Free No Ordinary Cowboy (Mills & Boon American Romance) (Rodeo Rebels - Book 6) by Marin Thomas

strolled toward Lucy, hips swaggering. He stopped in front of her—less than an inch of space between them. His scent swirled around her head. “Who will help you?”
    “Shannon Douglas can give me pointers.”
    His dark gaze zeroed in on her mouth and Lucy’s pulse raced. She couldn’t think with Tony standing so close, but when she attempted to retreat, nothing happened—it was as if the heels of her boots had been staked into the ground.
    “Shannon doesn’t have time to help you.” His mouth curved in a sexy half smile. “Besides, I’m the only one who isn’t afraid of your father.”
    That was the God’s honest truth.
    “Whether or not Cal approves of me doesn’t matter. I’ll be transferring to San Diego soon.”
    A sick feeling grew inside her. Lucy wouldn’t put it past her dad to prevent Tony’s transfer from happening.
    “Never mind. This wasn’t a good idea from the get-go.” Not just because of her father’s guaranteed objection, but because the chemistry was still there between her and Tony and it would take little effort on his part to make her fall in love with him all over again. She walked away.
    “Hey, we had a deal.” Tony marched after her. “My help in exchange for—”
    “Don’t worry. I’ll take you out to the gold mine.” As much as she hated to see Tony move away from Stagecoach, Lucy wanted him to be happy. She hopped into her truck. “Meet me at the west entrance of the ranch tomorrow at one-thirty.” She shut the door in his face and drove off, forgetting all about Maddie.
    * * *
    A S T ONY WATCHED the taillights of Lucy’s truck leave the mobile home park and turn onto the highway, he exhaled a sigh of relief. The woman was too much of a temptation. Keeping his attraction to her under control was more difficult than chasing criminals through a moonless desert without the use of night-vision goggles. But as much as he believed it was best for him to stay away from Lucy, he didn’t trust anyone else to give her pointers on bull riding. And he for sure didn’t like the idea of Lucy cozying up to another rodeo cowboy for help.
    Jealousy aside, picking up where they’d left off two years ago would only end in disaster. They were different people—both changed by Michael’s death. Yes, the fire still burned hot between them, but he didn’t deserve a second chance with Lucy. He’d made his bed—now he had to lie in it. He’d give her a few days to search for a new bull-riding mentor, but he was confident she’d crawl back to him. Then it would be up to him to make sure they kept their relationship purely professional.
    Easier said than done.
    He threw the tarp over the bucking machine, closed the shed door then went to lock up the trailer for the night. When his boot hit the first porch step, he froze. “Maddie.”
    The dog’s ears perked. “How’d you get left behind?” He sat down and Maddie rested her head on his leg.
    Come to think of it, he couldn’t recall seeing the boxer when Lucy had driven off. “Sneaky girl. You hid on purpose, didn’t you?” What was he supposed to do with the dog?
    Call Lucy. He reached into his pocket for his phone, but the dog’s big brown eyes stopped him. “You can’t stay at my apartment,” he said. “No pets allowed.”
    Maddie licked Tony’s hand.
    “We had some wild times, didn’t we, girl?” Tony’s mind flashed back to the afternoon he and Michael had taken Maddie hiking. The dog had spotted a rattlesnake coiled on a rock and barked a warning when Michael stepped within striking distance.
    Tony’s phone jingled with a text message. “I think I know who this is.”

    Is Maddie with you?

    He texted back. Yep.

    On my way.

    Tony texted, She can stay here tonight.

    Sure?

    Yep.

    K.

    You’re not driving and texting are you?

    :-) No.

    I’ll bring Maddie when we meet at the ranch.

    K.

    Tony returned the phone to his pocket. It beeped again.

    Night.

    The single word sounded intimate and Tony put the