by Hamel, B. B.
Cowboy Baby Daddy
BB Hamel
Contents
Prologue: Holly
Special Offer!
1. Holly
2. Connor
3. Holly
4. Connor
5. Holly
6. Connor
7. Holly
8. Connor
9. Holly
10. Connor
11. Holly
12. Connor
13. Holly
14. Connor
15. Holly
16. Connor
17. Holly
18. Holly
Also by BB Hamel
About the Author
Prologue: Holly
I didn’t know the phrase a roll in the hay was meant literally.
But as he approaches me in the dim light of the barn, I can feel my heart beating so fast in my chest, and I realize: there’s hay all over the place.
We’re literally going to be rolling in hay.
It’s almost comical. I mean, almost, except for the muscular, tattooed cowboy that’s approaching me, his shirt halfway open, a fire in his eye.
I know I don’t belong here. I’m a city girl, I don’t know anything about ranches and barns and how to handle a steaming-hot cowboy. I came out here thinking I could run away from my past and change my life for the better, but I’m in way, way over my head.
I should probably just turn around and run right now, admit defeat, give up, play dead, do whatever.
Except that might mean I’d miss my chance with him.
And there’s no way I’d do that.
At this point, if I’m honest with myself, he’s the only reason I’m still here. It’s not just that he’s absolutely gorgeous and rugged with a body that clearly is used to hard work and the rough, skilled hands to match. No, it’s everything underneath that.
It’s the mystery. It’s the nagging thought in the back of my mind that he’s just like me, but I can’t figure out exactly how.
And I want to know. God, I need to know.
“What do you think will happen if someone catches us in here?” he whispers in my ear as I stumble up against a hay bale.
Of course. More hay.
“I don’t know. Something good? We’ll get a prize?”
He chuckles darkly. “Something like that, sure.”
I know he’s lying. I’m only joking because I’m so excited and so scared that I can’t think to do anything else.
But as soon as he bites my lower lip then kisses me, I know there’s no going back.
And I really, really don’t want to.
Copyright © 2019 by B. B. Hamel
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Sign up for my mailing list and find out about new releases, giveaways, and more. Plus, get a free book and other awesome bonus material! Click here!
1
Holly
It’s a long empty highway that leads out to the Wood Ranch. I’m a little nervous as my truck passes mile after mile of mostly empty land punctuated by the occasional cow, scrubby trees, and endless pasture land.
I know this is why I moved out to Bozeman, Montana. I wanted to get away from city life, from the hustle and bustle of all that crap back in New York, but this…
I’ve never seen something so empty in my entire life.
It’s a little scary. But it’s also a little intoxicating.
It takes me an hour to drive out to Wood Ranch. It’s on something like two thousand acres of mostly empty land out near the town of Cardwell. I think there are maybe fifty people in the whole town, if Google can be trusted, but that doesn’t matter.
I’m here for one thing and one thing only: to take care of a horse.
That’s my job these days. I was a surgeon in one of NYC’s busiest hospitals for two years before I quit, got my veterinary degree, and moved out west. It’s taking me a little bit to get used to the difference, but…
I don’t know. It’s good for me, I think.
The turn-off for Wood Ranch appears almost out of the blue. It’s a dirt road with only a single sign next to it, the words written in a scrawling white paint.
Wood Ranch: Five Miles
I take a breath and drive my old beat-up truck down along the dirt road. A stream winds its way along the grassland, bogging down in little ponds and flowing further out west. I drive up a short, steep hill, and when I get to the top…
It’s almost breathtaking, honestly.
Montana is a beautiful state. There might not be a lot of people out here, but the land is raw and mostly unsettled. Huge cattle ranches dominate and the ranchers themselves are pretty serious about what they do. Competition is wild out here and I’ve heard horror stories about ranchers starting their little border wars and skirmishes.
I’m not getting involved in any of that though. I’m just a horse doctor these days. I saw enough gunshot wounds in the ER back in the city for one lifetime.
Spread out in front of me is the ranch itself. The main house is huge, an enormous two-story building that curves gracefully around a horse paddock out front. There are a few outbuildings, barns, and sheds, but what really draws my eye are the cattle.
Hundreds of them. Maybe even thousands. They stretch out along the enormous empty landscape, grazing up along the hills flanking either side of the main building. I’ve heard of ranches with huge numbers of cattle but this… I’ve never seen anything like it.
Slowly I drive down the hill toward the main house. I’m not here for the cattle but I still can’t stop staring. They’re slowly moving away from the house, which makes sense, probably getting herded out to wilder, fresher land. I’m sure there are cattle dogs and cowboys out there, taking care of the animals and driving them to safe spots for grazing.
