What’s your name?”
The girl stared at his hand then up at the woman. When the blonde placed her palm against the child’s back and nodded once, the girl extended her tiny hand and shook his.
“Phoebe.”
Thinking maybe he looked intimidating to someone so much shorter than he was and being a stranger to boot, he was careful not to hold her hand too firmly.
“That’s a pretty name. Do you like rodeos?”
“We’ve never been to one,” another boy, this one a bit older, said.
Instead of asking more questions, Jason shifted his attention to the woman and noticed she was watching him as if sizing him up, determining if he was a threat to her young charges. He got the feeling she wouldn’t hesitate to do whatever was necessary to protect them.
“Do you have any questions?” he asked the boy without taking his eyes away from his protector.
“Sloane said there are different events. What do you do?”
Sloane. That must be the mystery blonde’s name. It fit her somehow, pretty but strong and no-nonsense. He had no idea how he was able to garner that much about her in only a handful of minutes, but his gut told him he was right.
He smiled just a hint and shifted his gaze to the boy. “I’m a steer wrestler.”
“That’s the one where you jump off the running horse and tackle a cow with horns?”
Jason chuckled. “Something like that.”
He figured a lesson on the differences between steers, cows, heifers and bulls was probably a bit too much detail for the youngsters.
The boy asked several more questions in quick succession, as if he were being tested to see how much rodeo knowledge he could stuff into his brain in a certain amount of time. When he started to ask another, Sloane held out her hand to halt him.
“That’s enough, Daron. We’ve taken up enough of Jason’s time,” she said.
“It’s okay,” Jason said, drawing her attention back to him. “I don’t mind.”
Especially if it kept Sloane around a little longer.
A second woman joined the group, accompanied by another little girl. These two, however, he could tell were related. The woman made eye contact with him for a moment, offered a smile, but then shot Sloane a questioning look.
Sloane motioned toward the new arrivals. “My sister, Angel, and niece, Julia.”
They didn’t look as if they were blood-related, not with Sloane being blond and fair and Angel of Native American descent, but the country was full of blended families.
He extended his hand to Angel. “Jason Till. Nice to meet you.”
Angel shook his hand. “You, too. Are you one of the riders?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“He’s a steer wrestler,” Daron said with so much enthusiasm that Jason couldn’t help but smile.
“We should get to our seats,” Sloane said.
“We’ve got plenty of time,” Angel replied.
He caught the look of surprise Sloane shot her sister, and if he wasn’t mistaken Angel reciprocated with one of mischief. Sloane, the surprised expression now totally gone as if it had never existed, turned to him.
“Thanks for taking the time to talk to the kids.”
“No problem.”
“Good luck tonight.”
“Thank you. I’ll do my best to put on a good show for these guys,” he said as he motioned toward the kids.
She said nothing else, just offered a quick smile and nod before she turned all of her attention to directing the kids toward the grandstands. Little Phoebe looked over her shoulder at him and offered a shy wave. He waved back, surprised by the way her smile lifted his mood. It wasn’t as if he was in a bad mood, but there was just something so sweet and pure about the little girl.
“I don’t suppose you have any free time this weekend, do you?”
The question caught him totally off guard. Was Angel about to ask him out? Not that she wasn’t pretty because she definitely was, but she wasn’t the sister who had captured his attention.
Before he could answer, she motioned toward Sloane and the kids. “My sister runs camps for underprivileged kids, where they come out and spend a weekend on our ranch. They get exposure to the animals, camp outside, learn about ranch life. This is the first time we’ve brought them to a rodeo, and it seems as if they’re interested in learning more. Thought maybe you could come out to the ranch and talk to them some more about what it’s like to be a rodeo cowboy.”
He’d never done anything like that before, but if he got to spend some more time with Sloane...well, it would sure beat hanging around the fairgrounds listening to tales of Bo’s latest romantic exploits.
“I could do that.”
“Great.” She rifled through her purse, then pulled out a business card and handed it to him. “Just text me when’s a good time for you and we’ll make it work.”
He gave her a nod and watched as she joined the others. When he saw the curious look on Sloane’s face, he bit his lip to keep from laughing. He knew that expression, having seen it from his own sister on more than one occasion. It promised payback like only a sibling could serve up.
When Sloane shifted her gaze to him, he tapped the brim of his hat with his index finger and offered what he hoped was a smile charming enough to relax her suspicion. When she merely turned away, he did laugh under his breath.
“I’m telling you, that one’s going to be a tough nut to crack,” Bo said as he joined Jason. “Lot easier ways to get some female company.”
“Maybe some things are worth working for,” he said as he gave Bo a backhanded slap to the chest, then headed toward the barn. He needed to get in the right headspace for the competition. After all, he had to put on a good show for the campers.
And if their camp counselor liked what she saw, all the better.
* * *
SLOANE HARTLEY STARED hard at her approaching sister. “You are up to something.”
Angel made a pffftt sound as she reached Sloane. “I think you have me confused with our brothers. They’re the ones always up to something.”
Sloane propped her hands on her hips. “I’ve always heard it’s the quiet ones you have to watch out for.”
“I’m not that quiet.”
“But you do fly under the radar.”
“Not hard when my siblings have such big personalities.”
