Her Secret Ranger - Donna Michaels

Table of Contents
Dedication
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
Chapter Fifteen
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Find love in unexpected places with these
satisfying Lovestruck reads…
A Shot with You
For Seven Nights Only
Unexpectedly His
Best Man for Hire
Discover The Men of At Ease Ranch series…
In a Ranger’s Arms
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places,
and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or
are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events,
locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2017 by Donna Michaels. All rights reserved,
including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in
any form or by any means. For information regarding
subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher.
Entangled Publishing, LLC
2614 South Timberline Road
Suite 109
Fort Collins, CO 80525
Visit our website at www.entangledpublishing.com.
Lovestruck is an imprint of Entangled Publishing, LLC.
Edited by Heather Howland
Cover design by Heather Howland
Cover art from iStock
ISBN 978-1-63375-907-7
Manufactured in the United States of America
First Edition March 2017
To Heather, Lisa, Christine, and chocolate—my
fuel of choice
Chapter One
It wasn’t every day Elizabeth Brannigan ate lunch
amidst a backdrop of handsome cowboys. Unless
you counted her “Hot Cowboy of the Month” office
calendar.
This was so much better.
She followed her friend through the sexy scenery
ambling about the Braxton fairgrounds in a flurry
of Stetsons and tight-fitting Wranglers to a shaded
area just left of the entrance where a picnic table
nestled under a big oak tree. Most afternoons she
polished off a salad as she multitasked behind her
desk at Chadwick Events in Austin. For nearly two
years the same scenario had played out—Beth did
the legwork and her boss, Georgina, jumped in at
the last minute to smile, schmooze with the clients,
and take the credit.
Not today.
Nope. Today Beth was in charge—of the
Stafford wedding, at least—and was having lunch
with the bride-to-be. Georgina’s emergency
appendectomy ten days ago required weeks of
recovery, which left Beth heading to central Texas
to oversee the wedding of her childhood friend,
Rachel, to one of the mayor’s sons.
A wedding that had just been bumped up nearly
four months.
It’s not like her friend had had much choice. Her
fiancé’s dad had decided to run for mayor again in
the fall, and the summer was shot with Jake
lecturing at several medical conferences.
A last-second spring wedding, it is.
“How long will your boss be out?” Rachel
asked. Her friend was the reason Chadwick Events
had landed the mayor’s account in the first place.
The account was not only personal—Beth was in
the wedding, too—it was a chance to prove she
could handle an event on her own.
“The doctor said four to six weeks,” she replied.
“Georgina is already climbing the walls, and it’s
only been ten days.” If the two phone calls she
received a day were any indication.
“Are you staying longer this time?”
Two weeks ago, before her boss’s surgery, Beth
had stopped in to touch base, then headed back
home to tie up a few things at work. “Yep. I’m here
until after your wedding.”
“The whole twelve days? That’s great!” Rachel
beamed. “Why don’t you stay with me? My
relatives aren’t going to start arriving until next
week. And when they do, we can double up.”
As much as Beth liked spending time with her
friend, she didn’t want to play third wheel. Just
because Rachel’s fiancé had temporarily moved
out until after the wedding didn’t mean the guy
stayed away. Hearing the couple getting busy
wasn’t her idea of a great time. “That’s sweet of
you to offer, but I’m fine at the hotel.”
“I just hate to see you pay for it when I have two
spare bedrooms.”
“It’s okay. The company will cover the bill,” she
reassured, then deliberately took a bite of her
quesadilla in hopes of putting that subject to rest.
Frugal was practically Beth’s middle name.
She’d missed many middle school and high school
events in order to help her mother save money after
her father had died. Her friend knew about all of it
and, thankfully, let the subject drop.
Rachel waved a plastic fork at her. “If you
change your mind, you know where I live. It’ll be
like old times.”
Old times weren’t exactly something Beth
wanted to relive. Left with a young daughter and
son, and a horse ranch already in arears, her
mother had packed them up and moved them in
with their grandmother in Austin. Next door to
Rachel. While her mother had worked long hours,
and her brother worked part time after school to
help pay off the mound of debt that followed them,
Beth had spent her free time at Rachel’s. A bright
spot in a sad chapter of her life.
“…should check out the Roadhouse, since it’s
down the block from your hotel.”
At the sound of her friend’s voice, Beth blinked
and brought her mind back to the present where it
belonged.
“They have line dancing tonight,” Rachel added.
She nodded. “I know.”
Rachel frowned. “You do?”
Whoops. She hadn’t planned on talking about
that. “Yeah. Um, I saw it on the sign.” And
experienced it firsthand…along with the hunk of a
cowboy she’d met there two weekends ago. She’d
even invited the guy to her hotel room. Two nights
in a row.
