Bad News Cowboy Read online

  She didn’t even bother to hold back the tears that welled up in her eyes. “Yes, Monaghan. I do. I love you. I did even when I said I didn’t. I didn’t mean to lie, but I was too afraid to even think it.”

  His blue eyes, normally so wicked, glittered with moisture, too. “Well, I’m glad to hear that. Damn glad.”

  She expelled a breath on a broken sob. “I have so many sorries to say to you. For hurting you. For making you think I was ashamed, rather than admitting that I was just a coward. Jack, I don’t deserve your forgiveness. I don’t deserve for you to love me.”

  He leaned down, kissing her lips lightly. “That’s where you’re wrong. You deserve for me to love you always. No matter what. Kate, don’t you understand that you are the reason I’m not ashamed of myself anymore? I spent a lot of years sabotaging myself. Telling myself I wanted approval while going out of my way to make sure I didn’t get it. Because I was ashamed of what I had done. Ashamed of who I was. Wanting recognition I couldn’t have, because I’d signed that away. But I’m free of that now. You saw me more clearly than I ever saw myself, and it took that for me to finally change.” He swallowed hard. “I gave the money back to Nathan West. And I don’t know if I’ll ever tell anyone that he’s my father. But I could. I’m not hiding anymore. Not where I come from, not who I am. That’s all you, baby.”

  “I guess we both helped each other.”

  “I hear that’s what love is for. To make you better. To make the person you love better.”

  “I believe it.”

  “I still want you to do the rodeo. Because you want to.”

  She smiled up at him.

  “Really?”

  The rain slowed, the clouds parting slightly, pale yellow light breaking through.

  “Yes. And I will support you however you want me to. By going with you. By staying away... Bribing judges. Holding a bake sale.”

  She laughed. “You would do all that for me?”

  “Happily.” He tightened his hold on her and bent down, sweeping his other arm behind her knees and lifting her up, cradling her against his chest. “Do you know why?”

  “Because I let you do me in a barn?”

  “That doesn’t hurt. But that’s not why.”

  “Because I am a badass badger-cat and you fear me?”

  He laughed and kissed her nose. “No. Because you’re mine. And I love you. Which means nothing on earth will ever separate us. Even distance. I’m in this. For real. Forever.”

  Kate put her hand on his cheek, angling her head up so that she could kiss him. “Same goes, Jack Monaghan. Same goes.”

  “Well, I am awfully glad to hear that.”

  Kate Garrett had never much belonged to anyone. And that was the way she had liked it. But as Jack carried her through the field, down the driveway and back to her house, she couldn’t help but think that belonging to someone, having someone belong to you, was a whole lot better than being alone.

  And when he laid her down on the bed, the bed that she’d thought was big enough for only one, and pulled her into his arms, she knew for a fact that spending the rest of her life living with him would be a much better adventure than simply surviving on her own.

  EPILOGUE

  IT HAD TAKEN a little bit longer than usual to get the game started. But Ruby Kate Garrett ran the show these days, even though she was only two months old. Named for her hair and for her fearless aunt, she had taken over the Garrett ranch with ease.

  She was the cutest thing any of them had ever seen. Also, a grumpy little pink cuss. In that way, she took after her father. Though Connor didn’t seem to mind putting up with his daughter’s crankiness. Far from it—it was the happiest Jack had ever seen his friend.

  Right now she was asleep in the crook of Connor’s arm, while he balanced both her and his poker hand, which Jack had caught glimpses of. Enough to know that Connor was definitely not the one who was going to win tonight.

  Not that Jack cared either way. As far as he was concerned, he had a winning hand no matter the cards that were dealt to him.

  He had Kate. He didn’t need much more than that.

  “So how are the new digs, Katie?” Connor asked.

  “Jack has a housekeeper,” Kate said, putting her hand on his thigh beneath the table. He fought the wicked impulse that told him to move it up a little bit higher. “It’s pretty awesome.”

  “That’s the only reason she moved in with me. She sleeps in the guest room,” Jack lied cheerfully.

  “I don’t mind that,” Eli said, grinning.

  The moment Jack and Kate had told her family that they were in love, the issues they’d all had with the two of them as a couple had vanished.

  “You act like such a prude,” Sadie said, digging her elbow into Eli’s side. “Sheriff in the streets, freak in the sheets.”

  “I like that,” Liss said. “I would come up with one for Connor but he’s pretty much only one way.”

  “I’m genuine,” Connor said. “And honest.”

  “And less grumpy than you used to be,” Liss said. “Which I appreciate. And I assume everyone else does, too.”

  They all raised their various beverages in salute.

  “Nice. Thank you,” Connor said, touching the edge of a little pink blanket around his daughter’s sleeping form.

  It was an amazing thing, this new normal they were creating. With couples and a baby and love. And for the first time in a lot of years, Jack truly felt like part of a family. Oh, sure, the Garretts had always made him feel like one of their own. But with any luck, soon he actually would be.

