The Cowboy's Holidate

There was a chill in the air as I got out of my truck and headed into the small shop just outside of downtown Broken Bend. I’d been stopping in every couple of days for the past month to check on the progress of the rocking chair I’d brought in. Time was running out if I wanted to have the repairs paid off in time to give it to my foster mom for Christmas.

Lloyd Delwater Junior lifted a hand in acknowledgment from where he stood behind the counter of his one-man store. He used to work with his dad, but at ninety-three, the elder Lloyd finally retired. Now Lloyd Junior was in charge. He’d been creating custom furniture with his own two hands for the past fifty years. The pieces he crafted from the family-owned business in our small Texas town had garnered international praise, and his customers included U.S. Presidents and celebrities.

I looked around the interior of the store while I waited for Lloyd to finish chatting with the woman standing in front of me. She didn’t look familiar based on my current view of her backside. Even though I didn’t get into town too often, I sure as hell would remember if I’d run across her before. Tight jeans molded to her curves, and her long, blonde hair flowed down her back. She had on a pair of expensive cowboy boots and a suede jacket that appeared to be custom made.

“I’ll have those chairs delivered for you the day after Christmas,” Lloyd Junior said. “What’s the address?”

“The Swisher Ranch off County Road 403. Do you know where that is?” she asked.

I blew out a long breath. Everyone knew where the Swisher Ranch was located. It was one of the largest cattle operations in the state of Texas, several times bigger than the Calhoun ranch where I’d been working for the past eight years.

“I know where it is,” Lloyd confirmed.

“Thank you so much. They’re going to look great in my dad’s office.”

“I’m honored. Do you want to put that on a credit card, miss?”

“Of course. Here, let me get that for you.” She reached into her purse and slid a card across the counter. As she did, her elbow knocked into her bag. It hit the floor, and the contents spilled out over the slate tile.

I bent down to help her pick up her things.

“You don’t have to do that,” she said as she reached for a tube of lipstick resting by the toe of my dirty work boot. “My dad always says I’m so clumsy I could get tangled up in my own shadow.”

She lifted her chin, and I finally got a good look at the woman with the amazing backside. Dark lashes fluttered against her cheeks before her gaze met mine.
Then she looked at me with eyes the color of the turquoise water off the coast of South Padre Island. I’d been there once for a field trip in high school. With the soft sand under my toes, the warm water had beckoned. I’d wanted to lose myself in the depths, just like I wanted to drown in this gorgeous woman’s eyes.

“I’ll take that. Thank you.” Her fingers brushed mine as she took the keyring I’d picked up.

I searched for words, but they were stuck in my chest.
“I’m Roxy.” The keys jangled as she shoved them back into her purse and thrust her hand toward me.

“Jake.” I slid my hand into hers. As soon as we touched, I knew I never wanted to let go.

Her lips spread into a shy smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Jake.”

“The pleasure’s all mine.” Truer words had never passed my lips. I immediately wanted to know everything about her, especially when I might be able to see her again.

Her cheeks flushed the perfect shade of pink as she let go of my hand.

“If you’ll sign here, Miss Swisher.” Lloyd pointed at the small terminal where her platinum Amex stuck out from the bottom.

She turned toward the counter, and my gaze followed. Everything about her screamed that she wasn’t just out of my league; we weren’t even living in the same universe. The fringed suede jacket she had on probably cost more than my horse. She probably didn’t even have a limit on her credit card, and I’d been trying to bump my credit score up another hundred points so I could qualify to buy a two-bedroom cottage on a small plot of land.

“Thank you, Mr. Delwater. I can’t wait to see the look on my dad’s face when they arrive.” Roxy tucked her credit card back in her wallet. Right before she turned around to head out of the shop—and bless me with another look at her beautiful eyes—she tilted her head and pulled her bottom lip into her mouth.

“Is there anything else I can do for you, Miss Swisher?” Lloyd asked. He’d been married to the same woman since the beginning of time, but even he didn’t seem immune to Roxy’s charm.

She leaned forward slightly and lowered her voice. I strained to hear what she was asking about, but couldn’t make out a word. With my luck, she was probably suggesting to Lloyd that he have me removed me from the premises. I didn’t mean to stare hard enough to make her uncomfortable, but there was something about her that made me want to dip her low and kiss her senseless.

I rubbed at the back of my neck. What the hell had gotten into me today?

Lloyd nodded and made eye contact. “Jake here can probably help your cousin out with that. He practically lives on the back of a horse, ain’t that right?”

The idea of offering Roxy Swisher any kind of help had my heart rattling against the walls of my chest. “What kind of help are you looking for?”

