That beautiful woman had walked away from him.

Chad switched the shower to lukewarm—he never could take a cold shower—and slid down the cold tile to sit on the floor. The water pelted his body.

He wasn’t going to just get over her. This was insanity, plain and simple.

He’d been worried his ultimate rejection would hurt her. Her and her schoolgirl crush.

He’d never dreamed she might reject him.

Was that a little bit of pain he felt in his heart? Nah, couldn’t be.

She was just another beautiful woman, right? Beautiful women were a dime a dozen, and right now there were at least a dozen down at the party waiting to fawn all over him. Might as well take advantage of it. Even if the one he wanted was bound and determined to do the ethical thing.

He respected her for that. Caitlyn Bay was all class. All elegance and inner, as well as outer, beauty. Part of him was glad she’d stopped him, because all heaven knew he couldn’t have stopped himself. He was a judge, after all, and she was a contestant.

Chad stood, rinsed off, and turned off the water. Time to get back to business.

He dressed and returned to the party, but Catie was gone. Amber hung onto him, and she sure was pretty. Her pert little bottom looked darn nice in that red thong.

“Sweetheart,” he said, “how’d you like to have a drink?”

“You’re crazy,” Amber said. “Now you want to be with me?”

“Sure.” He trailed his finger over her shoulder lightly. Funny, none of the sparks he felt when he touched Catie. Still, her skin was warm and soft, and imagining his lips sliding over it was a pleasant image indeed. “Come on, honey. This party’s dying down anyway. Let’s go. I’m not suggesting anything improper, just a drink.”

Amber swatted his hand away from her face. “Are you trying to get me disqualified?”

“Huh?”

“You think I can’t see where this is headed? You sleep with me, and I’m thrown out of the rodeo queen competition. You’re nuts. I’ve worked too hard for this.”

“Aw, hell, Amber, you only signed up last week, same as Catie.”

“Well, it means just as much to me as it does to Catie. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

“Like what?”

“You’d like to sleep with me and have me disqualified, so your precious Catie can win.”

“My precious Catie? What the hell are you talkin’ about? I was suggesting you and I have a drink together. Nothing more.”

“You haven’t taken your eyes off her all night. The other girls and I, we’ve noticed.”

“Amber, I’m not the only judge.”

“Surely you have some influence over your brothers.”

Chad couldn’t help the boisterous guffaw that flew from his throat. “Honey, I have about as much control over those two as a fly has over a spider. I’m the baby of the family, and they never let me forget it.”

“Still, I’ll have to pass.”

“Fine. Fine.” Chad rolled his eyes. Amber didn’t stoke his fire anyway. He’d truly only wanted some company, not a fuck. There was only one woman he wanted to take to his bed.

He hadn’t yet had enough of Catie Bay.

What the hell he was going to do about that?

---

Two days later, Catie and Ladybird waited their turn at the patterns. Amber had already competed, and Catie had been surprised to see that the other woman actually knew her way around a horse. She’d watched with fascination as Amber flawlessly ran the patterns. Amber hailed from San Antonio, so Catie shouldn’t have been surprised. Her horse was a beauty, too—a creamy white Appaloosa mare with brown spots.

But no horse could compare to Ladybird. Ladybird was pure chocolate all over, even her mane and tale. Catie had curried her to a fine shine and had her re-shod a few days prior. She and Ladybird understood each other even though four years had passed since they’d worked together regularly. Once in her saddle, Catie felt she’d never left. Comfy, cozy, and perfect.

When the emcee called her name, she and Ladybird nailed each pattern to perfection. They moved fluidly, as though they were one.

She smiled at the deafening applause from the stands in the arena.

She waved to the spectators, and they cheered even louder. She wouldn’t know her scores until the competition was over the next evening, but that didn’t matter. She’d be at the top of the heap when it came to horsemanship.

She and Ladybird walked past the judge’s table, and again, she made eye contact with each one. She gave Chad an extra-large smile.

