Secondhand Cowboy

by Lacy Williams

  "Melody has it hosted on an online server. I made a copy to my hard drive, but the original is still out there in cyberspace. I'm sure Mike can contact her for details on how to access it."

  The DA nodded.

  Her father was silent, fuming. He'd put a few feet of distance between them when he stood up, but she could feel the daggers he was shooting at her with his eyes.

  She would try to salvage their relationship. But not now, not when he was hot under the collar. She would give him some time to cope with what had happened today—and to start accepting that Callum was going to be a fixture in her life.

  The men left, her father silently stalking out first. The DA shook her hand and thanked her. Mike had the decency to look embarrassed. That was something.

  The sun was too bright when she stepped onto the sidewalk. At least that's what she blamed for her watering eyes. It would take some time for her emotions to settle. It hurt to find out that your father wasn't the man you'd thought he was.

  Callum was leaning against the drivers' door of her pickup, his arms crossed over his broad chest.

  "You okay?"

  * * *

  Callum saw the wobble of Iris's chin and the slight red rims of her eyes as she approached.

  "Does you wearing that ring give me permission to hug you?"

  Her face crumpled even as she reached out for him. Her black computer bag whacked him in the side as she came into his arms and he relieved her of it, quickly lifting it over the side and depositing in the pickup bed. Then she was in his arms fully, her head tucked beneath his chin, her arms clasping his waist tightly.

  "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, baby," he said into her hair.

  "I knew it was going to hurt," she said, her cheek pressed to his collarbone. At least she wasn't crying. "I just didn't know how much."

  She didn't seem in a hurry to leave his embrace, and he could've held onto her forever. He swallowed hard, emotion swamping him.

  "I can't believe you did that. You could've emailed the video to Sam and nobody would've ever known."

  She eased back in his arms, and he reluctantly let her go. "I would've known."

  His heart tripped as she looked up at him. He didn't see the trepidation or bitterness he expected. "About the night I left...I'm sorry."

  She would never know how much he regretted what had happened back then, but he also couldn't regret the life he'd lived because of it. Without those years, he wouldn't have the boys.

  "Were you drunk?" she asked.

  "No." That wasn't enough of an answer, and she deserved an explanation. "I'd gone out with the guys after the rodeo, but I'd only had one beer."

  "I believe you."

  He didn't realize he'd been holding his breath until it expelled, releasing with it the tension he'd carried for years. He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead to touch hers. "I tried to help Champ, but there was so much trauma...so much blood..."

  She squeezed his waist, closing the distance and deepening their embrace again. "I know you loved him too. I forgive you."

  A weight lifted from his shoulders at her whispered words.

  "Take a walk with me?" She eased back from his embrace and nodded her head toward the street.

  It was ninety degrees with the Oklahoma sun shining down, but he'd walk through fiery coals for her. "I can manage it—now. Getting around pretty well without those crutches in my way. I'm joining Buck's harvest crew on Monday." It would be hard to be away from the boys for days at a time, but if things worked out the way he hoped with Iris...Who was he kidding? It would be awful to be away from her, too. But the harvest crew would give them their future. And maybe next summer, he would be able to take them all along with him.

  He fell into step beside her. Their hands bumped, and he took the opportunity to clasp her hand in his. And she let him.

  "How are the boys? Jilly and I miss them."

  "They're missing you something fierce. They ask about you all day long and keep correcting me. 'That's not how Iris does it.'"

  She grinned, though her eyes scanned for traffic as they crossed a side street off of Main.

  "Where are we going?" he asked.

  "Somewhere."

  He let her tug him across the street, and once they'd settled back into a rhythm, he threaded their fingers together.

  "I saw you outside the restaurant with your mother-in-law," she said. "You decided to give her a second chance?"

  He cleared his throat and raised his opposite hand to scratch the back of his neck. "Yeah. I guess you could say you inspired me. It was...awkward, but Maude seemed happy. She went back to Texas."

  "How did the boys do?"

  "They had fun. Didn't notice the tension. She and Jackson might come up soon for a visit."

  They were nearing the end of the downtown area of Main Street. A few more buildings remained before they reached the more residential area. Where was she leading him?

  "And you're okay with that?"

  He shrugged, knowing she'd picked up on the tension that the topic put in his back. "I'm not going to leave the boys alone with them anytime soon. We're still building that trust back. But I'm willing to try."

