Connor: A Cowboy Stepbrother Romance Novel (3 page)

A rodeo man?
I thought.

Immediately, naughty thoughts flashed into my mind. I pictured a muscular and tan man, wearing nothing but tight jeans and a cowboy hat. The image caused a tingling sensation to shoot through my body and a smirk to cross my face.

“He’s in the rodeo?” I asked. “Like, the real one?”

Richard laughed as he nodded his head.

“Yes, the national one,” he said. “He’s a professional bull rider currently. He has tried just about everything in the rodeo, but he said that there’s something about those eight seconds on a bull that are more exciting than anything else you can do in the rodeo. So that’s what he’s decided to focus on. He’s sponsored now, so it’s how he makes his living. And I have to say, I’m a little bit envious of him.”

Richard’s smile was wide and it was obvious that he was proud of his son for his accomplishments.

“Anyway, his rodeo tour is over for the year, so he’ll be coming back home for a while,” he said. “It’s perfect timing, really. I’m glad that you and your mom will get to meet him.”

I nodded my head and smiled.

“Yeah, that
is
pretty cool,” I said. “He sounds like an interesting guy.”

“He’s quite the character, that’s for sure,” Richard said. “Now, come on inside. I’ll show you ladies around.”

Richard grabbed my mom’s hand and led her inside. I followed behind them, as we made our way into his beautiful home. Everything inside was made of wood and looked to be hand made, including the handrails that led upstairs.

“Did you make everything in here?” I asked.

Richard looked back and smiled. “Well, I can’t take
all
of the credit. Connor did a lot of this work, too. But between the two of us, we created everything in this house. Including the house itself.”

I shook my head in awe, admiring the intricacy of the carved, wooden artwork that surrounded me. Carved bears and eagles, all chiseled to perfection, covering shelves and tabletops. It was beautiful and I hadn’t seen anything like it before. It seemed like Richard took a lot of pride and joy in the little things, like creating something out of a piece of wood. He didn’t seem like the type of person who cared much about vanity or consumerism, like everyone else I knew.

And I had to admit, that I hoped his son Connor was the same way. I liked the idea of having someone in my life that was different than my other friends.

As we walked through the house, I brought my gaze toward the mantel above the fireplace where I noticed some pictures. I let Richard and my mom disappear into the other room, while I held back and stepped closer to the mantel.

My eyes immediately were drawn to a picture of a muscular man, wearing a blue flannel shirt and snug jeans, with a giant belt buckle on top. He was sitting on top of a horse, turned to the side and smiling, with his cowboy hat tipped downward slightly.

Oh, my God. Is that...Connor?

I looked a little closer, noticing his bright blue eyes and wide smile. On his cheeks was a bit of dark stubble from an unshaved beard. My jaw dropped as I admired the picture. I suddenly felt a burst of excitement inside of me.

Am I going to get to meet this guy?

I wasn’t sure that the picture on the mantel was actually Richard’s son, but I had to assume that it was. Richard said that Connor was a rodeo cowboy and the man in the picture definitely fit the bill.

Holy crap...

The guy in the photo could have been a model if he had wanted to. His chiseled jaw, perfect smile, beautiful eyes and amazing body were enough to make me melt right there in Richard’s living room.

This little vacation suddenly turned a lot more interesting...

––––––––

I
spent most of that afternoon by myself. My mom and Richard were together the entire time and I wanted to leave them alone so that they could get to know each other. So I spent the day just exploring the farm and thinking about Connor, the cowboy who I knew would likely end up being a part of my life. Assuming everything went well with Mom and Richard, that is.

During my exploration, I found a gorgeous wildflower garden. It was at least an acre in size and covered in wildflowers of every color imaginable. It wasn’t more than a hundred yards away from Richard's home. On the outskirts of the area there was a wooden bench, where I took a seat and just admired the beauty that surrounded me.

It felt good to be in nature. It had been far too long since I had soaked up the sunshine and breathed in the fresh air. For some strange reason, the farm felt like home to be, even though I had obviously never been there before. Maybe it was a premonition of my mom ending up with Richard or something. I wasn't sure, but it didn't really matter. All I knew is that I was very happy to be there and I was glad that I had decided to go.

