sense, she wouldn’t be having anything to do with the likes of him. He had nothing to offer her. Even his friendship would hurt her reputation if anyone knew. She’d be wise to marry the banker and live in a fine house. But, he reasoned, the banker would never kiss her as he had and she’d never let him. That was what surprised him the most, she’d let him.
By the time the barn was clean, he’d reached one conclusion. He’d win this rodeo and split the money with her. Then, when she was free of her father and on her own, he’d see if she still wanted to be friends. If not, he’d understand. But if she did, she’d need to know that he wanted more than just a partnership. He wanted her.
He worked with Cinnamon the rest of the morning, then rode in and ate supper at one of the chuck wagons that invited any man riding to eat.
Cinnamon was bright and quick, but in the calf roping event, Rowdy only took second for the night. It was little comfort that none of the bronc riders came close to his score from the night before. With another two nights left, he’d be lucky if he placed in calf roping. He figured he could afford to miss one event. Most riding for all-around weren’t scheduled in all events. They usually sat out bronc riding or bareback riding because those were the two that had the greatest chance of causing injury. He’d heard two men had dropped out after seeing his ride, figuring they couldn’t beat it.
He saw Laurel sitting near her father when he stood directly across the arena and watched the last few events. She didn’t look happy, but he had to smile when he noticed she’d worn her hair down with only a small ribbon holding it in place at the back.
One kiss and he’d ached for her all day long.
After the rodeo ended, Dan talked him into walking over to the dance. It was little more than a floor of boards surrounded by poles of lanterns and hay bales to act as benches. The band sat in the grass a few feet away from the dancers. Half the time he couldn’t tell if they were playing the same song.
Dan rocked back and forth on his boots. “I’m thinking I should ask a pretty girl to dance.”
“I’ll watch,” Rowdy answered, but he was looking at Laurel standing across the floor from him. She had the banker on one side and her father on the other. Neither man was talking to her, but he had a feeling they’d be none too happy if he walked over and asked her to dance.
If he could dance, he thought, and then he studied the cowhands bumping into each other to the music. None of them looked like they could dance and most of the women seemed more interested in keeping their feet out of harm’s way than holding on to the fellow they were with.
“There sure are a lot of pretty girls,” Dan sounded in awe.
“How about one of the captain’s daughters?” Rowdy suggested.
They both looked over at the two blondes surrounded by cowhands.
Dan shook his head. “I set my standards a little higher than them two. They ain’t got a full brain between them.”
“I’m impressed with your wisdom, Dan.” Rowdy slapped his new friend on the back. “How about the other daughter? The one there by her father.”
Dan stared at Laurel. “Not that one. She’s the opposite of her sisters. They say she went away to school for years. Say she can figure in her head faster than most folks can on paper. She’d think I was as dumb as a box of rocks.”
“You could give it a try.”
Dan let out a long breath as if he’d accepted a challenge. “I guess so.”
He walked across the floor and stepped right up to Laurel. Rowdy couldn’t hear what he said, but he did see both the captain and the banker frown and shake their heads. Laurel, to everyone’s surprise, raised her hand and stepped onto the floor with Dan O’Brien.
Rowdy frowned. He wasn’t sure he liked the idea of Dan dancing with her. Not one bit. In fact, the idiot who suggested it should be whipped. He stared at Dan’s hand resting lightly on her back and knew just how it felt.
His only satisfaction was that neither of them seemed to have any idea how to dance. They stepped first one way