Hold Me, Cowboy

By Alissa Callen

The Copper Mountain Rodeo has returned to Marietta and cowboy reputations aren’t the only thing at stake…

Marietta home town girl Kendall Dixon knows who she is and what she wants, even if the stubborn and slow-smiling cowboy who owns her heart is long gone from Montana.

Rancher Brent Ashton returns to Marietta to care for his sick mother. Haunted by the death of his father, he is determined to save his derelict home and resist rekindling the romance with the only girl he’s ever loved so that she doesn’t sacrifice her dreams for him.

But the shy and sweet Kendall he left behind has become a strong and determined woman. A woman who won’t let her cowboy walk away for a second time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tule Publishing
• Release date: Sep 25, 2015
• ISBN: 9781943963133

Alissa Callen

When USA Today bestselling author Alissa Callen isn't writing, she plays traffic controller to four children, three dogs, two horses and one renegade cow who believes the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. After a childhood spent chasing sheep on the family farm, Alissa has always been drawn to remote areas and small towns, even when residing overseas. She is partial to autumn colours, snowy peaks and historic homesteads and will drive hours to see an open garden. Once a teacher and a counsellor, she remains interested in the life journeys that people take. She draws inspiration from the countryside around her, whether it be the brown snake at her back door or the resilience of bush communities in times of drought or flood. Her books are characteristically heartwarming, authentic and character driven. Alissa lives on a small slice of rural Australia in central western NSW.  To find out more, visit Alissa on her website.  You can also follow Alissa on Facebook and Pinterest. 

Book preview

Author

Dedication

––––––––

To Callum. My techno cowboy.

Prologue

Kendall Dixon walked into the Marietta fairgrounds and into a world saturated with rodeo color and sound. The creak of saddle leather, the scent of dust and horses and the buzz of excitement were as familiar to her as the strong Montana wind that toyed with her hair.

She lifted a hand to the big curls that fell below her hat brim. This year the Copper Mountain Rodeo was going to be the best ever, even if her blonde hair felt as though it were set in concrete. Izzy must have used half a can of hairspray to give her voluminous curls that would be the envy of any Rodeo Queen.

Kendall lowered her hand, but the action didn’t ease the tight fit of her Western shirt. Correction. Izzy’s hot pink Western shirt that must have shrunk in the summer sun. Kendall’s shirts were too dull for Izzy’s vision of how Kendall needed to look for this rodeo. A vision that made it difficult to breathe, let alone to sit. If Kendall thought the shirt snug, it was nothing compared to her borrowed jeans that were at least a size too small.

Old Henry Watson gave her a wave from where he stood talking to a group of other ranchers. His lingering glance confirmed she no longer resembled the quiet and conservative Bluebell Falls Ranch girl everyone knew.

Kendall returned his wave and smiled, a wide smile that she prayed contained none of the insecurity that churned in her stomach. She wasn’t yet sure if she could carry off her makeover.

She glanced at her watch and weathered a fresh flurry of nerves. The barrel-racing final would soon start and she was due to meet Brent and her twin brother, Rhett, beside the popcorn stand. They’d grab popcorn like they did every rodeo and watch their childhood friend, Payton, race. It was the working cowgirls’ dream to win the barrel-racing and this year Payton had a good shot.

Kendall increased her pace as much as she could in the too-tight jeans. For once she was glad Rhett was running late. It gave her a few rare minutes alone with Brent. Minutes she hadn’t had last night at the steak dinner and dance on Main Street. A long-legged blonde, with a high wattage smile as brilliant as her hair highlights, had attached herself to Brent’s side. The sight of a stunning woman hanging off Brent’s arm wasn’t new. Kendall bit her bottom lip and tasted cherry lip-gloss.

But this time the blonde was someone who’d attended Montana State University with him. This time he hadn’t just danced one dance and moved on. This time something within Kendall snapped.

Her teenage crush on her brother’s friend hadn’t waned in the years between their senior year and his college graduation last May. It had only intensified and deepened, along with her frustration and desperation he’d never see her as anything but Rhett’s awkward and shy twin sister. Well, this rodeo such an impression would change. She hadn’t let fashionista Izzy loose on her for nothing.

