Ace High (Lost Creek Rodeo #6) - Heather B. Moore Page 0,6
her brows. “You’re splitting hairs.”
Lars turned toward her. “I’m a transparent guy, Kells, but I’m also not going to spend time with a woman I’m not interested in. I said something that had future truth in it, and now look where I am.”
With me. Spending time with me. Kellie shouldn’t say any of that, though. “Okay. I’m a little sensitive to men who, you know, lie about stuff. Whether it’s big stuff or little stuff.”
His gaze held hers for a long moment, then he nodded. “Point taken. When we get back, I’m going to have a chat with Mallory.”
“Oh.” Well. Okay, then. “Am I going to have to deal with the fallout?” she asked in a lighter tone.
“I’m sure something brighter and shinier will come along soon,” he said, the edges of his mouth curving.
“And with more sugar?”
His smile was fuller now. “That, too.”
She released a sigh. “Guess we better keep going. It’s hot as blazes out here.”
“Hey, that’s my line.”
“I’m surprised you haven’t complained yet.”
Lars chuckled. “Been keeping it to myself.” He lifted his cowboy hat from his head and plopped it onto hers. “Your nose is getting burned, Sunshine.” Then he moved past her and walked to his four-wheeler.
“Wait.” She followed him. “I’m not going to wear your lucky hat. I thought you kept this in a locked case at night. Here,” she continued, trying to hand it over, “Take it.”
“I know what a baby you are when you’re sunburned,” he said, starting up his four-wheeler. “It’s on loan only. Give it back when we reach the ranch.”
Before Kellie could refuse again, he pulled away, driving slow, waiting for her to catch up. So she climbed onto her four-wheeler and gunned her own engine, not sure how she’d expected this afternoon to turn out, but it was nothing like this.
Kellie Prosper was beautiful, and she didn’t even know it. That was the sum of Lars’s thoughts tonight as the group of guys and gals decided to stay at the rodeo arena after dark. Sit around a fire, maybe play a few tunes on the guitar, and razz each other about rodeos gone by.
Kellie was here with Ryan. Westin and Ford were already here, too, along with Reid and Eric. Some had their ladies with them, but Ford was looking mighty lonely tonight without his. Thus, the guitar. Westin had his beloved hat on his lap—that thing was older than the hills—and his blond hair was cut about as short as it could get without being shaved.
Reid looked sharper than everyone else, like usual, wearing clothing that hadn’t been broken in yet. His lawyer background was incongruent with his rodeo ways, but the guy was a dang good bareback rider. And Eric’s boyish looks kept him a YouTube favorite—at least according to Eric. Lars was gonna take his word for it.
Ford’s more stocky build made him intimidating to some, but his mellow personality was the opposite of that. If rodeo didn’t work out for Ford, he could honestly join a band and make a name for himself. But the low-toned cowboy wasn’t out for fame and glory, unless it could be gotten atop a horse. He strummed a few lines, then began to sing an old classic from Chris LeDoux—“This Cowboy’s Hat.”
“Well I was sittin’ in a coffee shop,” Ford spoke the first part of the lyrics, “just havin’ a cup to pass the time. Swappin’ rodeo stories with this ole cowboy friend of mine. When some motorcycle riders started snickerin’ in the back … started pokin’ fun at my friend’s hat.”
A couple of the guys hummed along, but mostly they listened to Ford. But when he reached the chorus, the entire group sang, “You’ll ride a black tornado ’cross the western sky. Rope an ole blue northern and milk it till it’s dry …”
Lars once again looked over at Kellie, who was sitting on the other side of the fire. Her blonde hair caught the glow of the flames and turned nearly gold. Her expression was soft tonight, and absent was the worry he’d seen over the past week.
He’d learned a lot more about Kellie Prosper after spending considerable time around her these last few days. She was everything he knew her to be, and so much more. He didn’t know anyone on the planet who was more generous with her time and talents, or anyone who was so hard on herself.
She didn’t used to be that way. Not that he recalled, anyway.