Her Midnight Cowboy

Eastern Wyoming, 1884

In Angel Clayton’s opinion, men don’t get any finer than hired hand Rowdy McGuire. The very thought of him makes her ache with need—and the sight of his golden, glistening skin only makes it worse. She knows he feels their bodies’ magical, intense pull towards one another, even if the honorable cowboy refuses to admit that a drifter and a ranch owner’s daughter could ever be together.

But Angel is determined to get what she wants—and she wants Rowdy!

Dear Reader,

You have my sincere gratitude for purchasing this story. Historical romance novels have always been my favorite reads, and Harlequin, Mills and Boon’s UNDONE Line are the epitome of quick, satisfying, ‘once upon a time’ reads. Writing these stories, and sharing them with you, is such a dream come true that I have to pinch myself regularly.

I hope you enjoy Rowdy and Angel, and their journey to happily ever after.

Best wishes,

Lauri

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Epilogue

Eastern Wyoming, 1884

Angel Clayton nibbled on her thumbnail. A quick surveillance proved no one else was in the barn. Anticipation tickled her spine, and golden, glistening skin beckoned her forward. The appealing, eye-catching image of broad shoulders tapering into lean hips had her heart pounding in her ears.

The sight of a shirtless man wasn’t unusual at the ranch, but this particular one was flawless. Men didn’t get any finer than Rowdy McGuire.

On tiptoes, she sneaked forward, barely able to contain herself. When he turned, she stood before him, less than a foot away. His bare chest made her breath catch, and when their gazes locked, excitement bubbled in her stomach.

Rowdy cocked a grin and eased back against the haystack, never taking his eyes off hers. It was there again, a silent, magical communication between them that sent her insides dancing.

“Angel girl,” he said in the teasing tone that always took her breath away. “What are you doing?”

Half-mindless as she was, it took her a moment to remember the neatly folded note in her hand. She held it up. “I need a few things from town.”

He arched a brow, still grinning. “Oh? And what’s that got to do with me?”

“You—” she waved the note below his nose “—are going to pick them up and bring them home for me.”

“I am?”

She nodded, nibbling at her bottom lip this time. The desire to kiss him was stronger than ever. He reached out and twirled a golden curl around one finger. The touch, even though she couldn’t feel it, made her insides swirl. “Yes, you are,” she insisted.

“What if I’m not going to town?”

Leaning closer, she whispered, “Its Saturday. You always go to town on Saturday.” Thoughts were two-stepping around in her head, trying to come up with something she could ask him to do if he wasn’t going to town. It was hard. None of her ideas included respectable behavior. Notions of the two of them doing things that only married couples were supposed to do lived in her head day and night.

His silver-toned eyes went to the paper floating beneath their noses. “And what will you give me if I do go fill that list for you?”

Excitement shot through her veins. Now was her chance. “This.” She stretched up on her toes and pressed her lips to his. The brief, short merger was like touching a flame—and set off a sizzling heat that caused them to jerk apart.

His quick intake of air echoed in her ears, and she leaned close again, wanting the connection back and growing more light-headed as the heat of his body mingled with hers.

He kept his distance, but his breath bounced off the tender skin of her chin. “You’re mighty tempting, Angel girl. Mighty tempting.”

Practically screaming with want, she tilted her chin upward, arching toward him.

Featherlight, his lips brushed over hers. Cherishing the touch, Angel closed her eyes. She’d waited so long for this.

The next instant, Rowdy and his lips were gone. Catching her balance by planting a hand against the hay, she twisted around.

He was at the door, shrugging into his shirt. “We can’t do this, Angel girl. No good can come of it.” As he walked out the barn door, he glanced over one shoulder and winked.

Angel slumped against the stack of hay bundles, trembling from head to toe and gulping for air. It was a moment or two before her breath and senses returned, along with determination.

Her steps grew steadier as she moved toward the door, leaving the crumpled note on the barn floor. By the time she found the coordination to run across the ranch yard, the tail of Rowdy’s coal-black mustang waved like a flag at high noon as he and his horse galloped down the dusty road.

“Rowdy McGuire, get back here!” Angel balled both hands into fists. Her nails dug into her palms, and she squeezed her eyes shut, relishing the pain. Would he go to the Whistle Stop? To Liza Spencer and her brass bed, complete with red silk bedcoverings and gold fringed pillows?

Disgust filled Angel’s chest. She let the air out of her lungs and silently apologized. There was no call to dislike Liza. None of this was her fault. Liza’s bedcoverings kept the woman warm during the cold Wyoming nights the same as Angel’s patchwork quilt did. Rowdy was to blame. The man filled her with frustration, and left her in a cold sweat, aching and twitching with want.

