Runaway Cowboy

by T. J. Kline

  “She’s thinking about it. Probably about the same time Derek graduates and comes home. It would be a full house.” He glanced through the kitchen window at the crowd of people milling around the food tables and near the makeshift dance floor they’d set up in the yard. “Would you mind?”

  She cupped the smooth surface of his fresh shaven cheek, missing his usual five o’clock shadow. “Clayton Michael Graham,” she scolded. “Your family is my family. She can move in whenever she wants to. We’ll make it work.” She smiled at him. “Candie and I were talking about chopping off this mop I call hair. It would be nice to have a stylist around.”

  Clay ran his hands through her long, curled tresses, cupping the back of her head. “Don’t you dare.” He bent forward and nibbled at the corner of her mouth. “Are you sure you’re okay with her staying here? Just until she gets on her feet.”

  “More than okay, happy about it.” Jen curled her hand around the back of his neck and pressed her lips against his.

  “You know, Jerry gave me a key to one of the cabins, in case we wanted to leave early tonight. We could make a stop before the airport.”

  Her brows knit on her forehead and she frowned. “We can’t run away. The band hasn’t even started yet.” She laughed at his eagerness to get her alone.

  “Not run away. This time I’m running toward something—our future, together.” He tipped her chin up so that their eyes met. “I love you, Jennifer. I might run, but it will be forward, with your hand in mine, forever.”

  Clay kissed her, holding her against his body, making her forget the hundreds of family and friends waiting for them in the yard. She clung to him, letting her body melt against his frame, letting her love for him overflow. Somehow, her cowboy had found his way back home, pushing aside the pain and regret of the past to embrace the future.

  “Eh-hem.”

  Jennifer turned and looked at the kitchen door where Mike stood, smiling broadly. “Go away, Mike.” Clay teased the older man, but his eyes never left Jen’s face. “You’re interrupting.”

  “Yeah, well, I guess that’s my prerogative since I’m the one responsible for your having such a lovely wife.” He pulled several serving trays of food from the refrigerator. “We have hungry guests waiting to toast the bride and groom again.”

  Clay sighed and hung his head. “Fine, let’s go make yet another appearance before we steal away for the night.”

  He wasn’t fooling her. She caught Clay’s grin as he led her toward the doorway. Jen paused long enough to embrace Mike. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  Mike smiled down at her, his eyes gleaming with parental pride. “I was thrilled to walk you down the aisle today.”

  “Thank you for giving me back what I hadn’t realized I missed.” She kissed Mike’s cheek.

  “You’re very welcome, kiddo. Sometimes you’ve got to let that pony run, and other times, you need to just lead him where he needs to be.”

  Acknowledgments

  WITH EVERY BOOK I write, it seems like I have more people to thank. I have made some of my best friends during the writing of this series, both traditionally published and indie authors. I want to especially thank the Avon ladies (you guys know who you are!) for setting the bar high and pushing me to get better with each and every book I write. You are the most amazingly talented group of authors a girl could ask for as mentors.

  A huge thank you to the Avon Addicts! Without you, I would still be floundering in my bubble of self-doubt midway through my second story. You are my coffee and pump me up to write daily.

  I must thank my amazingly talented editor, Rebecca, who made this manuscript shine and made edits painless and fun. Without you, I’d be an OCD mess right now.

  Thank-you hugs and kisses go all around to my family and husband. You have put up with so many months of fix-your-own dinners, group house cleaning sessions, and “Shh, mom’s got the headphones on” days in the past year just to help me reach my dreams. I love you guys to the moon and back again.

  And to the One who makes all of this possible, thank you! I am so very blessed that I still pinch myself when I wake.

  Continue reading for an excerpt from

  LEARNING THE ROPES

  by T. J. Kline

  Available now from Avon Impulse!

