The Dreamer and the Cowboy: A Contemporary Christian Romance NOVELLA (The Rancher's Daughters Series Book 2)

by Debra Ullrick

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Also Available From Debra Ullrick

  About the Author

  The Dreamer and the Cowboy

  The Rancher’s Daughters Series, Book 2

  Sequel to:

  A Cowboy for Christmas

  The Rancher’s Daughters Series, Book 1

  By

  Debra Ullrick

  www.debraullrick.com

  The Dreamer and the Cowboy

  Copyright © 2015 by Debra Ullrick

  All rights reserved. Copyright under Berne, Universal and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical or by any other information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  Published by: Sweet Impressions Publishing

  Cover Design by Lynnette Bonner

  Cover images © BigStock- 24647663

  © Dreamstime - 39963424

  Registered Trademarks mentioned in the book:

  Elastikon

  Betadine

  eBook Edition License Notes

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook my not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Amazon Kindle Store and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

  Publisher's Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  THE DREAMER AND THE COWBOY

  BY

  DEBRA ULLRICK

  Prologue

  “Promise me you won’t let anything or anyone stop you from following your dreams.”

  “I won’t, Mom. I promise.”

  Teagan Baxter’s mother gave her a small but satisfied smile before her hand went limp in Teagan’s.

  “Mom! Mom!” Teagan leaned over the hospital bed and pressed her ear close to her mother’s heart, hoping and praying it was still beating. Her chest rose and fell, but barely, and her heartbeat sounded weak. Teagan raised her head and stared into her mother’s pale face that was now nothing more than skin and bones.

  “Please don’t die, Momma. Please. I love you. I need you.” Though she knew her words were futile, she spoke them just the same, praying they could make a difference, knowing they would not.

  Then, with one more ragged breath, her mother’s chest stopped moving.

  “Momma!” Teagan cried, staring at her mom’s lifeless form, the mom she loved so dearly, now slipping through her earthly grasp. “Oh, Mom.” Teagan shook her head even as her shoulders hunched forward. Shaking uncontrollably, she buried her face in her hands. Deep sobs tore through her, and her world spun out of control.

  Chapter One

  Three months later

  Teagan yawned yet again. Why did mornings have to come so early every single day? Just once she would like to see one show up at noon. She jammed the scoop shovel into the last pile of muck. Her arms ached from cleaning out the other nineteen soiled stalls. All she had left to do was put fresh straw down on the cement floor and dump the last wheelbarrow load out behind the barn with the rest of the manure. All… It always sounded so easy.

  Removing her leather glove, she wiped the sweat off of her forehead onto her long sleeved shirt. Even though it was only around 78 degrees outside, typical mid-June weather for the mountains of Colorado, and about 70 degrees inside the barn, cleaning stalls made her sweat like a stuffed pig.

  She glanced around at the clean stalls, wishing she were anywhere but here on the family’s ranch. Nothing was the same anymore with her mother gone. Everywhere Teagan looked there was a reminder of her mother and the dream they had shared, the dream now only she carried stuffed away in her heart. Like she had so many times already, once again, she vowed that as soon as she felt comfortable leaving her dad and sisters, she would keep the promise she had made to her momma. That time, however, was not now because everyone was still grieving over her mother’s death. Especially her father.

  Teagan sighed the thoughts away, but the stubborn things were going nowhere. In fact, they refused to budge even so much as an inch and were stuck inside her brain like rubber cement on leather. With good reason.

  She couldn’t shake the memory of the night before when she had walked past her dad’s bedroom and had heard him talking to her mother as if she were there in the room with him. His voice cracked with each word. Knowing he hurt as much as she did splintered her heart into even more pieces. It felt like the bark of a tree splintering under a relentless ax.

  Oh, mom. I miss you so much. The back of her eyes burned.

  “Teagan.”

  She stiffened, instinctively pushing back the tears, something she’d learned to do. Not wanting her dad to see her grieving yet again, she forced the smile that wasn’t there onto her face. Teagan pivoted around, swinging the shovel right along with her. With one look, the words ‘yeah Dad’ froze in her throat.

  Next to her dad stood a cowboy. His stocky build and six-foot one height matched her fathers.

  “Kage, this is my daughter Teagan. Teagan, this is Kage Jenkins.”

  The cowboy stepped forward and offered her a hand and a smile. “Nice to meet you, Miss Baxter.”

  Miss Baxter? No one ever called her that. Still, Teagan had to admit it sounded pretty good coming from him, especially with that deep southern drawl of his.

  Teagan closed the gap. “You, too, Mr. Jenkins.”

  His large hand engulfed hers, their eyes met under the brim of his white straw Bailey cowboy hat.

  One word came to mind – punchy. Kage Jenkins was one of the best-looking cowboys she’d ever laid eyes on. And that was saying a lot considering Grand County had its fair share of handsome, macho cowboys.

