Wrangle Me: A Cowboy Romance Read online

  Wrangle Me

  A Cowboy Romance

  Gigi Thorne

  WRANGLE ME

  Gigi Thorne

  Copyright © Rochelle Paige writing as Gigi Thorne

  All Rights Reserved

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any written, electronic, recording, or photocopying without written permission of the publisher or author. The exception would be in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews and pages where permission is specifically granted by the publisher or author.

  Although every precaution has been taken to verify the accuracy of the information contained herein, the author and publisher assume no responsibility for any errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for damages that may result from the use of information contained within.

  Cover Design: Mayhem Cover Design

  Editor: Manda Lee

  First Edition

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Wrangle Me

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Epilogue

  Who is Gigi

  Also by Gigi

  Wrangle Me

  This bossy rancher is about to be brought to his knees by an innocent beauty.

  Alexandra Cooper is desperate to get away from home. A four-month gig as a cook at the Circle B Ranch is exactly what she needs. Except when she gets there, it feels like she jumped out of the pan and straight into the fire.

  Alexandra is nothing like Colton Booth expected when he hired her. If he’d realized “Alex” was a gorgeous eighteen-year-old girl, he never would have given her the job in the first place. But now that he has her on his ranch, he doesn’t plan to ever let Alexandra go.

  Chapter One

  Alexandra

  My high school graduation was finally here. I’d been counting down to it ever since my mom died when I was a freshman. She’d been my only buffer in a house full of males who expected to be waited on hand and foot by the girls. Between my dad and brothers, there were five of them and only the two of us. She did the brunt of the work, cooking and cleaning from sunup to sundown each and every day. No matter how often I tried to do more to help her, she insisted that she had it covered because she wanted me to focus on school.

  I couldn’t help but feel like her life had been cut short by all that work since she was only forty-one when she died. Her loss made me question what my father had drilled into my head about a woman’s place in the world. It made me wonder if my mom kept telling me I couldn’t afford to miss out on getting my high school diploma because that’s what she’d done when she’d dropped out of high school at my father’s insistence.

  Even though she was gone, his expectations didn’t change at all. He and my brothers were chauvinistic pigs who never even thought twice about a fifteen-year-old girl cooking and cleaning for all of them. They didn’t wonder how I managed to get it all done and still maintain a decent grade-point average.

  It’d taken one thousand one hundred and eighty-five days, but I’d kept my promise to my mom. I had my diploma in hand, and I felt free for the first time in my life. I was finally able to leave this place—and my family’s demands—behind me. I even had a little more than a thousand dollars to help me make my escape. I’d found eight hundred of it tucked in the back of one of my drawers with a note from my mom telling me how to sneak a few dollars here and there out of the grocery budget each week. She must’ve been doing it for at least a decade to have saved up as much as she had. I was grateful to her because she’d given me the means to escape, even though I desperately wished she’d used that money for both of us to have gotten out before she died.

  But I wasn’t going to let myself dwell on what-ifs, not when I had somewhere to be. If I didn’t catch my bus, then I wouldn’t make it to my new job on time. It was going to take me more than twenty-four hours and two transfers to get from small-town Iowa to the ranch in Texas where I’d hired on as a cook for the summer. It seemed like an odd choice since I was basically doing the same job now, but at least the ranch offered room and board plus a small salary. It wasn’t what I wanted to do with the rest of my life—I wasn’t even sure what that was—but it bought me some time to figure everything out without eating into my savings.

  My ticket had only cost me a hundred and fifty-one dollars, but it was a long journey and didn’t give me much wiggle room since I was due to arrive into town the night before my first day at work. The trip was as bad as I expected it to be, but I barely noticed since I was too busy being happy to have gotten away from my father and brothers. None of them had bothered to attend my graduation, and I’d made sure to have dinner warming for them in the oven before I took off for the bus stop so they didn’t notice I was missing until it was too late. And just in case they realized I’d taken the bus out of town, I only bought my ticket for the first leg of the trip. When I arrived in Kansas City, I left the bus station and found a diner nearby where I hung out for a couple of hours before changing clothes, putting on a hat, and heading back to the bus station to buy my ticket for the rest of the trip to Texas.

  When we finally rolled into town, I was exhausted since I hadn’t felt comfortable sleeping on the bus because I was traveling by myself. I was barely able to keep my eyes open as I rolled my suitcase behind me and walked down the sidewalk to the cheapest hotel available—and the only one I’d found that’d allow me to check in without a credit card. I cringed a little when I found the building. The motel was even more run-down than I expected, but I didn’t have any other choices.

