Rescued by the Cowboy (The Texas Flyboys Series, Book 1)

By Lindsay Randall

Business executive Tess Covington has three days to transport a bag of cash from Plano, Texas, to an airstrip in the mountains of southern Mexico or her kidnapped sister dies.

In need of a private pilot, Tess hires Nick Cade. A former champion bronc rider, Nick's new claim to fame is storm-dodging while flying his small plane in and out of the Colombian jungles, rescuing captives.

But the mountain storms prove too much for the plane, leaving Nick and Tess to survive a long mountainous trek to the drop-point while stalked by raiders and growing feelings for each other.

REVIEWS:
"Ms. Randall creates an appealing cast of characters to keep our interest at a high pitch." ~Romantic Times Book Reviews on Miss Meredith's Marriage

THE TEXAS FLYBOYS, in series order
Rescued by the Cowboy
Slow Dance with a Cowboy

TO WOO AN HEIRESS, in series order
Lady Lissa's Liaison
Miss Marcie's Mischief
A Dangerous Courtship
Miss Meredith's Marriage

ALSO BY LINDSAY RANDALL:
For Love of a Princess

• Language: English
• Publisher: ePublishing Works
• Release date: Mar 30, 2015
• ISBN: 9781614177203

Lindsay Randall

Known for her “lyrical prose” and adventurous stories, Lindsay Randall is the award-winning author of historical and contemporary romances. RT Book Reviews lauded her with a Reviewers Choice Award for Best Historical Paranormal Romance, and readers respond to the “solid writing and engaging action” found in the pages of her books. For Lindsay, writing is not simply a joy but a compulsion. “I feel called to write,” she explains. A devotee of the written word since the third grade, Lindsay began her journey as a writer in the form of journaling. Her first diary was a gift from her mother and the pages were soon filled to bursting within two short weeks. Decades later, Lindsay is responding still to an urge within that wants to write. The author’s private life is as steeped in creative endeavors as is her professional one. She spends time experimenting with various artistic mediums from watercolors to digital photo editing and enjoys the practice of yoga, as well as exploring the natural environment around her. Lindsay makes her home in the beautiful Pennsylvania Wilds, where she was born and raised. 

Book preview

Rescued by the Cowboy

The Texas Flyboys Series

Book One

by

Lindsay Randall

Award-winning Author

Published by ePublishing Works!

www.epublishingworks.com

ISBN: 978-1-61417-720-3

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Please Note

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

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Chapter 1

At nine fifteen p.m., Tess Covington's long, thirteen-hour day turned into her worst nightmare. She gripped the phone with one hand and shoved trembling fingers through her long hair, as if pushing the strands out of her eyes would help her see the caller.

The bright glow of Legacy's business park in Plano, Texas, invited her into a life beyond the huge bank of windows. But the view from her corner office of Covington headquarters blurred as she listened to the man on the phone list his demands.

The thick financial report on her desk no longer mattered. Neither did the live feed from the Bloomberg terminal, which offered a continuous spool of up-to-the-second data of the buy and sell rates of Covington stocks. Tess's in-control world had suddenly spun out of control. Nothing mattered now but saving her sister.

Weakness washed through Tess and dread churned inside her as a gruff male voice rattled off numbers.

"Did you note the coordinates, señorita?"

Y-yes, she said, her voice quaking, tears blurring her vision. You haven't hurt her, have you?

There was a pause before he spoke again. You can bring the money?

Tess fought against her rising panic. She had to keep her mind clear and listen hard for hints or any background noise that might help her locate her sister.

Nothing but static filled Tess's ear... and then: "No money, no sister. In three days my raiders and I meet you at those coordinates. Land your plane there and do not be late. Bring cash. American dollars. No authorities, señorita, not in the U.S., not in Mexico. If you contact the authorities, you will not see this pretty sister of yours again."

Tess's stomach clenched. I'll get you the money. I'll do all that you ask. Everything you ask. But keep your hands off my sister, you hear me?

Three days.

Wait, Tess said. I want to talk to Sydney. I want—

The man cut off the connection.

Adrenaline pumped through Tess and her limbs began to shake. This couldn't be happening: Sydney, kidnapped, held for ransom. By who? And why? Just for money?

That was certainly possible. Tess and Sydney were daughters to Jack Covington, wealthy owner of Covington Communications. A shrewd media mogul, their father was intense and oftentimes tough when it came to his business empire, but he loved his girls. If he knew Sydney was in danger he would use his money and power to mount a small army to find her—and it might get her killed.

Was Sydney being held for ransom because Covington was the second largest communications company in the world? Or was it something else that Sydney had thoughtlessly gotten herself involved in?

Tess drew in a deep breath, let it out slowly. She couldn't give way to panic now. Sydney needed her. Three days. Was it enough time? It had to be. It would be.

