Free Rodeo Queen by T. J. Kline Page A

out to the barn to get some work done until she came back home. Entering, he could see that someone had left a light on in the office. The horses whinnied at his arrival, and he could hear voices over the sounds but couldn’t make out words until he reached the doorway.
    As if someone else were controlling his body, and with a calm his heart wasn’t feeling, Scott cleared his throat. Kurt and Liz, caught in the middle of their lovemaking, looked up to see Scott in the doorway.
    “Scott,” she cried. Tears instantly welled in her eyes as she pushed away from Kurt. She tried to gather her clothing around her and ran toward Scott. “He tried to . . . I mean . . . he . . .”
    Scott wondered what possible excuse she was going to try to make. “What, Liz? Spit it out.” His voice was tight, and he felt like he could barely get the words out. His mind was beginning to cloud over with rage, and he wanted to beat someone senseless.
    “Scott, he raped me,” she whispered.
    Scott’s eyes met those of the man who had been his friend, or so he’d thought. Kurt was pulling his pants up and buckling them. Had Kurt feigned disbelief, anger, or even denied the charge, Scott would have believed her. Instead, Kurt leaned back on the desk, almost bored, and Scott knew this was another performance designed to reel him back into her web of deceit. For her to even claim something so audacious, she must not have realized how long Scott had been standing at the door. Long enough to hear her passionate words for Kurt and insults toward Scott, who was “too stupid to see what went on in his own office.”
    Scott wanted to hurt her, hurt them both, as he’d been hurt. He looked down at her and removed her hand from his chest, where she was trying to cuddle up against him. “I hate to be blunt, but you were riding that pony willingly.”
    The slap sounded like a gunshot in the small room. Liz shook her hand, but Scott refused to react. Instead, he looked at Kurt. “If I ever see you around this ranch again, if I ever see you on the circuit again, under any circumstances . . .”
    “Don’t threaten me, Scott.” Kurt’s gaze was dangerous yet slightly glazed. “You can’t do anything. We both know I’m bigger, faster, and stronger.”
    “If I ever see you again, you will lose your card.” Scott saw Kurt’s eyes narrow. “I will report your drug use without a second thought.” Kurt reached for his shirt.
    “You bastard!” Liz spat at him. “If you’d really loved me, this wouldn’t have happened.”
    Scott was struck by the absurdity of her words. His fault? Between him and her father, this woman had never wanted for anything. He looked down at her tearful emerald eyes, now glimmering with fury at not getting her way. He would never give her the satisfaction of knowing that she had ripped his heart out.
    Scott turned on his heel, chuckling, and left the barn. He immediately loaded his truck, intent on heading out to the first rodeo he could find. Throwing himself into his work had proved to be his only distraction until the pain of her betrayal had been buried deep enough that it didn’t rise up. And any woman who decided to flirt with him usually ignored the bitterness that tinged his intimacies. He’d been able to avoid any sort of emotional tie, until Sydney.
    Liz had disappeared after that final confrontation. Scott never told Mike what had happened, but he hadn’t needed to. When he returned home, Mike informed him that she had taken off that same day with Kurt, saying she had decided to “ride the circuit.” Scott wasn’t sure if Mike was more hurt because of the way Liz had treated him or because she had once again abandoned Mike and the ranch to run away.
    “She acted like it was an adventure.” Mike withdrew an envelope from his pocket. “She left this for you.”
    Scott reluctantly tore it open, its contents spilling into his hand. Mike picked up the engagement ring and held it up. “It just didn’t work