Rodeo Romance (Contemporary Western Romance Short) Read Free

ma’am?”
    Anxious with having the attention of three handsome men, she became tongue-tied. “Ah.” She cleared her throat, cursing herself. “I was wondering why you didn’t call my name. I’m Trisha Summers.”
    “Actually, I was getting ready to talk to you and your friend.” Tim glanced over to where Cindy was piling her plate with food. “I’m sorry about the confusion and will be more than willing to refund your money.”
    Trisha frowned. “But I don’t want my money back.” She tried not to stare too long at him, but Tim McCabe was one hell of a handsome man.
    “What about your friend?” He nodded toward Cindy.
    “She’ll be fine.” Trisha hoped that was true, but one never knew with Cindy.
    “I’ll be fine about what?” Cindy broke in, carrying her plate of food.
    “I offered Ms. Summers your money back.” Tim frowned at her plate. “She refused, saying she wanted to stay.”
    “Is this really what you want to do?” Cindy ignored Tim’s frown. “I mean, if he’s giving us a full refund, we could probably hit a beach by tomorrow night, which is what you wanted to do in the first place.”
    “I changed my mind.” Trisha shrugged. “I think this might be fun.”
    Cindy snorted. “Your definition of fun is totally different than my definition of fun, to the point I don’t know how in the hell we became friends.” Cindy smirked.
    “Even though we hope you have a good time, it’s hard work,” Tim broke in with the warning.
    “I don’t have a problem with that,” Trisha assured him and then glanced at Cindy. “Do you?”
    “Hell yeah, I do. I hate hard work, but for you, I’ll suffer. You owe me big time, Trish.” Cindy gave her an ‘and I’ll be collecting’ look. “So, boss, you need me and Trish to round up some doggies or something?” Cindy had changed into her fake-cowgirl twang.
    Trisha witnessed something that totally floored her in the interaction. A man, who actually seemed to be annoyed by Cindy Jenkins, and was not falling all over himself to impress her. Finally, he looked down at his clipboard, a wide smile spreading across his lips.
    “Ah, yeah.” His smile deepened. “You both will be working with my brother, Jake.”
    “And what will we be doing with your brother?” Cindy inquired before taking another bite of food.
    “Jake’s our horseman. He takes care of all the horses on the ranch.” Tim smirked. “You know, things like feeding them, brushing them down, as well as cleaning their stalls.”
    Cindy’s eyes narrowed at him. “You mean shoveling horseshi—”
    “That’s fine,” Trisha cut her off quickly then glanced around. “Is he here?”
    Tim looked down at his watch. “He must be running late.” He looked back up. “If he doesn’t make it before you leave, then you can meet him here at breakfast, six sharp.” He nodded at Trisha, but glared at Cindy before walking away.
    Before Cindy could open her mouth, Trisha grabbed her arm, pulling her away. “Come on, Cin. I need to eat.”
    Collecting a plate, Trisha dished out some mashed potatoes, green beans and a chicken leg. With her stomach growling from the delicious aroma, she headed toward an empty table and sat.
    “I’m not happy about shoveling horseshit, Trisha.”
    “I know.” Trisha sighed. “I’ll do the shoveling or whatever we have to do with it.”
    “And I’ll tell you another thing.” Cindy peered over her own shoulder. “I’m not too happy with the high and mighty cowboy either. Who does he think he is anyway?”
    “Ah, the boss,” Trisha reminded her with a roll of her eyes. “And I think he’s pretty nice.”
    “Well, I don’t.” Cindy took an aggressive bite out of her chicken. “I think he’s an ass.”
    “He’s pretty cute,” Trisha teased with a huge grin.
    Cindy glanced up at her with a glare, before shrugging with a small grin of her own. “So he’s a cute ass, but an ass all the same.”
    “Hello, ladies.” A deep, gravelly voice broke