Kissing the Bull
Authors: Kerri Nelson
Evernight
Publishing
Copyright©
2013 Kerri Nelson
ISBN: 978-1-77130-679-9
Cover Artist: Sour Cherry
Designs
Editor: Melissa
Hosack
ALL
RIGHTS RESERVED
WARNING: The unauthorized
reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal.
No part of this book may be used or
reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the
case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
This is a work of fiction.
All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual
events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely
coincidental.
DEDICATION
To my little cowboy, Coop
There is something about cowboys that has
always held a special place in my heart.
The tough exterior,
the heart of gold, the never-give-up attitude, or the cowboy-up motto…maybe all
of the above.
Always a fan of the rodeo, I’ve watched these men with
admiration from afar lo these many years. The pride that most of them exude is
absolutely contagious. And unlike the country song to the contrary, as a momma,
I’d be proud if my son grew up to be a cowboy…just like Wyatt.
Hats off to you.
KISSING THE BULL
Kerri Nelson
Copyright
© 2013
Chapter
One
“Kindly remove your hands from
my ass.”
Wyatt Winston looked up as the
sound of tires crunching on the gravel driveway reached his ears. He’d been
enjoying an afternoon game of cat and mouse with one of the buckle bunnies who
was always hanging around the ranch.
Lola was famous for pretending
she was shocked and dismayed at his physical attentions, and they were just
getting started when the sound of the approaching vehicle redirected his
attention.
He peered around the base of
the tree he’d been pressing Lola against as he fondled her ass through the
tight jeans she’d painted on.
A dusty, silver compact car
rounded the bend and sputtered up the driveway toward the
Markums
’
Double R ranch. Wyatt watched the car’s struggle to maneuver the bumpy terrain
and shook his head.
That must be the city girl.
“Who’s that?”
Wyatt glanced back down at
Lola, who was still pinned to the tree beneath him. He backed away from her and
removed his hat. Running his hand through his hair, he let out a frustrated
sigh.
“That would be the
Markums
’ niece from Atlanta.”
“Hmm…what’s
she
doing here?”
Wyatt didn’t miss the immediate
sound of venom stirred by female rivalry. Lola moved to stand beside him now,
snaking one arm around his waist and running her long, red-tipped fingernails
down his forearm with her other hand.
“I’m not exactly sure, but I
have a feeling it won’t be good.”
“Well, I don’t care for city
girls. You don’t either, do you, Wyatt?”
Her possessiveness was almost
drowning him, but he didn’t want to pick a fight with her right now. He had
bigger battles to face.
“No, I don’t care for them
either.” He gently broke free of her stronghold and began the jaunt back toward
the field house.
“But what
about our game?”
Lola
whined behind him as she stumbled through the thicket in an effort to keep up.
“Another
time, Lola.”
He needed to get back to the
house and check out the new girl. Somehow he had a suspicion she was going to
get in the way of his plans, and no one was going to interfere with his plans.
No one.
****
“Oh, Baylor!”
Melba
Markum
squealed with delight as she hugged Baylor
Stivers
tightly. “You just look amazing,
darlin
’!”
“Aunt Mel…” Baylor couldn’t
help but grin at the stout little bundle of woman who was her mother’s sister.
“How long has it been since
we’ve seen you?
Seven or eight years?”
Melba shook her
head in disbelief.
“Something
like
that. It must have been eight years ago at my high school graduation.”
“Duane! Duane!” Melba called
back over her shoulder as she continued to hold both of Baylor’s hands in her
own.
Baylor looked down the short
hallway leading into the family room and could see the glow from a computer
screen.
“Coming,
hon
!”
Duane bellowed.
“He can’t seem to pry his eyes
off that darned computer since we got the Internet in here this year. He’s into
this Twitter thing. Do you know what that is? I don’t understand it. Why would
you want to tell people what you’re doing all day when all you’re doing is
typing on that silly thing?”
Baylor chuckled softly and
grinned when she saw her uncle Duane waddle into the foyer in his boxer shorts
and a T-shirt.
“Well for heaven’s sake, Duane.
Put some clothes on, would
ya
? We have a young lady
in the house.” Melba made a tsk-tsk sound with her tongue.
Duane shrugged and drew Baylor
in for a big hug.
“How are
ya
,
peanut?” His face lit up from ear to ear as he smiled affectionately at her.
“I’m fine, Uncle Duane…tired of
driving but other than that, I’m fine.”
“Good, that’s real good,
sweetheart. I hope you brought your appetite too,
cause
Mel’s been in that kitchen
cookin
’ up a storm all
day.”
“Well I could certainly eat,
but I want to wash up first.” Baylor wasn’t really hungry since she’d had a
fast-food break on the way into town, but she’d never tell Aunt Melba.
“Duane, please put some clothes
on,” Melba reminded him as she good-naturedly popped him with the rolled-up
dish towel she was wringing in her hands.
“Okay…all right…I’m going,”
Duane muttered as he sauntered off in the direction of the family room.
“Baylor, you just run on
upstairs and get freshened up then, sugar. We’ll help you get settled after
supper.”
Aunt Melba disappeared into the
kitchen and Baylor headed for the staircase. She smiled to herself as she took
the stairs two at a time, just as she had done as a kid. She’d spent a couple
of summers out here with her cousin Chris. They’d had so much fun back then.
But Baylor hadn’t spoken to him in years. She felt a little guilty that she’d
come here for help but had totally lost track of their son.
After washing up and taking a
much-needed stretch from her long drive, Baylor found herself at the den’s big
bay window overlooking the ranch. She caught the sun setting and couldn’t help
but appreciate the sight. The red, purple, pink, yellow, and orange was just
amazing as it blended into the blue sky. This was a beautiful place and she was
glad to be here. She took a deep breath and let out a long sigh.
“I just hope I can be happy
again,” Baylor said out loud to herself, and then turned to head toward the
dining room to see if she could help Aunt Mel with supper.
That was when she ran into the
hard, muscled chest of a tall cowboy who was propped against the doorframe to
the den.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Baylor put her
hand over her chest in surprise, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart. “You
scared the daylights out of me.” She attempted a warm smile at the stranger
despite her embarrassment.
He nodded at her but remained
silent as he studied her intently with his deep hazel eyes. Baylor found
herself
gazing into the depths of them and was suddenly at a
loss for words.
A jolt of heat and sexual
awareness surged through her, making her feel both giddy and stupid at the same
time.
Clearing her throat in an
attempt to snap herself out of the trance, Baylor extended her hand. “I’m
Baylor
Stivers
.”
He studied her a moment longer
and then looked down at her proffered hand. Baylor thought he was going to
refuse, but he finally reached out and took her hand firmly in his own.
It seemed weird, but Baylor
could have sworn she felt a tingle go up her arm and down her back. She shook
her head at the feeling and tried another smile at this man. He didn’t really
shake her hand, but only held it in a rigid grasp.
It was warm and she could feel
the rough evidence of hard work against her smooth palm. A flicker of an image
of that hand rolling her taut nipple into
a frenzy
made her blush and pull her hand away.
What has gotten into me?
Before she could humiliate
herself further, Aunt Melba came to the rescue in a flurry of activity,
chattering about dinner being ready.
“Oh good, Baylor, I see you’ve
met Wyatt.”