I pull my truck up outside the main house. There’s a horse paddock and a barn nearby and I can probably guess that’s where I’ll be headed. As I step out, a man comes out from the main doors and leans up against the main house’s porch, watching me for a second. I stare back at him, actually a little startled by the way his eyes take me in.
The man’s tall and broad with a well-groomed five o’clock shadow on his handsome cheeks. His skin’s tanned from working outside all day and his hands look rough as he wrings them out in front of him. His eyes are a gorgeous, crisp morning blue and there’s a hint of a smile on his incredibly handsome face as I look back at him. The man is handsome, way more handsome than I thought anyone would be out here.
I’ve seen gorgeous men in the city. Hotshot young doctors, even a few famous patients, but this man…
He’s by far the most attractive thing I’ve ever seen. And he’s just dressed simply in a thin plaid shirt rolled up at the elbows and faded blue jeans with brown muddy work boots.
“You the vet?” he calls out.
I hesitate a second then nod. “That’s me.”
He comes down the steps toward me. He’s tall, easily over six feet, and as muscular as a linebacker. I can’t stop staring at his chest and wonder just how much muscle he’s got hiding under that shirt. I feel myself blush and have to look away.
“I’m Connor,” he says, extending a hand.
I shake it. “You’re the owner?” I ask, trying not to sound incredulous.
He grins a little bit. “What’d you expect?”
“Someone… older, I guess.”
He laughs. “Fair enough. I get that a lot.” He cocks his head. “What’s your name?”
“Holly,” I finally say.
“Uhm,” I say, trying to snap myself out of it. We drop our hands away and the roughness of his skin still lingers in my palm. “I was told there was a horse.”
Connor’s face darkens a bit as he looks over at the barn next to the paddock. “That’d be Dodger,” he says.
I nod and walk back to the bed of my truck and grab my bag with all the tools I might need. Connor leads the way over to the barn. We step inside, into the dimly lit building, and the smell of the horses hits me right away.
It’s a really good smell. Hay, hair, manure, and sweat. There are a few horses stabled and a few more empty enclosures that look like they’re normally used. Connor leads me to the back corner where a man’s wiping down an old horse that’s practically gray in the face. The man looks up and smiles.
He’s older, in his sixties, the sort of man I was actually expecting. His green eyes sparkle as he walks over to me.
“This is Bryant,” Connor says. “My wrangler.”
“More than just a damn wrangler,” Bryant grunts and shake my hand. “How do you do.”
“Holly,” I say.
“You’re the horse doc?” he asks, eyeing me skeptically.
I nod and meet his gaze. “Sure am.” A man like Bryant probably has fifty years of experience with horses. He probably knows as much as I do, if not more, so I can’t show him that I’m nervous.
He chuckles softly, shaking his head. “Long drive out from Bozeman,” he comments.
“It’s not too bad,” I counter.
“Your boss tell you what you’re getting into?”
I shake my head. “Just said it’s a horse owned by a big client so I’d better not fuck it up.”
Bryant and Connor both laugh. Connor eyes me appreciatively.
“Sounds like Roy,” Bryant says then grins at me. “Well, anyway, he’s all yours.”
Bryant walks off and disappears outside.
“He really didn’t tell you, huh?” Connor says, walking into the stall. He takes over wiping Dodger down while I feed the horse a bit of hay from my hand, gently stroking him.
“Nope,” I say. “What’s the problem? Or should I just give him a once-over and take a guess?”
Connor grins at me. “Arthritis, probably.”
I frown. “I came an hour out into nowhere for an arthritic horse?”
“Looks that way. Truth is, Roy usually makes me bring Dodger into town myself for this sort of thing. When he said he’d send someone, I thought he was kidding.”
I feel myself turning red as I realize what’s going on here. Roy sent me out to look at an old, arthritic horse, the kind of horse that a man like Bryant wouldn’t have any problem treating, as some kind of hazing ritual.
It snaps into place. That’s exactly the sort of thing Roy White would do, that asshole. He may be my boss but he has a sick sense of humor.
I’m going to give him a good piece of my mind when I get back into town… But I’m here, so I might as well make the best of it.
“Mind if I finish that?” I ask Connor.
He shrugs and lets me take over. I do my thing, wiping down the horse, and then start checking him over. Sure enough, this is one old horse, well past his prime. He’s arthritic and a few things besides. I’m intensely aware of Connor standing nearby and watching me the whole time, but I push him out of my mind.
Dodger’s a beautiful animal. I bet he was incredible in his prime. He’s a dark chestnut brown with a white stripe down his mane and back and greying around his snout and muzzle. His body’s well-muscled and I bet he put in thousands of miles of riding and running in his day. Probably still could go for hours if he didn’t have the arthritis.