  They played a few more rounds until the new parents started getting droopy from lack of sleep. Then they divvied up the food, Kate snagging all of the dessert, and headed out. It was a strange and wonderful thing to be leaving together. Going back to the same house.

  A house that was a home now, because she was in it.

  It was dark outside, the air holding a sharp chill that stabbed deep into his lungs like an ice pick. Or maybe that was just nerves.

  Once they were on the bottom porch step, Jack pulled Kate up against him. She clutched the boxes of pie closer to her chest. “Don’t make me drop this. It’s a s’mores pie. I don’t know if you understand how much that means to me.”

  “Of course I do. I would never do anything to compromise your pie.”

  “Sure.” She wiggled her hip against his. “Is that a rock in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? Fun fact, I totally didn’t get what that meant until after you and I... Well, you get the idea.”

  “That’s adorable. And while I am always happy to see you, I actually do have something in my pocket. Incidentally, as with the other option, it is also for you.”

  She blinked, her eyes wide. “What is it?”

  “It might be a ring box,” he said, his throat getting tight.

  “Oh, really?”

  “I know you’re not big into sparkly things, but I thought you might like this one a little bit. To wear while you compete this summer.”

  “Jack Monaghan, I have never worn a piece of jewelry in my life.” She stretched up on her tiptoes and kissed him. “But I know for a fact that I’ll wear this one for the rest of it.”

  * * * * *

  Don’t miss the other COPPER RIDGE novels,

  available now from

  Maisey Yates and HQN Books!

  PART TIME COWBOY (Eli and Sadie’s story)

  BROKEDOWN COWBOY (Connor and Liss’s story)

  And read on for a COPPER RIDGE prequel novella,

  SHOULDA BEEN A COWBOY,

  in print for the first time!

  Shoulda Been a Cowboy

  Maisey Yates

  CHAPTER ONE

  JAKE CALDWELL HA
D most definitely improved with age. It really didn’t seem fair. Rather than gaining five pounds around his hips like she had, his chest and shoulders had grown broader, his waist trim, his stomach washboard flat. It almost, almost, made her rue her addiction to the loganberry tarts she stocked in the pastry display at The Grind. Almost.

  Cassie Ventimiglia slowly sank down behind the counter, putting Jake, who was outside dismounting his motorcycle, out of her sight. She didn’t need to spend any more time looking at him. She needed to take inventory of her soy milk. She opened the mini fridge that was built into the counter and began to dutifully do just that.

  Her soy milk supply was sufficient. Which was good to know. Important. Much more important than taking in the view outside.

  Cassie rose again slowly, eyeing the small dining room. Most of the women in it were casting subtle glances outside. And Cassie figured they weren’t checking out Copper Ridge’s main street.

  Jake had that effect. But he always had. Even back when he’d been that dark scowling boy with perfect hair and wicked blue eyes wandering the halls of the high school, tattooed and bad news, and everything that kept mothers of good girls awake at night. And ensured that the fathers of good girls kept their shotguns close by.

  Actually, that was probably why he had been so fascinating. As far as Copper Ridge, Oregon, went, he had been universally disapproved of. And what was more attractive than that, when you were seventeen and just starting to figure out that there was more to life than what your parents had told you? Nothing. At least not as far as she’d been concerned.

  Of course, she had actually gotten to know him. Had seen beneath some of his tough exterior. Had bothered to see him as a human being. For all the good that had done her. She’d just ended up with a crush wider than the Columbia River Gorge. And before she’d been able to confess that, before she’d been able to tell him just what she wanted from him, he’d left.

  She seemed to have that effect on men. But she wasn’t going to think about that right now. She was going to think about muffins. She could inventory those next. So hooray for that.

  Anyway, she had no reason to be...staring at him, thinking about him, drooling after him. He’d given no indication at all that he was interested in her as anything other than a tenant he happened to live near. He was aloof to the point of being cool. That was something that had changed.

  When he’d been a teenager he’d had an air of intensity, anger and restlessness about him. Now he just seemed... Well, he seemed almost bored to be here. Like he was looking through things.

  Like he was looking through her.

  The little bell above the door chirped and she looked up just in time to see Jake walk in. He had been here for more than a week. Back in town, staying in the apartment next to hers. It was a complicated situation, really.

  Jake’s father had owned the building that housed her coffee shop and the apartments above it, in addition to a couple of other properties in town and a ranch just outside of it. That meant Jake was the owner now. And effectively her landlord.

  At least he hadn’t changed much since he’d arrived, with the exception of inhabiting the neighboring apartment. She only hoped he continued to not change things.

  He came into the coffee shop every day and ordered an Americano and a muffin. Which meant that she should be used to him by now. It meant that her stomach should not go into a free fall, her heart should not skip several beats, and her palms should most certainly not get sweaty.

  In addition to the fact that his presence was old news by now, she was thirty-two. She was, in the immortal words of Lethal Weapon’s Roger Murtaugh, too old for this shit.

  And yet the second he’d walked in each morning, her heart rate had indeed increased, her stomach had plummeted, and her palms were definitely starting to get a little bit damp.

