The Cowgirl’s Forever Love Excerpt

Chapter 1

Silver Stone Ranch, early March

 

A cry echoed off the barn walls, sliding from a deep moan to a bloodcurdling screech that made goose bumps shoot across her skin. If Lisa Coleman believed in ghosts, she’d be running for the hills. Instead, curiosity tugged her forward as she followed the sound farther into the warm building.

This wasn’t what she’d expected when she’d stolen away from the house, trying to give her sister and brother-in-law some privacy. A moment to be quiet and alone was a good thing.

Alone time—maybe. Lisa couldn’t see a soul around, but the quiet part was going to be difficult. It seemed the ghosts of winters past had taken voice and were doing their best to shake the dust from the rafters.

Lisa went in search of the eerie sound.

She’d been in Heart Falls since mid-December to help her sister Tamara deal with a difficult first pregnancy. Which meant Lisa cooked and cleaned and helped care for Tamara’s two adopted daughters who were eight and nearly eleven, while juggling all the chores involved in keeping a ranch house running.

Add in that Silver Stone ranch had hosted a family wedding the day before—a quiet one, mind you, but still—Lisa’s days had been filled to the brim.

She paced past two long rows of stalls. The horses in them lifted their heads, muzzles turned to the south. Their ears twitched and skin rippled as if chasing away flies. The horse equivalent of asking, What the heck?

Luckily, none of the beasts seemed upset. Lisa hoped it wasn’t because the caterwauling was a regular occurrence at the Silver Stone ranch.

She inched forward, slow but steady, as the sound changed in pitch and timbre, no longer at the intense volume it had been when she’d first entered the building.

Her quest for the source of the noise brought her outside the door leading into the oldest surviving building on the ranch. The massive horse barn where she stood was one of two additions that had been constructed on either side of the historic building.

The wood before her was weathered dark by time and the floorboards dipped underfoot where millions of boot-clad steps had left their impact over the years.

The voice echoing off the walls—because it was most definitely a voice, and a male one at that—was growing fainter and hoarser. As if he’d reached the end of his rope.

She’d finally recognized the noisemaker and as Lisa cautiously unbolted the door and peeked into the gloom of the windowless passageway, she wasn’t sure what to expect.

Not only because of tonight’s strange game of hide and go seek, but because the owner of the voice, Josiah Ryder, local veterinarian, had turned out to be the biggest enigma she’d ever met.

She’d bumped into the man a couple times in the previous year while visiting Tamara and at least a dozen more over the past months, but she simply couldn’t get a bead on him. It was annoying as heck. Lisa didn’t often find herself at a loss when it came to judging people.

Or managing people, if she was honest.

Lisa pushed the door in front of her, the heavy wood swinging away. She laid a hand on the wall in the hopes of shedding a little light on the situation, but even after flicking the switch upward, gloom filled the narrow passageway between two well-lit spaces.

“Josiah?” She spoke into the darkness.

“Hey.” His voice was deep, scratchy, and sexy as sin, dammit. As if he’d just rolled out of bed and hadn’t had a chance to do anything more than blink in her direction after an all-nighter that had left them both sated.

Gee, Lis, seems your imagination is working, no matter what else you’re failing to exercise.

Josiah was clearly somewhere in the room, but she couldn’t see him. Or at least, not right away.

At first glance, it seemed as if a fleece-lined jacket hung from a high hook on the wall. A second later it was apparent the coat was not empty but held a body. Josiah’s jean-clad legs hung toward the ground, leaving well-worn boots suspended a foot above the floor.

She stepped toward him. “What the heck?”

The fingers of one hand twitched in greeting. “Lisa. How’s your evening going?”

She was close enough to see his jacket was twisted awkwardly, rising under his chin and forcing his arms horizontal as if he were lashed to a post like a scarecrow. His handsome face seemed darker in colour than looked healthy.

Lisa answered as nonchalantly as he’d asked. “Good. The kids have gone to bed, and Tamara and Caleb are having some quiet time, so I decided to go for a walk. You?”

“Just hanging out.”

She shoved down the outright laugh that wanted to escape. “Can I give you a hand?”

“Please. My arms went numb five minutes ago. I’m losing circulation in my feet.”

Lisa glanced around the small room, but there was nothing that could help her. She stepped over a couple of broken wooden slats that lay on the ground and headed back into the horse stables.

“Don’t go anywhere,” she tossed over her shoulder.

He snorted.

She found a tall barrel in the horse barn, rolling it in and placing it under his feet. She had to physically position his boots on the surface, then climb up next to him, reaching behind his back to detach the hook that sliced through his coat before coming to a stop at the thick collar.

“You’re lucky you didn’t get skewered,” she said worriedly as they made their way to solid ground.