She pinned me in place with those turquoise-blue eyes. Her breath seemed to catch, and she swallowed hard. “I was thinking, if it’s not too much trouble…”

I waited for her to say something. Whatever she wanted, I was all in, especially if it meant spending any amount of time with her.

Her gaze shifted to the floor and color bloomed on her cheeks again. “Would you be willing to teach my cousin to ride? She used to, but it’s been a long time.”

The pressure in my chest intensified. She had to be joking. In addition to a full-fledged cattle operation, the Swisher family was known for breeding some of the best horses around. Anyone having anything to do with that family had probably learned how to ride before they could walk. Something about her request didn’t add up. “I’m sorry, but I’m not interested.”

Her brows knit together like she couldn’t understand why a guy like me wouldn’t be willing to do her bidding. “We’d pay you for the lessons, of course.”

“Pay me?” Now she was talking my language. For a guy who’d never had more than a few bucks left after paying bills, my ears perked up at the offer to pay me for something that came as naturally to me as breathing.

“Yes. I’d make it worth your while.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder. The rich scent of her perfume hung in the air between us. She even smelled like money.

“Why would you pay me to teach your cousin to ride when you have a whole stable of horses up at your ranch?”

“I’ve got my reasons.” Her chin tipped up slightly, just enough to suggest she wasn’t as easygoing as she first appeared. As much as I wouldn’t mind teaching a woman like Roxy to ride—putting my hands on her waist to help her up into the saddle or pressing my front up against her back while we rode double—I had no idea who her cousin was. The prickle in my gut warned me not to get involved. There had to be a reason she didn’t want to ride at her ranch. I’d do best to mind my own business and keep to myself.

I shook my head. “Thanks for the offer, but I don’t think I’ll have the time.”

Lloyd cleared his throat. “Hey, Jake. I’m about to close up. Do you want to make another payment on that rocking chair today?”

Roxy tilted her head, her eyes narrowing like she was trying to figure out how much it would take to get me to cave. “I’ll pay you well. How does a thousand dollars a lesson sound?”

With that kind of cash, I could pay off the repairs on the rocking chair and have enough to pad my savings account. There had to be some kind of catch. “Is your cousin in some sort of trouble?”

“Trouble that requires her to get back up on a horse?” Her eyes sparkled. “I can’t imagine what kind of trouble that would be. How much do you owe on the rocking chair you’re buying?”

I shot a quick look at Lloyd—a silent warning not to say a word. “That’s not really any of your concern, Miss Swisher.”

“Roxy,” she corrected. “Whatever it is, I’ll pay it off and still give you a thousand dollars a lesson.”

Lloyd arched his brows and nodded, encouraging me to take the deal. He knew how important it was for me to get that rocking chair by Christmas. He also knew I’d been strapped for cash and had knocked a hefty percentage off his usual price for custom repair work.

Every cell in my body urged me to say no. I didn’t like to get involved in other people’s business.

Then she fluttered those damn lashes against her cheek and shot me a glance with a hint of vulnerability in her eyes that hadn’t been there before. “Please?”

It was the “please” that did it. That and the way her voice went all soft, and she looked at me like I was the only person in the whole goddamn world who could help her. Made me feel like I could be a hero. Not just any hero—her hero.

With regret already swilling around in my gut, I held out my hand. “A thousand bucks per lesson, and you pay the balance left on my account.”

She didn’t hesitate. Within a second, her hand wrapped around mine. In the space of five minutes, I’d already touched her twice, and it had scrambled my brain.
There was no way I’d be able to survive a whole hour in her presence.

“Thank you, Jake.” Her lips curved up in a wide smile. Knowing I was responsible for putting that look on her face made me feel like a million bucks. Also made me apprehensive about what I’d just agreed to do.

“I can come out to your place in the next day or two to get started,” I offered.

“No. We’ll come to you.” She slipped her hand away from mine to pull her phone out of her bag. “If you’ll add your number, I’ll text you, so you have mine. Is there a day and time that works best for you?”

“I work sunup to sundown six days a week. The only day off I have is Sunday.”

“Great.” She shot me another winning smile. “Sunday works for us.”

I could already imagine the shit the guys would give me about Roxy Swisher and her cousin parading around the ranch. But the promise of that much money made me bite my tongue.

“Oh, one more thing. No one can know. We’ll need to find a meeting place that’s private. Do you have somewhere you can recommend?” She pulled out her card again and handed it over to Lloyd Junior.

The machine whirled and spat out a receipt. It was too late to turn back. I was committed to a woman who obviously had a secret to hide. With luck, I’d be done fulfilling my part of our deal before I regretted it.