COWGIRL UP
Cheyenne Meadows
Erotic Romance
Secret Cravings Publishing
www.secretcravingspublishing.com
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A Secret Cravings Publishing Book
Erotic Romance
Cowgirl Up
Copyright © 2015 Cheyenne Meadows
E-book ISBN: 978-1-63105504-1
First E-book Publication: February 2015
Cover design by Dawné Dominique
Edited by Stephanie Balistreri
Proofread by Ariana Gaynor
All cover art and logo copyright © 2015 by Secret Cravings Publishing
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Secret Cravings Publishing
www.secretcravingspublishing.com
Dedication
For all those who refuse to give up on their dreams.
The Cravings Ebook Club
The Cravings Paranormal Ebook Club
Have you heard about the newest idea in ebooks, the ebook club? Secret Cravings Publishing has two ebook clubs, The Cravings Ebook Club or the Cravings Paranormal Ebook Club, and we invite you to become a member.
As a new member, you will receive Trouble With a Cowboy* by Sandy Sullivan and Blood Kisses** by H.N. Sieverding FREE, just for joining!
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*Trouble With a Cowboy, a western, erotic romance:
18 wheels had her heart until one hard-up cowboy found her kickin' up her heels and propositions her to take his bull to Vegas.
Jacie Hawkins drives big wheelers for a livin'. Something not a lot of women do. Littleton Oklahoma is just a dry stopover for a few hours of rest and relaxation at the nearest bar. Jacie needs to find a hot cowboy to release some of her pent up frustrations on for the night, but wannabe's aren't her style.
Tucker Marshall needs a big-rig driver to haul his prize bull to National Finals Rodeo and he needs one fast. Who would have thought he'd find one shootin' pool at the local bar dressed to kill and takin' numbers?
Can some slashed tires and an ornery bull bring two hard-headed people together for some fun in the sun and a little more?
**Blood Kisses (Nightwalkers 1), paranormal erotic romance:
Ashleigh Brown, the author of the popular Nightwalkers series, lives a quiet life free of the limelight. She keeps her real identity secret by writing under the pen name, Victoria Allure. She soon finds herself in a bind when she's kidnapped by a group of handsome vampires seeking Victoria. She then agrees to meet their Master, who's a huge fan of her books. But instead of meeting him, she accidentally crosses paths with her rock star crush. He is the sexy muse behind Nightwalkers and the man she based the hero in the series upon. She would do anything to meet him but little does she know her crush has a secret...
We will try to match your books to your preferences, however, if you’re a major paranormal fan, we suggest you join the Cravings Paranormal Club. Everything is the same except that three of your four books will be paranormal. The remaining book will be of a different genre.
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Beth Walker
COWGIRL UP
Cheyenne Meadows
Copyright © 2015
Prologue
“We’ve found a foal for Star.”
Trinity blinked at her mother. Star, her former champion barrel racing mare and Trinity’s best friend, gave birth less than twenty-four hours ago to a stillborn baby. Almost immediately, Lora, Trinity’s mother, signed up Star as a nurse mare in an effort to help the obviously grieving mare and give a needy foal a wonderful momma.
“Where?”
“Golden Aspirations Farm in Gentry.” Her mother collected her purse. “Let’s get moving. The sooner we get Star there, the sooner she can dote on another baby and be happy again.”
Which was all that truly mattered. To them all.
Their world revolved around the mare, once one of the best to take on the cloverleaf pattern at regional rodeos. Probably would have made it to the big time if Lora hadn’t had a quick fling with a bull rider named Buck, ended up pregnant, then traded in her saddle for diaper duty and a job as an elementary school teacher, determined to make it as a single mother and raise her daughter right.
Trinity knew love, caring, and the giving nature of her mother. What she missed was knowing her father and getting the opportunity to follow in her mother’s abandoned footsteps. She wanted to surge straight to the summit of barrel racing by not only being invited to the national finals, but winning. Her best friend, Star, might have been the springboard for her mother, but with her advancing age, Lora opted for retirement for the beloved mare and motherhood in hopes of raising the next generation of a speedy and nimble barrel racing horse. That bubble burst yesterday.