---

Catie sweated bullets as she waited in the hall in front of the hotel conference room for her turn to be interviewed by the three judges. Her speech had gone well, if she said so herself. Amber had already had her interview and had wished Catie luck before she left to get ready for the final presentation later, before the start of Saturday night’s rodeo festivities.

“It’s not too bad,” Amber had said. “They didn’t grill me or anything. Just lots of questions about horses and the rodeo.”

Catie had thanked Amber and given her a quick hug. Amber hadn’t had to tell Catie about the interview. After all, they were competitors. It was a nice gesture, and one Catie wouldn’t forget. She and Amber might be friends after all.

Patti Sherberg came out of the room nibbling on her lower lip.

“How’d it go, Patti?” Catie asked.

“Okay, I guess. Watch out for the oldest one. Dallas. He asks some hard questions. If you ask me, he’s taking this all much too serious.”

“What about the others?”

“They weren’t quite so bad,” Patti laughed shakily. “But I was a bundle of nerves. I felt like I was talking way too fast, not making any sense.”

“Everyone loses points for nerves.”

“You don’t. Your patterns were perfect, Catie. You’ll win for sure.”

“I don’t lose points for nerves?” Catie laughed. “Who was it that fell into the pool and lost her top Wednesday night? Now simmer down. I’m sure you did fine.”

Patti nodded and walked away, her shoulders slumping.

The door to the conference room opened, and Dallas McCray’s handsome head peeked out. “You can come in now, Catie.”

“Thank you.”

She walked in, and Dallas sat down at a table with Zach and Chad.

“Have a seat,” he said.

“Thank you.”

Geez. She’d already said that. No time to get all jumbled up now.

“It’s great to have you back in town, Catie,” Zach said. “So why don’t you tell us why you want to be the rodeo queen.”

Nothing like being put on the spot. What was her answer? Because Chad told me not to enter? She forced back a laugh. “Well, I think it’s an honor to represent one’s community in any way one can. The rodeo queen competition is a tradition here in Bakersville, and tradition means a lot to me.”

“Why is that?” Dallas asked.

I don’t know!

“Because…tradition is the backbone of any community. It’s well-documented throughout history that human society cannot function in the absence of tradition.”

“Miss Bay, one might call that an antiquated view,” Dallas said. “These days, some people claim that reason, rather than tradition, should guide humankind.”

What? Catie hoped she had clenched her jaw before it dropped open. What the heck was he talking about? This didn’t have anything to do with horses. Dallas McCray was trained as a lawyer, but didn’t, to her knowledge, practice. Where was this philosophical stuff coming from? And what the heck was she supposed to say to that?

“Just who are these people who claim that, Mr. McCray?”

“Scientists, philosophers.”

“I suppose one could argue the point,” Catie said, “but we no longer live in a primitive society that depends solely on tradition. Traditions are no longer rigid and unbending. These days, reason and experience are certainly appropriate learning tools, but we shouldn’t lose focus on tradition, either. The only way to continue to learn who we are, Mr. McCray, and where we’re going, is to understand where we’ve been.”

Dallas smiled, nodding, as he made notations on his pad of paper. “Very well said, Catie.”

Now she was Catie again?

Okay, that was strange. She let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding and forced herself to unclench her fists.

“I have a question,” Chad said.

“Yes?”

“Catie, clearly you’ve indicated that the traditions of your hometown mean a lot to you.”

“Yes, they certainly do.”

“If that is the case,” Chad said, “why did you leave your home for four years and not visit even one time?”

This time her mouth did drop open. She couldn’t stop it.

“I think that’s a question of a…a personal nature.”

“Not at all,” Chad said. “You’ve indicated your love of tradition.”

“I can love my hometown and its traditions and still leave. The two aren’t mutually exclusive.”

“She’s right, Chad,” Zach said.

“I’m not sure I agree, Zach,” Chad said. “She left for four years, and now she’s not even back for a week before she plunges head first into the rodeo queen contest. And as far as I could tell, you never had any interest in this type of tradition before you left, Catie.”

