him who could already drive one with their eyes closed.
Frustrated, he started to toss the paper down, only to have something in the “Miscellaneous” section catch his eye.
Caretaker at an animal shelter?
Minimum wage plus small apartment. Frequent late hours. Must enjoy working with animals and be willing to relocate to Rainbow Valley.
He stared at the ad, but it took several seconds for his brain to react.
The caretaker’s job would solve every problem he had.
It would give him a place to live. A small salary. It would be a few weeks before he could do much physical labor, but in the meantime, he knew of a dozen smaller tasks he could take care of around there. Shannon was clearly having trouble filling the job, or she wouldn’t have advertised in the newspaper of a town an hour away, so when it came to hiring him, she might actually—
He dropped the newspaper to his lap. Wait a minute. Was he actually considering this? He’d injured his knee, not his head. He’d kissed that place good-bye for the last time, and he wasn’t going back.
A few minutes later, Luke’s phone rang. He checked the caller ID. There was no name, and he didn’t recognize the number. He hit the Answer button.
“Luke Dawson.”
“Hey, Luke,” a woman’s voice said. “It’s been a while.”
For a moment, Luke wasn’t sure whom he was talking to. Then all at once, light dawned. Crap. Why the hell had he answered his phone?
“Mary Lou? How did you get this number?”
“Now, if I told you that, I’d be revealing my journalistic secrets.”
Journalistic secrets, hell. She was a blogger, not Dan Rather. The self-proclaimed Queen of the Buckle Bunnies, she chased after rodeo cowboys with all the subtlety of a honey badger going after a cobra, then blogged about her exploits. Her bait? Tightly toned abs from hours at the gym, bronzed skin from over-tanning, denim skirts up to her ass, and enough sparkles and spangles to make a Vegas showgirl jealous.
“I can’t talk right now,” he said.
“Now, I kinda doubt that, honey, seeing as how you’re laid up the way you are. Couldn’t believe it when I saw you on the injury list, and you weren’t even riding when it happened.”
“Minor injury. Just twisted my knee a little.”
“I hear you canceled out of both Albuquerque and Carson City in addition to Phoenix. How much longer are we talking?”
“You’ll see me again soon enough.”
“Better make it quick. Carter Hanson’s telling everybody he’s going to pass you up in prize money and then take the world title.”
Just the mention of that name made Luke grit his teeth. “He’s got a ways to go before he’ll ever overtake me.”
“He seems to think it’s a done deal.”
“That’s because Carter’s full of crap.”
“He does like to talk big, that’s for sure. But he also has a shot at the title, depending on how long you’re out.”
It was going to be longer than Luke was letting on, but that was nobody’s business but his. He just prayed that in the meantime he could hold on to a spot in the top ten. The very idea that a self-important little bastard like Carter Hanson could take the title instead of him made his blood boil.
“So where are you staying?” Mary Lou asked.
“I’d just as soon keep that to myself.”
“I could visit. Help you recuperate.” Her voice dropped an octave. “I could do all kinds of things for you.”
“No, thanks,” Luke said. “But I do appreciate the offer.”
“I could give the term ‘physical therapy’ an entirely new meaning.”
“Sorry. Can’t.”
“Come on, Luke,” she said, her voice slipping from sexy right down into carnal. “You and me…we go way back.”
“I said I can’t. Not right now.”
“Then you just say when, honey, and I’ll be there in a heartbeat.”
“Actually, Mary Lou, by ‘not right now,’ I mean ‘not ever.’”
There was silence on the line, and when she spoke again, her tone was icy. “Well, then. Maybe I’ll give Carter a call instead. After all, I hate losers. If you don’t get your ass back on the circuit, that’s exactly what you’re going to be.”
When the line went dead, Luke tossed his phone aside, trying not to let Mary Lou’s call affect him. And it might not have, if only she hadn’t spoken Carter Hanson’s name.
Luke flipped on the TV. Watched a little sports news. His mind drifted, and pretty soon his gaze went back to that newspaper. A week ago he hadn’t even wanted to stay overnight in Rainbow Valley, and now