Her Renegade Cowboy

2020·0.97 MB·english

by  Lora Leigh

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About the Author
Copyright Page

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Chapter One
The song “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)” popped into Lily Donovan’s head as she leaned over the
rail fence, her gaze fastened on a perfect male ass, hugged by a pair of Wranglers. From there she
couldn’t help but lift her gaze higher, from the narrow waist to a wide, strong back and equally
powerful shoulders that flexed against a tight T-shirt. The wide brim of his hat cast a shadow on his
neck, hiding any glimpse of his hair. He’d yet to turn around, but did that really matter? The view was
perfect from where she stood.
“Yee-haw. Am I right?” Her companion snickered from beside her. “Who’s the new talent?”
Lily cast a sidelong glance at her sister, Shay, who happened to be admiring the same view.
Lily stifled a grin. “I don’t know, but he sure knows how to wear a pair of jeans.”
And she’d noticed over the years that most men hadn’t acquired that talent. Or the backside to
carry it off.
“I’m more interested in what he looks like without them,” Shay remarked, more teasingly than
serious.
“Of course you are.” Lily resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Cowboys, no matter how good looking,
were not usually her sister’s thing.
“You saw him first, though, so I’m giving you dibs.” Shay waved graciously, her perfectly
manicured ruby-red nails glinting in the sunlight.
Lily gave in to the urge to roll her eyes. “Gee, thanks. That’s awfully generous of you,”
“Oh, I know.” Shay was always so magnanimous. “You can owe me later.”
“And I’m sure you’ll remind me of it regularly.” Lily couldn’t help but laugh at the thought.
“You know I will,” Shay remarked. “But you need a man more than I do. You have to get back in
the saddle, girlie.”
Shay’s intentions were good, but Lily had her reasons for staying single for so long. She admired.
Flirted every once in a while. Ogled on occasion. But for the past year Lily had been a strictly “look
but not touch” sort of a woman.
Hypotheticals were comfortable. She could talk a good game, and it was safe to banter about a
guy’s ass with Shay when his back was turned to her and she wasn’t required to engage in
conversation. This was better. Safer. And safe distances like this were likely to be the norm for a
while longer.
As if he’d heard them, the cowboy in question turned in their direction. Though the hat shaded his
face, the sparkle of honey-gold eyes stood out from the shadows. His gaze locked with Lily’s and held
it for the briefest moment.
“Wow!” Shay exclaimed a little too loud. “The front side is just as damn good as the backside!”
“Shay!” Lily hissed. “Shhh. He’s looking right at us.”
“He’s looking right at you,” Shay corrected her. “You might want to offer him a tissue so he can
wipe the drool from his mouth.”
Lily scoffed, but she didn’t look away. Strong jawline, high cheekbones, a nose that was just
imperfect enough to ground his good looks, and those eyes. They practically glowed. He continued to
stare, his gaze unwavering. Lily tried to look away, but his eyes captivated her.
“No one stands around here, girls. You know that.” Lily’s cousin Jacob’s voice boomed from the
group of men setting up the cattle chute, breaking the spell. “Fence leaners get put to work, so you’d
better get moving or get down here and get dirty.”
He was teasing, but Lily wanted to kick Jacob in the shin for drawing attention to them. It was his
ranch, after all, and it wasn’t the first time she and Shay had been given a hard time. They weren’t
there to hang around and get dirty, though. They were picking up Jacob’s wife, Sallie, for a shopping
trip in Sacramento.
“Sorry, Jacob!” Shay called back. “We’re supervising. But we probably should stay. There’s not a
single woman out there to make sure you’re doing it right!”
Jacob grinned and shook his head. He was a good sport. They really did harass him on a regular
basis. But they’d been doing it since they were kids, and neither she nor Shay could find a good
reason to stop doing it now.
“Aren’t you going to Target or the mall or something?” Jacob swept his hands at them as though to
shoo them away. “Maybe you should go make a shopping list.”
“You don’t make a shopping list for Target,” Lily quipped. “Target tells you what you need when
you get there.”
She reached a fist up and Shay bumped her knuckles against Lily’s. From the corner of her eye, she
kept her attention on the mysterious cowboy and found him watching her again. For the past year, that
sort of attention had made her a little anxious. This time, however, it gave her a bit of a thrill.
“Lily, will you please control your sister?” Jacob said with mock exasperation.
“You know she’s uncontrollable,” Lily reminded him with a laugh.
“Boy, you’ve got that right.”
He gave them a wave in parting and headed back to the chute. Lily stepped down from the fence.
“Are you sure you want to go shopping today? Looks like everything you need is right here. Might
not be a bad idea to get down and dirty if you know what I mean,” Shay suggested as she followed.
“You’re hilarious.” Lily jabbed at Shay with her elbow.
