Cowboy in the Extreme

“There’s an intruder in my cabin!”

The moment he heard Kim Long’s terrified voice on the phone, Brandon Woodstock knew he had to help her and her little girl. Once, he’d promised to love and protect Kim forever. Now, in spite of the secrets that had come between them, the Texas rancher intended to keep that promise. But rescuing Kim riled all the wrong people—and rekindled the attraction he’d thought ended with their broken relationship. Honoring his role as Kim’s fiercest protector, he whisked her and her daughter to safety without considering the consequences. With a target on Kim’s back and old wounds reopened, Brandon thought there’d be no more surprises. He’d never been more wrong.

Kim knocked softly, then stepped into the doorway.

Brandon was pacing. A pair of well-worn jeans hung low on his lean hips, his broad chest shirtless, muscles bunching in his arms as he clenched the phone.

He pivoted as if he sensed she was there, then his gaze locked with hers. His eyes glittered with turmoil and other emotions she couldn’t define. But his hard, lean, muscular body robbed her breath and vaulted her back to a time when she would have run into his arms without a second’s hesitation.

So much had changed.

Cowboy in the Extreme

Rita Herron

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Award-winning author Rita Herron wrote her first book when she was twelve, but didn’t think real people grew up to be writers. Now she writes so she doesn’t have to get a real job. A former kindergarten teacher and workshop leader, she traded her storytelling to kids for writing romance, and now she writes romantic comedies and romantic suspense. She lives in Georgia with her own romance hero and three kids. She loves to hear from readers, so please write her at P.O. Box 921225, Norcross, GA 30092-1225, or visit her website, www.ritaherron.com.

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CAST OF CHARACTERS

Brandon Woodstock—This rough-and-tumble cowboy had his reasons for leaving Kim five years ago. But now she and their daughter—a baby he never knew about—are in danger. He will give his life to protect them; but will he ever earn Kim’s trust and love again?

Kim Long—She needs Brandon to help her find her daughter, but she cannot lose her heart to him again.

Lucy Long—All this four-year-old wants is to come home to her mommy and daddy.

Carter Flagstone—Prison escapee, Brandon’s former best friend and Kim’s former lover. Has he come back to claim the little girl he believes is his and get revenge against Brandon for not giving him an alibi and keeping him out of jail?

Marty Canterberry Woodstock—Rumors claim Brandon’s ex is on the verge of marrying again. Are the rumors true, or is she still in love with Brandon?

Herbert Baxter—He owned the land where the kidnapper demanded Kim make the ransom drop. Is he behind the kidnapping?

Farley Wills—Brandon’s ranch hand recently came into a large sum of money. Was it a payment for the kidnapping?

Boyd Tombs—He hasn’t shown up for work since the kidnapping. Did he abduct the little girl for the money?

To my cousin Linda for being a great cousin, teacher and reader!

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter One

“Carter escaped from prison.”

“What?” Brandon Woodstock’s heart began to race as he heard the worry in his best friend’s voice. “How?”

“I don’t have all the details yet,” Johnny said, clearly agitated. “After the rodeo, I went to see him in prison and gave him the number of a P.I. I hired to investigate his case.”

“And he accepted your help?” Brandon asked. “I thought he hated both of us.” Brandon sank into the desk chair at the Bucking Bronc Lodge’s office wishing he was home on his own spread. He would be in a few hours. He couldn’t handle being on the ranch when Johnny’s sister, Kim, was here.

Kim, his first love, his only love.

The woman who’d betrayed him with Carter. The woman who’d had Carter’s child instead of his.

That hurt the worst....

“Not at first,” Johnny said. “But I convinced him to take the P.I.’s card and talk to him.”

“Now you believe he was innocent of murder?”

The three of them, Carter, Johnny and him, had been inseparable as kids. Kim had tagged along, the tomboy little sister, and aggravated the hell out of them.

Until she’d hit her teens and become a raging beauty. He’d fallen for her, then slept with her, much to Johnny’s consternation, although eventually Johnny had accepted them as a couple.

