The Cowboy Complication (Cowboys of Moss Creek #10)

Chapter 1

1

Isla

“YOU’RE GOING TO what ?” Isla paused where she was wiping down the counter in Evelyn and Grady’s kitchen, her hand stalling out as horrible images flashed through her mind. “Won’t that hurt them?”

“Nah.” Grady pulled on his tan canvas work jacket, looking beyond unbothered by what he was about to do. “It’s like clipping their toenails.”

What he was describing didn’t sound like clipping toenails. It sounded more like sawing little feet off.

She continued staring at him in shock. “How often do you have to do this?”

“Every couple of months.” Grady selected a ball cap from the rack just inside the back door, settling it onto his head. “But today they’re also getting dewormed and booster shots.” He turned to where Evelyn stood, resting one hand on the back of the baby in her arms while he used the other to pull his wife close. “Shouldn’t take too long, though. Cooper’s coming to help.”

Isla’s eyes lingered on the sweet family moment unfolding in front of her for a few seconds before she turned away, chest aching as she finished loading the remainder of the breakfast dishes into the dishwasher before setting it to run.

Coming to Montana had been the right decision, she knew that, but it wasn’t turning out to be nearly as clean of a break as she’d been hoping for. In her mind, moving across the country to a completely different place would let her forget where she was supposed to be and what she expected to be doing. It would give her brain a break from the sadness, regret, and betrayal that permeated every second of her life in New York.

Unfortunately, that shit seemed determined to follow her everywhere. To taint any happiness she tried to find and claim for herself.

“If you get bored later, you can come out and help. Cooper should be here in a couple hours and we’ll get started then.”

It took her a minute to notice Evelyn didn’t respond to Grady’s offer. When Isla turned back to where the happy family stood, both Evelyn and Grady were staring at her expectantly. She looked around even though no one else was in the room.

Pointing a finger at the center of her chest, she asked, “You mean me ?”

“I mean you.” Grady zipped the front of his jacket. “Then you’ll see it’s not a big deal.” He grinned. “Don’t want you thinking I’m a monster who tortures tiny goats.”

That was kind of what she was thinking. Those little critters were so freaking cute and funny and cuddly, and the thought of Grady and his friend cutting off their toes was going to haunt her at night.

“She’ll come out.” Evelyn lowered her voice conspiratorially as she leaned closer to her husband. “The second my grandmother’s car pulls in the driveway, she’ll be running for the barn.”

Isla’s stomach bottomed out. “Your grandmother’s in town again?”

It wasn’t that she didn’t like Evelyn’s grandmother. The woman was just terrifying. She was stuffy and serious and could make you want to pee your pants just by looking at you. To this day, she still couldn’t figure out what her grandfather saw in her. Griselda Warwick lacked warmth and humor and just about every other positive emotion she could think of.

Then again, what the fuck did she know about what men wanted in women? Obviously not a lot based on recent events.

“My grandmother has decided she should come as often as possible now that Hudson is here.” Evelyn’s eyes peeked her husband’s direction. “Honestly, I think she just comes to town to irritate Grady.”

Grady’s mouth dropped open. “But I love Gram-Gram.”

“I know. You also love to annoy her as much as she loves to annoy you.” Evelyn huffed out a little laugh. “I think she’s bored in New York now. She didn’t know how much fun it could be to irritate the shit out of someone and misses it when she goes back.”

It was difficult to imagine Griselda doing something as normal as purposefully annoying someone for fun. Hell, it was hard to imagine Griselda doing anything for fun. She was drier than a cracker and just as salty. Spending the day in her presence sounded even worse than spending it watching Grady cut off chunks of the goats she loved at an unhealthy level.

Isla signed in resignation. “I’ll come out to help once I finish everything I need to do in here.”

She’d only been in Moss Creek—working for Evelyn and Grady—a month, but already had a schedule in place. One she stuck to like glue. Staying organized was the only way she’d been able to juggle everything for the past six years, and now it was a way of life. The constant that kept her from unraveling even as everything else fell apart.

After Grady went outside, Isla dug into her Monday morning tasks while Evelyn cared for her infant son and updated the studio’s schedule on her website. The new mom had a lot on her plate, which was why they’d hired Isla. So Evelyn could focus on the important things—Hudson and the yoga studio—without worrying about the dirt on the kitchen floor or the toothpaste in the sink.

And Isla had taken the job so she could focus on the dirt on the kitchen floor instead of the dirtbag who left her behind while he went on to live his best life. The life she was supposed to be a part of. The life she’d been planning for six years, never once suspecting it wouldn’t be hers. Never once suspecting she was only a placeholder.

But that’s what she’d been. Someone to hold space and offer support until Eric was ready to upgrade. So instead of taking care of her own babies and picket fence, she was maintaining someone else’s happily ever after.

And maybe that was fine. She didn’t want Eric or a life that included him. Not even a little bit. Not after all the awful things he said.

