Cowboy Daddy: The Hot Cowboys, #10

By Lexi Banks

Graham Flint isn't looking for love, but his daughter and friends have other plans for him. Ever since his wife died, he's concentrated his time on looking after his daughter and his ranch. He likes to pretend as if he's okay, but underneath his hard exterior, he's lonely. When famous country singer Arizona McHale comes to town he's probably the only person who doesn't know who she is. A chance encounter brings them together, and soon Graham finds himself part of a world he didn't know existed. From small town rancher to music video star, he's not sure he's ready for the attention. He's also not sure what to make of this interesting new woman in his life. Is Arizona someone he could fall for? Or is she too far removed from the life he is used to?

• Language: English
• Publisher: DM
• Release date: Jul 15, 2019
• ISBN: 9781386186274

Book preview

Chapter 1

Graham

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Isat on the front porch, drinking a glass of water filled to the brim with ice cubes. Summer was now almost upon us, and the end of May was slowly drawing to a close. I liked this time of the year. I liked the end and the beginning of both winter and summer, but I didn’t like the middle of either. The extremes were what bothered me: it was hard to work when it was too hot or too cold. Today had been a good day; it was warm for most of it, and even warmer because of all the hard work I’d done on the ranch.

Now though, a cool breeze had settled, and as I sat waiting for Minnie to finish school, I let it envelop me. There was still a bit of time before she finished, so I used it to relax. I loved being the owner of my own ranch, and I knew how lucky I was to have so much considering I was only 31, but it was hard work. I never complained, but it did sometimes leave me exhausted. Today was one of those days. With Minnie about to go on vacation, I wanted to make the most of the time without her. I loved having her around, but she took up a lot of my time and was a big distraction. A welcome distraction, of course.

I smiled when, about half an hour later, the bus pulled up. I stood up and walked over to the other side of the road to meet her. She was 8 years old and thankfully still happy to see her father each day. I was dreading the day when she got too embarrassed to see me or begged me to please stay at home. I knew the day would be upon us soon. Kids seemed to grow up so quickly these days. For now, I was going to just make the most of it. It was just her and me against the world, and I hoped that she always knew that she would never be too old for me.

I smiled as I saw her hop off the bus and rush towards me. She stopped briefly to wave to some friends as the bus continued, and then hurried to me. I smiled, but then frowned when I saw the big red patch on her knee.

Minnie, what happened to your leg?

She shrugged. Ah, I fell during recess. I was trying to chase Andrew, but he’s so fast.

I couldn’t help but laugh. Perhaps it was because Minnie had grown up without the influence of a mother and spent so much time on a ranch, but she was a tomboy through and through. She’d once threatened to cut her hair short and make me call her Mel. Considering her actual name was Melissa, it was a long-running joke that we called her Minnie. It had stuck though, and it was hard for to think of her as anything else. She’d always be my little Minnie Mouse.

Why were you chasing poor Andrew? I asked as we made our way across the street and back to the ranch. I’d met Andrew before. He was a scrawny little kid with long legs. I could easily picture him darting across the field to get away from her. There were times, like this, when I wished I had a camera on her so I could be a part of her daily shenanigans. I had a feeling it would be funnier than any comedy. The Misadventures of Minnie.

He’s crazy, she said. He told me that Miss Smithers was really an alien from outer space, and she was teaching us all the wrong things about the earth on purpose. He was making all this stupid stuff up. So, I told him that I could beat him in a race, she said, as if her reaction made all the sense in the world, "and then he told me that I could never beat him. So he started running, and I chased after him.

He’s actually really fast. Faster than I thought. But I ran with all my might and made sure I kept my eye on him the whole time. I almost caught him. I was so close that I tried to reach out and grab his shirt...but then I tripped, and he got away.

That looks like a nasty cut. You okay?

I’m fine. The teacher put some cream on. It was sore, but it’s not bad now.

I shook my head. Pity. You almost got the boy! He sounds like he has a lot of imagination.

There’s a big difference between imagination and nonsense, she said, and once again, I was surprised by how much wisdom she had. Only 8 years on this earth, and she came up with the most incredible things. I wasn’t sure if she was just really smart or whether all kids came up with these gems. I liked to think she was different. In my eyes, she would always be the best kid in the world.

You’re absolutely right. Well, the good news is that you get to have a break from Andrew for a while. Are you happy vacation has started now?

Yes!

You sure you’re not going to get tired of being around your boring father all day?

