Her Unbridled Cowboy (Harland County Series)

by Donna Michaels

  And Connor had to admit, for the most part, this was one bachelor party he’d actually enjoyed.

  Valentine’s Day dawned with a bright, cloudless blue sky, ready for Jordan and Cole to profess their love and their lives to each other in front of a handful of family and friends and one very happy dog.

  A gazebo was erected on their land overlooking the ocean where their house would soon reside.

  Connor felt like he took a hoof to his ribs when he glanced past Jen and Megan, Jordan’s west coast friend he’d meet last September, and saw Kerri walking toward him in cloud of red sin. Darn woman was the prettiest, sexiest thing he’d ever seen. And he’d seen plenty.

  Cripes. The gown clung to her upper torso with some kind of fancy detailing across the top, cupping her breasts, while the bottom had layers of thin, red, gauzy material he wanted to peel off her luscious hips. One by one.

  With his teeth.

  Watching in anticipation, Connor’s heart stopped for a beat then slammed into his trampled ribs when her gaze finally found his. She looked at him with such longing his groin instantly tightened. Damn. His body clearly remembered how incredible those curves had felt. How exquisite her skin had tasted when he’d kissed her neck in that master bathroom.

  Ah hell. He was standing in front of friends and relatives, next to his brother at his brother’s friggin’ wedding wearing the biggest damn hard-on of his life. Thank goodness for his monkey suit. The jacket concealed the fact he brandished equipment hard enough to pound a horseshoe straight.

  He was a glutton for punishment. An idiot. A foolish risk-taker. He knew he should tear his gaze away and calm himself down, but she was taking him on a wild ride, and Lord help him, he was not ready to stop.

  Never had a woman brought him to this state of desire with just a look, and he had to hold back a groan at the thought of what would happen if they did more than just kiss.

  If the ride was this wild already, what would happen if he took her down to the beach, peeled the material off her tempting curves and sank into her on the sand?

  They’d be arrested for indecent exposure.

  Christ.

  He needed to get a grip. Fast. Down boy, he silently admonished. This is Cole’s wedding.

  But still, he watched her. He couldn’t help it. She was addicting. He felt alive. He felt…everything when she looked at him. Which was not necessarily a good thing, his mind reminded.

  But he didn’t have to worry about looking away because the desire in her eyes turned to sadness and what he thought looked like uncertainty before Kerri pulled her gaze from his and never glanced his way for the rest of the ceremony.

  The pulse eventually slowed through his veins, and he brought his attention to the happy couple as they exchanged the vows they wrote.

  “Jordan,” Cole began as he faced his bride and held both of her hands. “I love you. And I know you slipped through my hands not once, not twice but three times.”

  That startled a few people, including Connor who made a mental note to ask his little brother for clarification later.

  Smiling down into Jordan’s face, Cole continued, “But I have you now, and I swear to you I will never, ever let you go again. I will always love you even through death. And I promise here and now in front of God and our families that I will use this second chance to make you happy, and to love you and our children for the rest of my life.”

  Connor watched Cole use his thumb to gently brush the tears from Jordan’s face. His chest tightened at the magnitude of love his brother had for his bride.

  “Cole, first of all I want to say”—Jordan grabbed his hands and a mischievous grin crossed her face—“I told you so.”

  Laughter bubbled up Connor’s throat and his chuckle mixed with others.

  “A long time ago I told you we were going to do this, and as you can see, I meant every word. Just like when I say I’ve always, always loved you and always will. You are my life and I want to have your children.” A tear ran down her cheek and, Cole wiped it away as she continued, “And I promise here and now, in front of God and our families that I will love you forever, even in death…as you will see when I come back to haunt you.” She winked and touched his brother’s smiling face. “And lastly, I promise you this Cole McCall, I will spend the rest of my life making you happy that the chase is finally over. And I won.”

  Jordan kissed Cole’s hand as his brother touched her lips and said, “Me, too.”

  She looked up at her soon to be husband with such intense love that pain gripped Connor’s heart, and he wondered what that must feel like.

