Flanked by Cat Johnson Page B

waiting for you at the end of a long hard day. Maybe Chase and Mustang and Slade and Luke and all the other riders who’d become serious and monogamous lately weren’t so crazy after all.
    And maybe Garret was just thinking with his dick.
    Wouldn’t be the first time. He shook thoughts of monogamy and women out of his head and focused on something he actually knew something about. Bull riding. “I’m gonna need to get a new bull rope soon.”
    Chase looked up from his preparation. “I love mine. I can give you the name of the guy who made it for me if you want.”
    Garret nodded. “That’d be good. Thanks.”
    “Ladies and gentlemen, if I can have your attention on the shark cage in the center of the arena, please.”
    Frowning, Garret swung to look where the amplified arena announcer had instructed—the round, raised platform in the center of the dirt. The television station’s sideline reporter Annie Grant was up there along with her cameraman, Carl, and veteran rider Luke Carpenter. “What do you think’s going on there?”
    Chase shrugged. “No clue. Maybe Annie’s gonna do a live interview with Luke.”
    “I guess.” Garret was about to go back to his prep work when Luke got down on one knee. That stopped Garret’s hand in mid-stroke on his rope.
    Unless he was strapping on his spurs, or praying, there was only one other reason for a man to get down on one knee. “Holy shit, he’s gonna propose.”
    “What?” Chase’s eyes opened wide and he swung his gaze to the center of the arena. “Crap, I think you’re right.”
    “Annie Grant…” Luke’s voice echoed throughout the arena as the initial chatter of the crowd was replaced by a hush.
    Annie covered her mouth with one hand as Luke held the other. One look at the close-up of her face on the big screen showed Garret the pure shock in her expression.
    “She had no idea.” Putting himself in Luke’s position, Garret’s heart rate sped. “What if she says no? In front of all these people.”
    What a nightmare. A guy might never recover from something like that. Garret would gladly face the rankest bull in the pen rather than what Luke was facing now.
    “She’s not saying no. No way.” Chase watched the screen too.
    “Would you make me the happiest man on earth and do me the honor of becoming my wife?” Luke finished the proposal—microphone, crowd, cameras and all.
    Annie made her living speaking on camera, but it seemed she didn’t have any words now. She didn’t say anything as Garret waited for the answer, along with the thousands of others. As her eyes filled with tears, she nodded. She bent down and wrapped her arms around Luke where he still kneeled in front of her. The arena exploded in cheers and applause and Garret finally felt the relief that Luke must be feeling ten-fold.
    “Jeez, that was nerve-wracking.” Garret blew out a slow breath. “There should be a rule or something that they have to answer with a clear yes or no within eight seconds of being asked.”
    Chase stared at him and laughed. “Oh man, it’s pretty obvious you don’t have a girlfriend. Women never do what we want them to, and you sure as hell can’t give them rules.”
    Garret made a face at both Chase and his new and annoying know-it-all attitude about women now that he had Leesa as a girlfriend. He went back to focusing on his rope. Well, not solely on his rope. Garret glanced over his shoulder at Silver one more time. He could imagine she for one didn’t follow rules well, if at all, and he didn’t need Chase to tell him that. Her piercings and tattoos told him plenty, not to mention their out-of-the-blue sex.
    Garret knew a lot more about women—and this one particular woman—than Chase would ever know.

Chapter Seven
    “Wow.” Silver watched the action in the center of the arena. She was shocked, and the bull-riding competition hadn’t even begun yet.
    “Yeah, wow is right.” Next to her, Chase Reese’s girlfriend, Leesa, let out a