It was crazy. She didn’t have sex with strangers.
She didn’t do those things. She was responsible
and boring and never rocked the boat. Heck, before
that cowboy, Beth could count on three fingers how
many times she’d had sex. But there was just
something about the tall, broad, devilishly
handsome man with chiseled features, sexy
dimples, and teasing brown gaze. She’d been
drawn to him like kittens to cream. He made her
laugh and feel good, and for once in her life, she
allowed herself to let go and enjoy the moment.
“Are you going to go?” Rachel asked between
bites. “Jake and I would come with you, but we
have his family dinner thing tonight.”
Going would be a mistake. What if he was
there? The hot cowboy was supposed to just be a
weekend thing, not a two-weekend thing. Then
there was the other side of the coin. What if he was
there and wasn’t interested?
Her fragile fledgling wings couldn’t take the
rejection.
No. It was best she stay in her hotel room. Going
would be stupid. She wasn’t stupid. She would
definitely avoid the Roadhouse.
Probably.
Beth shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ll probably
watch some Netflix on my laptop.”
“I think you should go. In fact, I think you need to
go.” Determination firmed her friend’s lips as she
set down her fork and cocked her head. “When’s
the last time you had any fun?”
Two Sundays ago. To the wee hours of the
morning. She’d had so much fun she’d been sore in
places she didn’t know existed. A smile tugged her
lips. Boy, that man had stamina.
But that was in the past. He was in her past, and
she needed to concentrate on her job.
She smiled at her friend. “I’m having fun now.
It’s great to spend time with you.”
“I agree. It’s nice to see you again.” Rachel
nodded. “But that’s not the kind of fun I’m talking
about, and you know it. I’m talking about man fun.”
Not the best time to finish off her bottle of water.
Beth choked on the last mouthful, miraculously
managing to swallow it down instead of treating
Rachel to a shower.
“See? Just mentioning it has you flustered.” Her
friend chuckled. “What you need is a good cowboy
and a bit of fun. No worrying about money, or
work, or your brother beating the crap out of him.”
She winced.
Rachel cocked her head. “I remember that day,
too. Not easy to forget Cord and my brother
barging in, or how they expedited the departure of
our dates.”
Tucker Hanson had been teaching Beth how to
French kiss. That was it. The poor kid. He wasn’t
pawing at her or anything like that. They were
sitting on the couch with their clothes on.
Didn’t matter to Cord.
Beth shuddered as phantom mortification
washed over her. “I’ve never been so embarrassed
in my life. I was eighteen, but Cord acted like I
was twelve.”
He still did, at least when it came to men. No
one was good enough. And heaven forbid she
should look twice at a military guy. Which made no
sense to her. He’d been in the military and had a
solid bond with his Ranger buddies. Heck, he’d
gone into business with them, so not all military
guys could be bad. Still, she often wondered why
he’d never brought any of them home, or invited
her and her mom to the ranch where he lived, or
talked about them by name. He only ever referred
to them by nickname—Straight-Shooter, Capicola,
Romeo, Nikon, and Falcon, the one who had died.
Was he worried she’d hook up with one of them?
She’d never do that to him.
“I had to treat you that way, Lizzie,” Cord said,
appearing out of nowhere, using his finely honed
ninja skills to scare the beejezus out of her.
“Lizzie” was all that kept her from falling out of
her seat. Her brother was the only person who
called her that.
“Cord!” She sprang to her feet. “You scared me,
as usual.”
He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a
big hug. “Yeah, and as usual, you never realized
the spell you put on the opposite sex, both back
then and now.”
She snickered. He was the one who put a spell
on the opposite sex. Right now, she caught several
women staring at her with envy. Taking advantage
of the rare opportunity, Beth gave him another
squeeze. “I didn’t know you were going to be in
Braxton today.” The ranch he lived on and part
owned, At-Ease, was in Joyful, about forty minutes
away.
He patted her back. “Neither did I, but we came
into some unexpected money, so I’m here with
Romeo to check out the livestock auction. He’s
parking while I go register.”
There he went with the nicknames again. But if
one of them was with him, would she actually get
to meet the guy? She barely resisted trying to peek
over his shoulder to see if the other man was
standing there.
Rachel rose to her feet. “Hi, Cord. It’s great to
see you again.”
He released Beth and turned to nod at her friend.
“I hear congratulations are in order.”
“Yes.” Her friend smiled. “The wedding’s in
twelve days. You should come. I know my brother
would love to catch up with you.”
