Page 54 of The Wildest Ride

Hank had the corner on all things horse related, which made sense when Lil learned he was the son of a respected breeding legacy based in Kentucky. Lil’s expertise was broad and pragmatic, anchored in the daily affairs of the ranch, her granddad’s training, and a lifetime of going to the rodeo. Unsurprisingly, AJ gave her a run for her money whenever a technicality came up. It was obvious he’d studied the rules, regulations, and history of rodeo the way an artisan studies his craft.

But breadth beat depth in both of their cases. But not without a lot more than one beer.

Lil had lost track after three. She knew there hadn’t been many more than that, but with her size, she knew the calculus didn’t matter that much. She had had too much.

This she reflected on as she watched the ground, her upper body bobbing and bouncing against AJ’s back in time to the rhythm of his step. Her lower half was draped over his shoulder, his arm an iron band tight around her thighs.

“I’m a walker, you know,” she said, certain she had a problem with the situation though not entirely sure what it was.

AJ’s voice carried a laugh. “And a joker and a smoker, too. But I got you for now...”

He did not sound drunk, and she suspected he was not. She had won the game, which meant he’d had more drinks than she had, but when size and tolerance were added to the mixture, it didn’t much matter. Life graded on a curve, it seemed, and on a curve, she was drunk.

“I’m not a smoker,” she said.

He did laugh this time. “I’m not surprised.”

“What?” He was confusing her, jumping all over the place.

She decided he must be when he said, “I’m taking you back to Winnie.”

“Who’s Winnie?”

Again he laughed, the sound a rumbling chuckle that vibrated through Lil’s body, sending warmth through her veins, as comforting as being covered with a hand-sewn quilt.

“Your RV.”

Startled, she bounced up, going rigid in order to look around. “When’d we get back home?” she asked, referring to the parking lot where their tour vehicles were parked.

“After you tried to badger a local into bringing his calves out to the bar to prove, once and for all, you were the better steer wrestler, I lured you onto the bus with taunts, where you promptly fell asleep, and stayed asleep, long after everyone got off the bus, at which point I picked you up, and here we are.”

Lil groaned. “And the cameras caught it all, I assume?”

AJ nodded. “Sure did.”

“Wonderful.”

He shrugged, bouncing her on his shoulder as he did. “You won.”

Suspicion took root. “Did you throw the game?”

AJ shrugged again and she realized he was doing it on purpose. “You’ll never know, will you? Now, where are your keys?”

Lil’s stomach sank. “In my purse.”

AJ stopped in his tracks. “Purse?”

“Put me down,” she demanded with a groan. “I have to go back.” She knew she shouldn’t have drunk anything.

Obliging her, he made sure she was steady before taking his hands off her shoulders once he’d placed her on her feet.

When she was sure she was steady, she looked up at him to see her purse dangling in his hand, a naughty, boyish grin on his face and, for a moment, she was mesmerized.

Backlit by moonlight, he was wearing the same baseball cap he’d had on all night long—his signature look. AJ had made rodeo accept his baseball hat years ago, so much so that now it would be strange to see him in a Stetson outside of the arena or on the podium. On AJ, the cowboy hat was formal wear.

But even casual, he was breathtaking, more so in person than he had ever been in the interviews and clips she’d watched of him over the years. He’d been so far away then. Now he was up close and personal, in the flesh—and the flesh was so good.

There was nothing soft about him, but the word that floated across her mind looking at him wasbeautiful. His smooth, even skin, a rich golden brown tone, lighter than hers and underlaid with terra cotta. And he’d remembered her purse.