Comeback Cowboy Read online

  He’d never worked as hard as he did that week, doing anything that needed to be done. From cleaning up shit to wrangling the bulls, he’d proven that nothing was above him or beneath him. At the end of the week, an impressed McGowen hired him as a ranch hand, and over the years he’d worked his way up to be the man’s right hand. He couldn’t give that up now…

  The hum of an engine broke into his thoughts. He stepped off to the side to give the car room and glanced over his shoulder.

  A yellow Volkswagen Beetle blitzed toward him, picking up speed. Yep, he’d know that car anywhere. Naomi. No one else around here drove a bright yellow bug complete with flower-shaped taillights. Completely impractical for life in the mountains, but that was one thing he loved about her. She didn’t care much for horse sense. If something made her happy, she did it.

  He watched her car draw closer and closer, and just like it always did when Naomi got near, his heart picked up. Would she stop and give him a lift to the ranch? They hadn’t exactly been alone since he’d come back to Topaz Falls. She’d made sure of that.

  As the yellow anomaly sped around the curve, he lifted a hand to flag her down, but the car didn’t slow.

  Maybe she hadn’t seen him. Waving his arms, he stepped onto the shoulder…

  Shit! The car was coming right for him! Adrenaline fired through him and sent him rolling into the ditch just as the car’s brakes screeched. The thing skidded and fishtailed, likely taking out half of the tires’ tread.

  Breathing in the scent of burnt rubber, Lucas stared up at the sky. Well, that’d been one hell of a close shave.

  The car door opened and out Naomi flew, stumbling down the embankment in her polished red heels, to where he lay on the ground.

  “Oh my God! Oh my God! Lucas!” Her hands visibly shook. “What are you doing standing in the middle of the road?” she demanded, her voice about twenty octaves higher than normal.

  “I wasn’t in the middle of the road,” he said calmly, though the swoosh of blood still roared in his ears. He couldn’t tell if adrenaline surged from almost being mowed down, or from finally being able to stare at her the way he’d wanted to ever since he’d walked back into her life all those months ago. Whenever they bumped into each other, she’d always turn away, but now she stood over him, staring down into his eyes.

  And God, she was perfection. Wavy red hair finer than silk, and those bright eyes, green as the swaying grass in a meadow. She wore a flowered dress, and her legs were made for wearing a dress. Long and toned, tensed from the way she stood in those heels.

  He didn’t want to move. Nothing hurt, but if he moved she’d look away from him.

  “Mom!” Gracie squealed from the backseat. Her ten-year-old daughter stuck her head out through the open window. “Is he alive?”

  “I’m alive,” he confirmed, waving. “And I was standing on the side of the road,” he said, admiring the view of the woman’s tanned legs. Yeah, he could pretty much admire that view all damn day.

  As usual, Naomi turned away from him. Her breaths came in gasping puffs. “God, Lucas. God. I was so distracted I didn’t even see you.” Her delicate hands covered her face. “I almost hit you. My God, I almost hit you.” She staggered a few steps.

  That got him off the ground. Didn’t need her collapsing on the side of the highway.

  “Hey.” He hurried over to her, brushing the gravel off his ass. “I’m fine.” He’d been through a hell of a lot worse than a tumble down into a ditch.

  “He looks fine to me!” Gracie offered, still leaning out the window. “He’s not even bleeding.”

  “Exactly.” He ducked his head closer to Naomi’s, catching her gaze. “See. No blood. I’m good.”

  She nodded, but seemed to be on the verge of hyperventilating. Which meant she was in no condition to get behind the wheel of that car.

  “Why don’t I drive you back to the ranch?” Risking her hasty retreat, he slipped an arm around her waist to support her, and he couldn’t resist drawing her close to him, closer than she’d been in ten long years. She still smelled like carefree summer afternoons—a subtle hint of lemon along with the coconut oil she used to use to soften her hands. That scent, the feel of her leaning into his body, roused a sudden overpowering greed. He’d never hungered as desperately for something as he hungered for her. To turn her fully to himself. To feel those breasts he used to kiss so intimately against his own chest again. He knew that body, remembered every curve and bend, every fine detail…

  “I’m okay,” Naomi whispered, shaking him off. “I can walk.”

