Wanted: Runaway Cowgirl (Kindle Worlds Novella)

by Brynn Paulin

“Hey, beautiful. It looks like the country life agrees with you,” a deep voice commented behind me as I pocketed the keys and started to turn. My eyes went wide and I spun around.

  “Ryder!” I yelled. Running toward him, I threw myself into his arms and hugged him tight. His arms squeezed around me. I pulled back to look up at him. “What are you doing here?”

  “Surprise.”

  “Surprise? What?” I stepped away, still holding his upper arms as he studied me. “Did your vacation start early?”

  “Nope.”

  “Ryder, what did you do?”

  “Took my own advice—though it was advice I gave myself weeks before I gave it to you. I know I just started that other job a couple months ago, but… Well, the truth is, they’re going under and never should have hired me in the first place. I started looking for jobs as soon as I realized. Actually, I found one down here. Well, not here here. It’s developing with an AI tech startup in Llano.”

  “In Llano?” I repeated lamely.

  “I guess they got a good deal on property. And they’re out of everyone’s back pocket over there, no one spying over their shoulders. The woman who started it is actually from Silicon Valley.” He grinned. “Enough of that. I start Monday, so I figured I’d spend the weekend with you and Gran. You know, when I should be looking for somewhere to live.”

  “Oh my gosh! I can’t believe this.” I practically hopped up and down with excitement before I hugged him again. “Llano is only like a half hour away. You could probably even stay with us and commute.”

  “Maybe, but Gran might put a damper on my, um, manwhore ways.”

  “Right. I’m sure that will be a huge problem,” I laughed. Ryder liked to joke he was into all the girls, but he so wasn’t. In my observation, he was rather choosy. Since his one serious girlfriend in high school had cheated on him when she’d gone off to college, he’d dated a lot, but I wasn’t so sure he’d even kissed any of them, let alone had sex.

  “So…” he said, changing the subject. “Gran was gone when I got there. Thank God you told me the name of this place so I could find you.”

  “Bridge club,” I said, by way of explanation. “I swear that woman has a more active social life than I’ve ever had. And I cannot believe you kept your move a secret.” I punched him in the shoulder but still couldn’t contain my smile.

  “Hey! Be careful with the merchandise. This is a hot commodity you’re abusing,” he joked, dancing away. “Since Gran’s out, wanna take your favorite cousin out on the town?”

  “Well…there’s not much out on the town to be had here. We can head over to Luckenbach, though. Missy told me about a dance over there she and Max and some of the guys were going to. I think they’re planning to eat near there, beforehand.”

  “Well, since I’m going to live around here, I should meet your peeps. Get in with the homies.”

  “You’re so weird.” I rolled my eyes and turned away. “Come inside while I call Missy and cement the plan.” I turned to lead him into the office, then froze, coming face-to-face with a suit-clad, hot-as-hell Nash. And he looked pissed.

  * * * *

  ~ Nash ~

  I’d wanted to surprise Jorie. Instead, when I came past the barn where I’d parked on the far side, I watched her fly into the arms of another man. Her face was so animated and happy as she chattered at this guy with an easy affection anyone could see. She really cared about him. Who the fuck was this asshole? She’d told me there was no one else, that she hadn’t been with anyone while she was away.

  Frozen in place, I watched in stunned silence until she turned and our gazes collided. For a second, her brow furrowed at my expression then she smiled wide and ran at me, calling my name. She jumped into my arms, wrapping her arms and legs around me. And of course, I caught her. I’m not a stupid motherfucker. Whoever that asshole was, she’d just showed him she was mine. My fingers fisted in her hair, and I kissed her hard with all the longing that had built up inside me these past two weeks. God, I’d missed her.

  “You’re back early,” she exclaimed when we came up for air. “I missed you!”

  “Looks like it’s just in time, too.”

  “What? Oh!” she huffed in disgust and shoved at my shoulder. “Don’t be a jealous jerk. You know I’m yours. This is my cousin, Ryder.”

  Ryder. I knew that name. He was her family from Michigan.

  Holding her close and not letting her down, I extended my hand around her. “Nash Davidson,” I said to Ryder.

