Page 11 of Blue Moon Cowboy
A pen full of bulls looked terrifying until she saw a cowboy holding a baby up to pet one of the huge beasts.
Lainey snapped a photo of them, enchanted by the look on the man’s face as well as the little one’s glee as she stretched out a chubby hand to the bull.
Focused on the subject in the frame of her camera, Lainey took a step forward and bumped into something that felt like a steel band.
She lowered her camera and glanced into Jason Price’s good-looking face. Apparently, she hadn’t allowed her memory to accurately store just how handsome the cowboy really was. He nearly took her breath away when the lines deepened at the corners of grayish blue eyes that held both interest and mirth. The steel band she’d encountered had been Jason’s arm. She glanced down and realized he’d kept her from walking into a steaming pile of manure.
“Fancy bumping into you,” he said with a teasing grin that made her stomach feel like it was full of exploding bubbles. “I see you still need to work on your situational awareness.”
She laughed. “So it seems. How are you, Mr. Price?”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Mr. Price? I thought we agreed you’d call me Jason; otherwise, I’ll be forced to call you Miss Collins, and that seems rather stuffy, doesn’t it?”
She offered a nonchalant shrug. If the man only knew how many times he’d drifted through her thoughts and boldly sauntered into her dreams, he’d take off running and not look back.
“What are you doing here? Not that I’m anything but pleased to see you, Lainey. Did you decide to do a rodeo book after all?”
“I’m still kicking that idea around. I finished my last interview and photo shoot sooner than expected and noticed the rodeo here today, so I thought I’d check it out. I had no idea your stock company would be here.” If she’d known she’d see Jasontoday, she would have taken care to leave her hair down, maybe even curled it, instead of pulling it back in a tight French braid.
“Would you like a tour with an insider’s view?” Jason asked while sweeping his hand out in front of them to take in the entire venue.
“I would love that.” A tour, given by someone who knew their way around rodeos, was exactly what she wanted. The fact that the someone giving the tour just happened to be a man she found undeniably attractive was just a big bonus.
“Let’s start here with the bulls.” Jason guided her over to the bull pen where a man who looked to be nearing his forties held an adorable baby girl with red hair.
When Jason put a gentle hand on the baby’s back, Lainey felt warmth spread from her head to her toes.
“Miss Lainey Collins, I’d like you to meet Kash Kressley and his daughter, Addie Kate.” Jason grinned at the baby. The little one clapped her hands together and giggled when he waggled his fingers at her. “Kash, this is the photographer I was telling you about. She and Celia will have a lot of notes to compare.” Jason looked back at Lainey. “Kash’s wife is the rodeo photographer I mentioned to you.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Kressley,” Lainey said politely, then smiled at the baby. “Addie Kate is adorable.”
Kash glanced down at his daughter with pride and love filling his expression. “We think she is.” He turned to Lainey and held out a hand. “Please, call me Kash. And Jason is correct that Celia would enjoy speaking with you about photography anytime you want to visit with her.”
“I’d like that.” Lainey shook his hand, then took one of her business cards from the case she carried with her and handed it to Kash.
He tucked it into his shirt pocket, then motioned to the bull that rubbed his head on the fence panel. “Ever pet a bull?”
“Can’t say that I have,” Lainey said, not entirely certain she wanted to touch one now.
“Most of them you don’t want to get close to, but Willie is more pet than anything else. He’s like an overgrown dog,” Kash said, holding Addie Kate so she could pat her hand on the bull’s big head.
Tentatively, Lainey reached through the fence and carefully stroked the side of the bull’s thick neck. He closed his eyes and blew out a soft breath.
“If he were a cat, he’d be purring about now,” Jason observed, earning a nod from Kash.
“He definitely would.” He shifted his daughter’s little hand before it poked the bull in the eye, then glanced at Jason. “Are you going to give Miss Collins a behind-the-scenes tour?”
“A quick one,” Jason said, glancing at his watch.
“Take all the time you need,” Kash said, then smiled at Lainey. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Collins.”
“Call me Lainey. I’m delighted to meet you and Addie Kate, and I look forward to meeting your wife.”
“I won’t be long,” Jason said, then placed a hand against Lainey’s back. The heat radiating from it felt like it might sear through the cotton of her blouse. “Let’s start over here.”
Jason showed her pens full of animals, a corral where contestants rode to warm up their horses, and the catwalk behind the chutes, where cowboys were already getting ready to ride in the bareback event that would start off the afternoon. They walked through a gate and into the center of the arena, where Lainey turned in a slow circle, imagining the sounds and enthusiasm that would radiate from the stands once the seats were all filled.
Unhurried, she captured several photos, trying to take it all in.
