Authors: Jennifer Ryan

When It's Right (31 page)

Las Vegas, Nevada â Pro Bull Riders World Championships

B
ell loved everything about her first rodeo. The cowboys in their Wranglers and chaps. The beautiful horses. The excitement that built with every second of the ride. The lights in the arena, and the roar of the crowd as they cheered for each competitor. She'd never seen such a spectacle.

She'd thought the same thing when her plane flew over the Las Vegas strip the other day.

Her half-sister Katherine grabbed her arm when another bull burst out of the chute. The crowd's cheers turned to an ominous
oh
as the rider flew off the massive animal and landed on unsteady legs, making a run for the fences when the bull turned and rushed his way. Katherine's husband Tony waved his arms along with the other rodeo clowns to distract the beast from going after the retreating bull rider.

“He's so sexy,” her sister said about Tony, finally letting go the death grip she had on Bell's arm.

Bell smiled at her vibrant sister, wondering how the hell they got here. Bell had tried to get out of this trip to Las Vegas and of all things, the Pro Bull Riders World Finals. She might be from Montana, but she'd never been a ranch girl.

Two years ago, Katherine showed up at her grandmother's houseâBell's purgatoryâand discovered the family secretâa half-sister from an affair her father had years ago. The look on Katherine's face changed from shock to dawning understanding about all those snippets of whispered conversations between their father and her mother. For Katherine, it finally all made sense. Angry about being kept in the dark, she'd apparently contacted their father in California demanding answers. Only one was given. Bell may be Katherine's half-sister, but she was not family. Flabbergasted by their father's response, Katherine went against their father's dictates and continued to contact Bell.

While Katherine knew nothing of Bell, their grandmother rejoiced in sharing all the details of Katherine's blessed life, torturing Bell with the fact she was nothing more than an unwanted burden. Katherine had been the chosen one. Bell the whisper behind one's hand. The skeleton locked in the family closet. Never to be seen again.

Somehow Bell ended up here, sitting beside the woman who had the life Bell had once dreamed about. Katherine grew up in a beautiful home surrounded by love from both her parents. She'd been the golden, spoiled child.

Bell's life had been anything but charmed. Her whole family hated her, including the grandmother who raised her. A religious zealot, she'd told Bell every day that she was nothing but a sin, a spawn of evil, something to be hidden away from civilized, God-fearing people. Even her own parents recognized the evil in her and cast her out. She should be grateful her grandmother took pity on her and raised her, trying every day through prayer to convince God to save her from her wicked ways.

She'd lived in hell, under her grandmother's rigid dictates, enduring her sharp, bitter tongue. Because once she'd known kindness.

Before her grandfather died, he'd taken a keen interest in educating her and sparking her interest in gardening and raising chickens. She'd never forget the day he brought her outside to the new coop and asked her to hold out her hands and close her eyes. She cupped them in front of her, closed her eyes, and thrilled at the anticipation rising inside of her. He set something fuzzy in her hands. When she opened them, she squealed with delight at the bright yellow chick he'd given her and the ten others flitting about her feet.

She remembered his kind smile and the playful way he'd tug her hair when she did something well. She wished she remembered him better. For him, she continued to take care of her grandmother. One good deed deserved another. Though some kindnesses were harder to repay than others. And her grandmother made it extremely difficult to this day.

Why the hell did Bell agree to come here? They had nothing in common. Polar opposites, Katherine's optimism clashed with Bell's realistic outlook on life. Their awkward conversations and interaction proved the divide between them might never be bridged. Still, Katherine plugged on, trying and trying to connect with Bell, despite Bell's reluctance to open up. No one in the family ever wanted her. She didn't understand why Katherine cared, so she kept things polite but distant. Until Katherine begged her to take this trip with her and Tony. Bell gave in to that nagging voice in her heart, telling her to stop pushing Katherine away, let her in, and try to forge a relationship with her one and only sister.

So she'd flown in with Katherine and met Tony at the hotel after he drove his bulls in for the competition. She planned to make the most out of her short vacation and try to get to know Katherine better.

The crowd cheered again and Bell silently admitted she had another secret reason for coming. A chance to see
him
again.

“Our last rider of the night,” the announcer began. “A man who needs no introduction. Dane Bowden!”

