Her Unbridled Cowboy (Harland County Series) (42 page)

She continued to smile at him, love
shining in her eyes. “You see, no job is more important to me than you, Connor.”

Jesus
…that did it. His knees
nearly buckled, but Connor fought through it and rushed the stage, needing to
grab his woman and hold her tight. And he did. In front of a cheering crowd.
Then he kissed her, thoroughly, and she kissed him back as the whole party
looked on.

She loved him. Wasn’t moving to California. And told him he was more important to her than her job.

He’d died and gone to heaven. This
wonderful, sweet, giving, beautiful woman in his arms was his heaven. As long
as he had her, he was home.

When they finally broke apart,
Kerri’s cheeks were wet. He cupped her face and gently brushed away her tears.
“God, I love you so much I can’t see straight.”

“I love you, too,” she said,
caressing his chin, more tears spilling down her face.

He kissed them away.

Her smile turned mischievous, and she
brought the microphone back up to her lips. “I just need to know one more thing,
cowboy.”

Gaze full of love, face glowing,
she stole his breath and he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

“Anything,” he stated firmly, gazing
down at the woman he loved more than Wild Creek or the south Texas stars.

“Will you marry me?”

The crowd silenced, as if sucking
in a shared breath.

Shocked speechless, Connor blinked
at her a few times, slayed by her gusto before the smile in his heart found its
way to his face.

“You bet I will, darlin’!” He pulled
her in tight and spun her around, capturing her happy yelp with his mouth.

The microphone fell from her hands
as she clung to him, body shaking with the emotions he’d seen in her eyes.

Wild cheers went up from the crowd,
and happiness swelled in Connor’s chest as he held everything that mattered
most to him right there in his arms. When he stopped spinning, he looked down
into her happy, jubilant face. Her smile suddenly turned saucy.

He quirked a brow. “What?”

“I just realized, you’re no longer
unbridled
.”
She laughed. “Now you’re a
brid
led cowboy.”

Chuckling, he set his forehead to
hers and kissed her adorable nose. “I can’t believe you asked me to marry you.”

Smile still tugging her lips, she
reached up and brushed his jaw with her thumb. “Well, with your track record, I
thought maybe
I’d
better do the asking.”

F
our pairs of eyes
watched from their table in the far corner overlooking the party. They turned
to each other and clinked flutes of champagne.

“Here’s to two jobs very well
done.” Hannah gave the first toast.

“Here’s to my happy boys and your
wonderful girls for making them that way.” Leeann’s eyes filled up as the
glasses came together again in celebration.

Nate glanced at the cousins. “So,
now, our work really begins.”

“Yes,” Alex agreed, determination
lining his shoulders. “What can we do about those Dalton’s?”

T
he barbeque was in
full swing and couples were dancing to the sounds of the southern rock band. Jordan
and Cole barely moved as they slow danced together, and on the other side of
the makeshift floor, Kerri and Connor fed each other strawberries.

Kade found himself smiling again.
Normally, he would’ve been shocked by what had taken place on the stage five
minutes ago. But being that Kerri is a Masters, nope, he wasn’t surprised at
all. But Connor had been.

“She sure got him good, didn’t
she?” Kevin asked, drawing up beside him.

He nodded. “Are you feeling all
right?”

His cousin looked at him and frowned.
“Ya. Why?”

“Because...” Kade shrugged. “You’re
not out there with some hot chick in your arms.”

Kevin smiled. “Got to give the
other guys a chance once in a while.”

“You’re some piece of work.” He
shook his head and tried not to smile.

“What are you gonna do, arrest me,
Sheriff Dalton?” Kevin snickered.

“I’m not officially sheriff until
Monday,” he told him unnecessarily.

His cousin and everyone knew Kade
had agreed to finish out the retiring Sheriff Hester’s term.
One year.
Shouldn’t be too bad
. It was one of the smallest sheriff’s departments in Texas. He had only two deputies under him.