  His large almond-shaped eyes - the silver-green color of sagebrush - were lined with thick midnight-brown eyelashes that matched the five o’clock shadow over his square jaw and around his lips. Firm lips that were not overly full on the top and slightly rounder on the bottom.

  Buff biceps pushed the seams of his teal and white plaid, short sleeved shirt to their limits. Snug-fitting Wrangler blue jeans that were stacked above brown, square toed cowboy boots, revealed legs that knew hard, physical work.

  Tall, dark and handsome. A deadly combination for her vulnerable heart.

  “Teagan!”

  Teagan jolted at the sharp tone in her father’s voice. She yanked her hand away from the cowboy’s and her gaze dropped to the floor.

  Knowing her father had caught her staring at the man, heat seared her cheeks.

  Before her mother’s death, her father had never used that gruff tone with anyone. But now, her once loving, easy-going father had become grumpier and grumpier with each passing day, especially with her. Teagan often wondered if
it was because she was the spitting image of her mother in both looks and personality. People had even gotten the two of them confused on the phone.

  Teagan pulled her focus from the floor and looked up at her father. Dull blue eyes, once filled with light, gazed down at her.

  “Sorry,” she apologized, waiting for the reprimand that was certain to follow.

  “You need to stop daydre…”

  Daydreaming she finished for him in her mind when he stopped mid-way. Probably due to the cowboy’s presence. Daydreaming was her one weakness. Mostly because her real dreams didn’t match anyone else’s. “Kage is going to be staying with us a while. I want you to help him get settled into the bunkhouse.”

  Her eyes snapped up to the cowboy then back to her father. What did he mean Kage would be staying with them for a while? Why?

  Ignoring the question she asked her father with a bewildered look, her dad turned to Kage. “When you get through, come on over to the main house and have dinner with us.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Baxter.”

  “Please, call me, Porter.”

  Porter? What was going on? None of the other hired hands called him Porter. Then again, maybe he wasn’t a hired hand. Well, if he wasn’t, then what was he? And just exactly what was he doing here?

  ~*~ ♥ ~*~

  Kage Jenkins grabbed his duffle bag off the back seat of his pickup, along with his new light jacket. It was a lot cooler here toward evening than it was back home in Amarillo. He slipped the jacket on as quickly as he could. He didn’t want to keep the rancher’s daughter waiting.

  Something about the petite cowgirl in the soiled blue jeans and cowboy boots, not to mention the light blue shirt that brought out the blue in her eyes, drew him to her. Maybe it was the blush in her cheeks when her father had caught her staring at him that was the attraction.

  Or maybe it was the vulnerable look she had when she’d first turned around and spotted them.

  He wasn’t sure what it was, but when those big blue eyes of hers had snagged on his, he’d had to remind himself not to stare back at her.

  That feeling only paled in comparison to whenever she’d spoken in that sweet raspy voice, and his focus had drifted to her lips. Full lips that looked softer than they had a right to. Her smile was one that could stop a man cold in his tracks and light up any room. One thing was for certain, Teagan Baxter sure was a cutie.

  Kage’s thoughts had his attention revolving in her direction more times than it should have. As he approached the barn once again, he had to remind himself that this was the boss’s daughter, and he’d better find a way to keep himself under control around her.

  However, as she stood in front of the main barn looking his way, even Kage had to admit that was not going to be easy. Up against the massive white barn with the blue trimmed windows and doors, Teagan looked even smaller than she had inside the building just moments ago.

  Teagan. An unusual name, but one he kind of liked. One he wouldn’t mind hearing often from his own lips. One he could get real used to if he let himself.

  Aware of where his thoughts were taking him, he made a mental note once again of why he was here, who she was, and who he was.

  A guy who had come to learn every phase of mountain ranching, not to get involved with a woman. And certainly not to get involved with the rancher’s daughter.

  Shoulders pressed back, he strode across the yard, determined to do everything in his power to keep things on a professional level. “Sorry to keep you waiting.” He swatted at the mosquitoes buzzing around him. Sure were a lot of them here.

  “No biggy,” she said, hiking one dainty shoulder. “You ready?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Ma’am?” One perfectly shaped eyebrow spiked as she gazed up at him.

  “Habit.” He shrugged off her you’re-kidding-me look. “My parents taught me to respect my elders and women and folks in general.”

  It took a moment before she nodded. Placing her fingertip against her lips, she cocked her pretty little head to the side and eyed him. “Did they also teach you it was okay if the woman you were addressing as ma’am said it was okay to call her by her name instead?” Amusement glittered through her eyes and her lips quirked off to one side.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he answered with a wink and a smile. “They sure did.”

  She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Well, sir,” she emphasized the word sir with a twang. “Follow me so we can get you settled in before dinner.” She turned and headed toward a building that resembled someone’s home more than a ranch hand bunkhouse.

  “Sir, huh?” he asked, stepping up alongside her, matching her gait stride-for-stride.

