Wyatt's Wager: Cowboys of Cauldron Valley, #6

By Caroline Lee

Wyatt Cauldron has a gift. He has never—not once in his life—lost a wager. When his brothers and cousins begin getting married, he's happy to accept their bets he'll wind up hitched as well, since he knows that will never happen.

 

Because there's only one woman in the world he can imagine marrying, but as his best friend's little sister, she's completely off-limits.

 

Artemis "Artie" Weston has had a crush on her brother's best friend for as long as she can remember. But Wyatt has made it clear he has no intention of settling down…ever, with anyone. So not seeing herself marrying anyone but him, she's thrown herself into her career as a vet tech and vowed to forget how good a particular green-eyed cowboy makes her feel.

 

That is, right up until the phone rings, and Wyatt's on the other end asking her for a date.

 

When his best friend offers him a wager Wyatt can't turn down, he jumps at the chance to spend time with Artie, and dating her is just as wonderful as he could have imagined.

 

But sooner or later, she's going to learn about her brother's bet, and Wyatt knows that will be when their hearts are both going to be hurt.

 

Maybe, for once, it would have been better to lose this particular wager…

• Language: English
• Publisher: Caroline Lee
• Release date: Jun 19, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393165828

Book preview

Chapter 1

The cards hit the table in a rhythmic slap, slap, slap , which always made Wyatt Cauldron’s blood pound. This was just a friendly game—between him and his best friend, Jax, alone in Wyatt’s little apartment above the racetrack—but he couldn’t deny the way the excitement of a card game made his hands clammy, and his heart beat faster.

Even though his friend insisted there would be no betting.

Jax Weston finished dealing and settled back in his chair with a smirk. You ready?

Wyatt’s lips twitched. "You sure you don’t want to make this game a little more…interesting?"

His best friend snorted softly and hooked one arm around the back of the chair. I quit betting on games with you a long time ago, man. You think I’m stupid?

Hey, cardplaying is just as much luck as it is skill.

Jax rolled his eyes. "It’s your luck I’m worried about. Your skill can go suck an egg as far as I’m concerned. I was always the better card player, but somehow—"

"You think you’re better than me?" Wyatt leaned forward, sensing a chance for a wager.

But his friend didn’t take the bait. "I know it. But if I make the claim, and you bet me on it, we’ll be back in the same place we are now. Jax nodded to the pile of cards. So just pick up your dang hand, and let’s get this game going."

Smirking, Wyatt leaned back in his chair and reached for his hand. Can’t blame a guy for trying, he muttered, fanning out his cards.

Yes, I can, his friend snapped from across the table.

Wyatt didn’t look up as he grinned.

The three of clubs.

The four of hearts.

The five of hearts.

The jack of spades.

The king of spades.

Hmm.

"Are you sure you don’t want—"

Shut up, Wyatt. I’m strategizing.

Chuckling, Wyatt pinched his cards closed once more and tapped them together on the cheap vinyl tablecloth he’d thrown over the folding table, which served as his dining room, workspace, and occasional cardplaying table.

The tablecloth was emblazoned with horses of course.

Wyatt might’ve been something of the black sheep in the family, but he was still a Cauldron. Sure, he’d moved out at an early age and still preferred to live alone. Sure, the family’s notorious luck had manifested itself differently when it came to him. But he was still a Cauldron, and he still busted his butt every day to make the family ranch a success.

Even if he did it a bit differently than his brothers and cousins.

He and Cade and Decker were triplets. Cade was the ranch’s nutritionist, who spent his days experimenting with different combinations of feed and supplements to ensure the Cauldron Valley Ranch’s racehorses were the healthiest around. Deck was a leatherworker, and the saddles he made by hand were proven to increase a racehorse’s speed.

The brothers had three cousins, also triplets, who were born the same week as they were. Bob was the ranch’s geneticist; not a pairing was suggested, nor a breeding undertaken, without his extensive research. Jim was the horse whisperer, who could make a horse do just about anything simply by asking politely, and who was also in charge of the training program. Ted was the brains of the operation; he efficiently ran the whole dang ranch and kept track of the spreadsheets and calculations and profits and whatever-the-heck else was necessary.

Their grandfather—who’d raised them all with the help of their now-deceased grandmother—liked to joke there was something in the water which made each of his grandsons incredibly successful at their chosen careers. There wasn’t a horse Jim couldn’t train, or an equine health problem Cade couldn’t improve.

And as for Wyatt?

Well, there wasn’t a wager Wyatt couldn’t win.

His brothers and cousins had the best luck when it came to their chosen passions, but Wyatt just had the best luck period. He was the obvious choice to run the family’s racetrack and plan the annual races and rodeos. Absolutely anything he wagered on came out to his advantage, which is why his friends and relatives had long given up betting against him.

