Cowboy Rescue [Bear County 4] (Siren Publishing: The Lynn Hagen ManLove Collection) Read online

  Bear County 4

  Cowboy Rescue

  Growing up as the son of Quinn McNeal, Milo wants nothing more than to get from under the man's thumb. His father is as famous as he is rich, but he is also a tyrant, micromanaging Milo's life, even down to the fact of who Milo is going to marry. Desperate, Milo flees, settling in a small town that he hopes Quinn will never discover.

  Bryson Duran was the last of the men in the Triple-B ranch to find his mate. When a cute waiter starts working at the Ugly Broad Saloon, Bryson is smitten. The fiery little redhead flips every trigger Bryson possesses. Although Bryson is built like an ox, he has trouble finding the courage to ask Milo out.

  When Bryson discovers that Milo is on the run from his father, he proposes a plan to stop Quinn from forcing Milo into a marriage he doesn’t want. But the plan backfires and the men of the Triple-B ranch must launch a rescue to get Milo back.

  Genre: Alternative (M/M or F/F), Contemporary, Paranormal, Shape-shifter, Western/Cowboys

  Length: 27,304 words

  COWBOY RESCUE

  Bear County 4

  Lynn Hagen

  THE LYNN HAGEN

  MANLOVE COLLECTION

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  ABOUT THE E-BOOK YOU HAVE PURCHASED: Your non-refundable purchase of this e-book allows you to only ONE LEGAL copy for your own personal reading on your own personal computer or device. You do not have resell or distribution rights without the prior written permission of both the publisher and the copyright owner of this book. This book cannot be copied in any format, sold, or otherwise transferred from your computer to another through upload to a file sharing peer to peer program, for free or for a fee, or as a prize in any contest. Such action is illegal and in violation of the U.S. Copyright Law. Distribution of this e-book, in whole or in part, online, offline, in print or in any way or any other method currently known or yet to be invented, is forbidden. If you do not want this book anymore, you must delete it from your computer.

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  If you find a Siren-BookStrand e-book being sold or shared illegally, please let us know at

  [email protected]

  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: The Lynn Hagen ManLove Collection

  COWBOY RESCUE

  Copyright © 2014 by Lynn Hagen

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-62741-880-5

  First E-book Publication: June 2014

  Cover design by Emma Nicole

  All art and logo copyright © 2014 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  Letter to Readers

  Dear Readers,

  If you have purchased this copy of Cowboy Rescue by Lynn Hagen from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

  Regarding E-book Piracy

  This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.

  The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment.

  This is Lynn Hagen’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. Hagen’s right to earn a living from her work.

  Amanda Hilton, Publisher

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  www.BookStrand.com

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  About the Author

  COWBOY RESCUE

  Bear County 4

  LYNN HAGEN

  Copyright © 2014

  Chapter One

  “You are smoking hot.” Bryson shook his head and tried again. “Do those jeans come in another size? Because I’d love to squeeze into them.” He groaned at himself in the mirror, feeling as if he would never be able to let the new waiter at the Ugly Broad know how he felt. Every line he thought up sounded juvenile to him.

  It shouldn’t be this hard to come up with a suave pickup line. But every time he thought one up, it sounded even dumber than the one before.

  Bryson was never going to get a date with the guy.

  He reexamined himself in the full-length, antique mirror given to him by his mother. The swivel mirror had been in his family for generations. The wood had a cherry finish, some places showing wear. She’d given it to him as a gift when he’d moved out and Bryson cherished the heirloom.

  He turned sideways to make sure he looked good not only in the front, but in the back as well. His jeans fit nicely and the blue polo showed off his profusion of muscles. His belt was thick and made of leather, the buckle shining, showing off the Triple-B logo.

  Bryson picked up his brush off the dresser and ran it through his short brown hair, hoping he looked as dapper as he felt. He’d been fussing in the mirror for over an hour.

  This was as good as it was going to get.

  He knew he was a bit rugged looking and most men were intimidated by his size. Bryson hoped that wasn’t the case with Milo McNeal.

  He loved saying and thinking that name. The two words had a nice ring to them and rolled through his mind smoothly.

  Setting his brush aside, Bryson grabbed his cologne and splashed some over his neck. Next he grabbed his wallet and keys. He took one last look in the mirror before heading downstairs. The steps creaked under his weight and his heart hammered at the thought of seeing Milo at the saloon.

  Dresden and Noah let go of a low whistle at the same time as Bryson entered the living room. He felt his neck, ears, and cheeks heat under their scrutiny.

  “Who’s the lucky guy?” Noah asked as he grabbed one of the triplets—Bryson still had trouble telling them apart, especially in their bear form—and wrestled a shoe away from the cub’s mouth.

