A Cowboy Like You

by Donna Grant

  “Look, Danny, I know you’re upset,” Clayton said. “But there’s no need. Cash is tracking her.”

  Cash nodded and turned his cell phone so Danny could see. “I know exactly where she is.”

  “Let us get to her while you let someone see to your injuries,” Brice said.

  Danny had already waved off Marina and Karl, the paramedics that Caleb had called in after their conversation. “I’m fine.”

  “You’re far from fine,” Jace stated with a hard look.

  Danny didn’t argue because he was saving his strength. The fact was, he hurt. Badly. He didn’t want the others to know because they might try and keep him from getting to Skylar, and that simply wasn’t going to happen.

  He finished chugging his second bottle of water and looked around at his friends. The only one who hadn’t said anything was Wilson. The deputy had been staring at a map the entire time.

  “Wilson? What is it?” Danny asked.

  The deputy looked up, his frown deepening. “Sheriff, I don’t mean to alarm you, but if Cash’s tracker is right—”

  “It’s right,” Cash interjected.

  “Then Skylar isn’t far from the Misk farm.”

  Clayton shrugged. “Why is that important?”

  Danny couldn’t remember how he knew the Misk name, but he realized it meant something. He searched his brain before he finally comprehended what it was. “Shit.”

  “I’ll call the chopper,” Ryan said as he turned away.

  Danny reached out and grabbed him. “No. You’ll spook Matt. We know what he plans. Let’s not make him run. There’s no telling what he’ll do to Skylar.”

  “What’s going on?” Jace asked as he looked between them.

  Ryan was the one to answer. “The Misk farm has been turned into a subdivision where people keep their personal planes and helicopters without having to pay hangar fees at the airport.”

  “Shit. I forgot about that,” Brice said.

  Danny was done talking. He started toward Clayton’s truck when his friend caught up with him.

  “Going somewhere?” Clayton asked.

  “To get my woman.”

  “Mind if I tag along since you’re getting into my truck?”

  Danny had opened the door and was about to step in when he looked at Clayton. His good eye was open only a slit, but that wasn’t going to stop him from going after Matt.

  “Danny, I’m not going to stop you, but you can barely see. At least let me drive so you get there in one piece,” Clayton said.

  There came a time when a man had to realize when to take help. This was one of those. Danny nodded and made his way to the passenger side, but Ryan was already in the seat.

  “You’re riding in the back,” Ryan said and hooked his thumb over his shoulder.

  Danny didn’t want to waste time arguing. It wasn’t until he was in the truck with it started and moving that he realized that Karl Vega, the paramedic, was in the back with him.

  Karl grinned. “We’ve got a little time. Let me see to the worst of your injuries.”

  “I’m fine,” Danny retorted.

  “Dude, you’re the opposite of fine,” Ryan said.

  Danny sat back and closed his eyes as Karl began tending to him. All Danny could think about was what Matt might be doing to Skylar.

  No, it wasn’t Matt that he worried about. It was the people Matt had hired. Especially since it wasn’t Matt who had gone into the liquor store to get Skylar. That meant those men—because there was always more than one—were around waiting to be given orders.

  “You ready for this?” Clayton asked Danny.

  Danny opened his eye. “You mean am I ready to possibly have to kill someone? Yeah. I’ve already taken two lives today.”

  “You didn’t have a choice,” Ryan said. “They were going to kill you.”

  It didn’t matter. A life was a life, and Danny would have to deal with that. But that was later. This was now. He looked at the road they traveled. His face and body were bruised and battered and his leg hurt like the devil. It was probably broken, but he’d deal with that once Skylar was safe. However, his hands worked fine. His arms, well, that was another matter entirely, but he would ignore the shooting pains that continued up and down his extremities. He hadn’t felt anything when he was fighting the two men at the barn. He hadn’t felt anything when he ran to the SUV or when he was driving.

  It wasn’t until the trip back when he was able to relax a little that he was slammed with the pain that made him sick to his stomach.