“Thanks. I’ll try, but that last storm has kept us
pretty busy. Foxtrot has jobs lined up for the next
few weeks.”
Rachel frowned. “I heard the tornado touched
down in Joyful. I hope everyone’s okay.”
Beth had heard that, too, but Cord never let on it
was bad. But now she had the impression there
was quite a bit more he hadn’t told her. Typical.
Her brother always did shield her from trouble. He
put the O in overprotective. It was damned
annoying.
“Did it hit your ranch?” Beth asked when he
didn’t answer.
He shrugged. “The men’s quarters and the barn
were damaged. Two other buildings were
destroyed.”
Destroyed?
Her heart stopped then rocked in her chest.
“Jesus, Cord. You said you were okay. Was anyone
hurt?”
The ranch her brother and three of his buddies
owned was a place for veterans to stay if they
needed time to adjust back into society. The former
Rangers also operated a construction company that
employed veterans. She knew they’d been working
hard to get both off the ground for more than half a
year now.
“The men are fine. It’s the buildings that need
fixing.”
So did his head.
Her chest squeezed tight. God, they could’ve all
been hurt. Or worse. “That’s not all that needs
fixing. Quit shutting your family out. This
misguided notion of yours that you need to keep us
‘safe’ is ridiculous. And old. Very old.”
He shrugged again. “There wasn’t really
anything you could do.”
Didn’t excuse his silence on the matter.
“Newsflash—we can take it.” She folded her arms
across her chest to keep from throttling him.
“Listen, you can rip me a new one when we meet
for lunch on Tuesday.” He leaned in to kiss her
cheek. “But right now, I’ve got to go register
before the auction starts.” He turned and tipped his
hat to Rachel before disappearing into a sea of
cowboys.
No sign of his buddy, Romeo. Rats.
“I see he hasn’t changed much since retiring
from the Army.”
She shook her head. “No. He’s just as
bullheaded. If his buddies are anything like him,
that ranch must ooze testosterone.”
She was glad he’d moved out with his friends,
though. He had something to do. A purpose. Losing
one of his buddies in combat had changed her
brother. His once brilliant green eyes were dark
and haunted, and his mouth always seemed set in
either a straight line or a scowl.
She missed his smile.
She missed him.
“So, about oozing testosterone and you having
fun…” Rachel knocked shoulders with her.
She laughed at her friend’s change of subject as
they retook their seats. “Hell would freeze over
before Cord ever allowed me to have fun with any
of his military buddies. Probably why I’ve never
met them or been to his ranch. But I’m not here to
have fun. I’m in Braxton to help you finalize
everything for your wedding. Like, yesterday.”
Rachel laughed, settling in across from her. “You
make it sound like a chore. Okay, yeah, it is. But at
least my gown and the bridesmaids’ gowns are
picked out, and invitations are sent. We only have
the final fitting, and food, and cake, and flowers,
and linens, and…” She went a little pale. “Oh my
God, there’s still so much to do!”
Beth reached across the table to set a hand on
Rachel’s arm. “It’s all right. I’m here to help you
take care of all that.” It was going to take a miracle
to pull all of it off, but that’s what Beth specialized
in—miracles. They’d already had preliminary
meetings, and she’d managed to get follow-ups
scheduled nearly every day that week. “We’re on
schedule. Take a deep breath. We’ll make this fun.”
Her friend took a few deep, cleansing breaths.
“Great idea. That’s exactly what we need.” A
wicked gleam sparked in Rachel’s blue gaze,
sending up a red flag in Beth’s brain. “I know what
we should do. Let’s play truth or dare.”
Crud.
Beth drew back and adamantly shook her head.
“Let’s not.”
“Come on. We could both use something to
lighten things up. So, let’s see…” Her friend’s gaze
narrowed as she tapped a finger on her chin. “I
can’t help but feel there’s something you’re not
telling me about the Roadhouse. The fact you knew
about the line dancing has my Spidey sense
tingling. So…truth: Did you meet someone there
the last time you were in town?”
Damn. She’d forgotten about her friend’s astute
superpower. “What are you talking about?”
Rachel’s amused, albeit determined, blue gaze
bore deep. “Either tell me the truth about that
weekend or take a dare.”
Double damn.
Beth didn’t do dares. Ever. She’d always taken
the “truth” option of the game during their
adolescence. She couldn’t risk reprimands or
hospital bills back then. Not much had changed.
But she wasn’t about to reveal her sexy cowboy
weekend, either. With a lift of her chin, she held
Rachel’s gaze. “Dare.”
The bugger’s grin grew wicked as satisfaction
gleamed in her eyes. “I dare you to kiss the next
cowboy who walks through the gate.”