  He was also tired of delaying—he needed to know where they stood. Now.

  They were far enough from the majority of the foot traffic downtown to attract notice, and he tugged her to a stop, keeping their hands entwined and drawing her to face him.

  He raised her hand so the ring she wore was in plain view.

  She flushed a delicate pink.

  "This is even smaller than I remember."

  She attempted to pull her hand away, but he kept hold of it.

  "I'd like to put something bigger there, if you'd let me."

  Her eyes flashed to his face, and his equilibrium went haywire. He squeezed her hands gently. And bared his heart. "I know I've still got a ways to go to earn back your trust. But the truth is, I never stopped loving you."

  Her eyes began to shine. "Me too."

  Joy exploded inside him and he exhaled a shaky breath. He leaned forward until their foreheads touched, closing his eyes as emotion overwhelmed him. "Yeah?"

  "Yeah." Her breath fanned his jaw, and he let go of her hand to put his arms around her.

  Her hands rested against his chest, and she met his kiss eagerly. And he got lost in her, the same way he always had.

  Until the blast of a horn honking startled them both. A truck blew by, windows down. The driver wolf whistled.

  He chuckled as she leaned her forehead against his chest, between her hands. He reached up and tapped the back of her hand, just behind the engagement ring. "I wasn't kidding about replacing this. I can afford something bigger now."

  "Even with the three terrors and their future college educations?"

  He nipped her shoulder for the joke, and she pinched his ribs.

  "I'm attached to this one." She hitched her chin. "It's sentimental to me."

  He squeezed her but didn't try to kiss her again. It was too easy to get wrapped up in her, and he didn't want her to have any reason to be embarrassed.

  "I'll be away a lot of the summer. But we can talk on the phone, and we can have a long engagement, if you want. I think we need to talk about New York. Watching you dance the other day..."

  She shook her head, a smile he couldn't quite read playing on her lips. "I'm too old for that dream now. The prima ballerinas are much younger. And after my back injury, I can't perform the way I used to."

  He shook his head, certain about this. "When you dance...it's magic. You can't just give up on your dream."

  Her smile just got bigger. She broke from his embrace and pointed to the building they stood in front of. "I'm not. My dream just changed, that's all. This is going to be my new dance studio."

  The storefront was bare, glass windows revealing a large, empty space inside.

  "After some renovations," she added.

  Remembering her with the boys' dance class, he could see it. She was s
till sharing her love of dance, just in a different way.

  "I can swing a hammer," he said.

  "Good. There's a lot of work to do. Can we go see the boys now?"

  He kissed her for the question and again on the front step of his trailer, because when they opened the door, three shrieking boys launched at them, engulfing them in hugs and joy and chaos.

  And he wouldn't have it any other way.

  Epilogue

  "Look, there's a rabbit."

  Flat on her back on a picnic blanket, Iris let her gaze follow Callum's arm and finger as he pointed to a cloud-shape in the late-summer blue sky.

  "Daaaadddyy." Brandt giggled from his place between them. "That's a dragon."

  "What? It is not," Callum said.

  Levi snored softly, tucked close to Iris's side, worn out from his little-boy exertions all morning.

  "What do you think, babe?" Callum tilted his head to one side, and his jaw brushed her cheek. Their hands remained entwined beneath Brandt, who'd crawled over them to be in the middle. "Rabbit or dragon?"

  "Definitely a dragon."

  He huffed in pretend exasperation, but brushed a kiss against her temple, his stubble catching in the fine hairs there.

  "What about that one?" This time she pointed, and sunlight glinted off the diamond in her engagement ring. It had been two and a half months and she was more in love with Callum and the boys than ever.

  "Hmm...a kangaroo?"

  "Daaaadddyy!"

  All three of the boys were eating up this time with their daddy today, one of the last Saturdays of the summer.

  Callum had spent much of the season on the harvest crew, stealing days away when he could. Before he'd left that first time, Iris had quickly disabused him of the notion of hiring a nanny and had the boys with her most days. They'd set a wedding date for next month.

  Some in town might think it was too soon, but Iris had spent too many years separated from the man she loved, and she didn't care.

  Iris's dad had stepped down as mayor at the DA's insistence. With a fresh set of eyes on Callum's case, they'd worked with a computer specialist from Oklahoma City to identify the license plate on the black truck and the teenager who'd been driving now faced hit-and-run charges.

