The Cowboy and the Angel (12 page)

“Rodeo,” he repeated as he walked to the edge of the water and made his way to his clothing. He watched her, narrowing his eyes intently as if trying to read her thoughts. Derek’s gaze was warm but piercing, reaching into her soul, imploring her to confide in him.

She tried desperately to avoid his penetrating eyes, which caused an entirely different problem. Her gaze shifted to the droplets of water as they fell from his chest, down the planes of his stomach and lower. Her breath caught, his wet clothing leaving little to her imagination. She deliberately turned so she faced the horses until she heard the clink of his belt. Angela turned back in time to see him tighten the belt before running a hand through his wet hair, causing it to stand up at odd angles. He slapped his hat onto his head and frowned at her.

“Angel, I can think of a hundred things that would be more fun to do with you instead of talking about rodeo.” His voice was husky with desire as he reached for his shirt, but he broke the tension with a quick kiss on her cheek. “I guess you’re all work and no play, huh?”

She laid her cheek on her knee and looked up at him, wishing that for a moment she could follow her heart instead of her head, regardless of the consequences. But her heart wasn’t going to pay for rehab for her father; her heart wasn’t going to find a way out of the guilt her father’s drinking had doomed her to live in.

Derek reached for her and gently caressed her cheek with his thumb. He acted as if he wanted to say something but restrained himself. It wasn’t what she expected and made her feel like a tease, drawing him close then pushing him away. Derek didn’t react the way most men would. He intrigued her as much as he confused her.

“Rodeo it is, then,” he agreed, sitting on the ground beside her. “Let’s start with the first event.”

Chapter Nine

D
EREK HADN’T MEANT
to ignore her on the way to the lake, but he needed to get a grip on the desire rushing through his veins, threatening to consume him. Space had been the only way to accomplish it, and even that hadn’t been enough to cool the longing pulsing in time with his heartbeat. He’d never wanted a woman the way he did Angela. Maybe it was because she was dangerous, off limits, but when she was in his arms, she sure didn’t feel forbidden. She felt willing and sweet and tempting. He hadn’t meant to reveal anything about his family to her, but when she turned those emerald eyes on him, she had a way of getting him to let his guard down.

He watched as she finished grooming the mare, wanting to sneak behind her and press his mouth over the bared curve of her neck, to kiss her shoulder and feel her tremble the way she had in the lake. He wanted to cause the goose bumps to rise on her flesh again and felt his body answer with his own unfulfilled need.

She dusted her hands off on her jeans and turned toward him, catching him mid-fantasy. “Take her back to the stall?”

She was learning quickly, and by Thursday’s rodeo, she would probably be able to saddle her own horse. He leaned against the corral fence. “You remember how I showed you to lead her?”

Angela nodded, her ponytail flipping over her shoulder, making her look innocent and . . . well, adorable. What he wouldn’t give to press a kiss to her pretty pink lips.

Down, boy
.
This filly is pretty skittish.

But, damn, if she didn’t make him want to gentle her, even when she was being obstinate. He wanted to find out what it was that drove her, what was going on behind those green eyes that made her so sad at times. He wanted to know what caused the near impenetrable wall that protected her heart. Something had her scared, and he was determined to find out what it was.

“You coming?” She stopped and looked back at him nervously.

“I think you have this.” Derek didn’t want to push her too hard and hoped she’d make the next move. He winked at her. “Unless you want me to come?”

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever you want to do, cowboy. First stall, right?”

Derek nodded. He was disappointed but he wasn’t going to let it deter him. He had a few more days of her undivided attention to get her to warm up to him. He hung back at the corral, his hands unsaddling his gelding while he watched her from the corner of his eye.

“How’d it go today?” Mike asked as he leaned against the corral fence, watching Angela in the barn. “She’s putting Honey away by herself?”

“She did well. We checked out most of the north pasture, to the lake at least, and she asked a lot of questions about rodeo.”

“Enough to know what she’s looking at this weekend? I’m so tired of hearing that using a flank strap is abuse.”

