Rodeo Daughter. Leigh Duncan

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СКАЧАТЬ 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.

      By the time they stepped into the barn’s spill of light, the crowd inside had thinned to several dozen couples who swayed to the slow strains of a country ballad. Wait staff circulated among the tables, collecting dishes and utensils. Last call had long since passed. Behind the bar, the bartender loaded boxes onto a dolly.

      Eager to return to Mitch’s embrace, Amanda moved toward the dance floor. At the sound of a familiar voice, her footsteps faltered.

      “Hate to interrupt.” A decked-out cowboy stepped from the shadows near the door. “We’re pulling out at seven tomorrow. You need to be back from—” his eyebrows wiggled suggestively as he jerked a nod toward Mitch “—from wherever you’re headed, early enough to help with the horses and your gear.”

      “Uh-huh,” Amanda said with an easy grin. “The same goes for you, Royce Jackson. Or did I not see you earlier surrounded by adoring fans?” Smothering a laugh, she turned to introduce one of the rodeo circuit’s most renowned practical jokesters to Mitch.

      Only Mitch wasn’t smiling.

      Gone was the adoring expression of the man who’d been kissing her only moments earlier. A stony look had taken its place. His hand relinquished its hold on hers, and his gaze dropped to the floor.

      “Sorry. It’s later than I realized. I have to go. Thanks for the dance, Mandy, and…” Mitch had the good grace to stumble over his words. “Well, good luck.” He turned abruptly, strode across the barn and out the door without so much as a single glance over his shoulder.

      “What was that all about?” Amanda stared after the man who was fast making a habit of abandoning her in drafty old barns.

      Apparently, Mitch Goodwin hadn’t changed as much as she’d thought since she’d seen him last. Well, she had. And this time she wouldn’t shed any tears for Mr. Hot and Cold.

      Chapter Two

      Mitch’s swift, take-no-prisoners pace down the wide corridor of the Moore Justice Center slowed at the sight of the woman seated outside Family Courtroom 2. He turned away, his gaze sweeping the bare concrete walls and heavily trafficked carpet before he dared take a second look at a pair of trim calves and firm thighs. His chest tightened. There was no mistaking those legs. It didn’t matter if the last time he’d seen them they’d been encased in buckskin. He’d recognize them anywhere.

      A silent oath escaped his lips as he glanced upward. Gone were the twin braids, replaced by a businesslike bun, but less than two weeks ago those honeyed strands had rested against his shoulder. Even though she leaned over paperwork now, her face hidden, he had no doubt.

      The one woman he would’ve sworn had ridden out of his life forever was sitting on a wooden bench outside the very courtroom where he planned to argue the most important case of his life.

      What is she doing here?

      Mitch refused to believe she had just happened by. After five years with the state attorney’s office, he’d learned there was no such thing as coincidence. Something, or someone, had led her here at precisely—he checked his watch—nine forty-seven on August 13. Before the bailiff summoned him, he had to discover the reason. He settled on a line of questioning and let his feet take him where they wanted—straight to her side.

      “Mandy.”

      She looked up from the yellow legal pad in her lap, gray-green eyes widening.

      “Mitch,” she exclaimed. Her full lips curved into a surprised-to-see-you smile.

      He didn’t buy her act, not for a second. He was willing to bet good money she’d noted his arrival the instant he’d emerged from the stairwell. The same way he’d narrowed in on her presence. And in the seconds it took her to gather her paperwork and gracefully unfold a frame that barely came to his shoulder despite a pair of black stilettos, he СКАЧАТЬ