Kissing Her Cowboy

Copyright 2014 Adele Downs
Smashwords Edition

This is a great story about two damaged
people that are taking a second chance at life and love. Ms. Downs
does not disappoint in her characterizations and plot. A
must-read.”

—
Harlie’s Books

On a Texas ranch, and with the help of a
stallion named Big Blue, an injured cowboy and a cop with a dark
past learn to get back in the saddle and find joy—in each other’s
arms.

KISSING HER COWBOY

www.BOROUGHSPUBLISHINGGROUP.com

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: This is a work of fiction.
Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of
the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance
to actual events, locales, business establishments or persons,
living or dead, is coincidental. Boroughs Publishing Group does not
have any control over and does not assume responsibility for author
or third-party websites, blogs or critiques or their content.

KISSING HER COWBOY
Copyright © 2014 Adele Downs

All rights reserved. Unless specifically
noted, no part of this publication may be reproduced, scanned,
stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise, known or hereinafter invented, without the express
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Digital edition created by Maureen
Cutajar
www.gopublished.com

ISBN 978-1-938876-94-3

For my real-life Midwestern cowboy hero.

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Author Bio

Chapter One

“Oh,
Lord.”

Treymont Woods kicked up dust on his boots
as he sauntered from the stables toward the woman who just
had
to be his new riding student. Her flaming red hair
swooshed from one side of her shoulders to the other as she watched
his stallion, Big Blue, canter inside the corral. Her hands
clutched the fence, knuckles white, and every muscle in her tall,
slim figure looked tense.

Before he could get to her, she pivoted
toward the parking area, feet moving like she was fixin’ to
run.

“Hey there!” he called out as a
distraction.

By the time he reached the woman’s side,
Trey could hear her breathing like she’d raced a Texas mile. Before
he could introduce himself, she turned with wide green eyes and
shouted, “He’s
huge!”
Pink splotches bloomed under the
freckles on her pale skin. She licked her bottom lip and shook her
head. “No, no, no, no….” She started backing away. “I can’t do
this. Keep my deposit. I’ll figure something else out.”

Trey lifted his hands in mock surrender.
“Okay. No problem. You don’t have to ride if you don’t want to.”
Her jeans looked too tight for riding, anyway, and that white
blouse would be smudged inside of five minutes. Hadn’t the woman
ever been to a ranch before?

She stopped moving and frowned at him,
causing twin lines to form above her nose—her
adorable
nose,
now that he’d gotten a decent look. In fact, everything about the
woman seemed downright appealing, despite her reaction to Big Blue.
Who in their right mind wouldn’t love on sight the greatest horse
that ever lived?

“You’re not mad that I’ve screwed up your
schedule? I’m sure you have students on a waiting list who won’t
waste your time.”

“I’ve got nothing but time.” A broken back
did that to a man. “I’m Trey Woods.”

He held out his hand and the woman’s posture
relaxed. She forced a smile onto her pretty face and accepted the
handshake.

“I recognized you from your website photos.
I’m Daisy Phillips.”

Trey noted her assertive grip despite her
earlier panic. “You’re the cop from Pennsylvania?”

Daisy released his hand and nodded. “I put
in for a transfer to Houston figuring I could hack the mounted
police.” She glanced at Big Blue. “At least, that was my
theory.”

Trey forced himself not to smirk. “They have
horses at
least
as tall in that unit.” But the worry on the
woman’s face and her wary eyes told him her fear was no laughing
matter, so he added, “Mind if I ask why you want to transfer
halfway across the country to ride animals you don’t like?”

Daisy chewed her bottom lip and stared at
Big Blue. “I didn’t know I’d be this scared. After all,
kids
ride horses, right? The Houston Mounted Patrol had an opening.” She
turned back to Trey. “Do you know how hard it is to find a job in
law enforcement in another county, let alone another state? I
needed a…change of scenery. And my sister lives here, so it seemed
like the perfect solution.”

“I appreciate horses,” Daisy continued.
“They’re beautiful and interesting. It’s just…they’re so darned
big. And intimidating. The problem is, I can’t learn to ride until
I get past my fear of their size.”

Trey rubbed the back of his neck beneath his
long hair. “I’d say you have a conundrum.”

“Yeah.” Daisy watched him from beneath long
lashes that didn’t hide her wariness. “No kidding. I guess that
sounds pretty dumb to you.”

Trey inclined his head in Big Blue’s
direction then shrugged. “A lot of people are afraid of horses.
They’re powerful creatures who can kick like hell, bite, stomp, or
take off running with an inexperienced rider on their back.”

He figured that was the last thing she’d
thought he’d say, because the woman’s jaw dropped. If he was going
to be her teacher he might as well be upfront from the get-go.

