Count This Cowboy In (32 page)

After a pause she asked,
"What do you mean that kind of spanking?  There's more than one?"

"
Oh, yes.  After we're married I'll show you the kind of spanking you can earn when you're good."

"
What?  Are you crazy?"

"
Nope.  You just wait and see, little one.  There's another kind of spanking and you'll love it.  I promise."

She looked doubtful, but said,
"I don't know.  You've never lied to me, so I'll wait and see, but I don't know."

He chuckled. 
"You'll see."

Sam lifted her left hand to admire her ring again. 
"It's beautiful, Trevor.  Thank you."

"
I'm glad you like it.  I told the jeweler I wanted a beautiful ring for a beautiful lady."

She snuggled in against him and said,
"That is so sweet."  After a bit she said, "Trevor, I know what I want to do with my money."

"
You do, already?  There's no rush, you know, Sweetheart.  You can take you time to decide."

"
I don't need any time.  I know exactly what I want to do."

"
Okay.  What do you want to do with it?"

"
I want to buy the ranch you've been looking at and make it part of The Circle N."

"
Sam, no.  That money is for you.  The Circle N is doing fine now since you stopped the Hendersons from stealing from it."

"
I know it is, Trevor, thanks to your good management.  But I want to do this.  The money doesn't really mean much to me.  The ranch I grew up on would have, but that's already gone and I feel good now that I know the new owners love it like I would have.  But that's not my home any longer and my dream's changed."

"
It has?"

"
Yes.  You were right earlier when you said I wanted to run the ranch I grew up on and start a breeding program and have the best herd of cattle in Texas.  But this is my home now.  What would mean something to me now is taking that money and buying this ranch and together we can expand on the breeding program you've started on The Circle N and together we can have the best herd of cattle in Oklahoma.  That's my new dream."

Trevor was speechless and just pulled her to him.  She gave him that mischievous grin he was beginning to love and asked,
"So, cowboy, are you in my dream, or not?"

He smiled and said,
"Brat.  Count this cowboy in!"

Misty Malone

Misty has dreamed of writing romance novels where handsome men are willing to take the young ladies they love in hand.  She's following that dream now.  She and her husband and their son live in the midwest.

Don’t miss the exciting breakout novel by Misty Malone and Blushing Books!

The Strange Healing

Please enjoy Chapter One of The Strange Healing, by Misty Malone!

Chapter One

Heath strolled lazily toward his sister and her husband, carrying his flip-flops so he could enjoy the sand between his toes.  He was grateful that his brother-in-law, Phil, who was a close friend, had talked him into this day at the beach.  He’d been under a great deal of stress lately, and this day of leisure was turning out to be a good healer for him.

The quiet day of relaxing was just what he needed, with no concerns or problems on his mind.  Except for the lady who’d been sitting motionless on the beach a few hundred feet from them.  He noticed her when they first put their blanket down.  She was a lovely young lady, but she looked sad as she sat alone, staring into the ocean.  He knew people occasionally went to the beach to think things through, but this little lady seemed lost.  He’d glanced over her way several times, but he’d hardly seen any movement from her at all.  He was starting to worry, wondering if he should go check on her, just to be sure she was okay.

“Rather than stare at her all day, why don’t you go introduce yourself?”  Phil’s words startled Heath, and he looked to his friend, who was smiling.  “I’ve seen you watching her ever since we got here.  She is pretty, and she seems to be alone, so go introduce yourself.  You need a good woman, and she looks like she needs a friend for dinner tonight, so go talk to her.”

Heath smiled at his good friend.  “Will you and your meddling wife stop matchmaking for this one day?”

Heather grinned innocently and asked, “Whatever do you mean by that?”  He frowned at her, and she laughed when she saw his eyebrow rise.  “Okay, maybe we have suggested a lady or two that would be worth getting to know, but what do you expect?  You’re my big brother, after all, and you’ve spent so much time helping me all these years, I just want to repay you, if I can.”

Heath gave his sister a hug. “Heather, I appreciate that thought, I really do.  But I’m sure if there’s a woman out there for me, I’ll find her on my own.  I’ve been too busy to look, but things are slowing down now, so give me a chance, okay?  And I’m not really your big brother.”

Heather returned her brother’s hug, and reluctantly agreed.  “I guess I can back off a little.  But you are my big brother.  You were born seven minutes before me, so that makes you my big brother. Like it or not, you’ll always be older than me, so get used to it, old man!”

Heath shook his head as he looked over at Phil.  “Do you let her get away with that kind of behavior, that sassy mouth all the time?”

Noting the grin on Heath’s face, Phil smiled as he said, “Not always.  Today’s a day to relax, though.  It takes way too much energy to get her over my knee and hold her there while I teach her some manners.”  Seeing the smug look she gave her brother as she stuck her tongue out at him, Phil grabbed her arm and quickly whirled her around and landed a sharp swat on her bottom.  “Of course, I could be persuaded to rethink that plan.”

“
Ouch,” Heather cried, as she turned to look at her husband.  She noted the serious warning in his eyes and quickly said, “Sorry, Heath.”  She saw the smile on Phil’s face and the sparkle return to his eyes, and turned back to her brother.  “I know you’ve been busy, Heath, and I’m glad things are finally slowing down for you.  I’ve watched you work so hard for so long, between college and your job, and you spent an enormous amount of time helping me when Mom and Dad died.  You pulled me through that, even though I know you were hurting just as much.  I just want you to be happy now.”

