Cowboy Read online

  Cowboy

  Alexandria Hunt

  Contents

  1. Alex

  2. Ryder

  3. Alex

  4. Ryder

  5. Alex

  6. Ryder

  7. Alex

  8. Ryder

  9. Alex

  10. Alex

  11. Ryder

  12. Alex

  13. Ryder

  14. Alex

  15. Ryder

  16. Alex

  17. Ryder

  18. Alex

  19. Ryder

  20. Alex

  21. Ryder

  22. Alex

  23. Alex

  24. Ryder

  25. Alex

  26. Ryder

  27. Alex

  28. Ryder

  29. Alex

  30. Ryder

  31. Alex

  32. Alex

  33. Ryder

  34. Alex

  35. Ryder

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Copyright © 2017 Cowboy

  by Alexandria Hunt

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof

  may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever

  without the express written permission of the publisher

  except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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  Alex

  My hometown hadn't changed much in the seven years since I'd been gone. I had a sneaking suspicion that if I traveled back in time a hundred years, I'd find Abbott Street untouched and looking exactly the same as it did at this moment. Red Valley now sported a total of six stoplights though, and a new subdivision was growing up north of town, but it was still a little town resistant to change.

  I supposed it should make me happy that the town had turned down many proposals for strip malls and fast food places, it could be worse, it could always be worse.

  Then again, it could be better too. Life could be better.

  I sighed heavily and turned toward my parent's store, Kane’s Pharmacy. My life felt like such a cliché these days, my world came crashing down such a short time ago and here I was, back home and hoping my parents wouldn’t kick me out. The very definition of a millennial loser.

  I breathed in deeply, centered myself, and let the crisp spring air invigorate me after the long drive.

  "I guess I'd better get this over with," I muttered to myself.

  Wait, wasn’t talking to yourself one of the warning signs of impending craziness? I’d have to Google it after I dealt with my parents.

  How was I supposed to tell them I’d recently broken up with Andrew, my boyfriend of three years, and been downsized from my job? With nowhere left to turn, and limited career prospects in the city, I found my way back home. I already knew I was in for a lot of tsk tsks from my mother and silent, "I told you so," looks from my father. They never completely forgave me for leaving; I always imagined they took it as a rejection of their values and chosen path in the world.

  I crossed the street, side stepping a speeding kid on a bike who yelled, “Sorry!” as he kept going, turned the corner, quickly out of sight.

  That in itself was a welcome change from the angry bicycle messengers in the city; this move might not end up being so bad after all.

  I pushed open the front door, the glass obscured by the layers of posters advertising everything from garage sales to babysitters. The bell jingled as it had for decades, the sterile scent of beauty products and baby powder hit my nose, sending me spinning back to my childhood. It was a scent that went back as far as my memory.

  The front cashier looked up and let out a piercing screech. "Al-EX! Oh my gosh girl, is that really you?" Leanne, my childhood bestie, rushed out from behind the cash register, arms open for an awkward hug. I was not a hugger and somehow I’d forgotten about how affectionate everybody was in small town America.

  Lee’s arms pulled me tight, and I enjoyed it for a moment, the simplicity of greeting an old friend, before I shut down and felt my body stiffen.

  "Hey Lee," I said coolly as she realized she’d invaded my comfort zone and stepped back.

  "Let me get a look at you...wow, you are gorgeous! The city really did you all right" Lee appraised me with approval.

  I had always been a tomboy, tall, lanky and lean, too skinny for any boys to pay attention to when we were growing up. Lee was the opposite, short and curvy with an open friendly smile, she had been a boy magnet from sixth grade, with her curly chestnut hair and chocolate brown eyes. I had always envied how easily Lee spoke to people, opened up to them, and drew them in.

  Things had changed for me while I was in the city though, I was still tall and had the same straight dark hair and bright green cat eyes flecked with gold.

  But I learned how to take care of myself, and how to dress to accentuate my slim figure. I regularly took yoga and Pilates, I was careful with my diet, and these days I generally exuded confidence.

  Not at this moment of course; after getting crushed and slinking back home where I felt invisible, I knew it would be a matter of time before the entire town knew that my adventure in the city had been a failure.

  “How are you doing Lee? It’s been forever,” I asked, genuinely happy to see my friend.

  “Well, you know, the twins keep me busy, and the only reason I work here is to get away from my toddler. I have three boys now, I married Joe you know, remember Joe? Well, he’s the sheriff now, but you know all that from Facebook! We just bought the old Milner place up on Cottonwood Drive. I still laugh when I think about the time we snuck out and stole those apples...” Lee could talk the shingles off a barn roof, my father used to say, and apparently she still could.

  “I don’t mean to be rude Lee, but I still haven’t even seen Mom and Dad yet, or unpacked, I just got into town,” I broke in.

  “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry, look at me prattling on, that’s what happens when you spend most of your time with kids, you’re just dying for grown-up talk. Look, why don’t you get settled in and then come over for dinner? We’ll catch up. I’ll tell you all about Ryder’s ugly divorce.” Lee said, suggestively raising one eyebrow.

