Free Mistletoe Rodeo (Welcome to Ramblewood) by Amanda Renee Page B

now.”
    Chase’s declaration surprised Nola. Certainly, he couldn’t mean that talking to her made him feel better. He must have been referring to some problem at the ranch that they had straightened out.
    “Is everything okay?” Nola asked.
    “It will be.”
    That didn’t give her much to go on. “I’d love to meet with you today, but I have a press conference to cover this morning. Are you free this afternoon?”
    “I have an appointment, but I’m open after two o’clock,” Chase said. “How about we meet at the food bank? Do you know where it is?”
    The food bank. Right. Chase wasn’t asking her out for personal reasons. Of course he wasn’t—his voice mail had clearly stated what he wanted. But she was annoyed with how let down she felt. Maybe Pete was right about the naïveté he’d so delicately pointed out.
    “I can look it up online. Two it is. I’ll let you know if I get hung up for any reason.”
    “Great. I look forward to seeing you.” His voice, thick and warm, made her limbs feel like Jell-O. Nola was safer when he was fumbling his words. “I had a great time last night.”
    Bam!
There it was. The words she wanted to hear—the words she
shouldn’t
want to hear—but, damn, they felt good. “So did I.”
    “All right, well, I’ll see you a little later.”
    Nola hung up and stomped her feet in excitement.
    “By the look on your face I think you owe me another thank-you. I might hold out for lobster dinner instead of lunch.”
    Nola’s hand flew to her chest. “George! How long have you been standing there?”
    “Long enough to know you were on the phone with lover boy,” George teased. “Hot date?”
    “Hardly, considering you’re coming with me.” Nola grabbed the duffel bag she toted to all her field assignments from the top of the filing cabinet. It was filled with hair and makeup products and allowed Nola to convert the passenger side of the van into a virtual mobile styling center. “We’re going to meet him at the food bank this afternoon, but right now we have a press conference to cover.”
    “What happened this morning with Pete?” George asked as they walked to the parking lot.
    “He basically told me a holiday piece wouldn’t win me any promotions and wanted to hand the story off to a rookie.”
    “What are you going to do?”
    “I told him it’s my story and I intend to see it through. I think this is the perfect time to discuss the plight of the American farmer. Poverty levels are soaring. I did some research last night and I see exactly what Kay meant by people being generous over the holidays but then forgetting the problem still exists once the season’s over. And it’s not just here. This is a national issue.”
    In theory, the story had the potential strength to secure the co-anchor position, especially with Kay at the helm of the cause. When the Langtrys spoke, people listened. Their wealth earned them that influence. Nola only hoped covering this story was worth the risk, because she had a lot to lose at this point, including her heart if she wasn’t careful.

Chapter Five
    Chase’s doctor visit went better than he’d anticipated. He hadn’t done any further damage to his shoulder, and rest, along with continued physical therapy, were his only prescriptions. He could live with that. The rodeo school was almost finished for the year and the next session wouldn’t begin until the first week in February. As long as he didn’t get on top of anything that bucked for the next two weeks, he should be able to ride in the Mistletoe Rodeo.
    Thinking back to the weeks leading up to Las Vegas, Chase realized he had been in a negative mindset going into it. Retirement had been at the forefront of his mind along with stress over the pending announcement. Even without his injury, he’d never had a chance of winning with that attitude. He’d given that same counsel to many of his students over the years.
    After Chase heard back from Nola, he made an