Toughest Cowboy in Texas Read online

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Copyright © 2017 by Carolyn Brown

  Preview of Long, Tall Cowboy Christmas copyright © 2017 by Carolyn Brown

  Cover design by Elizabeth Turner

  Cover copyright © 2017 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.

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  Hachette Book Group

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  First edition: May 2017

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  ISBNs: 978-1-4555-9744-4 (mass market), 978-1-4555-9743-7 (ebook), 978-1-5387-2741-6 (Walmart exclusive edition)

  E3-20170320-DA-PC

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Letter to the Reader

  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 Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  A Preview of LONG, TALL COWBOY CHRISTMAS

  About the Author

  Also by Carolyn Brown

  Praise for Carolyn Brown

  Fall in Love with Forever Romance

  Newsletters

  This one is for

  Kimberly Rocha, Margie Hager, and Janet Rodman

  Who all love cowboys as much as I do!

  Dear Reader,

  Welcome to Happy, Texas! There really is a town by that name in the panhandle of Texas where the flat land reaches out for miles and miles until it meets the sky.

  Starting a new series is always exciting, but The Toughest Cowboy in Texas was an emotional trip for me. Brody and Lila had just graduated from high school the last time they’d seen each other. That was twelve years ago and now she’s back in Happy where everyone knows everyone, remembers all the silly things that happened in the past, and the gossip mill is never without fodder. Cross Canadian Ragweed has a song on the market titled “17” and it says that you’re always seventeen in your hometown. That’s the way Brody and Lila felt that summer, even if they were thirty-year-old adults. I can relate to both of them because when I go back home, everyone still remembers me as a seventeen-year-old kid, and I’ve been gone for more than fifty years.

  Writing this book took a lot of hard work—sitting in front of the computer while Lila and Brody argued about how the story should go, getting the journey just right from their first meeting to the end of the book, waking up in the middle of the night to listen to the voices in my head. But I can’t take all the credit for taking this from a raw idea to a finished product, so put your hands together and make a little noise for the whole Grand Central team.

  Let’s hear a few extra loud whistles and yelling for my fantabulous editor Leah Hultenschmidt. Keep the energy going for the Forever team members Melanie Gold in managing editorial, Elizabeth Turner in the art department, and Michelle Cashman for all her great publicity work. Add a few more yells for my agent, Erin Niumata, and Folio Management. And before you stop the noise, let’s hear it for my husband, Mr. B, who has stuck with me through the sorrows and the joys of an author’s world. And one more round for all my readers! Thank you for reading my books, writing reviews, and telling your friends about them. You are appreciated more than mere words can ever begin to tell.

  As I finish this book, fall is pushing summer out of the picture here in southern Oklahoma. You’ll be reading it in the summer, so pour a glass of sweet tea and grab one or a few homemade cookies to nibble on while you read. And when you reach the end, remember Kasey and Jace have already petitioned me to write their stories. There’s more on the way—so don’t take your boots off just yet.

  Happy Reading!

  Carolyn Brown

  Chapter One

  Order up!” Molly yelled from the kitchen.

  Lila picked up a basket filled to the brim with hot French fries just as the door to the Happy Café opened. The hot western sun silhouetted the cowboy in the doorway, but she’d recognize Brody Dawson anywhere—in the darkest night or the brightest day.

  The energy in the café sparkled with electricity and her chest tightened. She gripped the red plastic basket to keep from dropping it and slowly inhaled, willing herself to take a step toward the table where a couple of old ranchers waited for their order.

  “Well, well,” Brody drawled. He closed the door behind him and slowly scanned her from the toes of her boots to her black ponytail. “The wild child has returned.”

  “But not for long, so don’t go getting your hopes up,” she smarted off right back at him.

  In a few long strides he slid into a booth and laid his hat on the space beside him. He filled out the butt of his jeans even better than he had when they were in high school and his chest was an acre wide. Lord, why couldn’t he have developed a beer gut and two chins?

  She carried the order to the other end of the café and set it down between Paul McKay and Fred Williams, two ranchers she’d known her whole growing-up years.

  “I’d forgotten that they called you the wild child, Lila.” Paul grinned.

  “People change,” she said. “Anything else?”

  Fred squirted streams of ketchup across the fries. “Nah, we’re good for now. Might need some more tea before we go. You should wait on poor old Brody. He looks like he’s spittin’ dust.”

  “Yeah. I’m dying over here,” Brody called from across the small dining room. “How about a glass of half sweet tea and half Molly’s fresh lemonade?”

  “Anything else, Your Highness?” Lila asked as she turned to face him and made her way to his table.

