Road to Glory Read Free Page A

the truth.
    To his dismay, the cattleman who’d first introduced her took that moment to step closer, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. “Glory, honey, you need something?” His hand slid down to rest against the small of her back, as if declaring ownership.
    Travis shifted his gaze from Mitch Ralston’s to hers and watched Glory’s cheeks turn a delightful shade of pink.
    “No, I’m fine. We were just chatting,” she murmured, “about the bulls.”
    The lights blinked, signaling that it was time for everyone to find their seats. Travis touched his hat brim. “Good to meet you, Miss Beebe.”
    “I’ll be on the lookout for your bulls, Mitch Ralston. Nice to have met you, Miss Beebe. Hope we’ll get a chance to talk later,” John remarked, and with a turn he pointed across the aisle. “Travis, our seats are right over here.”
    With reluctance, Travis nodded and turned away with him.
    ****
    Glory stood rooted, watching Travis Hargrove take the seat on the aisle so he could stretch out his leg. Travis Hargrove, as I live and breathe. The girls down at the Hitching Post Cafe would never believe her. God, he is as luscious in person as in those jeans ads on the TV. The taut denim accentuated his narrow hips, and the jeans clung to the well-developed upper thigh muscles he used to help him keep his seat while an enraged beast danced and twisted beneath him. Still, the exercise certainly made for a nice-looking man, and Glory wasn’t embarrassed about looking. Oh, no, not at all. A longing sigh escaped her lips. However, she knew all too well how such infatuations ended.
    She fired a darting glance to the rancher beside her. Mitch had turned to speak to another cattleman and paid no attention to the sound that came from her. Good , because I have no need to explain to anyone what seems so natural to any woman . There was something to be said for the idea of being whisked off your feet by a knight in shining armor, the dream that was every little girl’s rite of passage, and she proved no exception. Lord, everyday fantasies come to life when there are men like him around. The only exception is he wears a cowboy hat instead of a helmet made of metal. Travis Hargrove more than fit the bill.
    The lights dipped once more. Glory moved to her seat, one row down and across from Travis. She settled in, wishing they weren’t so close to the rail. Seats farther back would have offered her an unrestricted view of the good-looking bull rider. Yet she’d come here for other purposes. Big John Parker played a large part in that. She needed some one-on-one time to talk him into offering her a contract for her bull to become part of the High Plains Rodeo Circuit.
    From there, it would be only a small step up to the big leagues, then their dream—her father’s and hers—would be fulfilled. Until now, John Parker hadn’t noticed her at all. She frowned. The introduction by Mitch hadn’t seemed to work, although the man had said something vague as they parted. She doubted her housekeeper’s suggestion of dropping a handkerchief would be any better. Not that she owned anything other than a blue bandana. Alma didn’t always have the right answer, though she came pretty close most of the time. Glory pursed her lips. She had to make more than just a passing effort.
    “Ladies and gentlemen.” The voice over the loudspeaker, welcoming the crowd to the day’s events, broke into her thoughts. “We ask you to stand as Angel Davis presents our nation’s flag.”
    Glory rose to her feet, as did the rest of the crowd, while a woman in a blue-spangled shirt loped around the arena on a blood-red chestnut Quarter Horse, carrying the stars and stripes.
    “Your stallion looks great!” Mitch whispered. “I’d still like to breed some of my mares to him.”
    “We’ll talk later.”
    “I’m impressed you let Angel ride him.”
    Glory shrugged. “She asked, and I thought it might be good publicity.”
    “How nice of you,