  “There’s going to be more ex-military there,” Danny warned Clayton and Ryan.

  The two exchanged a look before Ryan grinned and said, “I sure hope so. I’m ready to kick some ass, and those bastards seem to especially need it.”

  “We’re going to have to park some ways off,” Clayton said.

  Danny had already thought of that. “Y’all get out. I’ll drive straight to where Skylar is.”

  Ryan turned around in his seat. “Is that wise?”

  “Yeah,” Clayton said as he looked at Danny in the rearview mirror.

  A few minutes later, Clayton pulled the truck to a stop on the side of the road. Clayton, Ryan, and Karl got out of the truck, and Danny got behind the wheel.

  “Good luck,” Clayton said.

  Danny grinned. “No matter what happens, get to Skylar.”

  “We’ve got your back.”

  The door closed, and Danny drove off. He looked in the rearview mirror and saw the men hurry off the road. Danny had no idea where the others were, but he knew they were surrounding the area. He probably should’ve waited a few minutes before leaving so they could discuss where everyone was going, but he had only been thinking about Skylar.

  The great thing about having the friends he did was that they knew exactly what to do—and he trusted that they would do it.

  Suddenly, a ringing came through the speakers. Danny looked at the screen in the dash and saw that a call was coming in. He answered it, not realizing that Clayton had left his phone in the truck.

  “It’s Cash, Danny,” the PI said. “Clayton told me what you were doing, so I thought I’d bring you right up to where Skylar is.”

  “Thanks.”

  He gave the PI his location, then followed Cash’s directions as he drove toward Skylar.

  “I see a van stopped in the middle of a dirt road up ahead.”

  “That’s got to be them,” Cash said. “Good luck.”

  Danny ended the call and slowed the vehicle as he approached the van. He stopped the truck and put it into park just as a man stepped out from the front of the vehicle. There were more, Danny was sure of it. No doubt they were in the trees up ahead, which meant he would have to keep a lookout there. With only one eye working, that wasn’t going to be easy.

  He turned off the engine and opened the door before palming the handgun next to him. The minute the man saw him, he reached behind him to grab a weapon. Danny lifted his pistol and shot him through the space between the door and the truck.

  The man jerked from the impact of the bullet dead center of his chest and fell back. Danny headed straight for the van. He saw it rock from side to side and tried to run, but his leg gave out.

  He fell to one knee and heard the ping of a bullet slamming into the side of the van. Danny turned his head in the direction where the shot had come from and saw Ryan appear out of the trees with his rifle aimed. He pulled the trigger just as a man rose up to take another shot at Danny.

  Danny got to his feet and pulled open the door of the van. For a moment, he couldn’t move as he spotted Skylar slamming the heel of her palm into Matt’s nose. Blood spurted everywhere.

  “You bitch!” Gaudet shouted and tried to reach for her.

  Danny grabbed her arm and gave a tug, but she fought him. “Skylar.”

  She swung her head around at the sound of her name. The relief on her face made his heart race. She was so intent on him that she never saw Matt reach for
her. Danny tried to get her out, but Matt was too quick. He had his arm around Skylar’s neck and her back against his chest as he hid behind her.

  “Well, sheriff, I didn’t expect you to make it out of that barn alive,” Matt said. “How did you manage it?”

  “You hired idiots.”

  Matt made a sound at the back of his throat. “We both know that isn’t true.”

  “Let her go, Gaudet,” Danny ordered and raised his gun, pointing it at Matt’s head. The problem was that he couldn’t get a clean shot.

  And Matt knew it.

  The bastard smiled at Danny. “You won’t pull the trigger because you don’t want Skylar harmed.”

  “Do it,” she told Danny.

  He ignored her, keeping his attention on Matt. “You won’t get away from this place.”

  Matt laughed. “If you think I only brought two other men, you’re mistaken.”

