“Could he do that?”
“He has lots of power, Hank. Once I worked at his company, I learned just how powerful he was, I just didn’t know about any of his illegal dealings. I was blind. I wonder if my mother had been too.”
“So that’s why you left?” Hank asked. “You knew he’d take Freya.”
“That and I knew if I married Craven, I’d be trading one prison for another. I needed to get as far away as possible because if I stayed, I’d regret it.”
“He’s a real piece of work.” Hank gritted out.
“The letter that Mr. Campbell gave me…he told me to never come back to California again. To leave everything behind. It wasn’t friendly or fatherly, just to the point.” She swallowed hard. “That’s not important now. Mr. Campbell said all mine and Freya’s things that were at Father’s house have been stored for me but will have to be picked up in California. I’m not sure yet if I want anything from my past.”
“You have some time to think about it.”
“I was also given a check—my inheritance from my mother. I had no clue. My father wanted Mr. Campbell to handle all the details, although I’m surprised he didn’t keep it from me.” She pulled the check out of her purse and slid it over for Hank to see. His eyes widened.
“That’s a lot of money,” he said.
“That’s a ton of money.”
Concern etched lines in his face. “That’s enough for you and Freya to start a new life anywhere you want.”
She caught the tightness in his tone.
“Sure. We could. However, I’ve been thinking, if I could choose anywhere in the world, I’d still choose Cooper’s Hawk as my home. Everything I want is there.”
The corners of his mouth lifted. “That’s the best news I think I could ever hear. I want you and Freya both in my life.”
“I want that too.” Every doubt and sadness lifted from her.
“You don’t have to work at the Pelican any longer.” He chuckled. “And if you’re not ready to get married we can hold off.”
“Wait…you don’t want to get married anymore?”
“Yes. I do, but your situation has changed.”
“My situation from the past has changed but what I want for my future hasn’t.” She felt the grip of worry in her backbone. “Being your wife is what I want.”
“Then be my wife. I’ll forever want you too.”
“Freya and I will no longer have to worry about packing in the middle of the night and running. Or looking over our shoulders, worrying that we’re being followed.” She laughed. “We’ll be normal.”
“You’ve made me complete again, sweetheart. Thank you for coming into my life.”
“Thank you for being there for Freya and me.”
“I love you, Helena.” He chuckled when her eyes widened. “Yes, you heard me right. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Not the end but only the beginning.
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Rhonda Lee Carver
At an early age, Rhonda fell in love with romance novels, knowing one day she’d write her own love story. Life took a short detour, but when the story ideas were no longer contained, she decided to dive in and write. Her first plot was on a dirty napkin she found buried in her car. Eventually, she ran out of napkins. With baby on one hip and laptop on the other, she made a dream into reality—one word at a time.
Her specialty is men who love to get their hands dirty and women who are smart, strong and flawed. She loves writing about the everyday hero.
When Rhonda isn't crafting sizzling manuscripts, you will find her busy editing novels, blogging, juggling kids and animals (too many to name), dreaming of a beach house and keeping romance alive. Oh, and drinking lots of coffee to keep up with her hero and heroine.
For other titles by Rhonda Lee Carver, please visit: www.rhondaleecarver.com.
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Other books by Rhonda Lee Carver
Rhonda Lee Carver Books by Series
Tarnation, Texas Series
Hitched (Book 1)
The Cowboy's Son (Book 2)
Pour Me a Drink (Book 3)
Cowboy State of Mind (Book 4)
Big Hearted Cowboy (Book 5)
Mountain Force Series
Justice by the Lawman (Book 1)
Secured by the Lawman (Book 2)
Tormented by the Lawman (Book 3)
Lawmen of Wyoming Series
Protected by the Lawman (Book 1)
Wanted by the Lawman (Book 2)
Seized by the Lawman (Book 3)
Claimed by the Lawman (Book 4)
Sheltered by the Lawman (Book 5)
Taken by the Lawman (Book 6)
Saddles & Second Chances Series
Roman's Choice (Book 1)
Penn's Fortune (Book 2)
Weston's Trouble (Book 3)
Urban's Rush (Book 4)
Hugh's Chase (Book 5)
Cowboys of Nirvana Series
Cowboy Paradise (Book 1)
Ropin' Trouble (Book 2)
Smoke. Fire. Cowboy (Book 3)
Kissed, Spurred & Valentined (Book 4)
Cowboy is Mine (Book 5)
The Discreet Cowboy (Book 6)
A Perfect Cowboy Daddy (Book 7)
Cowboys Forgive (Book 8)
Second Chance Cowboy Series
Second Chance Cowboy (Book 1)
Second Ride Cowboy (Book 2)
Second Round Cowboy (Book 3)
Second Dance Cowboy (Book 4)
Second Song Cowboy (Book 5)
Second Burn Cowboy (Book 6)
Second Hope Cowboy (Book 7)
Second Sunrise Cowboy (Book 8)
The KNIGHT Brothers Series
Pride and Pleasure (Book 1)
His Weekend Wife (Book 2)
The Darkest Knight (Book 3)
