Count on a Cowboy

by Patricia Thayer

  He couldn’t stop staring at her. She was so beautiful, and he wanted her even more. “Have I told you lately how much I love you?”

  Her gaze softened. “Yes, you have, but I’ll never get tired of hearing you say those words.”

  “I have an idea. Why don’t we race back to the ranch and I’ll show you?”

  She giggled. “I like the way you think, Mr. Landry.” She kicked her heels into Raven’s sides and took off. Trent was right there beside her.

  * * *

  THANKSGIVING DAY WAS cold and cloudy with the promise of a big snowstorm by nightfall. That excited Brooke, but not as much as the news she couldn’t wait to share with Trent.

  She’d dressed in gray wool slacks and a cream-colored sweater and black leather boots. This was her first holiday dinner with the Quinns, her family. And her news made it an extra special day. After a last check in the mirror, she went downstairs to find Trent. The pies and salad were packed up and ready for the trip to the Bucking Q Ranch. This was the first Thanksgiving she’d ever truly felt blessed.

  She walked into the kitchen and found her husband drinking a cup of coffee at the table. Usually she got his undivided attention the first thing in the morning, but today they had to get moving fast with chores.

  Trent smiled at her. “You look mighty pretty.”

  “Thank you.” She kissed him, but when she started to pull away, he held on tight.

  “Maybe we should head back to bed. I’m sure the Quinns will understand if we show up late.”

  She laughed nervously. “I like your thinking, but could we talk first?”

  He sobered. “Sure, babe. What’s the problem?”

  Brooke sank down in the chair, her knees a little weak. “It’s not a problem exactly, just not planned.” Her gaze met his beautiful brown eyes. Would their child have them? “I’m pregnant.”

  “Whoa.” He straightened, then a big grin spread across his face. “I thought we were careful.” He shook his head and picked her up, swinging her around in a circle. “Oh, my God. We’re having a baby.”

  Brooke laughed and he finally put her down. “So I take it you like the idea?” she asked.

  He cupped her face and kissed her tenderly. “I love the idea. I already love him or her. And I love you so much.” There were tears in his eyes as he touched her stomach. “Lucky us. We have each other, and now a baby.”

  “I feel the same way. Lucky us.”

  He held her close and Brooke never knew life could be this wonderful. She’d been blessed with the family she’d always wanted, always dreamed of.

  * * *

  AFTER A VISIT with Coralee, Trent drove Brooke to the Bucking Q for Thanksgiving dinner. Since moving here, Brooke and Diane had managed to become polite friends, and that was fine with Brooke. This woman had a lot to deal with, especially with Coralee moving so close to her home.

  Diane and Laurel would always be mother and daughter. Nothing would change that. So Brooke tried to stay in the background. But now with the baby coming, she hoped that Diane would play a bigger part in their lives. Brooke hoped to encourage her to be a grandma to her baby.

  “We’re here,” Trent called from the kitchen doorway.

  Smiling, Diane waved them inside. “Well, come on in.”

  So many aromas teased Brooke’s nose as Trent carried their box of pies. He didn’t want her handling anything heavy. Okay, she loved that he was spoiling her. She was glad there was only the immediate family coming today. This was her first holiday and she wanted to be with her father and sister and husband. She touched her stomach, and their baby. She was excited and terrified at the same time. Was she ready to be a mother?

  She felt Trent’s arm come around her back and pull her close. She looked up and he brushed a kiss on her mouth. How did she get so lucky to find him? This baby was lucky, too.

  He nuzzled her cheek and whispered, “We don’t have to tell anyone yet. We can keep it to ourselves for a little longer.”

  She nodded. “Sounds like a good idea.”

  Rory walked into the room with a big smile and hugged her. It still took Brooke aback whenever the man showed her affection. She hugged him back. “How is Coralee today?” he asked.

  Brooke knew this situation was difficult. “She’s doing fine. She wasn’t very talkative this morning, but that’s to be expected with the progression of the disease.”

  Diane stepped in. “I can wrap up some leftovers so you and Laurel can take them to her later.”

  Brooke was touched. “Thank you, Diane. That would be nice.” She looked around. “Where is Laurel, anyway?”

  “Where do you think?” Diane said. “With her horses.”

  Just then the back door opened, then slammed and Laurel walked in. She threw up her hands. “You’re never going to believe who came home.” She jammed her hands on her hips. “Just guess. I mean, just take a wild guess?”

  Brooke opened her mouth, but closed it. “I have no idea.”

  “You wouldn’t know about him, anyway. Lucky you.” She turned to her parents. “Kase Rawlins is back in town. Could my life get any worse?” She stormed out of the kitchen.

  Brooke had a feeling things were going to get really interesting. She glanced at her husband and he was grinning. She couldn’t wait to meet this Kase Rawlins.

