For Love's Sake Only (2 page)

“You little ...”

“Ernest,” the intruder said, stepping between them. “I think we can take her word for it.”

Ernest. Charlotte snickered. No wonder he was so disgruntled. Turning back to her, the intruder looked down pointedly at her finger, which was still aimed menacingly at Ernest, and smiled. “I think you can put that away now. I wouldn’t want you to hurt anyone with that thing.”

Looking down at her index finger, Charlotte quickly yanked her hand back down to her side, slightly embarrassed. She couldn’t believe she’d allowed the sun-damaged cowboy to ruffle her feathers. “If someone could just direct me toward the main office, I’ll gladly leave.” Charlotte resisted the childish urge to roll her eyes at Ernest, who was still staring at her as if he was waiting for her to rip out a notepad at anytime.

“I’ll be glad to show you.”

Finally, someone who wasn’t suffering from sunstroke. “Thank you. I was beginning to think there was a cowboy-to-city-folk language breakdown here.” The brim of his hat didn’t shield the laughter sparkling in his azure-colored eyes. “I took a correspondence course.”

Charlotte couldn’t resist the humor of the situation. The one good thing about arguing with Ernest was that it had taken her mind off of the horror show she had witnessed. “You mean, you get mail out there on the range?”

“Only as far as the crow flies.”

The cowboy stuck his hand out to her and smiled. “Name’s Tyson Wilcox, but you can call me Ty.”

6 Lena Matthews

Charlotte returned his smile and took his work worn hand into hers. “Charlotte Sane.”

“Shall we, Ms. Sane?” Gesturing out in front of him, with a sense of chivalry centuries too far gone, Ty shocked Charlotte, something that wasn’t easily done.

“Thank you,” she said softly, all thoughts of her surroundings now completely gone from her mind.

As they passed an irritated Ernest, Charlotte heard him say faintly, “Reporter.”

“Cattle dung,” she threw back over her shoulder, without losing her pace, feeling better than she had all day.

She had to be the cutest little thing Ty had seen in a really long time. It wasn’t often he was caught off guard, but when he stumbled across the pint-size imp giving Ernest, a man who injured more men than a bucking bull, a hard time, Ty was impressed. He had actually seen Ernest make hardened men cry, but something about Charlotte’s stance had said she wouldn’t go down without a fight. And there was nothing Ty admired more than a filly with spirit.

At first he’d interceded on her behalf, thinking he was going to be saving her hide, but one look at her finger pointing threateningly at Ernest, and Ty quickly realized the wrangler was the person in trouble. Ty was willing to bet his daddy’s land that Charlotte would have had Ernest roped and branded before the man knew what was coming.

“So what brings you to our little town?”

Charlotte glanced up at him, amused. “What makes you think I’m not a local?” Okay, she must be kidding. Ty didn’t know what Charlotte thought the locals looked liked in Santa Estrella, but they damn straight didn’t look like her. No one who’d been raised around cattle would ever have attended a rodeo in black slacks and a cream-colored, button-up, long-sleeved shirt. And although the color suited her mocha-tinged skin, and she looked as tempting as sleeping in on Sundays, it was entirely the wrong thing to wear. It was almost Spurs & Mistletoe: For Love’s Sake Only

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ninety-eight degrees in the shade, and she looked like she was about to attend a board meeting. A local she wasn’t, but Ty wasn’t going to hold it against her. “Let’s call it a hunch,” he simply said.

“Well, you’re right, Cowboy Ty. I’m a long way from Kansas.” So, that’s where they were growing sexy little she-devils these days. Ty made a mental note to visit Kansas more often. “Are you having a good time?” Charlotte shot him a quick glance before looking away again. “Not really.”

“Why not?”

“This isn’t really ... my thing.”

That was obvious. “So what is your thing?”

“Not torturing animals, that’s for sure.”

Ty stopped short, amazed at what he’d heard her say. Torture! Was she for real? “I don’t know what you’ve been told, but I can promise you the horses aren’t hurt, let alone tortured.”

Sighing, Charlotte brushed her ebony bangs from her eyes and faced him. “Look, I know you more than likely make your living following the rodeo and wrestling bulls or whatnot, and I truly mean no disrespect to your chosen profession, but there’s no way on God’s green earth you’re going to convince me it’s not torture.” Well, hell. Only in a stadium full of single, beautiful women would Ty find the one PETA-pledging member. “It’s nice to see you’re open-minded about it.”