“I won’t try to sweet-talk you into
something you don’t want to do. But I will tell you this: If you’re
a cop, I already know you’ve got guts and grit. You’ve carried a
gun, been in dangerous scuffles, and chased bad guys bigger than
you. Believe me, that takes more courage than learning to manage a
horse. Stallions like Big Blue might be intimidating, but they’re
also tolerant creatures, capable of great loyalty and gentleness.
You’re here, so I figure you know that already.”

Daisy took a step closer. She stared up at
Trey with a mix of desperation and longing so intense that he felt
sorry for her right down to his fractured bones. He’d probably worn
that same hangdog look when he asked the ranch owner for this light
duty after his accident.
Those who can, do. Those who can’t,
teach.
Wasn’t that how the saying went? If he couldn’t work
alongside the other hands until his back finished healing, he might
as well put his days and his horse to good use. Of course, the
arrangement had turned out better than anyone expected.

“I’d hoped to ease my anxiety with private
lessons before I start police equestrian training next month,”
Daisy admitted. “If I can learn to relax around horses, nobody but
us would know I was scared.”

Trey offered a nod of reassurance. “No one
ever will.”

He held out his hands in a gesture for her
to stay put. As an east coast cop, she’d already met certain rigid
standards. To be successful in the Mounted Patrol, she needed other
skill sets. All she had to do was let go of her anxiety and take
control. “Hang on a minute, okay?”

Daisy took another look at Big Blue and then
stared at Trey. Her chin lifted, but her voice cracked as she said,
“You don’t expect me to ride him right away, do you?”

Her? No. Though Trey would have given
anything in the world to ride that stallion himself right then.
“Let’s just sit and have a cold drink.” Maybe if she just watched
Big Blue awhile, she’d see what an amazing animal he was. Maybe
she’d be less scared. “You came all the way out here, and it’s
hotter than Hades. I’m thirsty. Aren’t you?”

The tension faded around Daisy’s eyes, and
the muscles in her body relaxed. This time she smiled like she
meant it and tilted her head. “Got any sweet tea?”

“Ah, you’ve assimilated already. Comin’
right up.”

Trey went to the office by the stables and
took away two plastic folding chairs. He carried them back to the
corral and set them by the fence. “Put your feet up on the rails
and relax. Be right back with the tea.”

He returned to the office and took a pitcher
from the refrigerator. After filling two disposable cups, he
brought them outside and handed one to Daisy. She took a sip and
licked her lips
—
her very kissable lips, if he was any judge.
He’d known his share of women these past thirty years, and he’d
rank her mouth in the top tier of all of them. How many men had
kissed her? He found himself wondering and knew a pang of regret
that he couldn’t be one of them.

“Tastes good,” she said. “Thanks.”

Trey sat in the chair beside Daisy and
suppressed a grunt. Being on his feet most of the day training
riders and grooming horses played hell with the fused vertebrae in
his spine, but considering he could still walk and work after being
thrashed by a rodeo bull he couldn’t complain.

He took a drink of the sweet tea and propped
his feet next to Daisy’s on the fence. Her running shoes looked
small and neat next to his cracked and dusty leather boots. Trey
ventured a glance her way and grinned when he found Daisy staring
back at him. Was it possible a busted-up cowboy like him could
interest a pretty young woman like her?

Whoa there, boy. You’re getting ahead of
yourself.
You’re here to do a job, and so is she.

Still, he couldn’t dismiss his attraction to
Daisy Phillips any more than he could ignore his determination to
get her to ride his stallion.

Chapter Two

“Why do you call him Big Blue?” Daisy asked,
watching the handsome cowboy beside her over the rim of her cup.
Once her panic attack about his horse subsided, she’d had to remind
herself not to stare at his sky blue eyes and sun-bleached hair.
More than once she’d had to resist stroking the curve of his bicep
under the hem of his t-shirt. Every inch of the man’s body looked
firm, lean, and muscled. Trey Woods oozed confidence and sex appeal
without even trying. He seemed without pretense or false bravado,
unlike so many men she’d met on the force. And it had been so long
since she’d dated.

Trey leaned close, and she smelled the
masculine scents of hay and hot skin. She closed the remaining
distance between them and followed the line of his finger while he
pointed to the beast on the far side of the corral. Without meaning
to, she pictured them both naked, her body moving over his…

She almost missed his answer to her question
as she visualized him caressing her with his large, calloused
hands.
Bad, bad girl
.

“See how the sun shines on his black coat,
turning it blue in the light?”

Daisy watched the stallion graze, her head
and shoulders so close to Trey’s that she could feel their body
heat merge. Excitement rippled over her. When was the last time
she’d felt such awareness of a man? Such presence? She tried to
recall but couldn’t. She dared not move, afraid she’d break the
spell.

She listened to Trey’s steady in-and-out
breathing but focused on Big Blue. Sunlight rippled over the
animal’s sleek black coat, turning it sapphire. Mesmerized, Daisy
watched the animal lift his magnificent head and shake his long
dark mane. His black tail swept right and then left. His haunches
bunched and flexed before he trotted in their direction, looking
like a storm cloud wrapped in cobalt sky.