Now, Trinity’s dreams lay as lifeless as Star’s first foal. Considering they sustained on a teacher’s salary, a kitchen garden, and the fee from breaking a horse now and again, the ability to pay a hefty stud fee remained well out of their grasps.
“What happened to the mother?” Trinity glanced out the window of the old truck, her mind whirling at this latest development.
Being raised around horses all her life, Trinity realized how dire the situation for the poor unfortunate mare. Most people wouldn’t bother with the effort, but this mare obviously had an exceptional owner who strove to do right by her animal.
Maybe all wealthy people weren’t heartless after all.
Couldn’t prove it by her. Not since her father made a career out of his sport, raked in the prize money, and still stubbornly refused to offer up financial assistance to her mother. Since his name and signature were absent from her birth certificate and he refused a paternity test, legal pursuit remained way out of reach. Oddly enough, Lora never blamed him or held animosity for the man who left her pregnant and alone. Instead, she brushed the harshness of life off her sleeve and moved on.
A skill Trinity wished she could learn.
Less than an hour later, they arrived at their destination, left Star in the trailer for the moment, and walked into the first barn as they’d been directed. Three people stood waiting, all with thin lips and pensive expressions. Worry eked from each one in abundance. The two men flanking the one woman had to be either the farm’s owner or perhaps a manager, leaving the middle-aged woman with silver hair to be presumably the owner’s representative. Trinity doubted most top-of-the-line thoroughbred breeders and owners attended the birth of their latest foal.
“Thanks for coming so soon. I’m Jerry. I spoke with you on the phone. This is Mrs. Hunter, the mare’s owner and John, the broodmare foreman.” He tilted his head toward the woman next to him, then once more toward the other man.
Mrs. Hunter. The name rang a huge bell. Not only did the woman own a few racehorses, she owned some of the best, including last year’s winner of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. Another Victory Gallop fell short by a nose in the Belmont Stakes to pulling out the rare and nearly impossible Triple Crown.
Totally amazed and impressed, Trinity studied the woman closer, deciding she liked the lady who stood in the middle of a stable after dark, trying to help a motherless foal even as her mare underwent surgery at the university’s vet hospital.
“Yes, of course.” Lora held her hand out and shook his. “I’m Lora Crocket and this is my daughter, Trinity.”
The others inclined their heads toward Trinity, but her mother held their attention.
“Let’s get the details ironed out so we can unite the colt with his new mother,” the second man said.
“Mrs. Hunter, the mare’s owner, is generously offering a nurse mare rental fee of ten thousand, including the care of your mare while here and the farm has a handful of studs at their disposal both here and at another location, including a couple of quarter horses, to breed her back to as is traditional in this situation.”
The woman pursed her lips. “Thank you, John, but I can speak for myself.” She pinned Lora with her gaze. “If that amount is agreeable to you…”
Lora opened her mouth, but Trinity broke in. “We want her bred to Another Victory Gallop.”
All eyes stared at her.
Jerry blinked. “Do you know what his stud fee is right now?”
“One-hundred-thousand as of last Wednesday.” Trinity lifted her chin and met their gazes steadily. “An amount we’ll never see.”
Mrs. Hunter studied her for a long moment. “You realize what you ask is way overboard?”
Trinity nodded. “Yes, I do. But I know this. Star was the best barrel racer of her time just like Another Victory Gallop was in his. I know it’s almost unheard of to mate a top level thoroughbred stallion to a quarter horse mare, but it will work out. Wonderfully so. I just know it.” She poured her heart out, willing the older woman to agree. Her future hung in the balance.
“What do you intend to do with the resulting foal?”
“Ride him to victory at the barrel racing national championships,” Trinity answered truthfully, then held her breath.
Silence reigned.
A ghost of a smile crept up on Mrs. Hunter’s face. “I believe we have a deal.”
Chapter One
Ten years later…
Trinity plopped down in the chair directly in front of Legacy’s stall. The portable tent and stanchions emulated a barn fairly well, considering only the hit and miss breeze broke the stifling humidity of early summer. She much preferred to be in a pasture full of shade trees, but at least the thick material offered relief from the sun and the worst of the Oklahoma heat. Not much could be done for the mugginess except a cold cloth, a bath for her horse, and the fans blowing constantly at nearly every electrical outlet.
