Clancy laughed. “You’re the most special person I know. It’s not about your history or your interest in the Quickdraw Dragon. It’s just about you, Billie. You’re kind to those around you. You’re smart and passionate, and you go for the things you want. You’re willing to try anything, always ready for any adventure. You’re a force of nature, and nothing can hold you back.”
Billie thought her face might spontaneously combust with how hot it was. “So what are you saying?”
“I’m saying I want to be serious with you. Now that you know what I am, nothing’s holding me back. I want you by my side.” He paused. “If you can move past the fact that I couldn’t tell you about me at first.”
“Of course I can,” she exclaimed. “I told you I understood. It doesn’t bother me at all.” She paused. “So does that mean we’re dating now? Officially?”
“I want us to be,” Clancy said. “As I said, there’s no one else I could possibly want in this whole wide world.” He cocked his head to the side. “Is it strange to find out the legend you’ve been hearing about and the man that loves you are one and the same?”
Billie reached up and interlocked her fingers behind his neck. “A little bit, but it actually kind of makes sense given everything I’ve seen the past few days. I always knew there were dragons out there. Now I just want to know everything about you.”
“And I want to know everything there is to know about you too,” he said, reaching down to put his lips to hers.
In that moment, everything was perfect. She never could have guessed in her wildest dreams that not only would she meet Tucker Thompson, but that she would fall for him as well.
Now she just had to take it one day at a time and see where this wild western adventure would take them.
17
“You sure you want to do this?” Clancy asked, folding his arms as he leaned back against the Dragonclaw barn doors. “It’s pretty musty in there.”
Billie just gave him a look. “My family deals in antiques. I think I can handle a little sawdust.”
It had been a few days since their picnic, since the incident where she’d seen his dragon and they had officially started dating. Today, Clancy had promised to show her what he did as head wrangler of the ranch.
He grinned. “All right, if you say so.” With that, he turned and pushed the large red barn doors open.
The smell of dust, hay, and horses enveloped him nearly instantly, comforting to his senses.
Before he’d met Billie, this had been his home, his sanctuary, the place where he felt most comfortable. This was where he came when memories of his past as the gunslinging Quickdraw Dragon began to overwhelm him.
Here, he wasn’t some legendary hero who had put down hundreds of outlaws and crooked sheriffs. Here, he wasn’t a shameful, hideous swamp dragon.
No, here, he was just Clancy, a simple horse wrangler. That was enough for the horses, so it was enough for him.
“Hey there, Clemson,” he said, stepping up to one of the horses in the stalls, a chestnut Thoroughbred. “How’re you doin’?”
Clemson trotted over immediately, nipping at Clancy’s shoulder affectionally.
“That’s a good horse.” Clancy gave one more long stroke down Clemson’s nose and then made his way around the barn. There were a dozen or so horses, all unique in their own way, all tamed and taken care of by Clancy.
All except one, that was.
“Feel free to look around,” he said to Billie, who was still watching from just inside the doors. “None of them should bite you. I’ve trained them well.”
She nodded at that and walked over to the nearest stall where a beautiful all-white mare was watching them curiously.
“Who’s this?” Billie asked.
“That’s Spirit. She’s young, only had her a few years,” Clancy explained, watching as Billie extended a hand.
To his surprise, Spirit leaned over the gate and nestled right against Billie’s hand, nickering contentedly. Billie let out a laugh at that, then stepped closer, rubbing down Spirit’s mane.
“Look at that, a horse whisperer,” Clancy mused. “And I thought I was the wrangler here.”
Billie grinned. “Elmer’s not the only horse I’ve ever seen.”
“I can tell,” he replied, enjoying the relaxed smile that was playing across Billie’s lips as she petted Spirit. “Special creatures, horses are. Even after a few hundred years, I’ve never gotten tired of them.”
“Is that what you did after you got tired of gunslinging?” she asked curiously, looking up from Spirit.
“Yup, when I quit, I wasn’t sure what I would do. Then Harrison offered me a job here as head wrangler. I’ve always been in touch with animals.” He walked over and ran a hand down Spirit’s back as well, who seemed to be loving the attention. “Here, I fell in love with them. Their patience, their gentle strength, the unique bonds formed between rider and horse.”
Billie just nodded at that. Then Clancy saw her gaze over his shoulder and narrow her eyes.
“What is it?” he asked.
She nodded toward the far end of the barn. “Who is that?”
Clancy took off his hat as he turned and rubbed a hand through his hair.
In the far corner of the barn, in his own private stall, was a beautiful Thoroughbred. He was fully black except for the jagged white patch that went down the middle of his head, shaped like lightning.
“That’s Thunderhead.”
Billie made her way across the room to the horse, who was nervously pacing in his stall, still just as wild and rowdy as always. “Why’s he so far from the other horses?”
“He’s a bit rowdy, Thunderhead. I rescued him from another ranch. They were treating him real poor, and he doesn’t respond well to people.” Clancy held a hand to his side, shaking his head. “Kicked the wind out of me a few weeks ago, but I haven’t given up on him yet. I just feel like he needs to find his person is all.”
“Person?” Billie asked, turning around and frowning at him. “What do you mean?”