Derek shrugged and nodded. “She will by Thursday.” He pulled the saddle from his gelding’s back and set it on the fence, turning the animal loose in the corral. “You realize she’s hiding something.” Mike cocked his head to the side in question. “I don’t know what it is, but . . .” Derek let his words falter, unsure what else to say.

“Silvie and Sydney said the same thing. Something’s haunting that girl. I saw it in her eyes that first day.” Mike shrugged his shoulders and waved a hand. “Who knows, maybe that’s why I invited her.”

He clapped the older man on his shoulder. “Your soft heart is going to get us into trouble one of these days. You can’t keep taking in every stray and trying to fix every broken heart.”

Derek knew he was wasting his breath. It was just one of the things that made Mike who he was. After all, he’d taken in three homeless kids and raised them as his own. Derek couldn’t help but wonder if Mike hadn’t bitten off more than he could chew this time. Angela was tenacious. She wanted a story, for whatever reason, and she didn’t seem inclined to give up until she had one.

A
NGELA PUSHED HER
computer away from her on the bedspread. She couldn’t watch another gruesome video. She’d seen enough animals with broken limbs being tormented or shocked with electric prods to make her sick to her stomach. How could Derek or anyone else defend these actions? The image of frightened baby cattle trying to run from the arena with legs obviously broken burned behind her eyes. Rubbing her forehead with her fingers, she sighed, wondering if these videos were indicative of what she was going to have to watch on a daily basis for the next few weekends.

Her fingers found the ring on her necklace and began rolling it between her fingers, wishing, as she often did, that her mother would give her a sign, some sort of advice, on which direction to take. She was met with only the silence of her room and the steady thud of her heartbeat.

After unsaddling the horse she’d begged off eating with the family, claiming she wanted to do some research. In reality she’d needed to put some space between Derek and her raging hormones. That man was enough to make a nun forget her vow of chastity. It barely took a look from those dark chocolate eyes of his and she melted into a puddle of quivering desire. It had taken every bit of self-control at the lake for her to keep from wrapping her legs around his waist and letting him satisfy the need she felt burning inside her. She’d never ached for a man before or craved the feeling of his hands on her skin and fantasized about what it would feel like to finally give in to him. Every feeling was completely foreign and frightening. It was the fear that made her feel the need to hide.

After disappearing into her room, she’d decided to distract herself from thoughts of him by researching the rodeo events online. It hadn’t been hard to learn the basics of the events, so she started looking for sites discussing the management of the animals and was shocked by what she’d found. A few sites touted the humane treatment of the animals, but they were outnumbered by pages of anti-rodeo articles, pictures, and videos. Animal cruelty abounded throughout the sport and most of the time was dismissed as just part of the performance. She didn’t think she could stomach being surrounded by it day in and out for the next few weeks.

Angela rose and walked to the window, staring out at the corral below where Sydney rode a gray horse in circles. It was going to be difficult to separate fiction from reality with this story. She couldn’t talk with anyone directly connected with the sport because they’d be biased. She needed to find a large-animal veterinarian to interview about the animal care, something she had no experience with, in order to clear up arguments between the two sides. She bit her bottom lip before grabbing her cell phone and dialing Joe.

“Hey, Gigi!” She cringed at his nickname for her. She hated it with a passion. At least he seemed to be in a good mood.

“Joe, I need a big favor.” She heard his dramatic sigh. “Oh, come on, it’s not
that
big of a favor.”

“Gigi, I have the station breathing down my neck to get you back from your ‘vacation’ early as it is.”

She pressed on as if he hadn’t spoken. “I’m heading to the first rodeo on Thursday. I don’t suppose we could get someone out there?”

“Doubt it. First, I don’t have the manpower for it. Second, I told you, you’re on your own until you bring me something substantial.” She heard someone in the background talking to him and he covered the mouthpiece of his phone to answer. “I have to run. An issue with one of the teleprompters,” he explained.

“Can you set up an interview for me with a local large-animal vet? Someone not involved with this stock contractor or rodeo. I want a completely unbiased opinion.”

“That I can do for you, but I can’t promise it will be in the same town. Small towns may not have too many vets, and since you want to be particular, we might have to go to the next town.”

