Heart of Steele – Chapter One
TRACY HARTMAN SAT in the tall makeup chair staring at her reflection in the studio’s dressing room mirror. Her long blonde hair framed her hot, red face, and shock glazed her green eyes. The four other women who shared the room for the video shoot had made themselves scarce when she’d come stumbling in.
She lifted her hands. They shook like a Hollywood earthquake.
Had she actually just punched Steele McLairn, country music’s hottest superstar, in the mouth?
The pain in the knuckles of her right hand confirmed it.
Pressing her icy fingers to her burning cheeks, she concentrated on breathing. “What did I do?” She’d tried getting her point across to him by yelling, but when he’d given her that trademark smirk of his…
Dropping her head into her palms, she let out a shaky sob. She may as well cry, no sense in preserving her makeup. She wouldn’t be doing any more filming today. Maybe not ever again.
She should get up and change out of the studio’s costume. Red, spike-heeled cowgirl boots, short shorts, and pink T-shirt, tied up under her breasts seemed a little cliché for a country music video, but it was the hot look this year.
The knock on the door echoed like the final act of a horror movie.
Her heart thudded. Here it was, her ‘getting fired’ scene, but in real life. “Come in.”
Steps sounded behind her, the door closed, and a hand, warm and large, rested on her shoulder.
“Tracy.”
She jerked. It was Steele. She lifted her head and stared at his reflection in the mirror.
He’d taken off his black cowboy hat. His short, dark hair looked like he’d run his hands through it. A lot. His gray-green eyes held confusion instead of the anger she’d expected to see.
She opened her mouth to apologize, but all that came out was a sorry croak and the first breaths of a full meltdown.
His lower lip was swollen, and the side of his mouth glowed bright red. It’d bruise for sure. Why had Steele come instead of sending the studio rep or someone from his entourage? He wanted to fire her himself?
He swung her chair around to face him then lifted his palms. “What the hell happened?” His low Texas accent usually gave her gooseflesh, but now it chilled her.
Hell, she’d started this fight with a strong right cross, now was her chance to finish it in a more mature way. Sniffing back tears, she swallowed hard. “I’ve never hit anyone before. I don’t believe in violence.”
“Coulda fooled me.” His tongue touched the puffiness on his lip.
“I have no excuse for what I did.” She shook her head, hoping her brain would shift into gear. “When I heard what you said on the phone…” Now, her anger rose up again. How could he say such horrible things about her friend Reno? How could he encourage Chase to turn his back on his family?
“What I said on the phone?” His brows dropped. “To my dad?”
Tracy’s galloping thought processes skidded to a halt. “What? Your dad?”
Steele narrowed his gaze on her. “I was talking to my dad when you started yelling.” He worked his strong jaw. “Then you clocked me a good one.” He shrugged. “I know I was using some inappropriate language, but goddamn, Tracy.” He fisted his hands. “You gotta admit you went more than half-crazy.”
Oh God. He’d been talking to his father. Not to Chase, not about Reno and tiny baby Joy. Mind-spinning panic gripped her. She’d just made a complete idiot of herself and ruined her career—worst of all, hurt one of the nicest guys she’d ever met—for absolutely no reason. Closing her eyes, she wished the clock would turn back an hour.
Steele paced to the far end of the room and back. “Are you going to explain yourself? Or do I need to have you arrested?”
Tracy’s eyes popped open and she looked up at him.
He had that smirk on his face again. The one she hadn’t been able to resist smacking off him earlier.
He could do it, too. Have her arrested for assault. She needed to explain this, make him realize she wasn’t certifiably insane. “I’m sorry, Steele. I thought you were talking to Chase. I made a terrible mistake.” She had to get out of there. “Please, don’t file a complaint. I promise you’ll never see me again.”
“Wait. Chase?” He ran a hand through his hair. “Why would I be talking to Chase about…paternity?”
