Gentling the Cowboy

  Gentling the Cowboy

  Book One of the Texan Nights Series

  Tony Carlton knows trouble when he sees it—especially when it comes in the form of a gorgeous, innocent, and very naked blonde stranger dancing in his shower. When circumstances force his uninvited guest to spend the night, Tony decides there are some home invasions he could get used to.

  Sarah Dery is a frustrated writer who takes her twenty-fifth birthday as a wake-up call. She sets off for Texas thinking a summer on a working ranch will finally inspire her. When one wrong turn leads her into the arms of a hot, broody cowboy, she discovers her spicy inner voice.

  But is it enough? He says he’s not capable of love. Can she gentle this cowboy?

  To receive notification when a new book is available, sign up for Ruth’s mailing list at RuthCardello.com

  Gentling the Cowboy

  Ruth Cardello

  Copyright 2013 Ruth Cardello

  All Rights Reserved

  This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, places, events, business establishments or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Cover Art by: Calista Taylor

  http://www.coversbycali.com

  About the author:

  Ruth Cardello lives on a small farm in northern Rhode Island with her husband, three children, two dogs, two horses, and one cat. If there is a happier place on Earth, she hasn’t found it.

  Contact Ruth:

  Website: RuthCardello.com

  Email: [email protected]

  FaceBook: Author Ruth Cardello

  Twitter: @RuthieCardello

  Sign up for Ruth Cardello’s Mailing List

  By Clicking Here!

  One random newsletter subscriber will be chosen every month in 2014. The chosen subscriber will receive a $100 eGift Card! Sign up today by clicking on the link above!

  Dedication:

  I am so grateful to everyone who was part of the process of creating Gentling the Cowboy. Thank you to: Calista Taylor for designing the cover. I love your style!

  My very patient beta readers—Karen Lawson, Heather Bell, Marion Archer, Yeu Khun, Kathy Dubois, Janet Hitchcock—who read multiple versions of the same chapters until I felt they were right. Thank you Karen and Janet for giving me the “Fuck-it List.”

  My editors: Karen Lawson, Janet Hitchcock, and Nina Pearlman.

  Melanie Hanna, for helping me organize the business side of publishing.

  Melody Anne, for putting me in the back of Seduced in her series (Surrender, Submit, Seduced, Scorched). She went from being an author I promote with to a real friend. Thank you, Mel, for all you do! I hope we continue on this wild ride together for a long, long time.

  Bunny Giordano and Lucy Wright, for lending me their fun names for characters.

  My Roadies, whose continued kindness and support often bring out my sloppily grateful and sometimes tearful side.

  And finally, to my readers: Two years ago, when my teaching job was once again cut because of budget issues, I was afraid. Since then, publishing my romances has not only given me more time with my children, but it has also given me a more stable means to support my family. I cannot thank you enough.

  As always, thank you to my husband, Tony, who listens to the story so many times he dreams about the characters. I love you, hon.

  And my family who supports me in this adventure and is the reason I do what do every day. Love you!

  A note to my readers:

  Paso Finos are a wonderful, smoothly gaited breed that are not necessarily well represented by my depiction of one. I own a Paso Fino and I adore him. He’s a backyard horse who has been my best friend for longer than I’ve been married. If you’re interested in the elegance and gait of the breed, read about them online. If you prefer the quirky personality of one woman’s equine friend, that’s Scooter.

  Also, use discretion if attempting to recreate any of the spicier scenes in this book. The author is not responsible for those of you who feel inspired and then fall from trees. And please, drive responsibly.

  Table of Contents

  About the Author

  Dedication

  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

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Other Books by Ruth Cardello

  Excerpt from Bluegrass Under Cover by Kathleen Brooks

  Chapter One

  No real adventure ever started by waiting patiently on a doorstep.

  Still, Sarah Dery hesitated before reaching for the handle on the screen door of her friend’s immense white farmhouse. The shelter of the wraparound porch did little to alleviate the heat of the midday Texas sun, but was that a good enough excuse to enter? What if no one is home? Since there was no cell phone service, there wasn’t much else she could do unless she was willing to wait in her SUV.

  Wiping one suddenly cold hand across a jean-clad leg, Sarah straightened her shoulders and opened the door decisively. She hadn’t survived the three-day drive from Rhode Island only to pass out from heat exhaustion on the porch because Lucy was late.

  “Hello?” she called out. “Anyone home?” No answer.

  The interior of the house was similar to the mammoth horse barn she’d searched a few minutes ago: well maintained, but lacking any personal touches. She was surprised that her friend lived like this, but perhaps when you worked all day on a ranch, decorating wasn’t a priority.

  Sarah assessed the living room. It looked and smelled clean—the best compliment she could give it. The few pieces of wooden furniture, decorated with outdated, plain blue cushions, had probably never given a person a moment of comfort. She returned to the main foyer and appreciated the beauty of the room’s woodwork, even as she noted the lack of photos and artwork on the walls.

