The Cowboy Rides Away

By Jeannie Watt

Never draw a line in the sand that you don't want crossed...

The last person Jason Mann ever expects to cross a line is sweet Meg Marvell, the woman he'd fallen for–and left–two years ago. An accidental meeting has Meg asking for answers, which he'll give if she travels hundreds of miles to her cousin's ranch where he works. Maybe making her go out of her way will help Meg understand that he's not a good guy. His rough past makes it impossible to fit into her world.

Middle-child Meg Marvell has spent her life brokering peace and bending to avoid conflict. She lives cautiously, rarely takes risks, steps back when confronted. And she is damned tired of it. It’s time to tackle life on her own terms. Break free. And what better way than to answer Jason Mann’s challenge? He doesn’t believe she’ll travel to her cousin’s ranch to discuss why he disappeared from her life, so she does him one better and hires on. She didn’t want him back—she wants to prove that she can rise to a challenge. Unfortunately, the attraction they once shared has not withered and died as she’d once thought…if anything it’s stronger than ever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tule Publishing
• Release date: Sep 5, 2017
• ISBN: 9781947636156

Jeannie Watt

Jeannie Watt lives in a historical Nevada ranching community with her husband, horses and ponies. During the day she teaches junior high and at night she writes about cowboys, ranchers and cops. When she’s not writing or feeding the animals, Jeannie enjoys sewing, making mosaic mirrors and cooking with her husband.

Book preview

Chapter One

"Pack up your horses and move back to the ranch."

Megan Marvell somehow managed to not roll her eyes at her younger sister, Jo. Voluntarily return to the role of peacemaker between her siblings? She loved and appreciated her sisters, but that was edging close to last-resort territory.

I don’t think so. She leaned back as the server neatly slid the ticket onto the table on her way by. We should probably get going.

The rodeo board, which she and Jo served on, was meeting that night. Jo had driven the fifty miles in from the Marvell North ranch and they’d gone to the Lakeside Tavern for a quick dinner before the meeting.

Jo planted her elbows on the polished pine table, refusing to be sidetracked. Come on…moving to the ranch is a great idea.

I already have a place to live. Rent-free. Meg’s tiny house was old and in need of repairs she wouldn’t be making any time soon given her change in circumstances, but she had a roof over her head. And a place for her herd of older horses, which she used to teach summer riding camp.

Rent the house. Make some money.

I’d rather stay in Sweetheart, just in case something comes up.

Like what? Jo asked reasonably, reaching for the last French fry and dragging it through the ketchup.

A job in Polson, or Cherry Lake?

That you and all the other laid-off teachers will be trying for? Jo cocked an eyebrow before popping the fry in her mouth. A lot of them are more desperate than you are.

Touché. Meg put her plate in the empty plastic fry basket and wiped her hands on the paper napkin. There was no question that she was better off than the other math and literary specialists in her school district who had also just received word that the grant that paid their salaries wasn’t going to be renewed.

Two years ago, she and her cousin, Brett Starr, had invested in a hay farm near Sweetheart, Montana. She’d used the inheritance from her parents to put a down payment on the place and he’d emptied his savings. Brett farmed it and paid her a portion of the profits and she lived for free in the foreman’s cottage on the edge of the property, which was cute, but just a little drafty.

There was no reason to return to the home ranch. Too many cooks spoiled the broth, and too many sisters trying to run one ranch had the same effect. Her last summer at home had proven that.

I can substitute teach if I stay here. I can’t do that on the ranch.

Jo shrugged, then glanced up as the tavern door opened and closed for the umpteenth time since they’d arrived, narrowing her eyes as she studied the people coming in. Meg knew what her sister was doing. He’s not coming here.

Just watching your back.

I don’t need my back watched. Despite what Jo and Alex thought, she was quite capable of holding her own. So what if the guy who’d stomped on her heart was back in town for the annual Sweetheart Ranch Horse Sale? Had been in town for the past couple of days with her cousin Cody? She could deal. Besides, the sale had ended a few hours ago, and Jason and Cody were probably well on their way back to Marietta by now.

I swear I saw his truck as I drove in to town, Jo persisted. And this was where he used to hang.

