Grumpy Cowboy (Single Dad Collection)

In the end, though, reason prevails, and I step back so hard I bump into the unlatched door and almost fall right through.

Rhett catches me, thankfully, sending us both into laughter we don’t expect. The quick movement, however, reminds me to be a pain in his ass and doctor his knee.

You know, Leah, the actual job you’re here to do.

“Don’t forget to do your stretches and brace up tomorrow, okay? I don’t want to see you without it.”

He shakes his head and sighs, but what he doesn’t do is fight me on it.

Well, that’s a first.

Backing away slowly, he tips his hat and then turns to walk gently down the stairs. When he gets to the bottom, he glances up at me over his shoulder, the perfect picture of the grumpy cowboy I know and…actually kind of like.

Except this time, all the grumpiness melts into a downright sinful smile.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Dr. Leah. Take care of my girl.”

“I will,” I promise with a nod, and then I thank God that she’s here. Because as I watch Rhett Jameson climb into his truck and drive away, I know without a shadow of a doubt that if she weren’t, I’d be nursing my arousal to sleep with a hand in my pants and a sexy, rugged cowboy on my mind.

The last thing I need to do is give these strange feelings and fantasies any encouragement.

July 3rd, Saturday

Rhett

“Okay,” I tell Tiny over the radio, taking a swig of my second travel mug of coffee for the day. “I’ll take care of it when I get over there.”

“How long?” he asks, a bit of panic in his voice that nearly makes me laugh.

Tiny is a simple guy who likes simple thinking. He likes working at Shaw Springs because, for the majority of the year, his days are predictable—dependable, even. But the chaos of this event always sends him into a tailspin, even when things are going according to plan. There are too many unknowns, too many decisions that have to happen on the fly, and mostly, too many damn people.

Tiny has known and loved horses for fifty years. And that’s it. Anything else is beyond foreign territory.

“Fifteen minutes,” I tell him before hanging the mic of the radio on the hook and popping open the door to my truck.

I toss my now-empty mug on the passenger floorboard and spin to climb out with a smile. All in all, the day isn’t going too bad. I prepared to have gone through four mugs of coffee at this point, so two is really pretty good, and despite the fear in Tiny’s voice, we haven’t even had any issues this morning.

The animals have stayed in their pens, setup is getting finalized, and the guests of the ranch are ensconced in all sorts of activities to keep them busy until it’s go time. If it weren’t for the fact that the vendors only show up the day-of to set up, we might have been ahead of time. As it is, though, I’ve got fifteen food trucks to greet and stage, a whole group of rodeo folks to herd, and a volunteer staff I have to make sure is ready to handle the influx of everyone who’s not staying on the ranch.

Guests are outfitted with armbands that give them access to everything with their stay, but everyone else has to pay an entry fee and get marked as they come inside the gates.

I grab my brace from the bed of the truck and strap it on since I’m not in the mood to get yelled at by a feisty doctor, and I only took it off for the drive. Once my leg is secured, I head toward the barn down below, where a group of guests has gathered for their horseback riding orientation and horse selection with Rodney.

As it happens, it seems Leah is up to bat for her turn with selection.

I smile when I see she ends up with Saunders and watch as my daughter walks him around by the lead line.

He’s one of our most bulletproof horses at the ranch. He’s had kids, elderly, brats, and screamers on his back, and not once has he reacted adversely. He takes his role as a caretaker seriously and wears his nickname “The Babysitter” quite well.

I have zero doubts Leah will be just fine on him, no matter how little experience she has. Even if she decided to stand up and do the polka on his back, he’d take it.

Still, I can see she’s feeling somewhat tense just from the number of times she’s nodded at Rodney in a fifteen-second span, and I laugh as Joey sinks her head into her hands dramatically while listening.

Obviously, Leah must be putting on quite the show of commentary.

I walk slowly toward them as Leah steps up to Saunders’s side with Rodney and waits while he puts the stair steps down in front of her.