  The house reminded her of the mansions in her hometown, built by wealthy factory owners who had long since left the area, along with their businesses. Although this house showed no obvious signs of disrepair, it felt cold. Empty. Can a house be sad?

  She wandered through the downstairs rooms and marveled at the lack of electronics—no television, not even a radio. Lucy had hinted that her life in Texas wasn’t happy, but this was the first glimpse Sarah had had at how truly barren her life down here was.

  No wonder she invited me.

  Although she hadn’t seen her old roommate since college, they’d kept in touch via email and the occasional uneventful video chat. Until Lucy had asked, “How’s your writing going?”

  What writing?

  “I’ve been busy,” Sarah had said lamely.

  “Didn’t you say that you’d taken the job at your parents’ company so you’d have time to write?”

  Yes.

  Apparently, time was not the issue.

  Can you be a writer if you don’t write? Like a musician who never picks up an instrument? Who are you when the person you are in your heart doesn’t match the lif
e you’re living?

  I always wanted to be a writer—tell stories that would sweep readers away on a journey of laughter, tears, and growth. I dreamed of discovering myself through the characters I crafted.

  So why can’t I write?

  What’s stopping me?

  God, I need this trip.

  Lucy said she was desperate for companionship, and the offer of spending a summer on a working Texas cattle ranch had been too tempting to pass up. Taking a deep breath, Sarah announced to the empty house, “I’ll admit so far this isn’t living up to how exciting I thought Texas would be, but it’ll work out.” Maybe I watched too much “Dallas,” but I’m not ready to give up on my fantasy just yet.

  She could almost hear her brother’s telltale sigh, which was often followed by a lengthy lecture. Charles Dery was a successful Wall Street investor and a self-appointed dictator when it came to his little sister. Moving to New York rather than staying and working for their family’s construction company hadn’t stopped him from getting involved as soon as she’d announced she was taking a leave of absence from her office job at Dery and Son—a company that should have been named Dery and Reluctantly Employed Daughter.

  “Mom and Dad called me. They’re upset. There is no way you’re quitting your job to travel cross-country alone.”

  “Yes, I am, Charlie.”

  “Why the hell are you doing this?” he’d stormed.

  “I need this,” Sarah had fired back, knowing that a deeper conversation wasn’t possible between them. I need this.

  Before it’s too late.

  Maybe it already is.

  Twenty-five.

  What is it about a milestone age that makes a person reassess her life? She’d graduated from the University of Rhode Island with a bachelor degree in English, but she could easily have gotten a degree in basket-weaving for all she’d done with it since.

  Lucy’s question had haunted her, especially during her last birthday party when the forest of candles on her cake had hit Sarah like a bucket of ice-cold reality. How did I lose myself?

  She wished there had been one grand event she could blame, but the truth was it had happened much less dramatically than that—more like a flower wilting in the sun until the life she thought she was meant for was nothing more than a pile of dried-out, brittle regret.

  Charlie said I should think of how this is affecting others and not be so selfish. Easy for him to say from New York.

  I tried to be the one who stayed behind to make everything okay, but the price was too high. Be good. Follow the rules. Avoid all unpleasant topics. I can’t do it anymore. I can’t be the perfect daughter in the perfect family. I’m an adventurer. A pioneer. Texans hadn’t stayed where the boat dropped their parents. They’d boldly left for parts unknown.

  Like I did.

  Life in Rhode Island wasn’t awful. Her office position at her parents’ company paid enough for her to live in her own apartment and afford a horse she rode four nights a week at an exclusive equestrian facility.

  I didn’t have anything to complain about.

  Or anything to look forward to.

  Until Lucy called.

  “Hello . . . anybody here?” The silence was eerie, but this wasn’t the movies––nothing extraordinary was going to happen.

  Sarah grimaced. Nothing ever did.

  Lucy had probably run to the store for some last-minute supplies. Isn’t that how it always works? You step away for just a minute and your company arrives.

  A bead of sweat trickled down Sarah’s neck. The light cotton shirt she had chosen so carefully that morning was now plastered against her back. Sarah plucked at it while renewing her resolve. She’d adjust to the heat. Comfort didn’t matter. This was about finding herself, finding her voice.

  She returned to the living room, plopped on the unforgiving couch, and flung out her arms in victory. I did it! The drive may have taken her three days, giving her horse time to rest along the way, but even that part of the journey had been amazing. Each bed and breakfast she’d stayed at on her way down had intensified her anticipation. Each time she’d told the other guests where she was going, she’d felt even more alive.

  This is what life is about: seeing new places, meeting new people, grabbing life by the balls and squeezing until it coughs up a story worth telling.

  I should write that down.