Jo…enough. Even if he was in town, he’d most likely avoid the place that had once been their favorite haunt, which was why she’d chosen to eat there instead of at the Cherry Pit Diner.

Just saying. Jo pushed her dark blond braid over her shoulder and reached for her purse. We’d better get moving.

Agreed.

Meg got up from the table and glanced toward the entrance as the door opened yet again, then did a double take as she caught sight of a familiar hat and the unmistakable angle of a stubble-covered cheek. No.

Her stuttering heart said yes.

She quickly looked away, thankful that Jo was still frowning down into her purse, digging for the tip. Apparently Jason Mann wasn’t avoiding places where he might run into her. Or maybe he had no idea that she was still alive. More likely the case, and all the more reason to play it cool.

Meg forced herself to wait as Jo continued to rummage through a purse that was ridiculously large, even though every nerve in her body was screaming get out of here. She wouldn’t run from Jason.

But she wouldn’t do anything to draw his attention to her either.

I can’t find the keys, Jo said as she pulled a five out of her purse and set it on the table.

We’ll leave the truck and walk. The municipal building was only four blocks away. You can find your keys during the meeting.

Works for me. Jo shouldered her purse, then led the way toward the less crowded side entrance. Meg followed her, feeling as if she couldn’t get out of there fast enough.

So much for being over the guy.

And so much for not running.

* *

The tavern was packed and Cody was nowhere to be seen.

Jason Mann scanned the patrons seated along the antique bar—the bar where Cody was supposed to be sitting, but for some reason wasn’t—then made his way to the end and ordered a Pendleton. A few seconds later a double shot plunked down in front of him.

Start a tab? The bartender spoke as he turned to pull a tap, filling a glass with dark beer.

No thanks. He pulled a ten out of his pocket and set it on the bar. Cody would show up shortly and the two of them would head back to the motel where they would spend their last night in Sweetheart before heading home to the MCC—the Marvell Cattle Company. Jason would have started the five-hour drive back to Paradise Valley after the last horse sold at the ranch horse auction a few hours ago, but Cody had business to attend to—business he hadn’t shared with Jason.

Since they had one truck between them, and Cody had not invited Jason along on whatever mission he was on, they’d left the mares they’d bought in a large holding pen at the fairgrounds for the night, and agreed to meet at the Lakeside Tavern at seven o’clock. Jason had passed the time eating a solitary dinner at the Cherry Pit Diner, sitting alone in the far corner with his back to the door. He really didn’t want to see anyone he’d known in Sweetheart back in the day. It was bad enough attending the auction, but, thankfully, most of the people there were from out of town and he only met a couple guys who remembered him.

Jason lifted the glass and sipped. The whiskey warmed his mouth and throat, made him feel a little less anxious to get the hell out of Dodge—or, in this case, Sweetheart. He’d walked away from this place with unfinished business a little over two years ago, something he’d never done in his life—unless you counted his family situation, but in that case, his only choice had been to walk or continue on their destructive path—and being back in town left him feeling edgy.

He’d done the right thing by leaving, but Meg hadn’t seen it that way. Refused to see it that way.

Maybe time had brought her to her senses, made her realize what a bullet she’d dodged.

Okay…maybe bullet-dodging was a little dramatic…but she’d dodged some heartache. In Jason’s entire life, not one serious relationship had ended well, familial or otherwise. The lone exception was his friendship with the Marvell brothers, but that was because they were as stubborn as he was. Maybe more so, which was saying something.

Jason sipped again as he silently willed Cody to get his ass back from wherever he’d gone. He wanted to get to the motel before he ran into any of Cody’s cousins—Meg being number one on the list.

He’d done well in that regard for the two and a half days he’d been in town, and saw no reason to press his luck—especially when he’d seen a truck that looked a lot like Jo Marvell’s parked outside the tavern. Thankfully, the two branches of the Marvell family weren’t all that tight—the Marvell North, located near Sweetheart, and the Marvell Cattle Company, in Paradise Valley, were loosely associated, but four hundred miles and a family rift that had occurred nearly a century ago had kept the cousins from keeping close contact unless business was involved.

