The Clueless Cowboy (Firestone Falls Book Five): Firestone Falls, #5

By Keira K. Barton

She's always had dreams, but never had a way out.

Ever since she was a little girl, Brittany Firestone has wanted to move to Nashville to pursue a career in music. She plans to earn her bonus for hiring a new hand at the ranch, then take off to Tennessee. Those plans are put into question when a man she never thought she'd see again comes back to Summer Springs. Seeing him forces her to admit that he still has a big piece of her heart.

He was a soldier who left town suddenly. Now, he's back.

Garrett Lyon honorably served his country, and is released from duty just months before his father passes. He's made an effort not to return to Summer Springs, but now his mother needs him. He knows returning to the town where he grew up will bring up a lot of memories from his past. Brittany's face has been haunting him since the day he left, and facing her again is all he can think about.

Will Brittany find a way to chase her dreams and hold onto the man she never stopped loving? Or will Garrett's cold departure, and the wedge it created between them, keep them apart forever?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Keira K. Barton
• Release date: Jun 10, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393246022

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Copyright © 2020 by Keira K. Barton

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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.

She’s always had dreams, but never had a way out.

Ever since she was a little girl, Brittany Firestone has wanted to move to Nashville to pursue a career in music. She plans to earn her bonus for hiring a new hand at the ranch, then take off to Tennessee. Those plans are put into question when a man she never thought she’d see again comes back to Summer Springs. Seeing him forces her to admit that he still has a big piece of her heart.

He was a soldier who left town suddenly. Now, he’s back.

Garrett Lyon honorably served his country, and is released from duty just months before his father passes. He’s made an effort not to return to Summer Springs, but now his mother needs him. He knows returning to the town where he grew up will bring up a lot of memories from his past. Brittany’s face has been haunting him since the day he left, and facing her again is all he can think about.

Will Brittany find a way to chase her dreams and hold onto the man she never stopped loving? Or will Garrett’s cold departure, and the wedge it created between them, keep them apart forever?

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Keira K. Barton

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Chapter 1

Brittany Firestone walked out of the shop and saw Cole Reeves, her oldest sister Blaire’s husband, and Russell Freeman, her sister Bridget’s fiancé, talking and leaning against the entrance to the horse barn. She turned the other direction and shook her head in frustration as she walked away. They had already wasted at least half an hour talking that morning.

It was difficult managing all the employees at Firestone Falls—her family’s ranch—when all of them were older than her, and also either married or engaged to one of her sisters. She was doing her best, but she never felt comfortable telling Cole and Russell to get back to work. All she could do was trust that they’d complete their assigned tasks for the day, and try not to worry about the rest.

As she walked away, she heard tires driving across the gravel road behind her, so she turned around to see who was coming. It was Kenny Smythe. He drove up next to Cole and Russell, jumped out of his truck, and joined their conversation. This only frustrated her further.

Russell and Cole were best friends who went way back, but Kenny was a local boy who she’d known since middle school. She’d tried to avoid him like the plague for the past few years. He made it hard, though. He didn’t leave any room for her to doubt that he was interested in her, but she couldn’t stand him. Unfortunately, he’d seen her look at him when he drove up, and she didn’t want that to seem like an invitation for him to come over and talk to her.

She tried to look busy by stacking the huge pile of empty supplement containers, hoping to all that was holy that he wouldn’t come over and try to hit on her. The big plastic containers that had once held salt and mineral licks for the cattle would make perfect planters for her portable garden. She’d had the idea to repurpose them a few years ago, and she requested that everyone on the ranch pile up the empty ones on the side of the shop. Of course, it was too much to ask that they stack them nicely. Everyone usually just threw them into a disorganized heap.

Brittany would periodically come stack them together to make room for more, but she didn’t complain—at least everyone was making an effort to repurpose things around the ranch. Doing something to curb their waste production made her happy. Sometimes her sisters got tired of her trying to implement her zero-waste views on them, but she didn’t care.

Their mother had always been resourceful—using old bridles and saddles and making them into purses that she’d sell at craft fairs, among many other things. When she died of cancer a few years ago, Brittany had vowed to carry on the legacy, and to take it even further. She was constantly searching for things around the ranch that they could reuse.

Next Spring, she would drill holes in the bottom of the containers and plant herbs or vegetables. She already had quite the collection of plants growing, but more containers meant more space for tomato and basil plants, which would eventually add up to a whole lot of margherita pizzas, and pizza made her happy.

She only hoped that when she left for Nashville, one of her sisters would take care of her garden. That was, if she could ever work up the courage to leave the ranch. She’d been dreaming about being a country singer ever since she could remember. She was starting to wonder if that would always just be a dream, though.

Brittany! Come ‘ere for a sec!

Brittany stilled at the sound of Kenny’s voice. Dang it. She was bent over grabbing a container, but she stood up and wiped her hands on her pants, then turned around. She put her hands on her hips.

What do you need? she hollered back. She didn’t want to get close enough for Kenny to make eyes at her. He gave her the creeps. He wasn’t that bad, but he’d been hitting on her since their freshman year of high school, and it was getting old. Scratch that, it had been old for a long time, and she had no patience for it anymore.

Just come here for a second! Cole echoed.

Brittany exhaled sharply, then trudged toward the three men. She took her sweet time, too. She’d been waiting on them all morning. They could wait on her for a change.

What? she asked, not trying to hide the annoyance in her voice.

Kenny smirked. Geez, what’s got you all ruffled up today?

Brittany shrugged. She didn’t want to give him any ammunition. Kenny would take the most rude, sarcastic remark and interpret it as flirtatious.

Russell gave Cole a look, and Brittany wanted to explain that if Kenny was gone she wouldn’t be so uptight, but she couldn’t with him standing right there.

Hey, I’m just trying to do something nice here. This has nothing to do with me. Kenny shoved his hands in his pockets.

Brittany relaxed a little bit and uncrossed her arms, though she doubted that Kenny was really performing some act of selfless service. There was always something in it for him. Fine. What do you need?

Well, I don’t know if you heard, but Mr. Lyon passed away earlier this week. I thought it might be nice if you’d talk to Garrett about it. You know, since your dad passed so recently too, Kenny said.

Brittany felt bad for being so abrasive now. Maybe Kenny really did have a heart. I did hear that. Do you want me to call Garrett? I don’t think I have his number.

Garrett Lyon was the same age as Brittany and Kenny, and the three of them had gone through middle school and high school together. That seemed like a lifetime ago, now. She hadn’t spoken to him since graduation, but grief had a way of bridging gaps between people. She probably was the right person to talk to him during this difficult time, even if she didn’t want to be.

Kenny chuckled. Oh, you won’t need his number. He’s here.

Brittany’s eyes grew wide, and a warm feeling that she couldn’t quite identify filled her belly. Oh! Really? Garrett’s back in Summer Springs? I thought he was still overseas. That was really the only thing that she knew about Garrett’s life now. He’d joined the Marines right out of high school, and she’d never heard from him again. That was six years ago.

Nope, he’s been stateside since March, but he’s been in Denver. The funeral is Saturday. He says he’s planning on staying longer to take care of his mom, but I doubt that’s gonna last, Kenny joked.

Brittany chuckled. Connie Lyon was not one of those women who took kindly to being taken care of, and everyone knew it—except maybe Garrett, if that’s actually what he’d told Kenny. She doubted Garrett would stick around. He hadn’t been back once since he’d left all those years ago, and knowing he was back now was bringing feelings to the surface that she thought she’d long since buried.

"I see. Well then, yeah. I guess I can meet up with Garrett and chat. Are you sure he’ll be