She giggled. You’re not boring. Claire told me that you are the youngest dad ever. She said her dad is in his 40s. She said all he does is read the newspaper.

I smiled. Well, I’m not that young, and I read the newspaper, too.

Yeah, but you also work on the ranch and do cool things.

I rustled her hair. Nobody in the world could make me feel as good as she could. My spirits were lifted, and I no longer felt so tired. Well, that’s nice to know. I hope I stay cool for a very long time. So, how about you go and get yourself cleaned up? We still have to work on that puzzle, remember? And then I was thinking of making pizzas for dinner to celebrate your last day of school.

Her eyes widened. Pizza? Really? Can I put my own toppings on?

You sure can.

For the rest of the afternoon, we enjoyed strawberry milkshakes together while working on a puzzle. It was the biggest puzzle I’d ever seen in my life, and we had to shift around just to get to some of the corners. I’d put it on the living room table, and it took up most of the space. I was surprised at how quick we were going through it, though. Minnie had an uncanny ability to figure out the pieces quicker than most.

You know, your mother used to love doing puzzles, too, I said. When Ana had died, I made a promise to myself to never stop telling Minnie about her. I wanted her to know just how amazing her mother had been. It used to be difficult, but it had gotten easier over the years. I could now talk about her with affection and not so much pain.

She did? Was she good? Minnie asked while successfully putting in another piece.

I smiled. Oh yeah, she was good. She was the best I’ve ever seen. Well, not anymore, of course.

She looked up and frowned. Not anymore?

You’re the best now. Seriously, you have a knack for it. So did she.

Minnie grinned. Cool. Daddy, please tell me how you and Mommy met.

Darling, I’ve told you that story a thousand times. Don’t you want to hear something new?

She shook her head. No, I want to hear it again.

Well, how can I resist a good story, I said, and smiled. At least I could tell this story without getting too emotional now. "I met your mother, Ana, at the start of winter. It was cold, but not freezing yet, and she was wearing the brightest coat I’d ever seen. Everyone around us was in black or gray, something muted, but not Ana. No, she was wearing a bright yellow coat, with tiny little white hearts on it.

"I remember thinking that she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my life. I was a shy boy, and I’d never in my life gone up to someone like that, but I couldn’t help myself. I was drawn to her. I walked straight up to her while she was waiting for the bus, and I told her that she was beautiful. To this day I still can’t believe I did that.

She smiled at me. Up close she was even more amazing than from afar. It wasn’t just her yellow coat that made her so wonderful. It was her smile, her eyes, and the way she tilted her head back slightly when she laughed. Instead of asking me to go away, she asked if I wanted to go for coffee. So, instead of getting on the bus, she linked arms with me and took me to her favorite café.

The bookshop café! Minnie interjected. She was no longer putting the pieces of the puzzle together. She was watching me, enthralled by the story she knew by heart.

I nodded. Yes, the bookshop café. We sat for two hours, drinking so much coffee our heads began to spin. And just like that, I knew I had met the woman of my dreams.

Do I look like her? she asked, even though she knew the answer.

Oh, Minnie, you look more and more like her every single day.

She smiled. I wish I had met her, too.

I nodded and reached over to kiss the top of her head. Me too. Me too. But we will always keep her alive with our stories, won’t we?

She nodded. Yes. Do you think she watches us?

I sure hope so. Yes, I think she does, and I’m sure that she is so proud of you.

Minnie thought about that for a while before speaking. I think she’s proud of you, too.

Thank you. I hope so, I said. Now, how about we put in one more piece each before we go and make our pizzas. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.

Me too. Did Mom like pizza too?

Of course she did. She liked hers with extra cheese.

Me too! Minnie said, and jumped up to get started. She’d already put her puzzle piece in. I got up, too – even though I hadn’t found one – and followed her to the kitchen.

I loved speaking about Ana and never wanted to stop, but there were times when it really was hard to fully understand that Minnie would never meet her. It broke my heart into more pieces than the puzzle in the living room. Still, I had to be strong. I had a good life, and I had Minnie, who was by far the most precious thing in the world to me. It was hard to realize at times, but I really was lucky.

Chapter 2

Arizona

W ide open spaces, make for familiar places, I sang, and then groaned out loud.

I looked down at my notes and scratched the line out. I had been sitting here for the last two hours and had yet to come up with a decent song. Everything I wrote just sounded forced and insincere, which went against everything I believed in. I wanted my songs to be as real and as raw as possible. I wanted emotion to ooze out of every word.