“I’m very lucky. I’ve been offering thanks the entire time I’ve been hanging there.” Josiah shrugged, grimacing in pain as he flexed his biceps to get the blood flowing. “No idea how long I’ve been stuck.”

The man probably ached from head to toe. “Take off your coat,” she ordered. “I’ll give you a rubdown.”

She expected him to ignore her offer. Possibly excuse himself then stomp away in a manly fashion as if he’d planned the whole thing.

Instead, he wiggled his shoulders from side to side, grunting in pain as his jacket slid down. “I have zero objections, but first? I’ve got an itch between my shoulder blades, and while everything else went numb, that spot refused to do anything except get more intense.”

Lisa laughed, putting her nails to the middle of his back and scratching firmly, higher, then lower until she found the spot that made him groan. “Any particular reason you turned yourself into a wall ornament? I have no idea how you got up there.”

“Comedy of errors.” Josiah pulled an arm across his chest to stretch his shoulders as she switched to massaging. “Barn cats have a terrible sense of humour.”

“Barn cats. Ahhh, yes. That explains so much. I take it you crawled up on something to try and catch one?”

“Those slats were attached to the wall when I started. Things were going perfectly well until—”

He stopped dead, then cleared his throat and changed arms. The move made his shoulders bulge, the already-firm bundles thickening to rocks under her fingers.

Josiah Ryder was built. There was no denying that the man was in excellent shape, from top to bottom. Not only was the body pleasant to look at, his face was the kind that made a person take a second look. With high cheekbones and a firm jawline, the structure was appealing, and the layer of scruff on his cheeks, chin and upper lip did it for Lisa.

That, and his piercing blue eyes that looked directly at her as she came around and forced her thumbs into his right biceps, working out the knots that had developed while he was trapped.

His body was hot, but it wasn’t only physical attraction that hit her hot buttons. It was the slow, stealth-like smile spreading across his pretty face. The mischievous expression she’d seen during her visits had raised her curiosity and her interest, especially when he’d deliver the occasional snarky comment or out-of-the-blue anecdote with perfect comedic timing.

Intriguing. Sexy. The man had an awful lot going for him, yet every time she’d so much as cracked open a window and tried to flirt, he’d shut her down.

She forced that puzzle aside because he was being evasive, which meant she simply had to dig for details.

“Things were going perfectly well until…what?” Lisa prompted, dropping her gaze as she rubbed past his elbow and toward his wrist. Lean, muscular arms dusted with just the right amount of wiry hair.

Damn the man. He even had sexy forearms.

“Maybe I don’t want to tell you.” The words held an unexpected lilt. “You’d find some way to torment me about it from now till eternity.”

“Dude, I found you imitating a fur pelt somebody hung to dry. I’m already going to tease.” Lisa switched to his left arm, starting at his shoulder and working her way down. “Besides, I’m only here for another couple of months, so it’s not as if you’re giving me lifetime ammunition.”

His easygoing drawl vanished and he spoke sharply. Far more intensely. “You’re leaving that soon? I thought you were here to help Tamara.”

“Just until the baby arrives and Tamara is back on her feet,” Lisa explained. “The kid’s due late April. I’ve been here since December. I figure six months is long enough to spend living in her basement. By the time May rolls around, I’ll be ready to do the next thing.”

“What’s the next thing look like?”

She shrugged. “Don’t really know. It’s probably a terrible thing to confess, but I finally decided that I’m not going back to Rocky Mountain House. The rest of the details are fuzzy, but I’ll figure it out.”

“You could stick around Heart Falls,” Josiah pointed out. “There are other places to live than under your sister’s roof.”

“Maybe. I’ve got this wild urge to get on a plane and fly off to somewhere I’ve only read about in a book. But I’ve got a bit of time to decide. I only told my family my decision a couple of days ago.”

“It’s a big change.”

“It’s an exciting change,” Lisa said with conviction before eyeing him. “Nice try at distracting me, by the way. I’m not letting you off the hook until you tell me how you got on the hook.”

“Such a comedian.” He took a step away, picking up his coat and sticking a finger through the hole. He eyed it, deliberately not looking at her as he confessed, “The cat wasn’t the trouble, but there was this spider…”

As his voice faded, Lisa slammed her lips together. She tossed away the smart-ass comments she’d been planning to make.

She would not make fun of anyone’s fears. No matter how amusing it was at first to picture such a fine example of manhood running scared from something the size of his fingernail.

“There will be no tormenting about anything except finding you doing a scarecrow imitation,” she assured him quietly.

That gorgeous blue gaze of his swept over her face as if judging to see how serious she was. He nodded, pulling his coat back on. “Appreciate that.”

