Rodeo Daughter. Leigh Duncan

two measures into the waltz, Mitch slipped his arm around her waist. The gentle press of his hand sent familiar tingles up and down her spine.

      Struggling to hide a rush of heat, Amanda pressed her cheek to his chest. His woodsy aftershave mingled with a faint powdery smell she couldn’t quite identify. Whatever it was, it triggered a wave of longing for the home her childhood on the road had never included. She inhaled deeper while the singer belted out a song that made the rodeo circuit sound far more romantic than the life she’d known.

      All too soon, the notes of the first number faded. Mitch’s smoldering eyes met hers, and Amanda knew with one glance that he wanted to continue their time together. When he motioned toward one of the barn’s big doors, she barely hesitated. She ducked outside, feeling giddy, while he grabbed two cups of punch from a table decked out like a chuck wagon. They moved into the shadows beyond the light that spilled from the door, not stopping until they’d left the acrid odor of several cigarette smokers behind. In a quiet spot, they leaned against a hitching rail.

      “I can’t believe you’re really here. I’d planned to ask your dad about you after the show, but seeing you is so much better.” Concern dimmed the light in Mitch’s eyes. “He ever straighten up? Become the father you needed him to be?”

      Amanda stifled an angry reply. No matter how much she’d changed, some things remained the same—and her dad was one of them. After her mom died, he’d dumped Amanda in rodeo camp and toured the country, preferring to rope and ride alone than help her deal with her grief. Meeting Mitch had been the only bright spot that terrible summer, and her dad had been the topic of more than one conversation between them.

      She rolled her eyes. “He’s still up to the same old tricks. He backed out of the Saddle Up Stampede at the last minute, conned me into riding in his place. How about yourself? Did you go back to Camp Bridle Catch the next year?”

      “Nah, that was the last in a long line of summer camps. It was all college prep and internships after that.”

      Their lives couldn’t have been more different. For her, the next few years had been about winning a gold buckle in Las Vegas.

      Amanda drained the cup Mitch handed her and set it aside. Talking to him brought back all her old hurts. It was as if she’d been asleep for years and had now been shaken awake, her adrenaline pumping for a fight. The urge to give Mitch a piece of her mind warred with the desire to grab him and hug him. She wasn’t sure where to start. In the end, she decided to rip the bandage off by tackling their breakup.

      “I waited for you in the stables like we’d planned that last day of camp. You never showed.”

      Mitch propped his arms on the top rail beside hers. “I couldn’t. My parents were furious—and probably embarrassed—that Ben and I had gotten into a fight. They refused to listen when I tried to explain. Instead, they marched us to the car. We were halfway to the Grand Canyon before I got a chance to state my case.”

      “You never called. Never wrote.”

      “I wanted to. I scoured the internet for the Markette Ropin’ Team. What little information I could find was always about where you’d been, not where you were headed. I’m sorry we never got to say goodbye.”

      Amanda nodded, finally understanding why Mitch had left her alone and confused and, after an hour, madder than a wet cat.

      “What was that all about, anyway? I never understood why you and your brother got into it like that.”

      “Guy stuff.” Mitch shrugged. “Teen guy stuff,” he corrected. “Ben made some crack about my hot girlfriend. Before I knew it, he was on the ground and I was standing there, daring him to get up.”

      Amanda laughed when Mitch gently elbowed her ribs.

      “Oh. So, your brother thought I was hot, did he?”

      His quiet “You still are” made her heart beat double time. Not quite ready to pick up where they’d left off as teenagers, she reminded herself that she didn’t know the man he’d become. She changed the subject.

      “How’d you wind up in Melbourne? I thought you’d settle in Savannah near your folks.” As a teen, Mitch had talked about joining the family law practice.

      “I did for a while. Almost made partner in Goodwin & Sons before…” Mitch’s shoulders straightened. “Things changed. Dad’s firm specializes in defense work. I got one of his clients off on a technicality. Turned out the guy was guilty. The next time he robbed a liquor store, somebody got hurt. I took a job with the state attorney’s office and moved here soon after.”

      “Oh.” Amanda sighed. “That must have been rough.” His plans had changed as much as hers had. Back when they’d known each other, she’d wanted nothing more than to become a champion barrel racer and earn her dad’s approval. She’d accomplished one, realized she’d never have the other, and moved on. Once she’d passed the bar, she’d narrowed her search for a new home to places as far off the professional rodeo circuit as she could find. Melbourne, with its growing need for family law specialists, fit the bill.

      Mitch gestured toward a faint glow that rose above the distant town. “I’ve been here almost six years. And in the interest of full disclosure, I’m a single dad. Divorced. But my ex-wife has been out of the picture for a long time. So.” He paused a beat. “How ’bout you?”

      How about her?

      For the past ten months, ever since she’d hung her shingle outside a converted house in the town’s quaint business district, she’d been too busy for relationships, significant or otherwise. A home-school education meant college and law school had demanded every ounce of her concentration. On the rodeo circuit, she’d been the new girl in a different town every week. The locals hadn’t exactly rolled out the welcome mat so, other than that summer, her love life had been practically nonexistent.

      But on a warm August night after she’d aced a difficult performance, dredging up her entire history wasn’t on her agenda. Especially not with a tall, handsome man standing at her elbow. She studied his face and rediscovered the tiny dip in his chin that she used to trace with her fingers.

      They spent hours reminiscing before she asked, “What do you do in your free time?” She kept her voice light enough to disguise a deepening interest, adding, “Besides attending charity events.”

      “Between chauffeuring my daughter around and my work schedule, my spare time is at a premium… Why waste it?”

      She couldn’t agree more. As his arm slipped around her waist, Amanda stepped forward. Ever so softly, Mitch brushed his lips across hers. She sighed into his kiss, letting her eyes drift closed. The gentle pressure of his mouth stirred her hunger for more, and when his tongue swept against her lips, she opened to him.

      Tasting the sweet punch they’d sipped, Amanda smiled without breaking contact. She rose on tiptoe, her hands languidly stroking Mitch’s broad chest. In response, the teasing flutter of his kisses deepened. She melted against him as music rose from the barn and floated in the air around them.

      Amanda breathed in the heady blend of Mitch’s aftershave mixed with the same indefinable something extra she’d noticed earlier. The strangest sensation of coming home filled her being. She gave herself over to the thrill of the moment, the press of Mitch’s hands against her back. She skimmed her fingers over the rough embroidery of his shirt, then buried one hand in his hair. Desire tugged at her core, turning her breath so ragged she barely heard the band leader announce the final dance of the night.

      Sounding as breathless as she felt, Mitch groaned and broke their kiss. He gazed into her upturned face.

      “We need to put in an appearance,” he murmured. The long fingers of one hand gently tucked an errant lock of her hair into her braid. “How ’bout we pick this up later?”

      “Yeah,” Amanda whispered. They weren’t kids anymore, and she placed her hand in his outstretched one, content to follow the evening wherever it led.

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