  Bryson chewed his lower lip, wondering if he should tell them. To hell with it. If things went as well as he hoped, the two would find out soon enough. “Milo,” Bryson answered.

  “The new waiter at the bar?” Dresden asked.

  “You don’t have to make it sound like I don’t have a chance in he–heck.” He quickly corrected his language around the babies. Bryson reached up and swiped away a bead of sweat forming on his temple. It wasn’t hot in the room. The house was temperature controlled, which kept the muggy summer days from invading the interior. The line of perspiration only signified how nervous he was.

  Markey walked around Bryson in a tight circle before he beamed. The blue-eyed boy had come to mean the world to Bryson. He spent plenty of time with the toddler, hoping to educate him
self on children just in case he was lucky enough to have any of his own. Not that he was using Markey. The child was a joy to be around.

  “Ucle Byson smells good.”

  “Why, thank you.” Bryson ruffled the kid’s blond hair. “At least someone has a vote of confidence for me.”

  “I didn’t mean anything by my question,” Dresden said, resting his hand on his neck and letting his gaze sweep over Bryson. “It’s just that Milo is…unique.”

  “Very,” Noah agreed as he nodded.

  “I happen to like unique.” Bryson headed for the door. “Don’t wait up for me.”

  Markey grabbed his shoes and raced toward him. Bryson turned toward the four-year-old. “You can’t go, buddy.”

  “Oh, man.” Markey’s shoulders slumped as his bottom lip slid out. “I wanna go.”

  Bryson looked to the toddler’s father for help, but Dresden just shrugged. Bryson felt guilty for turning Markey away and it seemed Dresden wasn’t going to bail him out of this situation. “What can I say, he worships his uncles.”

  “Come on, Markey,” Noah said as he held his hand out toward the cub. “You can help me feed your cousins.”

  Markey’s eyes lit up as he abandoned his shoes and hurried to help Noah. Bryson made a break for it before the kid came back. He loved the tyke to death, but wasn’t willing to take him along while Bryson tried to hit on the new waiter.

  He hurried down the front steps and was making his way to his truck when he spotted Jed pulling in. Bryson waved, but Jed whistled for him before Bryson could make his getaway. If he didn’t know any better, he would say fate was conspiring against him.

  “Can you help with these bags?” Jed asked as he got out and pocketed his keys, heading toward the ass end of his truck.

  “No can do. If I go back in there, Markey will jump me.”

  Jed frowned as Bryson climbed in behind the wheel of his own truck, backed up until he could turn it around, and then took off down the driveway. With five kids in the house, making a clean break wasn’t always easy. Bryson usually had one or two clinging to him like Velcro. Any other time he wouldn’t mind. Not today. Today was for Bryson to find out if the waiter liked him as much as Bryson liked Milo.

  Bryson parked outside the tavern and sat there, staring at the building as if willing Milo to come outside so he could talk to the guy without anyone around. As big as Bryson was, there was no hiding the fact that he was shy as hell when it came to intimate things like flirting.

  But he’d been dazzled by the short, slim man the first time he’d laid eyes on Milo. Bryson couldn’t get the guy off of his mind. “Just go in there and say hi,” he grumbled to himself.

  Bryson clunked his forehead against the steering wheel, groaning. He felt like the town freak seeking out the prince. His heart wouldn’t stop racing and his palms were as wet as an overrun creek. He feared he had sweated big stains over his armpits and would embarrass himself if he raised his arms.

  Every fear of screwing this up came to mind. Did his breath smell? Did he look dapper enough? Did he cut himself shaving and have red dots patterned all over his face?

  Bryson groaned once again.

  Not that his confidence was low or anything, but Milo made him feel things that Bryson had never felt before—like wings of butterflies flapping in his gut—and he wanted to smile just thinking about the guy. The man was pure perfection and Bryson was afraid of saying something to make himself look like an idiot.

  Sucking in a lungful of confidence, Bryson stepped out of his truck. He hoisted his waistband up, nodded, and then moved toward the door.

  The noise level was pretty low when he stepped inside. It was still early, though, and not too many people were in the place. He spotted Jack—Noah’s father—in a back booth with a couple of other older gentleman.

  The old-timer looked like he was enjoying himself. His grin was wide and his eyes sparkled with merriment as he spoke to the men seated around him.

  The television was on, the sound so low that Bryson couldn’t hear it. His boots crunched over peanut shells as he stepped further into the tavern.

  He did a quick scan of the place and his heart sank when he didn’t spot Milo anywhere. A part of him was relieved.

  A small part.

  On one hand, Bryson wanted to talk to Milo, but on the other hand, he couldn’t get his stomach to settle down long enough to gather a clear thought. His nerves were stretched tight at the prospect of seeing the waiter.

