by Lexi Post
His grandmother took that as a sign to start dinner and they were soon enjoying her Mexican spiced pork ribs. Amongst the talking and laughter, he was constantly aware of Jenna next to him.
After finishing off three homemade chocolate chip cookies, he rose and lifted his daughter out of her high chair.
“Teddy.” She frantically looked over his shoulder as she reached behind him. “Da-da, teddy!”
He turned around and took the cowboy teddy off the shelf and handed it to her. Her anxious face quickly relaxed into a big smile as she clutched it to her chest. He turned back to the table and offered his hand to Jenna. “Come walk with me.”
She smiled up at him and took his hand, filling his heart with peace. He led her through the house and outside. As they passed the north corral, Cyclone snorted and trotted over.
Jenna stopped and waited for him to approach. When he reached the fence, he lowered his head and butted her shoulder. “Hey, big guy. Are you liking your new home? Pretty sweet deal, isn’t?”
The horse stepped closer, letting her stroke his neck.
“He really likes you.” Charlotte kept silent as the large head lifted over the fence. He didn’t blame her since just the horse’s head was bigger than she was.
“I like him, too. I would love to ride him. We’re you able to use him with a harness?”
“You ride?”
She rolled her eyes. “Of course, I ride. My sister and I each had a horse growing up. That’s what the barn was for. Sugar, my sister’s horse, died young, but Spice reached twenty-two. He was hard to lose because I knew enough about veterinary medicine to know there was nothing I could do.”
Logan moved to Cyclone’s other side and patted the horse to show Charlotte there was nothing to be afraid of. “We were able to put a harness on him with no problems. He enjoyed pulling the wagon. Maybe after my ribs heal, we can take him out for a ride. I’m sure Black Jack wouldn’t mind.”
She stopped patting the horse and gave him a heart-stopping smile. “I would love that. I haven’t ridden in years. It’s hard to believe because I’m around them so much, but it’s always for medical reasons, not for pleasure.”
His gut did a summersault at the look of happiness on her face. He would ask Cole if he could give Cyclone to Jenna. She may be small, but he had a feeling she and the big horse were made for each other. “Then we’ll plan on it.”
“Mine horzie. Mine horzie, da-da.” Charlotte swung her arm out toward the south corral, her cowboy teddy flailing in the evening air.
Jenna laughed. “Sorry, Cyclone. We need to go say hi to some of your friends.” She patted the horse one last time and walked toward the south corral.
Logan grinned. Cyclone followed Jenna along his side of the fence until she had gone beyond the corral. There he stood watching her. Logan set his daughter down on her feet and held her hands.
She took her little steps with gusto. Jenna turned to see where they were and immediately crouched down. “Look, Charlotte. It’s your horsey.” She pointed to the pony standing next to Macy.
The Sonoran desert sky was splashing oranges and pinks over the earth, giving everything a warm glow. Jenna, in particular, seemed especially beautiful to him. Maybe it was the shirt she wore that matched her eyes. Or maybe he was just seeing everything through rose colored glasses tonight.
His daughter started pulling him forward, so he let go to see what would happen. She took one step on her own and fell back on her bottom. He sighed. It would happen one day. He started to bend over to pick her up when she pushed herself up to a standing position again.
He stared in surprise.
“Want to see your horsey?” Jenna’s voice was encouraging.
Charlotte continued to stand unsteadily. She lifted her hand and opened and closed it. “Mine horzie.”
“Yes, he’s your horsey. Come see him.”
Logan held his breath as Charlotte took a step and remained upright. Then she took another. She took one more step, teetered and fell back on her bottom.
Logan swooped her up into his arms. “Good girl! You walked!”
Charlotte smiled, but was far more interested in her horse and stretched her hand out toward the corral where Jenna now stood, her eyes misty with excitement.
He strode toward his soon-to-be wife, his daughter in his arm and happiness filling his soul. When they stood next to Jenna, he pulled his gaze from hers and spoke to his daughter. “Where’s Charlotte’s Horse?”
“You can’t keep calling him Charlotte’s Horse. It sounds like a children’s story.”
He frowned. “It does?”
Jenna shook her head in disbelief. “For girls and boys who actually read, yes. Have you given any thought to his name?”
He set his daughter’s diapered rump on top of the fence rail, his good arm wrapped around her. She looked like a little farmer in her purple overalls. “I’m going to let Charlotte name him.”
Jenna’s eyes softened at his statement. She was the first one to appreciate his sentiment and that made it worth all the ribbing he’d received from his brother and cousins over the last week.
“Horzie!” Charlotte’s yell caught the colt’s attention and he looked over.
Logan clicked his tongue and the little horse moved toward them hesitantly to investigate.
Charlotte looked back at him, a huge smile on her face.
He bent his head to whisper. “Shh, you don’t want to scare him.”
His daughter pressed her finger against her lips and blew. Jenna covered her mouth to stop the laugh Logan was sure would have escaped.
He clicked his tongue again, and the colt’s curiosity got the best of him. He stepped close. His tongue flicked out and licked Charlotte’s shoe. The expression of wonder on her face as she snapped her head around to look at Logan made his throat close.
