, cowboy.”
He laughed. “Is that so, young lady? Well, then, I’ll be on my way.” Tipping his hat, he left the pair.
“Hey, I hope you win,” Minnie called after the cowboy.
“If he doesn’t, I’m gonna ride that bull,” Kenny muttered.
“No, you’re not,” Minnie said. “Mom will never let you.”
“And Mom said you weren’t to size up any more, uh, marks,” Kenny reminded her. “You looked like you’d seen a movie star when you talked to that cowboy. You got all goo-goo.”
“That’s what I’m doing wrong,” Minnie whispered. “I’m looking for marks, when I should have been looking for goo-gooey.”
“Huh?” Kenny stared at his sister.
“We don’t need a cowboy to work for us, we need one for Mom.”
They watched as the cowboy lifted a child, a little girl her own age, Minnie estimated, onto a pony.
“You mean, like a dad?” Kenny asked. “Grandpa Barley said he’d kick the bejesu—”
“Shh,” Minnie said, “you’re not to quote Grandpa when he goes south of good manners, Mom says. If that cowboy can stay in the saddle, we’re going to find a way to drag him over to Mom. You can cry and I’ll pretend to be lost.”
“And you’ll get in trouble,” Kenny said. “Mom knows when you’re, you know, looking out for her.”
“Yes,” Minnie said, “but Kenny, our life would be simpler with a man who can jump into a barrel. And that cowboy looks like he can handle barrels just fine.”
“Maybe we should get Mom to watch him,” he said. “Maybe she’d change her mind, although she’d probably say he was too big to…” His gaze wandered as he watched Calhoun walk to the other side of the arena.
“…to fit inside a barrel,” Minnie finished for him.
“Yeah.”
“Kids,” Olivia said, walking to their side as they hung over the rail, looking out into the arena. “I’m about to start the act. You guys are going to be okay for another hour, right?”
“Yes,” Minnie said. “Look at that man, Momma. That’s the cowboy who’s gonna ride Bloodthirsty Black.”
Olivia glanced in the direction Minnie was pointing.
“He’s very tall,” Kenny said. “I don’t think he’ll be able to stay in the saddle.”
“But he looks like Antonio Banderas,” Minnie observed. “In that movie we weren’t supposed to be watching when you fell asleep, Momma? Antonio could do anything.”
“Let’s all stick to G-rated movies from now on,” Olivia murmured, her heart beginning to beat faster as she watched the cowboy walk. He did have a saunter to him, a loose swagger of confidence that caught the attention of every woman in the arena.
Then he turned around to wave to her children, and Olivia’s heart sank deep inside her chest.
He’s gorgeous.
Chapter Two
Too gorgeous to be anything but trouble in spades, she decided quickly. “Come on,” Olivia told Minnie and Kenny. “Come watch Gypsy and Grandpa.”
“No, thank you, Momma,” Minnie said. “We want to see this man. I think he can stay on if he’s been doing his cowboy calisthenics.”
Olivia frowned. “What are those?”
“The ones you do in front of the TV every morning,” Kenny said. “With the lady in the tight swimsuit who always smiles real big and says ‘You can do it!’”
Olivia shook her head. “Those are not calisthenics. And that’s not going to be a cowboy after he gets tossed and stomped.”
“I think he’s gonna win the big prize,” Minnie said. “Calhoun, you can do it!” she called loudly.
The cowboy grinned at Olivia, touching the brim of his hat with two fingers in a roguish salute. She gasped and drew back. “You two come with me.”
“Mom,” Minnie said, “you wanted us to watch this. You wanted us out of your hair while you did the act. We’re not going to try to get you to talk to him. We just want to see what he can do.”
“It’s Bloodthirsty Black,” Kenny reminded her. “Mean as a three-headed rattler. We can’t miss him!”
Olivia sighed, caught by her own sales pitch. “I wasn’t trying to get you out of my hair. I thought you would enjoy seeing bull riding more than you’d enjoy an act you’ve watched a thousand times.”
“Well, we are.” Minnie gave her a squeeze around the waist. “We’re fine. Don’t be so worried about us.”
Worry was her first and middle names where her children were concerned. But she’d been outmaneuvered here, though the cowboy didn’t appear to have much on his mind other than his impending trip to the E.R. Olivia gave both her children a hug, then happened to glance toward the chute again. The cowboy was sitting on the rail, watching them with a grin on his face.
She had never seen a sexier cowboy in her life.
Her skin crawled, itched and tingled.
“Have fun,” she said. “No talking to cowboys!”
“We won’t,” Kenny said. “Maybe just an autograph or two.”
But Olivia had walked away, not hearing his last words. She couldn’t stop thinking about shaggy long black hair, full smiling lips, and predatory black eyes that said Hey, pretty lady, even from a distance.
Wolf.
And she’d seen it all before. Maybe not in such a sinful package, but still, that cowboy wasn’t going to sing her a trailside good-night tune.
SO THE TWO LITTLE rodeo urchins had a cute-as-a-bug mother, Calhoun mused. And no father watching over the family, apparently. The little girl hadn’t said anything about a father in the rodeo when she’d mentioned her mother. He knew all the cowboys hanging around the stalls, and he’d never seen this particular family before. He wondered where they hailed from.
Shaking his head, he tried
