by Becky McGraw
COWGIRL CRAZY
The Cowboy Way, Book 2
Ryan’s Story
Becky McGraw
SMASHWORDS EDITION
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
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PUBLISHED BY:
Becky McGraw on Smashwords
Acknowledgements
Thank you to Rob Lang of Rob Lang Photography for the outstanding cowboy photo used on the cover of Cowgirl Crazy. Rob has more amazing photos, including some of the hottest cowboys in America on his website at www.roblangimages.com.
I’d also like to thank both my Crazy Cowgirls and my Troublemakers for your amazing support and help with promotion. You guys are both my cheerleaders and my friends. I love and appreciate you all.
Finally, thank you to Carolyn Depew of Write Right Edits for not only your amazing support, but the fantastic job you did with the edit on this book. I’d also like to thank Carolyn’s husband, Bob Depew, for providing the hilarious, but true, tampon-up-the-nose-applicator-and-all story that I used for a scene in this book. Life is funnier than fiction sometimes.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
COWGIRL CRAZY, Copyright © July, 2014 by Becky McGraw.
ISBN: 9781310229688
All rights reserved under International and Pan American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the author.
Be sure to check out all of the books in the
Texas Trouble Series by Becky McGraw:
Book #1 - My Kind of Trouble (Cassie & Luke)
Book #2 - The Trouble With Love (Sabrina & Cole)
Book #3 - Double the Trouble (Karlie & Gabe)
Book #4 - Looking for Trouble (Jess & Wade)
Book #5 - Trouble in Dixie (Katie & Tommy)
Book #6 - Asking for Trouble (Jazzie & Beau)
Book #7 - Chasing Trouble (Jenny & Chase)
Book #8 - Here Comes Trouble (Terri & Joel)
Book #9 - Worth the Trouble (Roxanne & Ethan)
Book #10 - Royal Trouble (Leigh Ann & Wes)
Book #11 - Trouble With the Law (Veronica & Trace)
Book #12 – Borrowing Trouble (Carrie & Dylan)
Coming in 2015 – Book #13 – Trouble Down Under (Zane’s Story)
The Cowboy Way
Hope for Christmas (Cord’s Story – novella included in Santa Wore Spurs)
Just Shoot Me (#1, Cowboy Way, Dean’s story)
Cowgirl Crazy (#2, Cowboy Way, Ryan’s story)
COMING SOON – Too Hot to Trot (#3, Cowboy Way, Zack’s Story)
New Series – Logan’s Lonestar Heroes
Coming in Fall 2014 -- A new western romantic suspense series featuring ex-military, ex-cop, security specialist and private investigator, Dave Logan, from the Texas Trouble series and his hot men. Look for a novella in the Red Hot Treats collection being released on October 15, 2014, which launches the new series. Dave Logan’s book will follow shortly thereafter.
CHAPTER ONE
Ryan Easter was worn out, and he hurt like a bitch. That landing on his last ride had jarred more than his teeth. Every bone in his body reminded him he’d abused his body with hard living and hard rides, and at thirty-years-old, he wasn’t a young man anymore. But that jarring landing had come after he’d done his eight. He’d won the saddle bronc competition, so every ache was worth it. It might not be next time, if he hurt himself worse, but this time he had a nice paycheck in his pocket for his trouble.
All he wanted right now was a beer, a bath and bed. But it looked like Amber Sue Worth had different plans for him. And she wasn’t taking no for an answer. The buckle bunny who seemed to find him every time the rodeo stopped in Tulsa was back again for more.
“Really, Amber, I’m too tired to go out tonight. Go find Zack, he’ll go with you.” He looked down at her chest and couldn’t help but stare at the fabulous rack pushing up and over the low-cut white tank top. His mouth should be watering. Amber was beautiful and very talented with her mouth, but the thought of her left him cold this time.
He really was getting old.
She licked her lips suggestively, leaning in just a little closer so that those beautiful breasts rubbed his arm. “I don’t want to go out with Zack. I want you,” she said in a low raspy tone. “C’mon, honey. It’s been four months, and you’re not gonna be back in town for another five.”
The whine in her voice rubbed on his nerves like sandpaper, as much as the fact that she kept up with his schedule.
Her full mouth kicked up at the corner. “We don’t have to go out. I’ll go get you a beer, you can shower, then we can, ah…cuddle.”
Cuddle? Amber knew damned well Ryan wasn’t a cuddler. And he knew damned well she had a lot more than that in mind. He was too tired to argue with her though.
“Fine. I’ll be in my trailer.” She squealed, and Ryan flinched. This was going to be the last time he was with Amber Sue. She needed to find herself another cowboy to entertain her. That’s all she was looking for. Free drinks and a fuck.
She bounced off toward the arena and Ryan’s eyes locked onto her round ass, then glided down the back of her toned thighs to the top of her cowboy boots. He was sure she wouldn’t have a bit of problems finding a willing replacement for him. If he was smart, Ryan would tell her to do that tonight. But she was bringing him a beer. That did make his mouth water. Ryan guessed he needed to get himself together enough to pay for it later.
