I’m up at the crack of dawn like I am every morning. Only in the winter, it’s a whole hell of a lot harder to drag myself out of my warm bed and into the cold, dark air to go feed the cattle. I could’ve chosen an easier life, but I picked this one so I gotta live it. I take a deep breath and throw off the covers, disturbing my border collie, Axel, who was asleep at the foot of my bed. He sighs and rolls over while I get up and cross the cold, creaky wooden floor to the bathroom.

When I flip the light on, it blinds me for a second. I blink a few times, then remember that today a sports reporter is showing up to interview me. I sigh at the thought of having to answer those dumb questions. None of them ever seem to have an original thought. Instead, they all ask the same things over and over. “Aren’t you scared? How do you stay on? What kind of injuries have you had in your career? Whatever made you get on a bull to begin with?”

The answers are, “Yes, but I do it anyway. I have incredible balance and rhythm, not to mention I’m strong as hell. I’ve broken just about everything you can break. I was too young and dumb to know better.”

I dress, then go outside before I change my mind and crawl back into bed. Crossing the crunchy, snow-covered yard with Axel at my side, I slide open the barn door and find the cattle huddled together in the warmth of the barn. I have a small herd of twenty. They aren’t for meat and they aren’t for milk. They’re for breeding the best riding bulls alive. Big, tough, and ornery as hell, just like me.

The cows all make their way over to me as soon as they see me carrying the buckets of feed. I dump them into the trough and go back for more. After that, I use the hose to fill their enormous watering trough, then clean out the barn floor and bring in fresh hay while they’re eating. It’s too cold to put them out in the pasture this week, well at least in my opinion. I never could stand seeing farm animals outside in a field in the dead of winter. I figure they don’t want to be there any more than I do, so why not let them go inside where they can stay out of the wind and snow?

Next, it’s to the smaller barn for the bulls. Two of the rankest specimens to ever retire from the sport, each in their own large pen on opposite sides of the heated barn. They cost me a pretty penny but I’m betting they’ll more than pay off—that is, if I can keep my ranch running long enough to raise some good riding stock.

When I open the door, I hear a loud snort and a stomp from Vicious and I smile. He’s the bull who speared me through my arm when I was first on the tour. I don’t hold a grudge though. He was just doing his job. Besides, there’s more money in breeding than riding, and with Vicious as one of my sires, he might just make up for the scar he left me by making me rich. I set to work feeding and watering them. The horses are last. I have four thoroughbreds in the stables on the far side of the barns. They’re a little skittish, so there’s no way I wanted them in with the bulls. In the warmer months, they graze in their own field when I’m not training them.

My agent, Ty, can’t stand that I insist on doing all this work myself, especially now that I’m this close to the million-dollar prize. But for me, this routine—this life—is my religion. The more regular I keep everything, the calmer I can stay and the better I ride.

My mind wanders back to that sports reporter. I’ve seen her on TV. She’s cute as hell, but that doesn’t mean I want her nosing around my ranch or breaking my routine. I need solitude. I need space. To be honest, I need to get laid, too, but that’s going to have to wait until I have the trophy in my hand and the million bucks I need to keep the ranch in my pocket.

* * *

It’s nearly four in the afternoon when Axel barks twice to let me know that our guests have arrived. I’ve ploughed the driveway for them, finished my workout, showered, and was just hunched over my bank statement when the big black SUV finally pulls into the long driveway. I knew they’d have trouble in this storm. Why they insisted on coming on a day like today is beyond me. I grab my wool coat off the rack, slip on my boots, and head out to greet my guests. I think back to my conversation with Ty earlier. He called to tell me to ‘smile pretty for the camera’ and not to forget that if I can come off as likeable on air, it could mean some decent sponsorship money, which he and I both know I need.

I watch as the bonehead driving comes barreling down the snow-covered driveway. He’s never going to make the curve at that speed. I can tell from here. I shake my head as I watch him slide into the ditch. Sighing, I walk down to meet them. I’m going to have to get the tractor to pull them out, which means I’ll need to put chains on the tires to keep from ending up in the ditch myself. That alone is going to take me over forty-five minutes.

When I get up to the vehicle, the guy in the driver’s seat unrolls the window and gives me a sheepish look. “I’m not really used to winter driving.”

“I can see that.” I smile to soften the edge of my sharp words, remembering what Ty said. As much as I hate to play the PR game, I have to keep my eye on the prize. And a big prize it is.

I look past him to the blonde little beauty sitting next to him in a light pink sweater and some jeans. She smiles at me with enough warmth to melt the snow. I give her my best, cocky cowboy grin and a little nod. “You all right?”

She nods. “I’m fine, thanks.”

“You must be Julia.”

“I am, and this is Kyle, he’s the camera crew and sound tech rolled into one.”

