Rodeo Queen (37 page)

He slipped the ring onto her finger, forever proclaiming her as his wife, and kissed the band on her hand. “I love you,” he whispered.

A tear fell from her cheek, coursing to her chin, and he reached up to wipe it away with his thumb, not even thinking about the people surrounding them.

“I now pronounce you, man and wife.”

Their friends and family cheered as Scott pulled his bride into his arms and pressed his lips to hers. He curved his arm around her back and pulled her closer, branding her as his for all eternity.

Epilogue

“S
YDNEY
,” S
COTT CALLED
as he shook her shoulder gently. “Come on, sleepyhead. Wake up.”

She stretched and yawned, opening her eyes, and rolled onto her back, smiling at the sight before her. Scott sat beside her on the bed, his black eyes shining. She reached up and touched his cheek.

“Your daughter is hungry,” he pointed out as the bundle in his arms mewed, letting everyone know she was not pleased.

Sydney scooted into a sitting position in the bed. Reaching for her three-month-old daughter in her husband’s arms, she opened her gown. Scott watched the tender moment as their child nursed. Kassie had quickly wiggled her way into her father’s heart. Any remaining desire to keep his love for his girls hidden was gone. Kassie’s eyes, as dark as his own but shimmering with the gold flecks that indicated the fiery temperament of her mother, had melted any remaining reservations.

“Are you going to stare all day?” Scott leaned over and tasted his wife’s lips. He could see the passion flame in her eyes. He smiled, knowing that he would never grow tired of the woman he had married.

Scott glanced down at the baby nursing at Sydney’s breast. “Lucky girl,” he teased, winking. Sydney wiggled her index finger at him. He cocked his head and gave her a rakish grin. “Now, woman, I cannot simply service you at the snap of your fingers.” He touched his lips to her own again, tasting the sweetness of her mouth as their tongues dueled. A knock at the door halted their kiss and Scott growled at the intrusion.

“Scott.” Jen’s voice sounded through the closed door.

Sydney laughed and pulled the blanket over her to cover her breast. “Come in, Jen,” Sydney called to her sister-in-law.

“Good morning.” Jen waddled in with her hand at her lower back, her very pregnant belly leading the way. “How is Kassie this morning?”

“Hungry again,” Scott remarked. He wished they could have had more privacy, even gone on a honeymoon, but Sydney’s pregnancy had prevented it. But once the mares foaled, he promised himself, they were going on a trip, just the two of them.

Jen leaned down and whispered into Scott’s ear. “What?” Sydney asked as Scott’s face broke into a broad grin.

“Hurry and get dressed.” He reached to take Kassie from her arms, his heart racing as he thought about how surprised she would be. “I’ll make her a bottle.”

“No, I’ll feed her,” Sydney argued. “Why? What is it?”

“Trust me. Just get dressed.” He slipped the baby from her arms and immediately heard her mewing protests. “Oh, you can wait two seconds for a bottle.” Scott reached for a nearby pacifier and slipped it into her mouth as he headed into the kitchen to prepare a bottle.

“I don’t understand what the big deal is,” Sydney muttered as she climbed out the bed, watching Scott leave the room.

W
HEN
S
COTT RETURNED,
holding a bottle in his daughter’s mouth, he found Sydney dressed in blue jeans and a t-shirt, reaching for a hairbrush. “Not now. Come on. We don’t have time for that,” he grumbled.

“What is so important that I can’t even run a brush through my hair?” she asked as he herded her toward the door and out toward the back patio doors. Jen had followed them, and as they reached the barn he held Kassie out to her aunt.

Sydney opened the doors as he led her past the corral and to the barn. “Ready?”

She nodded and he slid the large door open. He led her to Cougar’s stall. As Sydney walked up, he pointed toward the mare. “He’s yours.”

Who is mine?

