12-Alarm Cowboys (47 page)

Georgie looked over her shoulder. “That was beautiful.”

“Wait. I have to say more. I am so sorry for all the stupid things I said. I know you would never be unfaithful. Now, my brother…?”

She chuckled. “Nothing happened.”

“I know. I think I knew it when I calmed down but by then, my foot was so far down my throat I was choking on it. Can you forgive me?”

“It might take me a long time.”

“Like the rest of your life?”

“Yeah. That would be a start.”

He turned her around so they were facing each other and dropped to one knee. “I love you, Georgina. I want to spend the rest of my life spoiling you. Will you marry me?”

Looking down, Georgina knew her future was bright.

“You drive me crazy, Tanner Marshall.”

He grinned. “Is that a yes?”

She smiled. “That’s a yes. I’ll marry you.”

He stood and enfolded her in his arms for a kiss.

“Hold on,” the pilot said. “We’re landing and it’s a little rougher than the take off.”

Georgie settled into Tanner’s protective embrace as the pilot released the hot air and they slowly began to fall back down to earth. She was enough of a realist to know sometimes life would toss them a rough landing every now and then, but with Tanner as her co-pilot, she was ready to hit the ground running. Their life together was going to be an adventure, and she couldn’t wait for it to begin.

The End

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Cynthia D’Alba was born and raised in a small Arkansas town. After being gone for a number of years, she’s thrilled to be making her home back in Arkansas living in a vine-covered cottage on the banks of an eight-thousand acre lake. When she’s not reading or writing or plotting, she’s doorman for her two dogs, cook, housekeeper and chief bottle washer for her husband and slave to a noisy, messy parrot. She loves to chat online with friends and fans.

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Texas Two Step: The Prequel

Texas Two Step, Book One, Texas Montgomery Mavericks

Texas Tango, Book Two, Texas Montgomery Mavericks

Texas Fandango, Book Three, Texas Montgomery Mavericks

Texas Twist, Book Four, Texas Montgomery Mavericks

Texas Bossa Nova, Book Five, Texas Montgomery Mavericks

Coming November 2015 – Texas Hustle, Book Six, Texas Montgomery Mavericks

Coming Springs 2016, Texas Lullaby, Book Seven, Texas Montgomery Mavericks

Look for short stories by Cynthia D’Alba in these collections:

Cowboy 12-Pack

Cowboy Heat

Smokin’ Hot Firemen

The Mammoth Book of ER Romances

A Cowboys on the Edge story

Delilah Devlin

‡

A
Cowboys on the Edge
story

Copyright © 2015 by Delilah Devlin

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author.

For information contact Delilah Devlin at
www.DelilahDevlin.com

Cover design by Kim Killion

Excerpt of
Dangerous Liaison,
Copyright © 2014 by Delilah Devlin

One high school prank gone wrong shouldn’t define the rest of Carly Lohan’s life. But setting fire to Caldera Canyon isn’t something townsfolk will ever forget. As the last part of her final act of restitution, she’s among the group of volunteers assigned to keep a prescribed burn of underbrush and grass from “running over the rim” into the ranches ringing the park.

Local rancher and volunteer firefighter Jeremiah McCord doesn’t trust the reformed firebug anywhere near the canyon’s controlled burn. Determined to keep her on a short rein, he’s everywhere she is, watching her. His distrust and determination sparks a plan for some sexy revenge—one that will get them both too close to the flames.

Thanks go to my daughter, Kelly, who may not read me often (she’d rather not know how kinky her mama is), but who gives me love, shares her girls and her life with me, and can’t stand to live farther than across the road. I may never be able to snip those apron strings, but we kind of like it that way. Love you, Kell!

‡

C
aldera, Texas had
been aptly named by its founders. Although technically late winter, the air was unseasonably warm—hot as witch’s cauldron, and the town just as cursed.

Or, at least the place was so far as Carly Lohan was concerned.

Carly closed her car door and drew a deep breath, thinking she’d as soon have a root canal as walk into the midst of the people gathering inside the community center. All gazes would turn her way. They’d nudge their friends, and the ugly whispers would begin.

