Free Hallie's Destiny (The Donovans of the Delta) by Peggy Webb

for the timid . Josh grinned and thought that Johnson should have added, only for the wealthy. After trying to gain access to Hallie and being told no visitors were allowed beyond the chutes, he’d paid a handsome sum to become a spectator. Since there were no programs, all he could do was sit and wait.
    Curbing his impatience, he watched the event in progress. Bull riding, from the looks of things. The bull in the ring was a white Brahman. It was a small bull, not one of the sixteen hundred pound behemoths, but still it plunged around the ring, bucking and snorting, trying its best to unseat the slim rider on its back. The rider hung on, one leather-gloved hand tight on the rope, the other waving triumphantly in the air. Josh saw that even though the rider wore spurs, he never used them. He seemed to generate an energy that communicated itself to the bull, who plunged and reared in a magnificent display of rage.
    The loudspeaker squawked to life. “And the rider is two-time champ in the category of . . .”
    The announcer’s voice was drowned out by a roar from the crowd. The rider’s Stetson had sailed into the air, releasing a wild mane of black hair.
    The man next to Josh jumped up, clapping and whistling, “Good lord, no wonder she’s the women’s champ.”
    “It’s Hallie,” he whispered. Shock held him in his seat for a second, then he was up and running. His only thought was to get her away from the bull before she got herself killed. Halfway down the bleachers he realized how foolhardy going into the ring would be. What defense would he have against a bucking, snorting bull? He’d only make matters worse. His steps slowed as he made his way to the bottom. All he could do was wait and pray she’d survive.
    He leaned against the fence, close enough now to see her face. She was wearing a daredevil grin. He almost could hear her chuckling. Suddenly the snorting bull twisted in the air and came down with a jolt that almost unseated Hallie. Josh gripped the rail as she hung on. Behind him the crowd rose to its feet, whistling and cheering.
    “Eight seconds!” the announcer yelled into the speakers. “She stayed up for the whole ride! Let’s hear it for H. M. Donovan!”
    Hallie bailed off the bull, landing on her feet behind two expert cowboys dressed as clowns whose sole purpose was to protect her while she made her exit. Josh watched until she was safely over the fence, then he started running.
    “Excuse me . . . pardon me . . . excuse me,” he said periodically as he made his way toward Hallie.
    She was leaving the arena, heading toward the deserted parking lot, still wearing her chaps and spurs.
    “Hallie!” She looked over her shoulder when he yelled her name. For an instant her face lit, then the smile faded. She spun back around and swiftly walked away.
    Josh sprinted, closing the distance between them. With both hands on her shoulders, he turned her to face him. Fear for her safety made him react like a parent scolding a naughty child.
    “You might have gotten killed out there. What in the hell were you doing?”
    Her chin stubbornly came up. “I was riding a bull.”
    “I know that. But why?”
    “That’s what I do. I compete in women’s bull riding. It has nothing to do with you.”
    She turned to pull away, but he kept her in an iron grip.
    “I have to talk to you, Hallie.”
    “Let go of me, Josh. You had your fun at the lake.”
    “Is that what you think? That I was toying with you?”
    “Weren’t you?”
    She twisted one arm free and drew back her fist. Josh caught her arm and hauled her tightly against his chest.
    “No.” He hadn’t meant to shout, and her reaction was swift. Her eyes got stormy and her face flushed with fury.
    “Toying with you never entered my mind, Hallie. I’m so sorry you feel that way.”
    Even after what he hoped was a very sincere apology, she never moderated her anger. She glowed with it, vibrated with it.
    And he was beguiled. Without warning