Love the Outlaw - Steamy Western Cowboy Romance

By Helen Smith

Noah is trying to start a new life and leave a past of darkness behind him. When he approaches a house looking for a job and instead finds a woman, Emma, being mercilessly beaten by her husband. His first instinct is to rescue her, but in doing so, he kills the husband. He's now an outlaw with a new widow in tow. 

But Emma does not want to stay in the home where she has known only pain and misery, so decides to leave her home and try to make it back East so she can try to put her life back together. And Noah is the only one who can help her.

Forced into a situation that threatens both of their futures, Noah and Emma discover that what they thought the future held for both of them may not be what they actually want.

A Standalone Short Story with No Cliffhanger! 

• Language: English
• Publisher: American Cowboy Romance Club
• Release date: Nov 20, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386372400

Book preview

Love The Outlaw

Chapter 1

It was close to dark . Noah climbed down from his horse, lashing the reins around the wooden post at the edge of the wide dirt road. He took a moment to kick the dust from his boots and tuck the end of his shirt into his pants. This was the last house in the area and he wanted to look as respectable as possible. None of the other families were looking to hire a hand, especially one new to the area who had a scar visible along his neck and down into the collar of his shirt. Whoever lived in this house was his last chance of making a living in this town and truly putting the darkness of his past behind him.

Ranger thrashed, rearing back slightly and pulling against the reins. Noah grabbed the reins and held them firmly with one hand, and stroked the horse’s neck soothingly with the other.

Shhh, he murmured, Calm down, boy. What's wrong?

The horse thrashed again and Noah was reaching up to stroke the top of his head when he heard a muffled scream coming from the house. The small home stood back from the road, but the sound was loud enough to get Noah's immediate attention. A moment later another scream, louder and higher-pitched than the first, pierced through the quiet calm of the night, seeming to cut through the thickly humid air to reach his ears.

Noah released the reins, jumped out of the saddle, and took off running toward the unmistakable sound of a woman screaming. Her pleas reached a fevered pitch as Noah's feet pounded into the ground, kicking up dirt as he pushed toward the house as fast as he could go. As he grew closer he could hear a man's voice joining the woman's. The deep, growling voice sounded slurred, but the fury behind it was clear. There was another scream and the loud crash of furniture just as Noah made it to the porch.

He reached for the handle, but the door was locked. Without pausing to knock, Noah stepped back and directed a forceful kick to the middle of the door. The wood splintered beneath his boot and he pushed it out of the way so he could enter the house. A shirtless man stood in the middle of the room looming over something on the floor. He turned toward the sound of the door crashing in and Noah saw a form on the floor shifting.

Who the hell are you? the man shouted, taking a step toward Noah.

Ignoring his question, Noah pushed further into the room until he could see what was at the man's feet. It was the destroyed remnants of a table, a woman lying amidst the shards of wood. He couldn't see her face, but watched