Cowboy Crazy Read Online Free PDF

weakness. She was on the defensive here, protecting her turf. He needed to get her out of this office and into his world, where he felt comfortable and in charge and she wouldn’t be so damn sure of herself.
    “What you need,” he said, “is an education.”
    She tossed her head, as if she was used to wearing her hair long. Her tight French braid had loosened during their debate, and all the head toss accomplished was to loosen a random strand that dangled over one eye so she looked like an angry little terrier with one floppy ear.
    “I don’t think so,” she said, her brows arrowing down. “I’m highly educated and highly qualified.”
    “And that makes you right.” He leaned toward her and rested one forearm on the door frame. He knew he was big enough to be intimidating, but there wasn’t a hint of fear in her eyes as she nodded her head sharply. Yup, she was right. All the time—or so she thought.
    This woman would be incredible in bed.
    He wiped that thought away and got back to the game. Winning required focus, and thinking about sex with his opponent was a sure way to derail his concentration.
    Of course, he’d never had that problem with a rodeo bull.
    “I’m not talking about book learning, here,” he said.
    The words came out “book larnin’.” Dang it, he sounded like an ignorant redneck. He’d spent his whole life shifting from one world to another, from the rich world of his family to the rodeo ring, and he’d become adept at taking on the qualities of the people he was with. But lately he’d spent so much time in the chutes that it was hard to shed the careless grammar and casual syntax of the rodeo. That could be a good thing. Sarah obviously set great store by schooling. If she thought he was stupid, she was liable to underestimate him.
    But for some reason, he wanted her respect even more than he wanted to win.
    “What I’m talking about is experience.” He straightened and lowered his arm, concentrating on enunciating his ing s. “Eric says you’re an expert on small-town sensibilities, but your schools were back East, right? I’m not sure you understand what people are like in the West.”
    He scanned her eyes, noticing a smile behind her skepticism—almost as if she thought she’d already won. She was wrong, but he realized he’d take a smile from her wherever he could get it.
    “Ranch life is different,” he continued. “It depends on the land and the seasons, so it moves a little slower. And the things that matter are lasting things. Some folks might be willing to go for the quick buck, but cowboys think about the future. About their legacies, the land. Future generations.”
    She looked up at him and he saw sympathy in her eyes, as if she knew what it was like to worry about those things.
    “I know.” She looked away quickly, as if she’d given something away.
    “You do?”
    Her gaze flicked around the room, lighting on the desk, the bookcase, the carpet—everywhere but his face. “Not really. I mean, I know lots of people think about that, but, um, I don’t know anything about cowboys. Not—not personally, I mean.”
    “See? You need an education.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels, pretending a casualness he didn’t feel. “Why don’t you come to the rodeo with me tonight? I’ll introduce you to some of the guys, and you can mingle with the crowd, get a sense of what people are like here. I can give you a real inside look at the West.”
    She shook her head so hard that another section of her hair escaped the braid. “No, I don’t think so. Thank you, but no.”
    “We could talk about the ranch too. You could tell me more about how the drilling would help Two Shot.”
    Now he had her attention.
    “I’d be interested to hear what you have to say,” he continued. “My decision isn’t cast in stone, you know.”
    Her brows slanted down again, making a little crease appear between her eyebrows as she scanned his eyes.