  Of course she could. If she had a choice between keeling over and letting him touch her, she’d gladly opt for hitting the ground. But she did hand him the keys before hurrying to climb into the passenger’s seat without his assistance.

  Lucas folded himself into the driver’s seat. Even with the seat moved all the way back he hardly fit. But he’d take it if it meant he got to sit beside Naomi for ten minutes. Even if she wouldn’t look at him. Even if she wouldn’t talk to him.

  He’d take it. Especially knowing he was likely going back to Pueblo in a few short weeks.

  Lucas glanced in the rearview mirror. “You buckled?” he asked Gracie.

  The girl nodded with a shy smile.

  “All right, then. We’re off.” He started the engine and backed up, then turned carefully out onto the highway.

  Naomi directed her gaze out the passenger’s window, but Gracie eyed him dubiously from the backseat.

  She looked so much like her mother with those red curls and inquisitive green eyes.

  “How come you were walking on the road?” she asked.

  “My truck broke down. Back where I was fishing.” Not worth mentioning that it’d had some help. “So I was planning to walk back to the ranch. Until you two lovely ladies swooped in to rescue me.”

  The girl grinned, dimples poking into each cheek. “You bet you were lucky,” she laughed. “Especially since Mom almost hit you!”

  He stole a glance at Naomi. She stared straight ahead, her face a mask of worry.

  God, he wanted to reach over and rest his hand on her thigh, tease out a smile…

  “Did you catch anything?” Gracie asked, leaning between the seats.

  “Nah. Not tonight. Sometimes I just go out there to think.” And whenever he started to think, those thoughts inevitably led to the silent woman sitting next to him.

  “I’ve always wanted to learn how to fish,” Gracie babbled. “But I don’t want to touch a worm or anything. And I wouldn’t keep the fish. That would be mean.”

  “I never keep them either,” he admitted. He’d never developed a taste for trout. “And I’d be happy to teach you how to fish sometime. If it’s okay with your mom.”

  “Can I, Mom? Can I go fishing with Lucas?”

  “We’ll see,” Naomi said stiffly. Parental code for hell no.

  “What about you guys? What have you been up to tonight?” he asked, trying to soften the woman.

  “I had drama practice at school,” Gracie said proudly. “I’m the fairy godmother in Cinderella.”

  “Wow.” He drew out the word in a theatrical compliment. “Congratulations. That’s a starring role.”

  Her smile was addictive. “I know! I had to memorize all these lines.” The girl paused and cleared her throat dramatically. “Bibbity! Bobbity! Boo!”

  Lucas widened his eyes with exaggerated awe. “You’re a natural.”

  “Really?” Gracie gasped. “You think?”

  “That was better than the movie,” he insisted.

  “You’ve seen Cinderella?” Naomi asked, finally acknowledging him. The skeptical curve to her sexy lips made him ache.

  “Of course I’ve seen Cinderella,” he said, looking at her longer than was safe. “It’s a classic.”

  Gracie leaned forward again, straining her seat belt. “If you like Cinderella, you should come to my show! It’s tomorrow night!”

  “Oh honey…” N
aomi broke in before he had the chance to answer. “I’m sure Lucas is too busy.”

  She likely hoped he was too busy, but he pretended not to notice her obvious discomfort. “Actually I’m free tomorrow night.”

  “Yay!” Gracie squealed.

  But Naomi’s worried glare returned. “You don’t have to come.”

  “I want to come,” he said, eyeing her. He wanted to spend time with her. To see if he had any reason to stick it out in Topaz Falls. He glanced in the rearview mirror. “One line and the Fairy Godmother has me hooked.”

  Gracie beamed. “Wait ’til you hear the rest of them!”

  “I can’t wait,” Lucas said, directing a pleading gaze at her mother.

  Naomi relented with a sigh. “It starts at seven.” Her soft lips twitched as she studied him. It wasn’t her full bright beautiful smile.

  But it was a start.