“Oh, I know.” Shay could always be counted on to be modest.
As they headed toward the house, Shay continued to talk, but the words faded to the back of Lily’s
mind. She fought the urge to turn around and look one last time, to try to get a glimpse of the gorgeous
cowboy with the light honey eyes. But Shay would never let her live it down if she did, and so Lily
kept her gaze straight ahead, nodding here and there, going along with whatever it was that Shay said.
“So, you agree with me? I bet we could get Jacob to introduce you.”
“Wait. What?” Lily snapped out of her reverie.
“Lily, I’m hurt.” Shay feigned a pout. “You’re the one person I can count on not to tune me out
when I ramble, and you let me down.”
“What did you say?” Lily demanded as she stared at her sister suspiciously.
Shay released a long-suffering sigh. “I said that I think it would be good for you to go out on a
date. I could totally go too. I mean, not on the date. That would be weird. But I could be, like,
undercover. Sit at the next table and wear a wig and sunglasses. Keep an eye on you in case someone
needs his ass kicked.”
Lily pictured her sister sitting in a booth at Merrill’s Café, full trench coat, dark curly wig, and
overstated sunglasses. She stifled a laugh, and though she wanted to get on Shay’s bandwagon, she
knew she just wasn’t ready.
“No dates for me.”
Shay’s shoulders slumped like a four-year-old who was just denied a sucker.
“It’s been almost a year,” her sister reminded her, her voice quiet.
The conversation had turned damned serious and they hadn’t even made it to the house yet. Lily
had hoped they’d at least make it out of the county before the conversation circled around to her love
life, or lack thereof.
Lily’s cell vibrated in her back pocket, and for once she was thankful for the interruption. She
pulled it out and a rush of adrenaline coursed through her veins. She didn’t recognize the number, but
she knew the area code.
“Go ahead and grab Sallie,” Lily said as she swiped her finger across the screen. “I’ll meet you
guys at the car.”
Shay’s brow furrowed with concern, but she did as Lily asked and hustled up the front steps and
into the house.
“Hello?”
“Lily Donovan?”
The formal tone of the man on the other end of the line only added to her worry. She took a
steadying breath.
“Yes.”
“This is Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Seth Miller calling from the U.S. Marshals Service. Do you
have a moment to talk?”
Lily’s throat went dry. She turned and walked toward her car as she tried to stay calm. “Um, sure. I
don’t have much time, though.”
“I’m sorry to be calling, but I need to inform you that Graham Brisbee escaped from the California
Correctional Center in Susanville two days ago. The media hasn’t been alerted yet. I wanted to make
sure you were one of the first to know. We’d like to put you in protective custody until he’s
apprehended. I can have a deputy marshal pick you up immediately and transport you to Sacramento.”
“No.” The word left Lily’s mouth before she could think better of it. Her hands trembled and she
worried she might not be able to keep her grip on the phone. It took a conscious effort to draw air into
her lungs, but she forced herself to keep her shit together. “He escaped? How?”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t share that information with you right now. Excuse me, but did you just say
no?” He sounded almost incredulous.
She wasn’t surprised by his incredulous tone. But Lily had made her mind up a long time ago. No
one was ever going to be in charge of her life but her. She’d managed to keep this part of her life a
secret, and she wasn’t about to change that.
“I said no. And I don’t want any deputy marshals following me around either. Your job is to catch
him. I’ll look out for myself. Have a good day, Chief Deputy.”
She ended the call and released a shuddering breath. Sallie and Shay walked toward the car and
Lily stuffed the sudden fear and anxiety that had overtaken her to the soles of her feet. In a single
moment, one of her worst nightmares had been awakened. She just prayed that the marshals would do
their job and not make her regret her decision to look after herself.
Levi Roberts stepped away from the group of ranch hands. The persistent, rhythmic buzz of his cell let
him know it was a message that couldn’t be ignored. He retrieved it from his pocket and quickly read
the text message. Disappointment puckered his brow as he fired off a quick response and tucked the
phone away. He turned toward the driveway, his attention drawn to the three women climbing into a
Toyota 4Runner. He pulled the brim of his hat down lower over his forehead, shielding his gaze from
the sun as he watched the car drive off, sending a plume of dust into the air behind it.
“Levi, what do you think?”
Now that was a loaded question. He turned toward Jacob Donovan and jerked his head toward the
acres of sprawling pastures beyond the ranch. “This is a bigger operation than the one I worked near
Waco. But I can handle it.”
“Good,” Jacob replied. “Because I can always use another set of hands around here, even if it is
only temporary. We have a bunkhouse on the property that you can stay in. If it works for you, I’d like
for you to start tomorrow.”