I didn’t usually battle this much, but lately, nothing seemed to work. I always knew immediately if a song was going to be a hit, and I could tell I had not yet found it. Everything I wrote seemed to be coming from somewhere else, not from the heart. I tried again, but got so frustrated I almost screamed. When the phone rang, I rushed to answer it, happy for the distraction. I smiled when I saw it was Cassie, my best friend and my agent.

Lunch? she asked before I’d even had a chance to say anything else.

I chuckled. How do you always know when to call me? Yes, lunch sounds perfect. Meet at Filter?

See you there.

Filter was one of our favorite spots. Mostly because it was located right between her place and mine, and also because it wasn’t as popular as some of the other places in Knoxville. I still had no idea why. I kept expecting to go there one day to find hordes of people milling about, but it remained relatively undiscovered. It was run by an elderly couple, and the clientele seemed to be mostly of the over-seventy sort. I didn’t mind, though. It was the one place I could go without being hounded, and I always knew I could talk to Cassie without someone listening in and running my story in the paper.

I tried not to complain. Complaining about fame was always something I tried to avoid because this was the life I had chosen. If people weren’t running around trying to take my photo, it meant I was doing something wrong. The women at Filter mostly knew who I was, but they seemed to understand that I went there for peace and quiet. They were always kind and polite, but they never bothered me or tried to take my photo.

When I arrived, I was pleased to see the regular clientele, and I waved to all of them as I settled into my favorite seat in the corner. I was early, so I ordered an iced coffee for Cassie while I scanned the menu.

What’s the point? Cassie interrupted me a few minutes later. She took her coat off and sat beside me, grinning.

The point? What do you mean?

She gestured towards the menu. You always end up having the same thing, anyway.

I laughed. No, I don’t. Then I took one look at her face and chuckled. Okay, fine. But it’s always nice to pretend. I closed the menu.

The waitress came over with our coffees, said hello to Cassie, and took our menus without bothering to ask either of us what we wanted. She knew us well enough by now.

You see, even they know that we never try anything new, Cassie said.

I giggled. Why mess with a good thing?

Exactly. So, how are you? You seemed relieved when I called. Is everything okay?

I nodded, then shrugged, then shook my head. I don’t know...

What’s wrong? Did something happen?

No, nothing happened – and that’s just the problem. I’m struggling so much with the new song. I mean, I keep trying, but everything I come up with sounds ridiculous. You can always tell when a song comes from the heart, and so far everything I have come up with sounds like I’m singing about someone else.

That’s the problem with heartbreak songs, she said.

What do you mean? I asked as I took a sip of the coffee. It wasn’t the greatest coffee in the world, but there was something so familiar about it that it always made me happy.

I mean, it was easier to write songs about heartbreak when your heart was actually being broken. I know you’re only twenty-five, but you’re a lot more mature than most twenty-five year olds. You don’t have the same amount of issues that you used to have when you were younger. That’s why you’re struggling to write.

I sighed. So, what it basically boils down to is that my life is far too normal?

Something like that. I mean, it’s not a bad thing.

"Yeah, but it’s not a good thing, either. It’s not that I don’t feel things anymore. It’s just... Well... I guess I had so many issues when I was younger that I now don’t want to feel that way anymore. I don’t want to be sad all the time. It’s too hard to live like that. Unfortunately, it also means I don’t have much of a career anymore.

Shit, does that mean I used to have a career out of being sad? That’s terrible. And how is it that I’m a washed-up singer at the tender age of twenty-five? What the hell am I going to do with the rest of my life if I can’t sing? This is all I know.

Don’t be crazy; you’re not a washed-up singer. You just need some inspiration. Hey, you could always write about how sad you are about not having anything to write about.

Sad about not being sad? I said and chuckled. I don’t think that’s going to resonate with the general public. I think I need another tactic.

You’ll find something. You always do. You’re a great singer, Arizona.

You’re just saying that because you’re my friend.

Cassie shook her head. Nope, I’m saying that because I’m your agent and because I wouldn’t lie.

Thank you, but I don’t know. I don’t want to only come up with songs when I’m heartbroken. I want to be able to write at any time, I said and sighed. I don’t know, maybe I’m trying too hard, but I have seriously hit a blank. Every time I stare at my notebook or pick up my guitar, I feel like a failure.

