Cowboy Cool: Book 5 (Cowboy Justice Association) (37 page)

“Has Kaylee sold her house yet?” Tanner asked as he sat down at the head of the table.

“Not yet, but winter’s a tough time to make a sale. We’re hoping spring and summer will be better.”

The other men nodded in agreement and that’s when Reed noticed there was an empty chair. Again. Logan was either working or with Ava, the doctors closely monitoring her blood pressure. It was stable at the moment but according to the doctors that could change at any moment.

Reed couldn’t imagine how scared Logan must be right now, worrying about his wife and babies. It was good that Kaylee was here as she visited Ava almost every day and took some of the stress off of Logan.

“Anything to report on Kaylee’s stalker?” Seth chugged down half his soda and then reached for the bag of pretzels in the middle of the table.

“Cheryl Hill’s lawyer asked for a psychiatric evaluation. I guess he must be going for the insanity defense but she knew what she was doing. Just like Presley’s sister knew. Jealousy and greed are nasty things.”

“Since Logan isn’t here you may not have heard that Wade Bryson was ruled competent to stand trial,” Evan offered. “That courtroom is going to be standing room only. The attorney immediately asked for a change of venue of course due to pre-trial publicity.”

“If I were him I’d just plead out,” Dare scowled, but then he was always unhappy about something. “They have a mountain of evidence against him.”

“Don’t mean shit if the jury never gets to hear it,” Jared replied, his usual smile missing and a deep frown taking its place. “Damn lawyers could get him out on a technicality.”

“I don’t think there’s a technicality that will free a serial killer,” Griffin observed mildly. “At least I hope not.”

“What’s going on with Gordon?” Reed asked. “They were talking about a plea, weren’t they?”

“He took a deal.” Griffin looked calm but a muscle ticked in his jaw and Reed knew why. Gordon had tried to murder Griffin’s wife-to-be and had almost succeeded. “I guess it’s for the best. This way Jazz won’t have to relive everything and testify.”

Tanner pounded his fist on the table. “Let’s call this meeting to order then. Any more old business?”

There was silence around the room. “Fine, we’ll move on to new business. I don’t know how many of you heard but DEA Agent Jason Anderson has gone missing. He was investigating a drug cartel and hasn’t been seen or heard from in weeks. I say this to ask that you keep your ear to the ground with any of your snitches. They might mention an agent hostage being held as currency for trade.”

Griffin groaned and shook his head. “If he’s been taken hostage he’d be better off dead. I’ve seen what these guys will do. It’s not pretty.”

Reed had seen it as well and had to agree with Griffin. If Jason Anderson had been taken hostage by a drug kingpin he’d be praying for death before too long. Reed could only hope that Jason was okay wherever he was. He was a good man and a good agent.

The meeting continued with news from each town, nothing too violent or egregious. The lull before spring when things seemed to liven up again. Jared didn’t speak much, his entire body tense and his expression a mask of some painful emotion. A few months ago Reed wouldn’t have recognized the signs of a man trying to cover up something he didn’t want to feel.

But now he was an expert.

“You want to get some lunch or something?” Reed asked Jared as they headed out to their vehicles, the cold wind a shock to the system even after all these years in Montana.

“I can’t.” Jared shook his head and opened the driver’s door of his truck. “I promised my mom and dad that I would have Sunday dinner at their house today. It was practically a royal command.”

Jared was trying to make a joke of it but Reed could easily detect the tension in the words.

“Another time then. And listen, thanks again for your help when I was in Illinois. I know you’re busy but you took the time to do those background checks for me. I really appreciate it.”

Jared grinned, looking happier than Reed had seen him all day. “You know I like that stuff. It’s the gravy on the mashed potatoes. But you’re welcome.” Jared climbed in the truck with a quick salute. “See you next month.”

The chilling wind seeping under his collar, Reed jumped in his own truck and fired up the engine. He turned the heat on full blast before backing out of the parking lot and heading down the road and away from the roadhouse. He had someone at home waiting for him and damn if that didn’t feel better than anything in the world.

Reed wasn’t afraid to feel, to love, to hope. Kaylee had saved him from a life wasted and he would never be able to love her enough in return.

The End

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Cowboy Command

Cowboy Justice Association

Book One

Sometimes you have to die to be born.