  All three times he’d been engaged, the ladies had professed their love for him. But he now realized they had never said it with their eyes. How would it feel to have a woman as faithful and fabulous as Jordan look at him that way? How would it feel to experience the complete joy his brother must be feeling right now?

  Connor’s gaze was inexplicably pulled to the brunette in red.

  The head table at the reception being held at the McCall Ranch had Jordan and Cole in the middle with Connor, Kevin and Kade next to the groom. Kerri sat with the corresponding bridesmaids, Megan and Jen to her sister’s right.

  “I’d like to propose a toast,” Connor said, rising to his feet.

  God, he’s gorgeous.

  Heart fluttering, Kerri watched the Best Man pause as he lifted his champagne filled glass and waited until everyone was standing with flutes raised.

  “To Jordan and Cole, health and happiness, and may you always be as joyful as you are at this moment.” He turned to look at her sister. “To, Jordan, my beautiful new sister-in-law, for never giving up on my brother, and for waiting for the stubborn SOB even though he made it tough on you at times.” The cowboy’s gaze shifted to his brother. “And to Cole, for helping fate to accomplish its mission by allowing Jordan to finally catch you after twenty-eight years.”

  Once the laughter and clapping quieted down, Connor added with a mischievous gleam, “Now, you two need to work on giving me some nieces and nephews.”

  Kerri almost choked on her champagne as laughter and hooting roared throughout the room.

  “Okay,” Cole said, pulling Jordan to her feet.

  “Yeah, no problem.” Her sister smiled and the laughter raised a pitch, then turned to more hooting as the couple shared a passionate embrace.

  Twenty minutes later, Kerri was concentrating on the food in front of her when the tinkling of silverware onto glasses brought her attention back to her sister and new husband. The tradition was calling for the couple to kiss again, so she glanced at them with a ready grin, expecting them to willingly comply.

  Oh shoot. The grin slowly fell from her face as the couple smiled expectantly at her, instead.

  “Your turn, sis,” Jordan said, knowing smile on her darn smug face.

  Note to self, punch sister upon return from her honeymoon.

  Kerri had been hoping to be spared this part of the tradition when the couples standing up for the bride and groom had to kiss as well. No such luck. Not that she minded kissing Connor. No. Quite the opposite. She liked it too much. But…dang, not in front of everyone.

  Maybe he’ll let her get away with a peck on his cheek. Yeah. She felt comfortable doing that in public. Not as much chance of getting carried away with a quick kiss to his cheek. Right?

  Wrong.

  Glancing at Connor, she could see amusement lighting his eyes and tugging that dang delectable mouth into a grin. Yeah, she could kiss that cheek peck good-bye.

  Not wanting to repeat the mistletoe incident...or New Years Eve incident…or master bathroom incident...Kerri rose to her feet and met the tall, gorgeous, grinning cowboy behind the happy couple.

  “Yeah, Kerri, it’s your turn,” he said, gaze full of pulse-pounding heat dropping to her lips then back to her eyes.

  Her heart slammed into her ribs. Shoot. If she even tried to just aim for his cheek, she just knew he was going to turn into the kiss. Bugger.


  Reaching out, he gently cupped her face and immediately brought his lips down to hers. Prepared to weather the passionate storm he always had brewing, Kerri was taken by surprise as they shared the sweetest kiss of her life.

  Her pulse fluttered along with her eyelashes as the tenderness in the embrace brought a flush to her face and a severe longing for that type of relationship straight to her heart.

  As catcalls filled the room, she slowly pulled away and made the mistake of glancing up into his eyes. The amusement and teasing she expected to see were not there. The cowboy’s face was as flushed and confused as hers.

  How Kerri made it back to her seat was a mystery, and she was only vaguely aware of Megan kissing Kevin’s cheek, followed by Jen kissing Kade’s during their respective turns.

  With her appetite for food gone, Kerri reached for her champagne and took several small sips as her heartbeats returned to normal. Okay, something just happened, but what?

