How To Break A Cowboy (Savage Shorts)

by Daire St. Denis

  I love him.

  “Spud!”

  “I heard you came in last night.” He glowers at me. “Why the hell didn’t you come say hello? Bad fucking manners if you ask me.”

  I push my way through the swinging kitchen doors and give him a big hug and kiss on the cheek. “Sorry,” I say. “It’s good to see you, though.”

  The only thing that gives him away is the fact that he blushes. “Alright then, enough of your bloody hugs and kisses.”

  He passes me a plate loaded with eggs, bacon and thickly sliced homemade bread. It’s a far cry from my normal fruit and yogurt breakfast but after all the calories I’ve burned in the last twenty-four hours, I don’t feel one bit guilty.

  There are still a few ranch hands eating at the long tables and I go to join Wade and Connor at one end. The minute I sit down, Dallas, who’d been sitting beside Connor, stands up to leave, though the food on his plate is only half-eaten.

  I’m about to say something but Wade beats me to it. “Dallas,” he says in that soft but commanding way of his. “Stay.”

  Dallas pauses, mid-stride, then turns and sits back down. With his head bent low over his plate, he starts eating again.

  A weird feeling creeps up and then down my spine, settling uncomfortably in my belly. Just seconds ago I was starving and couldn’t wait to launch into my food. Now I have no appetite.

  Whatever the tension is on the ranch and between the men, I’m starting to think it might also have something to do with me. I turn a questioning gaze to Wade but he’s not looking at me, he’s watching Connor.

  Out of everyone at our end of the table, Connor seems the least affected by whatever undercurrents are zipping around. While chewing on a strip of bacon, he catches us staring and looks first at me and then at Wade. “You two sleep okay?”

  “Yeah,” I say. “Great. How about you?”

  Connor takes another bite of bacon and laughs. “Sleep? Hell, not a lot of sleep happened in my room last night.”

  Wade stiffens beside me and I swear I hear Dallas grunt as he shovels food into his mouth at a rapid rate.

  “Of course, if you two had joined us, we could have had double the fun.” Connor nudges Dallas. “Not that I’m complaining. That thing you did…”

  Dallas’s fork stops midway to his mouth. He glances at Connor through a curtain of shaggy bangs and a slow smile creeps across his handsome features. The vibe that passes between the two men is electric and I can’t help but feel some voyeuristic flush sweep over me as I try to imagine what it was that Dallas did to Connor.

  But the minute Dallas glances in Wade’s direction, his smile crumbles.

  “I’m glad you two had fun last night,” Wade says gruffly. He downs his coffee and stands behind me with his hands on my shoulders. “I’ve got a Stampede Board meeting today with the other stock providers. So, unfortunately, I’m going to miss out on our annual trail ride.” He kisses the top of my head. “I’ll leave you in Connor’s capable hands and see you tonight.”

  I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help feeling let down. I turn my face up to him but—damn!—the man’s expression could be etched in granite, he’s that inscrutable.

  “Capable, you got that right,” Connor says with a grin. “I’ve been itching to get my hands on Tess without you monopolizing her.”

  Wade presses his lips together and nods. I’m about to say something when I catch him glance at Dallas. Holy hell. If I thought the look that passed between Dallas and Connor was hot, the one that passes between Wade and Dallas is scorching. I mean, it’s like opening an enormous furnace door and being blasted in the face.

  Interesting.

  No sooner has Wade walked out then Dallas stands and says, “I’ll be in the stables, mucking out the stalls.”

  “I’m right behind you,” Connor says with a smirk, but his innuendo has no effect on Dallas as the man saunters off.

  Once Dallas is out of earshot I say, “Okay. What the hell is going on?”

  “What?” Connor feigns ignorance as he takes a bite of toast and washes it down with coffee.

  “Don’t be a smart ass. Tell me what’s going on.”

  With a shrug, Connor says, “Oh, the usual. Wade’s being a controlling asshole and I’m simply enjoying myself.”

  I smack him on the shoulder. “Don’t say that.”

  Connor turns to look at me and in a rare show of seriousness, he says, “I know you adore him. I do too. But the man can be impossible to live with sometimes…Oh! Except that after six years, I still don’t actually live with him.”

