Send Me a Cowboy

Copyright © 2013 by

Joann Baker and Patricia Mason

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

Blush Publishing

This eBook is licensed for your personal
enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to
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person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient.
Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

OTHER BOOKS BY JOANN BAKER AND PATRICIA
MASON

The Lady and the Law

Emmaline Conway knew only one way to deal
with problems and life in general and that was to rush at them
head-on. Dancing around a problem didn’t solve anything—it only
made your feet hurt. And she’d had enough hurt to last a
lifetime.

Sheriff J.C. Duvall hadn’t just been bitten by love once, he’d been
chewed up and spit out. Now the by-the-book lawman wanted only to
raise his daughter and live a quiet, peaceful life in the little
town of Utopia County, Wyoming. But Emmaline’s constant shenanigans
threaten his peaceful existence. Even if they can find a way to put
their pasts behind them, can the solitary lawman and the fiery
lawyer overcome their differences and build a future together?

The Reluctant Rancher

"Luke Tanner and women didn't mix, plain and
simple."

Luke Tanner learned early on that no one cared enough to look past
his roughhewed appearance and sour attitude to discover what lay
beneath the surface - other than his wallet. When Mary Carter hits
him up for a loan, he makes her a proposition she can't refuse.

Mary fantasized about Luke Tanner since her first glimpse of the
veritable mountain of a man. She knows there's more to Luke than
his bank account. Though she tries to hide her feelings, a fire
burns between them. Will it end in ashes - or forge a love that
would last a lifetime.

The Grinch and Miss Goody-Two Shoes

Mistletoe, falling snow and a six foot
grinch!

Private investigator Nicholas Trent hates the snow and whole
sentimental hype of Christmas. All he wanted was to finish his
investigation and get the heck out of Winterfall, Nebraska, and
back to the sunny beaches of California. But he hadn’t counted on
falling for his new assignment. The quiet beauty had a knack for
melting his cold heart. But would she forgive him once she found
out the secret he harbored?

Kate Harris had never met a sexier man than Nicholas Trent. Even
though he’d been sent to dig into her personal life and perhaps
take away the niece she’d raised on her own for the past three
years, his soul-stirring kisses fueled her dreams. Would she lose
more than her heart, or would she receive a Christmas miracle?

Christmas with the Millionaire Cowboy

The only thing Penny Shepherd loved more than
the Rocking J Ranch she called home, was the cowboy that held her
heart in his calloused hands. The only thing she hated worse than
being thought of as his stepsister, was being the overweight girl
that couldn't possibly catch his eye.
Ryan Jacobs felt not one ounce of brotherly love toward Penny
Shepherd. And it was getting harder to pretend that he did. What he
did feel was something so raw and powerful that it ate away at his
gut a little more each day.

With Christmas fast approaching, will these two hearts find a bit
of holiday magic?

SEND ME A COWBOY

“Valentine’s Day is only three weeks
away.”

“So?”

Katie Lenard sighed dramatically. “So,
everyone will get either roses or candy or a diamond. Everyone but
me. Again.”

Her best friend, Jessica, snorted. “Well,
boohoo for you. You have got to get over this obsession with
Valentine’s Day, Katie. It depresses you every year. Even when you
have a boyfriend.”

Katie tried to contain her gasp at her
friend’s harsh-sounding words, but couldn’t quite manage it. In her
defense, Katie knew Jessica hadn’t meant to sound so mean.

“Oh geeze, sweetie, I’m sorry.” The other
woman squeezed her hand, a look of contrition on her pretty
face.

Katie hadn’t had a date for Valentine’s Day
in the last three years—nor had she had a serious boyfriend or even
a casual relationship in that time. Her last so-called romance had
been the result of leftover Christmas blues when she’d accepted a
date in desperation with a man in the audit department, hoping
against hope the relationship would still be going strong when the
hearts-and-flowers day rolled around. It had lasted a whole week
before Katie dumped him after he had made it perfectly clear all he
wanted was a roll in the hay with the fat girl. Apparently making
it with a chubby chick had been one of his New Year’s
resolutions.