  Chapter Two

  On a normal summer evening, Naomi loved the drive out to the ranch. She’d roll down her window and drape out her hand, letting the crisp air cool her palm and run between her fingers. She’d swear it was more calming than a full glass of good merlot, the way the retreating sun softened the mountains with hazy shadows, the way the trees swayed and the grasses swished as the car rolled by.

  But tonight, even though she had her eyes fixed on the world outside the passenger’s window, everything seemed dull and gray. Instead of making her feel that all was right with the world, the curves and dips of the lonely mountain road stirred up her stomach, bringing a swell of nausea.

  She snuck another peek at the man sitting next to her, still trying to wrap her heart around the fact that Lucas Cortez was driving her car. Sitting not even a foot away from her. Easily chatting with her ten-year-old daughter about “the bestest fairy tales” in the entire world.

  She cranked her head back toward the passenger’s window. God, if you can hear me, please let me come out of this fifteen-minute drive with my heart intact. I’ll do anything. It wasn’t as if she’d have to give up much. She’d practically been a nun for the last ten years anyway.

  But the truth was, not even God could protect her from this. From the havoc Lucas’s presence would wreak in her life. In their lives. Nothing could protect her from the havoc that was already starting to infiltrate, in the form of emails from her long-lost ex-husband. She’d never meant to keep a secret like the one she now guarded, but that was the funny thing about secrets. They were never truly safe, no matter how deeply you tucked them away…

  “You okay?” Lucas asked her quietly.

  “Yes,” she said quickly, smoothing her dress.

  “Mommy, can Lucas come over and watch Snow White with us?” Gracie asked in that cherubic voice she used whenever she worried Naomi would tell her no.

  Naomi opted for alternative phrasing. “Not tonight, honey. I’m hosting book club at our house.” And she had the feeling she’d be doing a lot of drinking.

  She felt his stare as Lucas turned onto the ranch’s driveway, easing the car along like he was a ninety-year-old man out for a Sunday drive.

  “Maybe another time,” he said cheerfully.

  “Maybe,” she mumbled, gathering her purse.

  She couldn’t help but notice how he took his time parking the car. When he cut the engine, she forced herself to look at him. Big mistake. Her heart buckled and her joints got all loose and disconnected.

  The years had only made him sexier, engraving wise lines of experience into the corners of his hazel eyes. Eyes that somehow still smiled, even with all he’d been through. He wore his bronze hair a bit longer these days, so that the ends of it fringed the tops of his ears. It was still thick and luscious, but it was his smile that had lured her in and stayed with her all these years. His smile spoke.

  A familiar tremble tightened her hands into fists—a tremble that made her fear fuse with anticipation at being so close to him, at having felt his arm slide around her waist so easily back on the highway.

  The encounter had struck her—an electrical current splitting her into two different people: the woman who wanted to be wrapped up in him again and the girl he’d once left behind. The girl who’d made mistakes but righted them all on her own. The girl who’d grown up overnight. The girl who still feared his power over her.

  Because she couldn’t do it again. She couldn’t let herself feel a connection with him only to have him disappear for another ten years. She couldn’t risk revealing everything to him.

  No matter what, she would not risk Gracie’s heart, too.

  Naomi blinked, realizing she’d been staring at him too long.

  Not that he seemed to mind. His lips simply quirked as though he enjoyed it.

  “So thanks for driving,” she said briskly, fumbling with the door handle. Finally, she was able to push it open and release herself. Straightening, she focused on leaning the seat forward so Gracie could climb out.

  Lucas came around the car and stood too close. He handed her the keys, his fingers brushing hers.

  She quickly stuffed them in her purse. “Sorry about almost hitting you and everything,” she muttered, sidestepping him. “Come on, Gracie.” Tucking her daughter close, she quickly headed for the porch.

  “Bye, Lucas! See you soon!” Gracie called.

  “I’ll see you both at the play,” he said, lifting his hand in a wave.

  As if she needed the reminder. Naomi quickly shuffled Gracie into the house.

  “Why’re we in such a hurry?” her daughter demanded.

  Was it that obvious? “I have a lot to get ready for book club,” she lied. Her friend Darla was bringing pretty much everything. Darla owned the local wine bar–slash–chocolate shop in town and was so picky no one else even tried to make dessert anymore. “And we have to get you to bed at a reasonable hour,” she went on, hanging her daughter’s backpack on a hook behind the door.

