Cheyenne

By Jessica Caryn

 Cheyenne was exhausted and stressed but determined to keep her family's West Texas ranch. A development company offered to purchase her land. She declined their offer, and the problems began. The company hired her ex-boyfriend. Maximilian sold his father's land and tried to force Cheyenne to sell hers.

A terrible storm came, so Cheyenne helped the ranch hands search for stray livestock. They found a man wounded in the creek on her property. Cheyenne decided to patch him up and turn him loose to avoid more trouble.

 

Jaxson woke up in pain, but he didn't expect to see the blue-eyed beauty. There was a misunderstanding, and the circumstances around his situation were questionable. Cheyenne didn't trust him. Jaxson wanted to protect her. The situation will spiral out of control with intense chemistry, lustful confessions, and past secrets. Will Cheyenne be able to trust Jaxson after she finds out the truth?

 

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tainted Sweetheart
• Release date: Sep 3, 2016
• ISBN: 9781393734154

Book preview

CHAPTERS

1. West Texas

2. Drifter

3. Different Place

4. Three Days Later

5 . Conversation

6. Kinds of Trouble 

7. Leaving

8. Feelings

9. Sling’em Slacks 

10. Back At The Ranch

11. Tempted

12. Being Invited

13. Rough Cowboy 

14. More Threats

15. Confrontation

16. Justified Rage

17. Truths

18. Lies

19. Her Past 

20. Love Story

21. Truly Sorry

22. Playing Hard to Get

23. Old Pain

24. Without Honor

25. Finding Peace

26. Can’t Wait 

27. Holding On

28. Warning

29. Badly Bruised

30. Ron’s Rum

31. A Rough Go

32. Changes

33. No Choice

34. Heaven & Hell

35. All Kinds of Love 

Jaxson & Cheyenne

Cheyenne was exhausted and stressed but determined to keep her family’s West Texas ranch. A development company offered to purchase her land. She declined their offer, and the problems began. The company hired her ex-boyfriend. Maximilian sold his father’s land and tried to force Cheyenne to sell hers.

A terrible storm came, so Cheyenne helped the ranch hands search for stray livestock. They found a man wounded in the creek on her property. Cheyenne decided to patch him up and turn him loose to avoid more trouble.

Jaxson woke up in pain, but he didn’t expect to see the blue-eyed beauty. There was a misunderstanding, and the circumstances around his situation were questionable. Cheyenne didn’t trust him. Jaxson wanted to protect her. The situation will spiral out of control with chemistry, lustful confessions, and past secrets. Will Cheyenne be able to trust Jaxson after she finds out the truth?

CHAPTER 1

West Texas

C

heyenne

Thunder echoed through the house. Rain was falling, and the storm was expected to get worse. It’s been one thing after another. I sighed, feeling exhausted and stressed. Life’s been hard without my parents. There was a knock on the door. Clay walked in, Cheyenne, the guys will round up the strays.

I pulled on my boots, We’ll finish faster if I help.

You don’t have to worry about loss profit. We’ll keep this place running. I’ll make sure of it.

Clay was doing so much. They all were. Honesty needed to happen. We’ve been holding out too long. Clay, you’ve sacrificed enough, and Maximilian won’t stop until I sell.

He shook his head, My son worships money, and it will be his downfall, but this is about you.

I’m fine, I quickly replied. Really, I am. I’ll be out in a few minutes.

Clay sighed, You’re still stubborn.

I wouldn’t be me if I wasn’t, I kept smiling until he left. I couldn’t keep pretending and had to slump in the chair. Life was weighing on me, and fatigue was constant, but I took a deep breath to push it all down. Everyone was depending on me.

I pulled it back together to leave the study. Gloria was in the hall helping Clay with his coat. She was fussing over him. Clay liked it, but he kept pretending he didn’t. Seeing them together reminded me of the photos in Mom’s hat box. Maybe Clay and Gloria were in love back then.

Maximilian came to mind. We’ve known each other our entire lives, so I never thought everything would go so wrong. Maximilian was crushed when his mother died, but there was no excuse for his behavior. He kept carrying on, hurting whoever crossed his path. Maximilian sold his birthright. Clay’s heart broke when he lost their land, but he was still hoping his son will see the error of his ways.

Thinking about my ex-boyfriend always sparked painful memories. I went to the closet for rain gear. Clay and Gloria were getting into it. She didn’t want me out in the storm. He promised everything would be fine. Gloria kept fussing. I tried not to laugh because it would make things worse. They were overprotective, and I was grateful for it.

I put on a raincoat and grabbed a wide brimmed hat so my vision wouldn’t be limited. Clay held out my gun, handle first. I put it in the holster while he reminded Gloria I was an excellent marksman. She understood a gun was needed. We couldn’t let livestock suffer if they were caught in barbed wire or had badly broken limbs.

We left the house. Johan and Kyle were waiting on the porch. Streaks of lightning were flashing in the sky, and heavy rain fell on a slant due to high winds. Clay needed reports on damage and livestock. He asked the guys to check the brush and outlying areas.