  “Oh wow, now there’s somebody I haven’t thought of in a while,” I lied as I turned and headed to the back of the store. There hadn’t been a day I didn’t have Ryder in my head, if I was honest with myself. I felt a thump in my chest and my cheeks burned just thinking about seeing him again.

  “Yeah, right!” I could hear Lee’s giggled reply.

  My family had owned the only drug store in town for three generations. My father only left town once, to train as a pharmacist some thirty years ago. Within months of his return, he married his high school sweetheart, and before a year was up, I was born.

  My father had been so convinced I was a boy that he’d taken to calling me Alexander Junior all through the pregnancy. Not one to miss a beat, he agreed to Alexandria when the laughing doctor declared, “It’s a girl!”

  I knew there was a part of him that had hoped for a boy to follow in the family tradition and take over the store when he retired, but my mother was so burdened by the one pregnancy, they decided to not risk another.

  I spotted my father’s head behind the tall pharmacist’s counter, bowed over the counter, weighing out pills or preparing somebody’s prescription of course.

  I paused for a moment and composed myself now that I was facing my dad for the first time since my disastrous flight to the city.

  “Hey Dad,” I said quietly.

  Dad looked up, startled from his work. He rubbed his eyes and raised his eyebrows.

  “Alex!” he exclaimed. “When did you get here?”
r />   “Just now. You’re the first person I came to see”.

  “What’s up kiddo? What are you doing here now? We were planning on coming down to see you next month. Your mother even bought tickets to some French circus. What’s going on, you look sad...”

  I couldn’t hold back my tears any longer and I let go. “Oh Dad, it is a mess. Everything is just such a mess. It’s all ruined,” I sobbed as he stepped out from the counter and folded his arms around me.

  I leaned into him, my tears easing up. No matter how long I’d been away, I was still his little girl the moment I saw him.

  “It’s okay sweetie,” he patted my back and soothed me. “It’s ok. Look, why don’t I finish up here and we’ll get you home. How long do you think you’re staying?”

  He pulled back and looked at me with concern etched on his features. “It’s Andrew, isn’t it? I never liked him Alex, I always thought he’d be bad news for you.”

  “Please, don’t even start with that. I just need you to listen right now, okay?” I barked at him, not quite ready to admit how right he’d been about everything. It was humiliating enough to come home, but to have Dad grilling me was even worse.

  He shifted uncomfortably at my outburst. “Why don’t we call your mom? She’ll know what to do.”

  Later in the evening, I managed to unpack my few worldly possessions back into my childhood bedroom.

  After pleading the fifth and promising to tell Mom everything in the morning, I'd managed to escape up here just after dinner. I was now sprawled on my ruffled single bed, exhausted and shell-shocked.

  It didn't feel like that long ago I'd lain in this very spot plotting my great escape, the Barbie pink walls closing in and a burning need to leave growing in the pit of my stomach.

  I’d been suffocated by small town life from an early age. I’d always had equal parts admiration and scorn for Mom’s world, and it seemed to be the only option for me if I stayed. I admired my mom for her skills at running a house and being everything to everyone, but I’d silently wanted more and that had led to conflicted feelings of guilt and anxiety.

  I had dreams to travel, to see the world, to experience many things beyond this small life. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever want children or a husband, let alone to devote every moment of my existence to tending their needs. My appreciation for mom’s care added to my conflict.

  I loved my mom, but never wanted to become my mom.

  The only thing that had made life bearable those last couple of years of high school had been my horse and my high school flame, Ryder Harris.

  Ryder was the kind of guy all the girls were crazy for, that special combination of kind and slightly aloof, mixed with drop-dead gorgeous without an ounce of conceit. He’d hit the six-foot mark in seventh grade which made him shy and just a little awkward and it took a few years before he grew into his full height, a leanly muscled and powerful six foot four.

  His parents owned Red Rock Ranch, a cattle ranch that encompassed a couple thousand acres south of town. By the time we’d found each other, all the hours spent in the saddle had given Ryder a cool, almost sensual ease with the world. He had his father’s dark brown hair and the dark piercing blue eyes of his momma. He had a serious demeanor and I had taken great joy in prodding him into laughter, seeing his dark eyes light up and crinkle at the edges.

  I used to lie in this very bed at night and think of things to tell him, stories that would make him laugh. Then things to do to him, things that would light his eyes with fire as he took me with lust and vigor that always left me breathless.

  Oddly enough, our courtship had begun abruptly.

  After the final high school rodeo, Ryder came up to me and asked me to the dance that night. It was held annually at the rodeo grounds and had become the event of the year among our high school crowd.

  I was at the end of my sophomore year, and Ryder was a senior. It was flattering and a bit daunting to me that I attracted his attention. I always noticed how his muscular chest filled out his western shirts so well, and the way his ass looked in his tight Wrangler jeans. I loved the way his boots hugged his calves, and the easy way he guided his horse around the arena.

  I’d just never imagined he’d noticed me too. I hadn’t been able to believe such a hot, older guy was into me like that.

  And let’s face it, back then I wasn’t exactly the type of girl the guys flocked to; I was too tall and too skinny, awkward and unsure of myself. I’d competed as a barrel racer and spent most of my days riding, never paying much attention to things like hair and makeup.