Then he’d made the worst mistake of his life by leaving her for another woman, one he’d thought would help him climb from the gutter of his trailer-park-trash past to success.

And it had worked initially. But then Brandon realized he’d crawled into bed with a snake and had been running from the venomous bite ever since.

Still, Carter had wasted no time. He’d stepped in to fill his shoes…in Kim’s bed.

That affair had ripped apart their friendship.

Soon after, Carter had been arrested and convicted of murder. Carter had begged him and Johnny to lie and give him an alibi. Their refusal to perjure themselves had cemented the end of their friendship with Carter.

Johnny cleared his throat. “After seeing the way Rachel’s ex bought off the cops and framed her for trying to kill him, I started thinking that someone could have framed Carter.”

“So did the P.I. turn up anything?” Brandon asked, getting back on track.

“No, he didn’t have time. Carter met with him once and told him about this woman he claims he was with the night of the murder. Carter recognized her in one of the photos of the rodeo.”

The newspaper featuring the rodeo was spread on Brandon’s desk. He’d tried to avoid looking at the picture of Kim and her little girl, Lucy. It hurt too damn much.

He steered his mind back to Carter. “This woman was at the Bucking Bronc Lodge?”

“In the stands,” Johnny said. “She’s Native American. Carter claimed they had a one-night stand, and that he saw her the night of the murder.”

“Did Troy find her?”

“I don’t know. Troy was working on locating her, but two days after he visited Carter, Troy was found dead.”

The air in Brandon’s lungs tightened. “He was murdered?”

A tense moment passed; then Johnny mumbled, “Yes.”

Brandon chewed the inside of his cheek, contemplating everything that had happened. “Maybe he was onto something that got him killed.”

“My thoughts exactly.” Johnny’s footsteps clattered, and Brandon realized he was pacing.

Anxious himself, Brandon went to the bar in the corner, poured a shot of whiskey and swirled the amber liquid in the glass. He hated to distrust Carter, but before the arrest five years ago, Carter had been drinking too much, constantly skirting trouble. He’d even blacked out a few times and let his rage rule his actions.

The way Carter had attacked him a few times replayed through Brandon’s head, and more doubts nagged at him. “Or maybe Troy found out Carter committed the murder, and Carter had someone kill Troy.”

Johnny sighed. “Or maybe Carter thinks Troy died because of him and it’s time he found out the truth.”

“Then he’s looking for this woman?”

“Probably,” Johnny said. “And he has to be desperate. I raised his hopes and so did Troy. And now Troy’s dead. That’s enough to do a number on anyone.”

“Dammit. We both know how Carter gets when he’s bottled up with anger.” The very reason both of them had questioned Carter’s innocence five years ago.

“Yeah, I know.” Johnny sounded frustrated. “I just wanted to warn you. Two other prisoners escaped and a guard was wounded. His weapon was stolen.”

Brandon cursed. “So Carter may be armed, and the cops probably have orders to shoot to kill.”

“That about sizes it up,” Johnny hissed. “Carter has to be scared. Whether he went willingly or not, he’s on the run, he’s pissed, he needs help, and he—”

“May show up here.” Brandon downed the liquor. Hell, Carter would probably blame him for this trouble, too. He removed his gun from the desk drawer where he’d locked it and stuffed it in the back of his jeans.

If Carter came looking for a fight, Brandon would be ready.

KIM LONG TRIED TO IGNORE the rapid tapping of her heart as her four-year-old daughter, Lucy, taped the photos of the rodeo onto her bedroom wall. Ever since the rodeo, Lucy had been asking questions about her Uncle Johnny’s friend Brandon.

“I wants to learn to do twicks like him,” Lucy chimed. “He was co-ol.”

Lucy had picked up that word from Kenny, Johnny’s fiancée’s six-year-old son who Lucy trailed after like a puppy.

Just as Kim had trailed after Johnny and Brandon and Carter when they’d been kids. The boys had dubbed themselves the Three Musketeers, and Kim had begged to be the fourth. They had refused, although they had tolerated her, mostly because she’d been such a tomboy.