I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, feeling the warm sun as it soaked my body. It felt so good that I decided to just lay down on the bench and relax. It wasn't more than a few minutes later when I felt myself dozing off to sleep, though, the sound of the birds in the background soothing me into a slumber. I didn't know exactly how long I was out, but when I finally opened my eyes, I noticed that the sun was about to sink over the horizon.

"Oh, my gosh," I said, as I sat up slowly.

I let out a yawn and then reached my hands above my head, stretching up toward the sky.

Wow, I must have been asleep for a while.

I sat in silence on the bench for a few minutes and was about to stand up and go back to the house, when I heard the sound of footsteps approaching me from behind. Before I could turn around, I heard a man's voice say, "Hey, sleepy head. My dad said you might be out here. Hope I didn't wake you when I drove up in my truck." 

My eyes widened and I slowly turned around, bringing my gaze to a muscular man. He was wearing a white, sleeveless t-shirt and light-colored jeans with brown cowboy books. He had a cowboy hat on and his head was cocked to the side. There was a boyish smile on his face as he looked at me. I recognized him immediately as the man whom I had seen in the picture on top of Richard's mantel. 

I stood up from the bench and turned to face him.

"Oh, no, you didn't wake me up," I said, as I slipped my thumbs into the front pockets of my jeans, trying to act casual. 

The man slowly looked me up and down with the flirtatious smile on his face the entire time.

"Well, that's good," he said. 

His blue eyes glowed in the light from the setting sun. He looked at me in silence for a moment and then stepped closer to me. 

"I'm Connor," he said, as he held out his hand. "I'm Richard's son." 

His deep, sexy voice made me melt and I felt the same tingling sensation as when I had noticed his picture.

"I'm Emily," I said.

His hand was covered in calluses and I could feel the rough skin as we shook. It was clear that this man had spent most of his life working with his hands and something about that immediately made me even more attracted to him. He definitely wasn’t like the city boys that I was used to.

"Well, you're very beautiful," he said, as he gazed into my eyes. "And so is your mother. I can't believe my dad found such a pretty woman."

I blushed at his words and then shrugged my shoulders.

"My mom
is
very beautiful," I said. "But Richard is pretty handsome too. I think they make a good couple."

Connor stood with his feet shoulder-width apart and his arms at his side. He was at least a foot taller than me and his broad, muscular shoulders made me feel so small in comparison. I let my gaze move over his body, noticing how ripped and toned his arms were.

"So, you and your mom are from the city, right?" he asked.

I smiled as I shuffled my feet back and forth in the dirt.

"Yea, we're a couple of city girls, I guess," I said. "We're from Detroit. Like downtown Detroit, where everything is made of cement. I've never been to a place like this farm before."

Connor chuckled and shook his head. He seemed a bit shocked.

"You've never been to a farm?" he asked. "Then it looks like I might have to give you a tour. You don't know what you're missing."

My eyes lit up and I nodded eagerly.

"Yes!" I cried. "A tour would be fun! Can we do a tour on the horses?"

Connor stepped close and then casually grabbed my hand, leading me back toward the house.

"Let's save the horses for another day," he said. "I've been on tour with the rodeo now for weeks and I don't even feel like
looking
at a horse. Plus, one of their horseshoes is bent, so I need to fix it before we can ride him. I was thinking I could take you to my favorite spot on the farm, though. It's just a little walk away from here."

I squeezed his hand as he led me down the dirt path. It felt good holding his hand, but as we got closer to the house, I found myself a bit concerned that my mother would see me walking with him like that. I didn't think that she would have cared under normal circumstances, but this wasn't exactly normal. Connor was the son of my mom's new boyfriend. The situation had drama written all over it.

So I hesitantly released his hand. Connor looked toward me and said, "I hope that I didn’t make you uncomfortable. Where I come from, it's normal to hold a pretty lady's hand when you're walking with her. It doesn’t mean anything more than just common courtesy."

