Her Cowboy Hero: Rodeo Knights, A Western Romance Novel (Cowboys of Ransom Creek) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Description

  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

  More Books in the Rodeo Knights Series

  More Books by Debra Clopton

  About the Author

  Copyright

  HER COWBOY HERO

  Cowboys of Ransom Creek Prequel

  DEBRA CLOPTON

  Follow Debra on Twitter

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  www.debraclopton.com

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  Her Cowboy Hero:

  Rodeo bronc supplier Lori Calhoun has struggled to live up to expectations after her father’s sudden death. When a trailer load of her star broncs disappear, the Knight Agency steps in to investigate.

  Foreman of the Calhoun Ranch, Trip Jensen has watched Lori struggle to keep up with the demands of the ranch and the rodeo stock. He’s always admired her and loved her—but he’s kept that to himself. She was the boss’s daughter and is now the boss…off-limits for a cowboy like him. When more stock begins to disappear from the ranch, they must work together to solve the mystery. Unable to know who on the ranch to trust Trip enlist the Presley brothers from the neighboring ranch to back him up.

  Lori has always admired Trip but he made it clear years ago that he wasn't interested in her as more than a friend. Now, he sticking close and she’s finding it hard to concentrate on the danger and not the man.

  Can love blossom between them before time runs out?

  Chapter One

  “The horses and the trailer are gone.”

  What? Lori Calhoun stared at Trip Jensen, her foreman at the Calhoun Ranch and also her partner in the rough stock rodeo contracting business—thanks to her father.

  The pit of her stomach knotted as she saw the solemn look in Trip’s eyes.

  “All five of them?” she asked, fighting the shock of finding out their prized saddle broncs had been stolen.

  Trip shifted his weight from one boot to the other. His handsome features twisted with disgust and fury as he squinted at her from beneath the straw Stetson shading his light blue eyes. “Yep. They’re gone. But we will find them. Harvey and Mike said they loaded the horses on the trailer before they connected it to the truck. Don’t ask me why they did that. Then they went to get the truck—which was for some reason still on the other side of the arena. When they got back the trailer loaded with our horses had disappeared.”

  She blinked through frustrations strangling her. “That doesn’t even sound right. What was Harvey thinking?”

  “I don’t know,” Trip bit out, showing his frustration. “I have no reason to believe that he or Mike had anything to do with the theft—other than lack of good judgement, but believe me, I’m looking into it.”

  Her stomach churned. Those were her champion rodeo Broncs and the mainstay of the rough stock business. Those horses were heading to the Western Rodeo Circuit Finals if they kept preforming like they were this year. They were the cornerstone of the business but she didn’t need to tell Trip that. Like her, he had a stake in this business and understood all too well how important it was for their horses to be in the finals this year. So much had happened this year, her father had died in a tragic horse accident which that alone still held her in the grips of grief. But on top of that, everyone would be watching to see if she and Trip could continue with the tradition of Calhoun stock in the WRC finals that had begun from the first year her daddy had formed the stock contracting business. Trip had bought half the company only three months before Ray Calhoun’s horse threw him and he hit his head and died and left her to take the reins of the ranch and the other half of the stock company. And Lori was struggling.

  Add to that her mounting frustration at being forced, by her dad, to work with Trip.

  Those frustrations had been mounting for the last five months, threatening to explode and now this…she swung around to stare out the window. Fighting anger and insecurities she slammed her fists to her hips and studied the barns and arenas across the wide yard and gravel parking area. This was the ranch her daddy had built. The ranch that now rested on her shoulders and she felt in every way that she was not living up to expectations.

  “Daddy would’ve been furious right now,” she said.

  He’d been dead only five months and she felt like she was in over her head. He would be rolling over his grave right now if he knew that on her watch she’d lost such a legacy.

  “It’s not your fault, Lori. It’s not mine either. Someone did this and we’re going to find out who. It’s that simple. Your dad wouldn’t be mad at you. Them—yes. No doubt about that.”

  She spun back to glare at Trip. “This happened on my watch—and so did that trailer load of steers that someone just drove off the property with last week.”

  “Lori Lyn Calhoun I’m warning you to stop blaming yourself. You didn’t lose those broncs or that load of steers. It’s only a matter of time before we catch them. Those rangers will get a lead on them. As for the load of horses, Harvey and Mike lost them on my watch. And I plan to find them.”

  “Our watch,” she snapped, stubbornly. “Do you think Harvey and Mike are guilty?”

  “Of carelessness. But until I get better answers as to why they loaded that trailer and then left it unattended with our prized stock in it, I’m not going to be easy to live with. And they won’t be careless like that again.”

  She took a deep breath and tried to hold onto her show of strength but the façade was growing thin. Since her dad’s death she felt so alone. Her mother had turned her back on her when she was a baby and it had just been her and her dad. And then, there was Trip…she pushed away the overpowering wish to feel his strong arms around her. Once things had been so easy between them. Once that would have been an option.