  “It’s only one night,” I mumbled under my breath as I pushed through the front door of the office.

  “Hello, I’m Irene. You checkin’ in?”

  Most of my worries evaporated when I saw the woman standing behind the reception desk. With her gray hair, kind eyes behind a pair of clunky glasses, and wide smile, she was like the grandmother I’d always wanted but never had.

  “Yes, please. I called ahead to make sure it would be okay that I don’t have a credit card. The person I spoke with said they’d leave a note about me? Alexandra Cooper? Or he might’ve written down Alex Cooper instead since I tend to go by that.”

  “Oh, yes. That’ll be fine. No special note needed since we’re happy to take cash.” I heaved a sigh of relief since I’d been concerned that the guy on the phone had been wrong and I’d be stuck sleeping on a bench at the bus stop. “You got a driver’s license or anything I can use to check you in?”

  “Sure.” I pulled my state ID from my purse and slid it across the counter.

  “How many nights are you stayin’ with us?”

  “Just one.”

  “Passin’ through town on your way to college, dearie?”

  I shook my head. “I start my new job at the Circle B tomorrow and it comes with room and board.”

  Her eyes went wide, and she slid her glasses up her nose as she leaned forward to peer more closely at me. “You have a job at the Circle B?”

  “Yes, as a cook.”

  “Colton Booth hired you to cook for his ranch hands?”

  Her complete shock at the idea was starting to freak me out. “Yeah, he offered me the job last week.”

  “You didn’t come”—she glanced down at my ID—“all the way from Iowa for an interview, did you?”

  I shook my head again and was surprised when she nodded as though it was what she expected. “But I sent in a resume and pictures of several recipes of mine that I thought they’d like me to make if I got the job.”

  “Baked goods?”

  I tilted my head to the side, not following along. “Pardon?”

  “Did you send pictures of any homemade bread, pies, cookies, or cakes?”

  “Well, yeah. A few of them did.” I thought back, trying to remember which ones I’d decided to send since I’d taken pictures of every meal I made for two weeks straight so I’d have plenty of options. “One of the breakfasts had biscuits. And there were sandwiches made with slices of crusty Italian bread I baked. I think I sent in at least a couple dessert photos, too. My mom’s apple pie recipe and giant monster cookies with peanut butter, chocolate chips, and M&Ms.”

  “That’d explain why he hired you on the spot. Colton Booth loves home-baked bread, and he has the biggest sweet tooth this side of Pike’s Peak. The ranch cooks he’s hired in the past have all been good at feeding the men, but none of them have been what anyone would call a baker.” Her smile widened. “How long does it take you to whip up a pie or a batch of cookies? I can tell you’re tired from traveling, but you might want to consider borrowing my kitchen to make him something sweet to distract him from the surprise that’s in store for him when he meets you, Alex Cooper.”

  My brow wrinkled in confusion. “Is he a forgetful kind of guy?”

  “Nope. Colton’s brain is like a steel trap. He’d never have been able to build up the Circle B the way he did if he was forgetting things left and right.”

  “Then why would he be surprised when I show up? He’s expecting me to arrive tomorrow.”

  “Don’t mind me, girlie. I’m sure you’ll be fine. How about I drive you over to the Circle B myself in the morning, just to be sure?”

  “I coul
dn’t possibly put you out like that.” I hadn’t figured out yet how I’d get there, but I wasn’t sure

  “I’m more than happy to be paid in cookies.”

  Irene had such a hopeful look in her eye that I couldn’t bring myself to say no, and that’s how I found myself baking seventy-cookies instead of finding dinner and heading to bed. Luckily, it didn’t take me too long since I picked three recipes that all used the same basic sugar cookie dough. About two hours later, I headed to my room with a to-go box from the local diner that Irene insisted on getting for me. Once I filled my belly, I got the best night’s sleep I’d had since my mom died.

  Chapter Two

  Colton

  “Shit.” I tossed the burned toast into the garbage and thanked my lucky stars that the new cook was due to arrive today. My morning had gotten an earlier start than planned, and I’d already put in three hours of hard work before I’d headed back up to the house to scrounge myself up some breakfast.

