This Kiss

She crouched to check under her desk and found them next to a protein bar she’d misplaced yesterday. Grabbing them both, she pushed to her feet.

“Will you at least hear me out?” Her cousin’s dark eyes weren’t just worried but annoyed.

“Go ahead.” Sophie unwrapped the bar and stuck half of it in her mouth, since she wouldn’t have time to eat anything else. She had to get on the road fast. No telling how much of a head start Ethan had... “When did he leave for Montana, do you know?”

“Are you going to listen to me at all?”

“Probably not.”

“Goddammit, Sophie.” Lola paused and lowered her voice. “We can’t afford for you to get all goo-goo-eyed over him. He’ll sweet-talk you into letting him go and we’ll be screwed.”

Sophie chewed a bit, then said, “Wow, your faith in me is really touching.”

“It’s not that. The money’s important, but I hate to think of you getting all twisted up over him again.”

“Oh, for God’s sake, I was never twisted up.”

“Yes, you were.” Lola smiled. “Don’t forget, I was there. Anyway, that was high school, so you were allowed.”

“Exactly. It was high school. I was fifteen. We had a fleeting encounter. Don’t make a big deal out of it.”

“He was your hero,” Lola said, her voice softening.

Sophie turned away to pick up her gym bag. “You’re only twenty-eight. I’m sure you still remember what it was like to be fifteen.”

At the beginning of her freshman year, Sophie and her mom had moved to Wyoming. Lola had been a junior and the only person Sophie knew in her new school. They hadn’t become friends quickly. Her cousin had had her own clique, and back then, Sophie had entered a nerdy phase, trying to balance her high IQ and an awkward social life.

That alone hadn’t made her the target of bullies. Having had the audacity to wear the wrong dress was the line she’d crossed. She found out later that the most popular girl in school had worn the same sundress the week before Sophie even started at Wattsville High. The whole thing was ridiculous, considering that Ashley had huge boobs and Sophie had little more than two mosquito bites. So of course Ashley had looked so much better in the spaghetti-strap dress.

God, Sophie still remembered what it had felt like to have those girls come after her with scissors. They’d cut her dress to ribbons before Ethan had stopped them and put his jacket over her shoulders.

Turned out Ashley was Ethan’s girlfriend. But he’d been furious when he stepped in and warned them off. After that, the girls still gave her evil looks, but they kept their distance.

Damn straight he’d been her hero.

“Are you still following his career?” Lola asked.

“No.” Sophie set the gym bag on her chair and shut down her laptop, refusing to look up. “I know you saw me at my worst, sneaking around, following him, trying to stay on his radar. Frankly it embarrasses me to even think about it.” All while he’d acted as if she hadn’t existed. That part she left out, and met Lola’s gaze. “Did you and Hawk have a fight?”

Lola’s brows went up. “Why?”

“I saw the look you gave him.”

“No, it’s just...” Lola waved dismissively. “I’d already told him he shouldn’t be hanging around here.”

Sophie tucked her tablet under her arm. “Look, the thing with Ethan happened a long time ago. I was a kid.” She smiled. “I can do this.”

Lola studied her for a moment. “Okay,” she said with a resigned sigh. “I just don’t understand why you’d want to.”

“I know,” Sophie said softly. She didn’t quite get it herself. It wasn’t as if she needed closure, but in a weird way, that was exactly how it felt. She stopped halfway to the door. “Don’t you think it’s odd he jumped bail? Ethan has a reputation for being a stand-up guy.”

“I don’t know what he’s thinking. He certainly doesn’t have a low profile.”

“Nope. The National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas starts in about a week. He’s going for his second championship title—” She saw the concern in Lola’s eyes. “I read something about it online the other day,” she murmured. “Try not to worry, okay? I’ve got this.”

She hoped.

* * *

THE WATERING HOLE was noisy, crowded with cowboys drinking beer and gorgeous accommodating women dressed to kill. Ethan Styles had frequented hundreds of bars just like this one in the nine years since he turned pro. He knew what it was like the night before a rodeo, especially in a small town like Blackfoot Falls. So why in the hell had he suggested meeting his friend Matt here?

Somehow Ethan had gotten the dumb idea that this rodeo would be different. No prize money was involved or qualifying points. The event was a fund-raiser for Safe Haven, a large animal sanctuary, so all the ticket and concession money went directly to them. But he should’ve known better. Rodeo fans were a loyal bunch, and having to travel to this remote Montana town obviously hadn’t bothered them.

Normally he was up for signing autographs and getting hit on by hot women. But with the finals a week away he’d been on edge since he hit Montana late this morning. After that bogus arrest in Wyoming and then hearing how fellow bull rider Tommy Lunt had busted his knee, foreboding had prickled the back of his neck.

He’d missed the finals himself because of injuries. Twice. Last year broken ribs and a punctured lung had sidelined him. Two seasons before that, it had been an elbow injury. So he had cause to be jumpy.

“Hey, Styles, ’bout time you showed up.” Kenny Horton stood at the bar with another bronc rider and three women, who all turned to eyeball Ethan.

He shook his head when Kenny motioned for him to join them. “Maybe later. I’m meeting someone.”

“Right behind you.”

At the sound of Matt Gunderson’s voice, Ethan grinned and turned around to shake his hand. “Glad to see you, buddy.”

“Same here. What’s it been...a year?”

“About that.” Ethan moved aside for a short, curvy blonde who’d just entered the bar. Their gazes met briefly, surprise flickering in her brown eyes. But then she brushed past him. “So, how’s retirement?” he asked Matt and shifted so he could watch the blonde walk up to the bar.

The seats were all taken. A cowboy jumped to his feet and offered her his stool. Shaking her head, she dug into her pocket. Her tight jeans didn’t leave room for much, but she managed to pull out a cell phone. She wasn’t wearing a wedding ring. He always checked, though it hadn’t done him any good last week.

Wendy hadn’t been wearing one when he met her at the Ponderosa Saloon last Saturday, or when she invited him to her ranch that night. That hadn’t made her any less married, and to a mean, rich son of a bitch on top of everything.

“Retirement? Shit, I work twice as hard for half the money,” Matt said with a laugh. “But yeah, it was time.”

That part Ethan didn’t understand. Matt had been the one to beat. Yet out of the blue he’d just quit competing. Talk around the tour was that his new wife might’ve had something to do with it. “So, no regrets?”

“Not a one.” Matt frowned. “You can’t be thinking of getting out—”

“Hell no. Now that you’re off the circuit, maybe I can finally win another title.”

“Right.” Matt laughed. “I seem to remember you leaving me in the dust more than a few times.”

“Never when it counted.”

“Man, you’ve had some bad luck right before the finals. I should’ve convinced you to drop out when we changed the date. You’re the main draw this weekend. A lot of people are coming to see you ride Twister, but I should’ve thought this through.”

“Come on, you probably figured I wouldn’t make it to the finals.”