It came to a stop beside him, and he turned away from the sudden dust storm the skidding tires kicked up.
A light, feminine voice shouted an apology from inside and his stomach gave a little flutter at the sound. He looked in through the passenger window at a cute blonde about his age, with a huge smile and generous curves. The peach-colored tank top she wore did little to hide that fact, but he refused to ogle the display. Still, his throat went dry when he met her twinkling brown eyes, and her brilliant smile was addictive.
“Need a ride, cowboy?” she asked in that melodious voice that made every nerve in his body tingle with awareness.
“If you’re headed into town, I sure could use a ride to the auto parts store.”
She hitched a thumb over her shoulder. “Was that your truck back there on the side of the road?”
He nodded. “Yeah, it finally gave out on me.”
“Well, I’m headed into town. Hop in.”
He pointed to her truck’s bed. “You want me to climb in back?”
She frowned. “Why would I want that?”
He shrugged, heat crawling up his neck that had nothing to do with the hot August sun.
She chuckled. “Nah, just hop in the cab. It’s not a long drive.”
Pulling off his cowboy hat, he climbed inside and set it on the seat between them. He ran his fingers through his sweat-dampened dark hair a couple of times before he settled into the seat and rested his arm on the open window.
The woman held out her hand to him. “I’m Addie Malory.”
He glanced at her hand then into her eyes. She was still smiling and the way the sunlight struck her face gave her eyes an amber glow.
He swallowed hard, wiped his palms on his jeans, and took her hand. “Cade Brody,” he replied and she shook his hand once before releasing it.
Her hand had been so soft and warm, with just a hint of calluses. Disappointment twitched in his chest when she let go. It had been a long time since he’d touched a woman. That had to be the reason he was feeling so damn aware of this one—even if she was cute.
“Nice to meet you, Cade,” she said and reached for the gearshift.
“You too,” he rasped through the sudden dryness in his throat.
Get it together, man!
The outside of her truck was dirty, but the inside, not so much. A little dried mud on the floor, a colorful Navajo blanket covered the bench seat, and some tools and assorted items were stuffed in the console. Fairly typical for a farm truck. Several years newer than his rig, it seemed to run quite a bit better than his too, as she threw it into first and started down the road.
“Thanks for stopping,” he said.
She glanced at him, flashing another quick grin. “It’s the neighborly thing to do, right?”
He couldn’t help but return her smile. Then he frowned. “Do you pick up strange men hitchhiking often?”
“You’re my first,” she said, sounding as chipper as before and his frown deepened.
Why did that bother him? Why should he care if she wanted to risk her life picking up men she didn’t know? But he couldn’t shake the discomfort her careless behavior churned up inside him.
“You with the rodeo?” she asked, interrupting his thoughts.
“Yeah,” he grumbled, and she threw a nervous look his way, but was back to her chipper self a moment later.
“Leaving a little early, aren’t you? Don’t you have two more days?”
“Yep,” he said. “Didn’t make the first go-round and thought I’d get a jump on travel, but it doesn’t look like I’m going anywhere for a while.”
“‘Cause of your truck?”
He nodded.
“Well, I’m sure you’ll have that fixed in no time.”
He was beginning to find her cheerfulness annoying. Or maybe it was just his moodiness and his unwanted attraction to her that made him cranky. Either way, he didn’t reply.
“Were you headed home?” she asked after a short silence.
He glanced at her then out the windshield. “No, there are some other rodeos on the west side I was going to try, but now I’m going to have to find a job for a few months to pay for the new parts on the truck.”
She nodded. “So you’re stuck here for a while?”
“Looks that way,” he answered, staring out at the road. “You from around here?”
“Yep, I’m a local,” she said proudly. “Lucky you! You actually got to meet one who doesn’t work in town. Most of us are a little scarce during rodeo weekend, but I don’t mind the crowds as much as some of the others.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I noticed.” He turned toward her. “Hey, may I ask you something? As a local?”
She glanced at him, again with a touch of trepidation. “Sure.”
“Do you know of anyone looking for help? I mean, an auto garage or ranch or something like that, who are hiring?”
“You a good mechanic?”
“I get by.”
“What do you know about ranching?”
“I grew up on one in Montana,” he said. “It’d take less time to tell you what I don’t know.”
“How about farming?”
“I’m a fair hand at that, too. We had to feed the stock and it’s cheaper to grow your own when you can.”
She nodded, but her brow was furrowed. “But you’re not going home?”
Something in her voice seemed off, like she was suddenly concerned to be alone with him.
“It’s not my home anymore and—” he said, about to go on about his parents, but he cut himself off. “Well, let’s just say, there’s nothing left to hold me there. I used to dream about the rodeo as a kid, so I thought I’d give it a go.”
“How’s that working out for you?”
He chuckled again, but with no humor this time. “Not
