The Love His Ex Means to Ruin

Chapter One

Jaxon pulled up to the barn early Tuesday afternoon to catch up his horse. He’d found a cow with a large abscess on her hip, and he needed to rope her and bring her back to the barn before the veterinarian arrived.

Walking out into the barn pasture, he rattled the feed bucket he carried and called, “Come on! Come and get it!”

There were six horses in the pasture, and they all came toward him at a trot.

His big buckskin Quarter Horse outdistanced the others and got the first bite of feed.

He’d nicknamed him Bully, because he always had to be the boss of the herd.

Jaxon put the halter on him as the other horses charged in, pushing their muzzles into the bucket as they each grabbed a mouthful.

He shooed them away and led Bully back to the barn, where he quickly brushed him and threw on the saddle.

Wyatt, one of the ranch hands on the four-hundred-thousand-acre Diamond O Ranch, drove up pulling a stock trailer, his horse already loaded. He got out of the truck as Jaxon led Bully out of the barn.

“Ready to head out?” Wyatt asked.

Jaxon nodded at his usual working partner. The other four cowhands, Hunter, Boone, Levi, and Zane, were already out performing various chores.

A dust cloud on the ranch drive caught Jaxon’s attention.

As the vehicle drew closer, he recognized the white, double-cab truck of the county extension agent.

What he didn’t recognize was the pretty young woman behind the wheel.

He’d heard that Carlton, the former agent, had passed away, but he hadn’t realized that his position had already been filled.

Wyatt glanced at him and smiled. “Looks like the county got an upgrade.”

Jaxon rolled his eyes and strode over as the new agent stepped out of her truck. When she smiled at him, he offered his hand. “Jaxon O’Connor.”

She shook with a firm grip. “Destiny Vaughn. As you’ve probably guessed by the truck, I’m the new county extension agent.”

“Pleased to meet you. This is Wyatt Adams, a member of our team here at the Diamond O.”

Wyatt extended his hand. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Vaughn. How long have you been on the job?”

She chuckled. “Not long, Wyatt. This is my first posting, and my first week on the job. And please, call me Destiny.” She glanced at Jaxon. “Both of you.”

“What brings you out this way, Destiny?” Jaxon asked.

Her thick, light-brown hair shone in the afternoon sun, and those green eyes of hers were stunning.

He was surprised to feel himself responding to her.

He’d more or less given up dating several years ago, after a long-term relationship had gone very wrong.

“The Diamond O is the largest cattle ranch around these parts. I wanted to come out and introduce myself,” she said.

“That’s nice of you.” He was having a hard time not staring.

Although she wore a simple, long-sleeved button-down shirt and Western jeans, there was no hiding her curvaceous figure.

She was probably a little over five feet tall at the most and wore no-nonsense Western work boots.

Her only adornment was the silver breakaway roping trophy buckle on her belt. Even her makeup was understated.

“What’s your background? Did you grow up on a ranch?” Wyatt asked.

“I sure did. My family has twenty-six thousand acres near the Davis Mountains. We raise Black Baldy cattle.” She smiled. “I rodeoed when I was growing up but gave it up when I went to college.”

“Vaughn. Are you Tom Vaughn’s daughter?” he asked.

“I sure am. You were four years ahead of me in school, Jaxon, so we didn’t run into each other much.”

He looked closer at her. He kind of remembered Nick Vaughn’s younger sister—but wow, had she grown up. “What events did you compete in?” Jaxon could sense his pulse picking up speed. The more he learned about her, the more he wanted to know.

“I concentrated on breakaway roping. I had to rope on the ranch, and it was just natural to choose that as my event.” Then she glanced at Bully. “Looks like I interrupted something. Were you all heading out to work cattle?”

He explained about the cow with the abscess. “We need to bring her back to the barn before Angus gets here to doctor her. He said it might be as late as six before he arrives, though.”

She reached out her hand again and gave him one of her cards. “I’ll let you go, then. You get in touch if I can help you with anything, you hear?”

Jaxon shook with her, impressed again by the firm grip of her small hand. It was fitting for this confident, no-nonsense, beautiful woman.

After shaking hands with Wyatt, Destiny climbed back into her truck. As she drove down the drive, she reached out the window and waved.

Smiling, Jaxon waved back. He definitely wanted to see her again.

Destiny looked in her rearview mirror as Jaxon gradually receded from view. She smiled, realizing that he was waiting for her to get out of sight before loading his horse into the trailer.

She’d instantly been drawn to the handsome cowboy. His smile and easy confidence had made her feel welcome as soon as she’d gotten out of her truck. She didn’t remember much about him, except that she’d had a secret crush on him when she was younger. She grinned. Way younger.

With that auburn hair under his Western hat and his light complexion, she’d bet he easily suffered from the effects of the sun.

Surprisingly, though, he wasn’t covered in freckles—he just had a few sprinkles across his nose and cheeks.

And he was tall and broad-shouldered, with slim hips and just the right amount of muscle to hint at his strength.

He was gorgeous, all right, and she couldn’t quit thinking about him.

With an effort, she turned her thoughts back to business.

Connecting with as many of the local ranchers as possible was one of the first goals she’d set for herself.

Being part of the ranching community was critical to her success as a county agent.

She’d also just set up a community class at the Alpine library.

She was going to talk about the drought and its impact on local vegetable gardening, along with ways to combat its effects.

She also planned to address other topics she felt would interest the general public, and she was looking forward to meeting the attendees.

It was sad that she’d never gotten to ask Carlton, the previous extension agent, about the job. He’d died suddenly of a heart attack a little over two months ago. She’d immediately applied for the position and, not long after, had found out that she’d been chosen.

Being a county extension agent was her dream come true. Once she’d earned her bachelor’s degree in agricultural science, she’d decided to go on and earn her master’s in agriculture, knowing that it would prepare her for just such a position.

Her mind returned to Jaxon O’Connor. She wanted to learn more about him.

She’d glanced at his left hand and noticed that he wasn’t wearing a wedding band.

Some cowboys didn’t wear rings because they could be dangerous when they were roping—but still, it might be an indication that Jaxon wasn’t married.

It shouldn’t matter to her. She was totally focused on her career right now.

Getting up to speed at her job was of paramount importance.

But she couldn’t help her attraction to the rancher.

She wanted to see him again. Should she call him?

She felt pretty sure that Carlton had a contact number for the ranch somewhere in his records.

It was probably for Jaxon’s father, Walter, though.

It would be weird to call the older man in order to get hold of Jaxon.

But Jaxon knew how to contact her office, and her cell number was on her card. If he was interested in her, maybe he’d do something. She remembered him standing and watching her drive away from the ranch and smiled. Maybe he would call. She hoped he wouldn’t wait too long.