A Cowboy for Christmas

by Cat Johnson

  Casey didn’t cry. Nope. Not since she was a child. There was no place for tears for a female trying to make it in the male-dominated corporate world. But tonight, tired, hungry and lost alone in the dark, she felt the first tears in years begin to sting her eyes. Then she had to shield her eyes from the blinding glare of headlights shining directly at her.

  The pick-up truck, looking huge compared to her car, came to a stop and the driver’s side door swung open. Not sure whether to be relieved or frightened, Casey felt in the dark for the controls on her door. She confirmed the doors were locked, then cracked the window open just enough to talk through. The car was still in drive. If whoever was in that truck was dangerous, she’d just floor it. She’d be a mile away by the time he got back into the truck, turned it around and tried to follow.

  Lit by her headlights, a figure climbed down from the high vehicle. Big and tall, he raised his hand and tipped his white felt cowboy hat down so it shielded his eyes from the glare. Her heart picked up speed but she wasn’t sure if it was from fear, or the fact that this man, by all appearances a real-live walking talking cowboy, was coming right at her. In boots and worn faded jeans, with a jacket opened to reveal a blue plaid shirt, he kind of swaggered, which only added to the whole cowboy look of him. As did the black and white dog that leapt from the vehicle and, tail wagging, trailed along at his heels.

  He reached the side of the car and, hands shoved into his front jean’s pockets, he leaned down to peer into the window. “You lost?”

  Just the deep timber of those two words, spoken with the drawl of a true cowboy, cut directly through her. Casey could barely breathe. This man was the personification of her first childhood love—Cowboy Cody.

  “Um, I didn’t think so when I saw the sign, but now I’ve been driving for so long I’m afraid I might be and the GPS is no help. It doesn’t even recognize the road and my cell won’t work.” Compared to this man of few words, her longwinded answer sounded ridiculous. He probably thought she was some kind of idiot.

  Her cowboy savior rubbed his thumb and forefinger over the stubble on his chin. “Well, tell me where you need to get to. Maybe I can help.”

  Helpful and logical. Of course he’d be able to help. He probably knew right where they were.

  “I’m trying to get to the Maverick ranch.” She watched as beneath the brim of his hat, his eyebrows rose sharply. That action made her feel like she needed to explain herself. “They’re expecting me. I’m staying there for the next week. Mr. Maverick invited me.” Casey kept adding on facts, hoping to jog him into saying something, anything, as he stared at her with a strange expression on his face. “I work for him. Or I will after this week. He just hired me.”

  Didn’t he believe her? Was she trespassing on someone else’s land? Did they shoot trespassers out here?

  “You’re Casey Harrington.” A frown creased his brow as he blew out a long slow breath.

  Oh thank God. He knew her name. She must be in the right place. He wasn’t going to shoot her, or call the sheriff, or whatever. Though she did find it strange he’d said it as more of a statement than a question.

  “Yes, I am.” She nodded. When he still didn’t seem all that receptive she added, “Sorry if I’m late.”

  He shook his head, a slow motion accompanied by a short laugh that sounded more like a sigh. “No problem. Follow me.”

  His last word was spoken as he turned on his heel and, dog in tow, headed back to the truck.

  “Well, all righty then.” Casey spoke to no one as she raised the window and watched Mr. Talkative get into the truck.

  Not so verbose here in Colorado, were they? She expected cowboys to be smooth talkers. All “Shucks, darlin’, aren’t you a pretty little filly” or “Yes, ma’am, it would surely be my honor to help out a lady in need,” or something charmingly Western like that.

  That’s what she got for forming an opinion about an entire group of men before getting to know them—disappointed. This was probably the reason she was still single. It didn’t matter whether the guy was a CEO on Wall Street or a cowboy on the Wyoming border, men were men, and they always seemed to let her down because no one could ever live up to her overly high expectations. She’d have to remember, Cowboy Cody and his cowboy code were fiction.

  Lesson learned, she followed the truck after it made a U-turn and headed up the dark road that led God only knew where.

  Welcome to the Wild West.

