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  KISSING HER COWBOY

  Adele Downs

  Copyright 2014 Adele Downs

  Smashwords Edition

  This is a great story about two damaged people that are taking a second chance at life and love. Ms. Downs does not disappoint in her characterizations and plot. A must-read.”

  —Harlie’s Books

  On a Texas ranch, and with the help of a stallion named Big Blue, an injured cowboy and a cop with a dark past learn to get back in the saddle and find joy—in each other’s arms.

  KISSING HER COWBOY

  Adele Downs

  www.BOROUGHSPUBLISHINGGROUP.com

  PUBLISHER’S NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, business establishments or persons, living or dead, is coincidental. Boroughs Publishing Group does not have any control over and does not assume responsibility for author or third-party websites, blogs or critiques or their content.

  KISSING HER COWBOY

  Copyright © 2014 Adele Downs

  All rights reserved. Unless specifically noted, no part of this publication may be reproduced, scanned, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Boroughs Publishing Group. The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or by any other means without the permission of Boroughs Publishing Group is illegal and punishable by law. Participation in the piracy of copyrighted materials violates the author’s rights.

  Digital edition created by Maureen Cutajar

  www.gopublished.com

  ISBN 978-1-938876-94-3

  For my real-life Midwestern cowboy hero.

  CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Author Bio

  Chapter One

  “Oh, Lord.”

  Treymont Woods kicked up dust on his boots as he sauntered from the stables toward the woman who just had to be his new riding student. Her flaming red hair swooshed from one side of her shoulders to the other as she watched his stallion, Big Blue, canter inside the corral. Her hands clutched the fence, knuckles white, and every muscle in her tall, slim figure looked tense.

  Before he could get to her, she pivoted toward the parking area, feet moving like she was fixin’ to run.

  “Hey there!” he called out as a distraction.

  By the time he reached the woman’s side, Trey could hear her breathing like she’d raced a Texas mile. Before he could introduce himself, she turned with wide green eyes and shouted, “He’s huge!” Pink splotches bloomed under the freckles on her pale skin. She licked her bottom lip and shook her head. “No, no, no, no….” She started backing away. “I can’t do this. Keep my deposit. I’ll figure something else out.”

  Trey lifted his hands in mock surrender. “Okay. No problem. You don’t have to ride if you don’t want to.” Her jeans looked too tight for riding, anyway, and that white blouse would be smudged inside of five minutes. Hadn’t the woman ever been to a ranch before?

  She stopped moving and frowned at him, causing twin lines to form above her nose—her adorable nose, now that he’d gotten a decent look. In fact, everything about the woman seemed downright appealing, despite her reaction to Big Blue. Who in their right mind wouldn’t love on sight the greatest horse that ever lived?

  “You’re not mad that I’ve screwed up your schedule? I’m sure you have students on a waiting list who won’t waste your time.”

  “I’ve got nothing but time.” A broken back did that to a man. “I’m Trey Woods.”

  He held out his hand and the woman’s posture relaxed. She forced a smile onto her pretty face and accepted the handshake.

  “I recognized you from your website photos. I’m Daisy Phillips.”

  Trey noted her assertive grip despite her earlier panic. “You’re the cop from Pennsylvania?”

  Daisy released his hand and nodded. “I put in for a transfer to Houston figuring I could hack the mounted police.” She glanced at Big Blue. “At least, that was my theory.”

  Trey forced himself not to smirk. “They have horses at least as tall in that unit.” But the worry on the woman’s face and her wary eyes told him her fear was no laughing matter, so he added, “Mind if I ask why you want to transfer halfway across the country to ride animals you don’t like?”

  Daisy chewed her bottom lip and stared at Big Blue. “I didn’t know I’d be this scared. After all, kids ride horses, right? The Houston Mounted Patrol had an opening.” She turned back to Trey. “Do you know how hard it is to find a job in law enforcement in another county, let alone another state? I needed a…change of scenery. And my sister lives here, so it seemed like the perfect solution.”

  “I appreciate horses,” Daisy continued. “They’re beautiful and interesting. It’s just…they’re so darned big. And intimidating. The problem is, I can’t learn to ride until I get past my fear of their size.”

  Trey rubbed the back of his neck beneath his long hair. “I’d say you have a conundrum.”

  “Yeah.” Daisy watched him from beneath long lashes that didn’t hide her wariness. “No kidding. I guess that sounds pretty dumb to you.”

  Trey inclined his head in Big Blue’s direction then shrugged. “A lot of people are afraid of horses. They’re powerful creatures who can kick like hell, bite, stomp, or take off running with an inexperienced rider on their back.”

  He figured that was the last thing she’d thought he’d say, because the woman’s jaw dropped. If he was going to be her teacher he might as well be upfront from the get-go.

  “I won’t try to sweet-talk you into something you don’t want to do. But I will tell you this: If you’re a cop, I already know you’ve got guts and grit. You’ve carried a gun, been in dangerous scuffles, and chased bad guys bigger than you. Believe me, that takes more courage than learning to manage a horse. Stallions like Big Blue might be intimidating, but they’re also tolerant creatures, capable of great loyalty and gentleness. You’re here, so I figure you know that already.”

