Rancher Dragon

by Terry Bolryder

Panic washed through Beck again. He never wanted anyone to have his coin. It only led to heartbreak. And tragedy.

  He wasn’t like Harrison. Or even Clancy. He was a monster.

  “You shouldn’t have done that,” Beck said, shaking his head as he started to fix his sandwich. “We both know I’m not the man she wants doing her a favor.”

  Harrison folded his arms, looking like he was trying to resist an eye roll. “I know no such thing. So get your ass over there and apologize. That lady saved your life, and your growly ass was an embarrassment to the ranch.” Harrison shook his head. “Never thought you’d dishonor a dragon talon.”

  “I didn’t mean to give it to her,” Beck growled. “I just wanted you to know what happened.”

  “Because you thought you were about to die,” Harrison said.

  “Yep.”

  They shared a look, but Harrison’s eyes were hard, and by the stubborn set of his chin, Beck knew his boss wasn’t going to let this one go easily.

  “You want me to go talk to her,” Beck said. “About what?” He took a bite of his sandwich. “I’ve half a mind to go ask for my coin back.”

  “You do, and you’re fired, Beck,” Harrison says. “I don’t care if you aren’t thankful she saved your sorry ass. She saved one of my best friends. And she’s our neighbor. You weren’t neighborly at all.”

  “You’ve never met our neighbors,” Beck growled. “Until Marian—”

  “That’s right,” Harrison said. “Marian taught me a lot. Helped me see humans ain’t so bad. Sierra—that’s her name—could teach you that.”

  Marian was a nice woman, and Beck was glad that one of his best friends was settled and happy. After many lonely years on the ranch, Harrison deserved everything he had with his mate and more.

  But Beck? He didn’t deserve anything like that.

  And that nice, sweet lady who saved him? It’d be kinder for everyone involved if he stayed away.

  “You go apologize at least,” Harrison said. “I can’t have an asshole representing my ranch. And she’s not going to ask a favor from someone as rude and mean as you were.”

  “I wasn’t rude and mean,” Beck said. But thinking back, maybe he had been. He’d just been shocked. First at waking up, then by the fact that Harrison had given the woman Beck’s talon.

  He set down his sandwich and stretched, cricking his neck back and forth as he considered his options.

  But then he thought of Sierra’s blue eyes. Blue like a Texas sky. And yes, there was hurt in them.

  He didn’t want that. Hadn’t meant for it.

  “I’ll fix it,” he said, exhaling roughly.

  “You’ll make nice?” Harrison asked, looking almost surprised by how quickly Beck had agreed.

  Beck knew he was stubborn, but he could admit when he was wrong.

  The lady didn’t deserve to have a monster doing her a favor. But she didn’t deserve to be disrespected either, just because he’d been upset.

  So he’d find her and explain that it was nothing personal, but he couldn’t do her that favor.

  Maybe she’d accept a favor from Clancy or someone instead.

  And even if the thought made Beck jealous enough to want to burn down the whole range, he would keep that to himself.

  The lady deserved better than him no matter how much his dragon might whisper about wanting her.

  3

  Sierra was washing dishes in her kitchen after lunch when she saw dust making a cloud at the end of her drive, signaling that someone was coming toward her place.

  She’d been ruminating on how the huge, handsome, practically scary-looking men at Dragonclaw Ranch did more than justice to the legends she’d heard from her grandpa about the place.

  To hear him tell it, it was some mythical spread where monsters roamed in the hills or something.

  Then again, her grandpa also swore that in the old days, dragons used to rule the range.

  So it made sense that while Beck and Harrison were almost big enough to count as monsters, it turned out they were just pretty normal men.

  Except for Beck’s rudeness, which could maybe be excused on the basis that he’d just nearly bled to death.

  As the dust cloud got closer and Sierra could make out the sound of gravel crunching beneath rubber tires, Lasso, her collie, ran through his doggie door and began to bark at the top of his lungs.

