Her Unexpected Cowboy. Debra Clopton

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ was obviously not his calling. It was his own fault—he should have minded his stinkin’ business.

      After only a short drive down the blacktop road, he turned onto the ranch, spinning gravel as he drove beneath the thick log entrance with the Sunrise Ranch logo overhead.

      Dust flying behind him, he sped toward the ranch house in the distance, its roof peeking up over the hill that hid the majority of the ranch compound from the road.

      The compound of Sunset Ranch had been divided into sections. The first section was the main house, the ranch office and the Chow Hall, where his grandmother, Ruby Ann “Nana” McDermott, ruled the roost. For sixteen boys ranging in age from eight to eighteen the Chow Hall was the heart of the ranch. But Nana was actually the heart.

      Across the gravel parking area, the hundred-year-old horse stable stretched out. Most every horse he’d ever trained had been born in the red, wooden building since the day his grandfather had bought the place years ago. Beside the horse stable stood the silver metal barn and the large corral and riding pens. Making up the last section was the three-room private school the ranch provided for the kids. It sat out from the rest of the compound, within easy walking distance, to give the kids space from school life. This was home.

      Rowdy pulled the truck to a stop beside the barn. He slammed the door with the rest of the disgust he was feeling just as his brother Morgan walked out of the barn.

      “What bee’s in your bonnet?” Morgan asked.

      Rowdy scowled. “Funny.”

      “Obviously something is wrong.”

      All the McDermott brothers were dark headed, square chinned and sported the McDermott navy eyes, but Morgan was the brother who most resembled their dad—steadfast. Respectable.

      Rowdy had always lived up to his more reckless looks—good-time Rowdy. That had been him. But he’d turned a corner and was trying hard to be more than a “good time.” And that misconception irritated him the most about Lucy turning down his offer to help. It was almost as if she saw his past and chose to bypass trouble. As if she’d decided in that moment she couldn’t trust him.

      The thought pricked. Stung like a wasp, to be honest.

      If she couldn’t trust the man who caught her swan diving off the hayloft, then who could she trust?

      And why did he care?

      Morgan crossed his arms and studied him. “Nana tells me you met our new neighbor yesterday. Does this have something to do with her?”

      “No. Maybe. Yeah.”

      “So what did you do?”

      “I saved her from breaking her neck falling out of her hayloft, Morg. And I offered to help her do a little remodeling.”

      “I see. So that’d mean she must be good-looking.”

      “Yeah, she is,” he growled.

      “Then why are you so agitated? She’s single, from what Nana said.”

      “She turned me down.”

      Morgan blinked in disbelief. “Turned you down. You?”

      It was embarrassing in more ways than one.

      “I don’t think that’s ever happened before.” Morgan started grinning. “And did you actually save her from falling out of the hayloft?”

      “Stop enjoying this so much, and yes, I did, and it’s not like I asked her out.” He knew Morgan was just giving him a hard time. That was what brothers did. He’d never missed an opportunity where Morgan and Tucker were concerned. So much so that he was due a lot of payback from both brothers. He gave a quick rundown of catching Lucy the day before. Morgan’s grin spread as wide as Texas.

      “So you really didn’t ask her out?”

      “Are you kidding? No.”

      Morgan cocked his head to the side, leveling disbelieving eyes on him. “Are you feeling okay?”

      “Crazy, isn’t it? I’m not saying I’m not going to. But my days of rushing into relationships are done. I told you that.”

      “Yeah you did, but it’s been over nine months.”

      Rowdy wanted on a horse. Needed to expel the restless energy that suddenly filled him. “I wasn’t kidding when I said I was done with women for at least a year. I’m trying to be a role model for the guys.”

      It was true. Rowdy might not have known he’d gotten involved with a married woman, but then he hadn’t really asked enough questions, and he sure hadn’t been any kind of role model. After this last fiasco, God had convinced him that he needed to change his life.

      “You’re doing it, too. What you need is to find a woman like Jolie, who has her priorities straight,” Morgan added.

      “True, but I’m not ready right now. And besides, if Lucy won’t let me help knock out some walls, she’s most definitely not going to say yes to dinner and a movie.”

      “True,” Morgan agreed, clapping him on the shoulder. “Speaking of dates, Tucker’s here helping out with practice because I’ve got a date. And Jolie is a whole lot prettier than you.”

      “Tell that beautiful lady of yours I said hello,” he called, then headed into the stable. He breathed in and the scents of fresh hay and leather filled him. Horses nickered as he passed by.

      He grabbed a saddle and entered the stall of the black quarter horse he was working with. He spoke gently to Maverick as he saddled him. Just the motions of preparing to ride calmed him and helped him think.

      Lucy said she had anger issues. It didn’t fit, but she’d said it. He hadn’t seen anger, though. When their eyes locked, he saw fireworks. And there lay the problem.

      He had a fondness for fireworks—even though the fondness had gotten him into more trouble than he needed. Thus the reason he was trying to mend his ways.

      Fireworks burned—he’d learned that the hard way.

      Leading Maverick out of the stable, he headed toward the corral and the sound of whoops of laughter. His behavior hadn’t been anything to be proud of and certainly nothing for these boys to look up to. Rowdy was changing that. No one had said it would be easy.

      And living his lifestyle down was going to be the hardest of all, he suspected. The boys’ laughter rose on the breeze out in the arena as he approached. This was what he needed to concentrate on. These boys and the ranch.

      “What’s up, Rowdy? Thought you’d skipped out on us.” Eighteen years old, Wes gave him his wolfish smile as he rode his horse over to the arena fence.

      “Nope, just running late.” Rowdy hooked his arms on the top rail and surveyed the action. “Did I miss much?”

      “There was a runaway wagon a few minutes ago when Caleb lost his grip on the reins and the horses took over.” Wes chuckled, his blue eyes sparkling with mischief. He was one of the natural leaders of the group. Stocky and blond, СКАЧАТЬ