He found himself far more interested in her than the stock as they discussed the horses and cattle. To his surprise, she knew livestock, pointing out things he wouldn’t have noticed about the animals.
They walked, stopping now and then. She’d lean into the fence, getting closer to study the wild horses as carefully as a buyer might. But when she finished, she’d turn and place her hand on his arm as if it were the most natural thing.
When they were at the back fence, she finally faced him. She looked up, letting the sun shine on her face. He saw tiny freckles across her nose and tears sparkling in her eyes. Watery blue eyes, he thought, like a rainy morning sunrise.
“You may think me insane, Mr. Dar—I mean Rowdy, but I’ve something to ask you.” She looked like she was mustering every drop of courage inside her.
“Ask.” He studied her, half wishing she’d pull off her bonnet so he could see the color of her hair. Brown, he thought he remembered, light brown. “I’ve already decided you must be crazy to be walking with the likes of me. So I doubt I’ll be surprised by anything you say.”
She grinned, her smile almost crossing her mouth. “All right.” She raised her hand and opened it palm up. Lying atop her glove was a ten dollar gold piece. “If I pay half your fee, will you ride for best all-around? Will you ride for the cattle?”
Rowdy frowned. “Why would you loan me money? If I win, I might be beating one of the Captain’s cowhands. Your father, like most ranchers, want men riding for their brand to win these things. I don’t ride for any brand.”
“Exactly,” she said. “And I’m not loaning you the money. I’m buying into a partnership. If you win, you keep any prize money for any individual entries, but I get half the cattle.”
“But—”
“No questions. All I ask is that I’m your silent partner. No one can know of our bargain.”
“You’ve never even seen me ride.”
She didn’t answer, but pressed her lips together as if debating crying. He realized this meant a great deal to her. “I’ve never seen those wild horses buck, but I can tell you which will give you the winning ride.”
He raised one eyebrow studying her. He knew nothing about women, but he had a feeling this one was one of a kind.
“Are we partners or not?” She bit into her bottom lip and waited. “You’ve very little time left to register.”
He took the money. Her reasons were none of his business. “Silent partners, if that’s the way you want it, lady.”
“That’s the way I want it.”
Then the shy Miss Laurel did something he never expected.
She stood on her toes and kissed him lightly on the cheek. Before he could react, she turned and ran. Her bonnet tumbled to her back as she ran.
“Brown,” he said, as if she were near enough to hear. “I knew your hair would still be light brown.”
He walked back slowly, turning the gold coin over and over in his hand. He’d ride and do his best. Not just for his start, but he had a feeling for hers as well.
Chapter 2
Laurel ran all the way back to her corner between the buildings and tried to slow her heart while she waited. From the shadows, she watched.
A few minutes passed before Rowdy Darnell stepped in front of the table and tossed down ten dollars in bills and her ten dollar gold piece. The boy she remembered was gone, replaced by a man, hard and lean.
She smiled remembering how kind he’d been to her, helping her down from the surrey and asking her to take a walk. Something no other man in town had ever done. He might look like a man most would fear to cross, but somewhere in the man still lived the boy this town had sacrificed so that none of their sons would go to jail.
Laurel waited for one of the men to recognize him, but none seemed to. Too many families had moved in and out in these parts.
Jeffery Filmore, one of the town’s junior bankers, fingered the money. “Mighty lot of money to toss away if you’re no good.”
“I’m good,” Rowdy answered without a hint of brag in his tone.
The banker snuffed. “Might be, might not be. That’s what we’re here to find out.” He shoved a chart toward Rowdy. “List your name and check every event you’re planning on entering. You got to enter at least three of the four to have a shot at the big prize.”
Rowdy wrote his name and drew a line across all the squares.
The banker raised an eyebrow. “You planning on trying them all.”
“I am.”
Filmore shook his head. “Most cowhands sit out one or two that they don’t think they can place in. It’ll give you time to rest and lessen the chances you get busted up on something you don’t have a chance of winning.”
Rowdy took the number off the top of the pile. “I’ve spent enough time resting and I figure I got a chance at them all. You got an objection?”
Filmore stared at him a moment, then backed down. “No, none at all.”
Rowdy turned and walked back toward the livery. He never glanced at the alley shadows, but Laurel had a feeling he knew she was watching him.
She let out a long held breath. He was registered. She’d been waiting for two years for this chance. If he won, she’d have enough money to run.
When she’d finished school she’d had offers to go to work in Houston and Austin, but her father had insisted she come home to straighten out his books. Three months later, when she had them in good order, she found her small inheritance from her mother had vanished. Her father made sure she had no money to leave. He wanted her to work for him and remain home under his control. Now, after two years, she saw a way out.
Feeling brave, she stepped out of the shadows and walked into the hotel lobby before Jeffery Filmore had time to notice her. The banker had a habit of looking at her the way he looked at his meal when he came to dinner with her father. She was something he planned to have, maybe even enjoy. He hadn’t even asked her yet, but Jeffery Filmore was already talking to her father about setting a date for their wedding. He wanted his ring on her finger and her working in his bank before fall.
Her father’s only hesitation seemed to be that he needed her to do his bookkeeping until after roundup. Neither of the men had ever considered what she wanted. With no funds of her own, her father knew she wasn’t going anywhere and Jeffery knew no other man in town bothered to speak to her. So, to their way of thinking, she was just something to pass from one to the other when the time was right.
Laurel almost laughed as she crossed the empty hotel lobby and entered the small parlor where ladies could have lunch or tea without being exposed to the noisy bar area near the back.
She wasn’t surprised the room was empty. Her sisters would love the thrill and the audience in the back room. It was more a café than a saloon, but Laurel knew her father wouldn’t approve of his darlings sitting among the cowhands. She also knew she’d never tell him because if she did, he’d either laugh or tease her little sisters about how bold they were, or blame Laurel for allowing them to go into such a place.
Sitting by the window, Laurel folded her hands in her lap and waited. The room smelled of pipe smoke. Dust reflected off the furniture as thick as fur in places. The innkeeper obviously saw the room as a bother, but probably kept it to promote the appearance of respectability. He made far more money off the drinks and food in the back.
“Sorry, miss”—a young maid, with hair the color of rust, leaned in the door—“I didn’t know you was there. Would you like something?”
Laurel swallowed hard. “No, thank you. I’d like to just wait here if I may.”
The