Cowboy 12 Pack Read online

  “We will,” Cody said. “We’re waiting on—”

  The kitchen door opened with a bang against the wall as a gust of frigid Arkansas December air shot in, depositing a dusting of snow on the linoleum. Hank Brown, the ranch foreman, stomped into the house.

  “Whew,” he said, brushing ice off his felt cowboy hat. “Nasty out there.”

  “What are you doing here, Hank?”

  Hank looked at the three Wade siblings, who stared back at him.

  Brock pulled out a chair, sat, and then filled a plate with bacon, scrambled eggs, and hot biscuits. “I don’t have time for games this morning. It’s crappy outside, and I’ve got a lot to do. So…” He shoved a biscuit loaded with butter and bacon into his mouth and chewed. “Either start talking or I’m gone as soon as I finish eating.”

  Hank got a cup of coffee and then turned a chair around and straddled it.

  Lauren pulled a paper gift sack from under her chair and set it on the table. “Merry Christmas!” A wide smile lit her face. The twinkle in her eyes had all his mental alarms beeping.

  Brock took a swig of his coffee and eyed the Christmas sack, more than a little suspicious about what his siblings were up to.

  “It ain’t Christmas,” he growled. “And you know the rule…no unwrapping presents before December twenty-fifth and, unless I’m mistaken, that’s still a couple of weeks away.”

  “But, Brock. This one can’t wait until then.” Lauren, the youngest and most vocal of the Wade clan, pushed the bag toward him. “Please. Just look inside.” Not only youngest and most vocal, but the one who had him wrapped around her little finger.

  When Brock didn’t immediately reach for the Santa sack, Cody elbowed him. “Pick up the sack. We all know your rules but, for today, be flexible.”

  Brock shrugged. “I’m flexible,” he growled, glaring at Cody, and then spreading his glare across the rest of the family.

  George laughed. “Yeah, about as flexible as a fence post, and you know what happens to those when they fight the wind from a tornado like Lauren.”

  Reaching across the table, Brock tugged the sack toward him. He reached inside and pulled out a piece of notebook paper.

  For all you’ve done for us and all you do for us, we are sending you on a ten-day vacation to the Sand Castle Resort.

  Merry Christmas

  Cody, George, and Lauren

  Accompanying the letter were printed confirmations for a hotel and flight reservations. The flight was scheduled for the day after tomorrow.

  He furrowed his brow. “What’s this?”

  Lauren jumped up, ran around the table, and threw her arms around his neck. “A vacation. Just for you. From us.”

  “Thanks, honey but I don’t have time to go on a vacation. There’s too much work that still has to be done to get the cattle moved up closer to the house, not to mention all the Christmas shopping and decorating that hasn’t been started. I appreciate the thought. Maybe next year but not now. Not this year.”

  “You have to go now,” Lauren cried. “It’s all paid for and everything.” Her bottom lip poked out in a pout as a frown pulled down her eyebrows.

  Brock turned and wrapped his arms around his baby sister. “It’s so sweet you wanted to do this.” He looked at his brothers. “You guys too. But now just isn’t a good time.”

  “Why not?” Cody challenged. “You think we can’t do without you for ten lousy days?”

  “It’s not that,” Brock protested. “It’s—”

  “What? Hell, Brock. Me and George can run this ranch for a couple of weeks.”

  “I know that, Cody. But—”

  Cody stood. “I’m twenty-nine. I’ve been working with you at Ace in the Hole all my life, and you still don’t trust me.”

  “I trust you. It’s just that—”

  George shoved his chair back with a loud scrape. “Is it me that you don’t trust? When you were my age, you’d been raising us all by yourself for three years. What do you have that I don’t? What’s it gonna take before you let Cody and me shoulder some of the ranch responsibilities?”

  His three siblings stood, forming a united front. Anger on Cody’s face. Frustration etched on George’s expression. And Lauren looked about one second away from a flood of tears. Brock let out a long sigh.

  Damn it. He didn’t need a vacation. He didn’t want a vacation. And he certainly didn’t want to go to some resort he’d never heard of on an island he’d never heard of.

