Her Texas Cowboy Protector, page 15
He walked over to stand beside the bed and looked into Natalie’s eyes. “I love you, honey. You’ve given me so much joy, and now you’ve given me a son. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for being my wife.”
She pulled him down and kissed him. “I love you with all my heart, Landon Winchester.”
He kissed little Blaise again and closed his eyes. Thank you, God, for this precious little boy and for my loving wife. I’ll cherish these blessings you’ve given me forever.
SNEAK PEEK AT THE COWBOYS OF THE DIAMOND O RANCH SERIES, BOOK ONE, HER RUGGED TEXAS COWBOY
Jaxon pulled up to the barn early Tuesday afternoon to catch up his horse. He’d found a cow with a large abscess on her hip, and he needed to rope her and bring her back to the barn before the veterinarian arrived.
Walking out into the barn pasture, he rattled the feed bucket he carried and called, “Come on! Come and get it!”
There were six horses in the pasture, and they all came toward him at a trot. His big buckskin Quarter Horse outdistanced the others and got the first bite of feed. He’d nicknamed him Bully, because he always had to be the boss of the herd. Jaxon put the halter on him as the other horses charged in, pushing their muzzles against the bucket as they each grabbed a mouthful.
He shooed them away and led Bully back to the barn where he quickly brushed him and threw on his saddle.
Wyatt, one of the ranch hands, drove up pulling a stock trailer, his horse already loaded. He got out of the truck as Jaxon led Bully out of the barn.
“Ready to head out?” he asked.
A dust cloud on the ranch drive caught Jaxon’s attention. As the vehicle drew closer, he recognized the white, double-cab truck of the county extension agent. What he didn’t recognize was the pretty young woman behind the wheel. He’d heard that Carlton, the former agent, had passed away, but he hadn’t realized that his position had already been filled.
Wyatt glanced at him and smiled. “Looks like the county got an upgrade.”
Jaxon rolled his eyes and strode over as the new agent stepped out of her truck. When she smiled at him, he offered his hand. “Jaxon O’Connor.”
She shook with a firm grip. “Destiny Vaughn. As you’ve probably guessed by the truck, I’m the new Brewster County extension agent.”
“Pleased to meet you. This is Wyatt Adams, a member of our team here at the Diamond O.”
Wyatt extended his hand. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Vaughn. How long have you been on the job?”
She chuckled. “Not long, Wyatt. This is my first posting, and my first week on the job. And, please, call me Destiny.” She glanced at Jaxon. “Both of you.”
“What brings you out this way, Destiny?” Jaxon asked. Her thick, light-brown hair shone in the afternoon sun, and those green eyes of hers were stunning. He was surprised to feel himself responding to her. He’d more or less given up dating years ago, after a long-term relationship had gone very wrong.
“The Diamond O is the largest cattle ranch around these parts. I wanted to come out and introduce myself,” she said.
“That’s nice of you.” He was having a hard time not staring. Although she wore a simple, long-sleeved button-down shirt and Western jeans, there was no hiding her curvaceous figure. She was probably five-and-a-half feet tall at the most and wore no-nonsense Western work boots. Her only adornment was the silver breakaway roping trophy buckle on her belt. Even her makeup was understated.
“What’s your background? Did you grow up on a ranch?” Wyatt asked.
“I sure did. My family has twenty-six thousand acres near the Davis Mountains. We raise Black Baldy cattle.” She smiled. “I rodeoed when I was growing up but gave it up when I went to college.”
“What events did you compete in?” Jaxon could sense his pulse picking up speed. The more he learned about her, the more he wanted to know.
“I concentrated on breakaway roping. I had to rope on the ranch, and it was just natural to choose that as my event.” Then she glanced at Bully. “Looks like I interrupted something. Were you all heading out to work cattle?”
He explained about the cow with the abscess. “We need to bring her back to the barn before Angus gets here to doctor her. He said it might be as late as six before he arrives, though.”
She gave him her business card and reached out her hand again. “I’ll let you go, then. You get in touch if I can help you with anything, you hear?”
Jaxon shook with her, impressed again by the firm grip of her small hand. It was fitting for this confident, no-nonsense, beautiful woman.
After shaking hands with Wyatt, Destiny climbed back into her truck. As she drove down the drive, she reached out the window and waved.
Smiling, Jaxon waved back, realizing that he definitely wanted to see her again.
Destiny looked in her rearview mirror as Jaxon gradually receded from view. She smiled, realizing that he was waiting for her to get out of sight before loading his horse into the trailer.
She’d instantly been drawn to the handsome cowboy. His smile and easy confidence had made her feel welcome as soon as she’d gotten out of her truck.
With the auburn hair she’d spotted under his Western hat and his light complexion, she’d bet he easily suffered from the effects of the sun. Surprisingly, though, he wasn’t covered in freckles—he just had a few sprinkles across his nose and cheeks. And he was tall and broad-shouldered, with slim hips and just the right amount of muscle to hint at his strength. He was gorgeous, all right, and she couldn’t quit thinking about him.
With an effort, she turned her thoughts back to business. Meeting as many of the local ranchers as possible was one of the first goals she’d set for herself. Being part of the ranching community was critical to her success as a county agent. She’d also just set up a community class at the Alpine library. She was going to talk about the drought and its impact on local vegetable gardening, along with ways to combat its effects. She also planned to address other topics she felt would interest the general public, and she was looking forward to meeting the attendees.
It was sad that she’d never gotten to ask Carlton, the previous extension agent, about the job. He’d died suddenly of a heart attack a little over two months ago. She’d immediately applied for the position and, not long after, had found out that she’d been chosen.
Being a county extension agent was her dream come true. When she’d earned her bachelor’s degree in agricultural science, she’d decided to go on and earn her master’s in agriculture, knowing that it would prepare her for just such a position.
Her mind returned to Jaxon O’Connor. She wanted to learn more about him. She’d glanced at his left hand and noticed that he wasn’t wearing a wedding band. Some cowboys didn’t wear rings because they could be dangerous when they were roping, but still, it might be an indication that Jaxon wasn’t married.
It shouldn’t matter to her. She was totally focused on her career right now. Getting up to speed at her job was of paramount importance. But she couldn’t help her attraction to the rancher. She wanted to see him again. She felt pretty sure that Carlton had a contact number for the ranch somewhere in his records. It was probably for Jaxon’s father, Walter, though. But it would be weird to call the older man in order to get hold of Jaxon.
She sighed. There didn’t seem to be any way to remedy the matter. But Jaxon knew how to contact her. If he was interested, maybe he’d do that. She remembered him standing and watching her drive away from the ranch and smiled. Maybe he would call. She hoped he wouldn’t wait too long.
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COPYRIGHT
Her Texas Cowboy Protector, copyright © 2024 by Janalyn Knight. This is a work of fiction. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, actual events or locales is purely coincidental.
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About the Author
Nobody knows sexy Texas cowboys like Janalyn Knight. She grew up competing in rodeo, later working on a ten-thousand-acre cattle ranch, and these experiences lend an authenticity to her characters and stories. Janalyn is an avid supporter of the Hill Country Horse Refuge and absolutely owns the title of wine drinker extraordinaire. When she’s not writing spicy cowboy romances, she’s living her dream—sharing her twenty-acres of Texas Hill Country with her daughters and their families.
Read more at Janalyn Knight’s site.
Janalyn Knight, Her Texas Cowboy Protector