  At that moment, two more shots were fired. Then a pause, and another gunfire exchange on the opposite side of the field. Danny raised his brows. “I’m thinking those men you hired won’t be helping you now. In fact, you’re surrounded, Matt. You not only violated the restraining order, you kidnapped me and Skylar.”

  “Technically, I didn’t take either of you,” Matt retorted.

  “You can try to explain all of that to a judge.”

  Matt shook his head. “That’s not going to happen. My family won’t let it. Besides, I’m leaving, and Skylar is coming with me.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” she said and tried to get free.

  Matt merely tightened his hold.

  Every time Danny shifted to get a better angle to shoot, Matt moved, as well. They were at an impasse, and Matt knew it. Danny couldn’t fire his weapon without hitting Skylar in the process.

  Finally, he looked at her. She smiled at him and gave him the slightest nod of her head. It was her way of telling him to do what he had to do to end this.

  Danny sighted down the barrel of the gun. The bullet would go into Skylar’s outer arm. It would hurt like hell, but it would be enough to spin Matt away to give Danny a better shot.

  “Lower your weapon, sheriff,” Matt said.

  Danny did just that to throw Matt off. As soon as Matt smiled, Danny lifted his weapon and fired. The bullet went through the upper part of Skylar’s biceps and hit Matt in the neck.

  Just as he expected, it caused Matt to spin back, which let Skylar dive down to the floor of the van. Danny kept his pistol aimed at Matt even when Matt looked at him. He didn’t have a weapon, so Danny could lower his, but he didn’t take the chance.

  Skylar crawled out of the van and straight to Danny. Only then did he lower his gun and wrap his other arm around her. He closed his eye and sighed. It felt so good to have her against him once more.

  “I thought you were dead,” she whispered.

  “Danny!”

  The moment he heard his name shouted, he looked at the van and saw Matt had a gun in his hand. Without hesitation, Danny fired two shots.

  Chapter 35

  December 17th

  The pain meds took effect quickly. Even then, Danny didn’t stop holding Skylar. Her arm had been seen to by Karl and his partner, Marina, who had driven the ambulance to them.

  It wasn’t until they were at the hospital that Danny was given treatment. The doctors and nurses kept trying to get him to loosen his hold on Skylar’s hand, but he refused to. When they finally finished with him, she crawled into the bed next to him.

  “I’ve never been so scared in my life,” she said.

  Danny kissed the top of her head. “Me, either. I envisioned all sorts of things happening to you.”

  “Me?” she said in shock. “I was thinking about you. And look at you. You’ve got several busted ribs, lacerations all over, and a concussion. And your leg is broken. How the hell were you even walking on it?”

  “I had to get to you. I didn’t feel anything.”

  “I realized before all of this that I had fallen in love with you, Danny Oldman. The idea of losing you, of having you taken from me … I felt empty.”

  He forced open his good eye and turned his head to her. She lifted hers so their eyes met. He smiled then, careful not to split his lip again. “Sweetheart, I’ve loved you for so long.”

  “This is forever for me. You understand that, don’t you?”

  “It’s forever for me, too.”

  She carefully lowered her head back to his chest. “We’re going to have a great life.”

  “There will be ups and downs,” he cautioned.

  “Yes, there will be because that’s life. But we’ll have each other.”

  He took a deep breath, then winced when his ribs rebelled.

  “I’ll always be here for you,” she said. “I’ll support you in anything you do.”

  “Same for me. I’ll respect you and love you with everything I have.”

  He felt her smile against him. “I’ll drive you nuts with my neatness, but I’ll make it up to you by doting on you.”

  “I’ll most likely drive you nuts with forgetting dates. I’m horrible at remembering birthdays and such, but I’ll make it up to you by treating you like the queen you are to me every day of our lives.”

  Skylar chuckled. “I like the sound of that.”

  “You realize we just said vows to each other.”

  “Yes, sheriff, I certainly do. We’ll do it again when you aren’t so doped up on pain meds.”

  He grinned because he knew he would never forget this moment for the rest of his life.

  “I love you, Skylar.”

  “I love you, Danny.”