  Sierra sighed as she went to go get him, wondering who could be coming to bother her now.

  “Come on, boy. Come inside,” she said as Lasso barked a few more times loudly, then turned and came to her hand. She brought him into the house, then closed the door while Lasso continued to bark, warning her of whatever was on its way up her drive.

  She turned to see the telltale dust plume was even closer, trailing a gleaming white luxury car that was rapidly making its way up her drive.

  Only one person she knew used such an impractical vehicle out here…

  Sierra strode to the top step of her porch, folding her arms as the vehicle pulled up. The windows on the car were tinted, and a gaudy silver hood ornament sat on the front of the hood.

  The back door swung open, and a familiar face stepped out. He had thinning red hair that was short on the sides and wavy on top. A thick build that might have been attractive at some point, but laziness and life with a silver spoon had made it quite soft. His face was cocky even though his features weren’t made to match the kind of confidence he wore.

  He had the money to buy whatever he wanted, thanks to his daddy, and his smirk showed he knew it gave him power over most people.

  Ross Clarkson.

  He stepped forward, wearing expensive cowboy boots that were a strange pairing with the suit pants and sport coat he had on. Sierra was almost surprised he was alone, as Ross was generally seen cavorting with his cronies around town and raising hell wherever they liked.

  Sierra felt her whole body tighten as he stopped fifteen feet from her, standing in the middle of her parcel like he already owned the place.

  “Have you thought about my proposal?”

  “Which one? For my hand or for my land?” Sierra asked. “Oh, wait. They’re the same to you, aren’t they?”

  Ross made a dramatic raise of one soft, uncalloused hand to his chest. “Oh, Sierra. You wound me with your words.”

  “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, Ross. This land belonged to my grandpa and his dad and his daddy’s dad before that. And it’ll belong to my family long after me too. I’ve no intention of selling it.” She used her firmest tone, standing proud even though she would never have the kind of money or power that he did.

  “I can tell you’re set on this, Sierra. But if you’d just take another look, I’m sure you’ll see I’m offering much more than this dump is worth.” His snide glance around her homestead made her wish she could punch him.

  Even if she did, she’d probably get sued for everything she was worth. Which wasn’t very much at the moment.

  “I don’t want to give up any part of the wild frontier. This place is special, and I won’t see it turned into whatever you and your family have planned for it just because you’re looking to make a buck.”

  If the rumors were true, the Clarksons had been buying up parcels for cheap all around them for years, paying pennies on the dollar as they filched land from honest, struggling ranchers. Then the plan was to sell it all to some big developer who planned on turning this fertile earth into heck knew what.

  Ross’s expression went dark, and his pale-green eyes were snakelike as he watched her. He shoved his hands in his pockets as he took an ominous step toward her.

  “You know how it works out here, Sierra. It’s the Wild West out in these parts. We claim what we want. And what Ross Clarkson wants, he gets.”

  “You can’t make me marry you. This is the twenty-first century.” She stood her ground, but Ross’s kind veneer was quickly falling to expose the mean, entitled brat she’d known he was from the first time they�
�d met in town.

  “Maybe. But I could always get a marriage license and make you sign it, if I had the right leverage.” His boots made the pebbly earth crackle beneath his feet.

  “What?” The lump in her throat was getting bigger, the dry Texas wind filling her nostrils as it mixed with the overpowering smell of his cologne. “How?”

  He grinned at her, showing no teeth even as his eyes were eerily calm. “Don’t make me show you.”

  She pointed off in the direction he’d come. “Get out of here. You have no right to be on my property.”

  “Or what?”

  “I’ll call the police.”

  He chuckled a bit, looking to the side before his eyes zeroed in on her again, and he cocked his head. “You and I both know they’re in my daddy’s pocket. They won’t come for you.” He tsked, then shook his head. “Speaking of which, that’s why you should have a man out here to protect you, Sierra. Never know what sort of trouble might come for you in these parts.”

