Serious Cowboy (Cowboys of Duncan Ranch #2)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Joy Randall’s sleeveless shirt and shorts clung to her like a second skin despite their hundred percent cotton construction as she drove through her old familiar haunts. Rocky Ridge, Montana might not be a stranger to her, but it felt a bit like some distant relative she only saw during family reunions.

It was almost surreal being back here after a decade of being away. Since this was her hometown, she knew others would expect her to appreciate her return to the fresh air, sprawling green pastureland, and small-town country charm.

But those expectations better prepare to be subverted because coming back home had only happened as a last resort.

“Mommy, it’s so hot,” Kara, her eight-year-old daughter complained from the backseat, and though technically, she couldn’t blame her, piling on any additional stress right now wasn’t a good idea.

“I know,” Joy snapped, then taking a deep breath, softened her tone. “I know, sweetie. Why don’t you switch seats over to the middle.”

Her ancient Toyota Corolla had long been a rattletrap of a car, but it was all she had. The fact that it had no working air conditioner or windows that rolled down in the back was something she and Kara just had to deal with. It didn’t help that they were currently experiencing record-breaking highs for July as well as several rain showers in a row. It made the normally delightfully dry and comfortable summer atmosphere sticky and sweltering.

Especially when there was little to no air movement.

At least when her child sat in the middle of the back seat, Joy could aim the single working vent in Kara’s direction.

The area was still undeniably beautiful. Mountainous terrain served as the background no matter what way she glanced. And even though Los Angeles was situated on a coastal plain made up of pavement, rocks, and grass so dry and crispy it resembled breakfast cereal more than plant life, she already missed it. She had built a life there or tried to.

But sometimes no matter what you did, life would go flying off the tracks.

She passed a bank with one of those digital signs that specified temperature. It was one hundred and nine degrees right now, so it was no wonder her normally placid daughter kept griping about it. Joy felt like she was melting, too, and if she’d had the time, she might’ve stopped and purchased them some drinks or something else cold. But she didn’t have that time. She needed to make about a million pitstops today, and she was on the way to just one of them.

The sign flashed from the temp to the fact that it was eleven o’clock in the morning, later than Joy wanted it to be. Then, it switched to a message.

Congratulations to native son Jack Taylor on his latest first prize win!

Jack Taylor, famous on the rodeo circuit for his ability to stay on the backs of bucking broncos, had made a name for himself. She probably would’ve eventually heard about this win even if he hadn’t been her second cousin. Taylor had, after all, been her maiden name. But then everyone seemed to be related by blood or marriage in tiny communities like this one.

She hadn’t seen Jack or his sister Lilliana in ages, but she believed he might be engaged to some girl named Felicity. Or maybe he’d married her by now? Joy wasn’t sure. She knew Lilliana had snagged a husband from one of the four Duncan brothers who ran the appropriately named Duncan Ranch outside of town and that she still taught at the high school. But only because of the family newsletter her mom always forwarded to her at Christmas.

She didn’t want to think about her parents right now despite having just moved in with them. It’d been so embarrassing to have to call them up with her tail between her legs asking for refuge. Not only because they’d been mostly estranged for years, but also because Joy had felt like she had to eat crow. They’d been right about the man she’d married while she’d been wrong. So very wrong.

But Joy hadn’t known that when she’d walked down the aisle to marry him.

The most notable thing about Wayne Randall was his charisma. The man could charm a rattlesnake right out of its skin. He’d won her over with his big personality, good looks, and leading man smile. It hadn’t hurt that he’d been a man with big dreams to match that personality.

Wayne had wanted to be a star. He talked about his future in the movies all the time. Had told her his name would someday be on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next to so many other people everyone recognized. And his excitement about this had been contagious. More importantly, she’d witnessed his talent in acting and believed he could actually pull it off.

That’s why she’d not only married him against her mom and dad’s wishes, she’d moved with him to LA. California had been like this whole other world. At first, it’d been so exhilarating. She’d felt wild and free as well as rebellious for defying her folks. They’d had to live in a closet-sized apartment that cost an arm and a leg, but right off the bat, Wayne attended a bunch of auditions. Joy had been so sure his moment was right around the corner.

It hadn’t been.

Turned out that Wayne Randall was a small fish in an enormous pond of hopefuls exactly like him. And while he was out there giving his all and doing his best, so were so many others. Thousands of them. On the rare occasions when he’d receive a call back, either the gig wouldn’t be above board—typically a total scam—or he never made the final cut.

After a year and a half of this, the light of hope she used to admire inside her husband faded.

But Joy kept supporting him, encouraging him. She invested in a short stint in beauty school so she could begin working in the hairstyling industry. Through one of the few contacts Wayne had, she even managed to secure a full-time job as a stylist on a soap opera. The steady work saved them even though the pay wasn’t great. And that was when Wayne broke down and did what so many others before him did, he waited tables.

