Wilde Ride (Love is a Cowboy #2)

Chapter One – Emeline

Emeline

Two words.

Levi Tucker.

He was my brother Caden’s best friend, and the moment I saw him walk into the backyard of my parents’ house, I nearly died.

His brown hair was covered by his favorite black cowboy hat, which he always wore.

He was the most handsome man I’d ever laid eyes on.

And that was saying something, since everyone I knew, including all my friends, constantly told me how good-looking my two older brothers were.

Levi was twenty-five and I was eighteen. But that wasn’t the issue. The first issue was that he was my brother’s best friend. If Caden had any idea of the naughty dreams I had about his BFF…well, he would send me away to become a nun.

The second issue? Levi didn’t see me as anything other than Caden’s baby sister.

The third reason was Caroline Larson.

Her father and my father were business partners and best friends.

That meant she was always at our house and always trying to make a play for Caden, even though he’d been dating Rachel forever.

When it finally became clear in their senior year that Caden had no interest in her, Caroline moved in on Levi.

I didn’t like her at all. Of course, my best friends, Kate and Moreen, said it was because I was madly in love with Levi. And that was one of the reasons…but there was something about Caroline that made me think she was a snake. I didn’t trust her one bit.

Speaking of my best friends, Kate and Moreen came rushing over to me.

Kate with her beautiful copper skin and dark hair pulled up onto her head and her flowing white dress trailing behind her as she ran.

Moreen’s golden red hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and her beautiful face with its dusting of light freckles was bright with excitement.

She was also attempting to get ahead of Kate.

I loved them both like sisters. They knew everything about me.

The good and the bad. Kate was hissing out my name as she drew closer. “Emeline, Emeline! Levi’s here!”

“And she who shall not be named isn’t with him!” Moreen added.

I smiled. I really loved these two. They were my ride-or-dies.

If anyone was going to be there for me, it was Kate and Moreen.

Well, besides my brothers, Caden and Gatlin.

And okay, my older sister Ensley also ranked higher than Kate and Moreen, but only because she let me wear her clothes and told me to never pluck my own eyebrows.

Plus, she had introduced me to Stevie Nicks.

Actually, that’s not true. It was our mother. But Stevie wasn’t cool in my eyes until I heard her music coming from my sister’s car one day when she picked me up from school.

I grabbed their arms and started walking away from everyone. “You guys. Hush!”

Glancing over my shoulder, I saw that Levi was walking our way, holding a gift box. I quickly snapped my head straight. “Don’t panic, but he’s coming over this way.”

“Deep breaths,” Kate whispered.

Moreen calmly said, “Play it cool.”

“As if I wouldn’t.” I bumped her arm and said, “Laugh like I just told you a joke.”

Kate was in the theater, and I knew she’d make the laugh sound genuine. Moreen, not so much.

Hitting my arm, Kate said, “Oh my gosh, Emeline, you’re too much.”

I felt Levi behind me before he even said anything. “Emeline?”

Spinning around, I smiled. “Levi! Did you come with Caden?”

He glanced toward the house with a grin, then back to me. “No. Your mom invited me, though, and I didn’t want to miss little Emeline’s graduation party.”

I felt my entire body sag instantly. “Little?”

His smile faded somewhat, and he rubbed at the back of his neck. He suddenly looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here, and that nearly destroyed me. He let out a nervous bubble of laughter. “I didn’t mean it that way. You’re not little. You’re, uh…you’re all grown up and beautiful.”

That inflated me right back up. “You think I’m beautiful?”

Moreen hit me with her elbow as Kate cleared her throat, and I wanted to push them down the hill to give Levi and me privacy.

He glanced at them both, then back to me. “Um, well, yes. You are. But I shouldn’t be saying that.”

“Oh, you can say it all you want, Levi,” Kate stated with a sugary smile.

Glancing at her, I said, “Kate, Moreen, didn’t you need to go do that thing?”

“What thing?” Moreen asked, confusion written all over her face.

“That. Thing,” I repeated.

Her brows shot up. “Oh yeah! That thing. Um, we’ll just go do that thing that we’re supposed to do.”

“Yes. The thing. We’re on it!” Kate added.

They both shot off like a rocket, leaving Levi to watch as they ran across the backyard in a fit of laughter. He turned back to me, two little wrinkles between his brows. “Are they always so…”

“Yes, they are.”