“Nice to meet you, Kyle. I’m Ryder,” I say, even though my gaze is fixed on Julia. I stare at her longer than I should, mesmerized by her bright blue eyes. I didn’t know eyes could come in that shade. She must have colored-contacts. Probably fake boobs, too. Nobody looks like that without some enhancement. “So, I guess before we can do any filming, I’ll have to pull you out of this ditch.”

Kyle speaks up. “I’m sure I can call a tow truck. I have an AAA card.”

“You could call ‘em, but they might be several hours getting out this far. Especially with this cold snap.”

“Well, we’re going to lose the light if we don’t film now. We wanted to get some shots of the ranch and the animals.”

“Suit yourself.” I shrug as he turns off the engine.

He swings the door open and steps out, landing up to his knees in snow. “Dammit! That’s cold!”

I watch as Julia opens her door, then stares down at the snow for a second. Not wanting her to get a boot-full, I say, “Hang on. I’ll come get you.”

She looks at me and her cheeks go a little red. “Thanks. I don’t exactly have the right footwear for this.”

Stepping down into the ditch, I wade through the snow to her while she slings her big bag over her shoulder. I pick her up out of the seat like I’m carrying a sack of sugar. She’s about as light and twice as sweet as she wraps her arms around my neck.

Julia says, “Oh, I didn’t know you were going to carry me.”

“There aren’t too many other options that don’t include you filling those designer shoes of yours with snow.”

“Right. I guess so.” Her breath is warm on my neck and the sound of her smooth voice does something to me that hasn’t been done in a long time. I trudge back to the road, trying not to notice how delicious she smells—like two of my favorites, cinnamon and vanilla. I can’t afford any distractions right now. Certainly not beautiful, blonde ones who smell amazing and feel just right in my arms.

When I put her down on the road, I’m temporarily filled with regret at letting her go. Then I mentally slap myself to snap out of it.

She gives me a shy grin and thanks me, looking one part embarrassed and two parts excited. Our eyes meet and I find myself forgetting what I’m supposed to be doing right now. Luckily, Axel interrupts the moment by trotting over to her and sticking his nose right in between her thighs. She lets out a little laugh.

“Sorry about that, Julia. He only does that to especially pretty women.”

Her cheeks flush as she bends over to pet him. As soon as she does, he backs up and sits down, brushing the snow off the road with his wagging tail. “Did you train him to do that?”

“No, ma’am. I did not.” I’d never want anyone’s face in between those thighs other than mine. Not even Axel, who has a very different reason for wanting to be there.

I suddenly realize that Kyle is grumbling as he unloads the equipment out of the back of the SUV. I’m tempted to leave him there to do it, but my momma taught me better than to ignore someone in need—bad driver or not. Within a few minutes, we’ve got our arms loaded with stuff, including Julia’s overnight bag, so she can change into her on-camera clothes. Thoughts of her changing flash through my mind before I can rein them back in. We walk in silence for a minute, with Kyle trailing behind us.

“You’ve got a beautiful spot here, Ryder,” she says, smiling as she looks around at the ranch and the mountains surrounding my land. “It’s so peaceful.”

“Thanks. I imagine this is as different from L.A. as you can get.” I fill my lungs with air, trying to cool off.

“It is.” She walks next to me, with Axel between us. Something about it feels natural, good even.

“I bet you can’t wait to get back to the city.”

“Not at all. This is a nice change of pace.”

When we reach the house, I hold the door open for her. I toe off my boots and gesture for her to come with me down the hall to the bedrooms. As tempted as I am to drop her bag at the foot of my bed, I take a right and lead her to the guest room on the far side of the house. “Here you go.” I set the bag down on the bed and turn to her. The look she’s giving me says something that my heart longs to hear. Clearing my throat, I step past her, taking in the scent of her again as I brush by. “I’ll let you get changed.”

“I’ll be out in a few minutes. On-camera makeup takes some time.”

I turn back to her. “You look just fine to me the way you are.”

Julia blushes. “Tell that to my producers.”

“Give me their number. I’d be happy to straighten them out.”

She giggles, then shuts the door, leaving me standing in the hallway like a fool for a minute. I look down at Axel who’s standing next to me. Shaking my head at myself, I head back to the kitchen to make a pot of tea. I figure if she’s from L.A., she probably likes green tea, which I have in the cupboard because my mom likes it when she comes to visit. Julia’s probably a vegan, too. And if I had to guess, she probably thinks bull-riding is barbaric. But she sure is nice to look at, even if it’s just for today.

I look out the window and see Kyle filming some scenery shots around the ranch. The snow is coming down so fast now that I can barely make out the barn behind him or his SUV sitting in the ditch. If this keeps up, I may have a couple of houseguests I wasn’t planning on.