Her Cowboy Billionaire Bull Rider: An Everett Sisters Novel (Christmas in Coral Canyon Book 5) Read online

  “I’d stay out of your hair,” Todd said, drawing Vi away from the memories of lunches with her friends, and evenings spent with her sisters while they discussed lyrics and albums, tour schedules and ex-boyfriends.

  Ex-boyfriends. Wasn’t that why Vi was here in the first place? To get away from Bob, the man whom she’d broken up with but who didn’t think she was being serious? So he hadn’t stopped coming around the house, hadn’t stopped texting and calling, had basically refused to accept that Vi had broken up with him.

  “Well, I don’t have much of that,” Vi said with a smile. Horror struck her. Was she flirting with this man?

  He chuckled, a rich, deep sound that made her chest tighten and then release in a pleasurable way. “And I could take the basement,” he said, glancing up as if he could see the second-floor bedrooms from the kitchen. “Maybe you’d like to be upstairs.”

  “There’s an extra bedroom here on the main level too,” Graham said. “You didn’t want that one?”

  Vi shook her head, pressing her lips together and still tasting the chocolate frosting she’d been snacking on. She didn’t want to admit why, so she just said, “I could move upstairs.” It wasn’t like she’d brought a whole lot with her. Clothes, makeup, a few books, her electronics. “I thought other guests would take those rooms first.”

  “They do,” Graham said. “But honestly, we don’t rent out a lot.”

  “Bree said the summer can get quite busy.”

  “Then there’s just one less room,” Graham said. “It’s fine.” He knocked twice on the counter in front of him. “So just pick the room upstairs you want, and we can even help you move your stuff.”

  “Oh, I can do it,” Vi said, another splash of fear icing her insides. The last thing she needed was Todd to see how messy her room was after only three days. Her mother had nagged her half to death growing up about the disaster her room was, but Vi worked best among chaos. At least that was what she told herself.

  Graham looked at Todd, but he kept his gaze on Vi. She met his eyes, and everything inside her softened. With his dark hair extending out from the bottom of his cowboy hat and that scruffy, sexy beard, he really was beautiful. His eyes were a bit of an anomaly, all light and stormy gray like that. She definitely wanted to curl up with him in front of the fire and find out everything about his time in the rodeo, what flavor of ice cream he liked best, and if he had a girlfriend.

  “Should we go down to the ranch?” Graham asked, and Todd blinked, breaking the connection between him and Vi.

  “Yes,” he said with a cough. “Yes, let’s go down to the ranch.” He nodded his cowboy hat at Vi and turned to go back into the living room.

  Graham stayed for a moment and looked at Vi. She gripped the spoon in her fist, wishing she was alone again so she could load up on sugar and coconut filling and forget she’d just agreed to share the lodge with a billionaire bull rider.

  “Thanks, Vi,” he said with a smile. “I’m glad you’ll be here at the lodge.” He leaned closer though at least a dozen feet still separated them. “He seems a little lonely, don’t you think?”

  Vi had no idea how Todd seemed. “I don’t know,” she said, surprised at Graham’s question.

  “I knew him growing up.” Graham looked over his shoulder. “It will be good for him to be here at the lodge with you and Bree.”

  Bree. “Oh, she told me to let you know she’ll be in Florida with her grandparents for a few extra weeks. I guess her grandma had an emergency surgery.”

  “She told me,” Graham said, glancing down as his phone chimed. “Thanks, Vi.” He walked out of the kitchen, his attention on his device.

  And so Vi was left with her frosting…and the thrilling thought that she and Todd would have the lodge to themselves for a few weeks. She spun back to the tub of gooey goodness and scooped up a big spoonful, hoping she could squash her ridiculous fantasies with sugar.

  Later that day, Vi zipped her jacket to her chin and stepped out into the backyard. This place was spectacular, with a sprawling lawn that led up to a swimming pool, and a sidewalk that went down to stables and barns. The Grand Teton mountains towered above the whole scene, and Vi could only imagine what this yard and these hills would look like in the fall months. They’d be alive with gold, red, and orange, and she couldn’t wait for the trees to leaf up this spring either.

