Ryder (Rope 'n Ride Series Book 2) Read Online Free

name. When he twisted to return the autographs to the fans, one girl grabbed him by the face and laid a kiss on him.
    She was soft and tasted of lip gloss. Some hoots sounded from one of his brothers, and then Ryder pushed her away.
    “Thanks, cowboy,” she said with a saucy smile.
    He’d been hit on plenty in his time—taken up many offers, too. But his face heated, and he couldn’t immediately glance at Joy. Once he got the nerve, he found her with her back to him.
    He had no idea why it bothered him so much, but the desire to tell her he didn’t even know that woman was strong. As the first bronc stole out of the chute, tossing its rider like a rag doll into the dirt, Ryder mentally urged Joy to pivot a little more so he could make eye contact.
    When the second and third riders were through, she still hadn’t given him the time of day.
    And he realized he’d found trouble—because for once he’d crossed paths with a woman that he cared had a good opinion of him. And not because of what her father could do to help his career.

 
    Chapter Two
     
    “Joy, your father sent me to talk to you about fixing this.”
    She glanced up from the baby goat she was hand-feeding apple slices to, refocusing her attention on her father’s newest recruit. He’d been on the ranch all of two hours and seemed to have snapped his bull rope.
    Straightening, she gave a shake of her head. “Can’t fix that. You don’t want a second-rate rope for your job, Cody. But I’ve got more. Follow me.”
    When she moved away from the goat pen, the kid she’d been feeding bawled in protest. Cody’s long legs kept pace with her, but he looked over his shoulder at the crying baby. “Seems like you charm everything you come near.”
    Great. We’ve got a sweet-talker. Her father was paid well to put up several bull riders at a time on the ranch, and at one moment or another, they each decided Joy was fair game for a romance.
    She was sticking to her guns, though—she didn’t do cowboys. Only once in the past few years had she let down her guard—with Ryder Calhoun—but then he’d proven he was as much of a jackass as the others. A playboy who lavished in women’s attention.
    She lengthened her strides until Cody had to speed up to remain beside her.
    “How long have you been helping your father train bull riders?” he asked.
    “After his shoulder injury and he quit the PBR, I took over the ranch while he recovered. With that rotator cuff ripped as it was, his entire body was thrown off balance. He had months of rehab. Then, because he had no use of his shoulder, his whole body was off-balance. That’s when he got the inner ear problem because his system tried to compensate. It wasn’t until about two years ago that he was well enough to just sit around and get bored and ornery, so I suggested he start training guys to ride.”
    Cody bobbed his head. “I read all about his injury and recovery afterward. A tough road for a man who’s so active.”
    She slowed a bit. Maybe she was being too hard on the cowboys she came in contact with. They weren’t all so bad—this one understood the past situation, at least.
    Her hands were sticky from the apple and she wiped them on her jeans before reaching for one of the bull ropes hanging in the barn. Before she could get it down, though, Cody reached over her. She caught a whiff of a man who’d been in the sun too long and stepped away.
    For some reason a vision of Ryder jumped into her head. He’d smelled good—a fresh, soapy smell that had revved her up.
    I bet that woman liked the way he smelled too.
    When he’d kissed that girl, Joy’s stomach had knotted, which had only ticked her off more because why did she care anyway?
    “Wow, this rope is better than any I’ve seen,” Cody said, inspecting the handle.
    Joy smiled. “The handle’s guaranteed not to twist. It’s all in the weaving of the fibers.” She uncoiled it and measured it against his height. “I think this one