Free A Cowboy's Heart (Hitting Rocks Cowboys) by Rebecca Winters Page A

registered fifty-nine and was climbing.
    This was his fourth year bringing Firebrand. To make things more familiar, every year he reserved the same spot closest to the arena and barn, and the same stall, in order to cut down on any tension for his horse.
    Luckily the manager of the park had arranged to get him the stall next to Firebrand, as well. The surroundings might be new to Sunflower, but she’d grown used to being around Firebrand. As long as they weren’t separated, both ought to do fine.
    After he turned off the ignition, it occurred to him he hadn’t awakened this morning with that sense of dread over the unknown that was coming once the finals were over. He could blame this elevated change in his mood on the attractive woman seated next to him.
    He turned to her. “Shall we exercise the horses first?” To his amusement, she asked him the same question at the same time. They both chuckled before Liz jumped down from the cab first to walk back to the end of the trailer. In the side-view mirror he admired the way her feminine figure moved until she was out of sight.
    He shoved on his cowboy hat, thinking this had all been too easy. Something was wrong for everything to have gone so smoothly this far. But as Connor got out of the truck, he realized that if there was a problem, it was because he was looking for one. It had become a pattern of his.
    The other morning, after they’d stopped to visit his grandfather, Liz had picked right up on it and had gotten after him for it. That was the moment she’d come alive, treating him to a fiery side of her nature he hadn’t witnessed before.
    Last night he’d tensed up before telling her about Reva. But whatever reaction he’d feared, Liz didn’t even blink. Instead, she’d made the rest of the night so much fun, he hadn’t wanted to go to bed.
    He rebelled at the idea that their road journey down here was over. The only thing helping him was the fact that they’d be living together for the next twelve days, and then there’d be the trip back to Montana. Though they’d been neighbors all their lives, he’d only started getting to know her on this trip. Connor was already looking forward to the drive home with her.
    Together they backed their horses out of the trailer and took them on a walk before heading for the barn. With the finals starting on the fifth, the place was packed. Some of the competitors stayed here with their rigs. When they recognized Connor they shouted to him and tipped their hats to Liz.
    The two of them led their horses into the barn and found their stalls. Connor emptied some bags of soft shavings around both stalls.
    “This is really a nice setup, Connor. Every facility we need is here!”
    “On the fourth we’ll trailer the horses to the rodeo grounds and stall them there if you want, but for now this is a perfect place for them.”
    “I agree.” She patted her horse’s neck. “You like it in here, don’t you, Sunflower? You’ll have to thank Connor for these fabulous accommodations.”
    “She has already nickered at me. That’s all I need.” He put out the buckets for water and filled the hay nets. Buckets were a good way to measure the amount of water their horses were drinking.
    “They’re both nickering. Did you hear that?”
    Connor smiled. “Firebrand’s happy they’re together.”
    “I think they’re both pleased. Come on, little lady. Let’s get your boots off and give you a good rubdown. Then I’ve got to get over to the center and take Polly around the arena. I’m afraid she’s already feeling neglected.”
    Liz treated her horse the way she would a child. He watched her over the partition. It was touching to see and hear how she loved Sunflower. Given this kind of treatment, that horse would do anything for her. Never in his life had he wanted anyone to win a championship more.
    “When you’re through over there, doc, Firebrand needs a thorough going-over, too. I think he’s jealous of all the