One minute Katie is eating lunch with her sister, the next she barely escapes a car bomb meant to kill her. If that wasn’t enough, someone sets fire to her home and burns it to the ground. Luckily, Federal agents are going to give her a new identity until she can testify against the man who wants her dead. They change her name to Presley, her hair color to brown, and her shorts and sandals to jeans and cowboy boots. She’s not thrilled about being sent to a small town in Montana to hide, but she wants to stay alive.

Sheriff Seth Reilly is doing a favor for an old Army buddy. He’s promised to watch over a woman whose life is in danger, but he didn’t plan on her being so young and beautiful. He’s tempted, but she’s a bundle of trouble. Seth likes his women calm and sedate. Presley is the kind of woman who would keep him up at night and make him crazy. Too bad he’s starting to enjoy it.

Passion flares between Seth and Presley, heating up the cold Montana nights. Knowing they only have a short time together, they vow not to fall in love. But when danger finds Presley, Seth will risk everything to keep her safe until she can testify. Will Presley get her old life back or start a new life with Seth instead?

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Justice Healed

Cowboy Justice Association

Book Two

You can’t go home again, but if you do, pretend you want to be there.

Dr. Madison Shay has left Chicago and moved back to her small town roots to take over her father’s medical practice. She’s not the skinny, gawky red haired, four-eyed girl any longer but it sure feels that way. She still remembers the painful teasing from her classmates and always feeling like she didn’t belong. She wants this time to be different but deep down she knows she’ll never be part of the cool crowd.

Sheriff Tanner Marks might have been the captain of the football team years ago but things aren’t as rosy now. He has a son who hates him, and an ex-wife who is about to marry a man Tanner thinks might be a criminal. He doesn’t really have time in his life for a woman. Considering the things he’s done in his past, he’s not sure he deserves one either. He can’t help but feel envious of his friend, Seth Reilly, though. He found the love of a good woman. Is it too much to ask that fate send him someone as well?

Madison and Tanner aren’t looking for love but it feels like the town has other plans. They keep finding themselves thrown together and it’s not unpleasant in the least. In fact, they’re starting to enjoy themselves. There just might be a future for them after all.

When a drug war between two cartels breaks out, their little town is caught in the crossfire. Tanner will call in every favor he can, from the five cowboy cops he trusts most in the world, to keep his town and the woman he loves safe. He’s going to show the bad guys what cowboy justice really means.

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Cowboy Truth

Cowboy Justice Association

Book Three

People will do desperate things to keep the truth dead and buried.

Sheriff Logan Wright might be the sexiest bad boy Ava Hayworth has ever seen but she’s not interested in the least. He can have every other woman in town and probably already has. All she wants is to help him solve the murder of a prominent local citizen by a mysterious vigilante serial killer. A fling with a smokin’ hot cowboy cop isn’t in her plans.

Logan doesn’t need a mystery writer who thinks she’s a detective, trailing after him while he tries to do his job. She’s smart and cute, but he doesn’t want her to get hurt. By him or the investigation. He enjoys the pleasures of women – many women – and that’s not going to change.

But as painful secrets are revealed, Logan begins to depend on Ava for more than just friendship. She’s the first woman he’s known who has kept her promises. It shakes him to his very core, challenging long held beliefs.

Everything Logan wants, but never thought he could have, is within his grasp. With the help of Ava and his friends, he’s going to have to fight the past if he wants any kind of a future.

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Cowboy Famous

Cowboy Justice Association

Book Four

Sheriff Griffin Sawyer likes his town quiet and his life uncomplicated. Fishing – alone – on a serene and sunny afternoon is one of his favorite things to do. So is coming home to a place that isn’t littered with cosmetics, clothes, and panties. After growing up one of ten children, sharing his bathroom, his closet, or his thermostat is not high on his to-do list. Women have their place. Just not his place.

Jazz Oliver wants to be a star. Unfortunately, Hollywood hasn’t been kind. The day she loses out on the part of a lifetime is also the day she gets fired from her crappy waitress job. Down and out and deep in debt, she’s desperate for money and a big break. It’s the only reason she’s allowed herself to be signed up as a contestant on a reality show in some backwater town in Montana.

From their first meeting, the attraction simmers between the sheriff and the Hollywood starlet. Jazz knows Griffin needs his space, and he knows she will only be in town a short while. The one thing they both want? More of the hot, sultry nights they’ve been sharing. When they’re together their differences don’t seem to be any problem at all.