“Why are you yelling at Rowdy now?”

Angel jolted, startled by the deep voice next to her shoulder. Folding her arms across her chest, she kept her gaze on the road. “I—I have a list of things I need from town.”

“So? You’re nineteen, plenty old enough. Hitch up a buggy and go get them,” her father stated flatly.

“There’s no need for me to go to Cottonwood when he’s already going.”

“You made that man carry home enough…” her father paused as if searching for the right words “…
doodads
last Saturday to fill the barn.” Ellis Clayton graced her with one of his stern stares. “You have to stop treating Rowdy like a slave.”

“I—” Her jaw clenched so hard she had to practically pry it open. “Well,” she said in justification, “he does work for us.”

“Me,” her father corrected. “Rowdy McGuire works for me. He’s one of the best wranglers I’ve ever had.” His gaze went to the road, where the dust from Rowdy’s horse still floated in the air. “I’ve got plans for that young man,” he said wistfully.

What?
By now, Angel was mad enough to tangle with a polecat. She whipped about, but stopped short of spitting out the word on the tip of her tongue. Her father’s eyes lingered on the road, and his brows arched thoughtfully.

The sight refueled her ire. It was all too much—Rowdy spending the night in Liza’s big brass bed, the way he’d ignored her lately, the barn encounter, her uncontrollable body. Gritting her teeth, she growled in frustration and took off toward the ranch house. Bounding up the stairs and across the porch, she barely paused to wrench open the door.

“Goodness, Angel, what’s happened?” Constance, her stepmother, asked as the door banged shut.

A burning sob formed in Angel’s throat. She shook her head.

Constance was at her side, guiding her to the hide sofa near the stone fireplace in the center of the front parlor. “What happened?”

“Nothing.” Angel covered her face with both hands. “Everything.”

“Which is it? Nothing or everything?”

She didn’t have an answer.

“Did you and Rowdy have an argument?” Constance asked in her smooth and calming tone.

“No.” Angel dropped her hands onto her lap and leaned her head on the the woman’s shoulder. Her stepmother always opened a soft spot in Angel’s heart. Six years ago, a local farmer, Ashton Kramer, had ordered a bride, but died chasing down a runaway stage three days before Constance arrived, Folks figured he’d been trying to save the stage because he thought Constance was on it. She hadn’t been, and when she’d arrived in Cottonwood there’d been a passel of men ready to step in and claim Ashton’s order.

The wind had been awful that day, and full of tiny bits of snow. Angel had instantly been drawn to the beautiful young woman and invited her to stay at the ranch. Her father had stepped in, refuting Angel’s request, but before the hour was up and the snow grew into big flakes, Constance and her trunks of eastern dresses were loaded in the Clayton wagon.

That’s what usually happened. Being the only child of one of the richest ranchers in the territory, Angel frequently got her way, though she didn’t take advantage of the fact too often. Years ago she’d concluded that hard work and determination were more rewarding.

Lifting her head now, she squared her shoulders. “He’s driving me crazy, Constance. Pa says I treat him like a slave. I don’t mean to, I just…”

Constance smiled. “Maybe you’re trying too hard.”

Angel let out a long sigh, fully disgusted with her behavior of late. She’d become so infatuated with Rowdy it was no wonder he hightailed it out of the ranch every chance he got.

It hadn’t always been like that. Rowdy had been at the ranch for over a year. She’d liked him from the first time they’d met, and felt a strange connection to him. He was knowledgeable and respected others, as well as the land. His type of dedication and loyalty was seldom seen in drifters.

They’d gotten along quite well, but the last month or so, he’d been setting off a mass of unusual and uncontrollable sensations that left her heart pounding, and a jumbled mess of hot, raging ache deep in her core. It was a sort of obsession. Anytime they met, it was as if their bodies carried on a passionate conversation—a magical, mystical one that awakened an intense swirling need inside her.

She’d thought about talking to Constance. Normally, Angel discussed every womanly thing that happened with her stepmother, but there was something about the way she felt toward Rowdy that was too private to share. It was precious, and somehow only for him to know.

Yet she couldn’t talk to Rowdy about it. Lately, he seemed guarded, almost frightened of her. He still teased her, but not like he used to.

“I know it’s hard, but everything that’s meant to be turns out in the end,” Constance offered.

Angel cringed, wondering if her stepmother had read her mind.

“Men have their pride. They like to call the shots. You just need to be patient,” she continued.

Angel shook her head. “I think I’ve ran out of patience.” She sighed again and tried to change the subject. “I wish I was more like you, Constance. You’re always so positive. So happy.”

