Hell on Heels (Hotel Rodeo #1)(29)

“Oh. I didn’t know that. So bulls are enough to draw crowds in?”

“Oh yeah,” Gabby said. “Bull riding is the new extreme sport. It’s grown like crazy since it broke off from traditional rodeo about ten years back.”

“I didn’t realize this kind of thing was so popular.”

“It is,” Gabby said. “All types of people enjoy it. And this is the last big event before the World Bull Riding Championships next month. That one goes on for five days. Ty does a lot for those competitors,” Gabby continued. “He always hosts a party for the final fifteen riders and even puts up the entry fees for any of them who are strapped for cash.”

“Does he really?” Monica remarked. “That’s pretty generous considering he already gives them free rooms.”

“Ty’s a generous man, but he doesn’t like attention brought to it,” Gabby warned.

Just like Tom.

“So next month is the big finale?”

“Yes, the world championships. You should go,” Gabby suggested.

“Maybe I will,” Monica said, finding her interest piqued.

“If you’re serious, you should tell Ty. He has connections. Otherwise you’ll probably end up in the nosebleed section.” Gabby doffed her black Stetson. “Here, try this on for size.”

Monica settled the hat on her head, only to have it slip down over her brow. “Not exactly one size fits all,” she remarked dryly.

“It’s really not your color either.” A deep voice sounded in her ear. “I’d say you need about a six and seven-eighths and something in straw. Buy you a drink, pretty lady?”

Monica spun on her stool to face one of the cowboys who’d just walked in. He looked her up and down, a smile spreading slowly over his mouth. He was good-looking but young. Way too young. “Are you even legal?” she asked.

“Depends on what you’re asking?” he quipped back. “I’ve been legal for most things for about five years, but I still do some stuff that probably isn’t—or at least shouldn’t be.” His grin stretched. “Give me half a chance and I’ll rock your world.”

Was he for real?

“No offense, cowboy, but I’m not looking for company. Just a quiet drink.”

If she was eighteen instead of twenty-eight he might have stood a chance, but the horny young cowboy in the bar wasn’t who she wanted. Maybe if he was more like . . . a vision of a tall, smug-as-hell cowboy flashed in her mind. She’d tried not to think about him that way, but to her annoyance, she couldn’t seem to dismiss Ty from her thoughts.

“It’s no fun to drink alone.” He straddled the stool next to her, uninvited. “My name’s Kade McDaniel. I’m a bullfighter. Now you’re supposed to tell me about yourself. That’s the way this whole conversation thing works.” She guessed his line must impress a lot of women. Her, not so much.

“A bullfighter, eh? Is that the guy who wears clown makeup?”

He frowned. “That was the old days. Only the barrel man wears greasepaint anymore. He’s the entertainer. Keeps the crowd occupied while we work the bull. Cowboy protection’s my gig. Ever seen freestyle bullfighting?” The poor kid was obviously trying a bit harder than he was accustomed to.

“No, can’t say I have, but I’m really not into that kind of thing. And I’m not looking for conversation either.” She’d tried to let him down easy, but he wasn’t taking the hint. What was it about cowboys, anyway? They were as incomprehensible to her as if they were a completely different subspecies of male. Now she was going to be surrounded by them.

Her phone buzzed. She turned back to face the bar.

It was Ty, finally answering the text she’d sent about needing bail money. Either he’d seen through her ploy or didn’t really care if they’d taken her off to jail. Either way, she was annoyed he’d taken so long to answer.

She furiously typed her reply. After they had exchanged a few more barbs, she snapped her phone shut and tossed it into her purse, miffed that he’d still managed to get the upper hand. Although she had to admit the 1-800-UR-Scrwd was pretty funny.

Thankfully, Kade had now turned his attention to the bartender. Maybe he’d gotten her brush-off message at last. She was about to leave when she overheard him asking Gabby about Ty.

“Ty’s not here,” Gabby replied. “He had to go out of town for a couple of days.”

“During the regional finals?” Kade remarked with a look of surprise. “That’s hard to believe. I didn’t think he ever missed it.”

“I think he plans to be back in time for the short round,” Gabby said.

“Hope so. Wouldn’t be the same without Ty. I wish he’d come back to the tour.”

Wait a minute. “You’re a friend of Ty Morgan?” Monica’s interest suddenly sparked. This kid trying to pick her up was from Ty’s world, and he at least looked like the kind of cowboy she could handle.

“Yeah. He and my brother, Zac, used to rodeo together back in Oklahoma. I was just a kid then, but Ty taught me almost everything I know about bulls.”

“Ty fought bulls?” she asked in surprise. He’d told her about his father, but he hadn’t shared that he’d gone down the same road. With every revelation about Ty, her reluctant fascination with him only seemed to increase.