  Daisy took a step closer. She stared up at Trey with a mix of desperation and longing so intense that he felt sorry for her right down to his fractured bones. He’d probably worn that same hangdog look when he asked the ranch owner for this light duty after his accident. Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach. Wasn’t that how the saying went? If he couldn’t work alongside the other hands until his back finished healing, he might as well put his days and his horse to good use. Of course, the arrangement had turned out better than anyone expected.

  “I’d hoped to ease my anxiety with private lessons before I start police equestrian training next month,” Daisy admitted. “If I can learn to relax around horses, nobody but us would know I was scared.”

  Trey offered a nod of reassurance. “No one ever will.”

  He held out his hands in a gesture for her to stay put. As an east coast cop, she’d already met certain rigid standards. To be successful in the Mounted Patrol, she needed other skill sets. All she had to do was let go of her anxiety and take control. “Hang on a minute, okay?”

  Daisy took another look at Big Blue and then stared at Trey. Her chin lifted, but her voice cracked as she said, “You don’t expect me to ride him right away, do you?”

  Her? No. Though Trey would have given anything in the world to ride that stallion himself right then
. “Let’s just sit and have a cold drink.” Maybe if she just watched Big Blue awhile, she’d see what an amazing animal he was. Maybe she’d be less scared. “You came all the way out here, and it’s hotter than Hades. I’m thirsty. Aren’t you?”

  The tension faded around Daisy’s eyes, and the muscles in her body relaxed. This time she smiled like she meant it and tilted her head. “Got any sweet tea?”

  “Ah, you’ve assimilated already. Comin’ right up.”

  Trey went to the office by the stables and took away two plastic folding chairs. He carried them back to the corral and set them by the fence. “Put your feet up on the rails and relax. Be right back with the tea.”

  He returned to the office and took a pitcher from the refrigerator. After filling two disposable cups, he brought them outside and handed one to Daisy. She took a sip and licked her lips—her very kissable lips, if he was any judge. He’d known his share of women these past thirty years, and he’d rank her mouth in the top tier of all of them. How many men had kissed her? He found himself wondering and knew a pang of regret that he couldn’t be one of them.

  “Tastes good,” she said. “Thanks.”

  Trey sat in the chair beside Daisy and suppressed a grunt. Being on his feet most of the day training riders and grooming horses played hell with the fused vertebrae in his spine, but considering he could still walk and work after being thrashed by a rodeo bull he couldn’t complain.

  He took a drink of the sweet tea and propped his feet next to Daisy’s on the fence. Her running shoes looked small and neat next to his cracked and dusty leather boots. Trey ventured a glance her way and grinned when he found Daisy staring back at him. Was it possible a busted-up cowboy like him could interest a pretty young woman like her?

  Whoa there, boy. You’re getting ahead of yourself. You’re here to do a job, and so is she.

  Still, he couldn’t dismiss his attraction to Daisy Phillips any more than he could ignore his determination to get her to ride his stallion.

  Chapter Two

  “Why do you call him Big Blue?” Daisy asked, watching the handsome cowboy beside her over the rim of her cup. Once her panic attack about his horse subsided, she’d had to remind herself not to stare at his sky blue eyes and sun-bleached hair. More than once she’d had to resist stroking the curve of his bicep under the hem of his t-shirt. Every inch of the man’s body looked firm, lean, and muscled. Trey Woods oozed confidence and sex appeal without even trying. He seemed without pretense or false bravado, unlike so many men she’d met on the force. And it had been so long since she’d dated.

  Trey leaned close, and she smelled the masculine scents of hay and hot skin. She closed the remaining distance between them and followed the line of his finger while he pointed to the beast on the far side of the corral. Without meaning to, she pictured them both naked, her body moving over his…

  She almost missed his answer to her question as she visualized him caressing her with his large, calloused hands. Bad, bad girl.

  “See how the sun shines on his black coat, turning it blue in the light?”

  Daisy watched the stallion graze, her head and shoulders so close to Trey’s that she could feel their body heat merge. Excitement rippled over her. When was the last time she’d felt such awareness of a man? Such presence? She tried to recall but couldn’t. She dared not move, afraid she’d break the spell.

  She listened to Trey’s steady in-and-out breathing but focused on Big Blue. Sunlight rippled over the animal’s sleek black coat, turning it sapphire. Mesmerized, Daisy watched the animal lift his magnificent head and shake his long dark mane. His black tail swept right and then left. His haunches bunched and flexed before he trotted in their direction, looking like a storm cloud wrapped in cobalt sky.

  “Oh my God, he’s gorgeous,” she whispered, truly seeing him for the first time.

  Trey turned and smiled. “There’s no better horse alive.”

  Daisy smiled back, every nerve ending alight at their close proximity. She wondered if Trey felt it too.

  Maybe he did, because he reached down and squeezed her free hand with his. His grip was strong and steady, and she wished he wouldn’t let go. “Stand by the fence with me. You don’t have to worry.”

