The Heart the Cowboy Broke

by M J Andrews

  He exaggerated his nod and put a huge grin on his face.

  “So if I let you down, you’re going to hold my hand and stay by me, right?” Sawyer reminded.

  “Yep!” Hunter affirmed. Sawyer didn’t believe it. The child had been pushing the limits since he was born.

  The music started and Sawyer put him down and wrapped his little hand into his. He watched as his sisters walked down the aisle with bright smiles on their faces. Then everyone stood and time stood still as Lexi and Baxter came to a stand at the end of the aisle.

  “Mommy!” Hunter called.

  “Mommy is coming to us remember?” Sawyer directed adjusting his hold on the little mini troublemaker.

  Lexi smiled brightly up the aisle and kissed her father before joining his and their son at the altar. Baxter shook his hand and joined his wife in the front row.

  “I love you,” Sawyer said.

  “I love you,” she replied.

  “Love me!” Hunter cried from his side causing laughter to erupt in the audience.

  “Come here trouble,” Sawyer said lifting him into his arms. Lexi placed a kiss to his head before they turned to face the priest.

  Several hours later and Sawyer and Lexi stood on the steps of the farmhouse while they watched their guests drive off. Jessica and Baxter were putting Hunter in his car seat so that he could spend the night with them. Both Lexi and Sawyer walked to the car to say goodbye to their son. He had no issues going with his grandparents and it had been a regular thing since he’d been born.

  “You’re not in the office this week right?” Baxter said to Lexi.

  “Of course not,” she sighed, “But if you need me…”

  “Lexi, I don’t want to hear a thing about work for a week! The firm will still be standing when you return, Mrs McGuire!” he said firmly before he pulled her into a hug. “I love you Peanut,” he sniffed before releasing her.

  “For the love of God Baxter, she’s married, not leaving forever,” Jessica came up behind him pressed a kiss to Sawyer’s cheek and hugged her daughter then dragged her husband into the car. They stood and watched them drive off.

  Sawyer turned to his wife and quickly bent to toss her over his shoulder. She yelped in surprised and then laughed.

  “Husband! Put me down right now!” she yelled in between laughter.

  “Not a chance! I’ve been waiting to this all day!” he said.

  He opened the bedroom door and then kicked it shut before laying his beautiful wife on the bed. He quickly started removing his clothing in a crazed and animalistic way.

  “It was wrong for you to request we not see each other the night before, woman!” he growled as he climbed over her.

  “It seems I’m a bit overdressed, husband,” she smiled.

  Sawyer growled, “Whatever am I going to do with you?”

  “I can think of a couple of things,” she said slyly.

  Sawyer yanked her up and unbuttoned her white lace dress and watched it fall to her feet. She stood before him in a white thong with little bows on the hips and silver stilettos. She moved to slip out of the shoes and Sawyer stopped her.

  “Leave them,” he ordered as he grabbed her hips and brought her to the bed. She crawled on top of him and placed slow sensual kisses up his chest before their lips crashed together and Sawyer gripped her ass.

  “I wanted to talk to you about something,” Lexi whispered as she peppered kissed on his neck.

  “Now you wanna talk? Damn it, woman, you know I’d give you whatever you asked right now,” he huffed as his hand roamed up her curves.

  “I want to have another baby,” she rushed out.

  “I’m working on it,” he countered, “but yes, I want another baby too. So how about you stop teasing and let me love you, Mrs McGuire.”

  A Sneak Peek of “The Wounded Heart of a Cowboy”

  Releasing September 1, 2020

  Chapter 1

  Dani

  8 months ago

  No one ever expected a female to become a Navy Seal. They said females were incapable of meeting the physical requirements to pass the BUD/s. Many women had tried but none had succeeded. Until her… Dani was determined to put her hands on the Trident Pin and it was that drive that made her damn good at her job.

  The guys who trained with her didn’t hold back any punches when it came to training. She had to be a superb soldier with outstanding marksmanship and stamina to fall into step with them. It hadn’t been an easy task, but the day she was assigned to her team, she knew she’d found a home.

  She couldn’t have asked for a better group to work with and she always knew they’d cover her six no matter what. They were family and the guys weren’t bothered by the fact that she was a woman. They often sought her advice on their relationships or lack thereof. They adopted her as a sister and she loved them as brothers.

  She served in the Navy for five years before she decided to give the BUD/s a try. It was an accomplishment. Not just for her, but for other women who saw being a SEAL as an unattainable goal. She’d set the precedent and hoped that more women would start to see the SEALs differently.

  At twenty-six years old, Dani had served in Afghanistan and had done high profile jobs in a variety of different locations. The team consisted of six SEALs and one Lieutenant Commander who oversaw their squad. Their fearless leader, Sam Kincaid, was a world-class asshole at times but secretly a softie. He was married until he joined the SEALs ten years ago and had two young daughters at home. Being in the NAVY took a toll on his marriage and other relationships. We pledged a commitment to our country and it took priority in our lives.