Letting Go Series
Letting Go (Book 1)
Legacy (Book 2)
Without You (Book 3)
Rhinestone Cowgirls Series
Under Pressure (Book 1)
Pressure Rising (Book 2)
Pressure Point (Book 3)
Secret Pressure (Book 4)
Resisting Pressure (Book 5)
Studs in Scrubs Series
Hot as Hell (Book 1)
Dirty as Hell (Book 2)
Smooth as Hell (Book 3)
Buttermilk Valley Series
Unexpected Hero (Book 1)
The Lawman's Promise Book 2)
Wicked Wolves Series
Wicked Pleasures (Book 1)
Wicked Lust (Book 2
Other books by Rhonda Lee Carver (Not part of a series)
A New Year’s Cowboy
Leather for Two: Wings of Steel MC
Fighting Flames
Double Dare
With Honor
Sin with Cuffs
Friends with Benefits
Dreaming Ivy
Castle’s Fortress
Delaney’s Sunrise
Diamond in a Rose
BONUS READ
HITCHED (Book 1, Tarnation, Texas)
CHAPTER 1
Baxter Colt steered his truck onto the country road wishing he was back home on his ranch, setting up to ride. Instead, he found himself making the trip to Tarnation on som
e half-baked request from his late father’s attorney, Roe Robins. The call had come two days ago when he’d informed Baxter that Buzz Colt had died after battling a terminal illness.
The ride had been silent as Brennan, his younger brother, stared out the window while popping sunflower seeds into his mouth. Neither one of them were happy to make the journey. Back on Dragonfly Spurs, they had two hands to train, a new building to be erected, and Baxter was missing a date with Sabrina Mars. She and Baxter didn’t have anything in common outside of pillow talk, but a grown man needed adult play time and the sexy waitress at Pete’s Honky Tonk always brought her ‘A’ game.
“I forgot to call Sabrina to cancel.” Baxter twisted the knob that turned the AC on high.
“I’m sure she’ll survive.” Brennan spit a seed out the window. “She’s gone five months without seeing you, what’s another few days?”
“Exactly. Five months,” he groaned. Most days he would come in from working the land, dog-tired, and fall asleep the second his head hit the pillow, but on rare occasions he would take a night off and spend it with Sabrina. Robins better have a damn good reason for needing him and Brennan to come to the small town.
“We made it.” Brennan pointed to the welcome sign that read, “Tarnation, Texas. The Friendliest Place in the State.”
“About time.”
“Don’t you think it’s odd that the old man didn’t have a funeral? That’s fishy.” Brennan removed his hat and scratched his temple, then replaced the Stetson.
“What I think is fishy, Bren, is that we hadn’t seen our father in close to twenty years and suddenly we’re asked by this Robins fellow to come to Tarnation for a mysterious meeting about Buzz’s will. Beats the hell out of me why we couldn’t have just settled things over the phone.”
“Do you think he left us something?”
“Pfft.” Baxter would have easily told Robins that they weren’t interested in hearing anything about their father, but when the lawyer warned him that the information was about their homestead, and was of the utmost importance, Baxter felt he had no choice but to find out what their lying, cheating, two-timing seed donor wanted them to hear.
When Baxter and Brennan were kids, Buzz had been a fairly decent father. They were always out on the land together. Feeding the cattle. Riding and training horses. He’d taught them everything he knew about working a ranch. They’d looked up to him. Thought he was a superhero, but that soon blew up and they’d learned his true colors. Baxter was ten when Buzz left. No note. No goodbye. No explanation.
For the first few years, Baxter believed he had been the reason why his father had left. Two days before Buzz walked, he’d gotten mad at Baxter because he forgot to lock the gate to the fence and the prize horse had gotten loose. When they found the mustang, he was tangled up in barbed wire and had to be cut free. It had been a simple mistake, but Baxter had never forgotten the disappointment in Buzz’s expression.
Brennan reached for his guitar and strummed a few chords. He’d been working on a new song. He could sing, but he didn’t like the spotlight. That’s why he turned down an offer by a big recording label when he was nineteen.
Baxter and his brother were only three years apart and they looked eerily similar. People would often say they looked like twins. From bright blue eyes, dimples, and a taste for Bangers and Mash handed down from their mother’s Scottish DNA to their father’s brawny frame, thick dark hair, and the dragonfly birthmark on his back. Brennan’s was located on his bicep and Baxter’s on his neck, but these few physical traits were where the similarities ended.
The last thing Baxter wanted was to be compared to the man who abandoned his family and didn’t look back.
Who could leave their kids?
At fifteen, and curious about the reason why his father left, Baxter Googled his father’s contact information, unbeknownst to his mother and Brennan, and called the man. Baxter got his voicemail and asked if they could meet, but Buzz never returned the call.
