Cowboy's Sweetheart (Sugar Coated Cowboys Book 3)

by Stephanie Berget

  Byron popped the top off a beer and handed it to her. He placed a couple of pieces of pizza on a paper towel in front of her then helped himself.

  She inhaled both slices and reached for another. Byron ate silently, but didn’t take his eyes off her.

  “What!” She’d tried to remain indifferent, but she couldn’t stand the scrutiny another minute. “What do you want from me? You act like we’re getting closer then you pull away. If you want to be friends, I’m afraid you’re in for a big disappointment. I can’t be your friend right now. It hurts too much.”

  He stood and started toward her. When he reached her side, he knelt down. “Vivi, you’re so special, but I can’t give you want you want, what you deserve.”

  “Why? I don’t understand. You love me. You said so. And I love you so much it hurts. Where’s the problem?”

  “I’m a loner and I like it like that.” Byron stood. “I wish I could say something to make it easier, but I think we should make a clean break.” He turned and walked to his truck.

  She heard the deep rumble of his Dodge fade into the distance as she sat absorbing his words. “It’d be easier to make a clean break if you’d stay away.”

  As she worked getting settled into her new, temporary home, she searched for the positive attitude she’d worked so hard to perfect. The only positive thing she could come up with wasn’t much, but lately it seemed as if small positives were all she got. At least she hadn’t had to carry the mattress and box springs into the house by herself.

  Fatigue dragged her down like a heavy weight. As she entered the bedroom, she stopped. Byron had made up the bed. The bright handmade quilt that had lain folded on the end of his was spread out over hers.

  ~-~

  Byron cinched up the gray and white paint colt and swung into the saddle. The animal was coming along nicely, and he’d considered keeping him for his own. The temperature hovered just above freezing, and he tied his wild rag a little tighter around his neck.

  The stock in the pens near the barn, were fed and the chores done, but he couldn’t force himself to go back into the bungalow and be alone with his thoughts. Going to the big house and watching Micah and Cary shoot him pitying looks wasn’t his idea of fun either.

  He missed Vivi. He’d gone Leavenworth to give her his grandmother’s quilt as a housewarming gift. Why he’d thought he could say good-bye and be done when he hadn’t been able to do it before baffled him.

  In the two weeks since he’d walked out of her house, he hadn’t heard a word from her or about her. Either she wasn’t communicating with Cary and Micah, or they weren’t telling him if she did.

  And to top things off, his father had called for the first time in four years. The man had the nerve to tell him to come home. Dear old dad had disowned Byron over football and now he needed help. He didn’t apologize or ask. He demanded, threatening, always threatening.

  If Vivi had been here, she’d have made him look at the whole picture, calmed him, kissed him until he couldn’t think.

  He missed her laugh. He just plain missed her. How stupid was he? He’d had the perfect woman, she’d loved him and he’d thrown that away.

  When he’d chosen ranching over football, his dad had called him selfish. The man had called Byron a loser. Maybe he was both. Maybe it was time to change.

  He sat in the silence of the timber on the hill above the ranch. The colt cocked a hip and dropped his head. The wind rustled the pine boughs, and he heard a turkey call in the distance.

  He’d thought he loved this ranch above anything, but it was just a place. He loved Vivi. He’d valued his solitude to the exclusion of people, but he didn’t want to be alone anymore.

  He turned the horse toward the barn. He had his work cut out for him if he wanted her to forgive him and learn to trust him again. As he unsaddled, he thought back to their last conversation. How tired and downtrodden she’d looked. She’d told him she didn’t want just friendship, but did she still want more? All his life, he’d been single minded when it had come to something he wanted.

  Now, finally, he’d decided he wanted Vivi.

  Cary waved from the porch, calling his name. He waved back and drove away. He didn’t want to chat, he didn’t want to waste time, and he didn’t need any advice. It was up to him to make things right with Vivi or live with the consequences.