  Bogart, their faithful German shepherd, greeted them with his regal, low bark. Naomi bent to scratch his ears, feeling the fatigue of a roller-coaster day catch up with her. It’d been a long evening with the dress rehearsals for tomorrow night’s performance. Normally, she let Gracie stay up past eight on Fridays, but not tonight. Gracie needed rest and Naomi needed her friends.

  Over the next hour, Gracie tried every excuse in the Book of Bedtime Stalling—dry throat, sore toe, fear of a ghostly stowaway under her bed—but finally, Naomi had her tucked in so tight and cozy that her daughter’s eyes started to close. Bogart had curled up on his special pillow near the foot of Gracie’s bed and was already snoring.

  A pink glow emanated from the flower-shaped night light her daughter had picked out when she was three and they’d been decorating her big-girl room. Soft music played from the clock radio on the bedside table. Oldies. Gracie’s favorite. Holding her breath, Naomi leaned over her. “I love you, Gracie girl,” she murmured, kissing her forehead, then her nose. This girl was her life. Her reason. Her everything. Tears stung like sparks in her eyes. The secret still sat in her stomach as solid and heavy as a stone. What would it do to them? What would it do to the safe and happy life she’d built for her daughter?

  She didn’t have time to reflect on the question before the doorbell rang. Eight o’clock on the nose. Her friends were so punctual when there was a promise of wine and chocolate.

  Bogart lifted his head as though unsure he should leave Gracie’s side to go check on the door.

  “It’s just the girls, Bogy,” Naomi whispered. But he trotted down the hall behind her anyway. As the man of the house, he always wanted to be sure there was no threat.

  Opening the door let in a flood of relief. These women were her safety net, the only place she let herself fall. They always caught her with love and wisdom and humor. They always helped her spring back up, somehow feeling stronger. God knew, she needed strength now.

  Darla came through first, her petite shoulders weighted down with bags. Although she was the oldest member of the group at thirty-six, she could also be
considered the hippest. Her black hair was cropped in a trendy pixie cut made even cooler with smart red streaks. “Hellloooo,” she cried. “I brought truffles! And a local zinfandel!”

  “Perfect.” Naomi unburdened her of one of the bags, peeking in and instantly catching a whiff of luscious dark chocolate.

  “And I brought bridesmaid gifts!” Jessa announced, squeezing past them while she waved miniature gift bags in the air. Although she and Lance had been together for nine months, her friendly brown eyes still shone like a woman caught up in the richness of new love. Tonight, she had her long blond hair pulled back loosely, making her look even more like a young bride.

  “I can’t believe the wedding is only three weeks away,” Cassidy Greer squealed, cramming herself into the entryway along with them. Even her vivid blue eyes seemed to be sparkling more than normal. Usually, the poor woman seemed tired and stressed—working as an EMT while she put herself through nursing school—but tonight the wedding excitement seemed to have given her a second wind.

  “I’m so glad you’re here,” Naomi told them all, leading them down the hall and into her small kitchen. While Gracie had been in the shower, Naomi had taken the time to set out her good china plates and wineglasses, along with festive flowered napkins.

  “Me too,” Jessa sighed. “I need some girl time. Living with Lance is so wonderful, but there are just some things boys don’t get.”

  “I’ll have to take your word for it.” Naomi laughed. She hadn’t lived with a boy in a very long time. And even then it had lasted less than a year.

  “Not that I’m complaining,” Jessa said quickly, giving Naomi an empathetic pat on the arm.

  “You’d better not complain.” Darla unpacked enough wine from her bags to serve a wedding party. “You’re the only one who gets sex whenever she wants it.”

  “Yeah,” Cassidy agreed. “That’s one perk to living with a man.”

  “I know, I know.” Jessa pulled out the boxes of chocolate truffles and dipped pretzels, spreading them around the table. “But I’ve been so stressed. You’re not going to believe what happened today. The minister ran off with the pianist!” she wailed. “And now I have no music and no one to officiate at the wedding.”