The Courageous Cowboy: Firestone Falls, #4

By Keira K. Barton

Bridget Firestone is focused on her future. She feels behind as she watches Blaire and Brenda find their perfect matches. She wonders when her time will come, but being scared to choose the wrong guy has held her back. She doesn't want to believe that the cowboy who Brynn just thrust on her to train can really be the man she's destined to fall in love with, but she also doesn't want to end up alone.

Russell Freeman loves to help people. When he finds out how in need the sisters of Firestone Falls are, he immediately accepts the open position as a ranch hand—even though he has no experience with animals. The moment he lays eyes on the beautiful woman who's set to train him, he knows he won't ever leave the ranch again. That is, if everything goes according to the plans he's carefully laying.

Can Bridget throw caution to the wind and allow her heart to decide what the future holds?

Will Russell's bratty little sisters ruin his chances with the one girl who's made him feel like he can do anything?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Keira K. Barton
• Release date: May 19, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393257929

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Copyright © 2020 by Keira K. Barton

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, including information storage and retrieval systems, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed Attention: Permissions Coordinator, at the address below.

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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Cover design by Erin Dameron-Hill/EDH Graphics

Edited by Kristina Owings

Printed in the United States of America.

First printing edition 2020.

Bridget Firestone is focused on her future. She feels behind as she watches Blaire and Brenda find their perfect matches. She wonders when her time will come, but being scared to choose the wrong guy has held her back. She doesn’t want to believe that the cowboy who Brynn just thrust on her to train can really be the man she’s destined to fall in love with, but she also doesn’t want to end up alone.

Russell Freeman loves to help people. When he finds out how in need the sisters of Firestone Falls are, he immediately accepts the open position as a ranch hand—even though he has no experience with animals. The moment he lays eyes on the beautiful woman who’s set to train him, he knows he won’t ever leave the ranch again. That is, if everything goes according to the plans he’s carefully laying.

Can Bridget throw caution to the wind and allow her heart to decide what the future holds?

Will Russell’s bratty little sisters ruin his chances with the one girl who’s made him feel like he can do anything?

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For Jenn.  Thanks for everything.

Chapter 1

It was a bright, cloudless Thursday morning on the ranch and Russell Freeman was up early helping Cole feed. He’d never really been a morning person, but living on the ranch had changed that fast. Despite all of the early mornings and hard work, Firestone Falls was becoming his home. Living in Boulder didn’t appeal to him anymore after experiencing the fresh mountain air, the starry night sky, and most importantly, the people who lived there.

Cole was his best friend in the entire world, and it was a dream come true that they got to work together almost every day. The fact that he’d been spending a lot of time with Bridget wasn’t hurting either. When he’d first hired on, Brynn was training him, and he knew right away that there was no way he would ever feel for her the way Cole felt for Blaire—the oldest sister and the one who’d recruited Cole to work at the ranch.

He was grateful the two of them had been crazy enough to get hitched after knowing each other for a couple of weeks, because coming to their wedding was the only reason he’d found out about this job. Bridget, however, was the biggest reason why he’d stayed.

You okay, buddy? Cole asked.

Huh? Oh, yeah. I’m good, Russell said. He’d been standing with his hands resting on the end of the pitchfork, staring off into the distance while Cole had been forking hay to the horses alone.

Sorry, I just zoned out for a minute, Russell admitted. He quickly started throwing hay to the next horse.

No worries. Are you sure everything’s all right? It’s not like you to be so quiet, Cole said.

Russell looked over at his friend, but didn’t stop tossing hay. I’ve had a lot on my mind lately. I’ve felt a little bit unsettled since Brynn pawned me off onto Bridget for training. Am I that hard to deal with?

Cole chuckled. No, man. Brynn’s just fickle like that. I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Why is it still bothering you?

Russell thought for a moment before responding. Can I trust you with something?

Cole shrugged. Do you even have to ask?

Well, Russell hesitated, ever since I met Bridget, I’ve felt something between us. I don’t want her to get sick of me the way Brynn did, so I’m just trying to figure out what went wrong. Russell took out his knife and cut the twine on another bale of hay, then started pitching it over the stall door to the last horse.