  Her dad still wasn't speaking to her. All Iris could do was pray that their relationship could someday be salvaged.

  A war yell sounded, and the back door slammed, followed by wild barking. Anticipating the human projectile that was even now heading toward them, Iris sat up in time to catch Tyler as he pounced on her, Rowdy just behind. Jilly followed down the porch steps at a more sedate pace.

  Iris's back twinged as she took Tyler's weight, and she might've fallen back on the blanket, but Cal's arm was there, coming around her shoulders, supporting her.

  "Watch it, squirt." He hauled Tyler off her lap and began a tickle war that quickly turned into the boys chasing each other across the yard, Rowdy chasing them.

  "Sorry," Jilly said as she dropped onto the blanket next to Iris. "I tried to get him to wash his hands after he used the toilet, but he just raced out of there..."

  Iris laughed. In some ways, she was still getting used to living with three ornery boys. There were many eye-opening moments, including the day she'd gone to put a tray of cookies in the oven and found the mud pies they'd left there.

  Jilly's treatments had worked, and she'd been pronounced cancer-free. She'd given up the head-scarves and now sported an adorable short cut.

  "The tailor called, and you're due for another dress fitting," Jilly said, her eyes on the boys now turning cartwheels and competing against each other. "You changed your mind about the tuxedos yet?"

  Callum leaned forward to speak directly to Jilly. "I asked her the same thing. I can drive down to the city and rent a monkey suit real easy."

  Iris shook her head. "You two can gang up on me all you want, but I'm sticking with my original plan. Dark jackets over Wranglers." She planned to wear boots beneath her gown, no matter how much Jilly might complain.

  Jilly sighed.

  "Besides, how long do you think the boys would last in a tux?" Iris asked.

  Levi had stripped off his shirt and was wrestling with his brothers, no doubt getting grass and mud ground into his hair this very moment.

  "You might be right," Jilly agreed.

  Callum laughed. He and Jilly had settled their differences after everything had come out. The relationship between Iris and Jilly and their father remained broken, but at least this good had come out of the situation.

  The boys had gone suspiciously quiet.

  "Uh oh," Cal said.

  "They're planning something," Jilly agreed.

  And then there was only seconds to react as the triplets ran toward the adults on the picnic blanket, yelling and whooping.

  And Iris wouldn't have it any other way.

  Dear Reader

  Thank you for reading Secondhand Cowboy. This book has a special place in my heart—it was the third book I ever started writing, but it took years to find the right time & home for it. I was a ballerina for twelve years of my childhood but never dreamed of making it big like Iris.

  And something else special about this book: one of Callum’s sons is named after my son! It was really fun to write triplets and imagine what life must be like for parents of multiples.

  If you enjoyed this book, try The Butterfly Bride, another prodigal cowboy story. Thanks for reading!

  Connect with me online:

  @lacy_williams

  lacywilliamsbooks

  www.lacywilliams.net

  lacy@lacywilliams.net

  Also by Lacy Williams

  Triple H Brides series (contemporary romance)

  Kissing Kelsey

  Courting Carrie

  Stealing Sarah

  Keeping Kayla

  Cowboy Fairytales series (contemporary romance)

  Once Upon a Cowboy

  Cowboy Charming

  The Toad Prince

  The Beastly Princess

  The Lost Princess

  Heart of Oklahoma series (contemporary romance)

  Kissed by a Cowboy

  Love Letters from Cowboy

  Mistletoe Cowboy

  Cowgirl for Keeps

  Jingle Bell Cowgirl

  Heart of a Cowgirl

  3 Days with a Cowboy

  Prodigal Cowgirl

  Wyoming Legacy series (historical romance)

  The Homesteader’s Sweetheart

  Courted by a Cowboy

  Roping the Wrangler

  Return of the Cowboy Doctor

  The Wrangler’s Inconvenient Wife

  A Cowboy for Christmas

  Her Convenient Cowboy

  Her Cowboy Deputy

  Not in a Series

  How to Lose a Guy in 10 Dates

  Santa Next Door

  The Butterfly Bride

  Secondhand Cowboy

  Wagon Train Sweetheart (historical romance)

  Marrying Miss Marshal (historical romance)

  Counterfeit Cowboy (historical romance)

  Copyright © 2015 by Lacy Williams

  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.