  “Is that a threat?” She felt goose bumps on her arms.

  “A threat? Maybe.” His expression went colder than ever. “I’m just saying if there’s no other man here, then that man’s gonna be me, Sierra. I take what I want.”

  She opened her mouth, though to what end, she wasn’t sure. Scream for help? Yell at him to leave? Either way, Ross backed up and whistled to himself, making for his car as he waved over his shoulder at her nonchalantly.

  “Think about my offer. It might be your last if you don’t do the smart thing.” Before she could respond, Ross slumped himself back into the back seat, making the car creak as his weight shifted it. Then he waved at his driver to go.

  The fancy car drove away as decisively as it had arrived, and Sierra hoped it got rock chips or, heaven willing, a flat tire on its way back out.

  Back at the house, Lasso was still barking up a storm, a much better judge of character just by scent than most people were. Her nerves were still all tensed up like a rope in tangles, and as she opened the door, she knelt down to give Lasso some rubs on his face to hopefully calm them both down a bit.

  Her heart was racing. Ross had made it clear what his intentions were. And whatever time she thought she still had to avoid the bank foreclosing on this property had all gone up in smoke when he’d threatened her.

  “What’re we gonna do, boy?” she asked Lasso, who looked up at her eagerly as she scratched behind his ears. “Where do you just find a man?” Especially one she could trust. Someone that wasn’t just another Ross in waiting.

  She paced in a small circle, her preferred method of worrying when there was a problem she was trying to wrap her head around.

  Lasso, who’d been sitting back on his haunches while she paced, got up and went over to the chair on the porch, sniffing around a bit before pointing his nose at something. Curious, she went up and saw he was staring at the silver coin, which she’d tossed on the chair on her way in.

  She let out a sigh. If only things worked out that way.

  As things were, Beck had made it clear he wanted nothing to do with her. And Sierra was fine with that, mostly. Like she’d ever ask for a favor from someone who’d been so surly even after having been saved.

  But still, she felt an invisible pull toward the coin, and she picked it up into her hand, studying it again for the tenth time since leaving Dragonclaw. She couldn’t even make out the year on the back, and the huge gash across the front only left her with more questions than answers.

  She was plumb out of ideas right now.

  The sound of crunching gravel made all her senses stand at attention, and she whirled around to look down the drive, wondering if Ross was already back to make good on whatever it was he was threatening to do.

  Maybe she should run inside and get the shotgun…

  But instead, she saw a huge white truck plowing easily over the uneven road. A truck she thought she’d seen back at Dragonclaw, if she wasn’t mistaken.

  And as the truck came closer, a familiar face at the steering wheel caused an altogether different mix of emotions to flood into her as it loomed closer.

  Beck.

  He was coming to visit, though for what reason, she had no clue.

  The huge, raised vehicle stopped, and Beck stepped easily out of it, even larger than she remembered.

  He was utterly devastating in a white shirt under a flannel with the sleeves rolled up to expose powerful, tatted forearms. Without the blood all over him, he was even taller than she thought, muscles rippling as he took several steps toward her.

  He was the sexiest, most terrifying man she’d ever met in her entire life. And Sierra didn’t know how there could ever be a man that made her this speechless again.

  But even as he approached, grey eyes sparkling in the afternoon sun like they had flecks of crystal in them, Sierra felt a long sigh of relief leave her chest. She hadn’t known she’d been so tense before now. Beck’s presence seemed to have relaxed things a bit.

  Even Lasso, who was her closest companion, seemed unbothered by the approach of the burly, sexy hulk of a cowboy.

  There was just… something about him. And before she could cut the thought off, the idea of asking Beck for help occurred to her with all the speed of lightning striking a tree in a thunderstorm.

  After all, Harrison had said the dragon’s talon meant that Beck owed her. And she badly needed a favor right now.

  Maybe fate had brought them together.

  Sierra was usually the one who helped others. Who went out of her way to lift others’ burdens and show kindness in this cruel, unforgiving world. But just once, it felt like something good could possibly come out of helping another person.