  “Wuz up?” Clayton said as he walked down the length of the bar. Clayton Calabria and Harland Macy were co-owners of this bar. It meant Bryson could drink for free—not that he took advantage of that fact.

  “Nothing.” Bryson scooted onto a stool and relaxed his elbows on the counter. “How are things going tonight?”

  “Slow, slow,” Clayton answered. “But it’s only Wednesday.”

  Though Bryson loved his friend dearly, he wasn’t interested in shooting the breeze. He wanted to talk to Milo but wasn’t going to ask if the waiter was around anywhere. If Clayton got wind that Bryson liked the human, the man would try to play matchmaker.

  That was the last thing Bryson wanted. Clayton couldn’t match a bird to a nest. The guy sucked when it came to helping others with their love lives, a fact that had been proven when he tried to help Jed and Noah resolve their difference when the two had first started dating.

  Clayton had locked the two men in a cabin, hoping Jed and Noah worked out their problems.

  The two men had ended up parting ways. Of course, later they’d gotten back together, but it had been no thanks to Clayton’s meddling.

  Bryson was the last of the men on the Triple-B ranch to find his mate. Although he was on the lookout for any scent that would give him a clue, he caught glimpses of pity from his friends.

  It angered Bryson that they felt he was unhappy just because he was single. The other men tried not to show affection to their mates when Bryson was around, as if he’d go off the deep end because he didn’t have anyone to cuddle with.

  What a crock of shit.

  But he tried his best not to hold it against any of them. He understood their intentions were good—if a bit irritating.

  “You’re late!” Clayton shouted toward the door.

  Bryson turned on his stool to see Milo rushing in, his red hair standing on end and his shirt half-buttoned. He had a tattered yellow backpack slung over his back and an apologetic expression in his emerald-green eyes. When Milo gazed Bryson’s way, the human stumbled forward, nearly falling on his face.

  “I’m sorry,” Milo said as he recovered. His fingers clutched the strap over his shoulder just a bit tighter as his eyes swung from Bryson to Clayton. “I had to take my cat to the vet.”

  “Is he sick?” Clayton asked.

  Milo’s fiery red eyebrows dipped together, the skin between his eyes creasing. “No, no. She’s pregnant and I could have sworn she was meowing because she was in labor. Turns out, she just had gas.”

  Clayton chucked his thumb toward the back hallway. “Just go clock in.” He turned toward Bryson as he slowly shook his head. “Guy’s a bit strange, but a hell of a worker.” Clayton scratched at his neck. “Though he is a bit of a klutz.”

  Bryson grabbed a handful of pretzels from a bowl on the bar and tossed a few into his mouth. Now that Milo was here, Bryson’s heart was beating a little faster.

  He wasn’t sure if he could go through with this.

  What if Milo rejected him?

  Bryson jerked from his stool when Milo rushed from the back, tripped, and landed on his ass. He started to go see if the guy was okay, but Milo sprang to his feet, glanced around, and then hurried over toward the booths.

  Clayton leaned against the back shelf, his lips twisted to one side as he shook his head. “I swear, if he keeps that up, I’ll be paying workers’ comp.”

  Bryson sat down, his back to Clayton. He rested his arms on the counter as he watched Milo take orders, clear tables, and try
his best to stay upright. He was a walking disaster and Bryson couldn’t be more smitten.

  There was just something about the guy. He wasn’t sure why he thought the man’s klutziness was cute.

  “Here you go.” Clayton set a beer on the counter. “I need to ask you something.”

  Bryson turned back around and grabbed his beer, taking a sip as he eyed his friend. One never knew what was going to come out of the Clayton’s mouth. Bryson braced himself and nodded. He just hoped that Clayton didn’t say anything about Milo.

  He spotted Milo coming close, placing empty glasses on the bar. Bryson cleared his throat. “Hi, Milo.”

  The waiter turned, smiled at him, and then made some strange squawking noise when he opened his mouth. Milo’s eyes widened before he gave Bryson his back and hurried away.

  “Did I miss something?” Bryson asked Clayton as he wondered why Milo had made that noise.

  “I told you, he’s very unique.”

  Maybe it was a language Bryson didn’t know. It had sounded more like tires screeching or metal scraping together than any noise a human voice should make.

  The sound was definitely weird.

  * * * *

  Milo tried his best not to look Bryson’s way. He was having a hard enough time concentrating as it was. Every time the sexy cowboy came into the bar, Milo felt flushed. Over the past week, he’d been trying to get up the nerve to say something to the guy, but every time Milo opened his mouth, a weird noise came out instead of words.

  He refused to embarrass himself any further. At least not on purpose. He wasn’t sure what that noise was that left his mouth, but Milo was mortified.