  The other five SEALs on the team were, Boner (not his real name, but everyone already called him that. Don’t ask.), Teddy, Luke, Ethan and Dex. All of them extremely attractive, but Dani couldn’t look at them romantically. They were her brothers, if not in blood then in heart.

  “You ready, kid?” Dex asked as he clasped her shoulder before they jumped out a cargo plane into an unknown location in the middle east.

  Dex was twenty-five years old with a spunky attitude, tattoos covering a large part of his body and he liked to play up his bad-boy persona when he wasn’t working. Standing at six-four and built like a UFC fighter with his brown hair and big doe eyes, he had no trouble getting the attention of any woman he wanted.

  “Yeah, I’m good! You ready, partner?” Dani said into her helmet, which held their communication device.

  Dex winked before giving her a thumbs up. With that, he jumped out the rear in Dex style. A couple flips thrown in for good measure. Dani hated jumping out of planes, but sometimes it was a necessary evil.

  “He’s such a dumbass,” Sam muttered as he came to stand by her at the end of the rear opening.

  “Yeah, but he’s ours and we can’t return him,” she chuckled.

  “Trust me, Kid, I’ve tried,” Sam smirked and motioned for the remainder of the crew to prepare to jump. It was him, Dani and Ethan pulling up the rear.

  The jump was uneventful and Dani always felt a bit nauseous until she was certain her parachute would open without issue. She thought how stupid it would be if she died while jumping out of the sky after all the work she’d done to get where she was in her life.

  She landed before Sam and Ethan and released her chute. The night vision goggles allowed her to see better in the night and she immediately went on guard as soon as her feet touched the sand.

  “Harper we’re about ten clicks from you to your north,” Dex was heard through her comms.

  “En route,” Dani replied as Sam and Ethan banded together. They were in enemy territory and were tasked with interrupting a terrorist plot. Intel had advised that there was a small group of a local terrorist branch called the Muharib who had been planning to bomb the US embassy in Sudan.

  The crew came together and went through the plans for their attack. They weren’t certain on how many Muharib were in the confined building or the level of explosives they could have in th
eir possession. A chopper was set to retrieve the team once the task was complete.

  They spilt into their assigned teams, each with their task. Dani’s team, which included Dex, Ethan and Sam would raid the compound. Ethan had experience with explosives and Dex was a damn fine marksman. They had used the fact that she was a woman to their advantage at times, especially when they used women and children for suicide bombers was becoming more prevalent. The enemy underestimated a woman’s value as a possible threat and she had been able to infiltrate many groups and gather intel that a man would never have been able to do.

  Comms went silent as they approached the warehouse, which was a shack in the middle of the desert. It comprised of three stories with a large barrier surrounding it for protection. There was a watchman assigned on top of the barrier and Dex was assigned to take him out once Sam, Ethan and she had approached.

  They glided as a unit along the wall and Sam gave Dex the signal. They knew once the guard was down that alarms would be tripped. They only had seconds to infiltrate and eliminate the threat.

  From above the sound of a body hitting wood was heard. Dex had done his task and now it was their time. Shouts were heard in Arabic as they breached the door. Ethan had placed two explosive devices on either side to cause a small controlled explosion would break through.

  We gained entry and were immediately caught in the line of fire. There had to be at least a dozen Muharib. Sam took out the first room as she and Dex cleared the remaining first floor. She took no excitement from ending another human’s life, but in these circumstances, the act was justified. She and Dex took out another three on the first floor before collecting Sam and Ethan to storm the second. Once they reached the top of the stairs, they flanked into groups of two. One person always covering the six while the other led. Dex covered her as she cleared two more rooms and took out three more hostiles.

  They were able to clear the three floors but had not found anything to suggest a terrorist plot of any kind.

  “What the fuck?” Sam bellowed into his comms.

  “We’re missing something,” Dani replied. There had to be more to the assignment. Surely, they wouldn’t have been sent if they didn’t have the correct information.

  “Luke,” Dani said, “is there a basement?”

  “If there is it wasn’t on the blueprints or previous recon,” Luke said from his perch outside the compound. They were covering from a distance with sniper rifles.

  “What is it, Dani?” Sam questioned.

  Dani had completed several missions and this one was making her skin crawl. They were missing something.

  “When we made entry, I noticed there was a small tarp covering an area outside,” Dani said.

  “Fuck,” Sam cursed.

  The team made their way out of the house and approached the tarp Dani spotted. Sam gave her the go-ahead to lift the tarp and she found a small door that led under the house. It wasn’t a large hole and she was certain that the men behind her would not be able to fit through.

  “I’m going in,” Dani exclaimed.