  But it hadn’t been for a very long time. “So, what do we do now?” she asked instead of gaining strength from him.

  “I’ve called the cops and reported it. I’ve also called the Knight Investigation Agency—since they know the rodeo and investigate incidents for the WRC they may be able to find out more than the police, who basically asked Harvey and Mike a couple of questions and said they’d be in touch if they hear anything. Since this was a WRC sanctioned rodeo the Knights have taken the lead.”

  “That’s good to know. I’ve met all three brothers, Jesse, Sean and Michael. They’re great. And their dad and mine competed against each other in their younger years in the rodeo.”

  “I think they’ll get to the bottom of it.”

  She bit her lip. “This will be a first that the Calhoun Ranch or the stock company has ever been in the middle of a rodeo investigation.”

  She didn’t think that was a fluke. No, her dad, Ray Calhoun, had been one tough cowboy. He’d built this ranch and the rough stock business from the ground up and he was as tough as the bucking horses they bred. Her daddy was a hard businessman, a hard rider and a harder man when it came to being crossed.

  “There’s a first for everything,” Trip said. “But that doesn’t mean we have to like it or take it.”

  “Right,”
she grunted. “I’m pretty certain nobody messed with Daddy simply because of who he was.” But she wasn’t her daddy. She was just his daughter trying hard to step into his boots and knowing no one could ever replace him. She fought off the sudden need to cry and wished she still had her back to Trip.

  “You’re doing a good job, Lori,” he said and took a step toward her but stopped. “Your dad would be proud of you for sticking around and stepping in for him.”

  For a brief moment it felt like it once had, when things were easy between them…before everything had gotten so complicated.

  She sighed. “I’m trying. But this isn’t helping.” She wanted desperately to live up to the expectation of her dad…her daddy. He deserved only the best she could give because that was what he’d always given to her.

  When Lori was two her mother ran off with another man and hadn’t wanted anything to do with Lori or her dad. He had tried to love her enough for himself and her runaway mother and that had meant he’d spoiled her in many ways but he’d raised her to be independent too. And when eventually she’d chosen to take a job in Houston instead of staying here and running the ranch with him, he’d given her his blessing. She’d been in Houston when she’d gotten the call that he was dead.

  Devastated had been too small a word for what she’d felt. What she still felt.

  She still carried the wound that she’d not been here on the ranch where she belonged when he’d had his accident. She didn’t think she would ever get over that.

  And now this.

  She focused on Trip, standing solid and strong as he waited for her to speak. For only a moment she wished again that she could rest her head on his shoulder and feel the support of his arms around her…but she pushed that thought out of her mind. This was not the time for regrets or a show of weakness. Instead, she pushed her shoulders back and yanked her big girl pants up tight—she was Ray Calhoun’s daughter. “What did the Knights say? Fill me in and let’s get on this. I do not plan to stand by and let vultures start pecking off bits and pieces of my daddy’s legacy.”

  Trip smiled. “Well, hello, Lori Calhoun. Where the dickens have you been lately?”

  Her heart clenched. “Having a pity party. And I just realized my daddy raised me better than that.”

  She thought she saw approval in Trip’s gaze. “The police said they’ll call if they hear anything. They’re on the lookout for the trailer, though I’m not holding out any hope since whoever did this probably changed the plates. If not, then I figure the trailer will be found abandoned somewhere empty. As for the Knights, Sean Knight was at the rodeo in case a veterinarian was needed since that’s his job. He’d already left the grounds but is hanging around the area and not flying home since the next WRC rodeo is in Fort Worth at the Stockyards next week. So he’s supposed to meet me at the arena in Mesquite at three.”

  “Great. I’ll join you, then,” she said, glancing at her watch. “When are we leaving?”

  “It’s a two hour drive from Ransom Springs to the arena so how about right after lunch?”

  “Perfect. I’ll meet you at the truck at one.”

  “Sounds good. I better go to my office and get a few things done,” he said, then without another word headed out the door of her daddy’s office. Her office.

  Unable to stop herself she moved to the window and watched him move with purposeful strides across the yard toward the stables that also housed the ranch manager’s office—his office.

  A decade old longing seeped over her. Their relationship was complicated. And she’d learned to live with things the way they were years ago after he’d headed off to college and left her behind. Thought she might one day get over him…

  And then her daddy had hired him on as manager and gone into business with him.

  And then he’d complicated things more by dying and leaving her here to sort things out.

  Complicated…her life in a nutshell.