  He smirked, shaking my hand. “So I surmised. Ryder Croix,” he said in return.

  “Ryder just got a job in Llano, so he’s moving down here. I was about to see if we could join Missy, Max and the guys when they go to Luckenbach tonight. And before you ask, there are no guests onsite until Sunday morning.”

  “Sounds good,” I said. Not really. I wanted her all to myself, but I’d be polite. Since I’d gotten her back here, we hadn’t been able to spend any time together, and it fucking sucked. I’d hopped an earlier flight in the hope of some surprise one-on-one time with my girl. “Care if I tag along?”

  “You’d better!” She leaned in and whispered in my ear. “We’ll find a way to leave early. Promise.”

  “Thank God, baby.” I needed her something fierce. I glanced over at Ryder. “Give me a few to get changed out of this suit, and I’ll come along.”

  Ryder nodded.

  “I think you look awfully hot in that suit,” she said, tracing a lapel then running her finger along the placket of my dress shirt that had seen crisper moments.

  “Yeah, hot,” I agreed. “But not in a good way.” I kissed her quickly then set her back on her feet. “Back in a few.”

  I headed into the house, wanting desperately to bring her inside with me but knowing if I did, Ryder would be cooling his heels on my porch for longer than “a few.”

  Chapter Seven

  ~ Nash ~

  I held Jorie close as we swayed together. The local band played Remember When by Alan Jackson. It was old, but there were parts that spoke to us, particularly the part about coming together then falling apart and breaking each other’s hearts. Wasn’t that exactly what we’d done? But there was so much more for us to have.

  I wanted to grow old with this girl. Five years hadn’t dulled that desire.

  “Jorie,” I whispered, holding her with one arm while I reached into my pocket with the other.

  Her eyes met mine, and I saw the same emotions in her eyes. Pulling my hand from my pocket, I held it between us. Her eyes fell on the simple silver band with the flower made from sapphires—sapphires that were said to represent fidelity. She had mine. I’d never stray from her.

  “My promise ring,” she whispered.

  “Will you wear it again?”

  “Are you sure?”

  Am I sure? I thought incredulously. “More than sure. I’ve thought about it over and over this last week. We’re meant to be together, and I want this reminder for you, of my promise, that someday you’ll wear another ring I give you. A wedding ring. But until then…”

  “Yes,” she said. She nodded quickly. “Yes, Nash.”

  We stopped dancing, and I took her right hand and slid the band on her ring finger.

  “Mine,” I murmured and pulled her flush to my chest.

  “Always.”

  I kissed her temple, breathing in her familiar scent of sunshine and citrus. We started to sway again as the band segued into LANCO’s Greatest Love Story.

  “You think we can leave soon?” I asked.

  “Probably. Ryder seems to be getting on well with Max and Dustin—I’m glad he came out, too. I haven’t seen him since I got back. He seemed pretty pissed at me for a while, though.”

  “I told him if he didn’t stop giving you death eyes, I’d knock the attitude out of him.”

  “He’s just protective of you.”

  “Doesn’t matter. He needed to cut that shit out. Don’t worry about him. He’s actually glad you�
��re back. He was one of the first people to tell me you’d gotten back to Mason. Trust me; he’s Team Jorie. ”

  She shook her head, laughing. “The Mason grapevine. Alive and well.”

  “Get used to it, baby.”

  “Oh, I’m used to it. It’s one of the reasons I left—I couldn’t handle facing everyone.”

  I sobered, remembered panic tightening my chest. “Don’t ever—”

  “I won’t run again,” she promised, her hand cupping my cheek. “I learned my lesson. Five years for no reason. I’m still so sorry.”

  “I think we established the other night that fate might have had a very good reason. Plans for us and all.”

  She shrugged. Not liking the sadness on her face, I tilted her mouth up to mine and kissed her. Jorie groaned, melting even closer, her lips opening for me as our kiss deepened.

  We jolted apart when someone bumped into us hard. “Stop making out with my cousin in the middle of a public dance floor,” Ryder growled before he swung away with Missy in his arms. The music had changed to a two-step, and we hadn’t even noticed.

