Kathie DeNosky - Your Ranch...Or Mine?

When Lane slowly released her and took a step back, it took a moment for her to realize he was looking at her expectantly. “Um … good night … Lane,” she finally managed.

Forcing herself to move, she opened the screen door and didn’t stop until she was upstairs with her bedroom door shut firmly behind her. As she leaned back against it, she had to remind herself to breathe. Lane had more raw sensuality in his little finger than most men had in their entire bodies.

Her heart suddenly began to pound against her ribs. When had she started thinking of him by his first name? It had been much easier and a lot less personal to keep him compartmentalized as Donaldson, her adversary—the very man who stood between her and her goal of owning all of the Lucky Ace.

* * *

Your Ranch … Or Mine?is part of The Good, the Bad and the Texan series: Running with these billionaires will be one wild ride.

Your Ranch…

Or Mine?

Kathie DeNosky

www.millsandboon.co.uk

KATHIE DENOSKYlives in her native southern Illinois on the land her family settled in 1839. She writes highly sensual stories with a generous amount of humor; her books have appeared on the USA TODAY bestseller list and received numerous awards, including two National Reader’s Choice Awards. Kathie enjoys going to rodeos, traveling to research settings for her books and listening to country music. Readers may contact her by e-mailing kathie@kathiedenosky.com. They can also visit her website, www.kathiedenosky.com, or find her on Facebook, www.facebook.com/Kathie-DeNosky-Author/278166445536145.

This book is dedicated to my poker playing friends Chris Doss, Jeremy Miller and Michele Hudson. Over the years I’ve had a ton of fun playing poker with you and hope we get to play again soon.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Epilogue

Extract

One

Lane Donaldson couldn’t help but laugh as he watched the five men he called brothers acting like a bunch of damned fools.

It was funny how a baby could do that to otherwise intelligent grown men. And whether he wanted to admit it or not, he was no different. He had done his fair share of making faces and odd noises to try to get a smile out of the kid, as well.

He had invited his family and friends to the barbecue to celebrate his winning half of the Lucky Ace Ranch in a poker game last fall. But because of the birth of his nephew a few months back, the celebration had turned into a party to welcome the new baby to the family as well as to commemorate his big win.

“Y’all are going to scare the pudding out of little Hank,” Nate Rafferty complained as he made another face at the infant in his brother Sam’s arms.

Nate and Sam were as different as night and day, even though they were the only two biological siblings out of the band of foster brothers who had spent their adolescence together on the Last Chance Ranch. While Sam was happily married with a three-month-old son, Nate was too busy trying to date the entire female population of the southwest to settle down. In fact, of the four remaining confirmed bachelors, Lane included, Nate was hands down the wildest of the bunch.

“And I suppose you think you’re not scaring the kid with that sappy grin of yours, Nate?” Ryder McClain asked, laughing. “I play chicken with two thousand pounds of pissed-off beef every weekend and you’re still enough to scare the hell out of me.” A rodeo bull fighter, Ryder was without question one of the bravest men Lane had ever had the privilege of knowing—and Ryder was also the most laid-back, easygoing of his foster brothers.

“How much longer before you become a daddy, Ryder?” T. J. Malloy asked, taking a swig from the beer bottle in his hand. A highly successful saddle bronc rider, T.J. had retired at the ripe old age of twenty-eight and in the ensuing years had started raising and training champion reining horses.

“The doctor told us the other day that it could be just about any time,” Ryder answered, glancing uneasily over to where his wife, Summer, sat talking to Sam’s wife, Bria, and Bria’s sister, Mariah. “And the closer it gets, the more I feel like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.”

“Getting a little nervous, are you?” Lane asked, grinning.

“More like a lot,” Ryder said, glancing again at his wife as if to assure himself she was still doing all right.

“I know exactly how you feel, Ryder,” Sam said, nodding. “About a month before Bria had little Hank, I mapped out the quickest route to the hospital and made several practice runs just to be sure I could get her there in time.”

“Both of you have helped cows during calving season for years,” Nate said, his tone practical. “If you’d had to, you could have delivered little Hank, Sam. And you could deliver your and Summer’s baby, Ryder.”

Every one of them gave Nate an unimpressed look, then, shaking their heads, resumed their conversation.

“What?” Nate asked, obviously confused.

“I want the best for my wife when the time comes for her to have our baby and I’m man enough to admit I’m not it,” Ryder answered, his disgusted expression stating louder than words what he thought of Nate’s logic.

“Have you given in and asked the doctor if the baby is a boy or a girl, Ryder?” Jaron Lambert asked, staring across the yard at the women.

“We really don’t care as long as the baby is healthy and Summer is okay,” Ryder answered, shaking his head. “She wants to be surprised and I want whatever she wants.”

“Well, I hope it’s a girl,” Jaron said flatly.