“I just want one special Valentine’s Day,
Jessica, is that too much to ask?” She pushed away her half-eaten
ham and cheese sandwich. Maybe if she started a diet now, she’d be
slim and trim by next year. Maybe she would even join a gym. Again.
She’d heard it was more difficult to lose weight after a woman
turned thirty. She would reach that milestone birthday in less than
six months.

“You’ve had great Valentine’s days,” Jessica
pointed out.

“A Care Bear card from a boy in kindergarten
does not count. Especially when the teacher made us give a card to
all of our classmates.”

“What about Roger? He took you out to dinner
that one year, didn’t he?”

True, Roger had been her boyfriend about five
years ago. They’d been dating for almost four weeks when
Valentine’s Day had rolled around. She’d never told Jessica, but
she’d been planning to have sex with him that night for the very
first time. She’d even bought a sexy red satin bra and panty set to
wear under her little black dress. That, along with the three inch
heels she’d been wearing, had made her feel confident and downright
desirable. She’d gotten the roses and candy–and the bill for dinner
when Roger’s ex had shown up halfway through the meal and demanded
he leave his floozy–Katie–and come back to her.

Katie gathered up the remains of her meal,
throwing her friend a dark look. “The man left skid marks on the
way out of the restaurant, remember?”

“Oh. Yeah.” Her friend grimaced and finished
her soda. She followed Katie out of the cafeteria and into the
lobby. Their offices were located on the fifth floor of a twenty
floor skyscraper in downtown Atlanta.

“I’m just cursed.” Katie hit the button for
the elevator. Her lunch hour was over and it was time to get back
to work. Time to stop dreaming about what would never be. Being a
big, beautiful woman–as the media liked to call any woman larger
than a size twelve and sometimes even a size ten!–made dating
difficult. Having long-term relationships even more so. There were
men who liked to date larger women, but usually only until a
smaller version came along. What man wanted a size twenty hanging
on his arm when he could show off a size two?

The elevator dinged and Jessica put her arm
around Katie, giving her a quick hug. “Don’t worry, girlfriend,
you’ll get your dream Valentine’s Day. Just leave it to Ms.
Cupid.”

*****

“Still down in the dumps?”

Two days later, Katie sat entering data into
a spreadsheet when her friend took a seat on the edge of her desk.
The women worked for Collins and Collins, one of the largest
accounting firms in Atlanta, Georgia. Katie’s job duties usually
included overseeing the finances for the smaller businesses while
Jessica worked with the larger accountholders. Katie liked it that
way. Seeing to the day-to-day accounting for the sole proprietor
was usually more interesting and challenging than mindlessly
entering the same information over and over again for the larger
corporate accounts. She tried as hard as she could to make sure the
small business owners received every possible tax deduction. Plus,
it was always amusing to see what some people thought they could
take as a business deduction.

“No, I’ve resigned myself to asking you to be
my Valentine. Again.” Katie entered the last of the figures and hit
save before giving her friend her full attention. “How about it?
Want to come over to my house and watch chick-flicks and order a
pizza?”

Jessica patted Katie’s cheek and gave her a
beatific smile. “You know you’re always my number one choice, but I
don’t think you’re going to be available this year.”

Katie’s eyes narrowed. “What are you up to,
Ms. Warren?”

“Not Ms. Warren.” She wagged a finger in
front of Katie’s face. “Ms. Cupid, remember? Here’s your
Valentine.” She placed a red folder on Katie’s keyboard.

Katie stared at the folder as if waiting for
it to turn into a snake and strike her.

“Go ahead, open it.” Jessica’s voice trembled
with excitement.

Katie flipped open the folder. Inside was a
picture of a cowboy. An unsmiling, ruggedly attractive cowboy who
could give the guy on the Marlboro commercials a run for his
money.