  For the first time I hear bitterness in Connor’s voice.

  “He’s pushing you away,” I say quietly.

  Connor stares straight ahead as he sips his coffee, but there’s no mistaking the tic on the side of his cheek. “I’m not the only one he’s pushing away,” he says as he sets his mug down.

  “Dallas?”

  Glancing around at the now empty dining room, Connor says, “We met Dallas at the Cattlemen’s Saloon in Calgary about six months ago. He’d just moved out West and was looking for work. We invited him to stay at the ranch. About a week later, we fell into bed together.” Leaning toward me, he whispers, “It was fucking amazing. I’ve never seen Wade like he was with Dallas. I mean, it even rivals what we share with you.”

  “No kidding,” I say, squeezing my legs tight as I imagine the scenario of the three men together. All hot, naked and fucking like wild.

  “After that, Wade wouldn’t have anything to do with Dallas, though he’s pushing me into his arms every chance he gets. Like last night. I was all ready to crawl into bed with you two, cozy as a submarine sandwich, when he shuts me out, telling me Dallas is waiting for me back at my room.”

  “Huh,” I say, putting all these new pieces of information together. “So how are you handling it?”

  “Oh, you know me. I just roll with it and take my enjoyment where I can get it.” Connor takes my empty plate and stacks it with his and carries it to the kitchen.

  I watch him for a second before following. What is pretty clear is that both men are pretending like things are fine and dandy when, in fact, they aren’t. The thing is, as far as I can see, the solution is pretty simple.

  I walk to the kitchen window and call, “Thanks, Spud. That’s the best breakfast I’ve had in years.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” he says, waving me off all brusque-like. But I catch his smile and I figure, on a ranch populated by men, he probably doesn’t get thanked very often.

  Joining in step with Connor as he exits the dining hall, I say, “Is there something I can do?”

  Connor slings his arm over my shoulder and says, “Nah. Don’t worry. It’s not your problem. I shouldn’t have unloaded all this on you in the first place.”

  “Yeah, but maybe I can help, maybe I can—”

  “You know what you can do? Put on your crappiest clothes and come help me and Dallas muck out stalls.”

  “Chores? You’re going to make me do chores?”

  “You betcha. You want to stay on the ranch? You’ve got to help out.” He gives me a squeeze and whispers in my ear, “Besides, I want you to get to know Dallas a little better. I think you’ll really like him.”

  Shit. I bite my lip and look up into Connor’s naughty, knowing smile. Then I kiss him and head off to change.

  *****

  By the time I arrive at the barn, Connor and Dallas are about half-finished. Connor throws me a pair of leather work gloves, points to where the shovels are hung up on the wall and puts me to work. Yep, I’m shovelling shit and, believe it or not, with these two men, it’s actually kind of fun. With Wade not around, Dallas comes out of his shell, laughing and joking with Connor and me, making crude comments and sexual innuendos about everything under the sun, including the size of their new stallion’s cock.

  “The mares take one look at him and make a run for it,” Connor laughs.

  “All except Dixie,” Dallas says. “She’s always
flirting across the fence from him.”

  “Dixie? Hey Tess, isn’t that your middle name?”

  “Smart ass,” I say as I shovel a pile of dung onto Connor’s boot instead of into the wheelbarrow.

  “Smart ass?” he says, kicking off the pile of manure. “You know I speak nothing but the truth.” Then he winks at me and nods in Dallas’s direction. “As much as you’re like Dixie, Dallas over there is a dead ringer for Midnight Run.”

  “Shut the fuck up,” Dallas says with a half-smile.

  “Midnight Run?” I ask.

  “The new stallion.”

  “No kidding?” I eye the front of Dallas’s jeans but he’s resting the handle of his shovel in front of himself, obstructing my view.

  “Maybe if you’re nice to him, he’ll let you take a look,” Connor says, propping his elbow on my shoulder.

  I’m pretty sure Dallas is blushing as he turns away and I smile in response. When I go to move out from under Connor’s arm, he’s got a grip on my shirt and I don’t get far. I should have known he’d retaliate for the pile of manure on his boot. Tugging on the neck of my shirt, he dumps a handful of straw down my back.