  She forced her breathing to slow as he approached. He was holding his bike helmet beneath his arm, propping it against his hip. There was something epically badass about him when he stood that way. It was as appealing now as it had been fifteen years ago. And she had no idea why that was. He’d never been a good idea for her, never been a logical match. Her hormones had never registered that fact.

  He laid his helmet on the counter and pushed his hand through his dark hair, drawing her eyes to the tattoo of dark evergreen trees that wrapped around his arm. They started at his wrist and extended up to his elbow. His tattoos fascinated her, now and always, because she’d never been able to imagine voluntarily undergoing something so presumptively painful.

  That he’d been willing to do it only added to his mystique.

  Oh, shoot. She had a feeling her internal monologue had been running for quite some time, and it was very possible Jake had been standing there for a little longer than she realized.

  “The usual?” The question came out a croak, and she was none too impressed with herself.

  Jake lifted one broad shoulder, not sparing her a smile. Smiling did not seem to be a part of his emotional vocabulary. That much she had learned over the past week. “Sounds good.”

  “The only kind of muffin I have left is blueberry.”

  “That’s fine.” He shifted his weight from one foot to another and for some reason she found it fascinating. “Every muffin you’ve ever served me has been delicious.”

  Cassie nearly choked. “I’m glad you like my...muffins.” For some reason it all sounded dirty. Maybe her mind was in the gutter by default because he was here.

  Maybe it didn’t even have anything to do with him. Maybe it was her. After all, it had been three years since her divorce and even longer since she’d made skin-to-skin contact with a man.

  That was a long time. She hadn’t been conscious of just how long until Jake had blown back into town.

  “There’s nothing to dislike about your muffins.”

  She sucked in a sharp breath and choked on it, coughing violently. She turned her head to the crook of her elbow, trying to suppress it. “Sorry.” She patted her chest as she grabbed the portafilter from the espresso machine. “Swallowed wrong.”

  She went over to the grinder, ignoring the heat in her cheeks as she turned it on, putting the portafilter beneath it and releasing enough grounds to produce a double shot. She tamped them down and went back to the machine, fitting the portafilter back in and pressing the button, counting the seconds on the shot as it filled the little tin cup she had placed beneath it.

  It was a nice distraction, and once again she felt justified in her selection of a manual machine versus an automatic one. She emptied the completed shot into a paper cup and then poured hot water over it, putting the lid on and setting it on the counter. Then she reached into the basket and pulled out the last remaining muffin.

  She extended her arm to hand it to him, only realizing her mistake when the tips of his fingers brushed hers and the shock of pure electricity ran through her body, immobilizing her for a moment.

  She looked up and compounded her mistake as their eyes clashed and she was hit by a second bolt of lightning. And for just one nanosecond, she saw something flash through his eyes, too. Something not entirely cool and neutral.

  She took her hand off the muffin and it went flying over the edge of the counter and onto the floor somewhere around his feet. She wasn’t sure exactly where, because she was too horrified to look. “I thought you had it. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. No charge. Nobody wants a floor muffin.”

  He arched a dark brow, bending down and retrieving the muffin before standing back up and holding it out. “It’s still wrapped. I’m sure it’s fine.”

  “No, really. I insist. Everything is on me.” Because, if she charged him, she would have to take his cash and if that happened they might touch again.

  “All right, I’m not going to argue with that.” He took his helmet, the muffin and the coffee and turned away,
giving her a half wave with the hand that was clutching the coffee cup.

  He walked outside again and rounded the back of the shop toward the exterior stairs that led up to his apartment. Cassie let out a breath she hadn’t been aware she was holding.

  She really needed to get it together. Yes, Jake Caldwell was back. But now, just like back in high school, there was no point in lusting after him. Nothing had happened then, and nothing was going to happen now. End of story.

  And she had more inventory to take.

  * * *

  JAKE SET THE muffin and the coffee down on his counter and jerked the fridge open. It was early, but he was going to go ahead and grab a beer rather than that afternoon caffeine hit he’d been looking forward to.

  Because he didn’t need to be any more amped up than he already was. Something about this damn town screwed with him. Always had. Foolishly, he’d imagined that after so many years away the place might have less power.

  Nope. Between the afternoon he’d spent at his dad’s place clearing junk out and that little interaction with Cassie down in the coffee shop, he needed to cool down, not rev up.

  He wasn’t the same man he’d been when he left town. So what was it about this place that made him feel like he hadn’t changed all that much? Still not quite able to handle all the shit at home. Still finding himself drawn to the kind of women he shouldn’t be allowed to touch.

  Cassie Ventimiglia was one of those nice girls. Caring, way too sweet for her own good. She’d been one of the few people who’d spoken to him back in high school. They’d been thrown together, part of a tutoring program to help his delinquent self get it together and get his grades up.

  She’d been tempting, inexplicably. Because she was not the kind of girl he would normally look twice at. But she’d looked at him like she’d seen him, and he’d...

  Well, it was just a damn good thing for her he’d left when he had.