Cowboy Lullaby

By Lisa Gray

Horses, a sympathetic ear, or a good night’s sleep. Cole Woodruff, owner of the Lazy W Dude Ranch, supplies whatever his guests need. But when Jack Harmon arrives, Cole’s own desires clamor to be met. Should he risk the ranch to satisfy what might be nothing more than an itch? And even if Jack turns out to be that special man Cole’s yearned for, is it right to move forward when a vulnerable child is involved?

Not long ago, Jack was awarded custody of his son Alex after the sudden death of the boy’s mother. Out on the road for all of his son’s life, what does he know about being a dad? Sleepless nights spent worrying have worn Jack to a raw nerve.

Visiting the dude ranch with Alex, Jack delights in Cole's friendship. And the way Cole’s warm, wonderful voice is so soothing, it cradles Jack to sleep whenever they’re together. Jack aches to spend every night dreaming in the big cowboy's arms.

But can a lullaby last forever? Or will the dream fade when morning comes?

• Language: English
• Publisher: JMS Books LLC
• Release date: May 7, 2016
• ISBN: 9781634861083

Lisa Gray

Lisa Gray is an Amazon #1, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. She previously worked as the chief Scottish soccer writer at the Press Association and the books editor at the Daily Record Saturday Magazine. She is also the author of Thin Air, Bad Memory, Dark Highway, and Lonely Hearts. She now writes full-time. Learn more at www.lisagraywriter.com and connect with Lisa on social media @lisagraywriter.

Book preview

Cowboy Lullaby

By Lisa Gray

Published by JMS Books LLC at Smashwords

Visit jms-books.com for more information.

Copyright 2016 Lisa Gray

ISBN 9781634861083

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Cover Design: Written Ink Designs | written-ink.com

Image(s) used under a Standard Royalty-Free License.

All rights reserved.

WARNING: This book is not transferable. It is for your own personal use. If it is sold, shared, or given away, it is an infringement of the copyright of this work and violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

No portion of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts used for the purposes of review.

This book is for ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY. It may contain sexually explicit scenes and graphic language which might be considered offensive by some readers. Please store your files where they cannot be accessed by minors.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are solely the product of the author’s imagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Published in the United States of America.

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Cowboy Lullaby

By Lisa Gray

Chapter 1

Cole Woodruff pulled a leather vest on over his white button-up shirt. Adding a bolo tie—turquoise and silver slide on a braided cord—he let himself preen a bit in front of the mirror. His jeans still fit well—no bulges or sags despite being a hefty man. Not bad for somebody pushing forty.

Yeah, yeah, you’re gorgeous—for an old cowboy, came a snide voice from the bedroom doorway.

Cole turned and addressed the lanky young man leaning against the door jam. Well, little brother, you’d better hope I am, because I provide the local color. This get-up, the accent, and the cowboy lingo are what keep the guests coming back for another week’s stay. And that’s what’s going to pay your college tuition come fall.

The young man grimaced. You sure you can handle the ranch without me? I could still put off enrolling until winter. Then I could at least cover the fall color-tour guests for you.

Lee, you’re starting college—in the fall. End of discussion. You should’ve started three years ago. Besides, I’m thinking of promoting Mickey to be guest coordinator.

Mickey? You’re kidding. He’s the best horse-wrangler there is, but handling complaints? He’d freeze solid. No, you need someone who can schmooze with the guests, make them feel like they’re doing the Lazy W Dude Ranch a favor by being here.

"Well, they are doing us a favor. A big one." Cole was truly grateful that converting their parents’ struggling cattle ranch into a polished, popular dude ranch had worked so well for him and Lee. He took pride in how the guests appreciated his particular attention to their comforts. Not that doing so was a hardship—he thrived on making people feel special and cosseted. Running a dude ranch gave him lots of opportunity to do just that.

That reminded him he needed to brief Lee before the guests arrived. Hey, I want you to give some extra attention to one of the kids coming in today. His name is Alex Velez. He’s with his dad, Jack Harmon. The kid’s mother died a few months ago. An aneurysm—she was dead on the kitchen floor when he got home from school. Seems coming to a dude ranch is the first thing the kid’s shown any interest in since her death. So make sure both of them have the best time we can offer.

Poor kid. I’ll take special care of him. But the father—I’ll leave him to you. Lee waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Thanks, smart-ass. Cole glanced out the window and saw a distant cloud of rising dust. We’d better get moving—the van just turned onto the driveway. He grabbed the envelope of room assignments and keys and tossed it to Lee.

The two of them headed for the front door, grabbed their cowboy hats off the pegs, and went to greet the guests.

Standing on the wide front porch, Cole closed his eyes and took a minute to breathe the spring air and feel the afternoon sunlight warm his face. Something about the season always made him feel more alive, like anything was possible. He opened his eyes and watched as the van approached, the red dust rising against the backdrop of the blue-gray mountains. God, he loved his job.

Once the guests had piled out of the van that had brought them from the airport, he stepped off the porch and went into his opening routine. Howdy, folks. Welcome to the Lazy W. I’m your host, Cole Woodruff, and this here young stallion is my baby brother, Lee. We’re so glad you’re here. He walked over to the guests and shook everyone’s hand, murmuring a personal comment or suggesting an activity to each of them. He took pride in memorizing the names and faces and researching the preferences of each guest before they ever set foot on the ranch.

While Cole was busy greeting everyone, Lee moved among them, handing out room keys and maps of the ranch house, and loading the luggage on a wheeled cart