But damned if she didn’t wish there was some way to still have what she’d been dreaming of for so long.

With a sigh, she turned her attention from the loss to the tasks at hand. The whole house got vacuumed every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so that was where she started, sucking up the debris that collected on the carpets and hardwood over the weekend. It wasn’t a small task considering the size of the home, but—like everything else in her life—she had a system, so the whole process took less than an hour. She finished just as Hudson was ready for his nap.

Evelyn passed through while she was clipping out the long hairs caught on the vacuum’s roller before putting it away. Gently bouncing her sleeping baby she softly said, “You better get out there. I just saw Cooper pull in, so they’ll be having at your babies soon.”

Isla’s insides twisted. They weren’t the babies she’d expected to be having, but those furry little things were all that kept her from crying in her Cheerios some days. And Grady and his friend were about to chop off their feet.

As Evelyn and Hudson went to take their pre-lunch nap, Isla pulled on her thick NYC hoodie and shoved both feet into the work boots she kept at the house for her trips out to the barn. After lacing them up, she ducked out the back door, stomach in knots over what she was about to witness.

She’d grown up in a nice house in the New Jersey suburbs with sidewalks and lawn services. The closest she got to livestock was the horses pulling carriages and the mounted police in the city. Back then, her plan for the future involved a family dog. Maybe a hamster or two. Never once did she expect to be the girl carrying around Pygmy goats and naming barn cats.

But she was.

Some days she felt like a failure because of it. Others like she’d dodged a bullet. And then there were a few when she even felt like giving up.

Occasionally, all three gang-banged her at the same time, leaving her a grateful wreck with no idea how to move forward but happy as hell she couldn’t go back.

It would be interesting to see which one today would be.

Crossing the backyard, she headed for the area of the barn where they kept the goats, warily eyeing the unfamiliar pickup parked outside. She crossed paths with a number of cowboys and ranch hands around town when she ventured from her apartment over The Wooden Spoon, and so far it hadn’t been great for her already bruised ego. She might as well have been freaking invisible, barely gaining a passing glance from any of them no matter how sweetly she smiled. No doubt she was in for another blow to her deflated self-image.

Gang-bang day it was.

The little monsters she adored were notorious escape artists, so she was careful to open the heavy door leading to their section of the barn just enough that she could squeeze through. Keeping all her focus on making sure no one slithered between her legs to freedom, she hurried inside. Spinning quickly, she hefted the door back into place, letting out a little sigh of relief when not a single goat ran loose.

Then she felt bad for not letting them all out so Grady couldn’t snip off their appendages or stab them with needles.

“You poor babies.” Isla scooped up the closest of the goats, hugging it tight. “I didn’t know they were going to have to amputate part of you every two months.”

The goats arrived at Evelyn and Grady’s about the same time she did, so it sort of felt like they were all in this together. Like she wasn’t the only one starting a whole new life out here in the middle of nowhere, Montana. And it was supposed to be the beginning of something great for all of them.

The goats had a fantastic barn with two giant dogs dedicated to keeping them safe, and they got to climb around on visitors three times a week. She got to work a pretty easy job for a decent income while coming up with a new plan for her future. She could play with goats and kittens while figuring out where she wanted to go now since the previous route sent her nosediving off a cliff.

So far, all she’d done was make a vacuuming schedule and befriend a herd of goats. Goats who were about to be poked, prodded, and clipped.

“Maybe we can all run away together.” Isla crouched down and the animals crowded around her. “Go somewhere no one cuts your toes off and the men aren’t complete assholes.”

One of the bigger—and spunkier—goats got a little excited by her plan and came right at her, probably ready to get the fuck out of there. The unexpected impact sent her tipping back, falling toward the straw-covered floor.

Sensing their opportunity, the rest of the herd pounced, proving they knew exactly what to do with a prone form by climbing onto her the same way they did during the yoga classes.

Only during the classes, there were plenty of victims to scale. Now, there was just her.

“Oof.” She grunted as a set of hooves dug into her stomach. “Get off.” Isla tried to roll to the side, hoping to knock a couple off, but they had her blocked in. Sturdy little bodies were at all sides, making it impossible to move. “I was feeling bad for you guys.” She shoved at a pointed face as one of them tried to lick inside her mouth. “See if I pity you again.”

“What in the hell?” Grady’s surprised voice didn’t even faze the goats. They weren’t big fans of his—or men in general, part of why she liked them so much—so they normally acted like he didn’t exist.

“Get off her, you assholes.” He grabbed two of the goats with one arm and knocked a couple more out of the way with the other. Once he could see her, his eyes swept over her unmoving form. “You okay?”

That was a really good freaking question. Probably not, but it had little to do with the pile of goats.

A couple more of the goats were lifted off, clearing more of her field of vision. And that’s when her day went from bad to worse.