The crowd went wild, rising to their feet, fists pumping in the air, cheering, “Great Dane. Great Dane. Great Dane.”

Bell sat on the edge of her seat, heart in her throat, eyes locked on the man she hadn't seen since that day his horse threw him by the river. He climbed up onto the gates of the chute, pulled off his black Stetson, and gave a single wave to the crowd, flashing that devilish grin she remembered from her childhood. Everything in her went still, the crowd and noise fell away, and all she could see was the man she could never forget.

Geared up in
his safety vest, chaps, spurs, and signature black Stetson, Dane climbed over the rails and into the bucking chute and took his position on the beast's black back. Twelve hundred pounds of pent-up raging bull beneath him, he slipped his hand beneath the flat braided cord, pulled the rope over his hand, secured his grip, and held on for dear life. Eight seconds to decide where he'd land between victory and death.

It sucked that he had a tear along the thumb in his favorite pair of deerskin gloves, but he tried not to let it throw him off his game. Someone had been messing with him, his gear, and his truck for the last two weeks but nothing could stop Dane today. He'd always been able to put everything aside, focus, and reach for that thrill and the win. This was his last championship ride, and he meant to go out a winner. He'd promised his parents and brothers he'd come home, run the family ranch, give up his wandering ways and settle down to a normalâboringâlife.

Yeah, right after this ride.

He'd tame this black beast tonight, then deal with the one within when he settled back home in Montana. Tonight, he'd ride under the Las Vegas lights.

Dane nodded, the chute door opened, and the bull bucked and reared. Dane held tight, one arm in the air as the bull twisted and the crowd went wild. He sank his spurs into the bull's side, held tight with his knees, and moved with Black Cloud. The bull kicked, reared, and spun around. Blake held tight for another round. Time to get off this ride, collect his winnings, and go out number one. The spot he'd been chasing these last years, but always seemed one place out of his grasp. With three big brothers, first always seemed out of reach. He'd been second this whole year. Might as well be last. Tonight, he'd finish first. A champion.

The buzzer sounded eight seconds. Done. Victory. Dane smiled as the crowd cheered.

There are two great athletes in every ride. The two-legged one won this time.

Dane tried to dismount, but the bull spun at the last second and caught him in the side before his feet hit the ground. The rodeo clowns moved forward in his peripheral vision, but not in time. Black Cloud turned, rammed his head into Dane's chest, and sent him flying again. The impact pushed the air and his mouth guard out of his mouth. He bit the side of his lip and tasted blood. Sideways in the air, his left foot touched the ground first, then his body slammed into the dirt. His head bounced with the impact, making his vision spark and blur, but not before he saw the bull's body swing over the top of him in slow motion, his massive hooves coming down at Dane's legs, snapping his left leg bones like twigs. The flesh tore along with his jeans. White-hot pain shot through every nerve like lightning. Dane's heart jack-hammered in his chest and ears. The bull rammed him again with his huge head, sliding Dane several feet along the dirt. The fierce pain shot through him, stealing his breath. His heart slammed into his ribs.

Shit. This can't be it. I can't go out like this.

So many things he wanted to do with his life. Instead of the past coming back to him, flashes of all he'd never do ran through his mind. He'd never run his own ranch. Never get married. Never have children. Never know the kind of love and happiness the rest of his family had found.

Damn if fate hadn't swung the rope, lassoed his life, and yanked him from victory toward death.

Overwhelmed with pain, his body went numb, a collective gasp went up from the crowd, and the lights went out.

About the Author

Photo by Steve Hopkins

J
ENNIFER RYAN is the
New York Time
s and
USA Today
bestselling author of The Hunted series and the McBride series. She writes romantic suspense and contemporary small-town romances featuring strong men and equally resilient women. Her stories are filled with love, friendship, and the happily-ever-after we all hope to find. Jennifer lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and three children. When she isn't writing a book, she's reading one. Her obsession with both is often revealed in the state of her home and in how late dinner is to the table. When she finally leaves those fictional worlds, you'll find her in the garden, playing in the dirt and daydreaming about people who live only in her head, until she puts them on paper.

www.jennifer-ryan.com

www.avonromance.com

www.facebook.com/avonromance

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