  She wasn’t supposed to share tender kisses with Connor. Hot, wild, heart-pounding ones, yeah…hell yeah, even, but not tender ones. No. They were connected to emotions—and emotions were dangerous. Way too dangerous. Emotions needed to stay out of it.

  Connor was on a totally different plane. Very different. Completely different. Heck, he traveled the plains and she traveled on planes. Yeah, their lives were just too different.

  Right. So, try telling that to her still tingling lips.

  Emma shut the drawing room door and nodded. “Okay. All the guests are gone. Kerri’s washing out pans in the kitchen and I saw Connor go upstairs.”

  “Good,” Hannah said, glancing at her husband and friends. “What’s our next move?”

  “Well, now that one of my sons has shown good sense and married one of your daughters, we can concentrate all our efforts on my thick headed oldest boy.” Alex let out a determined sigh.

  Nate slapped him on the shoulder and smiled. “Not to worry my old friend. We had our work cut out for us with Jordan and Cole, but we prevailed. Right? This match can’t be any harder.”

  “Oh, I think you are wrong there, my dear,” Hannah said. “You’re forgetting about fate and the bond that has always been there between Jordan and Cole. That made our job much easier. This time we’re working on our own.”

  Leeann nodded. “Yes. It would do us good to remember that.” Her friend settled down next to her on the brown leather sofa, and Alex sent his wife a strange look.

  “Surely you don’t deny those two are attracted to each other,” he said.

  Nate straightened next to his friend. “Yeah. It’s like the same kind of fireworks Cole and Jordan sparked off each other last spring.”

  “Oh, I’m not denying they’re attracted to each other, but those two have serious issue to work through. And the sooner they realize the answers to their issues and path to healing lie in each other, the sooner we can get to planning another wedding,” Leeann said with a firm nod of her head.

  “Amen to that,” Emma said quietly, and the others agreed.

  “Well then, what we need is to throw them together,” Nate stated. “I think it’s time to put ‘Plan A’ into motion.”

  “You do realize we just might have to go all the way through to ‘Plan Z’ with these two,” she noted, linking her fingers together on her lap.

  Her husband smiled down at her. “Whatever it takes.”

  “Whatever it takes,” the others echoed back.

  Chapter Ten

  It was an unusually warm February day, so Kerri decided to take Bullet for a walk and enjoy the promise of spring that was in the air. Jordan had asked her to watch the dog until she returned from her honeymoon next week. She loved the German Shepherd so she was thrilled, and he seemed to enjoy the plethora of scents in the field behind her apartment and on the side of the road.

  They were on their way back when Kerri heard a truck approaching and stepped to the side to let it pass. The road was fairly busy, which would be a plus for business. For business. God, it felt great to think those words again.

  Her mind wandered over the renovations she and Jordan had discussed with Brandi, who had officially been signed on as their designer. The woman had walked inside the building and without one word from Kerri or Jordan, sat down and sketched furiously for ten minutes, then showed them a design she got from the vibe of the place.

  A Texas beachy design.

  They hired her that night.

  Lost in thought, Kerri forgot about the truck she’d heard until a horn sounded on her left, and she nearly jumped out of her skin.

  With a hand on her chest, she glanced into a red cab from the passenger side to find a lop-sided grin and a dimple staring back at her.

  “Hello, darlin’.”

  Kerri had stern words for her heart and the way her tempo increased at the sight of sexy cowboy under his Stetson. “Connor.”

  “You’re just the person I was looking for. I need you,” he said.

  She sent those same stern words to her pulse as it accelerated at his choice of words. Clearing her throat, she placed her hand on the truck and asked apprehensively, “What for?”

  He shoved the truck in park and leaned across the seat toward the passenger window. “Hmm… Well now, let’s see...” Rubbing his chin, he made a pretense of contemplating while his wicked brown eyes danced with delight. “The possibilities are endless.”

  Incorrigible.

  Kerri reached in and pulled his hat down on his face and said as sexy as she could manage, “In your dreams cowboy.” Then called to Bullet and resumed her trek home.

  Undeterred, Connor drove up and kept pace with her. “Come on, Kerri. Give your big brother a break.”