  “Fine,” he finally said. “I’ll think about it. We can talk about it tonight at dinner.”

  Lauren flipped her long dark hair over one shoulder. “There’s nothing to talk about. Either you accept our present or I’ll never speak to you again.” She wheeled around and stomped out of the kitchen.

  Brock rubbed at a headache he hadn’t had ten minutes ago. Addressing his brothers he asked, “So, can I expect that both of you will refuse to talk to me too?”

  “Hell no,” Cody said. “But you can expect we might beat the crap out of your ungrateful ass. Lauren has been working on this surprise for at least six months. Doing research on various resorts. Checking flights. Reading reviews. Think about that all day. Then come home and pack your damn bags for a vacation that you will go on and you will enjoy.”

  George crossed his arms. “Ditto.”

  Brock studied Cody. When had his little brother become his own man? And when had George grown up?

  “We’ll talk about it tonight,” Brock growled.

  Cody threw on his heavy coat, a pair of thick gloves and headed out the kitchen door with George right on his boot heels.

  As the Wade family drama had played out, Hank Brown had watched, drank three cups of coffee and added nothing to the conversation.

  Brock refilled his mug and sat again. “You knew about this.” It wasn’t a question as much as an accusation.

  Hank nodded, not cowed at all by Brock being his boss. After all, Hank and his wife had been a part of Ace in the Hole Ranch since before George was born.

  “And yet you did nothing to stop this ridiculous idea?”

  Hank crossed his arms on the table and leaned on them. “Nothing ridiculous about it. They’re right. You need a vacation.”

  “Bullshit. I need to be here to make sure the ranch doesn’t fail. I have to make sure they have a home. I have bills to pay. Obligations. You know that.”

  “What I know is that fourteen years ago your parents died and you had to grow up really fast. I know that you haven’t left your brothers or sister for even a day since. I know that you gave up college, a dating life, and all of your twenties to make sure those kids had clothes, food, and a roof over their heads. You haven’t had a girlfriend in so long that Lauren actually wondered if you were gay.”

  “She did not,” Brock said with a chuckle, but that quickly faded when Hank didn’t laugh along.

  “Yeah, she did. Course I told her she watched too much television, but then I realized that she probably hadn’t ever seen you go on what you call dates and what I call bar hook-ups.”

  Brock flinched. “Doesn’t matter. I’ll get away one day. Lauren will graduate from high school this year and then—”

  “And then you’ll find some other reason why you can’t leave.” Hank reached out and squeezed Brock’s shoulder. “The Missus and I talked about this and we agree with the kids. Cody is old enough to have more responsibilities around here than you give him. George too. Lauren is maturing so fast now that it won’t be long before she’ll be wanting to be more involved. You have to let them grow up. You can’t keep doing everything for them.”

  Brock scraped his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know, Hank. A vacation? In the Caribbean?”

  Hank laughed. “You make it sound like you’re being sent to Alcatraz.” He grew serious. “You’ll break their hearts if you don’t go. They want to do something for you. Look at it this way, they’re telling you how much they appreciate all you’ve done to keep this family toget
her. Don’t take that away from them.”

  Hank stood and slapped his hat back on. “It’s your decision, of course. But I have to warn you. I might have to join the boys in kicking your ass if you don’t go.” He slipped his thick coat back on. “I’ll see you at the barn.”

  When Brock finally had the kitchen to himself, he pulled the papers back out. A vacation. Damnedest thing. Other than a regional rodeo or stock sale, he had never been on anything like a vacation.

  He shook his head. Wearing shorts in December. Didn’t seem natural to him.

  Well, damn. It wasn’t as if he had any choice. He was going on a vacation he didn’t want to a place he’d never heard of whether he wanted to go or not.