“I’m here now. I’d rather start today if that’s not a problem.” Levi fought the urge to look back at
the road and the car that sped down the lane. Before he’d even been made aware of who she was,
Levi had been drawn to the woman with auburn hair. The sunlight played off the red-gold strands
setting them afire. Her voice and spunk had piqued his curiosity. Only after he’d heard her name had
Levi made the connection. Lily Donovan. He hoped to see her again, soon. “Might as well hit the
ground running, you know?”
“Sounds good to me. You’ve already pretty much met everyone here. John Grange, who you met
earlier, is in charge of the day-to-day stuff. He’ll line you up. If you have any questions, go to him.”
Jacob reached out his hand and Levi took it in his, returning the firm shake.
Levi nodded. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”
“Not as much as I do,” Jacob said. “The spring calving season is the busiest around here. I’m glad
to have you join the crew.”
Jacob left Levi to get straight to work. He was anxious to get to know the crew and the operation.
Learn more about Deer Haven and the people who lived here. The best way to do that was to talk his
co-workers.
The Rocking D Ranch was a decent-sized operation. Large enough to employ a crew of about a
dozen or more. From what he’d heard, Jacob hired mostly ex-military, which was what made Levi a
perfect fit.
“Jacob says you were an Army Ranger?”
Levi hoisted up a section of metal fencing, waiting for the other guy to secure it to the section
they’d just set up. “Yup. Eight years. Joined straight out of high school.”
“I’m Chris, by the way. Navy. Twelve years. Nothing fancy, just an enlisted guy.”
“Levi,” he introduced himself. “And no one is ‘just’ anything. Every job serves a purpose.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Chris agreed. “I thought about being a lifer, but I missed home.”
“You’re local?” Levi asked.
“Born and raised here,” Chris said proudly. “Once a California boy, always one, right?”
“So you know the family?” Casual conversation was always the best way to find anything out.
Especially in a small town. In order to get to know the area and the people who lived here, all he had
to do was be friendly and initiate conversation.
“Oh sure. I’m five years older than Jacob, but everyone sort of knows everyone in a small town.”
“His cousins hang out here a lot?” He tried to pose the question casually.
Chris grinned as he reached for another section of fencing that would make up the temporary
corral. “You mean Lily and Shay? They’re here every once in a while. Tara too sometimes.”
“Another cousin?” Exactly how many cousins ran around loose on this ranch anyway?
“Yeah.” Chris nodded.
Levi hoisted the fencing up and waited for Chris to put the pins in place, securing it to the section
before it. “Be careful, though. Jacob’s super-protective of the girls and he’ll kick anyone’s ass who
does them wrong, if you know what I mean.”
“Noted,” Levi said with a laugh. “Though they seem like they can take care of themselves without
any help from Jacob.”
“You’ve got that right,” Chris said. “Don’t let those innocent good looks fool you. The Donovan
girls won’t stand for any bullshit.”
Feisty. Levi liked that.
“Shay’s a firecracker for sure, but it’s Lily that you have to watch out for.”
Levi grabbed another section of fence. “How so?”
“She’s like a stealth bomber. Seems harmless enough and then, bam! She lays you out before you
know what hit you.”
Levi laughed. “Sounds like a handful.”
“Last year, Jacob’s wife, Sallie, was in a bit of trouble. Jacob did what he always does and made
sure that everyone in his family was safe. Told Justice Culpepper to keep an eye on Lily. Lily and
Justice have sort of an antagonistic history, and she wasn’t super-happy about Jacob dumping Justice
on her. Guess she let Justice know by chucking a cast-iron skillet at his head.”
“Handful” was an understatement. He didn’t even know who this Justice Culpepper was, but he
almost felt sorry for the guy.
Levi didn’t have any information about the situation with Jacob’s wife last year, but in the couple
of days he’d been in town he’d heard enough gossip to have found out the basics. Sallie had gotten
mixed up in something that had to do with her stepfather, a diplomat. Some dangerous men had come
to Deer Haven looking for her and learned the hard way that you don’t fuck with people Jacob
Donovan loves. Levi admired Jacob. He had a reputation for being a good man and force to be
reckoned with when crossed. He was definitely the guy you wanted on your side when shit went
south.
“It definitely sounds like Lily is the one to watch out for,” Levi remarked. “Unless you’re looking
to get a concussion.”
“She’s got a temper on her,” Chris said. “But she’s a catch.”
“Single?” Levi tried not to sound too curious.
“Yeah. For a while now.”
“No one’s willing to risk a skillet to the head, huh?”
“I doubt that’s it.” Chris laughed. “She’s a prize and any man with eyes in his head has tried to
snag her. She’s a cold one when she wants to be.”
Lily had a wall up. Levi could see it in her eyes when she’d looked at him. He knew all too well
what that felt like. She wanted to push people away, but it only served to draw him in. His curiosity
grew to a point that Levi knew it wouldn’t be squashed until he got to know her better.