“Wow. You’re going to hire me a male escort
and make him dress up as a cowboy?” Katie had always had a soft
spot for cowboys. What red-blooded American woman didn’t? Cowboys
were the ideal man–strong and determined with drool-worthy bodies
who treated their women like gold–or at least that’s how Hollywood
portrayed them. “Who is that?”

“That, my girl, is your next assignment.”

Katie pulled her gaze away from the picture
with difficulty. The quality of the photograph was excellent and
the vibrant male subject was hard to turn away from. The man’s eyes
were the darkest shade of green she’d ever seen. Almost black, with
swirling emerald strands. Mesmerizing. “What?”

Her friend smiled smugly. “John Kinkaid,
owner of the Triple K Ranch and CEO of Kinkaid Oil and Gas
Holdings. And Katie Lenard’s own personal cowboy valentine.”

“Wow.” Katie said again. The Triple K and
Kinkaid Oil and Gas were two of the company’s biggest accounts and
Jessica had been put in charge of them last year. Katie picked up
the picture and studied the man. He was too rough-around-edges
looking to be conventionally handsome, but he made Katie’s heart
pound nevertheless. There was something about him that spoke to
her. He looked solid and secure and she’d never had anything stable
in her life. Her mother and father had divorced when she was three
and she hadn’t shared more than an occasional holiday card with her
father since she was ten. Her mother went through men like Sherman
marching through Atlanta. They’d moved in and out of strange men’s
houses so frequently, Katie had finally stopped trying to learn
their names or form any emotional connection.

John Kinkaid had inherited his family ranch
when he was only twenty and, by the time he reached twenty-five,
had turned a mediocre breeding program into a multi-million dollar
business. Fortune continued to smile on the imposing Mr. Kinkaid
and oil and gas had been discovered on his land about five years
ago. At the still young age of thirty-nine, he was well on his way
to becoming a billionaire.

There were other pictures in the file along
with various magazine articles written about his success. Katie
flipped through them, becoming more and more entranced with the man
as she read. It didn’t escape her notice that all the pictures
featured a woman. And some even featured women who were above
average in size. Unfortunately, they were above average in looks as
well. He was escorting some of the top plus size models from around
the world. When she got to the end of the file, she looked up at
Jessica. “I don’t understand.”

“Mr. Kinkaid has asked for a consultation
regarding his latest project. His younger brother wants to open a
guest ranch.”

“His brother wants to turn their home into a
guest ranch? Why would he want to do that?” Katie’s brow furrowed.
“They’re loaded.”

Jessica shook her head. “No, no. Not the
Kinkaid residence. Apparently there’s an older home, the original
homestead, on the ranch which the brother inherited.”

Katie closed the folder, shutting out the
man’s disturbing image. Disturbing to her peace of mind. He seemed
like the perfect Valentine. Handsome. Check. Rich. Check. Cowboy.
Double check. Apparently liked plus-size women. Triple Check.

Reality check. Why would a handsome, rich
cowboy who dated beautiful, famous women want a chubby little
nobody like Katie Lenard?

Real world reality double check: He
wouldn’t.

“Why are you showing me this, Jessica? Is
this some kind of practical joke?”

“God no, Katie,” Jessica objected vehemently.
“I’d never do that to you. Mr. Harper has asked me to choose the
individual who will do the consulting.” She leaned closer. “This is
right up your alley. Plus, in case you didn’t notice, Mr. Kinkaid
as an, umm, thing for women of size.”

Katie snorted. “Plus size women who look like
Miss Universe. It was a nice thought, Jessica.” Although she wasn’t
completely lacking in the looks department, she would definitely
never win any beauty contests, even if her weight wasn’t a
drawback. She had a rather ordinary oval face, high cheekbones, and
nice brows. Her hair was average as well–light brown, worn in a
shoulder-length style, currently pulled back into a low bun on the
nape of her neck. Jessica was always urging her to get her hair
cut, but she had no patience for the time and maintenance that went
with a complicated style. The only thing about herself that Katie
even considered any way out of the ordinary was the color of her
eyes. They were a deep, dark brown that everyone described as warm
and inviting.