You want me to carry you? he offered.
She shook her head, though the thought of being held in his arms gave her a shiver of excitement. This is nice. She curled her toes into the dense blades of grass.
He took up a slow pace, along the edge of a narrow brook, in the general direction of a purple lighted pond, leaving the music and laughter behind them. If you resign, what will happen in Chicago?
You mean, what will happen to Active Equipment?
And your other clients.
Theyll be assigned to other lawyers.
Does that worry you?
Id feel guilty, she admitted, switching her sandals to the other hand. But Im not the only lawyer in the world. My firm has many other people who are perfectly capable of servicing my clients.
So, theres nothing unique about you?
She smiled at that. Id like to think there was. Id like to think I was irreplaceable. But that would be a little conceited, right?
His voice was low, sounding almost annoyed. Some people do have to stay where theyre needed.
Do you think Im letting Caleb down?
I wasnt talking about you.
She paused, tilting her head to peer up at him. Who?
He stopped walking, seeming to hesitate for a long moment, as the babble of the brook rose around them, the scent of the flowers sweetened the air. I was talking about me.
Youre leaving Lyndon Valley? She could hardly believe it.
In her mind, Travis was Lyndon Valley. While the Terrells and the other Jacobs siblings might come and go from the ranches, Travis was the stalwart, always there, always available, always taking care of anything and everything.
He shook his head. My point was, I cant leave Lyndon Valley. The ranch needs me.
And you need the ranch. She thought she understood.
Something like that. There was an edge to his voice.
You think Im abandoning the people who count on me.
It was hardly the same situation. Just because shed gone to law school and started in a particular job, didnt mean she had to stay there forever.
If you were abandoning them. If they told you, you were abandoning them. If you knew it would hurt them, would you stay?
Thats a hypothetical situation. Shed like to think shed done some good work for Caleb and the others over the years. But shed hardly cripple anyones business if she moved on.
Hypothetically speaking, and Im not going to hold you to it, if you knew it would hurt them, would you leave anyway?
She searched his expression. What are you getting at, Travis?
He gazed at the lighted trees. Responsibility, I guessthe kind of responsibility that paints a man into a corner and limits his choices.
She stepped forward, still not pinning down where he was going with this. Youre getting very philosophical on me, cowboy.
He gave a self-conscious smile. Just trying to help you make a decision.
You want me to stay in Chicago.
I want you to understand the true details of your options.
A door banged shut on the pavilion, and several voices rose in the garden.
He wouldnt come looking for me, Danielle said, more to herself than to Travis.
Oh, yes, he would. Travis snagged her hand, striding across the sloped grass, tugging her toward a dark corner where theyd be screened from the path.
She had to trot to keep up.
They made their way behind a hedge, beyond the orange glow of the walkway lanterns, to a secluded corner where blue light filtered weakly through the maple leaves. Her mind went back over his words. Hed said it limited a mans choices, not a womans choices, not a persons choices.
He abruptly stopped, and she nearly ran into him.
Your feet okay? he asked, turning.
Travis, do you want to leave the ranch?
No.
She pondered a second longer. But you resent that you cant. Or, wait a minute, you resent that you dont have the choice.
This time he hesitated before answering.
You should tell them, she said.
Tell them what?
That you
That Katrina cant be a ballerina? Travis spoke right over her, annoyance in his tone. That Seth should give up being mayor? That Mandy cant be in Chicago with Caleb? Or that Abigail should force Zach to sell his brewery?
Danielle definitely saw his point. It didnt make it fair, but she understood how he must feel.
Were the fifth generation, he told her.
Thats a lot on your shoulders.
Theyre broad shoulders.
Her gaze strayed. Yes, they are.
You wont say anything to Caleb.
And mess with your self-righteous sense of nobility?
Im not self-righteous.
She gazed up into his eyes. He was taller when her feet were bare. Taller, stronger, magnificent.
You are noble, she whispered, finding herself shifting closer to him.
Im practical.
You operate on instinct, she reminded him, tilting her chin, moistening her lips, wondering if she could possibly be more obvious.
I do, he breathed.
So, instinctively...
His hands bracketed her hips, easing her against him. Instinctively, I want to kiss you.
She smiled.
But Ive had that particular instinct for a long time now, and Im not sure I should trust it.
You should trust it.
His hands moved to her face, cradling it gently in his palms. What about my other instincts?
You have other instincts?
To toss you down on the grass and ravish you in the moonlight.
Want and need instantly cascaded through her, weakening her knees and robbing her of her breath. She wished it didnt sound so tempting. There were a million complicated reasons to keep her distance from Travis, even if her own desires were screaming at her to ignore them.
She came up on her toes to meet him. Lets take it one instinct at a time.
Yes, maam. His lips came down on hers, warm and firm, fueled with purpose and expectation.
One arm went around her waist, the other bracing the back of her head. She dropped her sandals and clung to his shoulders. Then she ran her hands through his hair, pressing her body against his, parting her lips and inviting the sweep of his tongue.
His kiss deepened, and she clung tighter, letting the sweep of arousal and desire flood through her. Leaves clattered above them. A blue glow surrounded them. The grass was cool on her feet, while Traviss hot palm moved its way down her cheek, to her neck, to the bare shoulder revealed by her dress.
Instinctively, I want to kiss you. But Ive had that particular instinct for a long time now, and Im not sure I should trust it.