He handed me the wrapped box. “I got you a gift.”

My heart tripped over itself. “Oh wow! Thank you so much,” I said as I took it from him. “Should I open it now?”

“Sure, if you want. I can’t stay for long, so I’d love to see you open it.”

“We can go over to the gazebo, and I’ll open it there.”

Levi smiled and motioned with his hand for me to lead the way. Once we were there, I stepped up and sat on one of the benches. Levi sat across from me on the other side of the gazebo.

I carefully removed the bow and set it aside before unwrapping the box. I opened it, moved the tissue paper out of the way…and stared. It was a shirt covered in pink and silver rhinestones. A beautiful shirt. I carefully lifted it out of the box, my mouth mostly hanging open as I took it in.

“Caden told me you were up for Miss Rodeo at the River Falls rodeo pageant. He said one of the nights you have to ride Ole Blue around with a flag, and I thought…well, I thought this would look nice on you.”

My eyes lifted from the shirt to Levi. “This is stunning, Levi. I don’t know what to say.”

He grinned. “Ensley told me what size to get. I sent her a picture of it to make sure you’d like it. I know you love pink and silver, and when I saw it, I thought of you instantly.”

I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat. “You did?” I asked softly.

“Yeah. I was in Denver with Caroline, and she found a western wear store. We went in and looked around, and that’s where I saw it.”

The mention of his girlfriend felt like cold water being tossed on my head.

“Caroline thought it looked tacky, but she has a different style than you do.”

That was an understatement. Caroline’s father owned the local grain mill, a few buildings on Main Street, and was also a business partner of my father’s.

They co-owned the sporting goods store in town.

She was the princess of River Falls. The girl had more money than she knew what to do with—and zero sense of style.

Deciding to keep my thoughts about Levi’s girlfriend to myself, I simply smiled and said, “Total opposites.”

He laughed. “Yes, you are.”

I nodded, not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing in his mind.

Clearing his throat, Levi stood. “Well, congratulations. I hear you’re following in the family footsteps and heading to Colorado State?”

I carefully set the shirt back in the box and stood as well. “Yep. Equine Science.”

“I’m not surprised by that,” he said with a soft smile. “You and your sister have always loved horses.”

“Get that from our mother and grandmother.”

“And the summer camps? Will you be coming home this summer to help with those?”

When I was thirteen, I presented my mother and father with a fully laid-out plan to start a summer camp on our ranch.

I’d spent weeks going over every detail, and had even drawn out where some cabins could be built behind the horse barn.

I also spoke with Uncle David and Uncle Mike, my father’s younger brothers, to help with the start-up costs, after doing a ton of research to estimate a budget.

My mother and father were so impressed that they’d decided it was a great idea, and they presented it, along with me, to my grandparents, Gus and Nellie Wilde.

They also loved the idea, and before I knew it, River Falls Cattle Company was the new home of Wonder in the Wilde Summer Camp.

The camp was for underprivileged kids who weren’t otherwise able to attend camps due to financial issues at home.

My father had the idea of hosting a few events at the ranch to raise money, so the kids wouldn’t have to pay anything at all.

By the time I was fifteen, the cabins had been built with donations from local businesses and private donors, and we hosted our very first summer camp.

It’s been a learning experience ever since, and with each passing year, we gain just as much as we give back.

The camps are held for one week each, every June and July.

“I wouldn’t miss summer camp if you paid me. It’s my baby.”

He grinned. “I always forget you were the one who came up with that idea at the ripe old age of…fifteen?”

I shook my head. “Thirteen. I was fifteen when we held our first camp.”

Levi snapped his fingers. “That’s right. Your mother always said you had the heart for philanthropy. I love that about you, Em. How you care for others like you do. Don’t ever change that about yourself. Promise me that.”

I felt my cheeks heat as I stared at the ground, then back to meet his light brown gaze.

My gaze took in his handsome face. His jawline was strong, his cheekbones defined, his nose pure perfection.

Don’t even get me started on his eyelashes.

Any woman would kill for them. He always wore a slight stubble on his face that made my fingers itch to touch him.

We stood there for a few moments before I turned and picked up the box. “I’ll walk you back up to the house. I want to put this in my room so nothing happens to it.”