“His person, you know,” Clancy explained. “I feel like every animal has one, no matter how cantankerous. That one person that they respond to. I believe Thunder’ll find his eventually.”
She nodded at that, then took a step closer to the stall, then another.
“I wouldn’t do that—”
But Clancy was too late. Billie was already up next to the stall, looking at Thunderhead, who was holding her gaze, staring right back at her.
The barn was silent except for the stray nickering of horses, and Clancy watched curiously, ready to step in at a moment’s notice to help his mate if Thunderhead got aggressive.
But to his surprise, Thunder calmed down and slowly moved over to the side of the stall Billie was leaning on. He even let her pet him.
“Well, I’ll be a deviled egg. Look at that. Thunderhead might just have found his person.”
Billie smiled, and Clancy watched as she ran another hand down the horse’s back. Thunderhead stayed calm for a few more minutes while she petted him but eventually whinnied and moved to the far end of the stall to pace nervously.
“Mighty brave of you, stepping up like that,” Clancy said, moving to stand next to her and putting an arm around her. But knowing his mate, it wasn’t surprising. She was always doing new things, passionately moving forward into unexplored territory.
It was one of the things he loved about her.
“I always liked horses,” Billie said, still smiling at Thunderhead. “My pa always used to say that there are no bad horses, just bad people.”
He nodded. “Couldn’t agree more. Phil’s a wise man.”
With that, he showed her around the rest of the barn, introducing her to all of the horses one at a time.
Every single one of them seemed to like her, even the especially temperamental ones. Horses it had taken Clancy months to get close to cozied right up to Billie.
And Clancy couldn’t blame them one bit.
“So,” he said when they were all done with the tour. “The group’s all meeting up this afternoon for our weekly get-together. Fancy a ride on the back of a dragon in the meantime?”
Billie’s eyes went wide with excitement. “You bein’ serious?”
“Absolutely,” Clancy said with a laugh. “For you? Anything.”
“Yes, yes! Yes, yes, yes!” She exclaimed, jumping up and down as he led her out of the barn and into the clearing behind, chuckling.
Part of him still couldn’t believe that she enjoyed seeing his dragon. More than that, she accepted his dragon, even loved it. He could see it in the way her eyes glowed.
It warmed his heart because no one had ever been that way before.
When they were far enough away from the barn, he stopped, took a deep breath, and let the transformation start.
Billie watched, enraptured, as Clancy transformed, growing bigger, scalier, greener, and more awe-inspiring by the moment.
When he was fully transformed, she walked over and traced her hand over the smooth green scales lining the side of his neck. They were like a mixture of dragon and alligator scales with little lighter green lines between each scale. She stepped back in surprise when a tremor went through his whole body.
“What was that?”
The ground shook as he turned and faced her, his large eyes a slightly darker shade of green than the rest of his body.
“I got chills when you touched me,” the dragon replied, staring at her intently. “I never thought I would let a human touch me in this form.” The voice was deeper but still undoubtedly Clancy’s. “Sorry if I scared you.” He looked away.
There was the shame again. Her beautiful, majestic Clancy was ashamed of who he was, and she wouldn’t stand for it.
“Now you stop that this instant,” she said, walking around to face him. “You’re the coolest dragon I’ve ever seen. I mean, I’ve only seen one, but I already know you’re the most beautiful. You’re big, strong, and there’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
His eyes widened in surprise. Then a deep, throaty sound emanated from his mouth. After a second, she realized he was laughing.
Clancy was laughing.
“You’re right,” he said. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of when I get to be with someone as wonderful as you. Now get up here.”
Billie blushed as he then turned and hunched low. She clambered on quickly, using the spines that ran down his neck as handles.
When she was settled as comfortably as possible, holding on to a spine in front as a spine in back supported her, she nodded. “Ready to go.”
“Hold on tight, darlin’.”
She barely had time to register the words before a blast of wind hit her legs and they rocketed off the ground, gravity pulling her flat against his back.
Adrenaline pumping through her, Billie looked to her side, watching as the Texas range fell away beneath her, erased by the steady rhythm of Clancy’s wings.
They rose higher and higher until trees and ranches were only mere specks on the ground below.
It was freedom in its purest form. Purer than anything she’d ever felt. More exciting than a good western novel under the starry night sky. She held her arms out to the sides, enjoying the wonderful afternoon sun as it washed over her face and hands.
She felt more alive now than she had ever been in her whole life, and it was all thanks to Clancy, all thanks to this handsome, wonderful man that had walked into her life.
Then she heard his voice. “Want to try something fun?”
“Let’s do it!”
Clancy laughed, then angled down into a steep dive. Billie’s heart began to hammer as they picked up speed.
The wind whipped her hair and clothes as objects on the ground got closer and closer until he pulled up, angling into a loop. Billie held on tight, but luckily, the speed from the dive kept her in her seat as the world went upside down, then right side up again.
“You okay?” Clancy asked as they angled back out.
Holy cow.
Her heart might have stopped from sheer adrenaline when they were mid-loop, when she was hundreds of feet in the air and the world was upside down.
“I’m fine!” she shouted into the wind. “Can we do that again?”