“There’s nothing to be open-minded about. You have your version ...”

“And what?” he questioned with a small smile. “You have the truth?”

“I wasn’t going to say that.”

Yeah, but something about the tilt of her chin assured him she was thinking it. “Is this your first rodeo?”

8 Lena Matthews

“And last, God willing.”

“Enjoyed it that much, did you?” he teased as they begin to head back up the corridor.

“Am I bowling you over with my excitement, or what?”

“Definitely or what.” The circuit wasn’t for everyone, but it wasn’t what Charlotte was making it out to be, either. “What brought you here, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Work.”

“You’re not with PETA or anything, are you?”

“No, but I have a mind to drop them a line.”

Ty reached out and touched Charlotte’s arm, stopping her in her tracks. “How much of the rodeo did you actually see?”

“I saw enough.”

Somehow Ty seriously doubted that. “Through your fingered-covered eyes? Or were you actually watching the show?”

There was a war going on behind her pretty brown eyes, as if she was battling with herself about how much she wanted to admit. “A little bit of both.”

“And did you get to see the animals afterwards?”

“The Lone Ranger didn’t let me anywhere near the animals.” Her reference to Ernest brought a smile to his face. She had a quick wit and a spunky attitude. They were going to get along just fine.

“And besides, I’ll be back in Los Angeles in less than a week. With work and all, I won’t have time to visit the animals.”

“Darlin’, you’re breaking my heart.” The last thing Ty wanted to hear from this dark beauty was that she was leaving and wasn’t coming back.

“Why’s that?”

“Because your first memory of me isn’t going to be as pleasant as mine is of you.” Spurs & Mistletoe: For Love’s Sake Only

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Eyeing him, Charlotte crossed her arms over her plush chest and eyed him amusedly.

“Are all cowboys this smooth?”

Hooking his thumbs in the belt loops of his pants, Ty rocked back on his booted heels.

“It’s in the genes.”

Looking down at the crotch of his jeans, which were getting tighter by the second, Charlotte looked back up at him and winked. “I’d say it’s in the jeans.” Good Lord, the little devil was flirting. “Charlotte, I think I like you.” Laughing, she shook her head in mirth and started up the path again. Ty followed behind her shaking his head as well. She’d done it again. Just when he thought he had her in a little box, she surprised him. He could get used to that. That, and the way her plump little ass filled out her pants.

She was no bigger than a minute, but too cute for words. Her short dark hair was cute in a boy-like haircut, longer on top and tapered in the back, but Ty liked it. It was short and sassy, just like her. And her body -- good Lord, that body -- was what wet dreams were all about.

“Are you going to stare long?” she chided, raising a brow.

“Just long enough, I reckon.”

“You’re so silly,” she laughed, tapping him on his arm.

“Thank you.”

They talked as they walked through the stadium, seemingly of unimportant things, but Ty took every single piece of information she shared, and stored it in the back of his mind.

He’d seen more in her in the five minutes since they met than he had in women he’d known for years, and it made him want to get to know her better.

He’d purposely taken the longer route to the main building so he could spend a few more minutes getting to know her. And although he had livestock to look after and riders to 10 Lena Matthews

check on, Ty found himself dragging out their stroll, just for a little more time with Charlotte.

“Not that I don’t appreciate this first class treatment,” she said with a smile, “but shouldn’t you be out there digging your spurs into a horse?”

“First of all, spurs, despite their bad rap, aren’t sharp, especially the ones used in rodeos.

They’re mainly for show. The riders are trying to show the judges they have control of their feet and aren’t just sitting there like a lump of clay trying to hang on.”

“It takes skill not to fall off?”

“Apparently you’ve never had much power or speed between your legs.”

“Not the four-legged variety, that’s for sure,” Charlotte quipped back.

Ty couldn’t help but laugh. She was like a refreshing breath of air. And although all of her ideas about rodeos and ranchers in general were outdated, there was a kindness he recognized in her, which seemed out-of-date in most people today. She was misguided, but her heart was in the right place, and that alone was worth the time. “Seriously though, would you like to?”