  An Excerpt from

  LEARNING THE ROPES

  Chapter One

  ALICIA KANANI SLAPPED the reins against her horse’s rump as he stretched out, practically flying between the barrels down the length of the rodeo arena, dirt clods kicking up behind them as the paint gelding ate up the ground with his long stride. She glanced at the clock as she pulled him up, circling to slow him to a jog as a cowboy opened the back gate, allowing her to exit. 16.45. It was good enough for only second place right now. Damn it! If only she’d been able to cut the first barrel closer, it might have taken another tenth of a second off her time.

  She walked her favorite gelding, Beast, back to the trailer and hooked the halter around his neck before loosening his cinch. The titter of female laughter floated on the breeze, and recognition dawned as the pair of women moved from behind her trailer. Alicia cringed.

  “Look, Dallas, there’s Miss Runner Up.” Delilah jerked her chin at Alicia’s trailer. “Came in second again, huh?” She flipped her long blond waves over her shoulder. “I guess you can’t win them all . . . oh, wait,” she giggled. “You don’t seem to win any, do you? That would be me.” The pair laughed as if it were the funniest joke ever.

  “Isn’t it hard to ride a broom and a horse at the same time, Delilah?” Alicia tipped her head to the side innocently as Delilah glared at her and stormed away, dragging Dallas with her.

  Delilah had been a thorn in her side ever since high school when Alicia first arrived in West Hills. There’d never been a lack of competition between them but, years later, only one of them had matured at all.

  Alicia snidely imitated Delilah’s laugh to her horse as she pulled the saddle from his back and put it into the back of the trailer. “She thinks she’s so funny. ‘You haven’t won, I have,’ ” she mimicked in a nasally voice. “What a bitch,” she muttered as she rubbed the curry comb over Beast’s neck and back.

  “I sure hope you don’t kiss your mother with that mouth.”

  “Chris!” Alicia spun to see Chris Thomas, her best friend Sydney’s brother, walking toward her trailer. She hurried over and gave him a bear hug. “Did you rope already?”

  “Later tonight, during the slack. Too many entries, so hopefully we finish before the barbecue starts.”

  She’d rodeoed with Chris and Sydney for years until Chris had gone pro with his team roping partner. For the last few years, they’d all been pursuing the same goal, the National Finals Rodeo in their events. So far their paths hadn’t crossed since Sydney’s wedding nearly two years ago. She’d suspected she might see him here since they were so close to home and this particular rodeo boasted a huge purse for team ropers. Her eyes did a quick survey of him, realizing the past couple of years had been very good to him. Unfortunately, he had always oozed self-confidence and she was sure he was aware of the fact.

  “I see Delilah’s still giving you a hard time.”

  She shrugged and gave him a half-smile. “She’s still mad I beat her out for rodeo queen when Sydney gave up the title.”

  “That was a long time ago. You’d think she’d let it go.” Chris stuffed one hand into his pockets and leaned against the side of her trailer, patting Beast’s neck. “Maybe you should put Nair in her shampoo like she did to you.”

  Alicia cringed at the memory. “Ugh! It was a good thing I smelled it before I put it on my head. That could’ve been traumatic. But I got her back.”

  Chris laughed out loud. “Didn’t you put liniment in her lip gloss?”

  She pinched her lips together, trying to keep from laughing at the reminder of the prank. They had some good times together in the past. She wondered how they’d managed to drift apart over the past few ye
ars. She missed his laugh and the way he always seemed to bring the playful side of her personality to the surface. One minute they were traveling together, the three of them inseparable, and the next they hadn’t spoken more than a few words in years.

  “So, how’d you do?” he asked.

  “Second, so far. Again,” she clarified.

  Chris gave her a lopsided grin and crossed his arms over his chest. She tried not to notice how his biceps bulged against the material of his Western shirt or how much he’d filled out since she’d last seen him. And in all the right places.

  “Second’s nothing to complain about.”

  “It’s nothing to brag about either,” she pointed out, tearing her eyes away from his broad chest and trying to focus on the horse in front of her. She went back to brushing Beast, feeling slightly uncomfortable at the way Chris continued to silently watch her, as if he wanted to say something but wasn’t sure how to bring it up. She finally turned and faced him. “What?”

