Read an excerpt from The Last Rodeo by Delores Fossen
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The most important two words for this Wrangler’s Creek rodeo cowboy? I do…
Lucian Granger isn’t winning any Mr. Cowboy Congeniality awards. Known in his small Texas town as “Lucifer” thanks to his surly nature and knack for scaring people away from getting too close, the handsome rancher has no trouble ignoring the gossip. But when he’s in danger of losing the land he’s put his blood, sweat and tears into maintaining, Lucian sets out to prove he’s a changed man—by claiming he’s about to settle down with his invaluable assistant, Karlee O’Malley.
Their pending nuptials may be just for show, but from the moment they kiss, the proverbial fireworks start going off in his head—and in his heart. Before long, the man who’s usually as emotional as a brick wall is tired of pretending and wants to share a real future with Karlee. With his world suddenly turned upside down, Lucian will risk losing the business and the ranch if it means holding on to the one woman worth becoming a better man for..
Excerpt
Since he didn’t want to continue this dignity-reducing moment any longer, Lucian accepted Dylan’s hand when he extended it to help him get to his feet. But the dignity reduction only continued when the pain did a lightning strike through his shoulder.
Dylan sighed. “You dislocated it again.”
Lucian didn’t like the addition of the laid-back “again,” but then, there wasn’t anything he did like about this, so there was no use getting into specifics.
“Want me to get Miz Jordan for you?” Skeeter called out.
Jordan was not only Dylan’s wife, she was also a nurse, which meant that Lucian must have looked pretty damn bad for Skeeter to even suggest it. Mainly because Skeeter’s long-distance eyesight was so off that it was hard for him to see a barn door, much less Lucian’s grimace. Perhaps, though, Skeeter had heard the string of raw profanity grumbling from Lucian’s teeth-rattled mouth.
“Jordan’s not here,” Dylan informed him. “Want me to drive you to the hospital?”
Lucian would rather have his butt busted once more. “Get Karlee.”
But he soon realized that getting his assistant wasn’t necessary. Lucian spotted his assistant, Karlee O’Malley, walking toward the corral. No moseying speed for her. She was hurrying, and she had her hand cupped over her eyes to block out the glare from the morning sun.
She was no doubt seeing him just fine and piecing together what’d happened.
“Did you dislocate your shoulder again?” she asked. Along with the accelerated speed, she also had some concern in her voice.
Even though Karlee was wearing dressy office clothes—heels, a slim gray skirt and top—she threw open the corral gate and traipsed through the dust and muck to make her way to him. She was frowning when she reached him and immediately started removing his protective vest, and then unbuttoning his shirt. Normally, that wouldn’t have been part of the job description of an assistant, but since Karlee had worked for him for nearly ten years, her list of duties were, well, pretty wide-ranging.
Thankfully, her skill set handled the wide range just fine.
Too bad she thought her talents would be put to better use because two weeks ago she’d given him her thirty days’ notice with the excuse that she wanted to start her own cattle brokerage business. That meant he had two more weeks to try to convince her to stay.
Once she had the buttons undone, Karlee eased off his shirt as quick and efficient as any hot-to-trot lover. She wasn’t his lover though. Never had been, never would be. Because that quick and efficient label didn’t only apply to shirt removal. It was the way Karlee handled everything else. No way would he risk losing her over a soured relationship. And that’s exactly what would happen.
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About Delores Fossen
USA Today bestselling author, Delores Fossen, has sold over 70 novels with millions of copies of her books in print worldwide. She’s received the Booksellers’ Best Award, the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award and was a finalist for the prestigious Rita ®. In addition, she’s had nearly a hundred short stories and articles published in national magazines.