“I learned it from you. When I first moved out here I was scared and worried, and you were so caring, so wise beyond your years. You showed me what heaven on earth means.” Constance patted Angel’s knee and glanced toward the front door. “Just be yourself, sweetie. I’ve seen the way Rowdy looks at you. Like your father looks at me,” she whispered.

Angel’s heart slammed against her chest so hard she pressed a hand to her breastbone. If ever there were two people who worshiped each other, it was Constance and Ellis Clayton. The entire territory knew that.

Rowdy McGuire sat with his back to the door, cringing every time the hinges creaked. He’d done it this time. Kissed the boss’s daughter. Ellis Clayton should fire him. It wasn’t Angel’s fault. He’d be sure and tell Ellis that. He was to blame. What had started out months ago as a bit of lighthearted flirting had grown into something he couldn’t quite comprehend, other than it had to stop—before he sullied her reputation.

The saloon door opened again, and Rowdy glanced over his shoulder. Frank Sanders walked in, the spurs on his boots jingling a lopsided tune. “Hey, Rowdy,” he called, making his way to the bar along the back wall. “You ready to leave the Clayton spread and come work for me?”

“Naw, I’ll stay where I’m at,” Rowdy responded. It was the same exchange they had every time their paths crossed, and lately, he’d been thinking that if he had a lick of sense, he should seriously consider the man’s offer.

“Well, you let me know when you are.”

“I’ll do that.” Rowdy turned back to the glass in his hand, the one he’d been spinning around in circles since arriving at the Whistle Stop. He should’ve gone back to the ranch, got Angel’s list.

The dress she wore today was a formfitting creation of yellow, the same shade of sunshine as her massive curls. It made her big brown eyes look as if they were flecked with gold.

Even here in the saloon, where stale cigar smoke and the scent of whiskey hung in to the air, he could smell her lemony scent. His body tensed, grew hard and edgy. The woman was going to be the death of him. All it took was a simple glimpse of her and his loins burst to life, throbbing and aching.

Liza Spencer pulled out the chair next to him and sat. “You look like you’re about to jump out of your skin.” She rested her chin on one fist. “What happened?”

“Nothing,” he said, taking a pensive sip of the whiskey.

“You, Rowdy McGuire, make a poor liar.”

He emptied the rest of the prairie dew in his glass, gritting his teeth as it hit the back of his throat like a ball of fire.

“When are you gonna face the inevitable?”

Rowdy shook his head. “There is no inevitable.”

She laughed. “The rolling stone has set down roots.”

He shot her a menacing stare—probably because her words stuck like a cocklebur under a saddle. He’d been roaming for ten years, since he was sixteen and buried both his ma and pa on the Oregon Trail, but the moment he’d met Angel Clayton his wanderlust had dried up.

He’d tried to use Liza once—to drown Angel from his mind—but after he’d followed Liza up the stairs, he’d stopped. Another woman wouldn’t erase Angel. He was in too deep for that. Which made no sense. He liked his wandering life. Not being responsible for anyone but himself. Why did one woman matter so much?

When Angel had heard about him following Liza up the stairs, the hurt he saw in her big brown eyes had all but gutted him. He’d thought about telling her he and Liza hadn’t been pirooting, but ultimately concluded it was a moot point. She was Angel Clayton—the most sought after woman in the Territory. She couldn’t take up with the likes of him—a drifting cowpoke.

He knew his station in life, and Angel deserved more than he could offer. She deserved a man of means who knew about the finer things in life. One who would escort her around the world and cover her with silk gowns and jewels. Someone like Timothy Milner, whose family owned the Double B. It was no secret Milner expected Angel to marry him. Their union would create the largest ranch in the western hemisphere.

Liza pointed to his glass. “You want another shot of whiskey?”

Rowdy shook his head. Whiskey wasn’t going to help the feelings eating at him today.

“Buck up, cowboy.” Liza playfully punched his arm.

Rowdy wasn’t one to take to feeling sorry for himself. He’d been on his own too long for that, and in most things he’d done just fine. He had several hundred head of cattle running with Clayton’s herds, and a fair amount of money sitting in the Cottonwood bank. However, when it came to figuring out what to do about Angel Clayton he was a complete failure.

He let out a deep sigh. “Leave me alone, Liza.”

She whacked the back of his head hard enough to send his hat askew. “You’re about the most ignorant creature I’ve ever met.”

Had she been a man he’d have knocked her off her seat, but since it was Liza, he straightened his hat and glared at her.

She shook her head. “Maybe you need to head south. Find a herd of longhorns to look after. You’re about as stubborn as they are.”

Rowdy pushed away from the table before the steam in his ears made him say something he’d regret.