Except recently, when his brothers and cousins had put in a thousand bucks each, to wager Wyatt would—

Okay, I’m ready, Jax announced.

Wyatt tapped his cards against the racehorse tablecloth once more. Took you long enough.

Yeah, yeah. I had to run some calculations.

Wyatt snorted. You started last round, so I’m going first, right?

Be my guest.

Smirking once more at his best friend’s irritation, Wyatt lifted the cards in his hand again, only fanning them out once they were close enough to his eyes he knew no one else could see them. Not that he thought Jax would cheat, but it was a technique Wyatt had learned long ago at the tables in Las Vegas and Reno, and a half-dozen other casino towns, where he’d run off in his crazy youth to exploit this talent of his.

Let’s see…

The three of clubs.

The four of hearts.

The five of hearts.

The jack of spades.

The king of spades.

Nodding, Wyatt met Jax’s eyes over the hand and took a deep breath. Do you have any fives?

Jax’s ice-blue eyes darted down to his hand, and a smile slowly spread across his face. No, he said, with great satisfaction. "Go fish."

Muttering a curse, Wyatt reached across the table and pulled from the deck.

The seven of diamonds. That didn’t help at all.

Do you have any threes? Jax asked, and when Wyatt tossed him the one from his hand, Jax crowed with pleasure. Looks like your luck isn’t holding out tonight, buddy!

Just you wait, Wyatt replied with a growl in his tone.

When it was his turn again, Wyatt took a four, a jack, and a king from Jax in short order, which shut his friend right up. But then he ended up having to pull the next few turns.

All in all, it was a relatively short game, and when it was over—Jax went out first—Wyatt had one more set of pairs than his friend did.

I’m declaring myself the winner! Wyatt announced, as he stood and headed toward the fridge.

I was the one who got rid of all my cards first, Jax protested, collecting all the cards and shuffling them. "That makes me the winner."

Wyatt hummed sarcastically as he reached in to grab a couple cold cans. "Clearly you don’t know how Go Fish works. You want corn chips?"

"Clearly, I shouldn’t play cards with you if you’re not going to adhere to the rules. And of course I want corn chips."

Wyatt tossed his friend a can and clutched the material of his shirt right above his heart. I can’t believe you just accused me of cheating.

"I can’t believe you sucker me into these arguments. Where are the chips?"

Smiling, Wyatt nodded to the cabinet he used as a pantry. I bought your favorite.

Excellent. Jax pushed back his chair and stood. Then I suppose I forgive you.

Grinning, Wyatt settled into the beat-up recliner he’d positioned under a window. He’d gotten it used years ago, and it was now so perfectly molded to his butt, he sometimes slept in it. He had a bed in the back bedroom, of course, but he couldn’t always be bothered to turn off the TV and head back there.

Besides, when he was sitting in his chair, with the comfortable material wrapped around him, he didn’t…

Well, he didn’t feel so alone.

With a little grunt, Jax lowered himself on one end of the couch and balanced the bowl of chips in his lap. As he popped open the top of the can, he looked around the room.

You know, man—and don’t take this the wrong way—but your furniture could use an upgrade.

"How could I not take that the wrong way? Wyatt gestured with the can. That sofa you’re sitting on is almost new."

Yeah. It was the best-looking option at the thrift store. Remember? I helped you bring it home. Jax toed his boots off and swung his legs up on the couch. Look around, man. None of your dining room chairs match—

That’s because they’re not a set. That’s a folding card table.

"Exactly. I know this is a small space, but you could totally overhaul it to be…well, nice. You’ve got the money."

His friend was right; Wyatt did have the money. Thanks to his youthful gambling all over creation, and his more recent successes with the racetrack—where each race made the house a tidy sum, even when he wasn’t betting his own money—he did have a lot of money.

And it was all sitting in the bank, gathering dust, or whatever the virtual equivalent was.

Interest?

Yeah, that was it; his money was gathering interest.

Because what else was he going to do with it?

But, Meh, was all he said, as he gestured to his friend to pass the chips his way. Why bother?

"Because, Jax said in exasperation, as he handed the bowl over, what would a girl say if you brought her up here?"

A girl. Wyatt repeated flatly.

"Yeah, a girl? A lady? A human of the female persuasion, who isn’t Griselda?"

Wyatt pretended to shudder. Man, I wouldn’t even bring Griselda up here! She’d try to clean something, but knock something else over, and it’d take me weeks to get everything back to normal.

The old lady—his grandfather’s housekeeper—had the best of intentions, but was clumsy as all get-out. However, she baked like a goddess, and always made his favorite lasagna when he asked, so he’d forgive her for darn near anything.

Back to normal? Jax snorted and snatched the chips back. Man, you’re living like a bum. What did your last date say when you brought her back here?

"Sir, I’ll have you know, I’m a gentleman. Wyatt sniffed, as if offended. I would never bring a