Cathy McDavid - The Bull Rider's Valentine

“I stopped on my way to Houston.” He, too, was purposefully vague. Let her think what she would. He didn’t owe her or anyone an explanation. “Sam’s mom said she was upset about her horse. Mom thought I could help and asked me to stop. Lend some support.”

“I see.” Ronnie faced Samantha. “You really should have told me Nate was coming.”

“Like I said, I didn’t know for sure.”

Nate doubted her but kept his mouth shut. Instead, he asked, “What’s going on with Big John?”

“I think he’s perfectly fine to compete this weekend. Ronnie says no.”

“Has he fully healed?”

“Yes,” Samantha blurted at the same time Ronnie said, “No.”

Nate knew that four months ago the horse had suffered a torn ligament and been sidelined for what was supposed to be the rest of the year. Naturally, Samantha had been devastated.

“What does Mel say? She’s the medical expert.” Deferring to Ronnie’s older sister, who was also the small town’s sole veterinarian, made sense.

“She agrees with me that competing on him right now is risky.” Ronnie studied the horse, whose quiet patience and idly swishing tail belied his winning speed and agility in the arena. “He still exhibits tenderness in the affected area.”

“He’s ready,” Samantha insisted. “I ran him three times earlier today. His time was almost as fast as before.”

Ronnie went slack-jawed. “You ran him and didn’t tell me?”

“You were busy.”

“He might have reinjured that leg.” She didn’t hold back and returned Samantha’s earlier fury. “Are you crazy?”

“He’s my horse.”

“He could be your lame-for-life horse.”

Samantha started crying again. “What if I don’t qualify for Nationals?”

“There’s always next year. You only just turned professional this past spring.”

Nate didn’t entirely blame Ronnie for being angry. As a trainer, she cared enormously about the welfare of her horses and those under her care. Also, in this case, she happened to be right. He’d seen more than one horse’s career ruined by pushing for too much too soon.

“You said you’d help me.” Samantha sniffed and wiped her eyes.

“You sure you’re not just panicking?” Nate decided the time had come for him to step in and do what he’d been asked. “There are only two weekends left to compete.”

“I’m not panicking.” Her tone said otherwise. “I have to place in at least one of those rodeos or I’m done for the year.”

“Your mom says you’re doing great on Ronnie’s horse.”

“Not great enough. I need Big John.”

What she probably needed was a confidence boost. Nate had dozens of friends who’d suffered a similar crisis at one point or another in their careers. It was a common enough affliction on the circuit. Never happened to him, however. All his crises had come after he’d retired.

“I have a suggestion. Why don’t you take Ronnie’s horse on a couple of runs? Let me get a firsthand look at the two of you working together.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Ronnie said.

Did she just agree with him? Well, knock him sideways with a feather.

“Okay. Be right back.” Samantha left, half running, half jogging to the stables where Nate presumed Ronnie’s horse was kept. Her long blond hair, so much like Ronnie’s, lifted in the wind.

How had he not noticed the resemblance between the two of them years before? It seemed so obvious now. Then again, why would he have? If not for Samantha’s search for her biological father, they’d all still be in the dark.

“What about Big John?” Ronnie called after Samantha.

“I’ll get him later.”

Ronnie could have untied the horse and taken him back to his stall, leaving Nate to fend for himself. But she didn’t. Wasn’t that interesting?

“Alone at last,” he teased.

“Not funny.”

“Come on, I was just as surprised to learn Samantha’s your sister as you were.”

“And what? You wanted to see for yourself?”

“You think I showed up here on purpose? Because I can assure you, the idea was entirely Mom’s. I had no intention of ever setting foot in Mustang Valley again.”

She studied him intently, revealing the barest hint of vulnerability before averting her glance. Why, for crying out loud? She was the one who’d dumped him. And without good reason, he might add. Without any reason.

“You could have called.”

He laughed out loud. “When? Before I hit town? You can’t possibly be referring to six years ago. I called you plenty after you walked out on me. Remember? You didn’t answer. Not once.”

She stiffened. “Why are you really here, Nate? And I want the truth.”

“Relax, will you? I’m just helping out a family friend. Nothing more. Samantha’s like a little cousin to me.”

“Fine.”

She appeared unconvinced. Then again, he didn’t believe himself, either.

Concern for Samantha might have been the reason he’d initially agreed to his mother’s request. But now that he’d arrived in Mustang Valley, he was suddenly determined to find out what he’d done to Ronnie that was so terribly wrong.

She wasn’t the entire reason his life had gone from bad to worse to rock bottom, but losing her had surely launched his downward spiral.

* * *

THE LAST PERSON Ronnie had expected to see today—any day, truth be told—was Nate Truett. Not after she’d left him with no explanation.

He should hate her and probably did. That didn’t stop him from being the one guy she’d struggled to forget and couldn’t. The one who made every man she met pale in comparison.

Now, here he stood, not eighteen inches away from her and wearing the same heart-stopping, tummy-fluttering smile that had caused her to fall for him in the first place.

“What are you thinking?” he asked in the husky drawl that still invaded her dreams.

“Nothing.”

I hurt you badly, and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have just walked out like that. It was wrong and not what you deserved. But nothing’s changed.

“Sam,” she amended. Safe conversation gave nothing away while ignoring him would reveal too much.

“Sam?”

“You know my dad. Nicknames for all his daughters.”

“I’d forgotten, Rhonda.”

She rolled her eyes, wishing she’d never told him. “Sam has a lot of talent. She can also be stubborn to a fault.”

“I wonder where she gets that?” Nate moved marginally closer.

Ronnie stilled, acutely aware of him. “I’m only stubborn when I’m right.”

“Which, if memory serves, is always.”

“Not true.” Sorrow consumed her. “I’m sure you haven’t forgotten.”

“Ronnie.”

She forced herself to stroll casually away, intent on removing herself from his rugged good looks, aw-shucks charm and dancing blue eyes that by all counts should be outlawed. Naturally, he followed her, further weakening her already vulnerable state.

Heaving a soft groan, she reached for the top railing of the arena fence, using it to steady her wobbly knees. If she weren’t careful, Nate might realize her feelings for him weren’t completely extinguished. His ego was already big enough.

At least, it used to be. He did seem a bit more...humble than before, something she found both out of character and intriguing.

“Big John is a valuable horse,” she said, staring off at the distant McDowell Mountains. Anywhere other than at Nate. “I’d hate to see him turned into a kid’s mount because of an injury.”

“I agree. Championship horses cost a lot of money. I doubt Samantha can afford to buy a new one.” He lowered his voice to the range that had always sent a delicious tingle skittering up her spine. “It’s really nice of you to let her borrow your horse.”