  “How are you this afternoon?” Beck asked, tipping his well-loved Stetson to her as he stopped ten feet from her, almost filling up the entire space in front of her porch just standing there by himself.

  He was even being nice. Maybe that was a sign she should ask.

  “I’m all right, thank you,” she replied cordially. His face was much more handsome when it wasn’t screwed up in that growly expression as well. And his eyes, when they weren’t glaring or glowering, were downright captivating to watch as he looked her over.

  Beck took a step forward, and Sierra noted that she didn’t feel fear at his approach as she had with Ross. Only something pulling, something new and interesting she’d never felt before.

  He took off his hat and looked to the side. “Can we talk?”

  “Of course,” she replied, stepping onto the porch and motioning for him to sit in one of her chairs. He hesitated for a moment, then lowered himself slowly onto the chair, and it creaked and groaned.

  For a second, she wondered if the old chair could even support the weight of his sheer bulk. But then he relaxed against it, seated a few feet from her now, looking so big in the rocker, and she got the sudden impression that Beck would be absolutely perfect for a certain job.

  But did she dare ask him?

  “What brings you out here?” she asked, taking her seat next to him.

  Lasso sat between them, listening eagerly.

  “I came to apologize for my behavior earlier, ma’am,” Beck said, sitting forward and clasping his hands in front of him. “I shouldn’t have said those things I said. At least not how I said them.”

  With each passing second, Sierra was getting up the gumption to ask him. After all, he did owe her a favor. What wrong was there in asking?

  Perhaps he even came to offer to help her after how their last exchange had gone.

  Maybe her luck was finally picking up.

  “I wanted to thank you again for saving my life, Sierra.”

  Just the sound of her name on his lips sent a little thrill of something foreign down her fingers.

  Then he looked at her squarely, expression calm, and she knew she was going to ask him as soon as he finished whatever was on his mind.

  “I also came to tell you that I wasn’t being harsh back at Dragonclaw, but I
did mean what I said at the end.”

  “Mean what?” A sudden feeling of vertigo was starting to churn her insides. What was happening?

  “You really are better off without me around. In good conscience, I can’t do that favor for you. I just had to let you know.” He was dead serious. “For what it’s worth, I’m real sorry.”

  Sierra felt all her hopes start to fall as wetness bit at the corners of her eyes.

  Sorry wasn’t the half of it. Unbeknownst to Beck, for one bright moment, he’d been her only chance of help.

  And he’d only come back to turn her down for a second time before she could even ask.

  The desperation and hopelessness of the situation hit her, and she turned away from him, hoping he couldn’t see the tears in her eyes.

  She’d been stupid to think that even for a moment, this man could help her.

  As usual, she would just have to do everything alone.

  4

  She was leaking. Why the hell was she leaking?

  Beck felt far more nervous realizing he’d somehow hurt this gorgeous woman than he’d ever been while facing a basilisk.

  Fighting? That was easy. It was practically all he was good for. But conversating? He’d never had much practice outside the ranch.

  His only friend outside the Dragonclaw cowboys was TJ, a man he’d known a long time whom he sometimes went wandering with.

  But TJ knew Beck wasn’t much for talk.

  Beck’s heart thudded as Sierra turned away, attempting with little swipes at her eyes to hide her tears from him.

  For some reason, the human was upset that Beck wasn’t going to be able to do her a favor. For some reason, she was disappointed.

  What in tarnation would she want a brute like Beck on her land for? If she needed help, he’d be sure to get someone else for her. A pretty boy like Clancy was what this soft-spoken little thing should want.

  Even if it was Beck who wanted his hands on her. Beck who wanted to grip her hips tightly and pull her close. Beck who—

  “I’m sorry,” Sierra said with a little sniffle that broke him. “It’s fine. Not about you. Just one of those days.” She waved a hand, not facing him. “You’re free to leave.”