Cole smiled. Wait a second. You have feelings for Bridget? Oh, this is too good. I was happy enough that you were going to be living here and working with me, but we could be brothers! He clapped Russell on the shoulder. Brothers!

Russell stuck his pitchfork in what remained of the bale of hay, then took off his gloves and shoved them in his back pocket. Woah there, cowboy. Don’t get ahead of yourself. I haven’t even given Bridget a hint that I might be interested. I wanted to talk to you first and see if there’s anything I should be aware of. Like I said, I don’t want to chase her away.

Cole nodded. All right. Well, the one thing I know about Bridget is that she likes to have a plan. She doesn’t make many spur-of-the-moment decisions unless she has to. So, maybe take it really slow, don’t surprise her with anything, Cole advised.

Russell nodded. Take it slow. Could he even do that? His heart already started racing out of control when he was around her. It was difficult to focus on his work instead of always wondering if she was feeling the way he was. How long did he need to endure this before he could find out how she felt?

Easier said than done, he said, remembering how the night before he’d run into her on the way to his apartment, and it had taken everything in him not to reach out and stroke her cheek as she’d asked him about his day.

He and Cole were walking out of the barn. When they got to the door, Russell could see Bridget walking from the employee housing over to the big blue farmhouse where Cole and Blaire lived. Her long legs covered the ground quickly, her light brown hair shimmered in the sunlight, and her mere presence caused a flash of heat in Russell’s stomach.

He was sure he’d never seen anyone more beautiful than Bridget Firestone, and he was suddenly grateful that Brynn had gotten rid of him, or he may have never known that Bridget was one of those girls who could change a guy’s life forever. He wanted to try to catch up with her, but he knew he should take Cole’s advice.  Take it slow, he told himself.

Wow. You really are in trouble, aren’t you? Cole asked.

Russell nodded. He didn’t want to feel so helplessly captivated by Bridget. It wasn’t like him at all. He usually felt free to say what he wanted, and to live life on his terms, but already Bridget was dictating his every move. He thought about what she would think before he talked, before he even breathed.

He constantly hoped that he’d run into her somewhere on the ranch, and when he didn’t, he found himself thinking of reasons why he needed to go into her office. Cole was right, he needed to take it slow with her, because he could already see how quickly he could push her away.

Blaire’s making breakfast for Bridget this morning, his friend said as he started toward the house. I’ll drop a few hints.

Russell started to argue, but Cole cut him off.

Don’t worry. I won’t give anything away. Trust me. I’m just planting some seeds. We’ll see if they grow.

Cole’s plan made Russell uneasy, but he had to start somewhere, and he didn’t trust himself not to ruin this. He’d been too forward with too many girls to make that mistake again. Bridget was special, and he needed to treat her different. He wanted whatever he was feeling for her to last.

BRIDGET FIRESTONE SAT in a cushy recliner in the blue farmhouse where she’d grown up, waiting for breakfast to be ready. Bridget was the fourth daughter born to Thomas Firestone V. She had brown hair, just like all of her five sisters. Some of them had such dark brown hair that it almost looked black, but Bridget didn’t—her hair was the lightest, and so were her blue eyes.

Blue eyes were another signature trait of the Firestone women. The only one of her sisters that didn’t have blue eyes was Brynn, who was third. Poor Brynn had always felt left out because she didn’t share the same eye color as the rest of them, but now she saw it as a blessing.

Their mother had passed away from cancer a couple of years before, and Brynn had her eyes. Not only was it special for Brynn to realize she had a unique part of their mother that none of the other sisters shared, but the rest of them were also comforted by realizing that a piece of their mother was still alive in all of them.

Her dad always used to tell Bridget that her eyes were the color of the morning sky on a clear day. Bridget couldn’t help but feel like her dad was close on those mornings, and that morning had been one of them. She missed her dad fiercely, and it brightened her spirits when things like the sky reminded her of him. They had always been close, so the past few weeks without him had been hard on her.

His death was sudden and very unexpected—a heart attack in the middle of the night. Bridget