  Back then, I was more likely to keep my hair braided and hidden under a cowboy hat, and my skin care routine had consisted of sunshine and mud spatter from the arena.

  Lee had constantly tried to give me a makeover or talk me into a skirt, but she had never been successful.

  I was so used to being ignored by guys who were making a beeline for Lee that I almost hadn’t understood his request at first.

  He’d repeated himself, looking me directly in the eye as he asked, “Would you like me to take you to the dance tonight?”

  I think I managed to stutter out a dry, “Yes,” while my legs turned to rubber and my heart dropped.

  We decided on a time and he said, “I’ll see you soon darlin,” as he’d tipped his hat and shot me a brilliant smile on his way back to the barn.

  My heart had picked back up by then and started pounding in my chest. I ran immediately to find Lee, who didn’t really ride but always hung around the rodeos for the cowboys. I found her in the middle of a group of blushing young men, most of them cowboys where Lee was holding court and had every one of them eating out of her hand.

  I’d always wished I had that easy, flirtatious manner that drove boys crazy. But with a man like Ryder asking me to the dance, maybe I didn’t need to drive boys crazy — just one in particular.

  I dragged my friend away from the complaining group to tell her about Ryder. Lee screamed then, embarrassing me to no end.

  “Are you kidding me?” she squealed in my face again. “He is the catch of the year, and a senior! Oh my gosh Alex, you are so lucky! He never asks anyone out!”

  “I’m nervous Lee. I need help with my hair, I don’t want to look like a farm girl when he picks me up. Maybe I should say no, but I want to go. Oh god this is nerve-wracking, how can you stand it?”

  “Just relax, I’ll help you out...let’s go back to your place and plan everything.” Lee grabbed me by the arm and we walked away, talking about the possibilities.

  After much arguing and screaming on my part, my parents had reluctantly allowed me to go. Ryder arrived on time, exactly at six o’clock, driving an old beat up Ford pickup truck. The hood was flattened, and one door didn’t match the rest, most likely his dad’s farm truck, but any boy with a vehicle was admirable in the country.

  My dad invited him in and went over the rules, emphasizing the curfew, and let Ryder know his daughter was off limits when it came to hanky panky. Ryder was polite, sitting on the edge of a kitchen chair munching one of my mom’s famous chocolate chip cookies while I finished getting ready.

  I still remembered how sick I’d felt, unable to eat dinner. I fussed with my hair and makeup more than I ever had before. Mom had to help me when I broke down in tears after Lee left, unsure what to do. I ended up pulling the updo out, wiping off half the makeup, and switching the high heels for a comfortable pair of cowboy boots, pulling off Lee’s borrowed dress. I ended up looking cute with my short skirt and tight shirt, boots and casual hair. I figured in the end I had to wear what I was comfortable in or I’d be tugging at my dress and fixing my hair all night.

  When I came down the stairs, Ryder was waiting at the bottom with a sweet grin on his face that quickly changed to awe, he told me how beautiful I looked as he handed me a small bouquet of wildflowers.

  I’d given them to Mom and noticed the tears in her eyes while Dad was strangely silent. Ryder held his cowboy hat shyly in front of him, and
asked if I’d like to get going. He took my hand, walked me down the stairs and helped me into his truck.

  I was instantly hooked by his sweet manners and his gentle ways and it didn’t hurt that he was so damned nice to look at.

  The dance was all right; the music was too loud and the crowd got a little rowdy, but being in the right company soothed that over. Ryder paraded me around with his hand at my waist, letting everyone know he had claimed me as his. I felt jealous eyes burning into me, but there was no way I could do anything but beam proudly. He had chosen me, after all, not any of the prettier, more popular girls.

  We enjoyed a slow dance; he put his hands on my hips and pulled my body close to his, grinding his obvious hardness against me. I saw Lee and her date swaying to the music and she gave me a big grin and a thumbs-up sign behind his back.

  My face was the perfect level to nuzzle into his neck and forget the world existed at all for that short time. I felt myself falling in love with that tall cowboy that night, a feeling that both exhilarated and terrified me.

  At the end of the night he had driven me home, but took a sharp turn a mile before my house, into the gravel pit. He turned off the truck and said he’d like to chat a little if that was okay with me.

  It was, and I slid over to his side of the truck then, turning my face to his, letting him cup his hand under my chin and lean down for my very first kiss.

  It was short and fumbling, and the sensation of his tongue entering my mouth had been so foreign that I’d almost laughed. It was also so sweet though, it almost made my teeth ache and my eyes tear up with emotion.

  I’d felt a stirring warmth inside of me, a creeping tingle that started in my core, and spread to my stomach.

  I’d known then that I finally wanted more, and understood why all my friends were already having sex.

  He made sure he got me home on time; Dad was waiting on the front porch under the bright light. Ryder got out, opened my door, helped me down and walked me back up the stairs to the front door. As he passed me back to my dad, I saw him give Ryder a small nod of approval. I smiled and ran up to my room to avoid my mother’s many prying questions, and to watch the lights of his truck disappear into the darkness.