Then they’d all grown up and everything had gone awry.

Lucy twirled a pigtail around one finger. “Mommy, will Uncle Johnny’s friend teach me?”

Oh, God…she didn’t think so. “I doubt it, baby. He has his own ranch to run. But maybe Uncle Johnny will.”

Lucy poked her lips into a pout. “But he gots his own family now. He gots Kenny and if they gets another baby he won’t ever see us.”

Kim tipped her daughter’s chin up with her thumb, her heart aching. She’d known that one day Johnny would have his own family and was thrilled for him. No one deserved to find happiness and love more than her older brother. That was one reason she’d taken the job at the Bucking Bronc. She and Lucy couldn’t live with Johnny forever. And he would never ask them to leave. He was too protective.

She just hadn’t realized how much Lucy would miss him.

How much Lucy had missed not having a real daddy of her own.

“Your Uncle J will always have time for us, sugar.” She kept the tears at bay. “And we’ll visit him and Rachel and Kenny all the time.” In fact, every time Brandon volunteered at the Bucking Bronc, they’d make the trek to Johnny’s ranch. She couldn’t be around Brandon and not ache for the life she’d dreamed they might share one day.

Lucy’s eyes grew sleepy. “Pwomise?”

“Promise.” Kim hugged her, then tucked Lucy’s lamb beside her and covered her with her favorite pink blanket. Lucy snuggled down under the covers, and Kim stroked her dark red hair until she fell asleep.

Exhausted from helping reorganize and clean between camps, she went to her room and crawled in bed. But as she closed her eyes, images of Brandon plagued her.

Brandon at age ten staggering up to the fort they had built, bloody from another beating from his old man. Brandon at thirteen teaching her how to shoot a BB gun. Brandon at sixteen galloping across the pasture and showing off the tricks he’d learned from the rancher who’d given him a job and some self-respect. Brandon entering into some extreme fighting contests hoping to make a buck to get him out of his hellhole.

Then the night of the barbecue. The night Brandon had first kissed her. The night the budding romance and passion kindling between them had become more…

But another memory intruded, one so painful it was like being doused with ice water. The night Brandon had broken her heart.

She closed her eyes and drifted into a fitful sleep. In the nightmare, she was riding in the open pasture, but it was dark and she’d lost her way. She couldn’t see which direction to go and someone was chasing her....

Suddenly she startled awake, her heart drumming. Outside, the wind shook the roof and something scraped the windowpane. A tree branch? One of the shutters loose?

Then another sound echoed in the silence…a door squeaking?

She vaulted up in bed, searching the darkness as she scanned the room. The dresser, the chair…the closet door was closed. Everything was just as she’d left it.

A faint sliver of moonlight seeped through the blinds, making the silhouette of the trees outside look gigantic and ominous. Had she imagined the noise? Dreamt it?

No…another sound…soft, muffled like footsteps. The floor squeaked in the living room.

Her pulse pounded, and she jumped up, slowly cracked open her door, and peered through the dimly lit hall. A shadow moved across the den.

Her breath caught as fear shot through her.

Lucy…

She reached for her cell phone, wishing she had a gun. But her shotgun was locked in the gun cabinet in the den.

She tiptoed to the bathroom and grabbed her hair spray, then eased through the door and crept across the hall to Lucy’s room. The floor squeaked again, and fear nearly choked her.

They’d had some problems with vagrants and a vandal on the Bucking Bronc property.

Was one of them breaking in now?

She eased the door shut and locked it, determination setting in. He could steal whatever he wanted. But she wouldn’t let him hurt her daughter.

Lucy was still sleeping, and Kim lifted her in her arms and carried her into the walk-in closet.

“Mommy?” Her daughter stirred, her face wrinkling with confusion, and Kim rocked her gently.

“Shh, baby, it’s okay. We need to be quiet and hide for a minute.”

Lucy clutched the lamb, squinting at her through the hazy darkness. Panic tugged at Kim. Her first instinct was to call Johnny, but he’d already left for his place.