Her steps slowed as the smell of popcorn strengthened and she saw a cowboy, back to her, buying popcorn at the stand. Not just any cowboy. Her cowboy.

In a sea of Wranglers and hats, she’d know Brent anywhere. The angle of his dark head. The way his broad shoulders tapered to lean hips. The slightly bowed cast of his legs that gave him a swagger guaranteed to draw cowgirls to him like honey bees to a wildflower. He turned and she glimpsed his handsome face. The high cast of his cheekbones. The blue of his eyes that always reminded her of the Montana skies she loved.

She knew the moment he caught sight of her and registered her new look. His grip on the popcorn tightened and his knuckles glowed white. For an instant she caught a gleam of something raw, dark and unexpected, before his head dipped and his hat brim shaded his eyes.

Mouth dry, she waited while he closed the distance between them. Izzy had instructed her to push her shoulders back and to moisten her lips but it was all she could do to stay where she was and not turn and run. She’d hoped to glimpse shock, admiration and even wonder in his face but whatever emotion she’d seen hadn’t been any of those. If she had to describe it, she would have said it was ... pain. She swallowed. She’d taken a risk and she had to see this through no matter how badly it went.

His head lifted and she again had access to his eyes beneath his hat brim. Eyes that were now hooded and guarded.

Hey, Kendall.

Hey. She forced her breathing to remain even and her voice to sound normal. Rhett’s running late so he said to save him a spot on the bleachers in case he makes Payton’s final.

Brent made no effort to hand her the popcorn like he usually did. The line of his jaw firmed.

Rhett said you stayed over at Izzy’s after the dance?

Kendall nodded. The weight of her starched curls reminding her just how she looked and the reason she’d stepped outside her comfort zone. She pushed aside all nerves and held his gaze. I did.

His eyes briefly dipped to where Izzy had undone the top two buttons of Kendall’s shirt. Well, next time Izzy lends you clothes perhaps make sure they aren’t out of her little sister’s cupboard.

This couldn’t be Britt’s shirt. I’ve seen Izzy wear one like this ... Kendall paused to look over her shoulder and frowned. But ... now that you mention it, perhaps Izzy’s didn’t have as much bling across the back?

Again Brent studied the front of her shirt. Definitely out of Britt’s wardrobe.

Kendall shivered as his gaze remained on the acres of cleavage she had to be showing. This was what she wanted. Brent to notice she had curves in all the right places and a heart that beat only for him. But the reality of his intense stare quickened her pulse and left her feeling less confident and even less in control. Unsure and inexperienced, she had no idea what to do next. If she’d been the sassy and confident Izzy, she would have stuck out her chest and tossed her head.

Kendall, this shirt ... Brent’s unfathomable gaze met hers. This whole outfit ... isn’t you.

She shrugged. Maybe and maybe not. I’m not eighteen anymore.

I know. Believe me, I ...

A wolf whistle to her left cut off his strained words.

Looking good, Kendall, a masculine voice said in an exaggerated drawl.

She glanced over to where Kevin Thompson and his brother, Ron, had stopped to give her a slow and thorough once-over. Their grins might be full of the masculine appreciation she craved but their admiration made her skin crawl. Brent was the only cowboy she wanted to look at her like she was the tastiest dish on the dinner menu. She opened her mouth to tell the cowboys to pick their jaws up from off the rodeo ground when Brent spoke.

Yes, she is boys and way out of your league, so keep on walking.

Kendall stared at Brent. His words were casual, jovial even, but unmistakable steel underpinned his instruction to walk away. Despite his volatile family life, in all the years she’d known him, she’d never seen him lose control. Not when she’d backed his precious truck into the barn. Not when she’d knocked him over while tubing on the frozen lake. Not when he’d lost his younger sister to a ranch accident. But right then, in that moment, it was as though he were spoiling for a fight. His arms might rest loosely by his side but the set angle of his chin left her in no doubt if the Thompson brothers didn’t heed his words, there’d be trouble.

Ron’s eyes narrowed before Kevin grabbed his arm and spoke. No disrespect meant, Kendall. We’re just having some fun. Kevin steered his older brother past them. Walking away now, Ashton.

Brent watched them leave, a muscle working in his cheek. He took a long second to look at her but when he did his features had assumed their usual collected expression.