  Chapter Three

  ‡

  TWO DAYS LATER, Natalie found a seat at gate C1 at Memphis International Airport, a coffee in one hand and her digital reader in the other. However, as a diehard people-watcher, it was almost impossible to read when there were so many fascinating people in the area. Such as the knockout blonde dressed in a pair of painted-on white shorts and Christmas shirt with reindeer buttons straining to stay in their holes. Natalie covertly studied the… um… colorful shirt. It was either filled with store-bought breasts or the woman was smuggling a couple of bowling balls. That must be some strong thread holding those buttons on.

  The woman’s blonde hair lay in waves along her shoulder blades. Her face…well, her face could have been on the cover of Cosmopolitan or Elle. Beautiful. Tan. Make-up perfect. Eyelashes dark and curled. Lips red and full. Natalie decided on the spot she’d never stand next to this woman. Beside her, she’d look like a scrub pine in the middle of a forest of blooming dogwoods.

  The could-have-been-a-model woman was sitting next to a short, stubby man with straight black hair tied with a brown leather band at the nape of his neck. He wore blue denim shorts and a yellow polo. His brown sandals looked cushy and comfortable and battered from extensive wear. He wasn’t what Natalie would call handsome, but his face had interesting angles and curves. The entire time he was talking with Ms. Blonde-Ample-Breasts his stare never reached above her collarbone. She didn’t seem to notice or care where his gaze landed and laughed at everything he said.

  Natalie had just forced her eyes off the odd couple and onto her reader when a pair of scuffed cowboy boots passed within her eyesight. Her gaze walked its way up a pair of faded jeans over muscular thighs to a tight ass. It was only as he walked into the men’s restroom that she realized she’d twisted in her seat to keep admiring his backside. The old saying ‘save a horse, ride a cowboy’ flashed into her mind. It’d been years since she’d ridden a horse, never mind a cowboy. Wouldn’t it be nice to find someone like him at the Sand Castle Resort?

  The gate attendant announced boarding for first class passengers, passengers traveling with small children, and anyone needing a little extra time in boarding. Natalie glanced around the gate area, disappointed she hadn’t seen that hunky cowboy again. She could have all the blues and jazz musicians she wanted in Memphis. A cowboy? Not so much. Oh well. Such is life. Natalie collected her belongings and boarded with the other first-class passengers.

  Traveling on her parents’ nickel was nice, to say the least. The only kind of airline ticket her mother knew how to buy was first class, something Natalie would never have sprung for on her own. Being in first class certainly had its pros and cons, however.

  Pro…early boarding. Con…other passengers looking at you as they passed.

  Pro…alcohol available before departing. Con…the dadgum other passengers looking longingly at your drink.

  But then the biggest pro of all walked onto the plane. Pro…seeing the hunky cowboy from the concourse walking past as he found his seat farther back in the plane. There was no con to that one.

  Of course, him being on the same flight did not mean they were headed to the same final destination, since they stopped in San Juan. She had to change planes, and she bet many of the other passengers were also catching connecting flights, but a girl could dream.

  She lost track of her hunky cowboy in the Puerto Rico airport. The layover between flights was only thirty minutes, just enough time to hit the ladies’ room. The flight was loading when she finally found the right gate. She raced onto the plane and dropped into her assigned seat, 1A. The small prop plane was full at twenty passengers, and she didn’t expect to know anyone else on there. She was wrong.

  She did recognize someone. The woman wearing the button-busting Christmas shirt was seated next to her. As soon as the plane was airborne, the woman turned to her.

  “Hi. I’m Amanda Cummings. Everybody calls me Mandy.”

  “Natalie Diamond.”

  “Nice to meet you. Have you been to Sand Castle before?”

  Natalie shook her head. “No. Never heard of it until my parents gave me this trip.”

  “You’re going to love it. I noticed you sitting alone at the airport. You meeting someone there?”

  Natalie shook her head again.

  Mandy laughed quietly. “I am and is he going to be surprised.”

  “He doesn’t know you’re on the way?”

  “Nope. But he’ll be thrilled.”

  “For some reason, I guess I thought you were with the man you were talking to in Memphis.”

  “Oh, you mean Jeff? Nah. Just someone to chat with while I waited.”

  “So tell me more about the resort. What I just have to do or see while I’m there.”

