Rodeo Queen (2 page)

“Excuse me,” Sydney began, making her way across the short grass. “Can you tell me where I might find Mike Findley?”

A weathered face returned her smile and Sydney realized he was much older than she had first assumed. “What’s that?”

Sydney realized that he probably couldn’t hear her over the clattering of stock panels as the cattle moved into the pens. “Mike Findley? Do you know where I can find him?”

“Oh, no, I’m not Mike. I’m Jake,” the man hollered.

“Hi Jake, I’m Sydney Thomas.” She raised her voice as well. “I was just crowned rodeo queen and I’m looking for Mike to see if we might carry the sponsor flags or run cattle for him today.”

Jake turned and faced her, crossing his arms. The cattle had quieted so he toned down his voice as well. “Well, Mike’s up with the announcer right now working out of a few details. But he’s not who you’d want to talk to about that.” He leaned back against the trailer, crossing his ankles as if getting relaxed for a long conversation.

Sydney raised her brows in expectation. When Jake didn’t say anything, she pressed. “So, who should I talk to instead?”

“That’d be Scott Chandler.”

Sydney sighed, finding it difficult to restrain herself from punching something. First she’d been shoved into a fence post and now a cryptic cowboy was obviously enjoying a joke at her expense.

“And where would I find Mr. Chandler?”

The Cheshire-cat grin on Jake’s face made her heart sink. No, life couldn’t possibly be that cruel. Her gaze followed the direction of his finger as he pointed to the cowboy atop the sorrel at the stock pen, obviously eavesdropping on their conversation. Swallowing the dry lump that had suddenly materialized in her throat, Sydney squared her shoulders and raised her golden eyes to meet the black eyes of her foe.

“Well, I think you just finished telling him off.” Jake grinned, anticipating the showdown to come.

Sydney had a few choice words that might have suited this moment if her mother hadn’t ingrained in her how unladylike it was to curse. A blush crept up her cheeks as Scott Chandler dismounted his horse and bowed deeply before her.

“Your Majesty,” he mocked. “I am at your disposal.”

She realized that the noise from the stock pen hadn’t kept him from overhearing her conversation with Jake. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know who you were.”

Sarcasm colored his chuckle. “Somehow I don’t think it would have mattered if you had. Now, I am busy, so what did you need, Miss Thomas?”

Sydney took a deep breath and ignored the warmth flooding her cheeks. “I came to see about carrying the sponsor flags and returning the cattle during the rodeo.”

“Experience?”

“Well, I’ve worked for Marks’ Rodeo Company for the last four years doing both, as well as training for the last eight years, five of those professionally.” Sydney’s chin rose indignantly as she felt his gaze weighing heavily on her. She felt suddenly self-conscious in her red jeans and red-and-white plaid Western shirt. Did she look like an immature girl?

Scott gave her a rakish, lopsided grin. “Oh, that’s right. You can outride me.” His brow arched as he articulated her words back to her. “Any day of the week.”

It took everything in her to try to ignore how good-looking this infuriating man was. He towered over her, well over six feet tall, and the black cowboy hat that topped a mop of dark brown hair, barely curling at his collar, gave him a devilish appearance. With sensuous lips and a square jaw, his deeply tanned skin reflected raw male sexuality. She wasn’t sure if he was actually as muscular as his broad shoulders seemed to indicate due to his unruly Western shirt, but his jeans left no imagining necessary to notice the muscular thighs. However, his jet-black eyes almost unnerved her. Those eyes were so dark that Sydney felt she would drown if she continued to meet his gaze.

So much for ignoring his good looks, she chided herself. “Give me a chance out there today to prove it.”

“I don’t see why she can’t run them, Scott.” Jake must have decided that it was time to break up the showdown with his two cents. “She is certainly experienced enough, more than most of the girls you let run flags.”

Scott glared at Jake before turning back to Sydney. She caught Jake’s conspiratorial wink and decided that she liked this old cowboy. Scott would be hard-pressed to find a reason to deny her request now that Jake had sold him out.

“Fine, you can do both. But if anything goes wrong, if a steer so much as takes too long in the arena, you’re finished. Got it, Miss Thomas?” The warning note in his voice was unmistakable.

