Roping Her Christmas Cowboy

“Mills? What’s important is that you move on for your own happiness.”

“You’re right. Thanks for the talk. I’m sure as hell not going to let her ruin what you and I have worked so hard for. I promise I won’t let you down.”

Toly patted his shoulder. “You couldn’t do that. See you in the morning. Try to get a good sleep.”

It was great advice to give Mills, but Toly knew he wouldn’t be falling off anytime soon. He went back to the kitchen, hoping Nikki would come home so they could talk. No doubt some guy was detaining her.

Starting tomorrow morning, Toly wouldn’t be seeing her for the next three days. He wished they were all driving down to Vegas together, but Mills had never suggested it. From the moment the two of them had starting riding the circuit together, Toly had sensed Nikki was off-limits to him. Naturally he was friendly with her when they were all together here on the ranch, but he kept things professional. That’s why they’d all gotten along so well.

But Toly wanted more than that. The only thing saving him was the knowledge that the three of them would be together in Las Vegas for ten whole days and nights. He had plans despite what Mills wanted.

After waiting another twenty minutes while he watched the news on the small TV in the kitchen, he decided Nikki might not be home for hours. Not if that dude at the dealership was holding her up.

She could sleep in tomorrow while he and Mills had to take off early. So much for a talk with her before he went to bed. That would have to wait. Hell.

Chapter Two

At three o’clock on Tuesday afternoon, the airport shuttle pulled up to the magnificent new Cyclades Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Four huge, white rounded windmills with their pointed brown roofs and blades—the famous trademark advertising the Greek islands—formed the facade around the entrance. A sign on the marquee said, Welcome Wrangler National Finals Rodeo Finalists.

December 6 was finally here. Nikki climbed out of the limo following her two-hour flight from Great Falls, Montana, and was instantly met with whistles and a barrage of photographers taking pictures. She ought to be higher than a kite to be here at last, on the verge of possibly winning the national championship. But her spirits couldn’t have been darker. Not after the conversation she’d accidentally overheard between her brother and Toly Clayton the other night at the ranch house.

She hadn’t been able to put it out of her mind and would have given anything in the world for her loving parents to still be alive so she could talk to them about what Toly had said. She was afraid he’d been referring to her when he’d made certain remarks. But there was no such miracle for her and somehow she had to find the strength to get through this experience on her own.

Being a finalist required she had to be prepared to look the part. That meant wearing specific brands like her white Stetson, Justin cowboy boots, and Wrangler jeans and Western shirt. It also meant putting on a smile when it was the last thing she felt like doing.

A doorman reached for her two suitcases and accompanied her inside the lobby decorated with Christmas trees and thousands of twinkling white lights crisscrossing the ceiling. She’d almost forgotten the holiday season was upon them. He put her luggage next to her and went back out in front.

One of the clerks at the counter approached her. “Welcome to the Cyclades Hotel.”

“It’s good to be here. My name is Nikki Dobson.”

The clerk’s smile broadened as she signed her into the computer. “You’re one of this year’s barrel racing finalists. Congratulations!”

“Thank you.”

“We have the Delos Island suite ready for you and a rental car. When you’re ready to pick it up, their office is down the north hall next to the double doors leading to the indoor pool and gym.

“If you’ll follow the bellhop, he’ll show you to your room off the east patio. You’ll find literature on the coffee table to answer any questions you might have. Here’s your card key.”

Nikki thanked her again. The bellhop picked up her suitcases and she followed him past a coffee shop and the crowded casino to a set of glass doors at the other end of the lobby. They led outside where a charming, miniature Greek village greeted her vision.

The whitewashed cubed houses built next to each other, with some being double storied, had been designed in the Cycladic style around several swimming pools lined in Greek tiles.

What a stunning change from the high-rises of many other hotels! She liked the architecture and was glad she didn’t have to deal with crowded elevators and happy people. After the blizzard she’d left behind in Montana, she had to admit the high-fifties temperature here in the desert felt balmy by comparison.