With a sigh, he shifted his duffle on his shoulder as he walked to his trailer. His steps stuttered then stopped when his eyes fell on Twyla, his best friend’s sister, sitting on the steps waiting for him. Twyla and Zack were as close to siblings as he had. They were more than his best friends, they were family, and from the look on her face she was upset about something.
Just what he needed tonight. He really didn’t want to know, but he couldn’t stop from asking, “What’s up, Sissy?”
“Tango was tight tonight,” she replied with a frustrated sigh.
“You been rubbing him down like the vet told you to?” Ryan asked setting his heavy bag down beside the steps.
“Yeah, with that smelly ass liniment he gave me.” She added a short humorless laugh. “Can’t you smell it?”
Now that she mentioned it he did smell a pungent mix of linseed oil and menthol. “I thought that was a new perfume or something,” he shot back and grinned.
She laughed and kicked him in the shin. “I don’t wear perfume, and you know that.”
No, she just wore nature’s perfume. Hay and sunshine, often mixed with rich horse. That’s what she usually smelled like, and to Ryan it was headier than any bottled scent on earth.
His brain automatically shoved
that information to the back of his mind, like it had done for years. Since she grew those proud little breasts and sprouted the longest legs on any woman he’d ever seen. Ryan knew if he ever acknowledged that he noticed those facts Zack would kick his ass. Every cowboy on this circuit knew it too. Zack was as overprotective as they came where his sister was concerned. Besides it would mess up the little family thing they had going on too. Something Ryan needed in his life more than he needed a woman in his bed.
He cleared his throat and shifted his weight from foot to foot. The best thing he could do for her was get her the hell out of here, before Amber came back. For ten years, since she sprouted those perfect little breasts, Twyla thought it was her job to protect him like a mother hen, and she had been his shadow. Hell, his shadow didn’t even follow him as closely as Twyla did. And Ryan wasn’t blind to the reason why. She wanted more from him than he was willing to give her. His solution was to keep her pissed off at him, so she’d back off. So far it had worked pretty well.
“Yeah, I know. But I don’t know what you think I can do to make Tango feel better. Call the vet again. Maybe he has another suggestion.”
She looked up at him and pushed her hat back on her head. A long strand of her silky white blond hair fell out to frame her face. The light at the edge of the trailer illuminated her beautiful blue eyes, and she smiled that smile that mule-kicked him in the gut. “You could buy me a beer. Might not make Tango feel better, but it sure would make me feel better.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Ryan caught a flash of movement and saw Amber exit the arena with two beers in her hand. Adrenaline shot through him as he grabbed Twyla’s shoulders to pull her to her feet. He turned her toward the barn, then with a little push he said, “Not tonight, Twy—I’m tired and you need to go check on your horse.” Right now, this instant, before Amber gets here and we have a catfight that I don’t feel like dealing with tonight.
“Damn, cowboy. You’re in a big hurry to get rid of me tonight!” she said with a laugh, and tried to turn around again. He held tight and nudged her forward again. “I need a shower, and I don’t have time to talk right now. Just go take care of Tango.”
“Alright.” With a laugh, she shook off his hands.
She took a few steps toward the barn and Ryan breathed again, but then she turned back toward him. He knew the moment she spotted Amber. Her eyes narrowed, her body tensed and her lips pinched. Her hurt and angry eyes fixed on his. “I forgot we were in Tulsa. No wonder you were in such a hurry to see the back of me. I’ve never seen a woman chase a man as hard as she chases you.”
Piss her off. Get her out of here. “Well, that’s pretty much the pot calling the kettle black, isn’t it, sweetheart?” he asked meanly, with a snort for emphasis. “You follow me around like a lost puppy. You need to get a life, Twy and stop worrying about mine.”
Anger filled her eyes and she put her hands on her hips. “I’m just trying to protect you from women like that one.” She notched her chin toward Amber who had stopped beside him.
Amber gasped, and he saw Twyla winding up for a fight. Ryan stepped between them, and put his hands on his hips. “I don’t need protecting, Sissy. I told you that so many times, I’m hoarse from it. Just get lost.”
Her jaw worked, and he heard a growl rumble in her chest. “And I told you not to call me that!” Her fists clenched at her sides, as she took another step toward him. She pointed at Amber, but her eyes stayed locked on his. “That one isn’t good enough for you.”
“And who has been in your eyes, Twy?” Ryan asked softly, dangerously. “Who will ever be? And what makes you think you have the right to decide that?”
Twyla huffed out a breath and leaned in closer. Her nose was almost touching his, the heat of her anger enhanced her heady scent, and it surrounded him. “I lo—um, care about you, Ryan. That gives me the right. You’re a stupid man and don’t see what women like her are up to!” she ground out, pointing at Amber again.
Ryan saw the pulse pounding at her throat, and his tongue tingled to taste it, feel that energy of hers redirected, focused on something different than arguing with him entirely. He inhaled deeply, because he couldn’t stop himself, and drank her in through his senses. Twyla Taylor was so damned beautiful when she was angry.