Sydney looked at the mare who would be foaling any day and noticed that she seemed thinner. She looked around the stall and noticed the small, smoky gray mound near one wall. She gasped as a small head lifted and stared at her with dark, liquid eyes. The colt unwound his long legs from beneath him and tried to stand. After several attempts, he finally managed to balance himself on four spindly legs. Sydney laughed as the young colt shook on uncertain legs before making his way to her, cautiously, curiously.

“Have you imprinted him?” She looked back over her shoulder at Scott in the doorway.

“We were waiting for you to do it.” He smiled down at her.

Sydney squatted on the balls of her feet, careful not to startle the foal. Slowly, he stuck his nose out to smell the stranger. Cougar nudged Sydney with her nose.

“You did good, mama.” She kissed the mare’s velvety muzzle as the foal nudged her in the chest.

She ran her hands over the fur of his neck and looked into his eyes. The eyes that stared back at her bravely were Valentino’s.

“They say the eyes are the windows to the soul,” Scott commented.

Sydney looked back at Scott as she continued to rub the foal’s legs and chest, getting him accustomed to being touched by humans. She knew he must have noticed the same thing she had. “What should we name him?”

“He’s yours. What do you want to name him?”

“Let’s see . . . what about Smokey?” She ran her hands over his forehead and ears.

The colt whinnied and shook his head. She laughed, amazed that he was just as opinionated as his sire had been. “Okay, picky, what do you think of Casanova?” She reached for one of his now sturdy legs and patted the bottom of a hoof. The colt nudged her neck with his muzzle and nibbled at her ear. “Casanova it is.” She laughed.

Sydney stood and stepped into Scott’s arms as they looked at the colt. “He looks just like Valentino did when he was born.”

“Valentino is a big part of him.”

Sydney leaned backward and kissed his lips tenderly. “Thank you.”

“You are very welcome. I love you, Mrs. Chandler.” He grinned against her lips. “The smartest thing I ever did was ask you to marry me.”

“You can say that again,” she teased, her voice husky with barely contained passion. He raised his brow at her. “But the smartest thing
I
ever did was to say yes.”

She scooped a handful of grain from a bucket nearby and held it out to the mare. “You’ve got her eating out of the palm of your hand.”

Sydney smiled and gave him a sidelong glance. “The way you eat out of mine?”

Scott reached for Sydney’s free hand and brought her palm to his lips, nipping at the sensitive flesh. “Is that what you had in mind?”

Her limbs went liquid as she gazed into the black eyes that she had once thought belonged to the devil, eyes that still held the power to drown her in passion. “Not exactly.” She sighed.

Scott led her back into the house, past Kassie’s room where Jen was already rocking their daughter to sleep. He bent and scooped Sydney into his arms, carrying her to their room and shutting the door behind him with a worn cowboy boot. She saw where he was headed and pushed against his chest.

“Scott, we can’t. Derek will be here any second and Jen is just down the hall,” she protested.

“To hell with them.” Scott grinned mischievously. “We’re newlyweds. They’ll understand.” Sydney ran her fingers through the curls at the nape of his neck.

“I love you, princess. I always have.”

“Always?” She asked, smiling. “I remember a time when you couldn’t stand to have me around.”

“I always wanted you around. I just didn’t want to admit it.” He pressed his lips to hers.

“I love you.”

“Princess, I love you more than I can even put into words.”

Sydney could see the truth shining in his eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck, content to be held by her cowboy for eternity.

An Excerpt from
The Cowboy And The Angel

CHAPTER ONE

“Angela, call on line three,”

“Can’t you just handle it, Joe? I don’t have time for this b.s.” It was probably just another stupid mom calling hoping she’d feature her daughter’s viral video in some feel-good news story. When was she ever going to get her break and get some hard-hitting news?

“They asked for you.”

She sighed. Maybe if she left them listening to that horrible elevator music long enough, they’d hang up. Joe edged closer to her desk.

“Just pick up the damn phone and see what they want.”

“Fine.” She glared at him as she punched the button. The look she gave him belied the sweet tone of her voice. “Angela McCallister, how can I help you?”