  She tucked her hands in her pockets and started down the sidewalk, pushing her pace just past the casual stroll she wanted to take. After all, she needed a bit of exercise to keep all the German chocolate frosting off her hips.

  They were already rounder than her sisters’, but Vi didn’t care. She liked her curves almost as much as she liked her frosting obsession.

  Beau had sent her a few videos on how to feed and care for the horses, and Vi had taken to the tasks readily. It wasn’t that hard to fill troughs and open doors, and while the horses should probably get more exercise than they would while she took care of them, Beau assured her they’d be fine.

  She’d let them out in the pasture the day before, and they all seemed quite happy out there now too. Fourteen horses lived here at the lodge with her, and Vi put her foot on the bottom rung of the fence and watched them.

  There was something calming about horses, and Vi smiled at them with fondness. She’d managed to pick up her clothes and get them back in the suitcases to haul upstairs, but she hadn’t moved them yet. She had no idea when Todd would be back at the lodge, but surely he could choose a different bedroom in the basement until she had the motivation to haul her stuff up two flights of stairs.

  She’d chosen the bedroom at the very end of the hall on the second floor. It was the largest, with a bay window that looked out over the backyard and toward the mountains she was growing more and more attached to. She’d have a private bathroom there, and a separate sitting area with a big screen TV. She’d never have to leave if she didn’t want to.

  She’d marked her choice by putting her tub of frosting on the dresser just inside the door, not that she was expecting anyone else to show up at the lodge that day and lay claim to a room.

  A pretty paint horse joined her at the fence, and she patted his cheeks. She was sure he had a name, but she didn’t know what it was, so she just said, “Hey, buddy,” like he needed a greeting so they could be friends.

  “Vi!”

  She spun, the male voice calling her name striking terror right behind her heart. Had Bob found her? How was that possible?

  She scanned the horizon, the backyard, everywhere she could see. There was no one there.

  “Up on the second floor.”

  She lifted her eyes, and saw Todd practically hanging out of a window on the second story. She shaded her eyes though the sun was behind her, confusion racing through her.

  “Is this the room you want?” he called. “The one with the frosting in it?”

  Pure mortification froze her to the spot.

  “I’ll grab your stuff,” he said, ducking back inside.

  Wait, Vi thought, but she couldn’t get the word out of her mouth. She didn’t need his help. She didn’t want him in her still unclean personal space. No, the bedroom wasn’t hers, but she’d been staying there for a few days, and she hadn’t cleaned up her makeup or her shoes yet.

  The thought of gorgeous Todd Christopherson—the man who tamed the toughest bulls in the world—seeing her mess made a moan come from her throat. She started back toward the house with a leap, wishing she’d spent more time on the treadmill in the past few months.

  As it was, she walked for thirty minutes a few times a week, and then ate graham crackers smeared with frosting afterward as a reward.

  Images flashed through her mind as she jogged up the sidewalk. First, her empty bin of shoes. Then, Todd riding Red Wonder to win the championship last December. So maybe she’d spent part of her day watching Internet videos of the man’s stunning wins. It wasn’t a crime.

  She burst into the lodge and then the hall just as he ca
me upstairs and into the same space. “You don’t need to do that,” she said, panting. So embarrassing.

  “It’s fine,” he said easily. “I’ve got plenty of muscles to move a few suitcases.” He flashed her a grin that probably would’ve melted her bones if she wasn’t still stuck on such arrogant words.

  He walked toward her and past her into the living room, those rippling muscles on display. Vi stared, unable to help herself, even though annoyance sang through her in violent waves.

  As soon as he put his foot on the bottom step to go up to the second floor, Vi darted for the stairs that went down.

  Please, please, please, she thought with every thumping step into the basement. Surely the Lord would be merciful and the only thing he’d touched would be her already-packed bags. She came to a sudden stop in the doorway of the room where she’d been staying to find all the shoes had been placed in the bin.