Sydney flashed a dazzling smile. “Call me Sydney, and it’s no problem.” She clutched her shoulder. “Unless I’m unable to hold the flags since someone ran me into the fence post.”

His look told her he didn’t appreciate her sense of humor. “I mean it. Rodeo starts at ten sharp. Be down here at nine thirty, ready to go.”

A
S THE SASSY
cowgirl walked away, Scott shook his head. “What in the world possessed you to open your mouth, Jake?”

“Aw, Scott, she’ll do fine. Besides, you did run her down with Wiley at the gate. You kinda owed her one.”

Scott watched Sydney head for the gate, taking in her small waist and the spread of her hips in her red pants and down her lean, denim-encased legs. That woman was all curves, moving with the grace of a jungle cat. With her full, pouting lips and those golden eyes, it certainly wouldn’t be painful to look at her all day. “I guess.”

Scott mounted Wiley and headed to change into his clean shirt and show chaps, but he couldn’t seem to shake the image of Sydney Thomas from his mind. He knew that she’d been attracted to him—he’d seen it in her blush—but he’d had enough run-ins with ostentatious rodeo queens over the years, including his ex-fiancée, to know that they simply wanted to tame a cowboy. It was doubtful that this one was any different, although she did have a much shorter temper. He chuckled as he recalled how the gold in her eyes seemed to flame when she was irritated. He wondered if her eyes flamed up whenever she was passionate. Scott shook his head to clear it of visions of the sexy spitfire. No time for that, he had a rodeo to get started.

Chapter Two

S
YDNEY WAS STILL
fuming as she sat on a prancing Valentino during the grand entry. As rodeo queen, now back in costume, she preceded the other riders into the arena, and Valentino quickly picked up on her turbulent emotions, which made him act more nervous than usual. At least they’d both gotten out some of their pent-up aggravation during her queen run. The procession finally filed out of the arena and waited along the arena fence line for the opening ceremonies to begin.

Sydney caught a glimpse of Scott riding by on a magnificent black-and-white paint gelding. He stopped at the arena gate, holding the American flag, waiting for the national anthem to cue his entrance. She noticed he’d changed into a long-sleeved white shirt and added a pair of red-and-blue chaps with silver fringe, accenting his slim hips and hugging his thighs. The shirt clung to his frame like a second skin, confirming his muscular upper body and emphasizing the broad shoulders she’d noticed earlier. He held himself as proud and erect in the saddle, but what captivated her most was his genuine smile and infectious laughter as he chatted with a child through the chain-link fence.

At the sound of the music, the paint’s ears twitched. Scott tapped the gelding’s ribs lightly with his heels and walked into the arena. As the anthem progressed, he cued the horse for gradual speed until he was charging around the arena. The horse’s long black mane flowed backwards like silk as the flag snapped. Scott looked as majestic and regal as a knight going into battle. Suddenly he turned sharply into the center of the arena and slid to a stop as the music played its last strains. Once the music had faded and the announcer had welcomed everyone to the rodeo, he took the gelding for a final lap. The paint’s body and neck stretched out and his ears lay back as he flew around the arena with Scott, who rode as if he and the horse were one.

Sydney watched in awe, not only of his riding abilities, which made her question her earlier challenge to him, but of the picture he presented in the opening ceremony. The crowd’s hearts had been stirred with pride and he’d raised their excitement for the coming events to a roar in mere minutes.

“It’s a beautiful opening, don’t you think?”

Sydney turned, startled, to see a man in his mid-fifties beside her. She immediately noticed the Findley Brothers’ rodeo tack as he flashed her the kindest, most grandfatherly smile she could have imagined.

“Great run, Scott,” he hollered as Scott left the arena amid billowing clouds of dust. Turning his attention back to Sydney, he glanced at the rhinestone crown on her hat. “I hope I’m right in assuming that you’re the new queen? The name’s Mike Findley.”

Smiling, Sydney shook his proffered hand, “I’m Sydney Thomas. I’ve heard great things about you. Chris Greenly and my brother chatted with you earlier this morning while I was competing.”

“I remember. Your brother’s a calf roper, right? Young guy?” Sydney nodded. Her brother had definitely been bitten by the rodeo bug early. At only nineteen, he was already in the top twenty standings nationally in his event.