  It took everything Trip had in him to walk out of that house without pulling Lori into his arms and try to comfort her. She was being too hard on herself, having lost her dad and then stepping into the ownership of the ranch and the rodeo stock company. She had a lot on her shoulders and trying to live up to the expectations of her father or others expectations was not making things any easier. And then dealing with him as ranch manager…things had been strained between them ever since she’d come home from Houston to deal with the ranch’s needs after Ray’s death.

  She had a life in Houston and he wasn’t certain if she planned to go back to that life when things were sorted out here or if she planned to stay.

  One thing he knew, his time was running out to bridge this canyon between them. And the horses being stolen wasn’t helping anything. It was just adding more burden on her already loaded down shoulders.

  He hurt for her…it was hard knowing his being here was adding more strain on her. At least he thought it was. It was hard on him. But he was determined to somehow make things right between them.

  Chapter Two

  Sean Knight showed up at the Mesquite arena on time. Lori and Trip had made the two hour drive and arrived just before him.

  Despite all that they had going on, she found that inside the close quarters of the truck that awkwardness that had been between them since she’d taken over the ranch intensified. The close quarters seemed to draw in on her and she was so aware of him as a man that it was very nearly overwhelming.

  She’d managed to keep up a stilted conversation about ranch business and how best to cope with the loss of the missing horses. The man smelled entirely too good but she managed not to sigh or inhale in desperate gulps…unrequited love was the pits. Pure and simple it was torture. She’d kept her end of the conversation flowing but no matter how hard she tried, their unfinished business from high school hung in the air between them like an elephant clinging to a tight rope.

  They’d been the best of friends growing up…then they’d matured. The fact that she’d wanted more than friendship from him…aka a life with him, and he hadn’t wanted the same thing, had been hard to get over. But she had.

  And then her dad had thrown them together again.

  When they reached the Mesquite rodeo arena she almost threw herself out of the truck in her desperation to get away. She’d never been so thankful to be out of the close confines of the truck in all of her life. Trip smelled too good, his voice sounded too good—and none of that kind of thinking was good for her.

  No, those kind of thoughts would do nothing but cause her misery and right now, with her dad’s loss she had enough of that to deal with.

  Sean Knight was waiting for them. Sean held out his hand to Trip and they shook, then his sympathetic gaze touched her. “We were all sorry to hear about your dad. He was a good man.”

  “Thank you. It’s still so hard to believe but I’m doing okay. I was blessed to have him in my life. But you know how that is. My dad always liked your dad. He would be so proud of all of you.”

  “Thanks. Now lets take a look around. These horses disappearing like this from the rodeo is pretty bold.”

  “Tell me about it,” Trip agreed. “Who would just hook up to someone else’s trailer and drive off. I guess it being dark helped.”

  “Probably so. And it was busy so maybe no one would have paid attention but then again, maybe someone did. We’ll see what we can dig up by asking around. Can you tell me what you know?”

  Trip filled him in about Harvey and Mike and everything they knew so far. She followed them to the spot where the trailer had last been sitting. The area was dirt with various tracks all around including the markings of where their trailer had been parked. But all around there were very near identical markings from where all the other trailers from the rodeo had set. It looked impossible.

  “I don’t see how looking around here is going to help find my…our horses,” she said, amending the statement with a glance at Trip. She was still adjusting her thought process to their being partners on the
rough stock.

  Both men glanced up from where they were studying the ground and she suddenly hated that she had voiced her negative thoughts. But there were so many tracks and boots in this area.

  She kept her gaze off of Trip and focused on Sean.

  He gave her a reassuring smile. “I get where you’re coming from, Lori. But we need to start here. It just happened last night and it was nice that we had a short drizzle during the day yesterday so that we have all these tracks today. These tire tracks here aren’t from your truck since it wasn’t hooked up to the trailer. So these have to be of the truck that took your horses. That’s a good thing. And despite all this foot traffic all these boot prints are good.” He moved to a cluster of boot tracks. “This is where the trailer hitch was. Whoever stood here was hooking the truck and trailer. It’s a jumble but we might be able to get something usable from them.” He pulled his phone out and started snapping pictures.

  Trip went to stand beside Sean and she was left feeling like a negative ninny.

  “There were at least two different men standing here,” Trip said.

  “Exactly,” Sean agreed. They could be the thieves. That is a distinctive marking of the boot heel. Notice how the back of the heel is heavily worn on the outer edge.”

  She moved to look. “Oh, I see what you’re saying.”

  For the first time since Trip had told her the news that her top ranked horses were stolen she felt a glimmer of hope. “I’m sorry about being negative.”

  Sean looked sympathetic. “I get it. Cimarron Trouble is one of the best broncs on the circuit and the other four are right up there too. This has to be an upsetting situation for you. The WRC has had its fair share of bad luck this season but we’ll help out any way we can to get your horses back.”

  Her gaze shifted to Trip. He gave her a small smile, his lip curving upward on one side and causing an unwanted flutter in her chest.