“Fourteen-point-two seconds,” the announcer said. “That gives Kylan a total of twenty-nine and eight on two, which won’t be enough to get him to the short round, but let’s give the Montana cowboy a big hand. I’m sure you’ll all join me in wishing him the best of luck, whatever comes next.”
Kylan tipped his hat to the roar of applause, then gingerly coiled his mud-caked rope and rode out of the arena.
Mary squeezed David’s arm. “You done good, David. I’ve never seen Kylan look so confident.”
“It’s Frosty. The two of them really click.”
“I wasn’t just talking about in the arena, but you did good there too.” She angled him an inscrutable look. “I’m not getting him back until school starts, am I?”
David winced. He wasn’t supposed to be the one to tell her. “Kylan didn’t want to bring it up until after he was done roping here.”
He was stunned when her eyes filled with tears. “It’s not a done deal,” he rushed to add. “And it doesn’t have to be clear until school starts. I can bring him back sooner.”
She shook her head, brushing at the tears with the side of her hand. “No. It’s fine. Better than that. It’s great. The two of you…” She sniffed, swiping again at a fresh well of tears. “It’s wonderful seeing how you are together. And I swear, I’m trying really hard not to be jealous.”
David cupped her face and kissed away the dampness on her cheeks. “Hey. He’s still yours. Always will be. I could never take your place and he wouldn’t want me to try.”
“I know. I’m just not used to having to share so much of him.”
“That’s not all he was planning to ask.” David thumbed away a fresh tear. “We were hoping you’d stay too, for another couple of weeks. That is, if you can stand being packed into the trailer with two stinky guys for that long.”
Her mouth twitched at the corners. “Are you sure you want a girl tagging along, ruining all your fun?”
“We’ll make an exception since you’re a pretty good night driver.”
“Gee, thanks.” She swatted his arm and then tugged at his sleeve. “C’mon. Let’s wade on over and find Kylan.”
She set off, striding through the mud with those quick, purposeful strides, forcing David to hustle to keep up. Her yellow rain slicker was made for someone six inches taller and the tails dragged in the mud. With her baseball cap pulled low, she looked younger than most of the teenage contestants.
They caught up with Kylan behind the roping chutes, where he was scraping mud off his jeans. David’s cousin, Adam, held Frosty, stroking the horse’s neck and cooing into his ear. Adam’s eyes lit up when he saw David and Mary. He adored Mary. Everyone in David’s family adored Mary. The feeling seemed to be mutual. So much so that Mary had pulled David aside, her eyes troubled.
“This is a great place, David. Wonderful people. But you know I’m not planning to relocate?”
He’d looped his arms around her waist, pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You have a good place already. And lucky for me, my job is portable.”
She’d kissed him then, so hard his brain hadn’t unscrambled for hours.
She hurried ahead while his mind wandered, dodging through the mob of horses and kids to tackle hug Kylan.
“Did you see them, Mary? Frosty did so good, and Kylan…” Adam made a circling motion with his hands. “He tied that calf so fast.”
“He did great,” David said, clapping Kylan on the shoulder. “Way to be solid.”
“Thanks.” Kylan glanced up toward the big covered grandstand where the bulk of his fan club remained warm and dry up under the roof—Galen, Cissy, a sizeable Browning contingent plus David’s entire family. “Starr sent me a text. She said I ended up twenty-sixth.”
“That’s awesome.” Mary gave him another fierce hug. “I am so proud of you.”
Kylan squirmed, pulling free, but his chest puffed up. He’d exceeded the goal they’d set for the finals. David had a feeling Kylan would be pushing a lot of boundaries from now on. Not that David was kidding himself. He hadn’t sauntered in and chased away all of Kylan’s problems, they were just on an extended vacation. Eventually, Kylan would butt up against the frustration again. He’d try and he’d fail, but David hoped the successes he was building up would be a solid enough foundation for him to stay and fight. Believe that the good would come around again, the way it had for David.