The thick layers settled over the broad width of his shoulders. It wasn’t right how much her fingers itched to touch him again.

Then again, what wasn’t right was failing to take advantage of a perfect opportunity to move ahead on something she’d been thinking about pretty hard.

She was leaving town sooner than later, but there was nothing to say she and Josiah couldn’t have fun while she was around.

Lisa reached up to arrange his collar, smoothing the fabric into position before letting her hands linger on his chest, stroking the warm lambskin of his coat as she focused on his face. “I’m glad you didn’t get hurt.”

Josiah was looking down at her as if he wanted to consume her—which, hey, okay by her—the bright blue in his eyes hot and needy. His gaze fell to her mouth, stalling as if debating his next move.

The motion was trite, perhaps, but impossible to stop—Lisa licked her lips, and his eyes dilated a little further.

Anticipation hung in the air. A sense of not what, but when, and she found herself leaning forward, adding pressure to her touch. Closing the gap between them.

Josiah shifted position, his breathing grew ragged, then he—

He left.

He turned on his heel and slid past her, gliding like a western gunslinger into the hallway, then past the row of horses. His perfect ass moving away from her as he made a measured yet hasty retreat.

The hole in his jacket was already fraying, strands spilling outward as a visible sign that something had gone wrong.

Something messy like her getting shot down again, because unless she wanted to chase after him, Lisa had little choice other than to watch Josiah vanish in the distance.

She hated not knowing what a person would do next. Especially someone like Josiah Ryder who was intriguing and sexy and a man she would be very willing to get to know better during her remaining interlude in Heart Falls.

It appeared her love life was on hiatus, the same way the rest of her life teetered on…

Nothing. She had no idea what the future should look like. Sadly, it appeared she was going to wallow in loneliness while she figured it out.

Lisa took a deep breath and kicked her own butt. Enough moping.

While her future was out there, somewhere, her present was waiting in the house. Back where her sister needed help. And if Lisa had learned anything over the past years, it was how to take care of her sisters.

She gave the nearest horse a pat on the nose then headed through the snowy winter night to the ranch house. Her night’s agenda now involved hiding out in the basement guest room to give her sister and brother-in-law some privacy.

The sad truth was no matter where she ended up she was going to daydream about Josiah Ryder. About how she wished the two of them were together in the barn. Maybe in the hayloft, generating heat and getting to know each other far more intimately.

 

**

 

Walking away from the temptation of Lisa Coleman had been hellishly difficult.

Josiah closed the final gate behind him and headed up the long driveway to his spread overlooking the Alberta Rocky Mountains. He lived far enough out of town to have some privacy. Close enough to be able to enjoy the few luxuries a small town could offer.

His phone rang, and he put it on speaker even as he aimed his truck into the darkness. “Josiah. What’s your emergency?”

“What’s yours?” Caleb Stone’s deep drawl echoed over the line, and in spite of the twitch of irritation in his belly, Josiah had to smile.

“I thought you were having a quiet evening with your wife.”

“That was you I saw parked by the barn. Why didn’t you stop by the house?”

Josiah made a rude noise. “What kind of a friend interrupts a date? Especially since Tamara’s not feeling one hundred percent that often these days. Speaking of which—why the hell are you on the line with me?”

“Stop worrying. I intend to enjoy my evening, but I wanted to know how your weekend went.”

Anyone else Josiah would’ve accused of wanting the dirt simply for curiosity’s sake, but Caleb was a good friend and had been for a number of years. He knew what was going on.

Which meant he would know the instant Josiah started lying.

He tried anyway. Or at least attempted to skip the details. “It was good. I always enjoy going back to Rosebud and visiting my parents. They have a production of Oliver they’re getting ready for the summer and I got to make suggestions for set design.”

“And…?”

Josiah sighed. “The wedding was great. Darlene and her husband are head over heels. He seems a decent fellow.”

Caleb offered a low rumble, something between sympathy and annoyance. “I can’t believe your ex-girlfriend asked you to give her away.”

“Hey, what can I say? I’m an awesome guy. Everybody likes me.”

“Of course, they do. She still shouldn’t have done it,” Caleb complained.

“It’s okay, really. We mutually called it off well over two years ago. It’s not as if I’ve been pining away with a broken heart.” Josiah chuckled. “My ego’s not broken. Although I’m starting to understand that always a bridesmaid, never the bride joke a whole lot more.”

Because that’s what made this annoying. This was the third time. Not the actual giving-away-the-bride part—this wedding had been a first for that oddity.

With Josiah’s college girlfriend, they’d both been clear what they were looking for. Companionship, some fun. Basically, a great time.

