Free Marry Me, Cowboy (Copper Mountain Rodeo) by Lilian Darcy Page B

food concessions, as well as dust and animal, and it was amazing.
    Just amazing.
    And he wasn’t hurt. He rubbed at one strong shoulder with a hand that had touched her bare skin less than an hour ago, then he brushed the dirt off his thighs and walked out of the arena with rocking cowboy strides, loose and grinning.
    Tegan wondered if Jamie’s mom and dad had made it into town to watch, but she couldn’t see them from her position down in the competitors’ area, near the rail. Jamie seemed to be scanning the crowd, also, and she thought he’d waved, on his way out. There were a lot of locals here, though. She heard someone say, “Hey, that was Jamie MacCreadie,” and someone else calling out trying to attract his attention.
    She felt possessive about him, wanted to say, “Yes, that’s Jamie, and he’s mine.”
    But the possessiveness scared her because she didn’t understand it and hadn’t been looking for it, so she told herself quite brutally that this was one weekend, this was a fling, she was leaving the country soon. None of this dreamy, knocked-off-course feeling.
    And it was time to get warmed up for the barrels. Her name was sixth on the draw, and the start time for the event was listed as three o’clock. She thought they might be running a little late, but not much.
    Shildara felt mellow after her gallop this morning. She was a little surprised to find a saddle going on her back for the second time today, after such a big ride. But she worked out what was happening pretty quick, and she pricked her ears forward and moved excitedly between Tegan’s legs, because she loved this, the way any top competition horse did. You wouldn’t get a good performance out of them if they didn’t.
    Wyoming rider Keeley Styer skidded around the second barrel and almost fell, losing valuable time as she and the horse recovered their balance. She shook her head in disgust as she galloped past Tegan, and when her time went up it was as disappointing as she’d feared, at 19.53 seconds.
    Jade Finemore did better with 17.12, but it was a time Tegan was pretty sure she could beat, because it looked like a fast surface and none of the earlier girls had done especially well. Kara was late in the draw and was still hanging out with Dean. She probably wouldn’t ride her best. She never did, when she was focused on a new guy.
    Tegan was up next. The announcer did the usual “all the way from New South Wales, Australia” when he introduced her, and she and Shildara launched into the arena like a pistol shot. She took the right barrel, then the left, opposite to the direction of Keeley’s ride, and Shildara’s feet stayed firm on the dirt. Just as importantly, the barrels stayed upright.
    At the top of the triangle, Tegan felt the toe of her boot ding against the third barrel and remembered she needed to be more careful with her feet, but she hadn’t kicked it hard enough to make it fall and Shildara was flying back to the finish.
    15.95 seconds! Woo-hoo!
    It always felt so good.
    No guarantee that she’d win with that time, but it was a very, very good one and for now it was up there as the time to beat, and she should be in the money, no worries.
    “You did great.” Jamie met her back at the trailer, picking her up and spinning her in his arms. He was so strong, muscles warm and solid and wonderful. Still exhilarated after the success of his own ride, he wanted to celebrate hers just as much. “You’ll make the finals for sure. I don’t think I’ve seen any other times below 16 seconds. It’s a fast course, though.”
    “It is. You’ll make the finals, too, in the steers.”
    “Dawson did a great job for me. But let’s see how the bronc pans out before we start celebrating.”
    “So we’re celebrating if you’re still walking after the broncs, is that it?”
    “Don’t you want to?”
    “Depends what you have in mind.”
    “Anything you like.”
    “Bound to be a party happening somewhere,” she pointed