Finally, after years of hard work, she’d arrived. Well, not to her peak destination, but to the first of the large rodeos on the docket for the year. Up to this point, she’d only attended the smaller ones close by, a single night and then done. Made for a lot of driving in a short span of time, but she had no choice. Money and points earned punched her ticket to the big dance at the end of the year. Luckily, this one filled an entire weekend, giving her a bit more down time from the driver’s seat of her truck, but also forced her to camp out overnight. Just par for the course.
She opened the cooler next to her and pulled out a bottle of water, resting until time to groom and saddle Legacy for the first night of events. Even now she could hear the announcer in the large building, muted, but still mostly discernable despite the walls and three hundred yards separating them.
While not the most comfortable, the lawn chair and her cot suited her for the overnight rodeos. Since she refused to leave Legacy’s side, she made due with a few provisions and dreamed of her own small but cozy room at home.
Legacy. He’d grown up stout. Big for a barrel horse, brave, determined, and way too smart for his own good. He made up his own mind and followed through, no matter what. Most riders wouldn’t tolerate such stubbornness, but Trinity didn’t mind. They’d been best buddies from day one and he’d do things for her that not even her mother could make happen. Others doubted a thoroughbred could ever make for a good barrel horse, even a cross. She knew better.
After digging a peanut butter sandwich out of her makeshift fridge, Trinity took a bite, not particularly hungry, but knowing she needed something in her stomach before sliding in the saddle for a fast and furious sprint.
A tall, dark-haired man with piercing blue eyes walked up. Recognition clicked, but for the life of her she couldn’t put her finger on why. Her heart sped at the prime specimen he presented dressed in her favorite outfit—jeans and cowboy boots. “Been awhile, Trinity.”
That unforgettable voice from her past did the trick. Soft, sure, and low, the baritone timbre still sent shivers down her spine. He could mesmerize the most frightened animal with such a vocal gift. Probably did so on a routine basis if he stayed true to his roots. “Cody? I haven’t seen you in ages.”
Cody Winters rodeoed, just like she did, although he was a handful of years older than she, they still crossed paths. Though he originated from Oklahoma and she from Kentucky, the circuit knew no boundaries in the Midwest area of the country. Those serious about such a career drove over several states from one event to another, thus running into the same people over and over again.
If you were one of the top names in the business, you could afford to skip the smaller rodeos and focus on the largest ones held all over the continental U.S. and into Canada. There, a person could wrack up points and prize money in a hurry, giving them the luxury of more time off, although they balanced the luxury with extra time on the road. Unless you were the names in the business. Some of those owned a plane and simply flew from location to location.
How they got their animals to the rodeo, Trinity didn’t know, but figured it involved a hired hand performing all the hard legwork.
He stepped back, met her gaze, and grinned softly. Her belly somersaulted as a small dimple popped in his cheek. The tall frame containe
d more muscles than she recalled and he’d been built way back when. Now, he resembled a sculpted, handsome tank—tall, powerful, meaty, and unmoving unless he decided to cooperate. She’d bet her saddle he carried no fat. Not with the way his clothes fit. Not tight, but cut perfectly to give plenty of tempting glimpses with each easy movement of his physique. Combined with a chiseled face, square jaw, which reminded her of a seasoned warrior, and twinkling blue eyes sparkling with intelligence and something more, he presented a hot tamale package. Yeah, she appreciated the eye candy, but drew the line there.
Over the years on the circuit, she’d seen it all. Everything from drinking, drugs, and sex. Oh, man was there sex. In the chutes behind the scenes, in horse trailers, stalls. She’d even caught a couple going at it in the bathroom. Something about attending a rodeo sent people into full-fledged heat. With the exception of her. She knew personally what happened when a woman got careless and downright stupid. She’d lived it. Still heard the mean whispers concerning her parentage and conception today.
“Yep.” His attention turned to Legacy, who at that time decided to stick his head over the stall door. “That’s a beaut of a horse, if I ever saw one.” Cody reached out.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” she offered in warning.
Legacy snuffled him in open curiosity for a couple of seconds before making his displeasure known. Just as Legacy showed his teeth, pinned his ears, and made to bite, Cody jerked his hand back.
“Damn.” He stared at the big horse with a mixture of annoyance and awe. “Just like his father, from the dappled hide and stocky build to the aggressive temperament.”
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