As soon as she was shown to her two-bedroom suite with its blue-and-white decor, she paid the man for helping her with her bags. If Mills got tired of sleeping in the rig, he could spend a night here in the other bedroom. But in his depressed state, she had no idea what her brother would want right now.

Once she’d closed the door, she sat down on a chair by the coffee table in the small sitting room to text Mills that she’d arrived at the hotel. She knew he was expecting to hear from her.

Next she phoned Santos and Andy, the crew all three of them were sharing. They’d driven her rig and quarter horses here from the Dobson ranch. She knew from an earlier text that they’d arrived at ten that morning and had pulled into the RV equestrian park in Las Vegas. It had several big arenas, nine barns and all the amenities to work with the horses like steer dummies and practice barrels. It saved having to go over to the Thomas and Mack Center all the time where the National Finals Rodeo was being held starting the day after tomorrow.

“How’s it going, Santos?

“Despite a flat tire and a long wait while a herd of migrating elk crossed the highway, we’re fine.”

“Do I want to know how bad it really was?”

“Nope. You’ve got enough on your mind.”

What would she do without their crew. They were her greatest support. “Is Bombshell settling in?”

“She’s good. So is Sassy. But Duchess is missing you.”

“I’m not surprised. Now that I’ve checked in to the Cyclades Hotel, I’ll pick up my rental car and drive over so I can exercise her.”

“That’ll perk her up.”

“If all goes well, I won’t be riding her during the competition. But I need to keep her happy and in shape, just in case of a problem.” Though Duchess was fast, she required more cosseting than the other two.

“You can always expect something will go wrong, Nikki.”

“Don’t I know it.”

She’d learned that when her parents had been killed, and again when she realized she couldn’t marry Ted, not to mention the pain inflicted when she’d overheard a certain conversation the other night.

As for her rodeo experiences, she’d been riding horses on her own from the time she was seven. Her childhood dreams were all to do with riding in the rodeo one day. At fourteen she’d competed in the teen rodeos. At eighteen she’d started college and had begun competing on the state and national circuit.

For the last six years Nikki had gone through everything that could go right or wrong personally and professionally during her exhausting schedule. It still wasn’t over and anything could happen until this competition came to an end after ten grueling nights. Then she’d retire in order to promote the rodeo in a brand-new way with her brother who was also a rodeo champion along with his famous team roping partner.

When the pro rodeo championship finals were over, Mills planned to retire as well and go into business with her. The two of them had talked about it a lot. Neither of them had been lucky when it came to romantic relationships that were destined to last. His recent breakup with one of her best friends, Denise Robbins, had torn him apart. She was glad that when Finals were over, they had each other to rely on for the future.

“Any sign of Mills yet?”

“Yeah. He and Toly pulled in at noon and parked their rig next to yours.”

She guessed he hadn’t had time yet to answer her text. Technically it was Toly Clayton’s rig. They’d lived out of it while doing the circuit this last year. He was the youngest son on the renowned Clayton Cattle Ranch located at the base of the Sapphire Mountains outside Stevensville.

“I’m glad they got there safely.”

“Their horses are stalled right by yours. It’s a good thing you guys made reservations last January. The place is full up.”

“We knew it would be.”

“I’ve already spread several bags of soft shavings in all three stalls. Andy filled the buckets with water and is measuring their intake. When the vet comes around tomorrow, he’ll want to check them.”

“There’s nothing you haven’t thought of. Thanks, Santos. I couldn’t do any of this without you guys.” She got to her feet. “I’ll freshen up here, then be over.”

“In that case, I’ll saddle Duchess and put a soft bit on her.”

“Terrific. See you soon.”

Nikki hung up, realizing she’d be running into the drop-dead gorgeous Toly Clayton before long. Knowing how he felt about her, it was the last thing she wanted, but being around him was inevitable.

After a year of seeing him coming and going, both on the circuit and at the ranch, she’d thought they were all good friends. But just the thought of him now cut her to the quick.

The other night, on the way to her bedroom after coming home from the Ford dealership, she’d passed by the den, surprised anyone was still up. Toly’s words had drifted through the crack in the door.

