Lone Cowboy: Wild Hearts, #1

By Inge Mayhem

Tyson is tragically single and painfully shy. He is a hopeless romantic who lives in a fantasy world where one day he will meet the ideal man of his dreams. Thankfully, he can rely on the help of his vibrant, overconfident friend, Florence to hook him up with that cute guy at the cafe who is just his type. Or is he?

 

Michael thinks he is falling in love with Brad. They have only dated for a short time, but their chemistry is incredible, and their relationship seems to be getting serious. However, once Brad's charming new roommate appears, confidence in their relationship slowly wanes as paranoia increases. 

 

Drew works on a range. He isn't built to be a cowboy - the role has been thrust upon him. He doesn't always live on the range but has come to this part of the world with a purpose - to search for any trace he could find of his father and pass him a message from his mother. What lies in that message and what skeleton does Drew have in his closet?

 

With his tousled ginger hair, sparkling eyes, adorable freckles and dimpled smile, one by one, Drew ensnares the attention of these young men and weaves their lives together. Will these young romantics realize in time that Drew seems intent on causing chaos, and taking them down with him?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Inge Mayhem
• Release date: Apr 27, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393160540

Book preview

Prologue

The hour before dawn was Drew’s favorite time of the day. He liked having an hour to himself before his fellow wranglers rose and the animals stirred. The lands of the ranch seemed to stretch forever, but somehow every waking moment was occupied. His work was relentless, the conditions were hard, and the pay was measly. He hadn’t adopted this lifestyle for the long haul; he wasn’t built to be a cowboy—the role had been thrust upon him, and he had struggled in the saddle ever since.

Drew did like routine though. So, when he rolled from his bottom bunk in the morning, careful not to wake his roommate Arnold, he located his towel in the dark and made his way to the back of the workers’ shed. There was a row of open showers that looked out over a paddock and off to the horizon. Hills rose up in the shadows, and the last few stars of the night twinkled above.

The air was always cold, and the water was too—but Drew liked the exhilaration of stripping naked and standing tall—exposed to the elements. He never stayed under the water for too long. He was too impatient to wait for the water to warm up gradually. However, stepping under the cold rush, he enjoyed the sudden drop in his body temperature. It started his day with a jolt, and he was immediately alert to the sounds of the night as the sun commenced its rise in the East.

Lately, he had been thinking about how he was coming up to his one-year anniversary on the farm. Drying his freckled, pale skin and ginger hair with his towel, he contemplated what his future may hold. In the short-term, he needed a haircut. But he had come to this part of the world with a purpose—to search for any trace he could find of his father, Samuel Sanford. He had been told that he used to be a cowboy on this very same farm. Now the possibility of tracking him down seemed to be slipping away from him. No one seemed to know what had become of Samuel. Apparently, he had disappeared into the night as quickly as he had arrived.

Drew no longer enquired after his dad when he visited town. He would occasionally drop his name into conversation to see if it sparked any anecdotes, but if anyone was inclined to help, they hadn’t been forthcoming yet. The only exception had been Gracie Evans, who lived in the main house with her husband and children.

The Evans family owned most of the local land, for as far as he could see, so his opportunities to talk to Gracie were few and far between. She had initially asked around on his behalf, and while there were murmurs and rumors of what happened to his dad, no concrete leads had eventuated. Maybe his father had lied to him about this particular period of his life—Drew could add it to his list of sins. He wanted to be sad, or angry, or feel anything other than empty. Instead, he walked barefoot in the dirt back to his room. He hoped that Arnold would still be asleep, so that he could get dressed in private.

Drew walked past the vegetable garden and the chicken coop. He always took the long way around to avoid activating the sensor light from the big house. So, he was surprised when he saw the kitchen light turn on. He felt like a burglar caught in the glare of a searchlight as he tiptoed past.

Any activity was unusual for this time of day, and he wondered who could be stirring. The list of suspects was short: Gracie, her husband Hank, or one of their children—Betty or Travis. But both of the children were so young, Drew quickly surmised that it had to be one of