I finish up and pack my bag. Connor’s still there, just watching me without saying a word.
“I have to ask,” I say to him, exiting Dodger’s stall after patting him softly on the flank. “Why do you keep that horse around?”
Connor winces a little and I see a bit of anger flash into his eyes. “What do you mean?”
“Don’t get me wrong,” I say softly. “He’s beautiful and I’m happy you’re taking good care of him. But most ranches would just… I don’t know. Get rid of him, put him down, something.”
Connor looks away as we walk slowly back outside and into the paddock. He doesn’t answer at first, just watches Bryant out in the yard working with a young horse, walking him around, teaching him the ropes.
“Dodger was my first horse,” he says softly. “Got him fifteen years ago, right when I started this place. He wasn’t exactly young back then, but he sure as hell could run.” His eyes glaze over for a second, remembering something from back then. “He’s thirty now.”
“He’s an old man,” I say softly. Horses can live into their forties, but it’s not common. Thirty is downright old.
“I love that horse. I’ll keep him around as long as he wants to be.”
I nod and smile a little bit. I have to admit, I’m pretty surprised. I’ve seen people be more callous with their own families back in the city, but this man is treating that horse like royalty. It makes me respect him and gives me a little glimpse into the kind of man he is.
“Good,” I say. Connor steps and leans against the fence and I lean next to him. “Horses like that deserve to be treated right.”
He eyes me for a second and laughs a little. “Bryant thinks it’s stupid, wasting time and money and energy.”
“I don’t think it’s stupid. He’s your horse. You care about him.”
“Damn right I do.” Connor frowns a little bit. “Got other horses though. People that count on me, too. Got to think about them. At least that’s what Bryant loves to say.”
I smile at him and for some stupid reason, I put my hand on his arm. He looks at me and I can feel the muscle underneath his shirt.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with taking care of something you love.”
He blinks at me then grins. “Well, damn. This got heavy. Sorry about that. Only thing that can make me go on like this is that old damn horse.”
I laugh a little bit and pull my hand away. His eyes take me in again, this time moving down my body. I can’t help but notice the way he lingers on my breasts, and for a second I wonder why I’m not insulted at all.
Maybe because I like it. I hated when men looked at me like that back in the city, but for some reason it’s okay coming from Connor Wood.
“I gotta ask,” he says as we start walking back to my truck. “You gonna give your boss some shit for sending you all the way out here?”
I laugh and shrug a little. “Probably. Good to get to know you folks, though.”
“Please. We’re just a bunch of boring old ranchers. We’re a dime a dozen.”
“Maybe, but if I’m going to be taking care of your animals, I’d better know the people I’m working for.”
He nods at that and glances down at me again. I feel myself blushing and look away.
“How about this then,” he says, head cocked slightly. “How well do you ride?”
I shrug. “I’m okay.”
“Come out riding with me then. We’ll leave Dodger in his stall, though.”
I laugh a little. “Really?”
“Sure. I’ll show you the ranch. Give you the lay of the land.”
“I’d like that.”
“You’d have to come drive all the way out here again, though. Think you can handle it?”
“I think I can.”
“Good.”
We reach my truck and he faces me again, arms crossed. I linger a second, looking up into his face, wondering what I might be getting into, going out riding with him. I’ve heard stories about cowboys and the
things they do out on long rides with the girls they want… and for some reason, I find myself blushing again.
He takes a cell phone from his pocket. “Number?”
I recite my digits and he sends me a text a second later. “All right then. I’ll call you.”
“There’s something funny about a cowboy with a cellphone,” I comment.
He laughs. “It’s the twenty-first century, ma’am. Gotta keep up with the times. Besides, I’m real funny on Twitter.”
I grin at him and shake my head. “I don’t believe you.”
“Probably for the best.” He turns and walks back off toward the horse barn. “See you soon then, Holly.”
“See you.” I watch him go for a second before climbing back into my truck.
I start the engine and turn around before heading back toward the highway. As I drive, I spot Bryant and Connor talking, and I wonder what they’re talking about. Probably Bryant telling him to get rid of that old horse, and Connor smiling and shaking his head, refusing to do it.
I probably shouldn’t come out riding with that man. I can already see he’s going to be trouble, and I came out here to get away from trouble. But there’s something about him that I can’t quite name and I want to find out what it is.
The man’s a mystery I want to get to the bottom of, and I suspect he’s going to get to the bottom of me before it’s all done with.
2
Connor
I watch the sun rise over my ranch and I get that feeling again.
It’s a warmth that spreads across my chest. I know what it is but don’t want to give it a name for fear it’ll go away. But as the light spreads across the grass, the wooden fence posts, the cattle grazing in the distance, the roof shingles of the buildings I helped build, I know it’s pride.