  She groaned again and asked God, “Why did You send me Todd Christopherson now?”

  Chapter Three

  Todd put Vi’s suitcases in the room she’d selected, having doubts about his ready decision to live in the basement. The rooms up here were definitely bigger, filled with more light, and had attached bathrooms.

  But he’d already unseated the beautiful blonde once, and he wouldn’t do it again. So he left the bags and glanced at the container of frosting as big as his head as he returned to the hall. Down the stairs, down some more, he found her in the bedroom, bent over as she searched for something under the bed.

  “I got the shoes,” he said, thinking himself helpful.

  She straightened and faced him, her expression definitely not appreciative. “I’m missing one red sandal. Did you see it?”

  “No,” he said slowly. Of course he knew shoes came in pairs, but he hadn’t done an inventory before picking up the dozens of pieces of footwear that had littered the floor.

  “I didn’t realize I needed to move immediately,” she said irritably. “I don’t need your help.”

  Ah, okay. Todd fell back a step, the fantasies he’d been entertaining about Vi while he learned about Laney’s cattle operation fading. Then thrashing to life again.

  “I don’t need you to move immediately,” he said. “I’ll pick another bedroom.” He’d looked in all of them after returning to the lodge, and he’d simply thought he’d be helpful. He almost turned and left her to finish. “I’m Todd Christopherson, by the way.”

  Feeling brave, he stepped into the room and extended his hand for her to shake. She stared at it for an extra moment and then put her hand in his. Sparks ran up the length of his arm, and Todd didn’t know what to make of it.

  He wasn’t new to the idea of a girlfriend, but he simply hadn’t had many close relationships over the years. Well, not with a woman. Now, horses were a different story, and the image of her leaning against the fence, patting a paint horse, ran through his mind.

  “Violet Everett,” she said and released his hand.

  “Like, the Violet Everett?” he asked, a hint of surprise in his words. He’d thought he’d recognized her, but Graham hadn’t said anything about the famous country trio, and Todd hadn’t found a good way to ask as they talked about their childhoods and he got his assignments for the week.

  “I suppose,” she said, putting her hand on her hip and cocking it.

  Dang if Todd’s blood didn’t run a little hotter then. “And you’re the Todd Christopherson? The one with his face on billboards, telling me I need to be at the rodeo that night?”

  He ducked and shook his head even as a smile spread his lips. “I guess.” He raised his gaze to hers. “It’s not like I haven’t seen your face on a billboard or two.”

  She waved her hand like everyone got prime placement in downtown Nashville. “Not for a while.”

  “Well, for me, never again,” he said, sadness replacing the playfulness previously in his tone. He hadn’t anticipated feeling the way he did about retiring, and he cleared his throat and stepped back again. “I’ll—” He didn’t know how to finish, so he hooked his thumb over his shoulder and left her to finish the packing she obviously didn’t want his help with.

  The truth was, she’d chosen the biggest and best bedroom in the basement, and it would be the one he’d choose if all the options were open to him. But he hadn’t intended to rush her, only to help.

  His stomach growled, reminding him that he hadn’t worked as hard as he had that day in a while. He moved back to the doorway where Vi was and asked, “What can I get us for dinner?”

  She turned toward him slowly this time, those blue eyes icy and fiery at the same time. If he wasn’t careful, he’d get cut and burned, but Todd found himself craving such a thing. At least then he’d have done something besides ride the rodeo circuit. More than study films of the bull he’d drawn. More than doze while his driver got him to the next city, the next event.

  He’d have lived then. He’d have loved.

  Because he knew to get cut and burned by Violet Everett would require both.

  “I can go down to town,” he said. “Or maybe somewhere delivers up here?” Surely she ate more than chocolate frosting, but as the seconds stretched, Todd started to doubt everything.

  “I like pizza,” she said, and a new appreciation for her burst through Todd.

  He grinned at her, satisfied when her lips curved slightly upward too. She wore a soft pink lipstick, and he caught himself staring at her mouth.