Fingers trembling, Tess stroked her laptop out of sleep mode and searched the coordinates the man had given her. When Chiapas, Mexico, came up on her screen, her breath whooshed out of her lungs as if she'd been punched in the gut. Oh, Syd. You reckless thing! What have you gotten yourself into?

Tess knew that an old journal their mother, Elizabeth, had found was the reason Sydney traveled into Mexico.

First begun in the 1700s as a ship's log, the beautifully bound book had eventually become a journal by its various owners through the centuries. Its contents had intrigued Sydney, who had read it at sixteen years old, right after their mother died. Before Tess could read it, their father had gone into a rage and sold it to an auction house. He warned Sydney to forget the thing lest she end up dead like her mother, but it only caused a hard rift between him and Sydney. Tess's headstrong sister had simply become more engrossed with the words she'd read in the journal until she abruptly announced last month that she was heading south across the border.

She asked Tess to go with her.

Tess wanted to; a part of her did, anyway. But another part of her—the half of her that always did the sensible and safe thing—couldn't leave her father or her VP position at his company at such a critical time. Jack Covington had lost his wife and one daughter because of the journal. Tess was all he had.

She wanted to call her father and confer with him, like she always did. But she couldn't do that, not this time, and it felt like a betrayal.

Tess scooped up her phone again. She had to get to Chiapas without her father knowing, and she had to do it fast. Nathan, she said the instant her evening assistant connected at his end, get me everything you can on Chiapas, Mexico, and the Texas Flyboys Air Service in Austin. I need this info yesterday, and this is strictly confidential, understand?

"Ms. Covington, everything I do for you is confidential."

Sorry, she said, realizing too late that she'd insulted the best assistant she'd ever had. Long day.

They always are, he said. Give me twenty minutes. With that he cut the connection, and Tess began planning.

Though Covington Communications owned several corporate jets and a few twin-engine prop planes, it was a public company and Tess couldn't make use of those planes. Sharing a ride on a pre-scheduled corporate flight wouldn't be out of line, though, and wouldn't turn any heads since she'd done it a few times—but there were no scheduled flights that would pass through Chiapas, Mexico.

The best she could hope for would be to catch a flight to a nearby air service not owned by Covington. Every employee who worked for her father would take any news of her unscheduled travels straight to him. And if Jack Covington learned that Sydney had been kidnapped and was being held for ransom, there was no way he would let Tess go after her with a bag filled with cash. He'd contact every authority figure from Dallas deep into Mexico... and he'd seal Tess off from the matter. He wouldn't stop until he got his daughter back—alive or dead—because despite their lack of communication, he loved Sydney. Tess had always known this, had tried to convince Syd, but her sister couldn't see past his faults or their mother's death.

Tess had to do this alone, and she had to follow the kidnapper's orders to the letter. But that didn't mean she had to be stupid or unprepared.

The money wasn't a problem—or rather, the kidnapper hadn't asked for more than Tess could get her hands on by morning.

Which left the matter of hiring a pilot.

And not just any pilot. She needed one smart enough and good enough to get her in, and out of, the hot mess her sister had gotten herself into.

Nick Cade was the first name she thought of—he was also a man she couldn't forget. She had met the handsome cowboy-pilot at her cousin Aubrey's wedding near San Antonio last fall. The memory of her weekend with him flared immediately to life. Truth was, though, the memory of the man was never far from her thoughts.

They had spent three halcyon days together at Aubrey's weekend-long wedding celebration—Tess as the maid of honor and Nick as best man. From the rehearsal dinner on Friday evening until the send-off brunch Sunday morning, Tess spent most of her time with Nick. They shared private conversations, a slow dance, a rainstorm, and even a rainbow together. Nick gave her his phone number and asked her to call him once she'd returned home to Plano. She hadn't called. She couldn't.

Because of... so many reasons.

He'd called her twice, and although she had craved the closeness they had known in that brief weekend romance... ached for it, in fact, she hadn't taken or returned his calls.

Tess glanced out at the sea of cubicles beyond the glass partition of her office. She spied Nathan, hunched over his computer, working his magic. Silently, she willed him to hurry.

While she struggled to keep her emotions in check, Tess scoured her mind for clues as to why and how Sydney had been kidnapped. Years ago, the contents of the journal had inspired their mother to visit Mayan ruins in Mexico, a dream she'd always harbored.

She returned in a body bag. The trek through the ruins had taken her life, and something in Tess, who'd been thirteen at the time, had died along with her. But the journal she'd owned had sparked a fire in Sydney, Tess's only sibling and older by three years. Sixteen and angry, Sydney had blasted their father for selling the journal. Two tumultuous years later, Sydney packed her bags and left. She and her father had barely spoken since—a pitiful irony considering her father owned a hugely successful communications company.

