Roped Tight (Ryker Ranch #4) - Kim Loraine Page 0,24

in a power suit with perfectly painted red lips, stick-straight hair, and crystal blue eyes stared at me pointedly.

"You," she pointed at me, and I had to turn and look to make sure no one else was around me. "Yes, you. Anyone else around you think I'm talking to? You signed the release, yes?"

Apprehension zinged through me. I signed the release, we all did, because it would be nearly impossible to never make it on screen during the filming of Saddle Up, the reality show the Rykers had agreed to over a year ago. The first season had gone off without a hitch. Clint had even found love because of it. In fact, so had Buck. The concept was simple, Survivor meets City Slickers. A bunch of green city people competed to learn how to be a rancher. The winner went home with some kind of trophy, a boatload of money, and a little bit of internet fame. I appeared on the show in passing, but I'd never taken part.

I pushed off the stable wall and took a couple of steps toward her, removing my hat and giving her my most charming smile. "I'm sorry, darlin’, I'm not a Ryker. I don't think you want me in your pictures."

She snorted, complete disbelief in her expression. "Did you really just try to… darlin’ me?" She didn't wait for me to answer. "I'm sure you can spare one hour to do some publicity photos for the ranch. Can't you…" She waited for me to supply my name.

"Tucker.”

One perfectly arched brow rose as she assessed me, her gaze raking my body and returning back to my eyes. She made a soft humming noise, then tapped her fingertip to her chin before nodding. "You'll do just fine.”

"For what?"

"I need a sexy, shirtless, rodeo cowboy. And by the looks of that belt buckle you're wearing, that’s exactly what you are.”

I glanced down my body at the buckle I’d won at the last rodeo I participated in. "I got some work to do."

“That’s fine. This’ll take half an hour of your time. Pay’s five hundred.”

Five hundred dollars? That kind of money wasn't easy to come by. Not that I needed it. But it would be nice to have some socked away. I took a long breath and stared her straight in the eyes. "Shirtless?"

“That would be best, yes.”

I began popping the buttons of my shirt as she watched, slack-jawed.

"Do you have a horse for me, or do I need to get mine?”

I handed her my shirt, and she just stared at me like she’d never seen a shirtless guy before. The woman worked in Hollywood. I was sure she saw them all the time. But maybe it was the decoration of scars on my right side, framed by a dark tattoo of barbed wire exactly where I’d been torn up by fence a few months ago. That riding accident had been my reminder that anything could happen. Nothing was guaranteed. Something as insignificant as a slight breeze spooking a horse could be the end of everything.

I looked down my chest and back to her, smirking. “Is there gonna be a problem?"

Her eyes lit with mischief. "Not at all."

They brought me a horse, but not just any horse. Sam’s horse. In a few minutes, my chest was oiled up and I was in the saddle, swinging the lasso over my head while the camera was rolling as I rode around the arena. I had to admit it was fun. Sure, they were objectifying me, fetishizing cowboys, and all that. But this ranch had been on the brink of collapse before they showed up because after George died, everything fell apart.

"All right, that's enough,” the blonde said as I approached. We're gonna need that horse for a few other shots, bringing out the big guns now. Thanks, Tucker." She winked, and I dismounted before handing her the reins. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish. She was so confused about what to do with this animal—until a large, rough palm snagged the reins from her. My gaze traveled over his arm and up until I found electric blue eyes, and my heart kicked up a notch.

"Hey there, Sammy."

Sam’s jaw clenched. “It’s Sam. What are you doing with my horse?”

I opened my mouth to speak, but the woman interjected. "We just needed some rodeo shots. We can't have you doing all the heavy lifting."

Sam grunted and led his horse out of the arena and to the nearest hitching