****
After more than a four-hour trip through Wyoming the following evening, Brody parked his truck in the lot across from the ticketing entrance of the Jackson Hole Airport and rounded the vehicle to open Liv’s door. He took in the majestic snow-capped Teton mountain range standing at an impressive thirteen thousand plus feet, less than a few miles away. For once in his life, he felt small. Unimportant. He wondered if this was how all the significant others of famous people felt.
Holding her door open, he took her by the hand and helped her out of the seat. The wind blew her hair in whips of wild ebony. He reckoned she was thankful she hadn’t worn that sundress he liked so much.
“Are you ready?” he asked, though he felt more inclined to ask himself the same question.
Liv peered out toward the mountains and watched a plane come in for a landing. “I guess so.” She bit her nail and tilted her head up to look at him. “Not really.”
“You’ll be fine,” he tried to soothe.
“I’ve never flown before, Galven.”
He smiled at his rough and tough tomboy falling apart. He lifted her suitcase from the bed of the truck and grabbed her guitar case from the seat. “I’ve not either, but I heard the takeoffs and landings are the hardest to get through. Close your eyes and think of me. I’ll have my arms around you the whole time.”
“I wish you were coming with me.”
Brody nodded, determined not to make this harder than it already was. “Call me when you land. And when you find your agent at the terminal. And when you get to your hotel. And before you go to sleep tonight.”
Liv giggled at his overprotectiveness, though he was serious.
He walked her to the beautiful lodge-like building and stopped at the glass doors at the front entrance. He set her guitar and suitcase on the sidewalk. “Are you sure you’re going to be able to maneuver all this on your own? What the hell did you pack?”
“Some necessities.”
He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight. “Okay, so your mother knows your flight schedule, right? I don’t have to call her?”
Liv swung her upper body outward, giving him that puppy dog look. “It wouldn’t hurt if you did. In fact, it might make her feel better to know you cared enough to call her.”
June, Liv’s mom, was a hard-nosed, hard-working female who didn’t seem to notice the good in any man, especially since both her father and husband had left her. Though Brody had always tried to be courteous toward the bitter woman, he knew one phone call was not about to change fifty years of intense animosity. “She doesn’t like me much. I can tell.”
“Mama likes you,” Liv insisted. “She’s just protective of me. Surely you, of all people, can understand that.”
Precious time with Liv was running out, and he didn’t want to spend it debating June’s hang-ups. He cupped the back of her head and pulled her against his chest. “Yeah, yeah. I hear you.”
“Thanks, Galven. Oh, and tell Rod thanks for helping you get my car back home. I was so worked up last night, I completely forgot about leaving it at Jonas’s.”
“Not a problem.”
“And speaking of Jonas, tell him I’m sorry that he had to come home to…well, you know.”
“Got it.”
“Oh, and one other thing! Will you—”
Brody seized her face and pulled her into a kiss to get her to shut up. It worked like a charm. Even better, he was able to savor the taste of her one last time before she said good-bye. He knew letting her get on that plane was going to be difficult, but he never expected it to be this hard. Next to burying his father, this was definitely the toughest thing he’d ever had to endure.
“What are you going to do while I’m gone?” she asked as he slowly pulled out of the kiss.
He gave it some thought. “Might school Psycho some more, turn him into a cutting horse. Thought about painting Mom’s porch for her. She’d like that, I think. Maybe see if Mr. Corinth still has that old 1953 Chevy 3100 he wants to fix up. Aside from those things, I’ll be sitting around missing you. But don’t worry. No matter how long you’re gone, I’ll still be here, waiting for you.”
Liv picked up her guitar case with one hand and grabbed her suitcase with the other. She walked to the door, opened it, and hesitated. Looking over her shoulder, she rocked him with a smile that beat all. “I love you, Galven.”
With his heart in his throat, he rushed over and wrapped his arms around her, crushing her lips in another searing kiss. He memorized her scent, her curves beneath his hands, and her sweet whimper in his ears. “I will always love you, my dear sweet Liv.”