She turned back to the colt and the two stared at each other.
Jenna’s soft voice caught the attention of both. “Charlotte, this little horsey was very lucky he had your daddy helping him when he was born.”
“I think he was more lucky you were there.”
“Lucky horzie.” Charlotte smiled. “Mine Lucky.”
Logan chuckled despite the twinge in his side. “I think she just named the horse.”
“She did?”
“Yes. His name is now Lucky. Thank you for helping her.”
She stepped up next to him. “I look forward to helping her with everything a little girl needs from her mother.”
“How about me? I have needs to. Like right now I need a kiss.”
She moved around him to his left side and stepped up onto the bottom rail.
He wrapped his arm about her loosely as she kissed him. In that simple kiss was a promise of forever.
His luck had most definitely changed.
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Read on for an excerpt of Cowboy’s Match (Poker Flat #2) Cole and Lacey’s story
Chapter One
Cole Hatcher ignored the yellow and orange streaks of the Arizona sunset and focused on the same colors rising from the burning building as flames moved with the breeze. He spoke into the radio. “Move the two and a half inch to the northwest corner.”
Two firefighters lugged the hose toward the base of the fire at the edge of the partially constructed building. Not more than fifteen feet away was a pile of old barn wood just waiting to ignite.
Stepping back toward the engine, Cole received a nod from Mason, the fire engine monitor, before speaking into the radio again. “Tanker, is the dry hydrant hooked yet?”
“Almost.” The reply was not the answer Cole wanted. They would need more water than an engine and tanker could provide, and the chance of the winds picking up once the sun disappeared were better than a horse getting loose through an open gate.
As if on cue, the whinny of several frightened horses in the nearby barn caused
him to tense. There was no way he would let the fire spread that way.
The radio clicked before a firefighter’s voice came through. “We’re hooked.”
Cole breathed easier. As long as he had water, he could put this baby out. “Good. Stay with the tanker. I’ll need someone to come over here and grab the one and a half inch with Clark.” He watched as Clark unwound the hose, already heading toward the construction site that hid behind the smoke and flames of the fire’s onslaught.
Glancing back to where the tanker was parked thirty yards away, Cole swore. “What the hell?” Coming up the hill along the dirt road his trucks had just rolled in on, were at least a half dozen golf carts filled with naked people.
He stifled a laugh. What’d they think this was? A campfire? A Wild West show? Did they plan to make s’mores? This would be a story to tell at the firehouse for sure. Still, as with all spectators to a disaster, it wasn’t safe for them to be there. He silently wished he had a radio to communicate with the owner, who had enough sense to keep the resort guests from getting any closer.
For over a year, he’d been curious about the Poker Flat Nudist Resort, but Clark had been chosen to give the fire extinguisher class to all the employees before the resort opened three months ago, and Cole had no official reason to come check it out. Fighting a fire wasn’t a good way to learn about a place. Whatever this new construction was, it was toast. His concern was with the barn and the horses and which way the wind would blow next.
An explosion from the fire shook the ground as flames shot into the air. “Shit.” What the hell did they have in that unfinished building? The two men with the smaller hose lost their footing and fell, but since they hadn’t made it to the fire yet, they were unharmed.
He’d be damned if he’d put his men in harm’s way when no lives were at stake.
He turned toward the owner and motioned her closer, then faced the burning construction site. As the sky behind the fire turned a dull pink, the breeze picked up, changing the direction of the flames toward the open desert. Good for the horses, but not for wildfire potential. It’d been the driest summer on record. October temperature highs had finally dropped below triple digits and the nights were already getting cold, but there had been no rain during monsoon season.
Cole spoke into the radio again. “I need the two and half inch to lay down a curtain between the building and the open desert on your side.”
“Got it.” The two firefighters adjusted their hose and started a continual spray, wetting and cooling the area toward the open desert even as the men with the one and a half inch hose moved in to cover the fire base.
“Lieutenant, you wanted us?” The female voice had him turning around.
He’d forgotten he’d called over the owner. At least she and the cowboy with her were dressed. “You need to get those people out of here. I can’t control the fire’s embers and right now the wind is picking up.”
The tall man nodded. “I’ll take care of that.” He immediately strode toward the golf cart brigade.
Cole turned his attention to the woman. “I’ve got my men focused on keeping the fire from spreading to your barn or out into the desert. A wildfire would be catastrophic, but we won’t be able to save the building.”
She waved her hand as if it meant little to her. “I’m not worried about the building as long as everyone is safe.”
“Have you accounted for all your employees and guests?”
“Yes.”
Another explosion had Cole turning away to check on his men. A voice came across his radio. “What the fuck is in here? A chemical lab?”
Cole frowned. He’d never thought of how convenient it would be to have a meth lab out at a nudist resort. He’d make sure the police investigated the place in case there had been illegal activity.
He looked at the owner. “How many more explosions should we expect?”
She frowned. “We had one before you arrived, that’s what alerted me to the fire, but there shouldn’t be anything that would explode over there. The plywood for the roof was completed, but they hadn’t even set the windows in yet. All that was there was whatever the construction crew left.”
“Do you have electricity out there yet?”