“And who doesn’t know the Greenly boys-?” Mike laughed. He jerked his chin in Scott’s direction. “Have you met Scott Chandler yet? He’s my arena director.”

“I guess you could say that.”

She was surprised when Mike laughed out loud. “Yeah, I guess Scott does kinda have an attitude problem when it comes to rodeo queens. Don’t understand it myself. I never pass up a chance to be in the company of a pretty lady, especially if she can ride well.”

“Attitude might be a bit of an understatement.” Sydney smiled at the older man. “So, you’ve known him for a while, then?”

“He’s worked with me since he could pick up a rope and been on the road with me since he was fourteen. His parents were my partners. I love him like he was one of my own.”

Sydney made a mental note to keep her criticisms about Scott Chandler to herself when Mike Findley was around. Her smile faltered when she saw the subject of their conversation approaching.

“Hey Mike, everything ready at this end for the first event?”

“It’s all under control.”

Scott flashed Sydney a mischievous smile. Before she could find out what he had planned, she cued Valentino to back up. “I’d better get the first sponsor flag. It was great to—”

“The princess—Alicia, I think?—She’s already down there with it,” Scott interrupted.

Sydney flashed him a knowing smile. “I wouldn’t want to be responsible for anything going wrong.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm as she turned Valentino to leave only to be stopped by his deep-timbre laughter. She glanced back at him over her shoulder. “Something funny?”

“Definitely,” Scott replied, still laughing.

Sydney could see that Mike barely contained his smile while he pretended to be intently inspecting his rope. Her attempt at charming condescension wasn’t having the effect she hoped for, and she felt her shoulders tense in irritation, wondering if there were any possibility of besting him in this instance.

“Besides,” he added. “Someone needs to be down here to return cattle for the next event.”

He was right, but Sydney knew that she couldn’t stay around him without her nerves becoming strung tight, which in turn would aggravate Valentino. She scanned the arena, looking for any excuse, and saw Chris with her parents near the gate.

Turning toward Mike, she smiled genuinely. “It was so good to meet you. I hope we can talk more later.”

“You can count on it.”

Mike’s chuckle followed her as she pivoted Valentino and broke the colt into a jog to meet her parents at the fence. She could feel herself relaxing with every step that took her further from Scott Chandler.

S
YDNEY HAD NO
more left earshot when Mike turned on him, his disappointment apparent. “The way you’re treating that girl isn’t right, Scott.”

“What?” Even Scott didn’t believe the innocence he tried to portray.

“She hasn’t done anything but exactly what you’ve asked. Jake told me what happened earlier.” Scott shrugged. “Have you seen that stallion she’s riding? Her brother told me she broke and trained him. She’s obviously talented.” Mike eyed Scott.

“That girl happens to have a very sharp tongue. Just because she has you fooled doesn’t mean I have to play her games.”

Mike slapped his rope against his thigh absently. “You know, Scott, not every rodeo queen is like Liz.”

“Right,” Scott scoffed. “I haven’t met one yet who
isn’t
like Liz.”

Mike looked to his right, where Sydney sat astride Valentino at the fence with her parents as they handed her a bottle of water. “Yes, you have. You’re just too stubborn to see it.”

A
S
S
COTT WATCHED
the rodeo clown beckon Sydney into the arena, he couldn’t stop the grin that spread on his mouth. He’d seen the prank hundreds of times before and wondered how this smart-mouth queen was going to react. The clown explained to the crowd that he would jump from the mini trampoline he was dragging into the arena and do a flip over his beautiful assistant while she swung a broom over her head. He would then pluck it from her hands and land on the other side of her. Scott watched him pull a well-worn bandana from his back pocket and shake it out.

“You don’t mind if we blindfold you, do you?”

Scott could see the apprehension in her eyes, but the smile never slipped. “Of course not.”

She held the blindfold to her eyes as the clown tied it just below the back of her cowboy hat. “You can’t see anything?”

“Not a thing,” she assured him.

Scott watched as the clown led her into the center of the arena, appreciating the sway of her rear as she made her way. The clown handed her the broom and helped her raise it overhead, adjusting her position several times to make sure her hands were well above her head. Scott tried to ignore the pleasure centering below his belt buckle as her back arched and her breasts pressed against the front of her vest.
Get a hold of yourself. She’s a buckle bunny, just like the rest of them.