My heart throbbed as he spoke and my jaw dropped out of shock. It appeared that Connor was a total gentleman. Once again, he was proving himself to be unlike any guy I had ever known.

"Sorry," I said. "I just thought that my mom would think it would be weird if she saw us holding hands, since we just met and all. Not to mention that you’re Richard’s son..."

Connor shrugged and then said, "Yeah, I guess I can understand that. Well anyway, let me take you to my favorite spot before the sun goes down. It's absolutely beautiful. If you liked the wildflower garden, then you're going to
love
this place."

––––––––

A
fter a five-minute walk through a wooded area, we ended up at a large, turquoise-colored lake. It was surrounded by trees on all sides, hiding it from view of the road. If Connor hadn’t walked me there, I would have never known that it existed.

“Well, what do you think?” Connor asked.

I was silent for a moment as I took in the view. The water on the lake was perfectly still. It looked like a sheet of glass, with the exception of the few ripples that some ducks were creating on the opposite side.

“It’s beautiful,” I said, shaking my head in awe.

The sun began to sink in front of us, creating a bright orange sunset that lit the sky on fire. I looked up, watching the clouds change colors.

“You like it?” Connor asked. “It’s my favorite spot on the land.”

Then he paused for a moment.

“You know, now that I think about it, it’s my favorite spot in the entire world,” he continued. “I can’t think of any place that I’ve visited that I’d consider to be more beautiful than this.”

As I listened to him speak, I scanned the view, noticing the lush vegetation that surrounded us. It wasn’t the Iowa that I had always pictured. In fact, where we were standing, I couldn’t see one single stalk of corn.

“It really is nice, Connor,” I said, finally bringing my gaze to him.

“Come over here and sit with me. There’s a log bench right over here,” he said, as he led me a bit further around the lake.

We walked a bit and then took a seat on a handmade bench, which was close to the edge of the water. The sound of crickets and frogs began to fill the dusk air and I felt goose bumps pop up on my skin as the temperature cooled.

“So, what do you think of my dad?” Connor asked.

I smiled as I looked at him.

“Well, we didn’t talk for very long,” I responded. “As soon as my mom and I got here, they pretty much disappeared to do their own thing. I’d take that as a good sign, though, wouldn’t you?”

Connor nodded and said, “Yeah, I’d say so. I know my dad is really into her. He’s been talking about her non-stop since they met online. He was constantly texting and calling me to tell me about her while I was on tour.”

The way Connor spoke had me mesmerized. He talked slowly and confidently. He didn’t appear to be in a hurry like everybody else back at home. He seemed totally content, just being there in the moment with me, soaking it all in. It was yet another characteristic that I hadn’t ever found in anyone before.

I don’t know how long I stared at him before he looked over at me.

“You okay?” he asked, smiling.

I broke my gaze, feeling embarrassed for my staring.

“Yes, of course,” I said, shaking my head. “Sorry, I was just listening to you.”

Connor lifted his cowboy hat off of his head and set it on the log next to him. His thick and messy black hair was revealed and he quickly reached up, running his fingers through it and fixing it as best he could.

“So did you grow up in Detroit?” he asked. “What’s it like there?”

I sighed and looked up at the sky, watching the clouds turn a dark shade of pink as the sun continued its journey over the horizon.

“Yes, I grew up there,” I said. “But it’s just a city, you know? Nothing too exciting. There are a lot of cars and a lot of people...and a lot of smog.”

Connor took in a slow deep breath and then slowly exhaled.

“Yeah, I don’t do too well in the city,” he said. “I miss this clean air when I’m there. This is me, right here: this lake, these trees, these mountains and the fields behind us. This is where I belong and I’m sure that once I’m done on tour that this is where I’ll end up. And that’s fine by me.”

Once again, I found myself hanging on to every word. He was so sure of himself. He said everything so matter-of-factly.

“I think that’s pretty cool,” I responded.

Connor slowly reached over, placing his hand on my lower back.

“You really are beautiful, Emily,” he said. “I’m pretty lucky to have come home from the rodeo tour at just the right time so that I could meet you.”