No Ordinary Cowboy (Mills & Boon American Romance) (Rodeo Rebels - Book 6) Read Online Free PDF

then chatted with her friends sitting at the patio tables.
    “I thought Hector drove the Pony Express van,” Tony said.
    “He does, but he’s sick tonight.”
    “You should hire a second driver. It’s not safe for a woman—”
    “Don’t think you’re saying anything I haven’t heard a million times over from my parents. I know it’s risky, but I don’t do it often.” Before Tony badgered her more, she said, “Tell me about this human-trafficking ring you’re trying to bust.”
    “For the past year we’ve been tracking a well-known drug cartel with routes through Arizona. After the first of the year, they switched their cargo from drugs to teenage girls.”
    “Why?”
    “Prostitution is a lucrative business, and from a cost perspective, the gang spends less money transporting humans across the border than growing and processing weed.”
    “And you’re sure the gang is cutting through our ranch?”
    “Yep.”
    “That doesn’t make me feel very safe.”
    “You shouldn’t feel safe. There’s no telling what these guys will do if they feel threatened or cornered.” Tony cleared his throat. “I want to set up a sting operation on your property. Put a couple of lookouts in the desert so we can mark their trail and get close enough to identify individual members of the gang.”
    “Here you go.” The young girl arrived with their food and Tony got out his wallet.
    “My treat,” Lucy said. She handed the girl a twenty. “Keep the change.”
    “Thanks for the burger.” He devoured it in five bites.
    “You must be hungry,” she said.
    “I don’t know why. I had dinner at my mom’s tonight.”
    Lucy hadn’t seen Maria Bravo in a long time. “I should visit her at the truck stop when I’m out that way.”
    “She’d like that.”
    “What did you think of Shannon Douglas last week?”
    “She’s impressive.” Tony dug into his French fries. “Have you seen her compete before?”
    “Last weekend was the first time.”
    “I competed in the Canyon City Rodeo last summer, and after watching Shannon and her lady friends, I couldn’t figure out if the women were stupid or really brave.”
    “Shannon’s got a lot of talent.”
    “I won’t argue with that. She’s been a tomboy all her life, but the others—” He shook his head. “They looked like you.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    “They’re the kind of girls who enter beauty pageants not rodeos.”
    “I’ll take that as a compliment.” Lucy’s pulse raced when Tony’s gaze momentarily dropped to her breasts.
    “You’re as beautiful as I remember.”
    Feeling short of breath, she said, “You’re a chauvinist, Tony Bravo. Just because a girl is pretty doesn’t mean she can’t be tough, too.”
    “Hey, I’m all for women’s rights. I work with female border patrol agents and they handle the job as well as, if not better than the male agents. But bull riding is best left to men.”
    If Shannon called with good news soon, Tony’s opinion would be put to the test, because Lucy intended to ask for his help in preparing for the rodeos. There was no sense bringing up the subject now and giving him an opportunity to talk her out of it.
    “I was surprised you stayed in Stagecoach after you graduated,” Tony said, changing the subject.
    “Really? Why?”
    “Memories.” Tony balled up his burger wrapper. “I’ve been trying to get out of this place for a long time.”
    Lucy wanted to ask if Tony was on the run from the memories of their brief affair or Michael’s death. She, on the other hand, preferred to smother herself in the memories. “My father said you put in for a job transfer to San Diego.”
    “I’m ready for a new challenge.”
    That was a bald-faced lie. Tony had told her plenty of times how much he loved Arizona, and that when he stopped rodeoing he intended to become a border patrol agent so he could stay put. Lucy’s heart ached that her mistake was forcing him to leave the home he loved. If she