“So, I still have time to raise a
little hell this weekend,” Kevin stated, not questioned.

Kade just shook his head. “You
don’t know the meaning of the word ‘little.’”

“Sure I do. I can even use it in a
sentence.” Smiling, Kevin placed a hand on his shoulder and turned him to face
the table where his cousin, Jen, was sitting talking to Harland County’s newest designer. “I’m thirsty for a
little
taste of
brandy
.”

He held himself rigid, despite the
heat from images his cousin’s words provoked. Images of tasting the full lips
of the curvy, brown-eyed woman who occupied his fantasies. Until the fair.

“Go for it,” he said, and watched
Kevin raise his brows.

“Nah, man. Not me.
You
.”

Kade scoffed. “No thanks. I’m not
into Yanks.”

“Since when did you care where a
woman comes from?”

“Since she’s a soldier hater.”

After the way Brandi had reacted to
him in his uniform at the fair,
no thanks.
Kade was proud of the Guard.
Proud to serve, and didn’t need some damn Yankee thumbing her nose at him.

Even if she was the only woman to
spark his body to life with her mere presence.

Sparks were overrated.

***

Main Ingredient:

30
fresh whole strawberries, large

Preparation:

Slice off
the stem of each strawberry so the berries stand upright. Carefully cut each
berry into 4 wedges, cutting almost to, but not through, the bottoms. (If
you’re a klutz like me, you may want to ask someone else to do that part.) Fan
wedges slightly, taking care not to break; set berries aside.

Beat
together until light and fluffy:

12
ounces cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup
confectioners' sugar

1/4
teaspoon almond extract

Gently
fold in:

2
tablespoons semisweet or milk chocolate, grated

(I’m
partial to the milk chocolate and use a ‘heavy’ hand)

Fill the
strawberries using a teaspoon or decorating bag with decorative tip if you’re
proficient. Sprinkle them with a little more grated chocolate, if desired. (Okay,
I
desire
and sprinkle with a lot more grated chocolate.)

♥

Brandi left the east
coast to start a new life in Harland County, Texas way from her overbearing
stepfather’s military minded ways,

 and never-ending
barrage of soldier ‘suitors’. The only
boots
she wanted her man to wear
were cowboy boots.

 So why did her heart
flutter for the local Sheriff/part time National Guardsman?

♥

Please turn the page

For a preview of

Her Uniform Cowboy

Available October
2013

H
e left behind a
fiancé and six-month old little girl…

Try as he might, Kade Dalton
couldn’t get that fact out of his head. The fact that he’d lost a soldier
during his last deployment with the Texas Army National Guard, and the soldier
had had dependants.

Grumbling a curse, he set his mug
on the counter and strode for the back door. Just because he was up before the
ass-crack of dawn, didn’t mean he had to wake the whole ranch. Not that his
cousins wouldn’t be up in awhile anyway. Kevin usually left early for his commute
to Houston where he was the vice president at McCall Enterprises. Jen would be
up soon, too, thanks to her toddler, Cody, and Jen’s husband Brock had Shadow
Rock, the Dalton family ranch, to manage. But even though they would all be up
soon, Kade quietly closed the door before heading to the stables. He had no
desire for his family to realize how poorly he slept, or worse, to start his
day with a lecture.

Yes, he knew it wasn’t his fault
the soldier had died.

He was just doing his job.

These things happen.

It’s unfortunate, but a part of
war.

Well, not on his watch. Not during
his three previous deployments.
Christ
…He was the First Sergeant on the
last two tours. He was responsible for the soldiers under his command.

The early June morning air was
still somewhat cool and felt good on his heated skin. Kade closed his eyes and
inhaled while he worked to get his mind out of Afghanistan and rejoin his body
back in the states. The scent of dirt and manure mixed with the fragrance of
roses from a nearby trellis and he drew in another deep breath.