  He’d driven by Unique Log Furnishings in Yakima, Washington but had never been inside. It more than met his expectations. By the time he was done, he’d cleaned out a big chunk of his checking account and filled the bed of his pickup. It took some fast-talking to get the owner to sell him a floor model. There’d been a time when nothing could have gotten him to beg, but he was on a mission and nothing, not even his hermit tendencies, would stop him.

  With a bottle of what the clerk at the grocery store assured him was their best wine, and a plastic tray of cheese and crackers, he started for Vivi’s. He wasn’t a wine drinker, but if she turned him down, he could drown his sorrows.

  He could see the old truck Micah had loaned Vivi in front of the house. It hadn’t occurred to him she might not be home until he was almost there. He hadn’t been this nervous staring down a three hundred pound defensive lineman. Vivi weighed a little over one hundred pounds, but she could destroy him without lifting a finger.

  He turned off the key and silence surrounded him. All he had to do was get out of the truck and—. He heard the wooden screen door slam and looked up to see the love of his life standing at the top of the steps, arms crossed beneath her breasts. He raised his gaze to the scowl on her beautiful face.

  “I told you I don’t want to be friends. Go away.”

  He climbed down, the bag with the wine and food in his hand. “I brought you dinner. Well not exactly dinner, but snacks. I brought snacks and wine.” God he sounded like a high school girl, whiny and wordy.

  “I’ve had dinner. Go away.” He’d known she’d be standoffish at first, but she was normally a kind woman. This wasn’t going at all like he’d planned. Squinted eyes and thinned lips were a dead giveaway that she wasn’t overjoyed to see him. That, and the fact that she kept telling him to go away.

  “Vivi, give me a couple of minutes. Then if you want, I’ll leave.” He held out the sack as a sort of peace offering.

  She turned on her heel and went into the house. By the time he caught up with her, she sat in the recliner, the only piece of furniture in the house. Her arms were still crossed, so instead of starting the conversation, he went into the kitchen and poured them both a glass of wine.

  She took hers and didn’t immediately throw it at him.

  He took that as a good sign. “I know I’ve been…” He had to be careful, choose the perfect words.

  “A fool, an idiot, a closed off, unreachable loner?” She didn’t smile and her harsh words chilled him to the core.

  “All of those and hard to read, a coward and unfair.”

  “And you think telling me this will what? Make me want you around?” She took a sip of the wine, grimaced and put the glass on the floor. “We’ve been through this before. I want more.”

  Byron knelt in front of her, taking her hands in his. “Viola Margaret Beckett, I know you have no reason to trust me, but I love you.”

  “Yeah, you said that before. It didn’t keep you from pushing me away when I got too close.” She gently tugged her fingers from his and clenched her hands in her lap. She was as closed off as he’d ever been. “My father was right. I’m going to sell this place and go back home. I have my degree. I can teach. I was a fool to think I could change things.”

  He remained where he was, even when she leaned away. “We can change things. Look, I’ve been thinking. We can make a go of this place.”

  “Until you decide to leave again.”

  He took her cheeks in his hands and looked into her eyes. “I’m not leaving. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me and for a long time I was too stupid—no, too scared to admit it.” He stroked a
fingertip along her jaw line, marveling at her soft smooth skin. He raised his gaze to hers and continued. “I’ll do stupid things in the future. If I run true to course, I’ll do lots of them. But I’ll never leave you again.”

  “I don’t believe you.” Her expression had softened, but her body remained stiff.

  He kissed her again, twice. “Trust me. Have you ever known me to lie?”

  “No, you’ve never lied.” She watched him, her gaze roaming over his face. “You said we could make it on this place. Does that mean you and me—here—together? Forever?”

  The last word came out as a whisper, and he had another jolt of guilt with the knowledge of how much he’d hurt her. “I have around thirty head of mama cows. That’s not enough to make a living on, but we have good hay fields here. We can sell what we don’t use until we build up our herd. I can get a job on one of the ranches.” He glanced at his boots. “You’d have to get a job in town until we get on our feet.”

  At the touch of her finger on his cheek, he looked up. “I don’t mind working. Several of the art galleries in Sisters have help wanted signs.”