  “Oh, big brother is it now?” Kerri stopped and turned toward him, placing her hands on her hips. He had no clue how her recent thoughts had put him as far away from big brother as possible.

  He halted the truck and sent her his sexy smile. “Of course. What else would I be?”

  “What indeed?” She raised her eyebrows and smiled despite her attempt to remain stoic.

  “Seriously though, darlin’, Cole asked me to check on the progress of the construction on your restaurant while he was away. Since I haven’t seen it before, I need you to accompany me to let me know if things are on schedule.”

  Narrowing her eyes, she searched his face to see if this was just another ploy to annoy her. Satisfied all she found was sincerity, Kerri moved closer. “All right. I’m curious myself. I’ve heard them working like mad this past week.”

  “Well, then, ma’am.” He tipped his hat. “What are you waiting for? Hop in.”

  Kerri nodded and opened the door. Bullet eagerly jumped in first, settling between them, licking Connor’s arm as he got a belly scratch.

  Barely a minute later, Connor pulled into the parking lot of her soon-to-be restaurant. A thrill still ran through her at the thought. The excitement and challenge of establishing a clientele got her adrenaline pumping. She couldn’t wait to serve her Texas public. Unfortunately, there were still at least two months before they would be anywhere near opening, but she was excited nonetheless.

  Stepping out of the cab, she could hear the evidence of work being done inside. “Let me just run Bullet up to the apartment, then I’ll be right back,” she said, and didn’t wait for a reply, mostly because she didn’t want the sexy guy to invite himself along.

  The last thing she needed was to be alone with Connor in her apartment. A tremor raced down her torso at the thought. Yeah, alone with that cowboy was a very bad idea. Another tremor shook through her. And apparently her body had a thing for very bad ideas. So it was a good thing he was outside, and she was opening her apartment for Bullet. Alone.

  She patted the dog’s head. “I’ll be back in a bit.” Another pat, then she shut him in and rushed to join the cowboy.

  Kerri couldn’t wait to get a glimpse inside her restaurant. She’d deliberately stayed out so as not to get in the workers’ way, and hadn’t stepped
foot inside all week. Excitement flowed through her veins.

  “You ready?” Connor pushed off the truck where he’d been leaning when she rounded the building.

  “Yep.”

  “Then let’s go check out your restaurant.” He opened the front door for her, then followed her in.

  To the untrained eye, it looked like a multitude of chaos with wires hanging and wood and sawdust everywhere, but Kerri saw several aspects of the restaurant coming together.

  Excitement increased and her face heated from the rush. She grabbed Connor’s arm and began to show him around. “The stage is going to go here. And a fish tank behind the bar there, with freshwater fish.” She leaned in close, and bless him, he bent down to hear the details of her vision for the restaurant. A funny feeling fluttered through her chest. It warmed her that he seemed genuinely interested.

  After Connor talked to the foreman, and she was satisfied that everything was on schedule, they walked outside.

  “Thanks, Connor,” she said, heart suddenly clogging her throat. Now what? Normally, out of politeness, she’d offer a cup of coffee. But that would mean taking him up to her apartment.

  No. She needed to steer clear of the apartment. In fact, now was a real good time to head to the store.

  Kerri turned to him and smiled. “Thanks, Connor…for checking on the progress.”

  “My pleasure, darlin’.” He tipped his hat, but made no move to get in his truck.

  Darn it. Now what?

  She cleared her throat. “Well, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to run to the store. I want to try a new recipe and need a few things”

  “Let me drive you,” he said, rushing to open his passenger door.

  Okay, see, she knew what he’d meant. Really, she did, but dang, his offer put all kinds of images in her head. And they had nothing to do with a vehicle.

  He smiled expectantly at her, waiting for her to climb in. Shoot. She couldn’t very well refuse now.

  “Thanks,” she mumbled, cursing herself for not coming up with a viable reason to refuse.

  Connor was unusually quiet, but she didn’t pry. It was a short drive, and although she glanced at him a few times, Kerri remained silent, enjoying the peace.