“
Thank you, sis.”  Heath kissed his sister on her forehead and assured her. “I appreciate everything you just said, but I can find my own date.  I promise.”

“
Yeah, I know that.  But you introduced me to Phil, and I’ll never be able to thank you enough for that.”

He smiled at both of them. “But that’s different.  I knew he was perfect for you.” 

Phil smiled, while Heather punched her brother in the arm.

Smiling at his wife, Phil said, “You’re hitting your brother like you want me to exert the energy to spank you after all.  Is that what you want?”

Her eyes were wide as she said, “Absolutely not!”  She knew he was teasing, and she added, “What am I going to do with you two brutes?”

Phil laughed. “Well, this brute’s going to go get us some water from the stand over there.  Can I trust you to behave while I’m gone, or do I need to drag you with me?”

Lying back down to enjoy her rare day of relaxation, she assured him, “I’ll be a little angel while you’re gone, just like normal.”

Both men laughed. Heath asked, “Want some help, Phil?”

“No, I got this.  You stay here and come up with a good opening line to introduce yourself to the little lady you’ve been staring at all day.” 

As Heath watched his friend leave to get the water, he turned to look again at the mysterious lady just a little ways up the beach.  Two men approached her just then and he wondered if she’d been waiting for them all this time.  As they got to her, though, he saw the lady jump, as if she’d been startled.  Instantly concerned, he watched as the three talked a couple minutes.  She appeared upset, and he decided to slowly wander down in that direction to be sure there was no problem.

Just as he stood, one of them, a tall, thin man, grabbed her arm and pulled.  She pulled back, trying to get her arm free, and tried to plant her feet in the sand.  The second, shorter man grabbed her other arm and they started to pull her through the sand.  Heath didn’t like the looks of that at all and took off running toward them.  Just then she screamed and he picked up his speed as he yelled, “Hey, let her go!”

Heather heard her brother yell, and looked over in that direction.  She saw what was happening and immediately ran to get her husband. 

Heath watched the two men pull harder and drag the lady toward the path leading to the road.  He yelled again to no avail.  He got close enough and grabbed the taller one, pulling all three to an abrupt stop.  “I don’t believe the lady wants to go with you two, so let go of her,” Heath demanded.

Jerking his arm free of Heath’s hold, the guy growled. “This is none of your business, and if you know what’s good for you you’ll leave.”

Glancing quickly at her terrified look, Heath knew that whatever was going on, she didn’t like it.  He told the man, “I just made it my business.  Now let her go.”  He easily ducked as the man took a swung at his jaw.  He quickly turned around and was able to knock him to the ground while he was off balance.  That bought him enough time to deal with the shorter man who was approaching, fists first.  Again he was able to duck the first blow, then land a solid blow of his own, knocking the man backward and off his feet. 

He quickly whirled around and caught the taller man with a solid punch to his gut as he ducked to avoid his fist again.  As the man doubled over, Heath turned to square off with the shorter guy, devising a plan in his mind as to how he could handle both of them at once, when he heard the taller man behind him groan.  As he landed another punch, which knocked his sparring partner down again, he turned and was glad to see Phil standing over the taller assailant. 

“You okay, Heath?”

“
Yeah.  Thanks, Phil.  You okay?”

“
I’m fine.”  Turning to the two men, who were staring at each other now, both still in the sand, Phil asked, “You two want to take us both on now, or are you ready to leave, like he told you to do?”

As the two ran off, Heath turned to the lady, whose eyes were still filled with terror. He could see her trembling, and without thinking, he pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her.  “Are you okay?” 

She immediately started crying, and he held her tight, trying to assure her.  “It’s okay now, sweetheart.  They’re gone, and you’re safe.”  He just held her while she cried hysterically. 

Heather had gotten there and asked, “What happened?  Is everyone okay?”

No one said anything for a minute, and finally Heath said, “I think we’re all okay.  I’m not sure exactly what happened.”  Pulling the crying little lady away far enough to look into her eyes, he asked, “Ma’am, are you okay?  Did they hurt you?”  He didn’t get any response.  He quietly tried again, “Did you know them?”  The only response he got was a groan as she shook her head.

“
I didn’t think so,” Heath murmured.  He kept his arms around her, trying to assure her, not sure what else he should do.  He did the only thing he could think of, and kept trying to convince her she was safe now.

He caught his sister’s eyes, and she appeared confused, as well.  She went over and rubbed the lady’s back, saying, “Honey, you have to be upset.  Let’s go sit down on our blanket while you calm down and tell us what happened.  We have some water over there.  Maybe that will help.”  She reached over to take the woman’s arm gently and lead her to their blanket, but the young woman pulled back from her, clinging to Heath.

Heath tightened his grip on her. “Come on, let’s go sit down so we can talk a bit.  I could use a drink of water myself.”  He headed them toward their blanket, his arm still around her protectively, when her knees gave out.  He quickly caught her and picked her up, carrying her to their blanket, where he sat down with her still in his arms.