Her hands shook as she punched in Brody’s office number. Brody was the primary owner of the ranch and could get here faster than a 911 call could send somebody.

A voice answered on the second ring, deep and gruff. “Bucking Bronc Lodge.”

Kim froze, hand shaking. Oh, God…it wasn’t Brody. That was Brandon’s voice.

“Hello?”

The rattling sound grew louder. Whoever was outside was going to break down the door!

Kim pressed her mouth to the phone’s mouthpiece, terrified the intruder would hear her. “It’s Kim,” she whispered. “There’s an intruder in my cabin.”

Lucy jerked awake, her eyes wide with terror. “Mommy?”

“Shh, baby.” Kim tucked Lucy’s head against her chest, her heart racing.

Brandon made a shocked sound in his throat. “I’ll be right there.” The phone clicked to silence, and Kim closed her eyes and said a silent prayer that he would reach them in time.

But a second later, the bedroom door rattled. Then came the sound of the doorknob being turned.

“Mommy!” Lucy’s nails dug into Kim’s arms, and she braced herself to fight.

A loud noise—a body slamming against the door—made her jerk her head up.

Oh, God, he was going to break down the door…

BRANDON’S THROAT clogged with fear as he jogged outside to his SUV. Dammit, Johnny said they’d had trouble on the ranch the last couple of weeks, but since Rachel’s ex-husband had been caught, he’d assumed the trouble was over.

What if someone had broken in and hurt Kim?

Pure terror seized him at the thought, and he stomped on the accelerator and raced toward her cabin, punching in 911 as he went.

A second later a dispatch officer came over the line.

“We have a break-in at the Bucking Bronc Lodge. Get the sheriff over here fast.” He stayed on the line long enough to give more specific instructions, then disconnected and swerved onto the road to Kim’s.

Dust spewed and gravel flew as he bounced over the ruts, bypassing the stables and dining hall, then screeching to a halt outside Kim’s cabin. He looked out the windows, the dark exterior and woods.

He didn’t see a car or stranger, only horses galloping across pasture land, but there were acres and acres of places to hide. Was the intruder still inside?

Easing the car door open, he slid out, removed his gun and crept toward the cabin, wielding his weapon in case the culprit jumped out in attack.

Seconds later, horse hooves pounded the dirt behind the cabin.

Dammit, he wanted to chase the bastard, but what if there was more than one?

He had to check on Kim and her daughter first.

He held his breath as he inched open the door. Darkness bathed the interior, and he searched blindly to see if someone was inside. A lamp was overturned, broken. A twig snapped beneath his boots, and the wind whistled through an open window. Was that how the jerk got in?

The sound of a child’s soft cries echoed from one of the bedrooms. A terrified sound that made Brandon’s blood turn to ice. Lucy.

Was she simply frightened or had the intruder hurt her or Kim?

Chapter Two

Panic bolted through Kim. Whoever had broken in was determined to find her and Lucy.

But the sound of a car engine rumbled outside, then a siren wailed, a door slammed and more footsteps pounded.

Lucy trembled against her, and Kim soothed her. “It’s all right, baby.”

Brandon’s gruff voice echoed through the house. “Kim, it’s all right. Where are you?”

Relief surged through her, and she jumped up and hurried to unlock the door. Lucy clung to her, her head trying to bore a hole in Kim’s chest.

The doorknob twisted, and he knocked on the wood. “Kim, answer me,” Brandon asked. “Are you hurt?”

“I’m okay, just give me a minute.” Adjusting Lucy on her hip, she flipped the lock and threw open the door. When she saw Brandon in the doorway looking worried and so damn handsome and big and strong, she was so relieved she almost collapsed into his arms. “Thank you for coming,” she said on a ragged breath.

He took a step forward as if to reach for her and the years of hurt and pain fell away. She ached to have him hold her again, to make everything all right, to have him love her.

But his pale green eyes, eyes that reminded her of their past, of the hurt and betrayal between them, skated over her, then down to Lucy and she stiffened.

He’d never met Lucy before. What if he took one look and knew the truth?