He tipped his hat and walked backward toward his truck, unable to tear his gaze from her. She broke first, which he figured she would, as she had a plane to catch. But little did she know, he’d stay in his truck for the next two hours until he personally saw her plane take off, all the while longing for his Liv to come back home.
THE END
AUTHOR’S NOTE
If you enjoyed Longing for Langston, the prequel novella to the Mavericks of Meeteetse series, and are dying to find out how Brody gets along with Liv jumpstarting her career in Nashville, then I encourage you to read the continuing books in this series to find out.
*All are meant to be stand-alones (and can be read in any order), but for a more satisfying “happily ever after,” reading in order is helpful and encouraged.
****
Take a trip out West and meet Brody, Jonas, Cole, and Sawyer—the four sexy, rugged cowboys who rope and run the McKinley ranch, as well as the women who try to tame them.
MAVERICKS OF MEETEETSE
A cowboy romance series set in the small town of Meeteetse, Wyoming.
Made for McKinley, Book One
Falling for Forester, Book Two
Wild for Wallace, Book Three
If you enjoyed this book by Renee Vincent, please consider leaving an honest review at your favorite vendor. Reviews not only give credibility to an author’s work, they also help other readers find quality books worth reading.
MADE FOR McKINLEY
Mavericks of Meeteetse, Book 1 (Jonas & Ava)
Former trick rider Ava Wallace works the five-thousand-acre McKinley ranch and loves the man who owns it. Only trouble is, they’ve been living together for over seven years, and she can’t help but think things have changed between them. Her rough-and-tough cowboy used to be relentless with his affection, unable to keep his hands off her. Now, he barely has the time.
Cowboy cattle rancher Jonas McKinley can’t seem to catch a break. Between his hardworking live-in girlfriend feeling like they don’t connect and the nuisance grizzly that keeps tormenting his livestock, he must overcome the troublesome challenges that threaten his lucrative family farm before he loses what he’s worked so hard to keep. Faced with a difficult choice, Jonas has to decide what matters most: Ava or his ranch.
FALLING FOR FORESTER
Mavericks of Meeteetse, Book 2 (Cole & Crys)
Cowboy cattle rancher Cole Forester likes things the way they are—quiet, no-frills, and uncomplicated. He’s a glorified bachelor with only a dog as his companion, totally content to live a solitary life next to the McKinley ranch. That is until a cute little barrel racer shows up looking for a job as a ranch hand.
Tomboy Crys Willingham hangs up her rodeo hat and heads to where her friend Ava Wallace lives, hoping to score a job that doesn’t involve the risk of broken bones every time she mounts up. Once she lays eyes on Cole, it’s her vulnerable heart that’s in danger of breaking.
WILD FOR WALLACE
Mavericks of Meeteetse, Book 3 (Sawyer & Charlotte)
College graduate Sawyer Wallace has just come home to Meeteetse to visit with family. Excited to put his new degree to good use, he lands a comfortable job at the McKinley ranch until he can find something better. After a fluke horse accident on his watch, he calls Doc “Charlie” Peterson to the farm, only to find the highly-praised vet is a woman. Even
better, she’s an eligible, spicy little brunette with a jacked-up truck.
Charlotte Peterson is the only veterinarian in Meeteetse, taking over her father’s practice after he died. Traveling from ranch to ranch doesn’t leave her much free time. So when the new manager of the McKinley ranch calls her to care for an injured horse, she has trouble trying to convince the handsome “greenhorn” that she has little patience for his charming antics, much less time to date. While she’s determined to dodge Sawyer’s every advance, she finds that some things can grow wild without cultivation.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
RENEE VINCENT is a USA Today bestselling author who also pens humorous, sweet contemporary romance (with a smidgen of spunk) under the name GRACIE LEE ROSE.
From the daunting, charismatic Vikings, to the charming, brazen Alpha male heroes of modern day (which now include cowboys) readers will be whisked away to a world filled with fast-paced adventure, unforgettable romance, and undying love.
www.ReneeVincent.com
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Longing For Langston (Mavericks of Meeteetse, Novella Book 1: Brody & Liv) Page 12