Beth gasped. “I can’t do that! What if he’s
married?” She jumped to her feet and headed to a
nearby trash can to toss her garbage. “Not
happening.”
Rachel followed and shrugged. “You have to.
You chose dare. But, I’ll amend it to: you have to
kiss the next single cowboy who walks through the
gate. We’ll watch for wedding rings. And just
because you’re not looking doesn’t mean you can
ignore the da…amn.” Her friend blinked. “Wow,
Beth. I almost wish you’d given me the dare. Turn
around and check out your ‘single’ cowboy.”
Without giving her the chance to protest, Rachel
grasped Beth’s shoulders and physically turned her
to face the gate and one hell of a sexy cowboy.
Well over six foot of solid muscle that rippled
under a black T-shirt and a pair of jeans hugging
lean hips and thighs, the guy oozed hotness she felt
with an invisible wave of heat.
Her throat went dry. It was…him. The cowboy
from two weeks ago. Seriously? What were the
chances he’d walk back into her life at that exact
moment? “Uh…”
“I know, right? And there’s not a wedding ring in
sight. Now go over there and kiss him.” Her
snickering friend pushed her after the hunk striding
toward the livestock section of the fair. “Go on
before he gets away. Or is that what you wanted?”
She gulped. Pulled herself together. The knowing
tone in her friend’s voice revealed she expected
Beth to chicken out.
Wrong.
Any other time, yes, she’d lose the dare. It was
childish and irresponsible, and she didn’t have
time for foolish games. But she did have time to
help her friend de-stress. Her friend who was also
her client. It was Beth’s duty to put her client at
ease. So, technically, it was her duty to kiss the
sexy cowboy whose body she knew as well as her
own.
That was her story and she was sticking to it.
“Fine. I’ll do it.”
Rachel squealed and clapped her hands.
Grasping bravado with two fists, Beth set her
shoulders, lifted her chin, and marched after the hot
guy striding away from her down the fairway. So
what if she’d decided he was part of her past? The
opportunity was too good to pass up. Things like
this never happened to her.
Zigzagging around fairgoers, she avoided
running into two children wearing a blue coating of
cotton candy, and closed in on her prey. Her
confidence rose with each step. Not only had she
received her first ever dare, she was actually in the
position to have the upper hand on the challenge.
A flicker of guilt and a touch of anxiety mixed
with excitement. She pushed them both aside and
smiled when the cowboy suddenly stiffened and
came to a halt. It was as if he could feel her
presence as sure as she could feel his. Not wanting
Rachel to see the guy’s expression, Beth didn’t
give him a chance to turn around. She slid in front
of him, her anxiety fading at the pleasure curving
his mouth into a sexy grin, dimpling his cheeks.
“Hello, Brick,” she said.
Then she cupped his deliciously scruffed jaw,
pulled his face down, and kissed the ever loving
heck out of him.
Best dare ever.
…
The best damn fantasy Brick Mitchum ever had hit
him in the middle of the Braxton fair, of all
places…and he was in no hurry for it to end. The
gorgeous, green-eyed woman from two weekends
ago miraculously appeared out of nowhere and
laid a lip-lock on him that sent all the blood
storming straight to his crotch.
She had to be a figment of his imagination. How
else could he explain how they were both back in
Braxton today and happened to bump into each
other at the fair in a town of over forty-thousand
people? The odds of them being there at the same
exact time was not only impossible, it was
improbable. It sure as hell wasn’t a coincidence.
He didn’t believe in them.
And yet, here she was.
The sweet little thing nibbled and tasted and let
out a breathy sigh of pleasure that had him harder
than the sledgehammer used in the strongman game
down the fairway. Part innocence and part hot-as-
hell in a lacey peach sundress, Beth was already
halfway to ringing his bell. Doing his best to keep
cool and let her run the show, he tried to
concentrate on the fact Cord was waiting for him at
the auction, but then she went and brushed his
bottom lip with her tongue.
During the eleven years he was in the Army—the
last eight as a Ranger—Brick had planned and
carried out enough missions to know that if you
wanted something to happen, you made it happen.
And, hell yeah, he was making this happen.
With a low growl, he shoved his hands into her
soft caramel-colored waves and held her head
while he took over the kiss. Deep, long passes
with his tongue brought her essence to him and a
soft whimper to her throat. He loved how she clung
to his shoulders, practically climbing his body in a
show of need that rivaled his own. Brick knew
from their hot weekend they had a killer chemistry,
but the way this simple kiss morphed out of control
in the space of a heartbeat shocked the hell out of
him.
All too soon she drew back, staring up at him
wit...