Pregnant with the Rancher's Baby: Reclaimed by the Rancher

Several contestants attempted to ride the horses they had drawn for the event—some of them even successfully—before Nate was announced as the next rider. From their seats in the grandstand they had an excellent view of the riders climbing onto the backs of the animals, and Jessie found herself sitting on the edge of her seat when the light gray horse Nate was attempting to mount reared up in the chute.

“Does that happen often?” she asked, alarmed. As she watched, the chute crew helped Nate reposition himself on the horse’s back as if it was no big deal.

“There are some horses that have a bad habit of doing that in the bucking chute and the gate men know to put a rope on the horse to keep it from rearing up and injuring itself or the rider,” Bria said, frowning. “But this is the first time I’ve seen Silver Streak do that. Normally he waits until he gets out into the arena to cut loose and go wild.”

Jessie had forgotten that Sam was the stock contractor providing the livestock for the different events. Of course, Bria would be familiar with all the animals and their particular habits.

Once Nate was settled on the back of the animal, he nodded his head and a man on the outside of the bucking chute swung the gate open. The horse jumped straight up, then seemed to explode out into the arena kicking and pitching sideways as it tried to throw Nate from its back.

“Silver Streak is outdoing himself,” Bria said excitedly. “If Nate can hang on for the full eight seconds, he’s going to get one of the highest scores of the day.”

“How do you know?” Jessie asked, breathing a little easier when the horn signaled that eight seconds were up and two cowboys on saddled horses rode up beside the bucking animal for Nate to dismount safely.

“Fifty percent of the score is based on how well the horse bucks and the other fifty is based on how well the cowboy rides it,” Summer explained. “Silver Streak did everything he could to buck Nate off. But Nate did an excellent job of riding the horse for the full eight seconds.”

Summer had just finished her explanation of the scoring system when Nate’s score was announced over the loudspeaker. Compared to the scores of previous riders, his was by far the highest.

“That’s going to be hard to beat,” Bria said, smiling.

“I’m sure the cowboy who’s about to ride will try,” Summer said, laughing when Jaron’s name was announced.

“Is there a big rivalry between Nate and Jaron?” Jessie asked, feeling a sense of pride at Nate’s accomplishment.

“All of the guys are very competitive,” Bria answered. “But they’re all proud of the others’ accomplishments as well.”

Summer nodded. “If Nate wins, Jaron will be the first one to congratulate him, the same as Nate will do if Jaron wins.”

“I love the way they’re all so supportive of each other,” Jessie said, meaning it. Coming from a family that had never encouraged a strong bond, she envied them.

“They’ve all been through a lot together and I vowed when I married Sam to help them stay close,” Bria admitted. “That’s why we have so many parties and family dinners. It’s a good way for them to maintain the bond they formed as teenagers.”

“I love that Katie and I are part of it all,” Summer stated, smiling. “I went from having no siblings to having this wonderful, loving family that made me feel like I’d always been part of them.” She reached down to squeeze Jessie’s hand. “You and your baby are part of that now, too.”

“Thank you,” Jessie said, blinking back tears as they watched the rest of the rodeo.

She really didn’t see how she could be considered one of them if she and Nate weren’t going to be together. But it was a real comfort knowing that her child would have the love and acceptance of such a wonderful extended family.

By the time the bull-riding event started, Jessie had relaxed a little more. But as Nate climbed onto the back of the big, mean-looking bull he’d drawn, her body tensed involuntarily. Unable to watch, she closed her eyes to keep from seeing him be hurt.

She opened her eyes in time to see Nate dismount and fall to his knees. Thankfully the animal proved to be fairly docile. Instead of seeking revenge, the bull trotted out of the arena without even bothering to look Nate’s way. That eased her mind a little; now all he had to do was ride two more bulls over the next couple of days without being injured and she would be able to relax completely.

* * *

After a nice dinner with his brothers and their wives, Nate carried his and Jessie’s bags into the hotel lobby and stopped at the front desk. They were late checking in and he hoped they could get squared away without too much hassle. The drive up to Amarillo had taken a lot longer than he had anticipated because of traffic tie-ups on the interstate due to construction, and they hadn’t had time to stop by and check into their rooms before he had to be at the rodeo arena to register for his events.