David glanced at the rapidly clearing sky and sent up a prayer of thanks. Bless those crotchety old bastards for detouring him onto this trail, even if they’d knocked him down a few times on the way. David was convinced they’d had a plan all along, and he sure wasn’t complaining about the results.
Frosty nuzzled Adam’s chest, more than ready to be back at the barn. His belly and flanks were streaked with mud, his legs caked solid brown on white as if he’d been dipped in chocolate.
“Frosty wants his grain,” Mary said.
“He earned it.” Kylan looped an arm over the horse’s neck and gave him a hug. Frosty didn’t even pin his ears or bare his teeth, unlike someone else they all knew.
“Me and Kylan are going to go clean him off and put him in his stall,” Adam declared. “Then Kylan said I can come with him and Starr to get a hamburger.”
He gazed at Kylan with child-like adoration, his dark hair and almond-shaped eyes the same color as David’s, but his face smoother. Eternally young.
“I owe you somethin’ for lettin’ me use your horse,” Kylan muttered with a mixture of pride and embarrassment. “Let’s go. I’m starving.”
As usual. The kid ate like a bear coming out of hibernation. He and Adam headed for the barns, Frosty ambling between them while Adam talked a mile a minute and Kylan nodded along.
“Kylan is really good with him,” David said.
Mary smiled. “He’s never been anybody’s hero before. He’s enjoying himself.”
The two of them stood for a moment, nowhere to go for a change, no rush to get there.
“Are your parents sticking around tonight?” she asked.
“Nope. The neighbor told Dad they got another three quarters of an inch of rain, so he can’t wait to get home and check the gauge.”
And to admire the fresh green of the pastures, the grass springing to joyful life with the long-awaited moisture. David knew it was foolish, but he felt as if the whole world had shifted from the moment he’d finally found this place he was supposed to be, everything that had been wrong becoming right again, including the weather.
“Excellent,” Mary said.
David blinked. “I thought you liked my parents.”
“Love them,” she said, and then gave him a smile that made his blood simmer. “I could use a little private time, if you know what I mean.”
Oh, yeah. David definitely knew. He’d spent a sizeable percentage of the last two weeks contemplating ways to get rid of Kylan. Not permanently. Just a few hours. Long enough to see where those increasingly hot kisses of Mary’s would lead if there was no one to interrupt them.
Traveling with her was driving him insane, in all the ways he’d expected. She was funny, unpredictable, occasionally maddening, and he wouldn’t change a thing. Not even when she made him stop at the cemetery as they passed through Crow Agency so she could place flowers on Jinx Yellowhawk’s grave.
“If he hadn’t been such a complete waste of a human being, we never would have met,” she declared by way of a eulogy.
Classic Mary, tough and soft, all twisted up in one fascinating package. When David wasn’t busy roping, he split his time between fantasizing about unwrapping her and debating how long he had to wait before he dared confess he was crazy in love with her.
“We could go out to dinner while Kylan and Starr are at the dance,” he suggested.
She arched her eyebrows. “I’d rather ask if Kylan could stay at the motel wi
th Galen and Cissy tonight.”
David’s heart expanded, squeezing the air clean out of his lungs. Him. Mary. Alone in his trailer for an entire night. “But…they’ll all know.”
“That we’re having sex? Yep. They will.” Her eyes sparkled with amusement and a touch of heat.
“That doesn’t bother you?”
“Not as much as not having sex with you.” She stepped closer, grabbing the lapels of his raincoat and stretching onto her tiptoes to narrow her eyes at him. “I love you to death, Dudley, and I respect your personal choices, but if you tell me we have to wait until we’re married, I’m gonna have to hurt you.”
He lost his air again, reeling from the slam-bam punch of hearing Mary say the words I love you and married in the same sentence.
He gave her a hopeful smile. “Or maybe you could just…marry me?”
Her jaw dropped. Then she laughed, a peal of pure joy. “Eventually, yes. But not today. So…you wanna get naked or what?”
“Yes.” He hauled her into his arms, planted a kiss on her lips. “Definitely, yes. In the worst way.”
