Certified Cowboy by Rita Herron Page B

look like a cad.
    “We need publicity for the rodeo and to raise awareness for the ranch,” Johnny said. “But I want to make sure we’re shown in a positive light.”
    “I’m not here to make trouble,” she said tightly. “I came as a favor to Brody.”
    Dammit. He was making a mess of this.
    “I apologize if I seemed rude, Miss Warner. I…you obviously know some of the things the media said about me before.”
    “And they weren’t true?”
    “Some of them were,” he conceded. “I let fame go to my head for a while. I was cocky and a show-off in the arena.” He paused, injecting sincerity into his tone. “But I’d never hurt a woman or a child. Ever. And this ranch—what we’re doing—it’s important. It means something personal to all of us who’ve invested in it.”
    She switched on a mini tape recorder and pushed it toward him. “Then give me a quote.”
    He gave a clipped nod. “Everyone deserves a second chance,” Johnny said. “Kids and adults alike. That’s what we’re here for.”
    She smiled her thanks, then Johnny turned and hurried out the door. The night air smelled sweet with wildflowers, the moon breaking through the clouds, a few stars glittering against the inky sky.
    His boots crunched gravel on the path, and he veered by the barn as he walked toward Rachel’s cabin. A blue SUV was parked to the side.
    Then he heard a scream from inside the barn.
    Rachel…
    He bolted into a dead run, pushed open the barn door to the sound of horses neighing and whinnying. A figure in the back corner moved, and something banged against a wood rail.
    “Let me go,” Rachel said in a shrill tone.
    “Do what I say, baby, and we can work out a deal.”
    A scuffling sound followed, then a man’s grunt of pain.
    “You bitch!”
    Johnny’s blood ran cold as he strode to the back corner. The damn man had Rachel penned against the wall.
    She shoved at his chest. “I said, let me go.”
    Fury surged through Johnny, and he yanked the man away from her. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
    The man whirled around, his scraggly hair sweaty, his eyes gleaming with anger. The bastard’s name was Burgess. Johnny recognized him from the employee file photographs.
    “She asked for it,” Burgess snarled.
    Rachel’s startled eyes met his, and his gut clenched.
    “What I heard was her asking you to leave her alone,” Johnny said through gritted teeth. “Now you’re going to jail.” Johnny glanced at Rachel to make sure she was all right. She looked upset but thankfully unharmed.
    A vein bulged in Burgess’s thick neck, then he shot Rachel a challenging look. “Go ahead, call the law.”
    Rachel’s eyes widened with panic. “No, Johnny, just let him go.”
    “Rachel, he attacked you,” Johnny said. “You should file charges.”
    She folded her arms around her waist. “No, please, just make him go.”
    A smarmy smile slid across Burgess’s face as if he’d won a victory, irritating Johnny even more. Johnny snatched the man by the shirt and hauled him toward the front, then shoved him through the door. “Is that your SUV?”
    Burgess shot him a defiant gaze, then nodded.
    “Get in it and get the hell off this ranch.” Johnny tightened his hold on the man’s collar, nearly choking him. “And if I ever see you anywhere near here or near Ms. Simmons again, you won’t have to worry about the law. I’ll take care of you myself.”
    “You have no idea who you’re messing with.” Burgess’s face reddened as he glared at Johnny.
    Johnny didn’t take threats well. “And neither do you.” Furious, he opened the door and tossed him inside.
    Burgess cursed as he jammed the key into the ignition, but he started the SUV and roared off leaving a cloud of dust in his wake.
    Johnny waited until he’d disappeared, then turned back to Rachel. She was standing at the barn door, her face ashen, her expression reminding him of a scared animal ready to bolt.
    He needed answers. He wanted to