  He grabbed the front of his straw cowboy hat with his palm and adjusted it nervously. “Are you going to the dance tonight?”

  Alicia felt a sizzle begin in her stomach and spiral outward. She fumbled with the brush, nearly dropping it and prayed she’d misheard him. Like his sister, Chris had a heart of gold and would do anything for his friends but, unlike Sydney, he was a flirt. A player. The type of guy with a new girl on his arm at every rodeo and never serious about any of them. He always had been and, she suspected, always would be. But, in spite of the way she and Sydney teased him about his philandering ways unmercifully growing up, she’d always harbored a huge crush on him, even if he’d never seen her as anything more than another pesky sister.

  She stared at Beast’s back, her hands no longer moving, unsure how to answer him. Chris must have seen her discomfort—he’d always been able to read her too well—and pushed himself away from the trailer, curling his lip with distaste.

  “It’s not for me,” he exclaimed. “That’d be so wrong.” He reached over and pinched her ribs, causing her to squeal and scoot away from his fingers. “It’s for . . . someone else.”

  Alicia forced out a shaky laugh. “Are we back in high school again? Did some guy send you over here to see if I like him?” She tossed the brush into the bucket in the tack compartment and slipped a flake of alfalfa into a hay net before hanging it on the side of the trailer for both of her geldings, grateful they were easygoing enough to share. She arched a brow and cocked her hip to the side. “If some guy wants me to go to the dance with him tonight, he better be brave enough to ask me himself.”

  Chris ran his hand over her gelding’s neck and shook his head, laughing. “Damn, woman, no wonder you’re still single. You’re brutal on us guys.” He slapped her butt as he walked by. “Maybe I’ll see you there tonight.”

  “Hey,” she yelled after him. “That’s mine, and unless you put a ring on this finger, keep your hands to yourself.”

  Chris shot her a quick wave but continued to laugh. She watched as he walked away, trying to drag her eyes away from admiring the way he filled out his jeans and to slow her racing heart. Then he looped his arm around the shoulders of a pretty redhead who didn’t look like she’d ever touched a horse, let alone ridden one. She might be looking for something to ride, but it isn’t a horse.

  She rolled her eyes as she turned back to her animals, trying to quell the flutter in her stomach. She couldn’t believe Chris could still make her feel this way. It didn’t even make sense. She would never act on her feelings for him. In fact, she’d never told anyone, not even Sydney. It was just a stupid, girlish crush. Chris was nothing more than a friend, not to mention one of the most eligible cowboys on the circuit. And she was just a girl from the poor side of the barn who never registered as anything more than a nuisance on his radar.

  CHRIS SAT ASTRIDE his bay gelding, Jaeger, in the practice arena, one leg casually looped around his saddle horn, while he and David waited for their turn. There were at least thirty pairs of team ropers in the slack and, so far, it was taking forever to get through them. At this rate, they were never going to make it in time for the barbecue tonight. His stomach rumbled, reminding him he hadn’t eaten all day.

  “Who was the girl you were talking to earlier?”

  He casually glanced at his partner, David Greenly. He raised his brows at his friend. “Why? Interested?”

  David shot him a disdainful glare. “Hardly.”

  They’d been rodeoing together for the last five years and when David encouraged him to go pro, Chris jumped at the chance. The two of them shared a common goal—to win the National Finals so they could open a roping school together. However, it took time to build their reputation and Chris wasn’t known for his patience. He needed to remember they were taking it one step at a time, one go-round at a time. In the meantime, he wanted to enjoy every spare moment, while David seemed content to be a workaholic.

  At this point, they knew each other well enough to finish the other’s sentences. If he didn’t watch himself, David would realize Chris was setting him up. Chris was tired of watching David push himself day after day, striving to be the best without any thought to what he was giving up. If he heard it once, he’d heard David complain about wanting to settle down and have kids a thousand times. Neither was high on Chris’s list of priorities, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t help his friend have what he wanted—the family he’d missed growing up with a single dad on the rodeo circuit. Besides, he was tired of David being his wingman and never having a woman of his own. It was beginning to make him feel guilty, like he was hoarding the ladies all for himself.