  “Now Kid, let’s talk about this. You go in there and you’re it. We can’t get in there if something goes wrong. We can’t cover your six in there and I don’t like it,” all traces of the fun-loving man Dex was normally was gone, as he stared her down.

  “And if we don’t get in there and get the information, we lose it all and risk a terrorist plot proceeding. I’m going in Dex,” she replied firmly.

  Dani tossed her rifle over her back and made to assess the hole. It was big enough for her tiny frame and the mere size of the hole would prevent the military from being able to enter.

  She turned and nodded to Sam, who gave her the go-ahead.

  “Sam, c’mon man, this isn’t a good idea,” Dex argued as he got in Sam’s face.

  “Are you questioning my decision making, Petty Officer?” Sam gritted, not backing down from Dex’s challenge.

  “Boys, boys…” Dani exclaimed, “Dex if this was you, would you take the risk?”

  “Dani this isn’t me, it's you,” he turned to lock eyes with her. She and Dex had become close over the past year working together. He trusted her and she trusted him.

  “But you would. Now I have the chance and I’m doing it. There is no argument to be had. Ethan,” she pointed to him as he stood to the side. The man knew how to keep quiet and in reality, he was a bit too interested in things that went boom, “stay on comms in case I need your direction with anything I come across?”

  “I got your back Harper,” Ethan said nodding his agreement.

  With that, Dani slid to her belly and using her arms crawled slowly into the small hole. Once past the entrance, Dani was able to see that a room had been dug out and that it was deep enough to allow her to stand.

  “Guys…” she called.

  “Harper,” Sam answered.

  “We’ve got a problem,” she admitted as she peered into the small scared eyes of a young girl. Her golden skin was lit by a small flashlight that she held in her hand. In the other, she held a detonator button which was linked to a vest of C4 around her chest.

  Dani took in the remainder of the room and the child who stood before her. She was no more than ten years old with a slight frame. Her head was covered and her dress ran to her ankles. Silent tears of fear flowed freely down her cheeks.

  “I’ve got a child in here strapped to a vest of C4,” Dani whispered. She was certain she heard Dex swear.

  “Dani, I need you to come out here if you can,” Sam directed.

  “She hasn’t pushed the button yet Sam. I can try to talk to her. She’s just a child for God’s Sake!” Dani said forcefully. She did not take her gun and aim it was the girl. She felt the fear radiating from her as her thumb twitched around the button.

  “Dani, get the fuck back here. That’s an order,” Sam bellowed.

  “I’m not here to hurt you,” Dani said in Arabic. She’d learnt the language in preparation for training. And boy, did it come in handy.

  “Sweetheart, let me help you okay? You don’t want to hurt anyone do you?” Dani prompted.

  “NOW HARPER!” Sam screamed into comms.

  Dani made to approach the girl with her hands up, but it must have been what she was waiting for. Dani saw the change of her expression as she muttered something under her breath in Arabic. Dani quickly shifted and attempted to flee.

  She got half her body out of the opening before she heard the child screaming in Arabic.

  “GO! GO!” Dani yelled at her team as she slid out of the structure. As soon as she made it out the explosion rang out in the night. Dani’s body propelled forward into the hard sand. Her ears rang and she felt a burning in her legs. Dazed she looked down and saw that a large piece of shrapnel, a rod to be exact, had stabbed into her thigh. Dani tried to move but screamed out in pain.

  No one prepares for this shit, she thought.

  Next thing she knew she was being dragged as she slipped in and out of consciousness. Her helmet came off as she was loaded onto the helicopter.

  “Dani! Dani! Open those beautiful eyes for me, darling,” Boner drawled in his southern accent. He was the trained medic and was the last voice she heard before she passed out.

  Dani woke several days later in a hospital in Florida. There were rods and bolts stuck in her leg. Dani was told that she had been medically discharged as the doctors reported permanent damage to her leg. She’d never have full function, but with physical therapy, she could have a relatively normal life.

  Her brothers had made it out fine and were there when she opened her eyes. Concern etched all of their faces. Dex told her about her injury and the prognosis. After they left, Dani cried into her pillow. If she wasn’t a SEAL anymore, what was she?

  And what was she going to do with her life?

  Chapter 2

  Finn

  Present-day

  Finn sat on a stool in Daisy’s classy establishment, The Barn House. He watched as his sister ex
pertly tossed out drinks and offered smiles to those she knew. The place was packed and Finn decided to indulge in a beer with his brother after the long day they'd had.

  Remi was in his glee after marrying the love of his life and was expecting his first child in a couple of weeks. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t jealous. His brothers had done well for themselves. Remi and Sawyer were happy and settled in their new lives and had two beautiful women to keep them in line.

  “So, how’s my beautiful sister-in-law and soon to be niece?” Daisy asked leaning in to place a kiss to his and Remi’s cheeks.