  He pulled her to her feet and into his arms. His fear of leaving the Circle W was gone. It had disappeared like a puff of smoke the moment he realized Vivi was the most important thing in his life.

  She put a hand on his chest and pushed him back a few inches. “You said forever. Does that mean marriage?”

  He reached into his pocket and fished out a plain, battered silver band. “This was my grandmother’s. This was all they could afford when they first got married. They were married for fifty-nine years. I can get you a fancier one when we get ahead.”

  She held out her, hand and he slipped the ring on her finger. “I like this one. It’s got a record of longevity. I like the sound of nearly sixty years of marriage.”

  He kissed her hard and clung to her. “Are you saying yes?” He couldn’t quite believe she’d forgiven him, that she was his.

  “Yes, yes, yes, forever yes.”

  When he’d finished kissing any lingering doubt right out of her, he took her hand and led her out to the pickup.

  “It’s beautiful, but why a bed? We could use some furniture for the living room.” She ran her hand over the big knot in the center of the headboard.

  “You didn’t think we could both sleep in that little bed you’ve got in there, did you?”

  “You must have been pretty certain I’d forgive you to spend this much.” She crawled over the side of the truck, sat on the edge of the bed and wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “I wasn’t sure at all, but I decided if I was all in on this with you, it was time to start taking chances.

  EPILOGUE

  Byron sat in a plastic lawn chair on the porch of their new home and watched Vivi work the crowd. Vivi was as out-going as he was introverted. They made a pretty good combination.

  Cary and Micah had offered the ranch as a site for their wedding, and he’d tried to look excited. Vivi watched his reaction then told Cary her dream wedding had always been an elopement.

  He’d had been worried Vivi would be disappointed at getting married in a courthouse, but once again, he’d underestimated his woman. She’d made arrangements with the Winnemucca Floral and Wedding Chapel. By the time the service was done, she’d become friends with the owners.

  He’d never seen her more radiant in the pale pink lace dress. Watching Vivi’s eyes fill with tears when the Justice of the Peace pronounced them man and wife was second only to kissing his bride.

  Since he hadn’t given Vivi the fancy wedding she deserved, he’d made an attempt to visit with all the guests at the reception Cary planned for them. The only small talk he was good at was cattle and ranching, though, and he was at a total loss with some of the people.

  His wife knew him well. When she’d seen his discomfort, she’d taken his hand and placed him on the end of the porch, away from everyone. People wandered across the lawn and in and out of the house, but only Micah approached him.

  “Congratulations.” Micah gave him a slap on the back. “Vivi will have you in shape in no time.”

  “I don’t know if I’ll ever be comfortable in a crowd, but it’s better when I know she’s here with me.”

  As they talked, Vivi made eye contact with him across the yard then sauntered toward him, oblivious to the others. He stood as she approached and when she reached him, she wrapped her arms around his waist. Lifting onto her tiptoes, she kissed him. “Having fun?”

  He kissed her back then looked out over their friends and family. There was a time, not so long ago, that he’d thought he was happy alone. Not anymore. He smiled down at the woman who’d rescued him from himself. “I’m not sure I’d call this exactly fun, but as long as you stick with me, Viola Margaret, I can do anything.”

  Romance Beneath A Rodeo Moon

  If you enjoyed reading Sweet Cowboy Kisses, you can find Cary and Micah’s story in Gimme Some Sugar, the first in the Sugar Coated Cowboys series.

  Gimme Some Sugar-Pastry chef, Cary Crockett, is on the run. Pursued by a loan shark bent on retrieving gambling debts owed him by her deadbeat ex-boyfriend, she finds the perfect hiding place at the remote Circle W Ranch. More at home with city life, cupcakes and croissants than beef, beans and bacon, she has to convince ranch owner Micah West she’s up to the job of feeding his hired hands. The overwhelming attraction she feels toward him was nowhere in the job description.