Lane couldn’t help but chuckle. “Mariah still not talking to you, bro?”

Jaron shook his head. “She’s still pissed off about what I said when Sam and Bria told us they were having a boy.”

Jaron and Mariah had been arguing from the time they learned that Bria and Sam were expecting. Jaron had been sure the baby would be a boy, while Mariah had insisted it would be a girl. Apparently, Mariah had taken exception to Jaron’s gloating after he’d been proven right.

“Yeah, women don’t like it very much when a man says ‘I told you so,’” Lane said, grinning.

“You think, Dr. Freud? I figured that out all by myself right after she stopped talking to me, genius.” Jaron’s sour expression and reference to Lane’s psychology degree caused Lane to laugh out loud.

“When are you going to stop beating around the bush and take that girl out for a night on the town?” Lane asked.

“I’ve told y’all before, I’m too old for her,” Jaron answered sullenly.

“That’s bull and we all know it,” T.J. shot back. “She’s only eight years younger than you. It might have mattered when you were twenty-six and she was eighteen, but she’s in her mid-twenties now. Your ages aren’t that big a deal anymore.”

“Yeah, and it’s not like she wouldn’t go,” Ryder added. “She’s had a crush on you from the time she met you. Although I can’t for the life of me figure out why.”

Taking a sudden interest in the tops of his boots, Jaron shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. I’ve got a world championship to win and I don’t need the distraction.” Competing in bull riding and bareback events, Jaron was a top contender to win the All-Around Rodeo Cowboy Championship for the third year in a row.

“While you guys try to talk some sense into Jaron, I see a lady who looks like she could use a trip around the dance floor,” Nate said, grinning. “And I can’t think of a man here who is better at doing the Texas two-step than me.”

When they all turned to see which woman Nate was talking about, Lane felt as if he had taken a sucker punch to the gut. A little above average in height, the leggy redhead in question wasn’t just pretty, she was absolutely breathtaking. Her long, straight, copper-colored hair complimented her creamy complexion to perfection and he couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like to run his fingers through the silky strands.

“Who is that?” T.J. asked, sounding as awestruck as Lane felt.

“I’ve never seen her before,” Lane answered, looking around. It didn’t appear she was with any of the other guests.

“She had to have just arrived,” Nate added, sounding quite certain of the fact. “Otherwise, I would have noticed her before now.”

As Nate started across the yard toward the woman, Lane couldn’t say he was sorry she had decided to crash the barbecue he was throwing to celebrate winning half of the Lucky Ace Ranch. He would have thrown the party when he first became a partner in the place, but it had been so late in the fall he had decided to wait until spring, when it was warmer and they could celebrate Texas style—with an outdoor barbecue and dance. And now he was glad that he had. She was without question one of the prettiest women he’d ever seen and a welcome addition to the view in his ranch yard.

Lane frowned at the uncharacteristic stab of envy coursing through him as he watched Nate introduce himself to her, then take her in his arms to move around the temporary dance floor Lane’s hired hands had installed for the festivities. He’d never been envious of any of his brothers before, but there was no denying that was exactly what was wrong with him at the moment.

When the country band took a break, Lane watched Nate talk with the woman for a moment before he shrugged and sauntered back to the group. The woman glanced at him and his brothers standing on the opposite side of the dance floor, then walked over to the refreshment table.

“It doesn’t look like that went exactly the way you planned, Nate,” T.J. said, laughing.

Looking as if he couldn’t quite believe what had happened, Nate shook his head. “I must be losing my touch.”

“Why do you say that?” Sam grinned. “Has she heard about your love-’em-and-leave-’em reputation?”

“No, smart-ass.” Nate gave Sam a dark scowl before turning his attention to Lane. “All she did was ask me questions about you.”

“Me?” It was the last thing Lane had expected to hear. Why would she be inquiring about him? “What did she want to know?”

Nate shrugged. “She mainly wanted to know how long you’ve lived on the Lucky Ace and if you intend to stay here or sell out and move on.” He frowned and glanced over his shoulder at the woman. “She didn’t even know which one of us you were. I had to point you out.”

Lane was more bewildered than ever as he stared across the yard at the woman surveying the array of food the caterer had prepared for his guests. He supposed she might have been in the gallery at one of the high-stakes poker tournaments he’d played over the years. But he rejected that idea immediately. If she had, she wouldn’t have needed Nate to identify him.

“Looks like you might have an admirer, Lane,” Ryder said, grinning like a six-year-old kid turned loose in a toy store.

“I doubt it,” Lane answered, shaking his head as he stared across the yard at the woman. “If that was the case, she wouldn’t have had to ask Nate about me.”

His brothers all nodded their agreement as they continued to stare at her.

Deciding that he could speculate all evening and still not come up with any firm answers as to why the woman would be so curious about him, Lane took a deep breath. “No sense in standing here wondering about it. I’m going to ask her.”