  His sexy grin and that twinkle in his baby-blue eyes made every hormone in her body beg for attention. But then she reminded herself that she didn’t have to impress Brody Dawson. She was not that girl anymore. Oh, but to kiss those lips one more time just to see if they still made her knees go weak. No! No! No! Yet her fingertips went straight to her lips to see if the memory made them as warm as they felt.

  “Whatcha got?” His drawl broke through the haze surrounding her.

  She quickly dropped her hand. “What?”

  “You asked if I
wanted anything else.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “So whatcha offering?”

  She reached across his booth to pick up a one-page menu stuck between the saltshaker and napkin holder. Her arm brushed against his chest and more sparks danced around the café. Hoping that he couldn’t hear the breathlessness in her voice, she straightened to her full height and started reading. “We have chicken fried steak, grilled pork chops, breakfast served all day, burgers of all kinds, and today’s lunch special is meat loaf and mashed potatoes. I think there’s a little more left if you’re interested. I really thought you might have learned to read down there at Texas A and M.”

  He laid a rough, calloused hand on her arm. Pure electricity shot through her body.

  “Are you still as wild as ever?” he whispered seductively.

  “Oh, honey, you can’t even imagine what all you’ve missed out on in the past twelve years.” The chemistry between them hadn’t changed a bit—at least not for her. She pulled her arm back and looked down at the menu. “Want me to go on or have you heard something that appeals to you?”

  He raked his fingers through his thick, dark hair. It needed a cut, but then maybe he wore it a little longer these days. “Just something to drink for now,” he said.

  She turned away from him and headed back to the drink station. With shaking hands, she poured the tea and lemonade, stirred, and carried it to his booth. When she set it down in front of him, he motioned toward the other side of the table.

  “Sit with me.”

  “You’re a few years late with that invitation,” she told him.

  “Ah, come on, Lila,” he said.

  Throw a plaid shirt over that dirty white T-shirt and he’d still be the boy who had broken her heart all those years ago. But she’d cried her tears and burned the bridges between her and Brody, so bygones be damned.

  He nodded toward the other side of the booth. “You’re really going to hold a grudge and not sit with me for five minutes?”

  “I really am,” she said.

  “Hey, Lila, we could use some more tea over here,” Paul called out.

  The years hadn’t changed Paul and Fred much. Fred was the shorter of the two and Lila had never seen him in anything but bibbed overalls and faded T-shirts. A rim of gray kinky hair circled his round head. He could put on a thousand-dollar tailor-made suit and in five minutes he’d look like he’d slept in it. With a thick head of salt-and-pepper hair, Paul was his opposite. Always in freshly ironed jeans and shirts, he was tall, lanky, and every inch a cowboy, right down to his well-worn but polished boots.

  She carried a full pitcher to their booth and refilled both glasses.

  Paul whispered out the side of his mouth, “Brody lost his grandpa and his daddy the same summer you and your mama left town. So he didn’t go to college after all. Don’t be too rough on him. He carries a lot of responsibility on those shoulders of his.”

  Fred laid a hand on her arm. “Don’t listen to Paul. That boy needs someone to give him hell. I was enjoyin’ y’all’s fight, so put on the gloves and get back at it.”

  “I swear on a stack of Bibles, I don’t know why I’m even your friend.” Paul sent a dirty look across the table.

  “Ain’t nobody else in Happy who knows you like I do. Hell, I bet I know you better’n your wife does.” Fred’s wrinkles deepened when he smiled.

  Paul turned his attention toward Lila. “I hear that you’re a teacher now.”

  “That’s right.” She headed toward the counter.

  “So why are you here if you’re a teacher?” Brody asked from the other end of the diner.

  “To get my horns trimmed. I was getting too wild,” she said sarcastically.

  “Well, darlin’, I can’t help you with that.” He grinned.

  “Why?” She took one pitcher of tea and one of lemonade to his booth to refill his glass and pulled over a chair to sit down at the end of the table.

  He leaned toward her and whispered, “I liked you as the wild child too much to shave an inch off your horns. God, we had some good times, didn’t we?”

  “And now we’re thirty, not crazy kids anymore,” she said.

  “Too bad. Being a grown-up isn’t nearly all it’s cracked up to be.”

  “No, it’s not but we do have to grow up. How’s your granny?”

  “Alive, kicking and giving out advice like candy at Halloween. Things in Happy don’t change much,” he answered. “How long are you going to be here?”

  “Probably through the summer. Maybe less. Mama decided to put the café up for sale instead of leasing it. So if someone comes along and buys it, then I’m out of here.”

  He picked up his hat and stood up. “There’s not many businesses left in Happy. I sure hope it doesn’t close for good.”

  When she rose to her feet, they were so close that one step would have put her in the position to tiptoe and kiss him smack on the lips. Brody was right when he said not much changed in Happy, Texas. The minute she crossed the county line, she had the urge to do something wild and now she wanted to give in and wrap her arms around Brody.