  “Hey!” I quickly yank my shirttails out of my jeans and shake the bottom to remove the prickly straw.

  Connor laughs as he shovels the last bit of refuse into the wheelbarrow. Dallas takes it out back while Connor turns on the hose to wash everything down.

  “Hey Tess,” he calls.

  “What?” I ask, walking over to him, still pulling at the back of my shirt to remove the last bits of straw.

  “Don’t get in my way or I’ll hose you down.” He flicks the nozzle in my direction and douses me.

  “You bastard!” I cry out, startled but still laughing.

  “Oh shit,” Dallas says when he comes back into the barn. Dodging bursts of spray, he runs over to join me. “Not this again. It’s a miracle any work gets done on this ranch.”

  “No shit.” I glance up at Dallas. There’s no mistaking the look of fondness he sends Connor’s way. It seems to me that working with Connor, day in and day out, would make anyone’s stay at the ranch a lot of fun. Particularly if you had the opportunity to share his bed as well.

  “Come on,” Dallas says, pulling me out of the line of fire of another blast from the hose. “I want to introduce you to someone.” We duck out the door just before getting drenched and Dallas leads me to a corral behind the barn.

  Dancing and tossing his mane out in the ring is the most beautiful horse I’ve ever seen. He’s big and black and shiny. That’s about the extent of my horse knowledge.

  “That’s Midnight Run,” Dallas says and by the tone of his voice, I know he not only loves working on the ranch, he loves working with the animals.

  Damn. I’m starting to like Dallas a whole hell of a lot. I sneak a glance down at his jeans. Nothing’s covering him up now and from the size of the bulge, Connor wasn’t kidding. Yep, my fondness for him has certainly grown if the tingling heat hidden behind the fly of my Levi’s is any indication.

  Thankfully, Dallas doesn’t notice my lingering gaze. He whistles and the young stallion’s ears perk. His shiny black coat glistens in the late morning sun.

  “Come on over here, you wily bastard,” Dallas calls.

  The horse responds to Dallas’s voice by tossing his head and nickering.

  “Ah you big show off, get over here.’ He makes a clicking sound with his mouth and the horse dances over.

  “He’s spirited, isn’t he? You ever ridden him?”

  “I broke him,” he says quietly. “But he’s Wade’s horse now. I haven’t ridden him in months.” Dallas’s jaw clenches and his nostrils flare and I’m pretty sure Dallas is talking about more than just the horse.

  The black approaches and it’s like Dallas said, he lifts his front hooves as if he’s prancing and showing off for me.

  “Come on, now,” he says and the horse sidles up to the fence, sniffing and snuffling around Dallas.

  “Is this what you’re looking for, you greedy boy?” Dallas gives him a handful of oats.

  The horse sniffs at his hand but before he can take a bite, Dallas takes my hand and drops the oats into my open palm. I hold my hand out to the horse. He shies away at first and I have an urge to tug my hand away too, suddenly afraid the unpredictable horse might bite me.

  I love horses, I do. But they scare me a little; they’re so big and powerful. I try to relax and focus on the way Midnight Run’s nose is soft and how he blows hot air out of his nostrils as he sniffs at my palm. Then his big soft lips extend out and snuffle up all the oats, leaving a bit of nose and mouth slime on my palm.

  I laugh and wipe my open hand down the front of my jeans.

  “He likes you,” Dallas says as the horse sniffs my face and stays close enough for me to pet him on the nose.

  “I like him too.”

  I glance at Dallas and find him staring at me with those black, black eyes of his. My cheeks burn under his intense gaze.

  I smile hesitantly when suddenly I cry out because my hair has just been yanked with a sharp tug.

  “Hey!” Dallas smacks the horse on his nose, making him release the mouthful of hair he’s tried to snack on. Midnight bares his teeth at Dallas and then sniffs at my hair again.

  “He thought my hair was hay,” I say. My heart is still racing from the unexpected tug. Facing my fear, I hold out my hand to the horse for him to sniff instead of my hair. “It’s okay,” I say, encouraging the big black beast.

