Shawn

Shawn Mayhew's rodeo career has taken off, and it would be just perfect if things didn't keep changing back home. While part of him would like to stay and help his parents with the ranch, he knows his heart is out there in the arena riding broncs.

Jessica McClaine's life is picture perfect—on the outside at least. So when she's invited to her estranged cousin's wedding, she leaves her posh New York City life and an impending wedding to brave the wilds of Wyoming and maybe find herself along the way. What she didn't expect was having to be saved by a cowboy-in-shining-armor when her car breaks down. Even more bizarre, is finding that she actually enjoys the life he lives both on the ranch and on the rodeo circuit. As her blog's popularity grows, Jessica must decide what's more important, the parties and events back home, or the sense of freedom she feels whenever she's with Shawn.

 Shawn was done with being dressed in a tux
and a bow tie after so many weddings in the last few months. Sure, they were
for his brothers, and he liked the women they were marrying, but man. Too many
days dressed all fancy.

He buttoned up his flannel shirt, grabbed
his cowboy hat, and sighed in relief. Now, this was the way to be
comfortable. He went out the back door and circled around all the guests,
hoping to avoid everyone involved with Trevor’s wedding. What he needed right
now was a good long ride.

Cheers rose from the dance floor they’d
installed near the house, and Shawn sped up to put more space between him and
everyone else. Lightning looked up from his food with a mournful gaze that said
he was ready for a run as well.

“Hello, old boy. Take me away from all
this, will you?” Shawn rubbed his horse’s neck.

Lightning whinnied his agreement and
waited for Shawn to saddle him, then followed him out of the barn. As soon as
they were far enough away from the crowd, Shawn mounted up and let Lightning
break into a gallop. The wedding had taken them away from the rodeo circuit for
a couple of weeks, and he was itching to get back out there.

His family would realized he’d left the
wedding at some point. Probably about the time they’d be cutting the cake, but
for now he had a little reprieve. So much change lately. One thing Shawn had
loved about his life was that things had stayed the same. Sure, Dad had stopped
working because of his heart, and Scott could no longer perform in rodeos with
Shawn and Trevor, but they were both still close to home, right there to joke
around with.

Now four of his brothers were married off,
and it was just him. Okay, there was also Maggie, but she was itching to do her
own thing as well. More change. Shawn eased Lightning into a walk and then
slowed to a stop as he reached the top of a hill. He turned his horse to look
out over the ranch he’d called home his whole life, and the two new ranches
just starting out for Scott and Kyle.

Shawn had worked at all three during the
short breaks he had between rodeos. He’d wait another year to go out on the pro
circuit again. Too many things had to be done at home now that everyone was
doing their own thing.

His phone buzzed, breaking the silence.
They’d noticed he was gone a lot sooner that he’d hoped.

Hey, if I have to deal with this, so do
you. Get back here.

You’re
the one who got married. Of course you have to be there.

Shawn shook his head at the text from
Trevor and put his phone away. If he had noticed Shawn was gone, Mom’s
texts would be coming very soon.

Shawn sighed. Fine. He’d go back. He
looked behind him, wishing he had a little more time. So much space he’d hoped
to cover. Wait. That wasn’t supposed to be there. Trevor’s breath caught in his
throat.  Smoke rose from something just
down the hill. The last thing they needed was a wildfire. Shawn bit his lip,
sent a quick text to his dad, then pointed Lightning toward the smoke.

He didn’t come this way often because he
was too busy with work, but he knew that the roads were pretty awful, and it
was going to be a bit before any fire truck could get there. He made sure
Lightning stayed off the road as they headed down the hill and up another,
checking for the location of the smoke as he went. It didn’t seem to be
spreading, so that was a relief.

When they rounded the last bend, Trevor
pulled up on Lightning’s reins. Smoke poured from the hood of a sleek black car
that should never have been on these roads. A woman stood there cursing at the
engine while she poured bottled water over it. Most of her blonde curls had
escaped the clip that was supposed to hold them, and she was in a dress that
belonged on a runway, not in the middle of a mountain road. Maybe she was here
for the wedding, but she’d taken a wrong turn.

He sent a text to his dad, said things
were okay, but they might need to tow a car later, and then went closer.

“Hey, let me help.” Shawn climbed down off
Lightning and jogged over. He had to duck as a water bottle came straight at
his head. “Hey, whoa. I’m just trying to help.”

“I have it under control.” The woman
glared at him and turned away, attempting to smooth her hair.

Shawn coughed and stepped up next to the
car, careful to stay an arm’s length away from her. “I can see that. Last I
checked, smoke isn’t supposed to come from the area of your power steering.”

“I know that,” the woman snapped. She
clenched her fist and took a breath, then shot him a look. “What do you mean,
power steering?”

Trevor held his hands up in surrender and
slowly walked toward her so he could point to where the smoke was coming from. “It
looks like you have a leak from your power steering pouring into your engine.
See? No amount of water is going to stop it.”

“So, what do I do?” Her large blue eyes
stared up into his.

“We wait for my brother to get here
with a truck so we can pull you back to our ranch. You won’t be driving this
until it gets fixed.”

She let out another string of curses as
she moved the bar and slammed the hood shut. “I knew I should have just stayed
home today. Stupid weddings. Stupid country roads.”

Shawn hid a smile as he leaned against her
car. “So, how do you know Wendy?”

She froze and shot him another glare. “How
do you know Wendy?”

“She just married my brother.” Shawn held
out a hand. “I’m Shawn Mayhew. And you are?”

“Jessica. Wendy’s cousin.” She narrowed
her eyes. “Aren’t you supposed to be at the wedding right now?”

Shawn cleared his throat. “Yes. Sort of.
The wedding is over, but I had to get away from the rest of the festivities.
Can I ask why you came from this direction?”

She rolled her eyes. “Never listen to your
GPS. A shortcut means the worst roads through back country that will make you
five hours late.”