  Jorie laced her fingers with mine, and we headed back to the empty table. I sat, pulling her into my lap.

  “Ryder and Missy seem to be getting on well,” she said. Her head rested against my chest, her hand over my heart as we watched the couples moving across the polished wood floor.

  I moved my hand along her thigh, wishing she were wearing a dress instead of jeans. Probably best that she wasn’t, though. My fingers tightened a few inches from the promised land, and I forced myself to stop. “He better fucking be careful with her.”

  “Don’t worry about him. No matter what he might say about being a player, he isn’t one. He knows all about broken hearts and disappointment.”

  “Hey,” Max said as he came back with a beer and dropped into a chair next to us. “So…you two?”

  “Yes. We’re together,” I confirmed.

  “Should have known.” He narrowed his eyes on me. “Really, I should have known, best friend.”

  Jorie had always been my best friend, but Max was as close as I got after her. “I’m sorry,” I apologized.

  He made a disbelieving sound then turned his eyes onto Jorie as he took a swig from his beer. “And you,” he went on, pointing the bottle at her. “Don’t go running off on him again. On any of us. If he needs his ass kicked, come to Uncle Max, and I’ll take care of it.”

  “Max—”

  Jorie’s laugh cut me off, and she snuggled deeper into me. “I won’t leave town again. I promise.”

  My arm tightened around her waist as I realized she hadn’t confirmed she wouldn’t leave me, just that she wouldn’t leave Mason. That’s what she meant, right? That she was staying with me. God damn, she’d taken back the promise ring. Of course, she was staying with me. I needed to get a grip.

  “You think you can take Ryder back to my Gran’s place?” she asked.

  “Why? What are you going to be doing?” He knew. The smirk on his face said it. He was just being a shit. I growled at him in warning, but Jorie just patted my arm.

  “Well, if you must know, I’ll be reminding your good friend, here, about how much I missed him while he was at the cattle thingy the past five days. When I get him home, I’m thinking about—”

  “Argh! My ears!” Max exclaimed, covering them and almost spilling his beer at the same time.

  “What is wrong with you?” Dustin griped at Max as he came back to the table with his girl of the hour, Britney or Bianca or some other B name. I couldn’t remember. I think he’d been through all the single girls in Mason and had started into the ones living in surrounding towns. I’d told him point blank to stay away from my guests at the ranch.

  “Jorie just told me she’s leaving with Nash to get busy.”

  “That’s not exactly what I said,” Jorie muttered, a blush flooding up her cheeks.

  “You go, girl,” Dustin’s little cheerleader said, toasting Jorie with her cola since she wasn’t even legal to drink yet. I’d asked him earlier if the chick was legal period, and he’d assured me she was.

  “She’s doing what?” Ryder asked, having come in just in time to hear Max’s announcement. He glared at me, as if he were Jorie’s overprotective big brother, which I knew he wasn’t.

  Missy patted his bicep. She had her arm looped though his and leaned against his shoulder. “Don’t worry about them. Jorie’s the love of his life. He’s been miserable since she’s been gone.”

  “Then he shouldn’t have been a dick.”

  “Wait. What was going on before?” Max demanded, glaring at me. I so didn’t want to do this here. I just wanted to take my girl and leave. But apparently, all secrets had consequences.

  “You guys don’t know?” Ryder asked.

  “Ryder, shut up,” Jorie exclaimed. “It was a big understanding. We worked it out.”

  “Well, that’s great after all the times you cried on my shoulder, after how devastated you were that he slept with you then said it was nothing. How not an hour afterward, he encouraged his friends to go ahead and try for you.”

  Where the hell was the guy who’d been so civil back at the ranch? Apparently, he’d been holding a lot back and the liquor had let it all out.

  “Stop,” Jorie demanded, moving closer to me as if she could protect me from all the daggers being glared at us.

  “You did what?” Missy yelled at me.

  “It wasn’t like that,” I insisted as everyone at the table—except Jorie who was the supposed victim—stared at me aghast. I glared at Ryder. “You have a big, fucking mouth and have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “I know what I saw every day for months after she got to Michigan. You ripped out her heart.”