“Chad.” Zach again.

“It’s all right, Zach,” Catie said, hoping she could speak without stammering, “I will answer Chad’s question.” She forced her eyes to his.

“I left because I was tired of Bakersville. I’ve lived here since I was a toddler, as you all well know. Unlike my older brother and sister, I don’t know any other home. I wanted to get beyond the small-town life. Beyond the trips to Denver and the western slope. The chance came to attend the Sorbonne, and I jumped at it. Instead of coming home for vacations, I chose to travel. I’ve been all over Europe and some of Asia. I’ve seen riches and poverty, happiness and sadness. I’ve seen cultures that are millennia older than our own. And I loved every minute of it.

“But when I got off that plane a week ago and got back to Bakersville, it hit me that this was home. I had taken it for granted. I’m not proud of that, but I did. Not that I’d trade my four years overseas. They were wonderful, and I’ll treasure them always. But Bakersville is home, and its traditions are important to me.”

She said the words with emotion and conviction, and to her surprise, she found that she meant every single one.

“This pageant is a tradition, and should I emerge the winner, I will be proud to represent this community and its traditions to the best of my ability.”

Dallas smiled. “I’m not sure that could have been said any better, Catie.”

“I agree,” Zach said.

Chad simply scowled.

“I don’t have any more questions,” Dallas said. “Do either of you?”

“Nope,” Zach said.

“Chad?”

He cleared his throat. “No, nothing.”

“But don’t you want to ask me about horses?” Catie said. “Or the rodeo?”

Dallas chuckled. “We’ve known you since you could hardly talk, Catie-bug. We know you know more about horses than any of those other girls. You did fine. Now get on out of here.”

Catie breathed a sigh of eternal relief, stood, and left the room.

---

“What in the name of God was that all about?” Dallas glowered at Chad.

“Yeah, I’d like to know, too,” Zach said. “You grilled that poor girl to within an inch of her life on something that has no bearing on whether she’ll make a good rodeo queen.”

“Me?” Chad scoffed. “Dallas’s the one who insisted on the philosophy lesson.”

“Hey, I just wanted to see what they taught her at that fancy French university. I have to say, I’m impressed.”

“She was always a smart cookie, Dallas,” Zach said.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Dallas agreed. “Annie thinks the world of her.”

“I’d still like to know what you had up your ass,” Zach said to Chad. “You went way overboard.”

“It was a fair question,” Chad said. “None of those others went gallivanting around for four years.”

“True,” Zach said, “but they didn’t all grow up here either. A few of them just moved here, your girlfriend Amber, for instance.”

“She’s not my girlfriend.”

“You took her to the Bay party.”

“So? I brought Marnie, too. I’m sure as hell not dating my dog!”

“Always joking, aren’t you?” Dallas said. “When in hell are you going to get serious about someone?”

“Oh, hmmm.” Chad scratched his head, falsely contemplating. “I’d say around…the fifth of never.”

Dallas shook his head. “You don’t know what you’re missing, boy.”

“Boy?”

“Yeah, boy. You’re just an overgrown kid with a teenage libido. Having a woman you love to come home to is damn nice. Damn comforting. Ain’t it, Zach?”

“The man speaks the truth, Chad.”

“Shit, Zach. I expect this kind of big brother bullshit from Dallas, but you? We used to be pals.”

“We’re still pals. I’m just concerned.”

“Dallas didn’t marry Annie till he was thirty-six.”

“But Dallas was married to someone else before Annie.”

“A big mistake, too,” Dallas said, “but worth it. I wouldn’t know Annie otherwise.”

“I think I might be sick all over my score sheets,” Chad said. “Do we have any more of these damn interviews? If there’s a God in heaven, Catie was the last one.”

Zach laughed. “Sit yourself down and hold back your puke. We’ve got two more ladies to see.”

“Christ,” Chad muttered, and picked up his pen. “Bring the next one in then.”