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CHAPTER ONE
Sitting on a barstool drinking a cold beer after a long, hot, dusty day, bull rider Rick Campbell caught sight of Bailey Martin as she entered The Tavern. She was a trick rider, and she was still dressed in her clingy red, white and blue outfit. Watching the shapely, auburn-haired, green-eyed beauty amble across the room to join her friends at a nearby table, he tried not to stare.
He always tried not to stare when he saw her.
Sometimes he was successful.
Other times, not so much.
“I heard she dumped Steve Anderson, you know, the bronc rider.”
“What else is new?” Rick muttered, turning his attention back to Dan, the owner of the comfortable eatery who also enjoyed tending bar. “It seems she doesn’t date anyone for more than five minutes.”
“From what I hear, that’s not the only thing she doesn’t do,” Dan continued with a grin. “Maybe you should find out if the rumors are true.”
“Are you kiddin’? Why would I spend time with a woman who has a degree in walkin’ away.”
“Hey, if you can ride a bull surely you can handle Bailey, or do you think she’d be too much for you?”
“Too much for me?” Rick said with a chuckle. “Them’s is fightin’ words!”
“Are you up for it? Oops, bad choice of words there,” Dan added with a chuckle.
“You’re a funny guy, but no, thanks. She’s probably waitin’ for a rich guy like Duke Elwood to slide a rock on her finger. Either that or she just needs…”
“Needs what?”
“Nothin’,” Rick mumbled, imagining the gorgeous girl draped over his knee while he spanked her naked ass.
“Come on, tell me what you were about to say. Wait…heads up…she’s comin’ over,” the bartender warned, hastily lowering his voice.
Resisting the temptation to swivel around, Rick picked up his beer and took a long drink.
“Hi, Dan,” the girl said cheerily as she reached the bar. “Two Tequila Sweet Teas please.”
“Comin’ right up.”
She was standing just a few feet away, and Rick could detect the subtle aroma of her perfume. He wasn’t crazy about fragrances, but he liked hers. It was fresh, with hints of lemon and lime.
“Hey, Rick, that was some ride you pulled off at that last show,” she remarked. “Everyone’s still talking about it.”
“Yeah? What are they sayin’?”
Glancing at her, he noticed tiny freckles across the bridge of her nose. Though they seemed incongruous to her flawless complexion, he thought they gave her a sassy cuteness.
“They’re saying you could go all the way this year and win the national title. You only missed it last year by a hair. Maybe your time has come.”
“That would be nice,” he replied, wondering why she was being so friendly.
“Rick, can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“How do you control your fear?”
“Fear?”
“Aren’t you scared when you get on those bulls?”