Joy passed a restaurant named Three Sisters Barbecue Excellence, somewhere she’d never heard of, and caught a strong whiff of something tangy and probably wonderful. But Wayne wouldn’t have been remotely interested in working in a place like that. The only reason he got onboard with serving at all was due to the bistro being frequented by the Hollywood elite. He’d been certain that he’d be “discovered” by a casting agent, producer, or director.

So, for a while, everything seemed fine.

That’s when she discovered she was pregnant.

Joy had known she wanted to be a mother someday, but having it happen right then was less than perfect timing. Her and Wayne’s finances weren’t where they needed to be for a child, and at first, she’d been terrified to tell him. When she did, though, he seemed happy. Nervous but happy. They prepared for Kara’s arrival and right before she was born, he had another audition that boded well. He even got hired to do a pilot. They’d both been on cloud nine.

Then the network dropped the show prior to it even airing.

Joy gripped her cracked steering wheel, her sweaty palm slipping as she did. But then a view of what her mom had told her to search for. A coffee house named Mountaintop Java. A jewelry store that went by Montana Jewels. And in the middle, her destination of Salon 406.

Tossing her troubles out of her mind, she did her best to straighten her hair and makeup. Her outfit was too informal for an interview, but she was just going to see if she could make an appointment anyway. She’d attempted to make it by phone, but the number kept going to the same message.

“Hi, there, you’ve reached Salon 406. This is Christine, and I’m probably knee-deep in hair dye or some other chemical concoction meant to make you gorgeous. My other stylists probably are, as well. So, leave us a message.”

Since yesterday, Joy had left three without hearing anything back. It’d been a letdown. Maybe this was how Wayne had felt.

But she couldn’t afford to take no as an answer. Hence her reason for just showing up in person. One thing hit her as a positive right off the bat.

There was a help-wanted sign posted in the window.

“Come on, sweetie,” Joy told her daughter as she pushed herself out of the car and smoothed whatever clothing wrinkles she could with her palms. “We need to go in here for just a minute. And please try to just stand with me and don’t fidget.”

“Can’t I just stay here?” Kara asked.

“No, it’s boiling hot out here. This should only take a minute.” Her daughter looking immensely unhappy had Joy squinting at the special highlighted at the coffee place. “This mountaintop place has smoothies. I’ll get you one when we come back out if you’ll just come in and wait for me to do this one little thing. Okay?”

Kara’s face brightened back up to its full wattage, so Joy waited for her to get out and they hurried over to the salon. Entering it felt both familiar and unfamiliar. Back in California, her job had been all about preparing actors to go on the set of Futile Passions , a soap opera for which her husband had once hoped to become a main character.

While Wayne hadn’t been able to get anything but a member of the assorted background cast or a walk-on, her position had kept them from starving. Especially since his job as a server paid much less than she’d heard some servers in LA made in tips.

Joy had been given a single initiative. Make everyone beautiful.

So this couldn’t be much different.

On the surface, it wasn’t. There were three salon chairs with their foot-activated pumps to adjust the height as well as lots of hair products like mousse, gels, shampoos, and conditioners on shelves nearby. Her last position didn’t have the sinks and blow drying machines she saw here, but her beauty school had.

She could work with this. If they’d let her.

“Be with you in a sec,” one of the women called out, a petite blonde with curly hair. The other woman, an older lady with an iron gray bob, continued trimming her client but did offer Joy a brief tight-lipped smile. “You the eleven-fifteen?”

Joy blinked at her before realizing she must mean an 11:15 appointment. “No, actually. I was just wondering if you had paper applications since there weren’t any online.”

“Ooh, you job hunting?” Blondie continued their conversation.

“I am.”

“Fabulous. I’m Christine Brickell, the owner. I’ll be right over.” Christine was as good as her word, finishing up and taking payment in an efficient manner, then hurrying to extend her hand. Shaking it, Joy introduced herself, even while she peered about for that elusive application.

Kara was doing as Joy had asked her to do, though she was looking at the books on the table in the corner. Joy reached over and smoothed her daughter’s back to mildly encourage her to keep up the good work.

“So, tell me about yourself.” Christine smiled as she bobbed her head.

Speedily, Joy rattled off the basics. “I have my license in cosmetology and ten years of experience. I’ll be happy to email you my resume. Oh, and I can start right away.”

“Oh, you don’t need to email your resume,” Christine waved off her concerns. “Let’s go have a seat together so I can find out more about you.”

It sounded like this salon owner wanted to interview her on the spot, which would be fantastic except… Joy glimpsed down at her high unprofessional outfit and how much of a hot mess she was. She couldn’t interview like this. Not to mention that Kara was probably just about ready to run out of patience.