And now he knew exactly what that meant.
About the Author
Kari Lynn Dell is a native of north central Montana, a third generation ranch-raised cowgirl, horse trainer and rodeo competitor, most recently the 2013 Canadian Senior Pro Rodeo Association Breakaway Roping Champion. She attended her first rodeo at two weeks old and has existed in a state of horse-induced poverty ever since. She currently resides on the family ranch on the Blackfeet Reservation, loitering in her parents’ bunkhouse along with her husband, son and Max the Cowdog, with a tipi on the front step, a view of Glacier National Park from her writing desk and Canada within spitting distance.
Come visit at www.KariLynnDell.com, hear what’s next on the publication front, learn firsthand about ranch life on the east slope of Rockies and laugh with us at the tales of woe and wonder that come with living on the northern frontier.
Acknowledgements
Given that my road to publication has been nigh on endless, uphill and against the wind, there is no way this book would have seen the light of day if not for dozens of people who’ve given me a hand up or a kick in the ass along the way. It’s impossible to name them all, so I’m just going to throw this out there to all the writers in the Twitterverse who’ve propped me up and all the beta readers who’ve endured my early drafts without telling me to toss my laptop off the nearest mountain. I’d hug you all, except you know I don’t do that mushy crap.
Without Janet Reid, this book wouldn’t exist, because the two year break after my son was born would have stretched on indefinitely if she hadn’t said, “Hey you, time to write something new.” And what I did write would have continued to be a hot mess without her unflinching feedback.
Thanks to Crystal Posey, because she is awesome in so many ways and accepted boxes of Coffee Crisps as payment in full for her amazing art and web work for far longer than she should have.
Cynthia D’Alba deserves all the credit for pushing and prodding me to make this into a full-blown novel, and then hooking me up with her—and now my—wonderful editor, Heidi Moore.
To Nicholas Marco, who was the first publishing professional to tell me I didn’t suck, and who bothered to check in from time to time over the years to see how things were coming along.
Special recognition to Karen Templeton. She was the first published author to speak to me online, which led to the rather astonishing discovery that she was a human being just like me and gave me the courage to think I might be able to make it too. Over these many years, she has taught me by her example what it truly means to be a professional. If I ever have the chance to meet her in person, I expect to embarrass both of us. She has been warned.
And last but certainly not least, to all of my Muddys, better known as Betsy and Scotty and Ember and the buckskin mare, aka Nicky, aka the hell bitch. If I survived all of you, this publishing gig should be a piece of cake.
Real bad boys can grow up to be real good men.
Texas Twist
© 2014 Cynthia D’Alba
Texas Montgomery Mavericks, Book 4
Hit hard by the death of her parents, Paige Ryan needs to figure out what to do with her life. She moves to Whispering Springs, Texas to be near her step-brother. But just as she starts to get her life on track, the last man she ever wanted to see again sends it right back off the rails.
Cash Montgomery was on the cusp of having it all. Three bull riding titles, fame, fortune and respect from his family. Until a bad bull leaves him injured, angry and searching for comfort at the bottom of a bottle. With nowhere to go, he moves into his sister-in-law’s old ranch house in Whispering Springs—which he’s surprised to find already occupied.
As Cash rebuilds the dilapidated home and Paige starts out on her medical career, their old friendship begins to reemerge and sparks are ignited. Paige knows that Cash is nothing but a heartache waiting to happen. But maybe this bad boy has grown up to be a real good man?
Warning: Watch out for falling lumber, falling in holes and falling for the wrong guy…again. You can leave your hard hat on.
Enjoy the following excerpt for Texas Twist:
Paige stretched her arms toward the ceiling and looked around her room and smiled. Her own room in her own house. No sharing the hot water with anyone. No dirty dishes in the sink that didn’t belong to her. No bra required if she didn’t feel like putting one on. In fact, she could walk around in nothing but her extra-large T-shirt that read Rope Me, Cowboy and a pair of panties. No robe needed. Freedom to do whatever she wanted.