And he didn’t need to be fucking noticing that.
He cocked his head to the side and said, “Newsflash, darlin’. You don’t have the market cornered on brains, even though you think you do. And just because you might care about me doesn’t give you the right to make my decisions or judge whoever I decide to be with. It’s my damned life!” Ryan grabbed her shoulders to turn her around. “Now, carry your ass to the barn, check on your horse, then go back to the trailer and harass Zack for a little while.”
He ignored the indignant little grunt, and gave her a gentle push. She staggered a couple of steps, then stiffened her shoulders and stormed off. Good, she was pissed off. Maybe that would buy him a few days peace, he thought, as he turned back toward Amber and took the second beer from her. He tossed his head back and drank it almost down. He smacked his lips together and handed her the bottle. “Thanks for the beer, honey, but I’m not in the mood tonight.” He grabbed the strap on his duffle, and hefted it up to his shoulder.
“But—“ Amber whined, sticking out her lower lip.
She took a few steps behind him, but Ryan held up his hand. He knew if he let her in his trailer, it would end badly. He really wasn’t in the mood now. Not after the fight he’d just had with the woman he really wanted inside his trailer tonight. This little redhead fell way short of Twyla in a lot of areas, and no amount of pretending was going to make that different.
Not this time. Not tonight.
Ryan had been putting it off for a long time, but he knew if he didn’t do something about Twyla soon, he was going to go batshit crazy. It was getting harder every day to push her away. Sleeping with buckle bunnies when he wanted her was not the solution. That took the edge off of his hunger for her, and pissed her off enough to keep her away temporarily. But that was just it. It was temporary. The next morning she was in his face, flirting with him, helping him with things he could do on his own, or when she ran out of excuses, she followed him to give him a hard time. Her favorite pastime was giving him a hard time.
And Ryan walked around constantly hard because of it.
No, this permanent solution would have to involve manning up to tell Twyla he would never feel that way about her. Could never feel that way about her. She was family, his surrogate sister, nothing more. He couldn’t ever let his feelings for her go beyond that. He hadn’t done that before, because he felt like it would hurt her. And that was the last thing he wanted to do. But this was hurting her more, and if he didn’t say anything she would end up hurt worse.
The best thing he could do was just tell her he wasn’t risking losing the only family he’d ever known, and his best friend, to go there with her. It just wasn’t worth it for either of them. Twyla Renee Taylor just needed to back off of his bumper, and he was going to tell her that.
***
Twyla Taylor was done chasing Ryan Easter. She had been chasing the man for ten years, since she was sixteen years old. Enough was enough. Last night had been the final straw.
Ryan had done everything he could to push her away for years, and she was finally taking his not so subtle hints. It was time to get over her infatuation. She just needed to face facts. Her brother, Zack, was never going to let Ryan see her as anything more than an irritating kid sister. Either that or Ryan didn’t give a flying rat’s ass about her that way.
Her heart squeezed in her chest, as she slammed the door of the tack compartment shut, after stuffing her saddle inside. That was more likely. Hell, the women he was with every night of the week, like the one last night, were a helluva lot better looking than she was. Twyla knew she was tall, gangly and flat-chested, verging on homely in her opinion. She never wore makeup, or did a damned thing to try to be girly.
The damned stuff melted off in thirty minutes of practice in the arena, why would she bother?
Because he might have taken you more seriously, looked a little harder, if you’d have taken the time to fix yourself up. If you had spent half as much time trying to be a woman, as you did trying to fit in with the guys.
To hell with that. She was who she was, and Twyla wasn’t changing for a man. She was a rough-riding tomboy who didn’t give a shit what people thought about her. There had to be a man out there who would appreciate that quality in a woman. One thing was for sure. Ryan Easter would never be that man. She knew that now.
The best thing she could do was just get away from both of them, her overbearing brother and Ryan. Grow up and find a new direction for her life. Hell, get one, just like Ryan had told her to do last night. The anger, hurt and frustration she’d felt last night resurfaced to form a tight knot in her throat. His words had driven right into her heart and branded themselves there. Twyla would never forgive him, but she was going to try damned hard to forget him.
It would take time, because she had been in love with Ryan since she was sixteen years old, and the nineteen-year-old had almost kissed her out by the bonfire at her parent’s ranch. Ever since then she’d harbored hope that someday he might finish that kiss. Notice her. Figure out how she felt about him.
But that hope died a painful death last night, and Ryan had just lost the best thing that almost happened to him. She was not going to be held captive by that almost kiss anymore. Twyla was going off to find herself a life, and her friend Heather was going to help her.
She secured Tango’s lead rope to the hook inside the trailer, then squeezed out and shut the back door with a little more force than necessary. The loud bang pulled a frightened whinny from Tango. She walked to the window at the side of the trailer, tiptoed and stuck her hand inside to scratch his nose. “I’m sorry, honey. It’s not your fault that he’s a blind asshole.”