“Ride a bucking horse? I don’t think so.”

“What about any horse? I have a small spread about forty miles away, and some of the sweetest horses God ever created.”

“So you don’t follow the circuit?”

“No, I don’t.” In fact, Ty hadn’t entered a rodeo in years. He was only there because two of his horses were, and if everything went right, by the end of the tournament they wouldn’t even be his horses anymore. But he wasn’t sure what Charlotte would find more repulsive -- the rider of the horse, or the owner allowing the horse to be ridden. Normally what others thought wouldn’t mean a hill of beans to him, but for some reason what Charlotte thought, did.

“Are you going to be here all weekend?”

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“I’d planned on it, what about you?”

“I haven’t made up my mind just yet.”

Pausing at a little booth, Charlotte looked over the trinkets, eyeing the Indian jewelry being sold. Ty came up behind her and picked up a silver bracelet with tiny turquoise stones delicately entwined in it and held it up next to her arm. “This would look lovely on you.” Charlotte took it from him and slid it over her hand. Ty was right. The silver looked amazing against her bronzed skin, sending images of her wearing nothing but the bracelet racing through his head. “It is pretty.”

“Let me get it for you.” His words surprised them both. Yet he didn’t want to take it back. Ty wanted her to have it, and more importantly he wanted to be the one who gave it to her.

“No, I couldn’t,” she said, setting it back down on the table. Charlotte turned to walk away, but was brought up short by Ty’s hand on her wrist.

“Why?”

“Because I don’t know you, for one.”

“Do you want to?”

Eyes widening, Charlotte seemed at a loss for words. Ty was sure it was something that did not happen to her often.

“Do you always move this fast?”

“I don’t believe in wasting time.”

“Charlotte.” A loud, booming voice called her name from behind them, causing Charlotte to turn quickly in the direction the sound came from.

“Shit, what time is it?” she muttered, trying to pull her arm from Ty’s grasp. “I have to go.”

12 Lena Matthews

Ty didn’t budge. “Who’s that?” he questioned with a frown. Ty didn’t like the way the man was glaring at them, or calling down to her as if he had prior claims.

“My boss.” Nodding her head to the frowning man in silent communication, Charlotte turned back to Ty with a disappointed smile. “I have to go. Thank you so much for the walk.

You really took my minds off of things.”

“I’m serious about the ride.” Ty wasn’t ready for her to go. Especially not ready to relinquish her to another man.

“Maybe another time.” She gave him a parting smile, and went to leave, but still Ty didn’t let go. Turning to him, she mockingly frowned, “Listen, cowboy, I’m going to need my arm back.”

“When can I see you again?”

“Charlotte!”

“I’m coming!” she yelled back over her shoulder, yanking her arm free. “Infuriating pain in the ...”

“I want to see you again,” Ty persisted.

Charlotte ran her free hand through her hair in frustration. “We’re going to the little party tonight, will you be there?”

He hadn’t planned on going, but there was no way he was going to miss seeing her again. “Yes.”

“Okay, I’ll see you then. I really have to go now.” With a parting smile, Charlotte hurried over to the other man leaving Ty standing in her wake, staring after with a smile. “Damn, she’s something.” Spurs & Mistletoe: For Love’s Sake Only

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Chapter Two

It was just like a scene out of Urban Cowboy. Cowboy hats adorned the majority of the heads in the bar, and people were wearing jeans tight enough to cut off the circulation in their nether regions. If Charlotte weren’t afraid of drawing more attention to herself than she already did by being one of the only black faces in the crowd, she would have sat down and taken a few pictures. None of her girls back home would ever believe where she was.

Not that she was into the club scene back in LA, but still, here she was more like a fish out of water. And it didn’t help that she was a tad overdressed for the evening. Where most of the women were in tight jeans and tiny shirts that barely covered their bosom, Charlotte was in a short black dress. It wasn’t fancy, but it wasn’t jeans. She’d wanted to look nice for the evening, and instead she just looked out of place.

But being different was something Charlotte was used to. Because of her profession, she was used to being the only African American, and sometimes the only woman, in the boardroom. Looks and comments were things she overlooked on a daily basis, so she knew she could overlook it for tonight. Especially if it meant she got to see her cowboy again.