That told Baxter everything he needed, or wanted, to know. He decided then that he didn’t need a father and would be fine learning how to become a man on his own.
Graduating high school a year early, he went on to college for a year until he decided to join the Navy. There he learned the ins and outs of being independent and strong. He met new friends—even lost a few—but he’d missed home. Once his contract was up, he came back to Texas and took the leadership role at Dragonfly Spurs.
“Where in tarnation are we?” Brennan joked.
“I haven’t seen any sign of life since we stopped for coffee back at that truck stop ten miles ago.” Baxter rolled down his window and stared out into the fields of tall reeds waving in the gentle breeze. A white fence separated the road from a pasture where horses grazed. In the distance he could make out a sprawling farmhouse with a red tin roof and black shudders. The property was dotted with out-buildings and a large red windmill, identical to the one that Buzz had built at Dragonfly Spurs.
Baxter saw the sign about the same time Brennan whistled through his teeth. “Hey, this place is called Grinning Spurs. Do you think—”
“It’s not a coincidence.” Baxter squeezed the steering wheel tighter until he felt his knuckles ache. So, this was where Buzz lived?
The extensive property went on for what seemed like miles before they finally crossed a stone bridge that took them into the town limits. The Tarnation City Park was on the left where a handful of kids played baseball, and on the right was an ice cream shop with a large fake cow in front.
Historical red-brick buildings, wooden benches, and black wrought iron lamps lined Main Street. The first stoplight turned red and Baxter stopped at the same time a crack of lightning brightened the sky followed by a splattering of raindrops on the windshield. He turned on the wipers and headlights.
Cursing under his breath, he rolled up his window and wiped his wet hand across his jeans.
“Have you heard from Ma? I think we should have told her the truth. I feel a little guilty that we lied and told her we were going to look at horses.”
“Bren, would you have been the one to mention Buzz’s name? Didn’t you learn your lesson as a kid? Remember when you asked her if we’d ever see him again, and after, she didn’t get out of bed for a week?”
“Hell, Bax. That was years ago. She’s over him, and don’t you think she’d want to know that he died? They were married. Had kids.”
The light changed and Baxter stepped on the gas. People were dashing into stores to get out of the sprinkling rain. “To her I think he died years ago. She deserved better after he up and left her for another woman. We were all better off. Look at the ranch. That enough should prove we didn’t need him.” He didn’t like talking about Buzz. The day he left was the day that Baxter wrote him off. Brennan was too young to remember how their mother cried herself to sleep many nights because of something their father had done while they were married. All in all, Baxter had tried to shelter his brother from the stark reality that their father was a cheater. “We’re ten minutes late to this meeting. . We’ll get it over with and head back to Dragonfly in time for our evening chores.”
“Yeah, but my gut tells me this ain’t gonna be as easy as that, bro.”
“It’s probably indigestion from those greasy fries you ate earlier.”
Big raindrops smacked the windshield and Baxter switched on the wipers to high. The rainstorm brought everything to a crawl. Within minutes, water covered the roads and the town became a ghost town of sorts.
“The GPS says turn left onto Church and our destination is on the left.”
Baxter made the turn—
“Look out, bro!”
He saw a flash of dark hair and red shirt.
It was too late to slam on his brakes. He swerved to miss her, hit a puddle and came to a sliding stop.
“Ah hell!” he bit out.
Climbing from the truck, he hurried around to the back and was met with a narrowed gaze lit wit
h a storm of emotions. The woman’s mouth twisted as she stared back at him in utter disbelief until she reached up to swipe water away from her face. Unfortunately, the big tires had hit the puddle and drenched the fuming woman.
Her long hair hung in damp strands down her shoulders and wet clothes draped off her. Baxter cringed. “Sorry, lady. I didn’t see you—”
“Are you driving with a blindfold?” she snapped. Her bottom lip trembled, and her bright green eyes glistened with anger. A crack of thunder vibrated the sky.
He forked his fingers through his hair that was soaked along with his clothes. “What the hell were you doing?”
“Crossing the street.”
“This ain’t a crosswalk, lady. I could have run you over.” What started as an apology had turned down a whole different path.
She nailed him with one more raw glare before she stomped her way across the street. Baxter went back to the truck and slammed the door, catching a last glance of the woman as she turned the corner.
“Good way to make a first impression,” Brennan said with a grin.
“We’ll be out of Tarnation before it’ll matter.”
“Let’s hope so.”
Baxter parked on the street in front of the small, yellow house with a sign out front that read “Robins Law Office.”
He slid on his Stetson and they made their way inside to receive a friendly greeting from the bubbly young woman sitting behind the front desk. “Are you gentlemen here to see Mr. Robins?”
“Yes. We’re Baxter and Brennan Colt. We have an appointment. We’re just a few minutes late—”
Cowboy Hank (Cooper's Hawke Landing Book 3) Page 20