The Ultimate Cowgirl Challenge

Dakota Ryder had seen the poster outside the rodeo arena:

THE ULTIMATE COWGIRL CHALLENGE

That was all it took. She was certain she was the best cowgirl in the entire West. She could easily take on any man.

Proudly, she signed up.

What she hadn’t noticed was the fine print below:

Final Challenge: TIE-DOWN ROPING – Catch the Cowgirl!

When it was her turn, she stood in the middle of the corral and wondered why no one had handed her a horse. All the male contestants were on horseback.

Then the lasso came flying.

She ducked.

Too late.

The noose snagged around her waist—and somehow got caught in her blouse, too. When the cowboy yanked hard on the rope, the blouse came loose and landed neatly on the fence.

Hey, what the hell?

She glared at him angrily.

He remained completely unimpressed.

A second tug sent her stumbling toward a post, where the cowboys tied her up.

She writhed back and forth, causing her bra clasp to snag on the post. It snapped, and suddenly her large, sagging breasts were on full display for everyone to see.

Oh, damn.

But a real cowgirl doesn’t let a little mishap stop her. She kept fighting like a mountain lioness.

Unfortunately, her pants button came undone during the struggle. Her jeans slid down to her knees, revealing a pair of decidedly non-Western light blue panties.

She glanced down.

Well, that’s really not dignified anymore.

Her red bandana had originally been meant to keep the dust out of her mouth. In the commotion, she’d bitten down on it. Once she was tied up, it remained firmly wedged between her teeth like an improvised gag.

She shot the spectators an angry glance.

The referee checked off the result on the scoreboard.

“Yep. Tie-down roping. Done.”

Her eyes burned with anger.

The cowboys grinned.

Technically, I actually won, she told herself.

But because of the gag, no one could hear her.

.