  “Okay,” he said. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”

  “They don’t deliver up here, though,” she said. “You can order and go pick it up though.”

  “Any special requests?”

  “I like anything,” she said, returning to her task of stuffing makeup pots in a small case. “But I do want their big side salad, with all the veggies.”

  “Big side salad. All the veggies,” he repeated. “Got it.”

  “And Sliced is better than Old Chicago,” she said.

  “How long have you been here?” he asked, though Graham had already given him that information.

  “I came at Christmastime too,” she said, leveling her gaze at him again. “Stayed for a few weeks. Trust me. Sliced is better.”

  Oh, he trusted her. And he wanted to spend a lot more time with her. So he nodded and got the heck out of there before he said something else that annoyed her. He may have been a bull rider, but he knew baseball too. And he’d already chalked up two strikes. No need to get a third and get thrown out before he’d even had a chance to know the lovely country singer he had the privilege of sharing the lodge with.

  By the time he returned to the lodge with the pizza, soda, and salad, his stomach was clawing itself inside out. The drive down the canyon was no joke, and he couldn’t imagine what the twisty, turny roads would be like in the winter.

  He found Vi in the kitchen, sitting at the counter with plates in front of her. “There you are,” she said. “I was beginning to worry.”

  Todd didn’t know what to do with her emotion. “The only person who’s ever worried about me is my mother,” he said, placing the pizza box with the salad on top of it on the counter.

  Vi blinked and flipped her phone over. “Well, my sister said this canyon can be a little dangerous sometimes, and it’s dark now, and I wasn’t sure how familiar you were with the drive.”

  “Not at all,” he said, placing the soda next to the food. “I mean, I grew up in town when I was younger. But I haven’t been back for a long time.”

  “How long?”

  “Twenty years,” he said.

  “So I was probably right to worry.”

  “Probably.” He smiled at her and seized an opportunity. “Maybe I should get your number so I can let you know I’m okay, or if I’m going to be late, or whatever. Then you won’t have to worry.” He pointed to her phone as if she didn’t know how to put a number into it.

  Surprise filled those pretty eyes, but she blinked it away in one smooth motion. “All right.” She swi
ped and tapped. “I’m ready.”

  He recited his number to her, and his phone buzzed a moment later.

  “That’s me,” she said, setting her phone on the counter and picking up a plate. “What kind of pizza did you get?”

  Todd lurched forward to open the box. “You said anything, and they had this town special I used to love.”

  “Coral Canyon Cowboy,” they said at the same time.

  He laughed, the sound a bit foreign to him. Sure, he had plenty of reasons to laugh after he won. But then the very next day, it was film, the next event, back to business. He didn’t miss that intensity.

  Vi grinned and plucked a slice from the box. “I love the half Alfredo, half marinara sauce on this.” She took a big bite, and Todd could honestly say he’d never met a woman like her before.

  “You know why they do that, don’t you?” He took three pieces of pizza and sat on the stool next to where she’d been.

  “No,” she said, pulling the salad toward her. “Why?”

  “Because cowboys are half-and-half,” he said. “Sometimes we’re red, and hot, and fiery. And sometimes we’re calm, and quiet, and able to get babies to bed.” He took a bite of the specialty pizza, memories of his childhood flooding his mind. “Mm.” He chewed and swallowed. “I used to eat this on Friday nights with my friends.”

  “Half-and-half,” she said. “Not really true for any of the cowboys I’ve known.”

  “Maybe you haven’t met the right ones,” he said, shocked at how easy it was to flirt with her.

  She sat beside him and nudged his shoulder with hers. The way she immediately scooted away said it was an accident, an innocent gesture. But a zing still zipped through him, and Todd imagined she’d done it as a way to tease him, flirt with him.

  “Maybe,” she said, and he definitely heard the flirtatious tone in that single word.

  He finished one slice of pizza and wiped his fingers. “So, what brings you to Coral Canyon?”

  She took a long time to answer, and Todd wondered if maybe they’d just be dining buddies and nothing more. But he wanted more, and while he was surprised he did, he couldn’t deny it.