We didn’t waste time rushing down the steps and into the storm. I held my hat and hurried to get in the truck. Clay slid behind the wheel and started the engine. Another flash of lightning lit up the truck’s interior. It was going to be a long night. Hopefully, the damage wouldn’t be too much. I wiped my hands to turn on the walkie.

We drove in the direction of the outer fences. Clay switched the wipers to the highest level, but the water still wasn’t clearing. I reached for flashlights but the walkie crackled. I flinched from sudden noise and frantically hit the button. Kyle was talking. So far, the damage wasn’t too bad. Clay hit the brakes. I held the door to keep from sliding. He was looked at for answers. Clay motioned to a goat wandering around. I ended communication with Kyle to make a slipknot from rope and then offered it to Clay.

We left the truck. The rain was heavier. I tried fixing the raincoat, but my clothes were soaked. I slowly circled the goat, not in the mood for a chase, but he tried making a run for it. Clay snagged him with the rope. We secured the goat in the back and drove on. Clay parked near a break in the fence. I grabbed a flashlight, and we were in the rain again. I looked at the tire marks. Someone was out here! 

I know! he yelled back. Take a look! 

I walked across splintered wood and swept the light through the brush. I didn’t see anyone out there. The truck’s door slammed shut. I moved ahead, knowing Clay wouldn’t be far behind. The dull beam from my flashlight bounced off the rocks. I kept walking through the brush, mindful of wild animals. Rainwater was still soaking me clean through. I wiped my face and checked the area around the creek. The water level wasn’t high yet, but it was surrounded by grasslands. There wouldn’t be damage, only a wait for the waters to recede and the land to dry out.

Noise was behind me. I glanced back to check for Clay and ended up slipping on wet bedrock. I couldn’t get balanced and went to my knees. The flashlight hit the ground and my hand scraped the hard surface.

Clay came to see about me. I was reaching for the flashlight when he motioned to the left. Clay drew his gun. I pulled mine too but let him take the lead. Clay went to the brush. There wasn’t a signal to stay back, so I inched forward. I need more light, Clay crouched to get a better look. I beamed the light beyond him. There was a man in the shallow part of the creek. Clay went in the water to get him. My plan was to shoot the guy if he tried anything.

CHAPTER 2

Drifter

Cheyenne

Clay pulled him from the water, He’s been shot in his shoulder and side. I put my arm around the man. He was dead weight, but Clay provided support. We stumbled and then struggled to the truck. I unlocked the back and got in. Clay lifted the man. I grabbed his shoulders to place his head on my lap.

Clay secured the back and then went to the driver’s side. The truck peeled off seconds later. I pressed my body against the panel to keep the man’s head stable when the truck picked up speed. I used the flashlight to check him. The stranger had a deep wound in his side. I held pressure on it to slow the bleed. His shoulder wasn’t as bad.

The truck stopped by the house. Kyle and Johan took him. I jumped off the truck to follow them. Clay took my gun while Gloria rushed to get supplies. The stranger was laid out on the dining room table. I carefully ripped his torn shirt. Gloria helped by soaking his wounds with antiseptic. The guy started jerking and groaning, but it had to be done because we found him in the creek.

He was in pain and tried turning away. The guys held him. He was too weak to fight them. I checked the gash, The bullet is still in there.

Gloria laid out a towel with sterile tools. I put on clean gloves and asked for more light. I glanced at Clay. He put his arm across the man’s chest and told Johan to keep holding his legs.

Kyle came with a lamp and positioned it over the wound. Gloria put on gloves and passed the forceps. I picked up a handful of heavy gauze and told Gloria where to hold. The wound bled. I wiped away blood and paused to check. I had to pull the bullet out the way it went in.

I went into the wound and his body jerked. I used the forceps to grab the bullet, but the muscle around the wound kept twitching. I held firm and checked the angle before pulling it out. Gloria rushed to pack the wound with gauze. There could be shrapnel in the tissue, but I wouldn’t dig around to check for it.

I silently worked to suture the gash around the bullet wound, did irrigation, and packed it. I would check for signs of infection, but the wound needed to heal a little before it could be closed.

I moved to his shoulder and asked Kyle to fix the light. It looked as if the bullet went through. I checked for an exit wound on the other side. He might have tissue damage but should have full function of his arm.

I worked to clean and pack the second wound with gauze. He moved. I looked into his gray-eyed gaze. My blush was constant while waiting for him to move more. He stared a second longer and then closed his eyes.

I finished his shoulder and cleaned the cut on his head. Clay asked Kyle to take care of the goat. Johan left to park the trucks while Gloria returned with fresh linens.

I used fabric shears to cut his clothes. I quickly examined his private area and then draped a sheet over him. All the other cuts and bruises were minor.

Clay helped put a clean sheet under him. Gloria whispered, We should call the Sheriff.

I wanna speak to him first, Clay replied. "There had to be a reason he was by