He was home where he belonged. In
Harland County Texas. On Shadow Rock Ranch. His Guard family—minus one—was home
where they belonged. He had people here who depended on him. Animals that
depended on him. A community that depended on him.

Every morning he told himself this.
Every morning he got out of bed and went to work. Every morning he felt like
screaming. And that pissed him off. He wasn’t weak, hated being weak. Almost as
much as he hated being on edge. And he was on edge. Ever since that damn day.

Gravel groaned a muffled protest
under his two-hundred pound stride. Keeping busy was the key. So, he helped out
around the ranch. Worked with the horses. Went to auctions discerning which
would make good stock horses. And being on edge was the main reason he’d agree
to take over the Sheriff’s position when the former one had approached him with
the offer to finish out the man’s term.

Harland County Sheriff?

Not something Kade had ever aspired
to be. No. He liked horses and ranching and giving up one weekend a month and
two and half weeks a year to Uncle Sam in the Guard. Never, had Kade ever
thought about being a Sheriff. Yet, here he was, decked out in the tan uniform,
weapons belt, badge and hat. Been that way for the past month. Harland County
was fairly quiet, mostly rural, not much crime going on. Still, the extra job
helped with his edginess.

So did sex, but his mutually agreed
upon one-nighters had ceased once he’d accepted the badge. Didn’t seem right.
And looking for a relationship was out of the question. He wasn’t about to
stick some poor woman with his sorry ass. Hell no. Not until he got through
some issues. Besides, relationships involved sharing more than a body, and his
heart was off limits. Closed off. Locked up tight. In fact, no woman had ever
reached his heart in over two decades. If it wasn’t for the way he felt about
his family and friends, Kade would question if he even had one.

Bypassing his truck, he headed for
the stables on the far right. The quiet stable. The one where they housed the
abused and abandoned horses. Currently, there were only two. Thank God. That
meant most of his fellow Texans were taking their ownership responsibilities of
these magnificent creatures seriously. Horses weren’t toys you could ride
whenever you felt like it. They weren’t pets you paid attention to
occasionally. They required work, maintenance, human touch…and son-of-a-bitch,
he was edgy again. Nothing pissed him off more than a neglected or abused
animal.

Stepping inside, he sucked in air
heavy with the smell of more dirt and manure, but this time laced with the
sweet scent of hay. The combination instantly calmed, took off some of that
damn edge and he headed to the first of two stalls. 

For several years now, he enjoyed
working with the local vet to nurse the horses in this stable back to health.
He’d made it Shadow Rock’s practice to volunteer the stable to the humane
society. It was a project of his, one he hoped to expand in the future. Now
that he was more than likely home permanently, he needed to draw up plans. To…

He stopped dead at the stall.

Speaking of expanding…

Sweet mercy and Texas, that is a
beautiful sight to behold.

Bent over, lightly rubbing down one
of the horses legs was a local designer. God, she was curvy and hot and he
wondered if she felt as soft as she looked. Something he would’ve discovered
within the three months he’d known the woman if it weren’t for two things. One,
Brandy Wyne was not a one night stand, and two…she had an aversion to the
military. The fact she was the only woman to spark part of him to life with
just her mere presence didn’t sit well with Kade. Hell no. So you’d think he’d
be able to order his legs to slowly back out of the stall before being seen by
the sexy woman with big brown eyes and golden streaks in her caramel-colored
hair. Nope. He stepped forward instead.

Seems his legs took orders from a
body part due south of his brain.

***

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***

Harland County Series

Book
One:
Her Fated Cowboy

L.A. cop Jordan Masters Ryan has a problem. Her normal
method of meeting a crisis head-on and taking it down won’t work. Not this
time. Not when fate is her adversary.
Having
kept
 
her from the man she thought she’d always marry, the
same fickle fate took away the man she eventually did. Thrown back in
to
the path of her first love,
she finds hers is not the only heart fate has
damaged
.