A smile of relief appeared . She could always count on Joe. “That shouldn’t be a problem. I’d like to interview them before I head out on Thursday.”

“I’ll text you all the details. Keep me posted.”

“Thanks, Joe.”

“By the way, your dad is doing okay. I had to take him home last night, but he wasn’t too far gone. I think he misses you. You might want to give him a call.” She could hear the note of disappointment in his voice.

“I’ll call him as soon as I get a chance.” The guilt pricked her conscience. She’d been gone only a day, but it had felt good to be free from the constant worry.

“Just make sure you do.” Joe sighed again. “You know, I would take care of both of you if you’d just let me.”

She didn’t get a chance to answer before he disconnected the call.

S
YDNEY LOOKED UP
and waved as Angela made her way to the corral, her legs and rear aching with every stiff step she took. She hoped she didn’t look as awkward as she felt, but the more she concentrated on the pain in her lower half, the more uncoordinated she felt. Sydney laughed and brought the horse to the fence.

“That bad?” She dropped her hand with the reins to the horse’s neck.
Gelding
, Angela corrected herself.

Angela laughed in spite of the pain. “Yes, isn’t there something I can do?”

Sydney shrugged. “I went through it after having Kassie when I hadn’t ridden for a few weeks. My best advice is to do a lot of walking.”

“But that’s what hurts.” She exaggerated a pained expression. “Who’s this?” She reached through the fence and petted the gelding on the forehead.

“This is Bully. He’ll eventually be one of the horses used by the pickup men.”

“Bully?”

Sydney laughed. “Yeah, he tends to pick fights with the other horses in the pasture and likes to challenge the pecking order. He’s a bit of a bully to the younger horses, so the name stuck.”

Angela looked up at the woman on the horse. She looked like she was about the same age as Angela, but she also seemed to have a sense of composure and serenity that Angela didn’t possess. “How long have you been riding and working with horses?”

“As long as I can remember.” Sydney dismounted and led the gelding to the gate. “Come with me to do the barn. We can talk while I unsaddle him.” Angela tried keep up with Sydney, grimacing as she moved her limbs. “My parents have a cattle ranch near West Hills so I’ve been riding horses and working cattle forever.”

The gelding nudged Sydney on the shoulder, demanding attention as she clipped his halter and began to unsaddle him. “He likes you,” Angela pointed out. “They all seem to.”

Sydney put his halter on and opened her hands, using her fingertips to rub just below his eyes. The gelding stuck his nose near hers, and she watched Sydney kiss him. “You’re a good boy, aren’t you?” She patted his forehead before reaching for the saddle and disappeared into the tack room.

The gelding turned his attention to Angela, nosing her arm. She reached out a hand, tentatively petting his cheeks, staring into his soft brown eyes. He was a smoky-gray color, with lighter spots covering his coat and white down the middle of his face and his front two legs. Sydney came out of the tack room and led the gelding into one of the empty stalls, patting him roughly on the shoulder as she removed the halter.

“Doesn’t that hurt him?” Angela asked.

“What?” Sydney looked at her, confused.

“When you hit him on the shoulder that way?” Sydney hung the halter on the outside of his stall and she followed Sydney to the tack room where she hung up the bridle.

Sydney glanced at her. “No, horse hide is much thicker than ours. Come into the office,” she said, leading Angela into what she had assumed was another tack room.

She looked around her, surprised by her mistake. Windows graced the sides of the room, one looking into the barn and the other looking out toward the corral. The back wall was lined with bookshelves and file cabinets. Sydney moved to the first cabinet and withdrew a folder, tossing it onto the desk. Angela moved to a studded leather couch against the wall.

“Thirsty?” Sydney opened a small refrigerator in the corner. “I have sodas or water.”

“Water is fine.” Angela took the bottle from Sydney, noticing several boxes with medication on the shelf of the refrigerator. She made a mental note of the labels: boxes of Phenylbutazone paste and sealed packages of vials and syringes with “Fluvac” written on the outside. She recited the names in her head, determined to look them up online when she went inside. She’d read about rodeo stock being drugged to perform and wanted to see if there might be truth to the rumor.