Certified Cowboy Read Free Page B

I’ve been riding since I was born.”
    “You own all these horses here?” Kenny asked.
    Johnny shook his head. “No, they belong to the Bucking Bronc. But I have horses and cattle on my ranch at home.” He almost spouted off the impressive number of cattle he owned and the champion horse breeding he was so proud of, but decided now was not the time to brag.
    Kenny’s eyes widened. “I seen you before. You was on TV.” He moved closer, tipping his head back and looking up at Johnny with starstruck eyes. “You’re famous.”
    Johnny slanted a look toward Rachel and wondered what she’d heard. Judging from her wary expression, obviously the rumor mill had made its way around, including the good, the bad and the ugly. “Fame’s not all it’s cracked up to be,” he muttered, but the kid scrunched his nose as if he didn’t understand.
    Rachel didn’t give him time to say more. Instead, her look turned chilly. “The ad said to contact Brody Bloodworth. Is he here?”
    Johnny shook his head, sensing she didn’t want to talk to him. Dammit. Maybe his reputation had preceded him. It bothered him more than he wanted to think.
    “Afraid not. Brody had business in town.” He gestured toward a comfy leather couch facing an oak coffee table loaded with horse and ranching magazines along with brochures about the services, accommodations, camps, trail rides and other programs the BBL offered. “We’re just getting set up now, so there’s a million things to do. But I can get you an application.”
    Through the window, Kenny noticed Kim working with a quarter horse in the pen and tugged at Rachel’s hand. “Can I watch the horses, Mommy?”
    “Of course, buddy.” Rachel squeezed his shoulder and gave him such a tender, motherly smile that something moved inside Johnny’s chest.
    The apprehension the little boy had had earlier seemed to dissipate slightly as he raced over and looked out the window.
    When Johnny glanced back at Rachel, he had to swallow hard. Earlier, all he’d seen was a bruised and frightened woman, one who was likely running scared.
    Now he realized how attractive Rachel Simmons really was, and his gut tightened. He’d sworn off women after that fiasco in Durango, and the last thing he needed to do was get tangled up with a filly in trouble. For all he knew, she might have pulled a con on some poor Joe, run off with his money, and the bruises were a sign that she’d been caught in the act.
    But more likely, she’d been victimized and needed a helping hand. Wasn’t that the goal of the BBL?
    “What kind of job are you looking for?” he asked.
    Rachel twisted her hands together. “I can do anything—cook, clean houses or cabins, work with the kids, muck stalls, groom horses.”
    “Have you worked on a ranch before?”
    A nervous flitter entered her eyes. “Not exactly, but I’ve done lots of odd jobs.”
    “What kind of jobs?”
    She sighed. “Waitressing. Dishwasher. Factory work. Cleaning. Retail sales. Receptionist—”
    He held up his hand. “Okay, I get the point.” She sounded educated, but all those odd jobs…
    “Where are you from?”
    She curled her fingers tighter inside her palms, another sign that she was trying to hide a case of nerves. Or lies.
    “Here and there. We’ve moved around a lot.”
    Uh-huh. Definitely sounded like someone running from trouble.
    He lowered his voice, “And the boy’s father?”
    She quickly glanced at her son, then back at him. “It’s just the two of us.”
    “I see.” He reached inside the desk and removed an application for employment. “Here, fill this out and list your references. Then we’ll see what we can do.”
    Her hand trembled as she took the application, then she cast a worried look at her son.
    “I…don’t have any references to offer,” she said quietly. “Like I said, we haven’t stayed in one place very long this last year.” She drew a deep breath, making her chest rise and fall, and drawing attention to