  While I’m focused on the horse, Dallas moves behind me and takes my hair in his hands, smoothing it into a ponytail at the back of my head. I don’t know what he uses to tie it with but his hands on my head and in my hair make me shiver with unexpected pleasure.

  “Thanks,” I say, sounding a little breathless.

  “No problem.” His voice sounds even deeper and huskier than usual. “I know what it’s like to have long hair get in the way. I used to keep mine long. I cut it when my mom passed away.”

  “Is that like a spiritual belief?”

  “Yes,” Dallas says. “I’m Ojibwe.” He moves to stand beside me again.

  Ahh, that would explain the high cheekbones and obsidian eyes. “So you’re from out East?”

  “Yeah.”

  “How do you like the West?”

  “It has its pros and…cons.” His lips twist and I know he’s making a play on Connor’s name. He’s looking over my shoulder and I glance behind me to see Connor walking over with another man beside him.

  “Hey Dallas, can you take Doctor Green over to check on the late springers?”

  “’Course.” Dallas nods at me and then walks in the other direction toward the truck.

  “Dallas,” Connor calls. “Tess and I are going riding later. Do you want to come along?”

  Dallas flicks his gaze to me and then back at Connor. “Sure,” he says and I think I see that rare hint of a smile on his face. My body’s reaction is instant. My cheeks flush in conjunction with my nether regions.

  “What the hell is a late springer?” I ask as Dallas and the vet take off in the truck.

  “The heifers that are late to calf.”

  “Oh.”

  Connor takes my arm. “You don’t mind if Dallas joins us, do you?”

  “No,” I say, anticipation prickling low in my belly. “But do you think Wade will mind?”

  Looking me dead in the eye, Connor says, “I sure as hell hope so.”

  Chapter Five

  After washing up and changing my damp clothes, I meet Connor back at the stables. He’s got three horses saddled and is loading up food and drinks into some saddle bags.

  “Hey hot stuff. Come meet Dixie.”

  I laugh. Of course he would put me on Dixie. She’s a beautiful gentle-looking brown and white horse. She’s got a lighter colored mane and her eyes are liquid gold with long lashes. I fall in love with her immediately.

  As I’m leading her out into the ya
rd, Dallas shows up, wearing a different shirt and smelling suspiciously fresh with a hint of some spicy cologne. I can’t hide my grin. No one wears cologne on a trail ride unless they’re hoping for a little something more than time spent on a horse’s back.

  I shake my head. I’m no different. I’m wearing my best set of undies, black lace. I guess Dallas isn’t the only one hoping for a little something-something from this trail ride.

  “You remember how to mount?” Connor asks. “Or do you need my help?”

  I laugh, thinking about the double entendre of his words. “I think I’ve got it,” I say with a huge smile as I hold onto the reins and the saddle horn and step my left foot up into the stirrup. Thank God for yoga, because I somehow manage to swing my right leg up and over the horse with more grace than expected.

  “Good girl,” Connor says appreciatively. “It’s like you were born to ride.”

  “I doubt that,” I say with a laugh. Even though I’ve taken immediately to Dixie, I’m still nervous. Riding always takes me a little bit to get used to. I stroke Dixie’s soft neck and whisper words of appreciation in her ear while we wait for Dallas to join us.

  Within minutes the three of us are mounted and on our way. As we pass through the ranch lands, Connor points out different points of interest, the pasture of horses, the separate pastures for the bulls. They’re a bunch of new foals scampering around on spindly legs. By the time we’re on the trail toward Lookout Point, I’m feeling much more comfortable.

  It’s a beautiful spring day in the Northern Rockies and the fields are covered in a dusting of fresh green grass. The buds on the trees have just popped, painting the foothills with a lime green paintbrush. Though the air is cool and fresh, the sun is shining and I lift my face to its warmth. Soon the trail becomes wooded as we reach the foothills on the eastern slopes of the Rockies. The air cools down and I’m struck by the fresh scent of earth, pine and new leaves. After about an hour, we stop in a clearing and dismount.

  “Take Tess and the food up to the lookout, I’ll take care of the horses,” Connor says.