Roping Her Christmas Cowboy. Rebecca Winters

good intentions didn’t matter because Mills would have seen it as an intrusion on his privacy.

      After mulling it all over, Nikki wasn’t sorry it had happened. What she’d learned had removed the blinders. Toly might be Montana’s favorite rodeo champion and a bona fide heartthrob, but his insensitive remarks had ensured she would never be one of his worshippers. She didn’t care how many gold buckles he’d garnered, or the fame he’d won before he’d ever asked her brother to team rope with him.

      Too bad Toly had been her brother’s idol for years. The fact that he’d chosen Mills to be his team roping partner for the current year had been a dream come true for him. Though Nikki had every desire to see them win the national finals championship, she would avoid Toly as much as possible.

      Nikki wished the side-by-side reservations for their rigs hadn’t been made eleven months ago. She couldn’t do anything about that. But fortunately she’d be staying at the hotel and not in her rig where she usually slept. The rest of the time she’d be putting her horses through the paces at the park, keeping her distance.

      In ten days’ time Toly Clayton would be long gone and she’d never have to see the Sapphire Cowboy again. According to Mills, that was the nickname Toly had been given by a journalist at the Billings Gazette years ago when he’d performed as Montana’s champion tie-down roper. She’d seen pictures on the billboards driving in from the airport that featured the Sapphire Cowboy on several of them.

      Somehow, some way, she had to put him out of her mind. The fact that she was having such difficulty had to mean that on some subconscious level she’d thought a lot more about him than she would have admitted.

      Clearly the negative indictment of rodeo queens had been the last thing she would ever have expected to hear on the eve of her hoping to win the national barrel racing championship. That’s what you got for listening to something you shouldn’t have. It’s your own fault, Nikki. Learn from it.

      On that note Nikki finished the diet soda she’d grabbed from the minifridge and changed into well-worn jeans and a white, long-sleeved cotton pullover. Once she’d stashed her riding gloves in her tote bag along with a bag of peanuts for herself, she put on her white cowboy hat and left the room to get her rental car.

      After she’d picked up the Honda Civic held for her, she left the hotel and headed to the RV equestrian park on Flamingo Road. Las Vegas was packed year-round, but during the pro rodeo finals, the traffic was beastly and it could be a nightmare if you hadn’t made reservations for everything months ahead of time.

      She found the park and wound her way through to their black-and-gold rig parked near one of the barns. The long white Clayton rig lined up on one side of it had always been Toly’s hotel. When she’d first met him, she’d heard him say he was allergic to hotels.

      Nikki pulled behind the Dobson rig and got out. So far she didn’t see anyone around. Good! She walked around the side and unlocked the door to the trailer section. Before she visited her horses, she needed to load up on some treats for them. They’d been separated three days and needed her love and attention in order to perform at their peak.

      A few minutes later with her pockets stuffed with goodies, she walked the short distance to the barn where her horses had been stalled. She greeted Bombshell and Sassy with treats. Tomorrow her three horses would be moved to the stalls at the Thomas and Mack Center for some practice runs.

      “There’s my Duchess,” she crooned to her red roan quarter horse and received a volley of nickers and nudges that made her chuckle. “I missed you too.” She fed her some apple-flavored Pony Pops and untied the lead rope to back her out of her stall.

      “That’s the kind of welcome that makes me jealous,” sounded a deep male voice behind her.

      Nikki knew who it was. No surprise here when his horses were stalled in the same barn. After taking a deep breath she mounted Duchess, then reached in her jeans pocket for another Pony Pop and turned toward him.

      Toly Clayton stood there at six foot three in his boots wearing his signature black cowboy hat that covered a head of dark blond hair. His light green eyes almost blinded her with their intensity.

      Damn and blast if her heart didn’t rap out a double beat without her permission despite her pain. “I have an idea that will fix all your problems. Why don’t you give Snapper one of these on me?”

      She tossed the treat to him. To his credit he caught it neatly. They didn’t call Toly the greatest header of all the team ropers on this year’s circuit for nothing. He was the one who roped the head of the steer. Mills had won the same distinction for being the greatest heeler. His job was to rope the hindquarters. They were both experts. “See you later, Toly.”

      Nikki rode away, unable to believe he could act like nothing was wrong after what he’d told Mills about her in private. How could he have looked at her just now like she was someone special?

      Where did he get the gall to let her think he wanted to be with her and talk to her when deep down he’d mocked her in a particularly cruel way that had cut deep? Now that they were here, she’d be giving him wide berth!

      * * *

      TOLY HAD SEEN her enter the barn while he was tending to Snapper and wanted to say hello to her, hoping to talk to her for a minute alone. But after tossing him the treat he put in his pocket, she didn’t give him a chance to invite her to eat dinner with him and Mills later in his rig.

      Though he knew how anxious she was to exercise her horses after being separated from them for three days, he sensed that something else had prompted her to ride off without a normal exchange of conversation. That wasn’t like her usual friendly self. Probably nerves had caught up to her this close to the first night of competition coming up the day after tomorrow.

      He couldn’t help but admire her expertise as she rode Duchess out of the barn. Nikki used a barrel racing saddle with a taller horn and rounded skirt for more stability and control. She had a natural seat that made her look like she’d been born in the saddle. It caused her to stand out when she rode. The fact that she was incredibly beautiful only amplified that picture.

      Toly had copped one of her signed posters at the dealership and had folded it inside his jacket so neither Nikki nor Mills could see what he’d done. The photographer had caught her rounding the third barrel at lightning speed during a circuit performance. He planned to put it up in the tack room of the barn at home where he kept some of his favorite mementos.

      As soon as she disappeared, he went back to Snapper’s stall. After breaking the treat in half, he gave part to him and the other half to Chaz in the next stall. He’d already put both quarter horses through their paces. The two had speed and instincts that made them invaluable.

      Once he’d made sure they were watered and had enough hay in their nets, he left the barn. The crew would check on them later. It was four thirty and the sun had just gone down over the horizon. It would be dark before long. Tomorrow the vet would meet him and Mills at the barn to give their horses a thorough exam.

      He looked in the direction of the arena. Nikki would be over there putting her horse through a series of backup and turning drills. He would love to watch her, but didn’t obey the impulse. She would be back soon.

      Toly headed for his rig, but noticed Mills hadn’t returned yet. They’d arranged for a rental car and he’d gone to do errands and pick up some steaks to cook. That gave Toly time to let himself inside for a shower and shave before dinner.

      A half hour later he got to work on a salad and baked potatoes. He’d learned a long time ago that cooking helped him to relax. As he was whipping up biscuits, Mills came in with the steaks for their dinner and put them on the counter.

      “Thanks.”

      “Sure.” He removed his parka. “I saw Nikki’s rental car in back. I didn’t know she’d texted me until a minute ago. Did she say she’d come to dinner?”

      Nope, but Mills didn’t need to know what had happened. Toly was still trying to figure out the reason for