Staying at her Uncle James’s house for these past ten months had been great, but she’d never forgotten she was a guest, even when she’d been there alone. But this place? This was her place. Caroline had told her to make herself at home, and Paige intended to do just that.
After sliding her feet into a pair of scuffs, she headed for the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. She’d make a list of things she still needed to do and supplies she needed to buy while she got her morning caffeine fix. As the coffee dripped, she turned the oven on to preheat and started bacon frying in a large skillet.
She stole the first cup of java before the pot finished filling. Her eyebrows shot up with the first sip. Stout, to say the least. She added a little water to the coffee maker’s reservoir then cracked open a can of biscuits. When the preheat bell chimed, she slid a cookie sheet loaded with biscuit dough into the hot oven.
She flipped the bacon and then sat at the table with a notepad and pencil. Other than the sizzle from the bacon and the slight tick of the coffee maker, the peace was comfortable. Leaning back in the high-backed kitchen chair, she stretched out her legs and took a long sip of black coffee.
Across the table and directly in front of her, the door to the back bedroom banged open and a half-dressed man ran out, a tennis racket raised high above his head, all while he yelled, “What the hell are you doing in this house?”
Paige jumped from her chair, sending it over backwards. She spat the coffee in her mouth across the table while at the same time tossing the mug of hot liquid at her attacker. The man leapt to the side, avoiding most of the scalding java.
“What are you doing here?” she gasped out, barely able to catch her breath from the sudden adrenaline jolt, not to mention the masculine sight standing in front of her. Her heart grabbed her ribs and rattled. She struggled to focus as her mind refused to accept what she was seeing.
Cash Montgomery wore only a pair of white boxer briefs. Angry long scars crisscrossed his chest, abdomen and arms. But even those couldn’t diminish the impact of his naked, chiseled six-pack. Paige swallowed hard against the rising lust.
“I live here,” he answered, lowering his impromptu weapon to his side. Confusion covered his face and his brow furrowed. “Paige? Paige Ryan?”
She
nodded. “That’d be me.”
His gaze roved down her body and back up to her face. “Why are you in my house? And why don’t you have on clothes? Not that I’m complaining, mind you.” A wolfish grin spread across his mouth. “Nice T-shirt slogan.”
Paige looked down and felt the flush of embarrassment as it climbed her neck and face. Both nipples protruded through the thin material far enough to be used as hat pegs. Her gaze flew back to him. “I’ll be right back.”
She hurried from the kitchen, tugging down the hem of her T-shirt over her purple panties. She could barely think about the need for a robe when her mind swirled like a blender, mixing her thoughts and emotions like a smoothie.
What was Cash Montgomery doing in her house?
And more importantly, why was she kind of excited to see him? The man had practically ruined her life. Well, maybe not ruined as much as shoved her onto a new life path. Still, he’d let her fall in love with him, taken her virginity and then treated her like she had meant nothing to him. He’d broken her heart and hadn’t seemed to care one whit.
Of course, she’d felt sorry for him passed out in the bar, just like she’d feel sympathy for any injured animal. And of course, she’d been crushed when she’d heard about his accident, but that didn’t mean she wanted to be in close proximity to him.
Cash Montgomery was a dangerous man. Dangerous to her positive self-esteem, which she needed to prosper in the intensive graduate nursing program she’d be starting in three months. Dangerous to her plans to stay focused only on her career for now. And dangerous to her self-preservation, as her heart tended to overrule her mind when it came to Cash. Nothing good could come of him being here.
She’d thought she would be able to handle seeing him, but she’d possibly misjudged. He had to go before any decisions were made by her heart and not her head.
After grabbing her chenille robe off the bathroom door, she stood in her bedroom collecting herself before walking calmly back to the kitchen. The coffee spewed and thrown at him had been cleaned up. Her overturned chair was back upright and in its place. Cash had put on a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt that stretched to cover his broad shoulders. She’d been wrong when she’d thought he’d looked emaciated the other night. Must have been positional, because every movement had another muscle popping out somewhere new on his body.
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