The last thing you ever want to do is get hung up on one of those rodeo beauty queen types. They’re in love with their own image and probably have been all their lives. The dude who’s hooked and can’t see through it is doomed to be an afterthought, if that.

Stung by words she would never forget, Nikki had run down the hallway to her bedroom so they wouldn’t know she’d been in hearing distance. She’d lost sleep that night wondering what that conversation had all been about. But she’d had enough time since Friday to believe that what Toly had said was probably his general opinion of rodeo queens.

In this business he’d met and dated any number of them over the years. After apparently finding all of them wanting since he was still single, it might explain why he’d never tried to get to know Nikki better.

She’d known pain when she and Ted Bayliss realized their relationship couldn’t go anywhere. He was a big advertising executive from Laguna Beach, California, who’d asked her to marry him. But he wanted her to move there where they would lead a different lifestyle with his friends that had nothing to do with horses. As he’d said, she could always go back to her ranch on vacations and ride her horses with Mills.

When she told him about the elaborate plans she and Mills had talked about once they’d both retired from the rodeo, Ted recognized that marriage wouldn’t have worked for them no matter how attracted they’d been to each other. He had a business rooted in Southern California he couldn’t leave. It would mean Nikki would have to uproot herself, something she couldn’t do. At that point they stopped seeing each other.

For a time it was hard to accept that there could be no future for them, but she’d finally gotten over it. That’s why it surprised her how much she was still hurting over Toly’s comments to her brother. It didn’t make sense. She’d never been on a date with him or spent hours of time alone in his company, let alone had a relationship with him like she’d had with Ted.

She would love to get into a discussion with Mills about how he felt over his friend’s blanket repudiation of women like Nikki who’d been steeped in the rodeo world all their lives.

But in order to bring up the subject with her brother, she would have to admit that she’d overheard the two men talking. She hadn’t meant to eavesdrop. After a few seconds she’d fled the scene, but her good intentions didn’t matter because Mills would have seen it as an intrusion on his privacy.

After mulling it all over, Nikki wasn’t sorry it had happened. What she’d learned had removed the blinders. Toly might be Montana’s favorite rodeo champion and a bona fide heartthrob, but his insensitive remarks had ensured she would never be one of his worshippers. She didn’t care how many gold buckles he’d garnered, or the fame he’d won before he’d ever asked her brother to team rope with him.

Too bad Toly had been her brother’s idol for years. The fact that he’d chosen Mills to be his team roping partner for the current year had been a dream come true for him. Though Nikki had every desire to see them win the national finals championship, she would avoid Toly as much as possible.

Nikki wished the side-by-side reservations for their rigs hadn’t been made eleven months ago. She couldn’t do anything about that. But fortunately she’d be staying at the hotel and not in her rig where she usually slept. The rest of the time she’d be putting her horses through the paces at the park, keeping her distance.

In ten days’ time Toly Clayton would be long gone and she’d never have to see the Sapphire Cowboy again. According to Mills, that was the nickname Toly had been given by a journalist at the Billings Gazette years ago when he’d performed as Montana’s champion tie-down roper. She’d seen pictures on the billboards driving in from the airport that featured the Sapphire Cowboy on several of them.

Somehow, some way, she had to put him out of her mind. The fact that she was having such difficulty had to mean that on some subconscious level she’d thought a lot more about him than she would have admitted.

Clearly the negative indictment of rodeo queens had been the last thing she would ever have expected to hear on the eve of her hoping to win the national barrel racing championship. That’s what you got for listening to something you shouldn’t have. It’s your own fault, Nikki. Learn from it.

On that note Nikki finished the diet soda she’d grabbed from the minifridge and changed into well-worn jeans and a white, long-sleeved cotton pullover. Once she’d stashed her riding gloves in her tote bag along with a bag of peanuts for herself, she put on her white cowboy hat and left the room to get her rental car.