  Jorie stood, and I followed her to my feet, feeling odd sitting there in the line of fire.

  “It was a misunderstanding,” she insisted, taking my hand and squeezing my fingers. I didn’t like her defending me, but since she’d been the one harmed, they needed to hear this from her. “If I hadn’t run off, it would have been resolved sooner. Nash was just trying to keep my secret. I asked him not to tell any of you.”

  “Why?” Missy asked, hurt filling her face. “We did everything together since we were little. Why would you keep it a secret that you guys were finally together? How long was it going on? How long were y’all lying to us? Keeping secrets?”

  “Couple months before Jorie left,” I admitted.

  Jorie looked up at me. “I was scared. I didn’t want to mess up the dynamics of our group. I didn’t know how us dating would affect things.”

  “You know how it affected things? We had to deal with the fallout of something we didn’t even know was happening. We just knew he was devastated you left. You know what?” Missy held up her hand. “I just cannot. I’m leaving. Ryder, it was nice meeting you and spending time together tonight. Max, take me home.”

  “Missy,” Jorie pleaded, but Missy stalked off, ignoring her.

  “Missy,” Ryder called and took off after her. “Wait!”

  Max slammed down the beer bottle he’d still been holding, though I thought maybe he’d forgotten about it as the group had chewed us out. “Well, I guess it’s a night. I suppose you’ll be taking Ryder home. See you ‘round, friend.”

  “Fuck,” I muttered under my breath, and beside me, tears started down Jorie’s cheeks.

  “This is exciting,” Dustin’s date deadpanned, and he looked at her as if he’d forgotten she was there and had no idea why he was even with her.

  “I think it’s time to take you home,” he said. “C’mon, Brianna.”

  “But I want to dance,” she whined.

  “Nope, date’s over.” He pulled her past me, silently reaching out and squeezed my shoulder as he went by. Unlike Max and Missy, he wasn’t completely pissed with us.

  Jorie shook as I pulled her to me, and she cried into my chest. I wondered if this was what she’d been worried about before. This f
allout.

  “It’ll be okay,” I promised.

  “They all hate us.”

  “No, they don’t,” I assured her, not sure if I believed it myself. “They’re just pissed for the moment. They’ll get over it. We’ve all gotten in fights before. It’ll blow over.” I hoped.

  * * * *

  ~ Jorie ~

  The next morning, I headed out to the Lazy D even though it was Saturday and I didn’t have to work. I hoped I could track down Nash while he did his morning chores. I really needed to talk to him. I also wanted to reassure him that, despite everything that had gone down, I was firmly at his side. I knew he still worried I’d leave again and return to the half-life I’d built up in Michigan.

  Today, he was likely wrestling against that concern. Last night had turned into an epic disaster. Our plan to get together had devolved into us trying to track down Ryder, who’d been outside in the hall’s parking lot staring after Max’s truck as Max took off with Missy. Nash had driven us to Gran’s since we’d left our cars there before heading to Luckenbach.

  And I hadn’t gone back to the ranch with him, needing to deal with Ryder. I was so pissed with my cousin I could hardly speak with him.

  When I arrived at the ranch, I couldn’t find Nash in the house or the office, so I headed over to the barn. I didn’t see him there, either. Max was coming out of one of the stalls as I entered. He glanced at me then turned the other way without so much as the acknowledging grin I usually got.

  “Max,” I pleaded.

  “Not yet, Jorie,” he answered without looking back at me. Okay, apparently, he didn’t intend to speak with me.

  “Will you at least tell me where he is?”

  Max shrugged.

  “Oh c’mon. I thought we were all adults!”

  “And I thought friends didn’t keep big secrets from each other. Especially the kind that affects the whole group. And it did. It affected all of us when you left.” He exited out the other side of the barn without giving me a chance to say anything else.

  Henry, one of Nash’s other workers, came out of one of the side enclosures and gave me a look of sympathy. “Nash took an ATV out to the far west field by the highway about an hour ago. Heard some kids were messing around over there and might have taken down a fence. He went to see what the damage is and decide if he needs to call out the sheriff.”