  Chapter Three

  After a restless night’s sleep, Bonner pulled his truck up to the main house and put it into park. The sight that greeted him had his hand slipping off the gearshift.

  Their visitor was awake? At sunrise? He’d figured he wouldn’t see her until the noon meal. This woman was full of surprises, the first being that he’d assumed Casey was a he and it turned out she was a definite she.

  He glanced at her on the front porch now. Yup, Casey Harrington was all woman, with chestnut hair that cascaded over her shoulders and big green eyes; not to mention curves a man could get lost in. She held a coffee cup as she stood gazing at the mountains in the distance. The bulky white sweater that came to her waist didn’t do shit to hide how her dark blue jeans cupped the perfectly rounded cheeks of her ass. When Bonner could yank his attention away from that tempting asset—and the thought of how nice it would be to bend her over that porch rail and get to know that part of her a little better—he was surprised yet again. She was wearing cowboy boots.

  Last night when he’d helped carry her matching luggage into the house, all three pieces of it, she’d been in some suit kind of thing. City girl to the bone, right down to her fancy cell phone that apparently didn’t work around these parts, according to her rant in the car. He hadn’t stuck around to get to know her better last night. He’d dumped her and her baggage with Mrs. Jones and taken off to deal with this new bit of information. He was not only babysitting a city girl for the next week, but one who had him waking up with a hard-on all night as he dreamed about sinking it into her.

  How was he supposed to deal with this?

  At least this morning she was actually dressed appropriately for a day on the ranch. She wouldn’t be tiptoeing around the cow shit in high heels. But did she have to look so damn good in jeans? Even if they did look like they’d just come off the shelf of some overpriced city store, they sure did the job and drew his gaze right to where it shouldn’t be. Dammit.

  He swung the truck door wide and got out.

  She broke her gaze away from the landscape and turned to smile at him as he climbed the stairs onto the porch. “Good morning.”

  “Morning.” Bonner tipped his hat.

  Her gaze swept to where his truck was parked. “Where’s your dog?”

  Hm, she sure was observant. He’d always thought city folk were blind to their surroundings, being as their heads were usually up their asses and all.

  “Back at the bunkhouse with the boys. She’ll be along later. I didn’t expect to see you so out so early.” More accurately, Bonner had been hoping she’d sleep the day away so he’d have to spend less time babysitting her—and less time being tempted.

  “I’m still on East Coast time. I would’ve been at my desk by now, probably on a conference call with the London office if I were still at my old job at World Bank.”

  “Ah.” He nodded. That made more sense. He hadn’t considered the difference between Mountain and Eastern Time, or the possibility of London offices. Jeez. It all seemed like another universe.

  “This is…just amazing.” She shook her head while gazing again at the sunrise. “There are no words. When I got here last night in the dark, I had no idea how beautiful it was. I never imagined this.”

  Again impressed that this New York woman could appreciate the beauty of the country, Bonner took the time to glance at the colored hues starting to already disappear as the sun rose higher above the horizon. He saw the sun rise every morning over these mountains and had since he was born. It sure was a sight. He s
upposed he should appreciate it a little more. This city girl was a reminder that not everybody was as lucky.

  “Have you ever been to New York?”

  Bonner shook his head. “Nope.” And he had no desire to.

  “Well, I can tell you, there’s nothing there that compares to this.”

  He shot a sideways look at Casey again as she continued to stare at the surroundings. The tip of her nose was beginning to turn pink from the nip in the air. She didn’t seem to care as she cupped the coffee mug in both hands but didn’t drink. It reminded him why he was here, besides to pick up his latest assignment from Jake Maverick.

  “I’m gonna head on in and get some of that for myself along with some breakfast.” Bonner tipped his chin toward her mug.

  “I’ll come in with you. We can go over today’s agenda.”

  Agenda? First memos. Now agendas. City girl may come with a nice ass, but she also brought a hell of a lot of changes along with her. Bonner didn’t like change.

  Opening the door, he stepped to the side to allow her to go in first. That earned him a wide smile from Miss Corporate Marketing Director. “Thank you.”