He passed her the popcorn. We’d better find our seat before we miss Payton ride.

Okay.

She waited for him to turn toward the bleachers but he continued to stare at her. The grooves beside his mouth deepened.

It might be an idea to fix your shirt before you have more than the Thompson brothers paying you attention.

What was he talking about? Sure her shirt was too tight, and she had a couple of buttons undone but otherwise all was fine. She glanced down. Heat pooled in her cheeks. Make that three buttons undone and the fourth straining to break free. No wonder the Thompson boys had been gawking. She had enough pale flesh on display to stop a homecoming parade.

That’s a good idea, she managed in what she hoped passed as coherent words and not an embarrassed squeak.

Yeah, one of my better ones. A smile threaded Brent’s voice. You keep hold of the popcorn. I’ll fix your shirt.

Then like he’d done countless times before, whether it was adjusting her stirrup leathers, plucking a leaf from her hair or taking her elbow to guide her around a patch of winter ice, he stepped near to help her.

Kendall breathed in his familiar scent of wood mixed with leather and focused on the darkness of his tanned hands so close to her fair skin.

Brent secured the fourth button but when he went to slip through the third button the pink shirt refused to meet. He tugged the two sides together and his fingers brushed the sensitive valley between her breasts. She sucked in a gasp of air and the third button finally slipped into place.

All done. Brent stepped away before she could see his face. He waved toward the almost filled bleachers. After you.

Throat aching, she automatically turned. There was nothing else she could do. She’d felt the warm graze of his fingertips on her skin down to her soul. Yet he appeared unmoved by the intimacy of the contact between them. The dream was over. She didn’t need any more proof the chemistry between them was one-sided. Brent would never see her as anything but his childhood friend.

She’d watch Payton and then take her tattered pride and retreat home to Bluebell Falls Ranch. She needed to wear her own boring clothes. She needed to feel her hair soft and free against her neck and the weight of a large bag of dark chocolate from Copper Mountain Chocolates on her lap.

Not concentrating on where she was going, she clipped her knee on a low bleacher and stumbled. Brent’s large and warm hand settled into the small of her back to steady her. And stayed.

He guided her to the top bleacher and only then did his hand slip away. As he sat beside her, his thigh brushed hers. Kendall held her breath. This was the third time he’d touched her in almost as many minutes. Had hers and Izzy’s plan worked? Did Brent now see her differently?

Not daring to look his way, she offered him some popcorn. Four mouthfuls later, Brent’s thigh still rested against hers. The barrel-racing had started but instead of focusing on the competitors, Kendall remained acutely aware of a subtle shifting in the relationship between them. Brent’s blue gaze rested on her more than usual and there was a tension in his hard, muscled body she’d never sensed before. Even his voice was different, deeper and more resonant as though the emotions he always kept in check hovered close to the surface.

All too soon it was Payton’s turn to race. Mouth set in a determined line, the Beargrass Hills cowgirl had the crowd cheering her home as she rode the clover-leaf pattern around the three barrels in a super slick time. When Payton was eventually announced as the winner, Kendall whooped until her throat hurt.

Then, wanting to savor Brent’s closeness, she sat still and waited while the bleachers emptied and the crowd dispersed in search of food and drink. From Brent’s jeans pocket his phone rang. He shifted to slip his cell free and the action caused his leg to move away from Kendall’s. Cool air replaced the heat of his touch.

Brent read his phone message out loud. Rhett’s finally here and wants me to meet him over at the chutes before he rides in the bareback final.

Kendall nodded. A gust of wind caught in the flags above her and goose bumps rippled over her arms. It wasn’t only the icy breeze that had come straight from the top of Copper Mountain that robbed her of warmth. Whatever bubble she’d been in with Brent while they watched the barrel-racing had burst. Things between them would now return to how they were before. It was only her wishful thinking that the connection they had just shared was the start to something she’d wanted for so long.

Brent returned his phone to his pocket, removed his hat and sat the Stetson beside him. He tunneled his hand through his hair.

Kendall stiffened. She knew such a gesture. Brent kept his feelings close to his chest but whenever he was on edge he’d drag a hand through his hair.

Eyes serious, his gaze slipped over