The Bull Rider's Manager Read Online Free PDF Page B

every weekend and into hotel rooms with Jesse Sullivan.
    And there he was again. Thinking about the scene this morning. He stood up and threw his cup into a trashcan and started walking the row of shops, not looking at anything, just walking. When he glanced at his watch again, take off was less than an hour away. He headed back to his gate.
    Coming up on the row of chairs in front of the windows, he saw a woman with red, curly hair sitting in one of the rows, talking on the phone. From the back, it looked like Barb. But why would she be here, waiting for his plane? They didn’t let non-passengers through the security gate anymore. They hadn’t for years. So it was another red haired woman flying to Boise. He relaxed. Now he was jumping at shadows.
    He took a seat in the row facing the woman, just to convince himself he was crazy. He listened as she said, “You better make your ride tomorrow. I’m trusting you. And if you run into Adam, show him some of that Sullivan charm. He’s had a bad weekend.”
    He’d known it. Barb sat across from him, giving Jesse the riot act. He smiled — at least she tried to have her man under control. Of course, sleeping with her client probably gave her more power than he knew.
    Something grabbed his heart and squeezed while he watched her. His wife. Jesse’s lover.
    Barb ended her call, tucked the cell into her purse, and looked right at him. Surprise filled her eyes.
    “Hunter. I thought you left this morning?” she asked, her lips tight.
    Hunter took in a breath, filtered all the things he wanted to say, and finally just answered her question. “This was the first plane out.”
    “I called your room. I wanted to explain. But the front desk said you checked out before noon.” Barb glanced around the waiting area. “You’ve been here since you left the hotel?”
    Hunter felt himself redden. He would look like a spurned schoolboy if he said yes, but she knew when he’d checked out, so lying wasn’t an option. He chose a safe response. “I had some work to finish and its quiet here.”
    Barb glanced at his feet and he realized he didn’t have a briefcase or laptop or even that tablet his secretary had bought him last year. Great, now she knew he was a liar.
    “Oh.”
    That was all she was going to say? Oh? Hunter went on the defensive. “Why are you here and not with Jesse?”
    The look on her face told him he’d scored with his jab. Pain crossed her eyes but her words surprised him. “My mother fell. She’s been rushed to the hospital and is in surgery, but they won’t tell me anything else. I have to get home.” Barb choked on the words.
    “Oh, Barb, I’m so sorry.” Now he felt like a total jerk.
    He slipped into the chair next to her. And to his surprise, Barb Carico Martin turned and put her head on his shoulder and sobbed.
    He pulled her close, stroking her hair. Comforting her. Telling her it would be all right. The same words he’d told Kati when he’d found her alone with her babysitter and had to tell her that her parents were dead. When even he knew, nothing would be all right again.

Chapter 4
    Sitting in the Denver airport, Barb glanced at her watch again. There was no way she’d get into Boise before two in the morning now that their plane had been delayed once again. And she’d turned in her rental car yesterday morning before leaving for Vegas, since her plan had been to head back to her condo in California to water the plants and feed her cat. She pulled up her cell, checking again for missed calls.
    Cassie was probably home in bed. Her mother had come out of surgery with no issues. Cassie had still been at the hospital when Barb had called after landing in Denver. The doctor had already come and gone by that point, and even though she trusted Cassie’s version of the story, she would have liked to talk to him to make sure they understood her mother’s condition. To say that Lorraine would be confused when she came out of the anesthesia would be