She grabbed his elbow. “You’re not going anywhere.”

He wrenched his arm away and stood. After slapping the money for his drink on the bar, he turned around, and came eye to eye with Ellis Clayton.

If he were a lesser man, he might have shrunk to the floor from the heavy weight of dread pouring over him, but Rowdy planted his heels and met the man’s stare. “Ellis,” he said with a nod.

“Just the man I was looking for.” The rancher’s brown eyes, full of the same grit and determination as his daughter’s, went to Liza. “Afternoon, Liza.”

“Afternoon, Ellis,” she replied, rising from her chair. “Can I get you men a drink?”

“Please,” Ellis agreed. “I need to talk to Rowdy.”

“I’ll bring the bottle,” she said, flipping around.

Ellis slapped Rowdy’s shoulder. “Have a seat.”

Against his better judgment, Rowdy sat, guts churning and sweat popping out on the back of his neck. Not with fear of being fired, but at the thought of disappointing Ellis Clayton. He was a good man, and Rowdy didn’t like letting anyone down.

“I owe you an apology, Rowdy,” Ellis started.

Rowdy removed his hat to scratch his head. Part in confusion, part because Liza was back, setting two glasses and a full bottle of good whiskey, not the prairie dew the establishment sold to the everyday crowd, on the table.

Once she moved away Rowdy looked the man in the eye. “Excuse me?”

Ellis poured them each a glass. “I owe you an apology for the way Angel’s behaving lately. The way she’s treating you.”

Rowdy picked up his glass and took a swallow before the glob in his throat made it impossible. Angel was not only beautiful, she was smart and compassionate, and the thought of anyone—even her father—slighting her was enough to make Rowdy see red.

“I don’t know what’s gotten into that girl,” Ellis continued, lifting his glass. “She’s always been headstrong, but lately…” His words trailed off as he took a drink.

Rowdy clutched the glass. “Angel’s a good woman, Ellis. You have reason to be right proud of your daughter.”

“Oh, I know, and I am. I love that girl beyond reason. I just want you to know I won’t be offended if you tell her you’re not her slave.”

“What?”

“She’s old enough to go to town and get her own baubles,” Ellis said, topping off both their glasses. “It’s not like her to expect someone to do everything for her.”

“I don’t mind picking up things for her,” Rowdy assured him. “Or Mrs. Clayton. But, Ellis,” he stated sternly, “I’m not a slave to anyone. Never had been and never will be.”

Ellis held up a hand. “I know, Rowdy. I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m just saying Angel doesn’t need to be coddled. She’s of good stock. Has what it takes to live out here.”

Rowdy knew that, and admired Angel for her grit. But he frowned. A woman of Angel’s rank deserved to be coddled. Matter of fact, she should be spoiled rotten—treated like a queen.

Ellis leaned back in his chair. “I do, however, appreciate the way you look out for her.” The man grinned. “Did you know she once freed a full-grown bear from a trap? And healed its wounds? The crazy thing shows up every once in a while, looking for a bowl of honey.”

“Yeah, I know,” Rowdy admitted with a grin. He’d helped her more than once when an animal had looked to her to heal its wounds. “I’ve met her passel of critters. That one-legged rooster is nothing to mess with.”

Ellis let out a laugh. “Last spring she convinced a fox to nurse a batch of kittens along with its cubs after the mother cat died.”

“I believe it,” Rowdy admitted, grinning as warmth blanketed his insides. “She has a way with animals.”

“Yes, she does. People, too.” Ellis was silent for a moment before he laid a hand on the table. “Well, now for the real reason I wanted to talk to you. Since you came to work for me…” he paused, glancing at Rowdy “…how long has it been now?”

“A little over a year,” Rowdy answered without thought. Ellis was right. People, too, looked for guidance from Angel. The way she cajoled Hank to take it easy was remarkable. The old man didn’t know he was on light duty, yet every other cowhand did. And there again, she’d convinced them Hank wasn’t ever to know—and he wouldn’t. No one would go against Angel. Not because she was the boss’s daughter, but because she was Angel. There wasn’t a person around she wouldn’t treat just as she did Hank if the need arose.

“You’ve made good progress in a year.” Ellis leaned forward and picked up his glass. He held it in the air, and Rowdy copied the action, but his salute was for Angel.

They clinked glasses and each took a sip before Ellis started again. “Well, like I was saying, since you came to work for me, I’ve been able to slack off some, spend more time with Constance.” He winked. “I appreciate that, and I’ve been thinking I’d like to take a trip.”

“A trip?”