Brandon tensed, gripping his hands into fists. “Are you two okay?”

Kim stroked her daughter’s back, swaying back and forth rocking her. “Yes. Just frightened.”

Brandon gestured toward the living room. “Come on, let’s go into the den. Then you can tell me what happened.”

Kim’s legs felt shaky as she walked to the living room and sank onto the couch. Brandon flipped on the kitchen light, and she blinked to adjust her eyes. The sight of the broken lamp and dirt on the floor made her stomach knot with renewed fear.

“Mommy?” Lucy lifted her head slightly, tears streaking her cheeks, and Kim wiped them away with her hand.

“It’s okay, honey. We’re safe. You can go back to sleep.” Lucy sighed, then seemed to accept her mother’s answer and huddled against her chest in a tiny ball.

Blue lights from the sheriff’s approaching car swirled outside, streaking the window. The sound of the engine clicking off echoed in the tense silence; then seconds later, the sheriff appeared at the door.

Brandon went to meet him. “Sheriff, I’m Brandon Woodstock, Johnny and Brody’s friend. I was at the main house when Kim called about the break-in.”

Sheriff McRae introduced himself, then followed Brandon over to the sofa, where she sat trying to compose herself. But having someone try to break into her cabin and seeing Brandon so close that she could touch him had her nerves tied in knots.

“What happened?” Sheriff McRae asked. “Did you see anyone?”

Kim swallowed hard. The sheriff was a big guy with a barrel chest and eyes that cut through her. “No, I was in bed when I heard a noise,” Kim said. “I heard footsteps and the lamp crashed to the floor, so I ran to Lucy’s room and locked her door. Then we hid in the closet.”

Sheriff McRae shifted on the balls of his feet. “Let me take a look around.” He examined the lock, then stooped down to study the dirt marring the wood entryway. “It looks like he picked the lock.”

“Johnny said there were problems on the ranch before,” Brandon said. “A fire and fencing cut.”

“Yes, I’ve been investigating those incidents,” Sheriff McRae said. “This could be related. I’ll get a crime kit and dust for fingerprints.”

He glanced back at the door. “Was the intruder still here when you arrived, Woodstock?”

Brandon shook his head. “I heard a horse galloping away in the back, but I was worried about Kim and her daughter so I checked inside first.”

Sheriff McRae nodded, then angled his head toward Kim.

“Ma’am, can you think of anyone who’d want to hurt you? Do you have any enemies?”

Kim shook her head. “No.”

“How about a husband or boyfriend?”

Kim felt Brandon’s gaze burning through her, and gritted her teeth. “No.”

Sheriff McRae raised a brow. “No ex-husband who might want the child?”

She knew he was thinking about Rachel’s situation, that her ex had been stalking her and tried to kidnap their son. “I’ve never been married.”

“What about the little girl’s father?”

Kim glared at him for asking such a question in front of her daughter. “I said no.”

“Wait a minute,” Brandon cut in, his tone worried. “Johnny called earlier to warn me, Kim. There was a prison break. Carter escaped.”

Kim gasped, perspiration beading on her neck. “I have to talk to Johnny.”

The sheriff gave her an odd look, but she didn’t wait to explain. She settled Lucy on the sofa and covered her with an afghan, then took her phone and stepped onto the porch.

The sheriff’s questions were too probing. Too close to home. She had to do something. Get away. Hide.

If Carter had escaped and knew she was here, he might have come after Lucy.

BRANDON RECOGNIZED the fear and panic in Kim’s eyes and wanted to comfort her. But he had given up that right when he’d left her and married Marty.

Besides, she had slept with Carter. Just the thought of her in Carter’s arms, in his bed, roused his anger.

Hell, if Carter was coming here to see his daughter, Brandon could hardly blame him.

It was exactly what he would do if Lucy had been his child, and he’d been locked up for years, unable to watch her grow up and spend holidays and birthdays with her.

Had Kim carried Lucy to the prison to see Carter? What had she told the little girl about her father?

Pain knifed through him, an ache so raw that he had to suck air through his teeth to stem a moan.