She might as well have had a big “A” branded on her forehead, but not for adultery like Hester Prynne—her crime was far worse. Arson wasn’t something folks around here would ever forgive.

Not that she thought of herself as an arsonist. However, a charge like that, even against a minor, clung like skunk spray. Which was why she’d headed to college as soon as she’d graduated high school and now lived a town away. Tonight, she had to face Calderans one last time.

Gripping her purse like it was a shield, she strode toward the door. Before she even reached the steps, she heard a whistle sound from behind her.

“Well, would you lookie there. If it ain’t Carly Lohan. Long time, no see.”

If she were ninety, she would have recognized Tater Johnson’s nasal twang. He’d taunted from her first day in kindergarten and had been the biggest thorn in her side all throughout school. The fact she was here today was partly because of him. She forced a smile and turned. “Good to see you, Tater.”

He smoked a cigarette while sitting on the edge of his truck bed. “Burn up any canyons lately?” he drawled.

Wow. He didn’t even take a second to work up to that.
Carly stopped the automatic wince before he could see it. The last thing she should do was rise to a single one of his taunts. “Not lately. You going to the meeting?” she asked, tilting her head toward the open doors.

“Course.” He tipped back his cowboy hat and gave her a narrowed stare. “Keepin’ Caldera Canyon safe is important to me—which is why I’m wonderin’ what the hell you’re doin’ here.”

Carly felt her face heat. Before she could think of a more mature reply, she shot him the bird and turned on her heel. Good Lord, she’d only been back for five minutes and was already reverting to her old ways.

His grating chuckles followed her inside the large hall. The instant satisfaction she’d felt at giving the rude gesture faded as she entered and searched the rows of metal folding chairs. All seats were taken—of course, except for a couple right in front of the speakers’ table.
Shit.

She didn’t have a choice. She’d be sitting across from the current sheriff of Caldera County. Her gaze snagged on the man sitting beside him, Jeremiah McCord, and her stomach sank at the glare he leveled.
Shit-shit-shit.

Only to herself would she admit the man intimidated her. He was a large man—well over six feet and broad. And he was handsome when his features weren’t set into grim lines as they were now.

“Let’s call this meeting to order,” a man dressed in a park ranger’s uniform said. “We’re all here to talk about the prescribed burn we’re implementing inside the park four days from now.”

She turned her attention to the speaker. At least,
he
wasn’t staring at her. She didn’t know him, so she kept her gaze glued to the ranger as he started the slide show.

Pictures of happy campers sitting around campfires flashed on the screen, followed by more photos of the rugged bluffs surrounding the park. “Our goal, come Monday morning, will be to burn brush and dried vegetation from the canyon floor, while keeping the fire under control and halting it before the blaze runs the rim of the canyon, endangering local ranches. We won’t touch the areas around the campgrounds or the park service buildings. Those have been kept clear of excess brush by camp personnel. We’re focusing our efforts on the areas north of the campgrounds, through the upper canyon, toward the north rim of the park.”

The next picture was of a jackrabbit hiding in the brush. “A prescribed burn is good for the canyon’s plants and trees, and for its wildlife. By removing underbrush and new seedlings, we give the forest a chance to grow and deprive wildfires of fuel.”

The next photo was of rows of volunteers digging firebreaks, with flames licking across dry grass. The flames blazed orange, yellow, purple—so pretty—she couldn’t stop herself from startling when the slide changed to a photograph of those same volunteers, covered in soot, but smiling as they stood in front of a scorched patch of earth, trees with their bark only slightly singed.

“This is the outcome we want. A safe burn. A way to renew the earth and prevent uncontrolled blazes in the future…”

Carly drew a deep breath, and then made the mistake of again looking at Jeremiah. His gaze bored into her, cold and hard. Had he seen how the picture of the fire held her mesmerized? Her stomach tightened, and she felt a little sick.

Keeping her expression neutral, she returned his stare. She wasn’t that same reckless girl. She’d done her penance, and then some. Performing this last act of restitution would expunge her juvenile record, and she could function without worrying someone would discover her past mistake. She could submit a job application without her hand shaking, because she feared a background check would reveal her crime. And maybe she could finally make use of her teaching degree.