  He nodded. Now to break the news to her. “I, uh, don’t really have an agenda. I just figured you’d hang around with me as I do what I normally do.”

  They walked to the dining room where Bonner saw their guest had already been busy. Her bag and one of those new kind of flat computer things, no bigger across than a piece of paper, sat on the table. She put her coffee down and picked it up. “That’s fine. What do you normally do?”

  She waited, poised to take notes, he guessed. Now that the pressure was on and she’d captured him in that emerald gaze of hers, he’d be damned if he could name one thing he did there at the ranch. “Uh, well—“

  “Morning, Bonner.” Mrs. Jones arrived with a platter full of eggs and bacon and saved him.

  “Mornin’.” Thank God for small favors. Now with the food on the table, he’d have time to think what to say to her. He reached for the serving spoon and then remembered they had a guest. “Ma’am?”

  Bonner moved the spoon around to her side of the platter, just as Dakota and Justus burst through the front door. This was going to be good. They’d been at the bunkhouse when their guest had arrived last night, and Bonner hadn’t told them about the new development yet. He spun in his seat and waited for their entrance into the dining room.

  Justus stopped dead in the doorway and Dakota, who hadn’t been watching where he was going, plowed head-on into the back of him. Bonner grinned. Nope, their reaction didn’t disappoint. They fell over their own feet just from seeing Casey seated at the table.

  “Justus, Dakota, meet Miss Casey Harrington, our guest from corporate headquarters.” Enjoying it all, Bonner grinned broader. Then a brilliant idea struck him. “She was just asking what we do around here. Why don’t you two tell her?”

  There. Now Bonner could eat his breakfast while it was still hot, and get to watch these two young cowboys blush in the presence of an attractive woman when they’d definitely come in expecting to find a man.

  Bonner considered her looks. She was attractive in a way that stopped a man in his tracks and made him look twice. That she was tough and as strong-willed as any man shone through. He could tell just by looking at her. Aside from when he’d found her along the road last night, flustered because she thought she was lost, she wasn’t a shrinking violet. Hell, she had to be capable or Jake Maverick wouldn’t have looked twice at her for his company. She was tough as a man, yet she somehow managed to be hot as hell and all woman.

  Meanwhile, he’d gone to bed and woken up thinking about her even though she was the opposite of everything he usually found attractive in a female. Well, except for the ass. He was definitely an ass man and she had an exceptionally nice one, but as far as the rest, yeah, as different as night and day. The girls he’d dated were usually barrel racers, large animal vets, stock contractors, a barmaid or two. They didn’t wear a business suit and sit at a desk behind a computer running large companies. Strangely, those girls never made his cock jump with one glance the way Casey Harrington had this morning on the porch.

  “Miss Casey, can I get you some more coffee?” Justus abandoned his seat before she even had time to answer.

  Dakota stood. “I was going to get her more coffee.”

  After scooping up a generous helping, Bonner dug into his plate full of eggs and watched the two boys jostle for Casey’s attention as Mrs. Jones came through the kitchen door. “Sit down, both of you. I’ve got the coffee and I’ll pour it if she wants it. Jeez. Ask them for help and they grumble and moan. But a pretty girl shows up and it’s all helpful manners.”

  The housekeeper shot both young cowboys a look as Casey grinned. “Thank you, Mrs. Jones. I’d love more coffee.”

  So this is how it was going to be. Bonner glanced at the object of their obsession as she smiled. Casey was young enough that these youngin’s figured they had a shot with her. She was definitely younger than Bonner’s thirty-three, but not by too much.

  He would have to dispel any notions these two had at first opportunity. Nobody was going to touch Jake Maverick’s new corporate executive. The old man would definitely not be happy if that happened. Besides, if there was going to be any touching happening around here, it sure as hell wasn’t going to be between this hot woman and either one of these two rookies.

  Seniority had to count for something at this operation. Experience too. Bonner smothered a grin thinking how he could best use his many years of experience on Miss Casey here. And he sure as hell wasn’t thinking about his years of ranching experience either. But no, that wouldn’t be happening. There was no room for mixing business and pleasure around here.