  Micah West has a big problem. The camp-cook on his central Oregon ranch has up and quit without notice, and his crew of hungry cowboys is about to mutiny. He agrees to hire Cary on a temporary basis, just until he finds the right man to fill the job. Maintaining a hands-off policy toward his sexy new cook becomes tougher than managing a herd of disgruntled wranglers.

  http://amzn.to/1UDCemK

  More books by Stephanie Berget featuring rodeo cowboys, ranchers and the women who love them:

  Radio Rose-Cowboys and aliens … on a dark, deserted highway, it can be hard to tell the difference.

  Especially when Rose Wajnowski makes her living as a night DJ chatting about alien encounters with folks in tinfoil helmets. Her listeners are eccentric, to say the least. But she’s happy—sort of—with her solitary life. Until a midnight car crash and a blow to the head has her seeing tall, handsome extra-terrestrials instead of stars.

  Adam Cameron, raised by his narcissistic grandfather, got out of Tullyville, Colorado the day he turned eighteen. He’s back ten years later for the reading of his grandfather’s will, but he’s not happy to be home. Except for meeting the pretty little brunette who nearly ran him down with her car on that dark highway.

  Adam is about to be pulled into a contest for a vast fortune and the future of a town he’d just as soon forget. But the quirky inhabitants of Tullyville desperately need his help if their town is to survive. Luckily for him, this cowboy has feisty Rose at his side, and in his arms.

  As they work together to save their town, Rose and Adam learn important lessons about trust and the real meaning of family.

  http://amzn.to/267wmd6

  Sugarwater Ranch-Sean O’Connell’s life is perfect, or it was until his partying lifestyle affected his bull riding. Now he’s ended the season too broke to leave the Northwest for the warm southern rodeos. When a wild night with his buddies gets out of hand, he wakes up naked, staring into the angry eyes of a strange woman. His infallible O’Connell charm gets him nowhere with the dark-haired beauty. It’s obvious she’s not his usual good-time girl, so why can’t he forget her?

  Bar-manager Catherine Silvera finds a waterlogged, unconscious cowboy freezing to death in front of the Sugarwater Bar. She saves his life--then runs faster than a jackrabbit with a coyote on its tail. Any man who makes his living rodeoing is bad news, especially if he thinks partying is part of the competition. He’s everything she doesn’t want in a man, so why can’t she shake her attraction to the rugged cowboy?

  http://amzn.to/29lydml

/>   Gimme Some Sugar Excerpt

  Snapping his head up, he whirled around, almost elbowing the woman standing behind him. Pulling in a deep, slow breath, partly to gather some semblance of calm and partly to adjust to the tingle where her hand met his arm, he took a step back before speaking.

  “Help me with what?” Did he know her? He was sure he didn’t, but man….

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I heard you say you’re looking for a cook.” Golden eyes the color of whiskey stared into his. “I cook.”

  He let his gaze wander over her, liking what he saw. She wasn’t a local. Her white blond hair was as short as a man’s on the sides and curled longer on the top and back. He hadn’t seen any woman, or anyone at all who wore their hair like this. Of course, tastes of the people of East Hope ran to the conservative.

  Despite the severe hairstyle, she was pretty. Beyond pretty. Leather pants showed off her soft curves, miniature combat boots encased her small feet and a tight tank top enhanced her breasts.

  When she cleared her throat, he jerked his eyes up to her face. “It won’t do you any good to talk to my breasts. Like most women, it’s my brain that answers questions.”

  A smart ass and she’d caught him red-handed. His cheeks warmed. Damn it, he was blushing. This woman was not at all what he needed. Time to end this. “I have a ranch, the Circle W. We need a camp cook. A man.”

  Her eyes narrowed, and her body tensed. “It looks like you need any kind of cook you can get.” She held her hand out, indicating the empty café. “Not a lot of takers.”

  She had him there. His gut told him he was going to regret this, but she was right. He had no choice. “I’ll hire you week to week.” When she nodded, he continued. “I’ve got seven ranch hands. You’ll cook breakfast and dinner and pack lunches, Monday through Friday and serve Sunday dinner to the hands who are back by six o’clock.”