She shook her head.
Shit. “Gasoline for their generator.” He spoke into his radio again. “Possible gas containers.”
A gust of wind compounded his problems and he quickly repositioned his men. A siren could barely be heard in the distance, but the red and blue lights of a sheriff department car reflected far into the desert. About time they got here.
Cole spared a glance to where the golf carts had been parked and was relieved to see only a few left, but he scowled as a young woman with golden hair moved toward him and the owner, a tray of food and drinks in her hands. Shit, didn’t these people realize this was a working fire? This was dangerous!
A third explosion rocked the ground and he spun in time to see a gust of wind pick up the roiling flames and throw them toward his men. He pressed the button on his radio. “Fall back!”
One man stumbled backward, catching his foot on the old barn wood and lost his grip on the hose. The other firefighter struggled with it before he went down too.
“Fuck.” Cole sprinted to his men, pulling them back by their coats as the flames licked at their boots. The barn wood caught, feeding the fire.
Once his men were out of harm’s way, he tackled the flailing line. A loose hose was a danger in its own right.
“Lieutenant, do you want us on the wood pile?” The question came through his radio.
Cole slammed his body onto the hose before replying, “Negative. Keep that curtain up.”
The two firefighters that had been blown down regained their feet and grabbed the hose. “Thanks, Lieutenant.”
He released his hold. “Pull back and soak that pile. If the wind shifts again, I don’t want the barn catching.”
The men nodded.
Cole turned around and strode back to the engine. The two women were still there. This wasn’t a movie. Didn’t they have any common sense?
After checking with Mason to be sure the water pressure was steady, he approached his audience, irritation growing at the petite stature of the blonde. Someone so delicate didn’t belong at a working fire, but like the owner, at least she had clothes on. “Ladies, you need to get back.” He pointed to the rise the golf carts had congregated on earlier.
The blonde smiled. “Selma sent over churros and iced tea for your men in case they need something.”
Cole’s blood froze. That voice. He studied the woman and his heart stumbled inside his chest. Her shapely figure proved she’d grown into a delectably curvy woman as he’d always expected she would, but her face was almost the same, just more refined. “Lacey Winters?”
Her brows furrowed and her button nose wrinkled as she peered back at him. Had he really changed so much in eight years? Yeah, probably. He’d been a bean pole last he’d seen her…the night he broke it off with her.
She gave up trying to figure out who he was. “I’m sorry. Do I know you?”
He should let it go. No need to dredge up the past. He had a fire to control.
His pulse went into overdrive. Another fire. It couldn’t be coincidence. He scowled at her. “You should. I’m Cole, Cole Hatcher.”
Even in the reflection of the flames, her face turned pasty white and he kicked himself for revealing his identity. All he needed now was a fainting woman to contend with.
“You two know each other?” The other woman leaned on one hip, her concern for Lacey evident in the look she gave him.
At the owner’s voice, Lacey recovered her color. Actually, her face changed from white to an angry flush in a matter of seconds. It reminded him of a flashover.
“Not that I want to know him.” Lacey handed the tray over to the owner and stepped up to him. She poked her index finger into his chest. Hard. “So, Cole Hatcher. Are you going to accuse me of setting thi
s fire? After all, I’m here, on the same property. It’s not like you need evidence or anything. Feel free to assume the worst. I’m sure it helps to justify the way you treated me.” She pulled back as if touching him made her feel sick. “Good luck with that.” Turning on her heel, she stalked off, her hips swaying enticingly until he remembered where he was and who he was looking at.
“So you’re the one who broke her heart.” The owner studied him briefly then set the tray on the ground and followed after Lacey.
Shit.
Lacey didn’t have a destination in mind. She didn’t even see the dirt road she walked on. All she could see was Cole Hatcher, or rather the new and improved Cole Hatcher. He’d grown even taller and had filled out like a pro football player. What right did he have to look that good?
“Lacey, wait.” Kendra’s voice stopped her.
She didn’t want to wait. She wanted to get as far from Cole as she could. That was why she’d applied for the job at Poker Flat in the first place. But Kendra was her boss.
“Lacey.” Kendra grabbed her arm. “Were you planning to walk into the ravine?”
She looked at her boss blankly before refocusing on her surroundings in the growing darkness. Shoot. She’d almost walked right off the road.
She returned her gaze to Kendra and shook her head, her eyes watering at her near miss. She shouldn’t let Cole affect her so much. She was supposed to be over him by now.
Kendra looped her arm in hers. “Come on. Let’s let the firefighters do their job and you can tell me all about it.”
Lacey swallowed the lump in her throat. “I’d rather not.”
“That wasn’t a request.” Kendra tugged on her arm and she gave in. Her boss was twice her size and tough. Besides, Lacey owed her an explanation. Her broken heart and arson charge had been the two deciding factors for getting hired. Kendra only hired misfits and at first Lacey had appeared too perfect.
She sniffed. Heck, she was anything but perfect.
“So he’s the one who broke your heart, isn’t he?” Kendra didn’t waste time getting to the point.
“Yes.”
“I thought you said he was a cowboy and lived in Orson, Arizona.”