  “Hey, turnabout’s fair play. You teased me about ma’am, so I can tease you about sir.” She wrinkled her nose at him.

  “Fair enough,” he responded with a grin.

  “By the way, I can’t help but notice your accent. Where you from?”

  “Texas.”

  “Whereabouts in Texas?”

  “Amarillo.”

  “Oh,” she said, cutting a glance his way. “If you don’t mind me asking, what are you doing here?”

  “Don’t mind at all. I’m here to work and to learn.”

  “Learn? Learn what?” She kicked at a rock and it hopped and skipped several yards before coming to a stop.

  “Ranching.”

  “Oh, I see.” Her puffed out cheeks and roaming eyes suggested otherwise. “Is this your first ranch job?”

  “In Colorado, yes. But my parents own a ranch in Texas.” Kage expected a question about why he would come all the way to Colorado to learn ranching if his family already had one. Instead, she looked the other direction as if seeing something far in the distance.

  “Working for family is hard.”

  He wasn’t sure she’d meant for him to hear her, but he had, and he wondered why she felt that way.

  His dad was easy going and even though ranch work was never done, his father did his best to make ranching fun. The only reason Kage was even here was to ease his curiosity.

  “So how’d you end up here?” she asked, breaking into his thoughts as they continued to walk.

  “The last couple of years, my buddies and I came hunting up here. The ranch we had hunted on, the owner’s son was our guide. We got to talking about ranching the last time I was here. The things he talked about sounded like a dream. So, I decided to come up here and ranch to see if the dream matched the reality.”

  “Oh? Who was the rancher? I probably know him.”

  “Baines. Richard Baines. Over on the William’s Fork.”

  “Hmmm.” She placed her fingertip against her pursed lips. “I don’t recognize that name.”

  “He said his grandfather’s name is Marks. I believe that’s the name he said anyway, and that he owned the ranch and had left it to him.”

  “Oh, you’re talking about Zane Marks over at the Lazy T River Ranch.”

  “Yeah. That’s the place.”

  “I didn’t know Mr. Marks passed away.”

  “He didn’t.”

  “Huh?” Wrinkles lined her forehead. “I don’t understand. You said he left the place to his grandson.”

  “He did. Richard said his granddad moved to Arizona to get away from the cold and the high altitude and left the place to him.”

  “Oh, oh. I see.” The frown was back. It was as cute as she was. “Well, that explains why you’re here, but it doesn’t explain how you ended up here on the Circle B Cross.”

  “Well, Richard introduced me to your dad last October.” A gust of wind blew across the yard, lifting Kage’s hat. He grabbed it before it got away and pressed it firmly onto his head. “The two weeks I was there, whenever your dad came by, which was quite a bit, we got to talking about ranching. At one point, I told him how I was interested in maybe buying a ranch up here someday, but I didn’t know anything about mountain ranching. He said if I wanted to come work for him, he’d be glad to teach me.” Ka
ge shrugged. “So, here I am. And I couldn’t have found a nicer man to work for or a better outfitted place to learn on.”

  He glanced around the huge ranch yard at all the well-kept, white with blue trimmed out buildings, nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains covered with pine and aspen trees and lots of green brush and grass, something sorely missing back home on his parents’ ranch. “This is one nice spread y’all have here.” He glanced down at her and smiled.

  “It’s okay, I guess.” She quirked her mouth to the side.

  “Only okay? From what your father’s shown me, I’d say it’s pretty impressive.”

  “I’m sure it is to someone who enjoys living on a ranch.”

  “You don’t?” he asked, wondering why she would stay on here if she didn’t. It was clear she was past high school age though probably not college. Maybe that was it. Maybe she went to the local college, that is, if there was even one nearby.

  “Not particularly.” She shot him a quick glance before looking forward again.

  Kage tipped his gaze to look over at her as full-on as he could with her walking at a pace that would wind a mountain goat. “What don’t you like about it?”

  “That’s a loaded question.” She covered her mouth and yawned.

  He wrinkled his forehead and fought not to look at his watch to check the time. “Sleepy?”

  Her watery eyes shifted to his. “I’m always sleepy.”

  “Ranching can be tough. Very little sleep and long hours.”

  “Isn’t that the truth? But to be perfectly honest, that’s not really the reason why I’m so sleepy. I stayed up way too late last night…” She shot another glance his way. “Dancing.”

  That surprised him so much he almost tripped over his own boots. He had thought maybe she stayed up late watching movies, like his sisters. They were always watching those chick flick movies. The kind with all that sappy romance. He was more of an action movie guy himself. Okay, so he liked romance movies too. But he’d never tell anyone that. If he did, he’d take a razzing and a half. After all, cowboys weren’t allowed to have feelings and want to fall in love. It wasn’t macho. He mentally rolled his eyes at that one before he turned his complete attention back onto Teagan. “What kind of dancing?”