Free Eye of the Storm by Renee Simons Page A

to the front, the two men had managed to rope and hobble the bull. They sat on the ground with their heels dug into the hard-packed clay. Stormwalker held the end of a rope tied around the bull's ankles. The clown's rope gripped the animal's head by the horns.
    I'll need an explanation of how that was done, Zan thought in amazement. She tried not to think about how close to Stormwalker's own head the bull's hind legs now waited. As if afraid to miss anything, the audience quieted.
    The clown looked over his shoulder and called out to the other men, "Would you get that man the hell out of here? This critter ain't gonna stay confused forever."
    His bulbous clown nose dipped in Stormwalker's direction. "You thought about how we're gonna get out of this predicament?"
    "Shoot, Ollie," Stormwalker said softly, "I thought you had a plan."
    " Onliest one I know is to let loose and run like hell."
    A scant moment or two had elapsed, but the animal had obviously had enough. He swayed restlessly, straining at his bonds and making threatening sounds deep in his throat. Zan's heartbeat pounded in her ears as she watched the two men stand.
      "You go first," Ollie said. "You ain't gettin ' paid for this."
    "We'll go together."
    They lowered the ropes to the ground and backed up against the fence. The bull turned his head. He spotted them and attempted a charge but his hobbled legs brought him down. They scrambled to the safety of the top rail while spectators jostled each other to clap them on their shoulders and shake their hands. The bull broke free as two mounted cowboys entered the corral. Once they'd herded the animal into a waiting truck, Stormwalker and the rodeo clown gave each other a "high five."
    Stormwalker spotted Zan at the rail and rejoined her.
    "Did you have to go in there?" she asked. Now that the crisis had passed, her concern for his safety gave way to anger. Her voice shook with it. "You could have been trampled."
    "Your concern is appreciated."
    "You took a foolish risk."
    "It needed doing," he said.
    "By you?"
    "By me."  
    Her tangled emotions subsided as he rubbed the back of his neck and rotated his shoulders, re-stretching muscles she suspected had already begun to tighten.
    "Yesterday's bruises will hurt even worse tomorrow," she said. "How are your ribs?"
    "Irritable."
    He touched her cheek. "That protective look is back."
    "Is it?" Her heart pounded at his closeness from his touch. She could only thank some unseen guardian angel that his hypnotic eyes were shadowed by the brim of his Stetson.
    "It's getting mighty hard to resist."
    "I can understand the problem," she said.
    "Can you?"
    "Uh huh." She handed him his glasses. "Put these on."
    The grin flashed. "Don't you think I've been recognized by now?"
    "Put them on anyhow," she ordered softly.
    "Yes, ma'am."
    His hand reached out to her again in a silent request for her trust. With her hand in his, they trailed behind the crowd and crossed the field to where food had been set out for a community feast.
    He wore the glasses through supper. They ate in silence as both struggled with unwanted, undeniable feelings. He even kept them on after dark, when the tables and benches were cleared away to make room for dancing. They stood on the fringe of the crowd, listening from the shadows to a country and western group and watching couples sway to slow numbers or two-step to more up-tempo music.
    Finally, he swung her around to face him and moved slowly to a song whose sad melody spoke of unrequited love. They drifted further into the darkness where she reached up and removed the glasses, dangling them from her fingers.
    "Why'd you do that?" he asked.
    "I want to see your eyes," she whispered, "so I'll know what you're thinking."
    He eased her closer, close enough so she could feel his heart beat in time to hers and his breath warm on her mouth. The lips that touched hers, with gentleness, in a hint of a kiss, told her what she needed to know. He tested her response