One Night With a Cowboy by Cat Johnson Page B

his worn leather boots. Those leather chaps he’d
     just slung around his hips weren’t too bad, either.
    He reached back to buckle the chap straps first around one jean-clad thigh, and then
     the other. And she’d thought the rodeo would be boring. Ha! She could watch Tucker
     do this all day. Buckle and unbuckle. Bend and stand.
    She let out a sigh filled with pure contentment. “All right, Em. I’ll admit it. Cowboys
     are hot.”
    Next to her, Emma laughed. “Oh, yeah.”
    “Go ahead and say it.” Becca shot a sideways glance at her sister.
    “Say what?”
    “Another I-told-you-so. I know you want to.”
    “Nope.” Emma shook her head.
    That was a surprise. “Really? Why not?”
    “Because I’m happy to see you happy.” Her sister smiled in her direction. “Becs, I’m
     really glad we did this together.”
    “Oh, sure. Me, too. All New Yorkers should attend at least one rodeo in their lives,”
     she teased.
    One of Emma’s brows rose sharply. “Don’t think I didn’t hear that sarcasm. And I meant
     the whole trip, silly. No matter what happens tomorrow with your interview and the
     job, I’m still glad we came.”
    Becca smiled. “Me, too. And thank you.”
    This hadn’t exactly been on her bucket list of things to do before she died, but nevertheless
     she was very glad she’d done it. Her attention went back to Tucker again as he bent
     to get something out of his bag and the chaps acted as a frame for his very nice rear
     asset.
    “For what?” Emma frowned.
    “For making me come here to the rodeo even though I didn’t want to. For being a little
     sneak and applying for the job even though that was still very wrong of you. For all
     of it.”
    Thanks to Emma’s meddling, Becca wouldn’t have to live with regrets. She wouldn’t
     have to wonder what if? And if nothing else, at least they’d have good stories for
     the folks back home about their whirlwind Oklahoma adventure.
    “Don’t be silly. No thanks necessary. My favorite thing is making you do things you
     don’t want to.” Emma grinned.
    “Yes, I know.” As sincere as her thanks had been, she still couldn’t help laughing
     at the truth of what Emma had said. That was the kind of relationship they had, and
     as annoying as her sister could be sometimes, Becca didn’t think she’d want it any
     other way.
    “Love you, Bec.”
    “Love you, too, Em.”
    “So, I’d like to make a proposal. More of a pact, actually.” Emma glanced at her sister
     before turning back to watch the two cowboys again.
    Becca’s brows rose. “All right. What’s your proposal?”
    “Whatever happens tonight, there’ll be no judgment on my part. No walk of shame in
     the morning. In fact, I hope I don’t see you again until breakfast before your interview
     tomorrow. I want you to have a good time. I want you to get the thoughts of that bastard
     Jerry and what he did to you knocked so far out of your system you can’t even remember
     what he looks like. And if riding that cowboy all night long is the best way to do
     it, then that’s exactly what I want you to do. Okay?”
    Her heart beat faster at the thought of what Emma was suggesting. Two city girls out
     at the rodeo with a couple of cowboys they’d just met was one thing. But Emma telling
     her to spend the whole night with one of them was quite another. She was still having
     trouble wrapping her head around what an entire night with Tucker might be like, but
     parts lower, female parts long ignored, were warming to the idea nicely.
    Finally, she gave in to it all. Her sister. Her desire. Tucker. “Okay.”
    Emma smiled wide. “Good.”
    The fact she was giving Emma the satisfaction of being right about everything—from
     applying for the position at OSU, to coming to the rodeo, to a night with a cowboy—proved
     how woozy Tucker’s mere presence made her. The two beers she’d had over the course
     of the last couple of hours probably helped with that a little, too, but