When she called it off, it was far from the end of the world. They were friends and liked each other, but it wasn’t going anywhere else, yada, yada. Josiah hadn’t been hurt, not even when she started dating someone else by the end of the week.

Within a month his ex and her new beau were engaged.

Josiah had laughed. He was happy for her—because even if he’d been considering getting more serious, which he hadn’t, no way he’d have been ready for marriage that quickly. He’d attended her wedding and shared amusing stories, and it hadn’t seemed strange at all.

Not until the same thing happened with his next girlfriend.

The third time? Yeah, it was no longer funny.

“Josiah?”

Damn. He’d been so busy in his head he hadn’t heard his friend’s question. “Sorry. Woolgathering. What’s up?”

“Wanted to know if you’re interested in a poker night. Tamara insists I take the chance before the baby arrives. Of course, that means I’m volunteering your house.”

Caleb sounded apologetic, which was just wrong.

“Yes to poker. Of course, we can use my house. Stop sounding as if you’re imposing. I know you love your family, but Tamara’s right. Especially if she has a girl. You’re going to need an extra boost of testosterone just to balance the scales.”

“As it’s been pointed out more than once, with my four brothers, all the ranch hands, and how often you stop by, there’s a decided testosterone overload around Silver Stone.”

Josiah wasn’t sure he agreed. “Between your two little girls, your wife, and your brothers’ women—I think every one of them is worth at least four of us. Which means you’re coming over Tuesday night, yes?”

“Yes,” Caleb answered decisively. “Want me to extend the invite to my brothers?”

“Definitely.”

“Wait—how did you know I was hanging out with Tamara?”

Confession time. Although Josiah wasn’t sure how much to admit. “Chatted with Lisa in the barn.”

“Ahh. She make a bet with you? Swear that woman gets more pleasure out of plotting mischief than anyone I’ve ever met.”

That was not what Josiah wanted to hear. He would love to be making mischief with Lisa. Hot, sweaty, dirty mischief.

Not a comment he should make to her brother-in-law, no matter that Caleb was his best friend.

He must have hesitated too long again because Caleb jumped in. “Dammit, Josiah. Something’s wrong. The weekend hit you harder than you’re saying,” Caleb guessed.

“No, I mean yes—it’s given me lots to think about,” Josiah admitted. “But I’m not upset. Why should I be? Both Darlene and I moved on with our lives and are perfectly happy. It’s good for people to grow and do the next thing.”

“I guess. Except sometimes people move on to the next thing because they don’t know how good they’ve already got it.”

That comment was way too cryptic for this time of night.

Josiah made the final turn into his driveway, shocked to discover two dually trucks with horse trailers behind them already parked outside his barn. “Looks as if my new roommates have shown up a day early.”

“Two more sets of pockets to win money from. Gotta like that.”

“Let’s hope they’re not ringers.”

“I’m glad they’re there. It’ll be good for you not to be rambling around that big house on your own. And next time, stop in. Jackass,” Caleb muttered with affection.

“I will,” Josiah promised before he hung up.

He parked in front of the ranch house, bundling up his coat tightly against the crisp night air as he marched across the snowy ground toward the barn.

The call from his friend had been a good distraction, but it didn’t change the annoyance in his belly.

He hadn’t lied to Caleb. The past weekend had hit him with some basic truths, and the trip home from Rosebud had been long enough to mull over an idea hard enough to make a decision.

It was time to stop messing around. He was ready to do the next thing. He was ready to settle down and put down roots, and all of the things that involved home and hearth.

He even had the perfect woman in mind. Lisa Coleman.

Josiah had spent the entire time he’d been trapped on the wall plotting how to convince Lisa to start dating him. Yet the first thing she’d shared was that she was going away.

Her comment had thrown him for a loop.

No more. No more was he playing fast and loose and just being with a woman for a good time—although Lisa had never been on the one-night-stand list for so many reasons.

Still, there nothing wrong with his past sex life—and he obviously hadn’t left a trail of broken hearts in his wake.

But what chance did he have at forever with someone who was already planning to leave?

Except…

Lisa hadn’t been positive what she wanted to do, and he regretted racing away so quickly. He’d never been good at coming up with last-minute changes, and this time it had kicked him in the butt.

No more living from day-to-day for momentary pleasures. He wanted it all. He wanted a future with someone who considered him valuable enough to stick with, and he was willing to do whatever it took to make that happen.

If he could figure out exactly why Lisa planned to leave Heart Falls, maybe he could offer convincing reasons for her to stay. Since it seemed she didn’t know what she was looking for, this could end up being a perfect opportunity for them to build a solid relationship.

It was a brilliant idea. It was an idea that was totally going to work.

Now he just had to convince Lisa to get on board.

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