Lone Star Nights
No strings attached is pretty much Lucky McCord’s calling card in Spring Hill, Texas, but when family is on the line, this cowboy’s honor and heart are about to get lassoed, tied and brandedEvery family needs its black sheep, and Austin “Lucky” McCord is happy to oblige. The bad-boy bull rider lives fast and loose, until his business partner leaves him an unexpected bequest. Suddenly Lucky is sharing custody of two children with Cassie Weatherall, one of the few homegrown women he hasn’t bedded. And not from lack of trying…Cassie fled her messy past to become a celebrity therapist in LA. So why does it feel so right to come back and share parenting duties—and chrome-melting kisses—with a man she’s striven to avoid? Loving Lucky always seemed like a sure bet for heartache. But for this perfectly imperfect family, Cassie might just gamble with everything she’s got.
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No strings attached is pretty much Lucky McCordâs calling card in Spring Hill, Texas, but when family is on the line, this cowboyâs honor and heart are about to get lassoed, tied and branded
Every family needs its black sheep, and Austin âLuckyâ McCord is happy to oblige. The bad-boy bull rider lives fast and loose, until his business partner leaves him an unexpected bequest. Suddenly Lucky is sharing custody of two children with Cassie Weatherall, one of the few homegrown women he hasnât bedded. And not from lack of tryingâ¦
Cassie fled her messy past to become a celebrity therapist in LA. So why does it feel so right to come back and share parenting dutiesâand chrome-melting kissesâwith a man sheâs striven to avoid? Loving Lucky always seemed like a sure bet for heartache. But for this perfectly imperfect family, Cassie might just gamble with everything sheâs got.
âThe perfect blend of sexy cowboys, humor and romance will rein you in from the first line.â
âNew York Times bestselling author B.J. Daniels
âFrom the shocking opening paragraph on, Fossenâs tale just keeps getting better.â
âRT Book Reviews on Sawyer, 4½ stars, Top Pick
âRustling Up Trouble is action packed, but itâs the relationship and emotional drama (and the sexy hero) that will reel readers in.â
âRT Book Reviews, 4½ stars
âWhile not lacking in action or intrigue, itâs the romance of two unlikely people that soars.â
âRT Book Reviews on Maverick Sheriff, 4 stars
Contents
THE DYING WOMANâS misspelled tattoo bothered Lucky McCord. Not nearly as much as the dying woman, of course, but seriously, who didnât know the rule about putting i before e except after c?
The tattoo âartistâ whoâd inked that turd of a misspelling onto Dixie Mae Weatherallâs forearm, thatâs who.
It was a shame the inker wasnât anywhere around to fix his mess so Dixie Mae could finish out her last minutes on Godâs green earth with a tat that didnât set peopleâs teeth on edge.
While the nurse adjusted the tubes and needles going in and out of Dixie Mae, Lucky stayed back against the wall. Man, he hated hospitals. That smell of disinfectant, lime Jell-O, floor wax and some bullshitâliteral bullshitâfrom his own boots.
Lucky hadnât had time to clean up before heâd gotten the call from the doctor telling him that Dixie Mae had been admitted to Spring Hill Memorial Hospital and that it wasnât looking good. The doctor had said he should hurry. Lucky had been thirty miles away in San Antonio, just ten minutes out of an eight-second bull ride thatâd lasted only four seconds.
A metaphor for his life.
The bull ride, or rather the fall, had left him with a bruised tailbone, back and ego. All minor stuff, though, compared to what was happening here in the hospital with Dixie Mae.
Hell.
Heâd always thought Dixie Mae was too tough to die. Or that sheâd at least live to be a hundred. And maybe she was pretty close to that number.
Most folks estimated Dixie Maeâs age anywhere between eighty and ninety. Most folks only saw her gruff face, the wrinkles on her wrinkles and her colorful wardrobe that she called a tribute to Dolly Parton, the rhinestone years.
Oh, and most folks saw the misspelled tattoo, of course. Couldnât miss that.
When Lucky looked at her, he saw a lot more than just those things. He saw a very complex woman. By her own admission, Dixie Mae subscribed to the whack-a-mole approach to conflict resolution, but she was one of the most successful rodeo promoters in the state.
And hands down, the orneriest.
Lucky loved every bit of her ornery heart.
Thereâd been so many times when Lucky had walked away from her. Cursed her. Wished that he could tie her onto the back of a mean bucking bull and let the bull try to sling some sense into her. But heâd always gone back because the bottom line with Dixie Mae was that she was the only person whoâd ever believed he could be something.
Powerful stuff like that would make a man put up with any level of orneriness.
The petite blonde nurse finally finished whatever she was doing to Dixie Mae and stepped away, but not before giving Lucky that sad, sympathetic look. And a stern warning. âDonât give her any cigarettes. Sheâll ask but donât give her one.â
Lucky had already figured that out, both the asking part and donât-give-her-one part. He didnât smoke, but even if he did, he wouldnât have brought her cigarettes. A shot of tequila maybe, but that would have been to steady his own nerves, not for Dixie Mae.
