Page 62 of The Wildest Ride

She was going to have to put up with another cowboy, one-on-one, for a full twenty-four hours, on camera. She brought a hand to her face and rubbed it with a groan.

AJ raised an eyebrow, one corner of his mouth lifting. “You okay there, champ? I was worried for a ‘gym rat’ like myself but figured areal cowpoke like you would think this was a breeze.”

Lil frowned, trying to figure out what he was talking about. Finally, she just asked, “What?”

AJ gave her a stern look that reminded her of her granddad and her mouth quirked up unintentionally.

AJ’s grandpa scowl deepened. “You read the thing?” he asked. “We’re doing a cattle drive. I don’t know how to drive cattle.”

Lil snorted. “Sure you do. You know how to rope and ride and you’re not scared of cows. You know how to drive cattle.”

AJ crossed his arms in front of his chest, drawing Lil’s eyes to the tight expanse of navy blue fabric that stretched across his chest.

Observing her, he said, “Somehow I think there’s a little more to it than that.”

Lil shook her head laughing. “Not much more, really. It’s easy enough that so-called ‘city slickers’ do it all the time.”

Some of the tension left AJ’s body, and Lil’s cheeks warmed. Like each of his real smiles, the easing of some of his stress felt like a personal victory.

“What about the roundup?” he asked.

“Novices do that part all the time, too. Gran and I looked into turning the ranch into an experience tour after we lost Granddad, and drives are a big part of that. You’ve got more know-how than the requirements we were considering for guests.”

“You didn’t do it, though?”

Lil shot him a one-sided grin. “Nope.”

His eyes narrowed. “Why?”

She tilted her head, grin in place. “Greenhorns are irritating.”

The glint that came to his eye was laced with lazy triumph. “Sorry in advance, then.”

“What do you mean by that?” she asked.

AJ stepped back from her door and said, “Flip the card over.”

She did. The opposite side of the card listed the teams. She read her name and AJ’s listed right next to the number one. Her stomach dropped. It looked like she and AJ were going to spend the night together after all.

18

The massive blue truck towed a beat-up white horse trailer through a grassy sea of pasture. Four people were crammed in the cab. Two greenies, Lil, and AJ. AJ sat in the passenger seat. Lil and a greenie sat in the back, the other one drove.

Behind them, a van filled with the film crew followed.

There wasn’t a cow in sight, and hadn’t been one for the last twenty minutes.

The back-seat greenie peppered Lil and AJ with questions.

“How are you going to go about rounding up the cattle?”

AJ wore a gray T-shirt, jeans, and his ever-present baseball hat. The only new addition to his look was a pair of reflective aviator sunglasses.

Lil hoped he’d packed a long-sleeve shirt.

Gazing silently through the front window, it was obvious AJ was not going to answer the question, but Lil could see he wore a grin through the side view mirror.

She ground her teeth but smiled at the greenie. He was a skinny blond boy whose tight jeans and big belt buckle spoke of pro rodeo dreams.