While he was on the phone, he’d used the word “bastard,” not “paternity.” Tracy saw honest confusion in his stare. He hadn’t heard about the baby? Steele and Chase were best friends, and with their buddy Ryder Landry, they were known as the Hot Country Triple Threat. She’d just assumed Chase had called Steele to share his fatherhood news with him.
She slowly reached to where her purse sat on the makeup counter. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”
When Steele leaned back on the counter across from hers and crossed his arms, she made her move. Grabbing her purse, she jumped off the chair and half-ran toward the door, her spiky boot heels tapping on the tile floor. “I’m really sorry. You won’t ever have to worry—”
An iron grip circled her upper arm and swung her around. “Hang on.” He let her go immediately. Probably afraid she’d take another swing at him. “You need to tell me what the hell is going on, Tracy.”
He took three steps and stood between her and the door. “And it’s going to happen right now.”
Connect With Me
Thank you for reading Chase and Seduction, the first book in the Hot Country series. This was the first erotic romance I wrote, and now I’ve rewritten it as the start of a hot new series. I’d love to hear from you. I’ve listed all the places I hang out, and I hope you’ll connect with me at one or more of them.
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Randi
“Rode Hard and Put Up Satisfied”
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About the Author
USA Today Bestselling Author Randi Alexander knows a modern woman dreams of an alpha cowboy who takes the reins, and guarantees they’re rode hard and put up satisfied.
Published with Cleis Press, Wild Rose Press, and self-published, Randi writes smokin’ hot romance with heroes who’ll have you begging to ride off into the sunset with them. When she’s not dreaming of, or writing about, rugged cowboys, Randi is biking trails along remote rivers, snorkeling the Gulf of Mexico, or practicing her drumming in hopes of someday forming a tropical rock-band.
Forever an adventurous spirit with a naughty imagination, Randi is also family oriented and married to the best guy in the world, her own cowboy, Kick. Give in to the allure of erotic passion, strong but vulnerable heroines, and irresistibly seductive cowboys, as Randi’s emotional love stories sweep you off your feet and leave you breathless with passion.
Saddle up! And prepare yourself for the sexier side of happily ever after.
The Cowboy Wins a Bride
Cora Seton
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Copyright © 2013 Cora Seton
Published by One Acre Press
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Author’s Note
The Cowboy Wins a Bride is Volume 2 in the Cowboys of Chance Creek series, set in the fictional town of Chance Creek, Montana. To find out more about Cab, Rose, Hannah, Mia, Fila, Ethan, Autumn, Jamie, Claire, Rob, Morgan and other Chance Creek inhabitants, look for the rest of the books in the series, including:
The Cowboy’s E-mai
l Order Bride (Volume 1)
The Cowboy Imports a Bride (Volume 3)
The Cowgirl Ropes a Billionaire (Volume 4)
The Sheriff Catches a Bride (Volume 5)
The Cowboy Lassos a Bride (Volume 6)
The Cowboy Rescues a Bride (Volume 7)
The Cowboy Earns a Bride (Volume 8)
Visit http://www.coraseton.com for more titles and release dates.
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Chapter One
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“WHY DON’T YOU ask her today?” Ethan Cruz said, hauling a pile of folding chairs for the wedding out of the Party Plus Event Rentals delivery truck. In his jeans and t-shirt, his dark hair standing up every which way, you’d never know he was getting married in a few hours. He looked like he’d climbed out of bed a minute ago.
Jamie Lassiter snapped the velvet box shut, hiding the tasteful diamond ring he’d just showed to his friends, and shoved it back into the pocket of his jeans. He grabbed an armful of chairs, too, and followed Ethan toward the front lawn of the Cruz Ranch’s Big House—where he was helping to set up for Ethan’s wedding to Autumn Leeds, the city girl who’d only come to Chance Creek a month ago, but now was here to stay.