  * * *

  Jace spotted Ryan standing outside the door to Danny’s hospital room as he walked up. Ryan’s lips twisted as he jerked his chin toward the narrow window of the door.

  “I don’t think we should bother them.”

  Jace reached him and glanced through the window. He saw Danny and Skylar snuggled together on the bed, talking. “I agree. They should be left alone.”

  Ryan ran a hand down his face and moved away from the door a step. “I’m glad they’re both okay. We could’ve lost Danny.”

  “Yeah. I think it was closer than we realize. He hasn’t told any of us what happened in that barn.”

  Ryan briefly raised his brows. “I saw it. I was out there with the mayor and some of Danny’s deputies since it was a crime scene. Based on his injuries, he suffered greatly.”

  Jace glanced at Danny and Skylar again before he too backed away from the door. “It was Skylar that got Danny out of that situation.”

  “I do believe you’re right. I knew love could do great things, but this is a first for me.”

  Jace grunted as he thought about the entire situation. “Did you need to talk to Danny?”

  “Just wanted to let him know that he’s been cleared in Matt’s death. With all of us as witnesses, along with Skylar’s account, the shooting was justified.”

  “Meaning Danny won’t lose his job.”

  Ryan nodded. “No one in their right mind would run against him next election.”

  Jace chuckled, nodding. “No, they shouldn’t.”

  “You need him for anything?” Ryan asked.

  “Naw. Just coming to check on him, but I can see that should wait.”

  Ryan was silent for a moment. “Want to get a drink? If I go back home, my sister will be over and try to set me up on another blind date. I’m not in the mood to deal with that.”

  Jace laughed and nodded. “I’m all for a drink, chief, and definitely agree on the no blind date thing.”

  “If my sister ever approaches you about setting you up with one of her friends, run,” Ryan cautioned as they walked out of the hospital together.

  Epilogue

  Midnight Christmas morning

  “Merry Christmas, baby.”

  Skylar smiled as Danny’s arms came around her to pull her close. She opened her eyes and realized that candles had been lit
all over, and the Christmas tree was on in the next room, shedding light into the hall. And in Danny’s hands was a small box, wrapped in white paper with a red bow.

  She turned over and sat up. “Did you do all of this?”

  He couldn’t stop grinning. “I thought you were going to wake up, but the wine really puts you out.”

  “Yeah,” she said with a chuckle and held the box in her hands.

  She looked up from it and around the room. They had been in the house for a week now, and the first thing they had done was paint the master bedroom a soft dove gray. There were still boxes of her things as well as Danny’s to be opened and gone through, but without a doubt, this place was their home.

  Even Gray now called it home as he grazed in a pasture behind the house. No doubt he was the first of many horses for them. How she couldn’t wait.

  “Aren’t you going to open it?” Danny urged.

  Her head swung to him. His wounds were healing, but they were still a reminder of everything they had nearly lost, and all they had gained together.

  She put her hand on his cheek and smiled. “I love you so much.”

  “I love you too, sweetheart.”

  Skylar swallowed and pulled the end of the ribbon to loosen the bow. Then she tore off the paper and found a white velvet box in her hand. She opened it to reveal a single orange, pear-shaped diamond in a rose gold band.

  “I’ve lived too much of my life alone and dreaming of you,” Danny said. “This is probably entirely too soon, but it’s the only thing I can think about. I want you as my wife, Skylar. Will you marry me?”

  Tears clouded her vision as she looked up at him. “Yes. Yes!” she repeated and threw her arms around him.

  They held each other, basking in the joy of the season and their love.

  ALSO BY DONNA GRANT

  HEART OF TEXAS SERIES

  THE CHRISTMAS

  COWBOY HERO

  COWBOY, CROSS MY HEART

  MY FAVORITE COWBOY

  THE DARK KINGS SERIES

  DARK HEAT

  DARKEST FLAME

  FIRE RISING

  BURNING DESIRE

  HOT BLOODED

  NIGHT’S BLAZE