  Not that. Chris had any intention of getting tied down like his sister had, regardless of his mother’s begging for another grandchild. It wasn’t that he had anything against the institution of marriage, he was just having too much fun enjoying his freedom.

  He shot David a sly look. “I’ve talked to a lot of girls today. Which one are you talking about?”

  “At the trailer. The barrel racer with the paint?” David absent-mindedly slapped the end of his rope against his thigh while his horse hung his head, bored and dozing. “She didn’t look like one of your usual bunnies.”

  He was known to flirt with the women who lurked behind the chutes trying to find a cowboy to tame. Chris chuckled at the thought. Like he would ever be tamed. “Dark hair? Really pretty?”

  “Yeah, she was pretty.” David shrugged but didn’t look away. “I suppose.”

  Chris could see he was interested but didn’t want to appear overly so and laughed at him. “That’s Alicia Kanani, Sydney’s best friend. You don’t remember her?”

  He looked surprised. “The one who was rodeo queen a few years ago?”

  “That’s the one. Why? Want me to talk to her for you?”

  David frowned and shook his head. “The last thing I need right now is a female distraction. You don’t either,” he pointed out. “Get your head in the game. We are sitting fourth in the standings and we need to be higher before the National Finals.”

  “Yes, sir.” Chris snapped him a mock salute while David glared at him. “But if you think I’m going to act like a monk because you do, you’re insane. With all these available females just vying for my attention? I mean, just look at them.”

  Chris nodded his head toward the fence where several women in miniskirts, cowboy boots, and half-shirts waved, trying to catch his attention. He winked at one of the women along the fence line and laughed as she started whispering to her friend. “You see? I’m just being friendly, the way my mama taught me.”

  “Sure you are.” David shook his head and jerked his chin toward the chutes. “Quit fraternizing with the bunnies and pay attention. We’re almost up.”

  The pair jogged their geldings to the gate and waited for their turn. As the steer was loaded into the chute, David walked his mount into the heeler box while Chris urged his into the opposite side and waited for the cowboy manning it to stretch the barrier rope
across the front. He backed his horse into the corner of the box, feeling his haunches bunch under him, twitching with anticipation.

  Chris settled the loop of his rope in his right hand, slipping his reins through his left until they were exactly the way he liked them. His gelding pawed his front foot, anticipating his opportunity to bolt forward. He inhaled deeply, practically tasting the damp earth. A slow smile spread over his lips. He loved this life.

  Settling into the saddle, murmuring to his gelding, he let out the breath. He glanced over the chute at David and, seeing he was ready, nodded to the cowboy who released the steer from the chute. He nudged the gelding’s sides, breaking from the box as the rope snapped, clearing him to make a clean run.

  Swinging the loop over his head, he felt the rope slide deftly through his fingers until instinct told him it was exactly the size and position he wanted it to be. Reaching his arm forward, he tossed it perfectly over the steer’s horns, flipping his hand over and catching the rope in his fingers as he simultaneously wound it around the saddle horn and turned his gelding. He directed the steer forward, the rope pressing against his thigh, as David aimed his loop downward to catch the steer’s back feet. Watching over his shoulder, he heard the zip of the rope and saw David catch both feet. Chris spun his horse to face his partner, stretching their ropes taut as the official snapped his flag, signaling their time. 5.2. It was a great time; enough for first place, but they wouldn’t know if they could hold their position until after tomorrow’s performance.

  The men rode toward one another causing the rope to loosen and slip from the steer’s hind legs. David wound his rope as Chris followed the steer to the end of the arena where another cowboy removed his rope and a third opened the back gate for him to exit.

  “Nice run, Chris.”

  He twisted in his saddle in time to see Alicia loading her horses into her trailer. “Thanks. You’re leaving?” A curl of disappointment twisted through his gut, surprising him.