When Jason had been hired on at the Marvell North after his military discharge three years ago, it’d been because Cody, who was closer to his northern cousins than his brothers, had called in a favor. And when Jason later quit the North Ranch, Cody had done him another solid and talked his brother into hiring him on at the MCC, even though they had a full crew. The only reason Jason hadn’t felt like a fucking charity case was because he had skills the Marvells could use. He knew it, the Marvells knew it, and because of him, they turned out exceptional animals in their ranch horse breeding and training program.

No one ever asked why he quit the Marvell North, but he suspected that Cody had communicated with Meg’s sisters and figured out what had gone down. His tenure at the North Ranch was rarely mentioned, and Jason certainly never brought it up—which was why he couldn’t exactly refuse when Zach, eldest Marvell brother and manager of the MCC, had sent him to Sweetheart to buy new breeding stock.

He’d just emptied his glass and was about to try Cody’s cell number when a commotion at the end of the bar brought his head up. A skinny kid, who looked like he wasn’t old enough to be in the place, was chest to chest with a guy who was a good head taller than him. The big guy was making a show of thumbing through a wallet and, when the kid made a grab for it, he easily held it up too high for the kid to reach.

Enough.

Jason pushed off from the bar and headed toward the ruckus. The kid was red in the face and barely noticed that Jason had stepped through the small circle surrounding him and Godzilla until Jason quietly said, Give him back his wallet.

Both the tormentor and the tormentee turned toward him, the big guy looking as if he couldn’t believe someone would interfere with his harassment and the kid going even redder now that someone was intervening.

Dude owes me money, the big guy rumbled.

The kid jutted his chin out. I told you about the transmission before you bought the truck.

Should have lasted more than a couple weeks. The guy pulled a debit card out of the wallet. ATM’s over there. What’s your PIN?

Jason plucked the card out of the guy’s hand just as the bartender arrived, phone in hand. The big man made a grab, but Jason moved his hand out of reach. The bartender stepped forward.

Take it outside, Jim. I’m not having this shit go down in my bar.

Jim smirked at him, then turned back to Jason. Give me the card. He spoke in a way that told Jason this was no longer about the ‘dude owing him money.’ This was about someone standing up to him.

Fat fucking chance. This was too close to the way his asshole brother, Adam, used to operate. Intimidate everyone around him until he got his way. Jason shifted his jaw sideways as he regarded the guy. He was big. He might be quick. But Jason knew he was quicker. He’d scrapped for most of his life and had no trouble reading his opponents. Tell you what…you do as the barkeep says and leave this place and there won’t be trouble.

The surprised laugh that escaped the big guy’s lips was echoed to a smaller degree in the crowd surrounding them.

Did he really feel like breaking his hand when he had new horses to train?

Maybe…

I’m calling the cops, Jim. The bartender spoke from behind him.

Jason kept his mouth shut. Jim didn’t look real bright, and all Jason wanted was to get the guy out of there without having to break bones in his hand. A mixture of emotions crossed the big man’s face as he teetered on the edge of a decision. Jason’s body tightened as he prepared for whatever move Jim decided to make, then, with a low rumbling curse, Jim thrust the wallet at the kid.

You still owe me money, he growled before turning toward Jason. He pointed a beefy finger at him. You need to learn to mind your own fucking business.

Jim spat on the floor, just missing Jason’s boots, then turned and strode toward the door. He pushed through just as Cody came in, purposely bumping the cowboy with his shoulder. Cody’s head jerked around as if he were considering taking a strip off the guy, then he let out a breath and continued into the bar. The crowd that had surrounded Jason and Jim began to drift away.

I…uh…thanks, the kid muttered as he jammed his wallet into his hip pocket. Can I buy you a drink or something?

No need. Jason handed him back his debit card and the kid pulled his wallet back out as Jason headed toward where he’d left his empty shot glass on the bar.

What the hell just happened? Cody asked as he leaned his forearms on the bar next to him.

Guy was picking on the kid.

Two shots appeared in front of them and he looked up to see the bartender giving him a solemn nod. Jason nodded back, accepting the silent gesture of

Reviews for The Cowboy Rides Away

[sandralb-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is my first book by this author. There was a few things about her main characters that I wasn't crazy about, but I enjoyed Jeannie's writing very much. There were a lot of issues both the hero and heroine had and they addressed during the story. Romantic Western/Ranch/Cowboy is one of my favorite genres.