  She’d had a crush on him from the time they were in kindergarten. Truth be told, she’d liked him from before that—one of her first memories was standing on the church pew and staring at Brody sitting right behind her and her parents. He’d been a pretty little boy, had grown into a handsome young man, and now was one damn fine sexy cowboy.

  “Hey.” He grinned. “Remember when you decided that riding a bull wasn’t all that tough? Took four of us—me and Jace and a couple of other guys to lasso that big old bruiser out on the ranch. I can still see you settling down onto his back as you held on to one of his horns with your right hand and waved your left one in the air. You stayed on for the full eight seconds and when the ride was over, you whipped off a straw hat with a glittery headband and bowed while we all hooted and hollered for you.”

  “Of course I remember that night and lots more, but what comes to mind the most often is the night before Mama and I left Happy the next day,” she said with a long sigh, remembering the feelings she’d had that day.

  He took a deep breath and settled his hat on his head. “You married?”

  “Nope.”

  “Are all the men crazy wherever you’ve been livin’?” he asked.

  “I didn’t give them an IQ test before I robbed banks with them.”

  “Once a smartass,” he chuckled.

  “Smart—whatever,” she shot back. “Are you married?”

  “Never have been and don’t intend to be anytime soon.” His phone buzzed and he took it from his pocket. “Looks like Jace needs help out on the ranch.” He tipped his hat toward her and stopped beside Paul and Fred’s table. “Gracie know you’re having that big load of taters right here at supper time, Paul?”

  Paul shook his head. “No, she does not and don’t you dare tell her, neither.”

  Brody chuckled. “Cross my heart. I’ve got to get back to the ranch anyhow.”

  Lila couldn’t help admiring his long legs as he strode across the café.

  “See, Lila, everyone in Happy doesn’t know everything.” Brody ducked to get through the door without removing his hat.

  “Don’t bet Hope Springs on that,” she called out.

  She whipped a white rag from the hip pocket of her jeans and wiped down the table where he’d been, spending extra time on it so she could watch him cross the parking lot. His distinctive swagger hadn’t changed a bit and even from that distance she could see every ripple in his abs through that sweat-stained T-shirt. Her heart raced so hard that she was winded when she tucked the cloth back into her pocket.

  Well, crap! So much for time, distance, and a broken heart erasing all the old feelings for that cowboy.

  Brody left a trail of gravel dust in his wake, but then that was the story of her past. Always trying to impress him—always hoping that someday he’d go against his family and the whole town of Happy to ask her to go out—just the two of them. They�
�d sit side by side. His arm would be around her and he’d look deep into her eyes without caring that she was the girl with the worst reputation in Happy, Texas.

  “His granny Hope turned the ranch over to him and Jace this past spring,” Fred said. “Then Kasey and her three kids came to live on the ranch with them, and Hope moved out into the foreman’s house. You remember Cooter Green, the foreman they had at Hope Springs?”

  Lila nodded. “He had a couple of kids about my age. Melanie and Lisa, right?”

  “Yep,” Paul said. “They got married and moved out to Arizona. So Cooter retired and went out there to be with them.”

  “Last spring Hope turned the business over to the boys and then talked their sister into coming back to help out. So all three of the Dawson kids are living out there,” Fred said. “Hey, we’re out of fries. Would you get us another basketful and refill these tea glasses one more time?”

  “Where’s Adam? Didn’t he and Kasey get married after high school?” Lila pinned an order on the spinner.

  “He got killed in one of them secret missions overseas. I heard they couldn’t tell Kasey nothing about it. Had the funeral here but the casket stayed closed,” Fred answered.

  Molly peeked out through the serving window and tucked a strand of short gray hair back behind her ear. With a round face, gray eyes set in a bed of wrinkles, penciled black eyebrows that made her look as if she were perpetually surprised, Molly hadn’t changed much in the twelve years since Lila and her mother had left town. Not just in looks, either. Her attitude was the same too—she didn’t take guff off anyone. The whole town would miss her sass when the café sold and she retired.

  Molly crooked her finger at Lila. “You come on back here. I got something to say.”

  Lila glanced at the parking lot. No more customers were on their way inside, so she pushed through the door into the kitchen. What she got was a wooden spoon shaking her way, Molly’s dark brows drawn down in a frown and her mouth set in a hard line.

  “I heard what Fred and Paul was sayin’.”

  “And?” Lila asked.

  Molly put four big handfuls of potatoes into the deep fryer. “Brody did step up and take on responsibility. He’s turned into a pretty fine man when it comes to ranchin’ and all, but that don’t mean his attitude about bein’ better than you has changed.”