“It’s not time yet,” he said. He wasn’t in a rush like Ethan and Autumn were, and he never jumped into things the way those two did. The only reason they even met was because of a practical joke. By all rights they should have taken one look at each other in the Chance Creek Regional Airport and gone their separate ways.
Instead, they’d fallen head over heels in love, and rumor had it Autumn was pregnant with Ethan’s baby. Talk about taking chances. Jamie liked Autumn, and he figured she and Ethan might just make a go of this marriage, but when he proposed to Ethan’s sister, Claire, he wanted to be sure of everything ahead of time—including her answer.
He definitely wasn’t sure of that yet.
“For heaven’s sake, you’ve carried a torch for her for what—ten years? Twelve?”
Try twenty. Jamie had decided to marry Claire back when he was eight. He’d practically grown up on the Cruz ranch, since he loved horses and his family lived in town. Ethan’s father, Alex Cruz, welcomed his interest and even nurtured it. Jamie learned to ride alongside Ethan and Claire, did chores with them, worked just as hard as they did to build the ranch by their father’s side. Sometimes Alex felt more like a dad to him than his own father did.
“Why you’d want to marry my sister is beyond me,” Ethan said, breaking into his thoughts, “but if you’re going to do it, it might as well be soon. Heck, if you’d hurried up a bit we could have had a double wedding.”
Rob Matheson came up behind them, hauling another load of chairs, his blond hair falling into his eyes. “Yeah, Jamie, you should have planned ahead. That way we’d only need to lug these chairs around once.”
“What about your wedding?”
Rob snorted. “I’m never getting married. Plus, if I ever did—which I won’t—I’ll be married from my own spread. Not Ethan’s.”
“So? Why not ask her today?” Ethan pushed. “Weddings are romantic. You might have a better shot getting the answer you want.”
Cab Johnson lumbered up behind them, carrying more chairs than the rest of them combined. The large, quiet sheriff had obviously been listening to their conversation. “Jamie’s got a plan,” he said. “And the plan doesn’t call for any proposals today.”
Jamie knew he was laughing at him. They all were. But his careful planning had taken him from hired hand on the Cruz ranch to part owner, and it would lead him to the rest of his dreams as well—he was sure of it.
“What does Jamie’s plan call for today?” Rob said wryly.
“Planting the seeds,” Jamie said. “I’ve taken the first steps. I always knew Claire wouldn’t look twice at a man who wasn’t a rancher, so here I am—a legitimate rancher now.”
“Amen,” Ethan said. Jamie had only bought into the Cruz ranch a week ago, but by doing so he’d saved Ethan from losing it all. He knew Ethan was more grateful than words could say. He didn’t want his friend’s gratitude, though. He just wanted a steady business partnership that would last for the rest of their lives.
“That’s all fine and dandy,” Rob said. “You’re part owner of a ranch. But Claire still lives in Billings and she hasn’t wanted anything to do with this place for years.”
“She will—you wait and see,” Jamie said, but he had to acknowledge the truth of Rob’s words. When he was fifteen and Claire seventeen, he was just working up the nerve to ask her out when she fell head over heels for Mack Mackenzie, the Cruz’s much older horse trainer. When her mother pointed out that no thirty-year-old man was going to look twice at a little girl, they’d had their biggest fight yet, screaming at each other so loudly they frightened the horses out in the corrals. Claire left in a raging huff, and so far she hadn’t shown any sign of moving home, even after her parents died in a car accident last year.
“Planting seeds, huh?” Rob said. “You know, if I was going to plant something in Claire, it wouldn’t be…”
Jamie dropped his chairs on the lawn and turned on Rob, his fist raised, but Cab stepped in between them. “Wedding,” was all he said and both Rob and Jamie backed off. Rob wasn’t worth getting worked up over anyway. The man ran off his mouth without ever thinking first. He bent down, grabbed the chairs and hauled them closer to the piles they’d dropped off on earlier trips.
