Trevor

Wendy Hix has one thing in mind—be the best at barrel racing so she can convince her dad to let her participate in more rodeo events. And even hunky Trevor Mayhew can't get in her way.

Trevor loves nothing more than the rodeo, so when he's offered the chance to go on the pro circuit with Stephen Hix and his daughter, Wendy, he jumps at the chance.

Sparks fly between Trevor and Wendy as they travel with the circuit, but Trevor's attempts to get past Wendy's protective wall is proving to be trickier than he thought. Can he convince her that life is more enjoyable when sharing it with others, or will he be left to pick up the pieces of his broken heart?

Trevor sat on the top of the gate, staring down at the bull he was about to ride.
Terror and adrenaline coursed through him as he mentally talked himself into climbing on the beast. He’d done this since he was eighteen, but this terror never stopped showing up right before his event.

“Ready, Mayhew?” One of the cowboys looked over at him, ready to open the gate.

“Always.” Trevor breathed in and out, then climbed on the massive bull. The terror died
down, leaving only excitement as he concentrated on what he had to do. Hold
tight with his hand and his legs, make a show of it, and don’t fall off.

Easy.

“Ah, here’s our town favorite, Trevor Mayhew, riding Manslayer. This bull has bucked
off the best of ’em, but we’ll see what he can do with the regional champ.”

Trevor knew the man had to say that kind of stuff, but it didn’t help his confidence
much. He’d just concentrate on the “champ” part and ignore the rest.

The gate finally opened, and Trevor left his fear back in the chute as the bull
charged out. The rest of the world faded away as he concentrated only on the
bull. Up, down, around in circles, a beautiful dance with the giant.

The buzzer rang, shattering the calm around Trevor, and he made himself hold on for
two seconds longer before sliding off. He half-limped, half-ran back to the gate so he could climb through while cowboys helped Manslayer out of the arena and behind his own fence.

Trevor’s adrenaline wore off as he sat there, and he had to force himself to breathe. He
still had calf roping left to do, and he needed to be in top shape for it.

Shawn, one of Trevor’s brothers, popped up over the fence with a grin on his face.
“That was epic. You made that bull seem tame after all the stuff they said to build him up. How was it?”

“Fantastic.” Trevor grinned and went through the gate someone opened for him. “Did you hear my score?”

“No one’s going to beat you. And I think you earned more money for the charity than
they were expecting.” Shawn nudged his shoulder. “By the look on your face when
you were getting on that bull, I thought you were going to lose your lunch.”

Trevor laughed. “Gotta make a show of it, right?”

Shawn joined in until they were around the corner. “Okay, but seriously, how are you
feeling?”

“Not gonna lie—that was terrifying. They said it was pure skill, but it was more the fear of getting trampled that wouldn’t let me fall.” Trevor leaned against the barn. His brother was the only one who knew how nervous Trevor was before and after a bull ride. It hadn’t always been that way, but when their oldest brother, Scott, had been injured . . . well, it didn’t make for good memories
to build his own career on.

“You were awesome, and I think there’s an agent here who wants to talk to you. Just
make sure you know what you want before you agree to anything.” Shawn shoved his hat on. “Now, we need to prepare for calf roping and then team roping. You
ready for that?”

Trevor stood and flexed. “I’m always ready.”

Shawn grinned. “Now that’s the brother we all know and love. Let’s go.”

Normally the bull riding would have been farther into the rodeo, but as it was a charity
event, the organizers let the families involved choose the order. Since bull riding was so popular, it was near the beginning.

Trevor took his horse’s reins from one of the assistants and climbed up on the saddle.
“Hey, buddy. Ready for some roping?”

Thunder whinnied and stamped his foot—the main reason he got his name. Trevor rode over to where Shawn was getting on Lightning—the other reason Thunder got his
name—and waved to their sister, Maggie.

“You did well with the horses, Maggie. Did you see them in the barrel racing?”
Trevor grinned.

“Clover has a ways to go, but the others will make their new owners very happy.” Maggie
beamed. “And holy cow, Trevor. You were fantastic out there. How did you manage
to stay on? I thought he was going to shake you off in the first two seconds.”

Trevor laughed. “I’d be insulted by what you just said except I thought the same thing. But nothing can get your brother down. I’m just that amazing.”

Maggie rolled her eyes. “And humble as always. I need to go talk to Wendy. I’ll be
back in a sec.”

“Got it.” Trevor had no idea who Wendy was, but Maggie had friends from all over because she trained a lot of the horses in the area. “Hey, Shawn, do you know where our rope is?”

Shawn pointed to Trevor’s saddle. “Right where it always is. I’ll chalk that up to having your brain rattled around in your skull for a few seconds.”

“Oh, I knew where it was. I was just testing you.” Trevor grinned. “I think I’ll have you lead this time. You’re the bigger name in this event anyway . . .”