  As Bonner bit into a crackling piece of bacon, he watched as Justus and Dakota stepped all over each other telling her all the things they did on the ranch. This wasn’t too bad at all, since they were doing the work for him. However, it was Bonner who Casey would be shadowing for the next week.

  He watched her as she nodded politely as Justus and Dakota talked. The view was damn nice. Creamy white skin. Bright eyes. His attention dropped to her mouth as she nibbled on a piece of bacon. His mind went to bad places as he imagined those cupid’s bow-shaped lips wrapped around something else—something on him—something that was starting to awaken inside his pants.

  Not good. He was going to have to keep his own libido in check. He reminded himself his hands-off-the-executives policy wasn’t just for Justus and Dakota.

  Shame. Damn, shame.

  Casey turned her attention toward Bonner and he realized she’d spoken to him. Shit. “Uh, pardon?”

  “I said I was hoping to get to meet Mr. Maverick. Is he here on the ranch?”

  Bonner nodded. “He should be down soon. He gets up later and later nowadays. He’s getting up there in years.”

  “Speak for yourself.”

  All eyes turned toward the doorway as Jake Maverick arrived in the room. Even at his age, which was on the downward side of eighty now, his was a commanding presence.

  Bonner grinned at the man who was more family than a boss to him. “Morning.”

  “Yeah, yeah, good morning to you too.” Jake shot a scowl in Bonner’s direction then turned to the lady seated at the table. “Miss Harrington, nice to finally meet you.”

  She rose and extended her hand, all business and corporate-like. “The pleasure is all mine, sir.”

  Jake shook her hand. “Please. Sit. Finish your breakfast.” He moved to the empty chair at the head of the table. “My apologies for not being here yesterday when you arrived. I had some business to take care of in the city. I didn’t get back until late.”

  “Quite all right. I got here after dark myself. Thank goodness Mr. Boyd here was driving by at the right time. I was nearly lost on the ranch. I never expected it to be so big.” Her eyes grew wide.

  Bonner had to smile. She hadn’t been lost at all. She was on the drive h
eaded straight for the main house. She just hadn’t gone far enough.

  “Well then I owe Bonner a thanks. Can’t have my new director of marketing lost on my own ranch, now can I?”

  “We could have come looking for you if Blue hadn’t found you.” Justus jumped in.

  “Blue?” Casey glanced from Justus to Bonner.

  Bonner sighed. He liked to avoid talking about his old rodeo days. The past was best left buried. “It’s just an old nickname. It’s what my father used to call me when I was little.”

  “I call you that.” Justus glanced up from his plate.

  Dakota nodded. “Me too. So do all the guys. And that’s the name you rode under when you were rodeoing. Blue Boyd. I used to come see you compete when I was little.”

  Great. Just what Bonner needed, a reminder of how much older he was than these two.

  “Rodeo?” Casey spun toward Bonner. “You’re in the rodeo?”

  “Not anymore.” And that was all Bonner was going to say about that, even if Casey’s eyes had lit up at the prospect. What interest did a city girl have with rodeo anyway? He noticed Jake watching the exchange with an amused expression and decided to bring this conversation back to business, where it belonged. “So, boss, any special instructions for me today?”

  Jake let out a bark of a laugh. “Since when do you ever ask me for instructions?”

  Since he’d been told the new Maverick director of marketing would be up his ass for a week. Bonner decided he shouldn’t say that. Instead he shrugged. “I was just wondering if you wanted me to cover anything in particular with our special guest, is all.”

  Casey turned toward Jake. “I want to see everything. I think you’re right. It’ll help me better craft the tone of the social media campaign if I can be totally immersed in daily life here at the ranch.”

  Oh, Bonner could show her everything, all right. Gladly. Glancing at his boss, the man who’d been like a grandfather to him from the day he was born, he gave himself a mental slap. Not gonna happen. He had too much respect for Jake and Maverick Western to indulge his baser instincts and diddle with the new hire. “Well, today the boys and I are going to see which cows are open.”