Free Gambling On a Heart by Sara Walter Ellwood Page B

she knew it. Winning any of the NFR events was a huge deal. The two times he’d won the saddle bronc title, he’d become an instant celebrity–interviewed by EPSN sportscasters, plus many of the Las Vegas and dozens of Texas news programs.
    Mandy’s whole body deflated. “Oh,” she muttered. “That’s all?”
    As she nodded, Tracy’s smile was the sorriest he’d ever seen. “That’s all.”
    Zack wasn’t sure if he wanted to wring Tracy’s neck or kiss her silly.
    Kissing her silly had a definite appeal, but not because she made his winning the NFR bronco title seemingly no more significant than being caught on camera crossing the street during a news report of a mass murder.
    Before Zack could respond to Tracy’s smirk, Mandy’s friend Kayla and her older sister Malinda ran up to their blanket.
    Malinda smiled tentatively. “Hi, Sheriff Cartwright. Kayla and me were wondering if Mandy could come with us.”
    “We’re getting corndogs,” Kayla chirped and pointed in the direction of the concession stand. “Our mommy runs the Chow Wagon. There’s cotton candy, too.”
    Mandy bounced and turned to him. “Daddy, I’m still hungry. Can I go with them?”
    “May I go with them?” Zack corrected automatically, and Mandy rolled her eyes. “Please.”
    With another of her increasingly irritating huffs–God help him when she was a teenager–she repeated resignedly, “May I pretty please go with Kayla and Malinda?”
    “I guess no harm can come of it. Here, get me a corndog, too. And a bottle of water. But stay away from the cotton candy. You don’t need any sugar.”
    She rolled her eyes again in response.
    Zack shifted onto one hip and pulled his wallet from his back pocket. “People are going to start thinking I never feed you, girl.” He glanced at Tracy. Her cocky grin had melted away and her eyes seemed wistful. “Would you like a corndog?”
    “No thanks, I’m fine.”
    Mandy jumped to her feet, defusing the sudden awkwardness. She plucked the ten-dollar bill from Zack’s outstretched hand and rushed off with her friends. “I’ll be back!”
    “You’d better bring back the change!” he called after her.
    Tracy’s soft laugh had him focusing on her. “I’d be more worried about her bringing back the corndog and water.”
    “Oh, I’m sure I’ll never see either of those. She’ll forget about even wanting a corndog. Instead, she’ll end up eating cotton candy and will be bouncing off the walls half the night.” Zack returned her chuckle and relaxed. “Heck, she had two bowls of chili before we left the house. She can’t be hungry.”
    “You know she’s bound to figure out just how famous you were at one time.”
    “Yeah, I know.”
    Tracy snorted and covered her mouth.
    “What’s so funny?”
    Her laugh turned into a mischievous grin. “What will even be funnier is when she finds out about that calendar spread you did.”
    “Shit,” he breathed and dropped his chin to his chest. “I forgot all about that .”
    Tracy laughed again, the sound settling somewhere better left forgotten. “Oh, Zachery James, you should be happy I’m not out to blackmail you. Amanda will be quite surprised at how naughty her daddy was in his younger days.”
    He slid a glance at her from under his hat brim. “Have you seen that spread?”
    She looked down at her crossed legs and fidgeted slightly. “Who hasn’t seen it? Ride in the Millennium was a big deal when it came out in 2000. At least, around here it was.”
    Zack couldn’t hold in the groan. “Can you imagine the ribbing I got at basic training over that calendar?”
    She laughed so hard she bent over. “Oh, yes, I can! How many times was your underwear stolen?”
    “Enough for me to keep a few pairs somewhere no one could get to them.” An overwhelming sense of homecoming settled on him when their eyes met. He lost his smile, but couldn’t look away. “Tell me, did you have one of those calendars?”
    She cleared her throat