A rancher, a CEO, and a horse therapist… FOR RUBY’S LOVE by @Starla_Kaye & a #contest!
A rancher, a CEO, and a horse therapist…anything in common?
FOR RUBY’S LOVE
by Starla Kaye
Calhoun’s a simple cowboy with more problems in his life than he can handle at the moment. After nearly two years, he struggles to hang onto a relationship with Daniel, his first male lover. Daniel is worried about him because of the fire, his concern for his prized breeding mare, and because he is determined to buy the neighboring ranch to expand. But Daniel isn’t a businessman without goals of his own for expansion, a fact that frustrates Calhoun as well. He doesn’t want to lose Daniel, but will their differences finally be too much?
Daniel considers himself a lucky man to have met the rancher, someone almost his opposite and someone who he doesn’t want to live without. Standing beside the moody Calhoun has been difficult since the fire that burned down a horse barn, took the lives of two valuable horses, and traumatized a favored mare. Along with all of that, his harried friend is determined to expand his ranch holdings. Daniel is against the purchase and would prefer to find a way to slow the man down. Lately, he’s also begun worrying if maybe he isn’t enough to satisfy his lover’s needs.
Complicating everything even more, Ruby shows up later than expected at Calhoun’s ranch to honor a job as a horse therapist that her father had agreed to before his sudden death. She knows what happened to the mare and is certain she can help her, if given the chance. But the stubborn rancher can’t get past the idea of her being a woman, someone not strong enough to work with such a damaged horse. They butt heads over the matter until she finds an ally in Daniel. He is concerned and yet believes in her abilities. Another problem arises, though. She and Calhoun have been skirting around an unwanted attraction, and then she discovers another surprising interest between her and Daniel.
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“By the way, I’m Daniel Patterson. His…friend.”
She wondered at his hesitation and the way he glanced up at Cordell. The cowboy tensed a second and nodded as if they’d made some kind of silent agreement. Whatever was going on between them didn’t matter two cents to her. She kept out of other people’s personal business, but she sensed they were more than friends.
Having Mr. Rough Tough Cowboy standing there, tapping his boot, annoyed her. The walk here had done her in; sitting down made her realize that even more. But he wouldn’t be satisfied to give her any kind of peace. He wanted to go nose-to-nose about her lateness and the situation with her father.
“Would you sit down,” she grumbled, looking right at him. “If you just stop glowering at me, I’ll talk.”
To her surprise, a faint hint of red spread beneath his sexy-as-heck day-or-so’s worth of beard stubble. He tossed her coat on the nearby recliner and sat in the other chair.
“I apologize for acting like a….” He seemed at a loss for a description of his rather rude behavior.
Helpful, she supplied one. “An ass.”
He blinked. The action smoothed the crow’s feet at the corners of his brown eyes. She noted a hint of amusement before it disappeared.
Daniel guffawed, capturing her attention.
She thought about how much she liked this man, even with only limited impressions so far. Generally, she wasn’t drawn to a man like him, GQ perfect, cultured, and mannered. He could teach the cowboy a lot, if given the chance. As a down-to-earth woman, earthy men were her weakness. Yet, something about him appealed to her.
Not wanting to think along those lines, she glanced back at the rancher with his tousled, dark hair and her foolish heart skipped a beat. Oh great! He’d been pretty surly so far, but that was largely her fault. Besides, she’d always been attracted to a cowboy in faded, worn jeans that hugged long, muscled legs and showed off his taut ass, like his boot-cut jeans.
She didn’t want to be thinking about him either. She was exhausted, that was all. Well, and she’d become too focused on the fact she was still a v-i-r-g-i-n, in big capital letters. Until losing her father, they’d stayed so busy she’d never taken time for more than some innocent kissing and minor petting. Her father had done his best to keep the flirtatious cowboys they ran into away from her. But her life had changed, her hormones were going crazy. She lusted, yearned, and was half-blinded with curiosity about the whole male/female relationship thing. Dangerous business.
Heaving a disgusted sigh, she shoved the irrational notions away to deal with at a better time. You’re here on business. You’d best remember that, Ruby Tuesday McMurtry.
“Are you all right?” Daniel asked when she’d been quiet too long.
Her face heated. “Yes, sorry, zoned out there for a second.”
She looked straight at Cordell and decided to cut him some slack. “Think we could start over? I won’t act testy and you won’t act all gruff.” She pulled out the warmest smile she could muster. “I apologize for showing up late today. My truck ran out of gas down on your ranch road. So I hotfooted it here.”
“You could have called me.” He studied her with a creased brow and narrowed eyes. “I would have gone to get you.”
Avoiding his annoyed gaze, she glanced at the bag she’d set down next to her chair. “If I’d remembered to charge my cell phone last night, I would have.” She looked up and added, “And, no, I don’t have a car charger. Lost it somewhere, and I haven’t gotten around to getting another one.”
Starla Kaye wears many hats professionally and as a writer. She is the community coordinator for a Midwestern accounting firm, a gerontologist who volunteers with an active group of senior adults, a mentor/teacher of writing, and a multi-published author. She dabbles in writing romances of many sub-genres: contemporary, historical Western, medieval, sci-fi, fantasy, paranormal, and Regency. To date she has published 20 novels, 38 novellas, 8 anthologies, and 18 short stories.
Starla writes for Decadent Publishing, Black Velvet Seductions, and Blushing Books.
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CONTEST: In honor of my spunky cowgirl, I am giving away a sign proclaiming “Every cowgirl needs a cowboy…someone has to clean the stalls!” Leave a comment and include your email address. One lucky commenter will be chosen on February 4th.