  She whipped out the purple spiral notebook she’d purchased specifically for this trip and stopped halfway through recording her thoughts, hesitating before writing a word she normally avoided: balls.

  I’m twenty-five, not five. Writers are not afraid of words. On the very first page of her notebook, she wrote, “Balls. Balls. Balls.” And smiled with pride. With renewed enthusiasm, she wrote, “Big balls. Hairy balls. Bald balls?”

  Chewing on the end of her pen thoughtfully, Sarah decided to designate a section of her notebook to research topics. She drew a margin on the right side of the paper. In her finest penmanship, she wrote: Do some men shave their balls?

  I should write: What woman my age doesn’t know that? But this is not about passing judgment. Positive energy brings positive results. Acceptance of yourself is the first step toward improvement.

  God, I’ve been reading too many self-help books.

  It’s time to stop thinking about why I’m not living the life I want and just live it.

  Which was why she’d chosen to bring a notebook instead of her laptop. Real change sometimes requires a clean sweep. No more wasting time searching the Internet hoping a topic would end her writer’s block. No more reading countless articles on how to write. Just a pen, a notebook, and Texas. If I don’t write something this summer, I deserve to work for my parents for the rest of my life.

  Time to color outside the lines.

  No more settling for good enough.

  Like Doug.

  Her recent breakup with the man she’d dated chastely in high school, then slept with through college, had been as unexciting as any of the sex they’d ever had. Not that they’d had sex in months anyway. Which should have mattered, but it hadn’t. Because I didn’t love him. Just like every other choice I’ve made up until now, he was safe, the type of man everyone expected me to be with. Smart, successful, and someone who fit into her parents’ social circle. He’d never said a single thing anyone objected to. Tapioca in a suit. Bland in and out of bed.

  Why was I with him for so long?

  The wrong size shoe doesn’t fit just because you want it to.

  She slammed her notebook shut and hugged it to her chest. She took another look around the room before whispering, “The only one who can give me the life I want is me. Right now. Right here.”

  Returning to her more immediate concerns, Sarah looked down at the damp cotton material of her shirt. Who knew how long Lucy would be gone? What if she comes home and she’s not alone? I can’t meet people looking like this.

  Coming to a quick decision, Sarah rushed back to her SUV for her luggage and a change of clothes. She left the heaviest pieces in the hallway and, taking just her small bag, searched for a place to freshen up.

  The bleached-white downstairs bathroom was as spartan as the rest of the house, but it revealed a beautiful . . . no, a heaven-sent shower. She closed her eyes for a moment and imagined washing off the dirt and sweat under the cool spray.

  Would it be so wrong?

  Tony considered taking the shotgun from the back of his truck when he saw the vehicle parked in his driveway, but quickly decided to toss this intruder off his land with his bare hands. Hell, it might even make my day.

  A Rhode Island license plate? Someone had traveled a long way for a good old-fashioned Texas beating.

  ’Course, there was a slim chance that David had invited a buyer to pick up his horse directly from the ranch. No, David’s not that stupid.

  Tony opened the door of his truck with more force than was necessary and took stock of the scene in his driveway. No one he knew would have driven thi
s flashy gray two-horse trailer or matching silver Lexus SUV—neither of which appeared to have ever seen a day of work.

  Upon closer inspection, the trailer looked more like a delivery truck than a pickup. The rear-loading ramp was still down. Someone had clearly unloaded a horse and led it into the barn.

  He checked the barn’s interior first. Nothing out of place. The stalls were secure. He scanned the paddocks. All his horses were accounted for.

  What the hell? Whoever had driven that trailer had had the gall to put their small horse in one of his paddocks, smack-dab in the middle of his prized quarter horses.

  A delicately boned bay horse, Paso Fino by breed. Tony’s eyes narrowed. Pampered, by the looks of it. Definitely not used to working. The sparkling painted black hooves and pink halter stopped him in his tracks.

  The intruder is a woman. Cursing, Tony strode toward the house, the pace of his footsteps picking up speed as his anger grew.

  He considered each of his past female companions, although none were recent. He chose partners with care—experienced women who understood that he had nothing more than a few hours of mutual pleasuring to offer them. He didn’t promise them anything, and they were too smart to think they could come to his ranch uninvited and receive anything but a cold escort to the road. The only people who were welcome on his ranch were the ones who worked there, and even they knew to stay out of his way.

  The pink-and-green checkered luggage that greeted him as he entered the house brought a rush of heat up his neck. He heard the downstairs shower running and a female voice mixed with the sound of the spray. Almost positive he must be hallucinating from the heat of the day, he walked toward the bathroom. With a bang, he opened the door, stepped inside, and stopped dead when he saw the outline of a small woman dancing behind the fogged glass.

  She must not have heard him because she kept singing—some pop song, he figured. Not a tune he knew. The tone he chose was one that had cowered many grown men over the years. “What the hell are you doing in my shower?”