Danielle smiled. You should trust it.
His hands moved to her face, cradling it gently in his palms. What about my other instincts?
You have other instincts?
To toss you down on the grass and ravish you in the moonlight.
Want and need instantly cascaded through her, robbing her of her breath. She wished it didnt sound so tempting. There were a million complicated reasons to keep her distance from Travis, even if her own desires were screaming at her to ignore them.
She came up on her toes to meet him. Lets take it one instinct at a time.
* * *
The Last Cowboy Standing is part of the Colorado Cattle Barons series from USA TODAY bestselling author Barbara Dunlop!
The Last
Cowboy Standing
Barbara Dunlop
www.millsandboon.co.uk
BARBARA DUNLOP writes romantic stories while curled up in a log cabin in Canadas far north, where bears outnumber people and it snows six months of the year. Fortunately she has a brawny husband and two teenage children to haul firewood and clear the driveway while she sips cocoa and muses about her upcoming chapters. Barbara loves to hear from readers. You can contact her through her website, www.barbaradunlop.com.
To my mother, with love.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Extract
One
Travis Jacobs could do anything for eight seconds. At least, thats what he told himself every time he climbed up the side of a bull chute. Tonights Vegas crowd was loud and enthusiastic, their attention centered on the current rider being bucked around the arena by Devils Draw.
Putting the other cowboys in the competition from his mind, he looked at Esquire below him, checking for any sign of agitation. Then he rolled his cuffs up a couple of turns, pulled his brown Stetson low and tugged a worn, leather glove onto his right hand.
The crowd groaned in sympathy a mere second before the horn sounded, telling Travis that Buckwheat Dawson had come off the bull. Up next, Travis swung his leg over the chute rail and drew a bracing breath. While Karl Schmitty held the rope, he adjusted the rigging and wrapped his hand. Wasting no time, he slid up square on the bull and gave a sharp nod to the gate operator.
The chute opened, and all four of Esquires feet instantly left the ground. The Brahma shot out into the arena then straight up in the air under the bright lights. The crowd roared its pleasure as the black bull twisted left, hind feet reaching high, while Travis leaned back, spurred, his arm up, muscles pumped, fighting for all he was worth to keep himself square on the animals back.
Esquire turned right, twisting beneath Travis, shaking him as if he was a bothersome gnat. Three seconds turned to four. Traviss hand burned against the rope, and his wrist felt like it was about to dislocate. The strain sent a branching iron along his spine, but he also felt completely and totally alive. For a brief space of time, life was reduced to its essence. Nothing mattered but the battle between Travis and the bull.
Esquire made an abrupt left turn, nearly unseating Travis, but he kept his form. His hat flew off into the dust. The blaring music and the roar of the crowd disappeared, obliterated by the pulse of blood pumping past his ears.
The horn sounded just before Esquire made one final leap, unseating Travis, sending him catapulting through the air. Travis summersaulted, grazing the bulls left horn, quickly twisting his body to avoid hitting the ground head-on. His shoulder came down first, with his back taking the brunt of the impact. As the air whooshed out of his lungs, a face in the crowd danced before his eyes.
Danielle? What the heck was Danielle doing in Vegas?
Then Esquires menacing form filled his vision, and he leaped to his feet. Corey Samson, one of the bullfighters, jumped between them, distracting the animal while Travis sprinted to the fence.
Glancing back, he realized Danielle had to be a figment of his imagination. The crowd was nowhere near close enough for him to recognize a particular face. He heaved himself over the top of the fence and jumped to the ground on the other side.
Nice one. Buckwheat clapped him good-naturedly on the back.
Hey, Travis, Corey yelled from inside the arena.
Travis turned to see Corey toss him his hat. He caught the Stetson in midair, and Corey gave him a thumbs-up.
Ninety-one point three, the announcer cried into the sound system.
The crowd roared louder, while lasers and colored spotlights circled the arena, the music coming up once more. Travis was the nights last rider, meaning hed just won ten thousand dollars.
He stuffed his hat on his head and vaulted back over the fence onto the thick dirt, waving to the crowd and accepting the congratulations of the clowns and cowboys.
You have got to go pro, Corey shouted in his ear.
Just blowin off some steam, Travis responded, keeping his grin firmly in place for the spectators, knowing hed be projected onto the Jumbotron.
His older brother, Seth, had recently been married, and hed committed his next three years to working on the Lyndon Valley railway project. Responsibility for the familys Colorado cattle ranch now rested completely on Traviss shoulders. Faced with that looming reality, hed discovered he had a few wild oats left to sow.
You could make a lot of money on the circuit, said Corey.
Travis let himself fantasize for a minute about going on the road as a professional bull rider. The image was tantalizingto be footloose and fancy free, no cattle to tend, no ranch hands, no bills, no responsibilities. Hed ride a couple of times a week, hit the clubs, meet friendly women. There were no bleak, dusty, hick towns on this particular rodeo circuit. It was all bright lights and five-star hotels.
For a moment, he resented the lost opportunity. But he forcibly swallowed his own frustration. If hed wanted to be a bull rider, he should have spoken up before now. While his brother and sisters were all choosing their own life paths, Travis should have said something about leaving the ranch. But it was too late. He was the last Jacobs cowboy, and somebody had to run the place.