“ Holy shit .” The words whispered through her lips as her eyes locked on the other man standing over her.

This was Grady’s friend? Why in the hell had no one prepared her? Shouldn’t someone have said, ‘ By the way, don’t make an ass of yourself by rolling around on the barn floor in goat shit because Grady’s friend is the hottest man in the known universe. ’

Yeah. Someone should have definitely said that.

The guy was freaking gorgeous. Tall. Dark hair. A strong jaw. Broad shoulders and thick thighs.

But the best part about him was his eyes. They were pale gray with flecks of blue warming the edges and crinkled slightly at the corners. Like he smiled a lot.

He wasn’t smiling now. Probably because she was being weird and staring a little too intently at his eyeballs from her spot in the center of the filthy barn floor.

“Are you hurt?” Grady’s friend—what in the hell had they said his name was—shoved another goat to the side as he crouched down next to her. “Can I help you up?”

“Hi.” Her face flamed, heat creeping over her skin. What in the hell was wrong with her? He asked a perfectly normal question, and instead of answering it, her brain went onto autopilot, spitting out the first thing that came to mind. No wonder none of the men in town were interested in her.

Clearing her throat, she tried again. “Umm, yes. Getting up would be good.”

She flailed around a little, planning to do it on her own, but before she could even get one hand down for leverage, a set of strong arms lifted her up off the floor like she weighed nothing.

No-thing.

“You got somewhere she can sit?” Grady’s friend turned in place, keeping her tucked against his chest as he scanned the space. “We should make sure she’s not hurt.”

She wasn’t hurt. Breathing was a little tricky, but no part of her body was in pain.

Maybe her pride a little, but even that pang was dulled by the embarrassingly dramatic way her insides were acting over this man carrying her around like a bride. Almost like they hadn’t gotten the message that the wedding she’d been expecting to plan was never going to happen.

And right now that seemed way less bothersome than it had a few minutes ago. Mostly because—for a number of reasons—it was impossible to imagine Eric as the man effortlessly carrying her around. The top one being his unwillingness to do anything remotely important to her.

“This way.” Grady led them out of the goat enclosure and into the portion of the barn where the horses were kept. “Set her down here.” He moved a stack of turnout blankets from where they sat folded on a low wood bench.

Carefully, Grady’s friend shifted his hold on her, settling her into place while going down on one knee. His rainy-day eyes moved over her, brows pinched in concern. “What happened?”

She swallowed hard as he lifted one of her hands, looking it over before moving to the other one. “I was just petting the goats and lost my balance and tipped over.” Was that him she was smelling? It definitely wasn’t horse or goat. It was clean and fresh and spicy and masculine and?—

His eyes lifted to her face, expression expectant.

Oh shit. He’d asked her something and she was too busy sniffing him to hear it. “What?”

Confirming her earlier suspicions, his lips pulled into a slow smile that brought out not only the crinkles at his eyes, but also a set of dimples that should be illegal. “I asked if you tipped over or if the little assholes knocked you down.”

“Oh.” She pursed her lips. “They’re not assholes.”

Grady’s friend smiled wider. “They’re cute assholes, but they’re still assholes.”

She frowned, thinking of a less than cute asshole from her recent past. “You must not know many real assholes.”

“I know lots of real assholes.” The man stood up, reaching out one hand for her. “That’s how I know goats are assholes.”

She eyed his hand. “The goats are sweet.”

“Assholes can be sweet when they want to be.” He wiggled his fingers, tempting her to find out if they were as warm and rough as they looked.

“Cooper’s right.” Grady slapped his friend on one shoulder. “Has firsthand knowledge cause he’s an asshole too.”

Cooper . That was it.

“It’s only firsthand knowledge if he’s also sweet.” She pointed out the flaw in Grady’s explanation. “And since he’s here to help you assault the goats, I’m guessing he’s not sweet.”

The hand Cooper offered her lifted to his chest, resting over his heart. “Ouch.”

“We’re not going to hurt the goats.” Grady sounded exasperated. “They need their boosters so they don’t get sick and I’m telling you, trimming their hooves is like clipping toenails.”

Cooper laughed, his head tipping back, the sound deep and rich and tingle-inducing. Even if he was an asshole—not a sweet one—the man was still hot and she was still lonely and desperate for attention. Not because she was needy, but because she wanted confirmation Eric wasn’t right.

That she wasn’t as undesirable as he’d claimed right before ripping the rug out from under her.

Cooper shook his head, still grinning as he looked her over. “I like you.”

That wasn’t the declaration of desirability she’d been searching for, but it was the closest she’d gotten to it since coming to town, so maybe this day was looking up.

“Well I haven’t decided if I like you.” She stood from the bench, dusting off the bits of straw clinging to her hoodie and jeans. “I guess that depends on how nice you are to the goats.” She tightened the messy bun at the top of her head. “And it’s not looking good since you just called them assholes.”