  * * * * *

  Keep reading for an excerpt from THE BULL RIDER MEETS HIS MATCH by Jeannie Watt

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  The Bull Rider Meets His Match

  by Jeannie Watt

  Chapter One

  Alexa Benjamin had yet to see a bull rider who didn’t walk as if he owned the world, and the guy coming up the front walk of her best friend’s house? He looked as if he were in charge of the universe. Never in her twenty-eight years had she encountered anyone as sure of himself as Grady Owen. Nor anyone quite as irritating.

  Lex stepped back from the window, gave her shoulders a roll then started toward the front door to head off trouble. Grady had just hit the top step when she walked out onto the porch and took a stance. When he saw her, his expression shifted from good-natured to hard so quickly it would have been comical if she didn’t suspect that he was there to screw up her best friend’s life. Again.

  “Lex. What a pleasant surprise.” But there was no hint of friendliness in his gray eyes.

  “Same here,” she said, folding her arms over her chest
as she studied the man who was not going to get into the house. Like all bull riders, Grady was one tightly packed unit: average height, lean and wiry. Lex knew if she reached out and ran a hand over his arm, or any part of his body for that matter, all she would feel would be sinew and muscle. Sometimes, in the past, she’d felt a subtle urge to do just that, to touch his fascinatingly hard body. But Grady had always had that effect on her. He drove her crazy with his self-absorbed attitude and cockiness, yet a small part of her found him interesting. She’d reminded herself on more than one occasion that some people found major disasters interesting, also.

  She raised her chin. “What can I do for you?”

  He tipped back his ball cap, giving her a glimpse of the faint scar that crossed his forehead just below his hairline. “I’m here to see Danielle.”

  Lex brushed back a few strands of dark hair that the breeze had blown across her face. The rest was still caught in the silver barrette her father had made her shortly before he died.

  “Danielle is busy. Up to her neck in wedding plans.” She felt a touch of mean satisfaction. Her friend was marrying a guy who put her first instead of his career. Grady had done the exact opposite.

  “So I hear.” He shifted his weight and crossed his arms, mirroring her pose as he eyed her up and down, his gaze challenging. Fine. Bring it on. Lex loved nothing more than a good challenge. “And you’re still her watchdog?”

  “I’m her friend.” Lex spoke lightly, but there was an edge of steel in her voice.

  “I just want to talk to her.”

  “But you don’t have to talk now.”

  “What’s wrong with now?”

  “Here’s what’s wrong with now,” she said, pointing a finger at him. “Her mom, her grandma and her great-grandma are in the kitchen with her, going over photos of their weddings. I am not going to have you, the former fiancé, busting in and upsetting any of them.” Danielle’s grandma, Lorraine Perry, was the closest thing Lex had ever had to a grandma of her own, and she would not see her upset. Or Danielle, or her mother, Mae. Great-granny...Great-granny could probably take care of Grady on her own, and if he persisted in hanging around, Lex might just call her out here.

  “I understand.” But he didn’t move. He had that stubborn bull rider expression on his face. That “the odds are against me but I will prevail” look. “If you give me her phone number, I’ll call her and set up a time.”

  Lex couldn’t help smirking at him. “I don’t think so.”

  Grady looked over her shoulder as if willing Danielle to come to the door and see what was going on. When he looked back at Lex, his expression was once again hard, his gray eyes deadly. “What happens between me and Danielle is none of your business. It isn’t now, and it wasn’t back then.”

  Lex merely tilted her head, unimpressed. “I know a train wreck when I see it coming. You have train wreck written all over you.”

  “And you have controlling...”

  “Bitch written all over me?” she asked smoothly, daring him to agree out loud.

  “Your words. Not mine.”

  “I bet.” He wasn’t all that close, but as the breeze wafted over them, his scent hit her nostrils—soap and guy and maybe some kind of aftershave—and it made her once again conscious of him in ways she’d rather not be. It was an unsettling feeling, this odd prickle of awareness that seemed to come out of nowhere. Especially when he was looking at her so coldly.

  “I’m going to see Danielle.”

  “I’m sure you are,” she said. “But it’s not going to be right now.”

  Grady’s mouth flattened even more as he cocked a speculative eyebrow at her. “Good talking to you, Lex.” He turned and marched down the bumpy walk to the gate, and Lex decided it was too much to hope that he tripped over one of the concrete edges pushed up by tree roots.

  Not a very charitable thought, but Grady Owen had turned Danielle’s life inside out only a few years before, and while Lex knew that her friend could fight her own fights, she saw no reason for her to do so. Not when she was there to do it for her.

  Grady’s classic Ford F-250 roared to life—literally roared, thanks to the straight exhaust pipes—and he wheeled the truck in a circle then pulled out of the driveway. Only then did Lex go back into the house.

  “Was that UPS?” Danielle called, poking her blond head out of the kitchen. Her normally serene expression was a bit frazzled, and Lex was glad she’d sent Grady on his way. Wedding plans were stressful enough without the former fiancé being involved.