You’re not a failure. Far from it, in fact. You’re just very hard on yourself. Look, why don’t you take a little break?

A break? Are you kidding me? You don’t take a break when you’re a singer. That gives someone else an opportunity to come in and steal the limelight. I have to keep ahead of the game.

She chuckled. I don’t mean a long break. I mean a few days. Take a breather. Do something else. Get your mind off it. Then come back to it with a clear head.

You know, you’re too good to me. I’m sure another agent would’ve just dumped me ages ago.

No way, you’re far too talented to dump. I hit the jackpot when I met you. I believed in you then, and I believe in you now. So, how about we stop talking about it and concentrate on the delicious food that’s coming our way, she said as the waitress came by with our meals.

I nodded. Good idea. So, tell me what’s happening in your life.

Lunch with Cassie was a welcome distraction and just what I needed to help get my mind off everything. I loved her to pieces. She had started off as just my agent, but the two of us had soon realized we had more in common than just the music. She was a good friend to me, just as I hoped I was to her.

She was five years my senior, and I sometimes needed her maturity to get me out of my own head. She was good at what she did, very motivating, and always had her eyes on the prize. However, when she put her work aside, she was just fun to be with and always ready for a laugh. By the end of lunch, I had almost forgotten about my woes, and my stomach hurt from laughing so much. We stepped outside the café, and she gave me a big hug.

You don’t need to worry so much, Arizona. You’re so talented. You’re just too hard on yourself. Don’t try so hard. Just believe in yourself, and the words will come. I promise. I have more faith in you than you will ever know.

I smiled at her. That was one of the big problems, though. She did have a lot of faith in me, but it was more faith than I had in myself, and I didn’t want to let her down. I didn’t want to worry her any more than I already had, though. I gave her a big smile, instead.

Thanks, Cassie. You’re a good friend. I’ll take your advice. I need to stop stressing and find the fun in this again. After all, that’s why I got into singing in the first place. I love it. Lately, I’ve been more worried about letting my fans down than about simply enjoying myself. I need to find that place again. I just hope I can.

She smiled. You can. I know it.

When I got back to the house, I decided to try and take her advice. I’d eaten quite a bit at lunch, so I headed to the bedroom and flopped on the bed. The ceiling fan was whirring above me as I closed my eyes, and it didn’t take long for me to fall asleep. It was an hour later when I woke up, and I felt a bit better. I lay in bed for a while, just thinking about my life.

Perhaps I really did need to take a bit of time away from everything. Life had changed so much in the past few years, and I sometimes didn’t know who I was anymore. I was certainly very different from whom I used to be: the carefree girl who felt most alive in the countryside. I’d been living a life of luxury and glamour for almost seven years now, and I’d grown up a lot quicker than I probably would’ve had I not chosen this path.

My gaze fell on a picture of my mother and father, and I could feel the throbbing of my heart. I loved that photo so much. And even though it was hard, I loved that it was the last thing I saw at the end of the day and the first thing I saw in the morning.

It was still hard to believe that my father was gone. I had used the heartache that I felt to write my first set of songs: the very songs that had made me famous. There had been so much emotion in those songs, but I no longer wanted to write about that again. Singing about my father brought back too many memories, and I simply couldn’t go through it all again. It was hard enough that I still had to sing those songs now.

No, I needed a new set of songs, but I had no idea where I was going to find the inspiration for a new hit...and I really didn’t want to be a washed-up singer already. Not when I felt like I had only just begun. I loved being a country singer, and I couldn’t bear the thought of being anything else. Come on, Arizona, think, think! I sighed. The thoughts wouldn’t come, and I desperately needed to stop worrying about it. I got out of bed and headed down to the kitchen to pour myself a glass of wine. Then I settled in front of the TV and found an old comedy to pass the time.

Chapter Three

Graham

O kay, time to get ready , I said to Minnie, who was still walking around the house in her pajamas. I noticed her pajamas were verging on pink, but decided not to tell her. She hated it whenever she was told she was a girl. I knew she’d change her mind one day, but for now, she still often told me that she wished she was a boy. The funny thing was that she made a beautiful girl.

"Aw, Dad! Do we have to go? Wouldn’t it be fun if we just stayed home and played games together? Or we watch a movie? Or, I know, why don’t I help you around the ranch? I can feed the animals. I love

Reviews for Cowboy Daddy

[Nancy T. Burdette · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book so much. It was fantastic! Awesome