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Jake was going to be fighting for more than Three-Stars. He was going to be battling to hang on to his reputation. Forget his experience, which already gave him an edge, a man with so much at risk might very well be impossible to beat, especially by an amateur.
    Sara might have been daunted by the seemingly insurmountable odds of winning, if it hadn’t been for Zeke’s blustery confidence in his own skill as an instructor. She had sheer desperation working in her favor as well. She couldn’t afford to let anything like cool reason shake her confidence.
    Zeke surveyed her worriedly. “You ain’t scared, are you?”
    “Of what?” she retorted blithely. “Losing?”
    “No, indeed, I was talking about getting thrown. If you’re scared of that, we might as well quit before we start.”
    “Mr. Laramie, I’m not afraid of anything except losing my home.” And maybe of the feelings Jake stirred in her, but that was another thing altogether.
    “That’s good. You be here at eight a.m. sharp tomorrow,” Zeke told her. “There was a lot of men happy to see Jake busted up and out of rodeo, so’s they could have a shot at the top spot. He ain’t going to be no pushover, just because you’re a woman. I’d say we have our work cut out for us.”
    Sara nodded, fighting a queasy sensation in the pit of her stomach. Oh, yeah. Let the games begin.
    * * *
    “Did she call you?” Jake asked Zeke when he phoned him after supper that night.
    It was the second time they’d spoken that day. That was more than they’d talked in the last month. Zeke wasn’t big on phones. He claimed the infernal contraptions interfered with his love life. Since he’d been married to the same woman for close to fifty years, it raised some interesting theories on what kept their marriage intact. In fact, Zeke’s relationship with his beloved Mary Lou was about the only example Jake could recall of a marriage he could honestly admire. Given Zeke’s crusty temperament, he considered their staying power a miracle and Mary Lou a saint.
    “I assume you’re referring to my new client,” Zeke said, his tone huffy. “She didn’t call. She came by. Pretty little thing. You didn’t mention that when you told me to expect to hear from her.”
    “I hadn’t noticed,” Jake lied.
    “Then your eyesight must be failing,” Zeke retorted.
    Jake ignored the remark. “You didn’t tell her we’d talked, did you?”
    “Dang, boy, I told you I wouldn’t. You know I keep my word.”
    “I know. I’m sorry,” Jake apologized. “It’s just that this whole fool thing has me tied up in knots.”
    “I can imagine. You didn’t tell me about the bet. What possessed you to get involved in anything so crazy?”
    “Did she happen to mention what’s at stake?”
    “You mean aside from your pride and her neck? Yeah, she did say something about the ranch, too. Frankly, that’s what has me buffaloed. Since I first ran across you, all you talked about was getting your hands on some land of your own. Now you’ve got your chance and you’re risking it. How come?”
    “Because running Three-Stars was her dream, too. It’s not her fault that her father’s a chauvinistic old fool. Besides, I figure it’s a safe bet.”
    “You’re forgetting who’s teaching her,” Zeke reminded him. “You sent her to the best.”
    “Face it, old man, not even you are up to this challenge.”
    “Oh, I don’t know. She looks like a winner to me. Anyone with as much heart as she has shows potential.”
    “Dammit, Zeke, if anything happens to her, I’m holding you accountable.”
    “I’m not the one who made an idiotic bet with her in the first place,” Zeke reminded him.
    Jake sighed. “No, I did that all on my own.”
    “Must have been blinded by love,” Zeke guessed, sounding a little too gleeful. “Ever since I told Mary Lou about all this, she’s been all atwitter thinking about a wedding for the two of you.”
    Given Mary Lou’s love of matchmaking, Jake