  “Just a guy who was lost and needed some directions,” Lex said as she followed her friend into the cozy kitchen and took her place at the table strewn with wedding photos. She’d fess up to Danielle later, but right now she wanted to get back to the business of deciding whose wedding dress would best be altered to fit Danielle on her big day. In her opinion, none of the vintage dresses would work, but it was up to Danielle to either pick one or tell her mom and grandmother and great-grandmother no, thanks. It was Lex’s job to pour the wine after the task was done.

  * * *

  GRADY PULLED UP to his sister’s house and parked the truck behind the wind-damaged barn. He stepped over a few boards as he got out of the truck, thankful that Annie and the girls were still out grocery shopping. He’d yet to shake the black mood brought on by dealing with the she-devil. Who did Lex Benjamin think she was? He was pretty certain that Danielle wouldn’t have broken their engagement if it hadn’t been for Lex. They would have had troubles in the beginning, no doubt. All married couples did, but they would have worked them out. Thanks to Ms. Benjamin, they never had a chance. She’d been against their relationship from day one and had never been shy about saying so.

  He walked into the kitchen and hung his hat on one of the pegs by the door, only to have the peg fall off the wall. His hat hit the floor at his feet and the peg rolled across the worn tiles, stopping under his mom’s antique maple table.

  Even though his sister had a way with paint and bright accents, there was no getting around the fact that their childhood home was in deep need of a monetary infusion. The place had been run-down when Annie moved in, and even though she’d made it look cheery, nothing had been done to fix the real problems—leaky windows, worn flooring, aging plumbing.

  Grady picked up his hat and the peg, setting both on the counter as he tried to remember where he’d last seen the wood glue. The cellar? He started down the steps, not liking the way they sagged and creaked beneath his weight. He’d only been home for two days, but he already felt as if he’d made a mistake spending his winters practicing and working in Oklahoma. He should have hung closer to home, taking care of matters such as loose pegs and saggy steps.

  And relationships.

  Yeah. Relationships.

  Maybe if he’d taken one season off, given Danielle time to get used to his career, things would have worked out between them. But he hadn’t been able to make that sacrifice.

  Stupid move.

  And Lex. She’d been against their relationship from the beginning, and Danielle had listened to her. They’d been close friends for as long as he could remember, which had always struck him as odd because the two women were polar opposites. Danielle was fair—blond haired, blue-eyed—sweet, accommodating. Lex had a mass of dark hair and hazel eyes and she was in no way sweet or accommodating. She was hard. Brittle almost. But that mouth...he had to admit to being fascinated by those soft, full lips that seemed to be in a permanent pout whenever she was concentrating on something other than taking him out.

  Grady reached for the cord to turn on the overhead light as he stepped onto the stone floor.

  Shelves of home canning and dry goods lined both sides of the rock-walled space. At the far wall, a couple of old bureaus stood on either side of the hot water heater, and Grady crossed to them, opening drawers until he found one loaded with string, coils of wire and a few basic hand tools. An ancient bottle of wood glue lay on its side.

  He started back
up the creaky stairs with the bottle. Another project he’d tackle before he left.

  After gluing the peg back in place and checking to see if the others needed reinforcing, Grady opened the fridge and pulled out a beer, then put it back and closed the door again. His stomach was still in a knot, and beer wasn’t going to change that. Hammering might, though, so he changed into his work clothes. He planned to head over to Hennessey’s ranch to take a look at the practice bulls later that afternoon, but he had time to knock some of the damaged wood off the frame of the barn before he left.

  His sister had really had an odd run of luck over the past few months. The company where she’d worked for five years folded, and while she’d found a part-time job, she still hadn’t found a full-time position that paid well enough to support her small family. The cows she’d hoped to sell to tide her over had come down with an ailment that required quarantine, and then, to top things off, a freak tornado had torn through the area, knocking down hundred-year-old trees and damaging only two buildings in the entire valley—Annie’s garage and small barn. That was when his sister had started to crumble, and Grady knew he had to come home.

  He and Annie owned the place outright and hadn’t insured the buildings for replacement value, so he was the one doing the rebuilding and watching the girls while Annie went to work part-time at the library. He had a feeling that babysitting was going to be more of a workout than riding practice bulls. The girls took after him, it seemed. Lots of energy and lots of ideas.

  Despite his dark mood, he smiled as he grabbed his work gloves. He didn’t want to see his nieces become bull riders—too much risk—but he was going to see to it that they got a proper foundation in whatever they chose to funnel all that energy into. Annie and the girls were all he had right now, and he was going to make certain their lives were good.

  * * *

  DANIELLE GATHERED UP delicate floral teacups—she’d gotten out the good china for her wedding gown summit—and carefully hand-washed them while Lex studied the photos on the table. The five women had not come to a consensus as to which wedding dress could best be altered for the ceremony, and Lex wasn’t certain they ever would.