After she’d picked up the Honda Civic held for her, she left the hotel and headed to the RV equestrian park on Flamingo Road. Las Vegas was packed year-round, but during the pro rodeo finals, the traffic was beastly and it could be a nightmare if you hadn’t made reservations for everything months ahead of time.

She found the park and wound her way through to their black-and-gold rig parked near one of the barns. The long white Clayton rig lined up on one side of it had always been Toly’s hotel. When she’d first met him, she’d heard him say he was allergic to hotels.

Nikki pulled behind the Dobson rig and got out. So far she didn’t see anyone around. Good! She walked around the side and unlocked the door to the trailer section. Before she visited her horses, she needed to load up on some treats for them. They’d been separated three days and needed her love and attention in order to perform at their peak.

A few minutes later with her pockets stuffed with goodies, she walked the short distance to the barn where her horses had been stalled. She greeted Bombshell and Sassy with treats. Tomorrow her three horses would be moved to the stalls at the Thomas and Mack Center for some practice runs.

“There’s my Duchess,” she crooned to her red roan quarter horse and received a volley of nickers and nudges that made her chuckle. “I missed you too.” She fed her some apple-flavored Pony Pops and untied the lead rope to back her out of her stall.

“That’s the kind of welcome that makes me jealous,” sounded a deep male voice behind her.

Nikki knew who it was. No surprise here when his horses were stalled in the same barn. After taking a deep breath she mounted Duchess, then reached in her jeans pocket for another Pony Pop and turned toward him.

Toly Clayton stood there at six foot three in his boots wearing his signature black cowboy hat that covered a head of dark blond hair. His light green eyes almost blinded her with their intensity.

Damn and blast if her heart didn’t rap out a double beat without her permission despite her pain. “I have an idea that will fix all your problems. Why don’t you give Snapper one of these on me?”

She tossed the treat to him. To his credit he caught it neatly. They didn’t call Toly the greatest header of all the team ropers on this year’s circuit for nothing. He was the one who roped the head of the steer. Mills had won the same distinction for being the greatest heeler. His job was to rope the hindquarters. They were both experts. “See you later, Toly.”

Nikki rode away, unable to believe he could act like nothing was wrong after what he’d told Mills about her in private. How could he have looked at her just now like she was someone special?

Where did he get the gall to let her think he wanted to be with her and talk to her when deep down he’d mocked her in a particularly cruel way that had cut deep? Now that they were here, she’d be giving him wide berth!

* * *

TOLY HAD SEEN her enter the barn while he was tending to Snapper and wanted to say hello to her, hoping to talk to her for a minute alone. But after tossing him the treat he put in his pocket, she didn’t give him a chance to invite her to eat dinner with him and Mills later in his rig.

Though he knew how anxious she was to exercise her horses after being separated from them for three days, he sensed that something else had prompted her to ride off without a normal exchange of conversation. That wasn’t like her usual friendly self. Probably nerves had caught up to her this close to the first night of competition coming up the day after tomorrow.

He couldn’t help but admire her expertise as she rode Duchess out of the barn. Nikki used a barrel racing saddle with a taller horn and rounded skirt for more stability and control. She had a natural seat that made her look like she’d been born in the saddle. It caused her to stand out when she rode. The fact that she was incredibly beautiful only amplified that picture.

Toly had copped one of her signed posters at the dealership and had folded it inside his jacket so neither Nikki nor Mills could see what he’d done. The photographer had caught her rounding the third barrel at lightning speed during a circuit performance. He planned to put it up in the tack room of the barn at home where he kept some of his favorite mementos.

As soon as she disappeared, he went back to Snapper’s stall. After breaking the treat in half, he gave part to him and the other half to Chaz in the next stall. He’d already put both quarter horses through their paces. The two had speed and instincts that made them invaluable.

Once he’d made sure they were watered and had enough hay in their nets, he left the barn. The crew would check on them later. It was four thirty and the sun had just gone down over the horizon. It would be dark before long. Tomorrow the vet would meet him and Mills at the barn to give their horses a thorough exam.

He looked in the direction of the arena. Nikki would be over there putting her horse through a series of backup and turning drills. He would love to watch her, but didn’t obey the impulse. She would be back soon.

