Debra Clopton - Her Forever Cowboy

“Hop on,” he said with a lopsided grin that made her mind go momentarily blank.

She swallowed hard, reminded herself this was just a ride home—on a motorcycle—and took his hand. Climbing on behind him, she sat stiffly.

“How long are you in town for your visit?” she asked, then wanted to kick herself. She hoped he was leaving the next day. He was not her forever cowboy!

The engine burst to life. He glanced over his shoulder at her and his eyes glinted in the moonlight. “Depends on a few things, but I’m here for a few weeks.”

A few weeks. “That long?” she said, but her words were drowned out by the roar of the motorcycle. Or so she thought until Cole shot her another sly look.

“Yeah,” he said, over the growl of the motorcycle. “I think it’s going to be real interesting. Now hang on.”

Oh, dear…

was a 2004 Golden Heart finalist in the inspirational category, a 2006 Inspirational Readers’ Choice Award winner, a 2007 Golden Quill award winner and a finalist for the 2007 American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year Award. She praises the Lord each time someone votes for one of her books, and takes it as an affirmation that she is exactly where God wants her to be.

Debra is a hopeless romantic and loves to create stories with lively heroines and the strong heroes who fall in love with them. But most importantly she loves showing her characters living their faith, seeking God’s will in their lives one day at a time. Her goal is to give her readers an entertaining story that will make them smile, hopefully laugh and always feel God’s goodness as they read her books. She has found the perfect home for her stories writing for the Love Inspired line and still has to pinch herself just to see if she really is awake and living her dream.

When she isn’t writing, she enjoys taking road trips, reading and spending time with her two sons, Chase and Kris. She loves hearing from readers and can be reached through her Web site, www.debraclopton.com, or by mail at P.O. Box 1125, Madisonville, Texas 77864.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you,

O Lord, who know my way.

—Psalms 142:3

This book is dedicated with much love and appreciation to my new friends Sharon Howell and Jo Anne Faerber.

Jo Anne, I’m so glad you came to my book signing and brought Sharon to meet me. God blessed me that day—you gals have inspired me to step out of my comfort zone this year and let God lead me forward. Bless you both for listening to His voice!

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Epilogue

Questions for Discussion

Susan Worth rubbed her eyes, fighting the exhaustion threatening to overtake her. She’d spent most of the night saving the life of an unborn calf and mother and her adrenaline had kept her moving. Emergency calls had kept her out three nights in a row and she was dead on her feet—the drone of her truck’s engine and the dark, deserted road were working against her. Tightening her fingers around the steering wheel, she dug deep, sat up straight and concentrated on keeping her eyes open.

She still had an hour’s drive to make it home. Once again she was alone in the middle of the night on a deserted road, halfway along the seventy-mile stretch between the tiny ranching town of Mule Hollow and the larger town of Ranger, where her clinic and apartment were—for the time being.

She loved her job and had worked hard to have her career as a small-town vet. But the exhausting pace was sometimes too much to take. The threat of falling asleep at the wheel was a risk for anyone who covered a full day’s schedule and handled all emergency calls. More so for her, since her large-animal business had grown so big over in the Mule Hollow area—great for the bottom line, but bad on the body.

And bad on her personal life. With her hours growing longer and longer, quality life after work had become almost nonexistent.

She blinked hard and glanced at the clock—2:00 a.m. This was the third night in a row she’d been out this late. Third day in a row she’d not had time to catch up on lost sleep. Daytime emergencies and scheduled small-animal appointments had her hands tied, but she’d been warned it would be this way. The retiring older vet, a male, had told her that since she was a woman she should concentrate on small animals and leave the big stuff to a man. That advice hadn’t sat well with her.

She smiled, tiredly remembering how insulted she’d been. But her dad always said, “Susan, take advice, then do it your way.” And that was what she’d done.

She’d bought her clinic and embraced the loyal, small-animal clientele that came with it. But though she dearly loved and adored dogs and cats, her passion was working with large stock. She’d gone after that clientele with a vengeance and proved to the men who’d give her a chance that she knew what she was doing. She loved horses and cattle and as her reputation grew, so had the business. Now she was burning the candle at both ends and in between, too.

She loved her life. She really did…but something had to give, and she understood this clearly. Either that or she was going to crash and burn. Maybe right now if you don’t snap to!

She rubbed her neck and watched the road. A few weeks ago she’d finally forced herself to come to the conclusion that she wanted a change…a family. She’d lost her mother during childbirth and had been raised by her dad. Since his death she’d felt so alone, and no amount of work could fix that. Her dad had filled his life with work and she’d striven all her life to please him, but she needed more. He’d had her…she had no one now.

As if God was giving her the nod, she’d gotten an offer for her small-animal clinic almost the instant she’d come to the realization that she wanted to make a change. God’s timing—what an amazing thing.

Sighing, she shook her head to wake herself up—this week was proving to her that she’d made the right decision. She hoped relocating her large-animal clinic to Mule Hollow, to the heart of her business, would give the heart of her love life a boost, too. Only time would tell.

Susan shook her head, her chin dipped and she realized she’d closed her eyes momentarily. She still had fifty miles to go.

Focus, Susan. She took a deep breath and pressed the button to roll down her window. She inhaled the fresh air. She thought about hanging her head out the window, but didn’t. Instead she let her thoughts churn. It wasn’t that she couldn’t find a date. She managed short relationships from time to time. Short being the keynote, because either the guys ended up being big losers or the ones who were nice were interested in a woman who wasn’t so focused on her work. As most of them put it, “a woman who isn’t owned by her work.” Who could blame them? Really, a man wanted a woman to be there for him. A woman who worked a hundred or more hours, on a normal week, wasn’t exactly what a man would consider marriage material….