“If you ever so much as touched my sister I’d deck you,” Ethan said, putting his chairs down, too, and starting back toward the truck.
“So Jamie gets to touch her but I don’t?” Rob complained, as he dumped his chairs and followed Ethan.
“That’s about the size of it.”
Jamie appreciated that his friend didn’t mind the crush he had on his sister. He couldn’t remember ever telling Ethan about it in so many words. Somehow Ethan just knew, and Jamie knew that he knew, and they both knew that it was okay.
Claire was the only one who had a different opinion.
A few years ago, just after New Year’s, he thought she might be coming around, though. Finally. As if she’d made a resolution to patch things up with her mother, she’d begun to make the two hour drive from Billings almost weekly, staying over in her old room in the Big House, spending whole weekends at the ranch. She’d been friendly to him. Smiled at him sometimes. Even flirted with him a little.
“She doesn’t want a rancher, she wants a hot-shot city guy,” Rob said when they reached the truck again. He lifted his cowboy hat, and swiped his arm across his brow.
Jamie tamped down his anger and grabbed another pile of chairs. Rob knew all too well how to get under his skin. Growing up on the spread next door, he was here on the Cruz ranch almost as much as Jamie was. He was right, though; last time Claire did pass him over for a city guy. After a month of her weekend visits to the ranch, he’d decided this was his chance. He’d dumped his current casual fling, Hannah O’Dell, and readied himself to ask Claire out the following weekend when she arrived in town. Valentine’s Day weekend.
Unfortunately she didn’t come to town on Valentine’s Day, and soon after that Ethan let him know—as tactfully as he could—that she had a new boyfriend in Billings. Her boss. Daniel Ledstrom of Ledstrom Designs, the interior decorating business where she worked.
The English language didn’t contain words to describe what Jamie felt then. To have been so close—to let himself picture what it would be like to finally hold her in his arms, to finally make love to her—and then to have that dream yanked away from him again…he’d almost despaired of ever carrying the day.
But when Daniel Ledstrom ran off with his secretary, Edie, last May, clearing out the business’s accounts and making headlines in the Billings papers, Claire hardly seemed to care.
She may have dated the guy for a couple of years, but apparently she wasn’t in love with Daniel, after all.
Once again he prepared to ask her out, but fate
intervened against him a third time. When Claire came home to the ranch next it was for her parents’ funeral. And his plans went on hold again.
He was beginning to think they’d never work out.
“Bet she shoots you down when you do ask her,” Rob said, catching up to him.
“Bet you she doesn’t,” Jamie said, even though secretly he thought Rob might be right.
“How much? Hundred bucks?”
“You got it.”
“Good luck winning that bet,” Cab said, overtaking them. “Seeing as how Jamie isn’t asking her anytime soon.”
Jamie frowned. “I’ll ask her soon.”
“Bet you can’t marry her by Labor Day,” Rob said.
“If you’re getting married in ten weeks, you better hurry up and pop the question,” Ethan said from behind them.
“I’m not marrying Claire on Labor Day,” Jamie said. His plan called for using the summer to build her interest in the ranch. At some point, he’d ask her out, and in the fall he’d suggest they move in together. Maybe he’d propose at Thanksgiving. Sure, he’d bought the ring early, but experience had taught him to be prepared. Like Ethan said, some occasions were more romantic than others. If things should move faster than he expected, he didn’t want to be caught short.
And…well, he was looking forward to being engaged to Claire.
“You admitting she’ll turn you down?” Rob said. They reached the stack of chairs again, and added the new ones to the pile.
“No. I’d just like to go on a few dates before I ask her.” Jamie straightened up.
“Chicken.”
“I ain’t…”
“If you haven’t asked her out in the past decade, you aren’t going to ask her now. You’re blowing smoke up your own ass if you think you’re ever going to marry her.”
Jamie shoved his hands in his pockets to keep from balling them into fists and punching Rob. “I ain’t chicken and I am going to ask her.”
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