Clancy chuckled. “Give it a minute. Don’t want you to throw up.”
She took a deep breath. The loop had been scary, but for some reason, Billie hadn’t been worried about it. If something had happened, Clancy would have been there to rescue her.
Just like he always did. Gosh, she loved this man.
They flew for a while longer, Clancy happily showing her all kinds of flying techniques. Only when her teeth were chattering did he insist that they head back to the ranch.
The afternoon’s festivities awaited.
18
When they got back from the ride, Billie had stumbled and nearly fallen to the ground while getting off Clancy’s back, but he had managed to transform in time to catch her and get her inside for some lunch.
Now she was outside, throwing horseshoes with him, well-fed and happy as a clam.
Blissful, everything was just blissful. They were seriously dating, she’d gotten to ride on his dragon, and now he was telling her more about the world of shifters.
Apparently, there were all different kinds, bears and wolves and cats and dragons. In a way, it all kind of made sense to her. Maybe that was because she and her family always knew something that most people didn’t, that mystical beasts probably did exist.
But more than that, she didn’t care that Clancy was a dragon. She just liked him for who he was. The handsome, gentlemanly gunslinger-turned-wrangler who rocked her world in every way and made her feel more excited about life than she had ever felt before.
“So are all of the men at Dragonclaw shifters?” she asked as a horseshoe bounced off the post with a resounding clang.
Clancy nodded. “Yup, Harrison, Beck, and I are dragons. Dallas is a tiger, and Reno’s a wolf.”
That made sense. She’d wondered why Reno’s incisors were a little longer and pointier than an average human’s.
At that moment, a big, gruff, bearded dark-haired man wearing work clothes walked out into the yard, holding two giant tires, one over each shoulder. He was handsome in a brusque, mountain-man kind of way.
“What are these bullshit itty-bitty horseshoes?” he asked, scowling, although his eyes twinkled. “Let’s play some real horseshoes.”
Clancy laughed. “Billie, meet Beck. Beck, meet Billie.”
Beck tipped his head to her for a second, then looked back at Clancy. “The others are already down. Are you in? Or are you too afraid to soil your fancy duds?”
“I’m in,” Clancy said with a grin.
Billie cocked her head at Clancy. “What’s he talking about, real horseshoes?”
Clancy just smirked at her. “Shifter horseshoes.”
“Shifter horseshoes? What’re—”
But before she could question it any further, the other men at Dragonclaw came out carrying large tractor tires across the backyard and laying them in a line.
In the distance, perhaps a hundred feet away, a huge metal post the size of a telephone pole was stuck in the ground.
“Don’t try to question it,” a feminine voice said. “Dragonclaw men tend to do things a little differently.”
Billie turned to see Marian—who was looking amused—sitting on the fence next to a dark-blond, curvy woman.
“She’s right,” the woman called out. “I’m Sierra, Beck’s fiancée. Nice to meet you.”
“Are either of you going to be playing with them?” Billie asked, moving to sit next to them on the fence.
“Oh, no,” Marian said with a laugh. “We’re both humans like you. We just want to watch our men throw heavy stuff around.”
Sierra, who was craning her neck to supposedly get a better view of Beck, nodded. “Agreed, but who wouldn’t, right?”
Billie laughed. She
liked these women already. It was nice not to be the only woman out here on the ranch. Plus, she wasn’t the only one in a relationship with a dragon, and both Sierra and Marian were very nice.
The five men all lined up next to their tires, and Billie fanned herself as Clancy removed his brown leather vest and set it on a nearby table. Then he unbuttoned the top button of his blue work shirt and rolled his sleeves up to his elbows, revealing muscled, tanned forearms and biceps that threatened to break out of the shirt.
Good gravy, he was gorgeous, but so were all of the other men. Harrison had taken off his hat and was standing tall, the epitome of a towering, gorgeous cowboy with rippling muscles.
Beck, on the other hand, was tall but built like a tank, with legs like tree trunks. Billie doubted there was anything in this world that could move him when he didn’t want to move.
Except maybe Sierra.
Dallas and Reno were lined up on the far end, looking equally as impressive as all of the dragons, which was surprising. Billie figured they must be very strong in order to keep up with Harrison, Beck, and Clancy.
Still, Billie couldn’t keep her eyes off of Clancy, the way he fixed his Stetson or fiddled with his shirtsleeves as he waited. As if on command, he caught her eye and gave her a million-dollar smile, and she went red.
“I know that look,” Marian said, laughing. “Dragons only give looks like that to their mates.”
“Well, we are together at this point,” Billie said. “So I should hope so.”
Sierra grinned and was about to say something, but it seemed like the throwing had begun.
Harrison, the boss of Dragonclaw, according to Clancy, went first. He reached down and picked up the hefty tire as if it were a normal horseshoe and chucked it up into the air.
Billie’s jaw dropped as the tire rocketed up into the air toward the metal post, but unfortunately, it just missed, flying to the side.
Beck went next, picking up his tire with an equal amount of ease and grace. Then he chucked it at the pole as well. This time, it flew so high up in the air that it somehow went over the pole.
Wrangler Dragon Page 11