“Yes, to England.” Ellis nodded. “That’s where my pa was from. He came across the sea as a young man, settled out East and took to raising cotton. That wasn’t for me, though. Even before the war I knew I had to head West. My younger brother, Eli, still has the plantation.” Ellis waved a hand. “Anyway, I’d like to see England, spend time just living while I’m young enough to enjoy it.”

Rowdy spun his glass in a circle. The notion of Angel sailing across the sea, going to England, sounded dangerous. She was curious and headstrong enough to get herself in a heap of trouble.

“Well, that’s where you come in, Rowdy,” Ellis said with finality.

He snapped his head up, wondering if he’d spoken his thoughts aloud.

“I need a good man to take care of Heaven on Earth while I’m gone.” Ellis chuckled. “Hell of a name for a ranch, ain’t it? Christine, my first wife, God rest her soul, named it. We traveled all the way out here in a prairie schooner, just she and I. She was a good woman, full of spice and vinegar. Angel’s a lot like her. When we topped the hill on the north side of the property, she said, ‘That’s it, Ellis, that’s our heaven on earth.’ She also insisted on naming our daughter Angel. Said it was only fitting.”

“I reckon she was right,” Rowdy offered, having had the same thoughts. Angel was the perfect name.

Ellis took another drink of whiskey. “So, what do you think?”

Rowdy searched his mind for a quick second, wondering exactly what he was supposed to be thinking about. An imaginary bell went off. Ellis was asking for assistance in finding a foreman. “Well—” he nodded toward the bar “—Frank Sanders is a good man. Don’t know if he’s interested in a new job. He’s been foreman at the Double B for several years now.”

Ellis frowned, his gaze bouncing to the bar and back to Rowdy. “Sanders is a fine man, but he’s not who I want.”

“I suppose I could do some check—”

“I want you, Rowdy. I’m offering you the job.”

“Me?” A shiver ripped down Rowdy’s spine. He’d always considered employment an equal partnership. When his time was up, he left. No questions or hard feelings on either side. The responsibilities of a foreman’s job would make leaving difficult.

“Yes, you. I want you as my foreman.” Ellis let out a small laugh. “Maybe we should talk about a partnership, given the number of cows you got running on my land.” He rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger. “I’ll think more about that while I’m gone.” He leaned forward and set an elbow on the table. “What’d you say?”

“Well, Ellis, I—”

“You’ll have to move out of the bunkhouse, of course. There’re plenty of spare bedrooms in the ranch house. It’ll be easier for you to keep an eye on Angel.”

Rowdy nearly choked on his whiskey. He could barely keep his hands off her as it was, but living in the same house… “Angel’s not going with you?” he asked, sounding like a bullfrog with a cold.

“No, it’ll be just me and Constance. I know my daughter. She’d go stir-crazy on a ship for two weeks. She’ll stay at the ranch with you.”

Rowdy wished he’d been fired.

Two weeks later—five days after her parents had left—Rowdy sneaked into the house before sunrise, lessening the chance he’d run into Angel.

He was sitting at Ellis’s desk, making notes about the calves in the north pasture, when the hair on the back of his neck rose. A lump formed in his throat and his heart stomped across his chest like a stampede of yearlings.

Wearing only a flimsy white nightgown, her bare feet peeking out from beneath the hem, Angel pushed the door open.

His breath quickened. Her golden curls hung wildly about her shoulders, and her dark eyes still shimmered with sleepiness. He snapped his gaze back to the desktop as sweat popped out on his forehead.

“Good morning,” she said in greeting, walking into the room. “I was on my way to make a pot of coffee. Would you like some?”

“No, thank you.”

“It’s no problem. I can’t drink a full pot by myself.” Stopping near the corner of the desk, she ran a finger over the wood. “I still don’t understand why you refused to move into the house.”

He shuffled the papers, pretending he hadn’t heard.

Her sigh echoed in the room. “There’s plenty of room. It’s a big house.”

If there was any hope he’d make it through the next two months, some ground rules had to be set. He’d never been firm with Angel, never wanted to—nor needed to be. Most mornings he woke up wondering what little chore she’d conjure up for him to do. She was clever. Her requests never interfered with his job or the ranch, and in most incidences, they were somewhat needed. The most appealing aspect was that her chores usually gave him an opportunity to tease her until her cheeks blazed.

But lately, the unusual combination of excitement and fear he felt at the chance of running into her was like nothing he’d ever known. That she kept leaving little hints of herself around didn’t help. Right now, a hair ribbon hung on the edge of the fireplace grate, and her shoes, with stockings neatly tucked inside, sat beneath the desk. Practically every day since her father left she’d washed her unmentionables and hung them to dry right outside the office window.