Toly headed for his rig, but noticed Mills hadn’t returned yet. They’d arranged for a rental car and he’d gone to do errands and pick up some steaks to cook. That gave Toly time to let himself inside for a shower and shave before dinner.

A half hour later he got to work on a salad and baked potatoes. He’d learned a long time ago that cooking helped him to relax. As he was whipping up biscuits, Mills came in with the steaks for their dinner and put them on the counter.

“Thanks.”

“Sure.” He removed his parka. “I saw Nikki’s rental car in back. I didn’t know she’d texted me until a minute ago. Did she say she’d come to dinner?”

Nope, but Mills didn’t need to know what had happened. Toly was still trying to figure out the reason for her unusual behavior. He took the wrapping off the meat to throw them on the kitchen grill.

“I only saw her in passing and didn’t get the chance to ask her to dinner. She was in too big a hurry to exercise Duchess. Why don’t you call her and tell her it’s ready if she wants to join us.”

Mills pulled out his cell phone. “That horse has emotional problems. I’m afraid Nikki has taken them on.”

“She’s a true horse lover.”

“Dad used to say the same thing. Sometimes she takes it too far.”

“Why do you say that?” Toly put the pan of biscuits in the oven.

“Because she treats them like they’re her children.”

Toly had noticed that for a long time. It was one of her traits he most admired. “Maybe that’s why she’s going to win the national championship this time round. There’s nothing wrong with those horses knowing they’re loved. She’s ranked second in winnings and is depending on them to bring her to number one.”

“What I’d give to see that happen! No one deserves it more than she does.”

Toly couldn’t agree more. Both brother and sister deserved that honor. He’d spent a lot of time on their ranch training with Mills, hoping to see as much of Nikki as possible. When she was there, she worked harder to perfect her circles and figure eights than anyone he’d ever seen. The self-discipline she imposed on herself was the reason she was a champion.

Whatever disappointment she’d suffered in love, she hadn’t let it affect her standings or work ethic. Toly would like to know a lot more about her personal feelings, but Mills hadn’t shared that information with him. Being Nikki’s twin, the two of them were careful to protect the other’s privacy.

Though it was commendable, Toly was finding it more and more aggravating because his desire to get closer to her had met with a setback earlier in the barn. Something had gone on that hadn’t felt right to him and he was determined to get to the bottom of it.

Mills disappeared to talk to her. Toly was forced to live in suspense until his friend came back to the kitchen. “She’ll be right over.” He started to set the table.

Surprised at the relief he felt to hear that news, Toly turned the steaks and checked on the biscuits that were almost done.

“Later on she has to attend a WPRA party at the MGM Grand,” Mills added, “so she won’t be able to stay long.”

Toly ground his teeth in frustration because after she left, it meant he wouldn’t see her again until tomorrow. Throughout the next ten days she’d be staying at the Cyclades Hotel every night. Damn.

* * *

THE WRANGLER PARTY for the finalists Nikki had to attend at the MGM Grand would be one of the big highlights during her stay in Las Vegas. For one particular reason tonight that had everything to do with the man in the rig next door, it would be her pleasure to dress the part of rodeo queen to the hilt. She’d brought an overnight bag with her in the car that contained her outfit.

After exercising her horses, she showered in the rig and put on her new Wrangler cream scoop-neck dress with the elaborate crochet back. It fell to the knees. She paired it with ankle-high Italian leather boots in a sand color.

After Mills told her that he and Toly had invited her to come for dinner, she went overboard on her makeup. A rodeo queen’s whole purpose in life was meant to knock a man’s eyes out, right? She’d do her best to live up to Toly Clayton’s preconceived notions, maybe even surpass them. That would be a novel idea. Nikki brushed her hair, leaving it long and flowing. After fastening her new lacy gold chandelier earrings, she put on her dressy cream felt cowboy hat. She’d bought a new handbag to go with her dress and put her wallet and keys inside. One more look in the mirror. The result made her smile. She was ready to do her worst.