Free Cowgirl Crazy (#2, Cowboy Way) by Becky McGraw

now without being seen.
He’d just have to duck and hide, he thought reaching for the door
handle. That was total bullshit, but he had to do it if he wanted
to find out what she was up to, and who she was with.
    That was what Ryan wanted to know, almost more
than what she was doing out here at this ranch. They looked awfully
familiar with each other, and Ryan needed to know who he was and
what he wanted with Twyla. Because of Zack’s overprotectiveness,
Ryan knew she wasn’t all that savvy about men. Zack wasn’t here, so
it was up to Ryan to make sure that guy wasn’t playing her. Or
worse, that he wasn’t a slimy, abusing bastard like
Clarence.
    Ryan opened his truck door and slid to the
ground, almost crumpling when a sharp piece of gravel dug into his
foot. It was only then he realized he wasn’t wearing his boots, or
shirt. He’d left the apartment half-naked. But he’d been in such a
damned hurry to run after Twyla, he was lucky to have on his
jeans.
    “ Damn that woman is gonna be the
death of me,” he grumbled leaning against the truck to massage his
foot.
    He reached back into the truck to get his
boots and stomped his feet into them, then pulled the shirt over
his head, before slapping his dusty hat on his head with purpose.
Screw hiding. He had every right to be here. Zack sent him to find
her and drag her ass back with him. That is exactly what he was
going to do, he thought, as he strode out into the open aisle
between the rows of cars.
    Why then did he duck like a goose behind a
Mazda pickup when he suddenly caught a flash of blonde hair, and an
all too familiar red horse?
    Because he was too beat up to get his ass
kicked again, and that guy she was with was not small. Stealth
would probably be a better plan. He could probably find out more
that way anyway. Then he would call her on whatever mischief she
was into here, or with that man.
     
    “ Twyla, let’s just work on the
ground with your aim for a little bit,” Randy said, as she tied off
the lead rope on Tango’s halter to the split rail fence near the
practice range.
    He sat her saddle down by the fence, and laid
her bridle gently on top. He’d insisted on carrying her tack for
her, even though she told him she had lugged it around herself for
years, and could handle it. Randy Hartwell was a gentleman. An
added bonus, she rarely found with men on the rodeo circuit. Those
guys treated her just like one of the guys. That’s what she was
used to, not this. It was a welcome change for sure.
    “ Sounds good,” she said turning
back to him with a smile. She was surprised when her face slammed
into his broad chest and she bounced back. She hadn’t realized he
was standing that close. Any other man, she’d have probably bowled
over. But Randy was tall. Solid.
    His hands closed on her shoulders to steady
her. “Whoa there, cowgirl,” he said with a laugh. Her eyes met his
and there was interest there. Something like a swarm of butterflies
fluttered in her stomach, and a warm sensation floated through
her.
    Twyla was so tall, she rarely found a man as
tall as he was. One who she felt small next to, not quite so
gangly. She felt like that around Randy and liked it. Ryan was like
that too, but not nearly as broad across the chest as
Randy.
    Randy didn’t say anything, he just stared at
her for a full second. His lips twitched then he swallowed hard.
“Twyla, I’ve, ah, been meaning to ask you something…’
    “ Yeah?” she replied dumbly, unable
to pull her eyes from his mesmerizing green stare. The air became
thick between them and a strange energy buzzed over her shoulders
to zip down her spine. Her heart took a couple of strange leaps,
then resumed an uneven rhythm.
    Was this it? Would this man be her first real
date?
    “ Um, have you ever tried a
different saddle on Tango?”
    The fog in her mind cleared. “Huh?”
    His hands fell from her shoulders to his
sides, and he stepped back. “I have a saddle that’s lighter than
the one