  Easy for him to say, she thought, eyeing the huge beast.

  Trey took her cup, set it on the ground with his own and then stood by the rails. Hesitantly, telling herself the fence looked strong, Daisy moved up beside him. Soon Big Blue walked close, nickering softly and flicking his tail.

  Daisy took a step back as the horse neared, but she stayed focused on the animal. Big Blue seemed to watch her, too, because he blinked and made funny sounds as if acknowledging her presence. She wondered if the stallion could hear her heart hammer.

  He stopped moving forward suddenly and just stood there, watching her watch him.

  Trey glanced from Daisy to Big Blue and back. “He senses your fear but respects your space.” The cowboy flipped a hand. “See? Neither of us is going to force you into anything.” He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a plastic baggie holding a carrot stick. When the bag rattled, the stallion’s ears flicked and his nostrils flared. The horse moved closer. Trey spread his hand and offered the carrot on his palm through an opening in the fence. Big Blue took the snack gingerly and crunched on it with his enormous teeth. When finished, the stallion nuzzled Trey’s palm as if to say thanks.

  Trey tucked the baggie back into his pocket and grinned. “See? He’s like a great big puppy dog.” He gave the horse a scratch behind the ears as if to prove his point.

  Daisy had to smile. “The biggest dog in the universe, that’s for sure.”

  Trey was clever; she had to give him that. The cowboy understood psychology and conditioning techniques. She’d used them many times on suspects after an arrest. She eyed her teacher and let the tension trickle from her neck and shoulders. Her heartbeat slowed.

  The easy camaraderie Trey shared with Big Blue made Daisy wonder about the horse that would become her partner in the mounted police. What would he look like? What kind of temperament would he have? Trey was stroking Big Blue with obvious affection. Clearly they’d formed a bond. Daisy’s chest tightened with the hope that her relationship with an equine partner could be as meaningful as one with a human counterpart. Better, perhaps. The men she’d worked with on the force had barely tolerated her presence. Most resented having to work with a female officer, especially after her royal screwup. They’d said she wasn’t strong or fast enough, and she’d finally proved them right.

  Daisy rubbed her perspiring palms together and then shook her hands. She’d signed up for ten lessons at Breezy Meadows Ranch and paid her deposit, so she was going to follow through. If she wanted to stay in Houston, there was no other choice. Her success depended upon these riding lessons. She wouldn’t make it through the Mounted Patrol equestrian training otherwise. There was no more room for failure. She had to let go of her past and her fears. Did she want to be a cop or not? Did she want the damn transfer or not?

  Daisy moved back to her original position by the fence and shook the remaining tension out of her arms like she was shaking off dust. Even if she didn’t want to ride, why not take advantage of this time? There were worse ways to spend an afternoon than with a sexy Texas cowboy and his prize stallion. What was the harm of just looking at Big Blue and getting used to being around him?

  If she’d acted this way in front of her coworkers, they’d have rolled their eyes. Trey grinned like she’d just done something brave.

  “That’s the spirit,” he said. “Just watch.”

  As if Big Blue understood every word, the stallion trotted off with a steady gait and made his way around the corral’s practice ring. Sunrays slanted over his blue-tinged back while those spectacular legs lifted and lowered with beauty and grace, and all at once Daisy imagined Big Blue marching in a downtown Houston parade, or patrolling city parks and streets with her astride him in uniform. Pride swelled her at
the picture of authority and strength they made. What a privilege it would be to work in tandem with an equine partner like this!

  While she fixed her gaze on Big Blue, the horse had begun to lope around the ring. “Is he putting on a show for me?”

  “He likes you,” Trey said. He turned and brushed her palm, and only then did Daisy realize in her excitement she’d reached out and laid her hand over his. When she glanced up, the glint in his stunning blue eyes and his crooked half-smile said Trey liked her too.

  Daisy held on a few heartbeats longer and then released him. Her cheeks heated at the inappropriate contact. She stared over at Big Blue again to avoid looking at Trey. “I guess I got caught up in the moment.”

  “I’m glad,” Trey replied. He touched her wrist and let his index finger drift. “See how easy it is to forge a connection when you let yourself go?”

  Goose bumps lifted over her skin at his touch. An involuntary shiver trailed up her arm, and she wondered if he noticed. The upward curve of his mouth said, oh yeah.

  She’d forged connections before that hadn’t worked out, and she needed to learn from them. Regret like knots tightened inside her solar plexus and Daisy started backing away. She hadn’t come here to get hot for teacher but to prepare for Mounted Patrol training. She needed to keep her priorities straight.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow for my next lesson,” she said.

  Trey pulled what looked like a battered watch from his jeans pocket and glanced at the time. His brow furrowed. “We still have ten minutes.”

  Too much time to fight the urge to kiss him.

  When she’d put some distance between herself and Trey, she turned back, pointed at him and said, “But don’t expect me to mount…” Crap. “Your horse. I mean, don’t plan on me doing any riding just yet.” This cowboy got her worked up in ways that messed with her mind.