The wound in Tess's heart that wouldn't heal bled yet again. She felt forever torn by her broken family. She would hang out with Sydney in her hip neighborhood and then visit her father at the mansion they had once shared as a family in Highland Park, just north of downtown Dallas. The only place where Tess could escape her family troubles was at her office where she didn't have time to think about anything but her job.

Here you go, Nathan said, startling Tess from her thoughts. As she lifted her head, he passed a manila folder to her. Everything you could ever want to know about Chiapas and the Texas Flyboys Air Service. Even got you a weather report and it's not looking good. Hope you're not heading that direction any time soon.

Thanks, Nathan. Now that she had the folder in her hands, Tess felt her heart pump a little faster. Your pay will be doubled starting next Monday.

I'll be worth it, he replied, and without giving Tess a chance to respond, he added, The main owner of the Texas Flyboys Air Service, Nick Cade, came into the public eye as a successful bronc rider. Nearly took a world title, but, just like that,—Nathan snapped his fingers together for emphasis—he left the rodeo circuit behind, took up flying, and headed into the jungles of South America. That sound a little crazy to you? he asked.

It sounded exactly like the man she knew, which was a good part of the reason she never called Nick.

Nathan's words beat like a drum in her head. Nick had been to South America? During their weekend together, he had talked once and only once about an unsettling event in his life, but when she'd gently pressed for details, hoping to help him, he had gone silent. A short while later, the dark cloud in his gaze passed and their weekend together continued.

The spotlight hit Cade again when his fast thinking as a bush pilot helped rescue some kidnapped oil executives, said Nathan, continuing as if he was used to talking and not getting answers from Tess. From what I could gather, he was held captive once, but never talked about it publicly. I couldn't find anything other than a sentence or two about the incident. After that, he set up an air service outside of Austin that he runs with his three brothers. They have a few regular clients with long-term contracts. Are you thinking of using his air service for Covington?

Tess stared down at the file, worried about Sydney, nervous about facing Nick, and heartsick to hear that he, too, had once been taken hostage. What's that? she asked, so distracted she could barely think straight.

Are you considering using the outfit? Nathan asked. If so, I'll call and get a copy of their standard contract. I can research their prices, do some checking about quality of services, and let you know if this FBO is a good fit for Covington.

Tess released a breath, trying to rein in her chaotic thoughts. Possibly, but don't do any extra work just yet. I'll let you know. She clasped her hands together over the folder, threading her fingers so tightly her knuckles turned white. Thanks again, Nathan, she said, forcing a calmness into her tone that she didn't feel. Go ahead and leave early tonight. I'm almost finished here, and you've earned some free time.

Thanks. With that, he turned and left the office, closing the door behind him.

Tess blew out a breath, knowing she needed to be clear-headed. She had to stay calm and handle this intelligently.

Flipping open the folder, she warned herself to be methodical and detached as she thumbed through pages of statistics and photos. But all that went out the window when she saw pictures of Nick.

He stood beside a bush plane in one photo. In another, he sat atop a horse in a rodeo chute, one leather-gloved hand holding tight to rope, the other held easily above his head, ready to ride eight seconds in the ring. The sight of Nick's electric blue eyes looking back at her from his strong, handsome face framed by dark, wavy hair vaulted Tess back to a starlit night she'd shared with him beneath the low-slung limbs of an old mesquite tree in southern Texas. Her heart ached and she wished like crazy she could go back to that innocent night... wished that Sydney wasn't being held captive... that she could be calling Nick to say hello instead of to ask for help.

She flipped through a few more pages in the folder. Dubbed The Famous Four during their time on the rodeo circuit, the Cade brothers—Nick, Jesse, Wes, and Ty—had since hung up their saddles and taken to the skies. Every article about Nick used the same catch words: Best of the best at storm dodging in a small aircraft... a seasoned bush pilot who brought out more than one captive from the Colombian jungles. She shook her head, amazed at all he'd done in his life. He was far and away the best—and right—choice to help get Sydney out of the mountains of Mexico.

Tess had to hire him.

Which meant she would have to call him.

Which meant he would ask why she didn't call him nine months ago or take any of his calls.

And that's something Tess didn't want to talk about.

Still, he was her best option, so she dialed Nick Cade's number. In just two rings, she connected to the Texas Flyboys Air Service.

A man answered, his voice deep and warm. Tess's senses leapt to life.

I'm calling for Nick Cade, Tess said.

You got him. What can I do for you?

Everything, Tess thought. She quickly introduced herself, assured him that yes, she was the same Tess Covington he'd met at Aubrey and Jeff's wedding, and then she launched into a request to get to Mexico ASAP. She rattled off the coordinates of the airstrip where she needed to land and hoped beyond hope he didn't ask her why she needed to go there—or why she'd never called him. She would eventually tell