Long Hard Ride (Rough Riders #1)(43)

In a few short days Colby knew her better than either of her parents.


She suspected the shrewd cowboy might know her better than she knew herself.


A sharp knock echoed in the quiet room. The maid kicking her out already? Channing lifted to her tiptoes and checked the peephole.


Edgard. She opened the door. “Hey. I thought you’d be at the rodeo grounds.”


“On my way, chica. I just need to load yours and Colby’s stuff in the horse trailer. Do you want to ride over there with me?”


“Sure.” She touched his arm. And she thought she’d looked wiped out. She could’ve packed her stuff in the luggage under Edgard’s eyes.


“Ed, are you okay?”


“Yeah. Just worried about the events. Trev and I could sure stand to win some money today.”


“I’ll cheer you on, amigo. Although I guess I’m not bringing you as much luck as you’d believed?”


Surprisingly, Edgard grinned, leaning over to buss her cheek. “You bring me something better than luck, Channing.”


“What’s that?”


“Hope. Come on. Colby forgot his saddle and he’s waiting, probably pacing behind the chutes.”


Channing wondered. Had Colby been thinking about her and their erotic interlude last night that he’d waltzed off and left his saddle behind? Maybe he was as bowled over by what was happening between them as she was because he was meticulous about his equipment.


At the rodeo grounds Edgard had parked the rig at the far end of the lot, near the back entrance. He handed her a key to the horse trailer.


“Can you lock up? I gotta get this saddle over to him before he starts freaking out.”


“Sure. See you. Tell him I said good luck.”


“Maybe you wanna give me a kiss that I can pass along to him, too?”


“You know, that’s the first time you’ve offered to kiss me. You feeling okay, Ed?”


“I’m feeling great. Later.” He flashed her a bone-melting smile, hefted the saddle over his broad shoulder and sauntered off.


At the box office a ticket was held in her name. And it really brightened her day when several of the women from the Wild Bronc came over to chat, to tease her about her abrupt departure with Colby the previous night. The bolder ones even confided about the early days in their relationships with their cowboys and how they remembered—and missed—that urgency.


But mostly these trash-talking women wanted to tempt her into placing small stakes bets with them. A time-honored tradition, they swore. The only rule was you couldn’t bet against your man.


Channing knew it was a test. And she soon discovered very few bet against Colby McKay. So she prepared to clean them out of their pocket money and she’d enjoy every minute of it.


“Let’s rodeo!” the announcement boomed.


During the bareback competition Channing won twenty-five bucks.


Then the saddle bronc event started.


Oh mama. The second Colby’s name was announced, her whole body flushed with desire and pride.


Colby looked powerful and in command and supremely sexy as he rode his bronc to a seventy-five. He finished third overall and won a decent amount of money.


With it being the last day of the rodeo, the events were longer, because the short go was held right after the individual competitions ended.


The betting became sporadic as contestants’ significant others left the stands. It’d be a long day for her. Suddenly alone, Channing regretted she’d forgotten her notebook in the horse trailer.


Two tugs on her hair. Before she could turn to see who it was, Callie hopped down in front of her. “Hey, China bear.”


“Hey, Calamity Jane.”


She clapped her hand over her mouth and giggled.


“Where’s your mom?”


“Helpin’ the hazer wrap up the back legs on his horse before Daddy goes bulldoggin’.”


With her soft Midwestern accent, bordering on a twang, and big eyes, the kid was cute as bug. “Is the horse okay?”


She shrugged. “So’s your stomach and your head hurt as bad as Momma’s does this mornin’?”


Channing choked on her iced tea. “No.”


“I’m glad, because she is the one who’s a bear today, not you,” she confided with a serious face.


Beat-up brown boots covered in dirt slid into view. “I heard that Calliope Jane Morgan.” A sluggish Mary eased next to Channing. “I’d like to say she’s full of it, but the truth is, my head is pounding and I feel like I could barf. Been that way since the moment I got up.”


She could tell Mary was scrutinizing her from beneath oversized pink sunglasses.


“Here I was hopin’ my partner in crime from last night felt just as poorly as I do. But damn, you look positively chipper today.”


Channing chuckled. “Remind me why you were drinking last night?”


“Showing you how to celebrate Colby’s big ride. It just didn’t seem like I drank that much to feel this bad.”