“I’m sorry, but I really can’t right now,” Joy told her, then backpedaled. She didn’t want to sound reluctant. “I mean, obviously, I’m not dressed for an interview.”

“That’s all right. We’re don’t stand on formality around here.”

“And well, this is my daughter… I wasn’t planning to interview right now or I’d have come in here without her.”

Christine glanced down at Kara and gave her a huge smile. “Well, she’s a little cutie. And what gorgeous hair! I always notice hair, I’m sure you understand that.”

“I do the same, so I get it.” Joy smiled and nodded as she tousled Kara’s hair gently.

“As you see, we have a kid’s corner right over there.” Christine pointed to the aforementioned corner where a box of toys, children’s books, and even one of those colorful puzzle piece mats resided by some waiting room seating.

For a second, Joy felt compelled to pull out her phone. She only had until three in the afternoon to register Kara for the third grade, which started next month. She’d also planned to do some apartment or rental house hunting.

Last night had been spent with her and Kara in her childhood bed together, a trippy experience since her parents hadn’t changed her room at all since her high school days. They still had her school pennant and a glossy eight by ten of her senior picture up on the wall.

It’d felt like going back in time, only more bizarre than nostalgic.

Regardless, she needed this job, so she gave in. “Hey, sweetie, do you want to sit over there and read a book or play with the toys?”

Kara nodded eagerly. “Yep.”

Joy let out a breath of gratitude and planted her daughter in the children’s area. Since Kara seemed perfectly willing to go along with this plan, Joy did her best to come across as business-like as she could under the circumstances.

Christine outlined a few details of the position and Joy’s eyes brightened. The way Christine described her expectations, it seemed like a good place to work. The hum of a hair dryer provided a familiar backdrop to their conversation.

"So, you'll be working Tuesday through Saturday, with Sundays and Mondays off," Christine explained, her manicured nails tapping the schedule sheet. "We offer a base salary plus commission on any products you sell. How does that sound?"

Joy nodded enthusiastically. "That sounds great.” She felt like she should say more than that, but she couldn’t think of anything to add that wouldn’t seem like she was a chatty Cathy. The thought did flash through her mind that this is a small town beauty shop and chatty Cathy’s are not unusual, and that made her want to laugh. She really did need to keep her head in the game and focus on getting this job.

Joy could already picture herself at one of the styling stations, transforming clients and building relationships. Visualizing something actually happening was a positive thing, wasn’t it?

I won't be making as much as I did in the city, Joy mused silently, but then again, I won't be paying city prices for rent and groceries either. She pushed the thought aside, paying attention to Christine as she shared more about the job. Just getting some money coming in would be big steps forward.

"Any questions so far?" Christine asked, pausing in her explanation.

Joy shook her head, feeling a surge of optimism. "No, it all sounds wonderful. This place seems like a great place to work."

As they continued chatting, Joy couldn't help but feel that somehow, one way or another, everything would work out just fine. She’d had too many things go wrong and some good luck had to be coming her way right about now.

Then, Christine leaned forward just as the other lady, who the owner referred to as Bonnie, meandered over to join them. Joy at first thought she was about to be formally introduced to a possible coworker, but that wasn’t how it went.

“The best part of living and working in Rocky Ridge is all the cowboys,” Bonnie explained with a mischievous glint in her eye. “Montana is full of them, but here especially the men are a sight to behold.” She even made an audible smacking noise with her lips.

Joy nearly gaped at her. Such attitudes were very common in LA, but she’d never expect such talk in a small town like Rocky Ridge.

She, Christine, and Bonnie continued to have a discussion, but a little to Joy’s chagrin, it had devolved into mostly gossip. At least the salon was climate controlled and cool, and the other women kept their voices low enough Joy didn’t think Kara could overhear them. Finally, after almost a half-hour of her on the spot “interview,” she tried to wrap it up.

“I’m so delighted to interview with you. Salon 406 is lovely.”

“Oh, thank you, Joy. I think you’ll make an excellent addition to our team,” Christine said, Bonnie nodded in agreement. Had she just been hired? “How about we make your first day next Tuesday?”

“Really?” she asked, still in shock.

“Really.” Christine’s grin was contagious.

After effusive thanks, she collected her daughter and headed for the door. They were definitely getting a smoothie now. She might even splurge and get one for herself, too.

She and Kara had just turned left out the door when she bumped into someone on the sidewalk. The scent was what struck Joy first. Birchwood cologne of a very specific blend that only one person she’d ever known had worn. A person who’d once been not only her best friend but her first ever boyfriend, Aaron Hunter. He paused, did a double take, then spoke in a stunned voice.

“Joy, is that you?”