Joe leaned against her cubical wall, listening to her part of the conversation. She waved at him irritably. It wasn’t always easy when your boss was your oldest friend, and ex-boyfriend. He quirked a brow at her.

Go away,
she mouthed.

“Are you really looking for new stories?”

She assumed the male voice on the line was talking about the calls the station ran at the end of several news programs asking for stories of interest. Most of them ended up in her mental ignore file but once in a while she’d found one worth pursuing.

“We’re always looking for events and stories of interest to our local viewers.” She rolled her eyes, reciting the words Joe taught her early on in her career as a reporter. She was tired of
pretending any of this sucking up was getting her anywhere. Viewers only saw her as a pretty face.

“I have a lead that might interest you.” She didn’t answer, waiting for the caller to elaborate. “There’s a rodeo coming to town and they are full of animal cruelty and abuse.”

This didn’t sound like a feel-good piece. The caller had her attention now. “Do you have proof?”

The voice gave a bitter laugh, sounding vaguely familiar. “Have you ever seen a rodeo? Electric prods, cinches wrapped around genitals, sharp objects placed under saddles to get horses to buck . . . it’s all there.”

She listened as the caller detailed several incidents at nearby rodeos where animals had to be euthanized due to injuries. Angela arched a brow, taking notes as the caller continued to give her several websites she might research that backed the accusations.

“Can I contact you for more information?” She heard him hemming. “You don’t have to give me your name. Maybe just a phone number or an email address where I can reach you?” The caller gave her both. “Do you mind if I ask one more question – why me?”

“Because you seem like you care about animal rights. That story you did about the stray kittens and the way you found them a home, it really showed who you were inside.”

Angela barely remembered the story other than Joe had forced it on her when she’d asked for one about a local politician sleeping with his secretary, reminding her that viewers saw her as their local sweetheart. She found herself reporting about a litter of stray kittens, smiling at the local shelter as families adopted their favorites, and Jennifer Michaels broke the infidelity story and was now anchoring at a station in Los Angeles. She was tired of this innocent, girl-next-door act.

“I’ll see what I can do,” she promised, deciding how to best pitch this story to Joe and whether it would be worth it at all.

“What was that all about?” Joe waved at one of the news crew as they passed. She recognized the man as one of the nameless camera crew she routinely worked with but didn’t even remember his name. “Hey, Greg.”

Greg, that’s right.
She knew she’d forget him in minutes. The only thing she could afford to think about right now was how this story might advance her career. She needed to get her father out of their neighborhood and quickly. He hadn’t come home again last night and she prayed he was sleeping off his hangover somewhere safe. She opened her laptop and an internet search for rodeo animal cruelty.

“Well?”

“Give me a few minutes to see if it’s even worthwhile.” She clicked on the first result, bookmarking several videos to watch.

“You know you make me nervous when you get secretive.” She turned toward him, smiling broadly, her eyes flashing with excitement and a curl of tension winding in her stomach the way it always did when she was on the right track for a good story. “Man, I know that look.”

Joe shook his head and jammed his hands into his pockets. “Let me know before today is up or it’s a no-go. No wasting time chasing dead ends.”

“Mike,” Derek called, shifting his straw hat further back on his forehead. “You need to come do another interview.”

Tossing the last of the alfalfa over the fence to the cattle, he narrowed his eyes at the news van stopped at the back gate of the rodeo arena. He didn’t want to be seen on camera with sweat trickling down his back and staining his t-shirt nor did he have the time. They only had a few hours left before the last rodeo performance of the weekend and every minute was essential.

“I don’t have time for this today, Derek.” Mike’s voice was muffled as he unloaded the saddles from the tack compartment of the stock trailer. “You can tell them the same thing I would – no comment.” He poked his gray head out from inside and glanced toward the back gate. “It’s probably just another local story anyway. Besides, they’ll want a good-looking guy like you on camera before they want my grizzly face on there.”