  For the remainder of the thirty-minute flight, Mandy clued Natalie in on the places to find the hottest guys, the best mixed drinks and freshest salads. It was, Mandy assured her, the perfect place to find romance.

  While Natalie nodded in the appropriate places, her plan was to soak up some rays, get some badly needed rest, and go home ready for the tax season. Now was not the right time to start a new romance.

  Now might not be the right time for a relationship, but it was the right time to leave rigid, boring Accountant Natalie in Memphis and let the fun, anything-goes Natalie out to play.

  She wouldn’t know a soul at the resort, and she’d bet a million bucks she’d never see any of these people again. Go and have fun, she told herself. Flirt. Drink. And if she saw a good looking guy who really hit her hot button, then she’d let her libido lead the way.

  Even as she had the thought, the memory of that tight-assed cowboy crossed her mind. Now, that was what she was talking about. Too bad she hadn’t seen him board this plane.

  Yep. She was letting Fun Natalie out to play. Heaven knows she hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Fun Natalie since college.

  The plane landed with a smooth bump. Natalie followed Mandy down the stairs, since the woman appeared to be familiar with the routine. After collecting her checked bag from the plane’s belly, she hopped into the back seat of an electric car that’d been built to look like a stretch Hummer. The car could carry six passengers, including the driver.

  From his sun-kissed blond hair and vibrant jade-green eyes to his toned tanned body, their driver had heartbreaker written all over him. His khaki shorts rode tight across thighs thick with muscle. His green polo shirt, embroidered with Sand Castle Resort and a picture of a castle, was snug enough to hint at the six-pack Natalie was sure was beneath. Pinned on the right shoulder was a nametag announcing he was “Thomas.”

  Natalie would have bet her retirement account that Thomas had a black book of women’s names and phone numbers as thick as his flexing biceps.

  “Welcome to the Sand Castle Resort,” Thomas said, his bright-white smile lighting up his face. “I see some familiar faces and some new ones.” He winked at a couple of girls in their early twenties. “Don’t hesitate to find me if you have any questions or need something while you’re here.”

  The girls giggled and nudged each other. Natalie chuckled, thinking of all the needs those two might have for Thomas.

  As they headed out on a sand and shell path, the harsh sun rays were filtered through the swaying le
aves of mature palm trees. Light dabbled the thick growth on either side of the car. Natalie surreptitiously studied the other guests on her car and was disappointed when she realized most of them were female. There was one guy on their tram, but he was snuggled up to the woman beside him. Everything about them screamed honeymooners.

  Natalie settled back to enjoy the breathtaking scenery. After a ten-minute ride, the electric car pulled to a stop in front of a plaza that showcased a large three-tiered water fountain. Around the edges of the fountain were all variety of blooming flowers and green ferns that swayed in the salty ocean breeze. Across the plaza stood the Sand Castle Resort. Buff-colored, with towers and a rounded roof, the building left the impression it had risen from the sand on which it sat. To enter the castle, visitors had to walk across a drawbridge.

  When Natalie turned to exit the car, Thomas was there, holding out his hand to assist her. She smiled and let him help her exit gracefully.

  “Impressive,” she said, barely able to take her eyes off the building, which was saying something considering her hunky company.

  “That it is,” he agreed. “I don’t believe you’ve visited the Sand Castle before, have you?”

  She turned back to him and tilted her head. “It is my first time. Do I have that much of a rube look?”

  He chuckled. “No, but I never forget a beautiful woman. I would remember you.”

  Flattered, but not buying the line she was sure had been used more than once, she glanced at the castle and back to him. “Have you been here long?”

  He shrugged. “About seven years. The resort was still new when I started.” His bright-white smile was blinding as he added, “I’ll be happy to show you around or answer any questions.”

  Noticing that the other passengers were headed through the door into the lobby, and she was the last passenger still standing, she returned his smile. “Thanks for the offer. You never know when I might have a, um, question that needs attention.”

  He laughed and handed her a card with his phone number. “Call me if I can do anything for you.”