  I’d been hesitant to hire someone so young sight unseen, but the recipes and photos had been convincing enough for me to give young Alex a try. But it had been worth the risk, with the way my mouth watered at the sight of the apple pie in one of the pictures he’d attached to his application. In the end, the decision had been made easier due to a phone call from a cook we’d used a few years back who I’d been sorry to see leave even while I’d understood why he had to go. He was looking for a job, and I’d told him to give me another call a week after the new guys started since I was more than happy to hire him back if things didn’t work out with this one. It was always good to have a back-up plan, especially since I depended on the cook for most of my meals as well.

  “It’s about damn time I take Mom’s suggestion and hire someone to work in the big house year round,” I muttered to myself as I walked towards the front door after the doorbell rang. “Before she’s the one at my door...offering up a new solution, like finding myself a wife to do all the cooking instead.”

  I swung open the tall cedar door, expecting to see the young man I’d hired fresh out of high school to cook for us over the summer. Instead, I found a girl who didn’t even come up to my shoulders. For such a tiny thing, she wasn’t lacking curves. When you added in her long, curly blond hair and crystal blue eyes that reminded me of the color of the lake at the rear of my property line, she was a knockout. It was too bad she was so young, and I had no idea why she was standing on my front porch with a stack of paper plates wrapped in tin foil in her hands.

  At the sound of laughter behind her, my gaze jerked up and I found Irene from the motel in town standing at the top of the stairs leading up from the drive. I lifted my chin in her direction. “Hey, Irene. What’re you doing up so early?” It was a well-known fact around town that Irene was a night owl. Folks weren’t used to seeing her much in the mornings.

  The smile she gave me was innocent, but I didn’t trust the sparkle in her eyes. “Hey, Colton. I figured you’d want me to give your new cook a ride over this morning.”

  “My new cook?” I started to look over Irene’s shoulder, wondering if he hadn’t made it out of the car yet until she jerked her head towards the girl standing in front of me.

  I yanked my gaze her way in disbelief as Irene explained, “This is Alexandra Cooper. But I think you know her by her nickname, Alex.”

  “You’re Alex Cooper?” I looked her up and down again, my eyes lingering in places they shouldn’t have considering she was my employee. Not to mention as a recent high school graduate, she was way too young for the likes of me—not that my cock seemed to care since it pushed against my zipper just at the sight of her.

  “I am.”

  I went from semi-hard to a rod of steel at the sound of her voice. It was so damn soft and raspy. I had to shift my stance just so I wouldn’t scare the poor girl off. “You can’t—”

  Irene, who damn well knew what I’d been about to say, interrupted, “Why don’t you give him those cookies you baked last night, Alex? Even if he managed to choke down the rubbery eggs and burnt toast he probably made for himself this morning, I’m sure he has enough room to polish off a couple dozen or so cookies.”

  Alexandra—she was way too feminine to be called Alex—tugged the foil off the top plate, and I was instantly distracted. Just like Irene had known I’d be. “Cookies?”

  “Three kinds of ‘em,” Irene added, moving behind the girl to give her a nudge. “Go on. Hand them over so he can see them all.”

  Alexandra’s fingers trembled as she shoved the plates into my hands. “There are cinnamon pinwheels, jam thumbprints, and iced sugar cookies. Irene let me use her kitchen to make them last night, and they were the best I could do with the supplies she had on hand.”

  “Let?” Irene scoffed as she herded us into the house. “I practically dragged you in there and forced you to make ‘em. It was downright cruel of me to even suggest you work so hard in the kitchen just to impress your new boss. You were so tired after that long bus ride, but you didn’t complain. Not even once.”

  It was a not-so-subtle reminder that the girl had traveled half-way across the country on the promise of a job. It was my word that’d been given, but only because I’d been expecting her to be a guy. What they said about making assumptions was certainly true. I was the ass in this situation, but I wasn’t sure I had it in me to act like one to Alexandra—not with her staring up at me with wide eyes that had dark smudges underneath which amplified the fear in them. “Thanks for taking the time to make cookies for me.”

  The shy smile she offered me as we walked into the kitchen made the effort I’d taken to be kind well worth it. Her pretty blue eyes widened as she took in the granite countertops and professional grade appliances. “Is this where I’ll be working?”

  “There’s a bigger kitchen down in the employee quarters for the ranch cook.” My response was automatic, but then my brain kicked in and I thought about how she’d be surrounded by my men day and night if she worked and slept down there. No way in hell was that gonna happen. “But you can’t stay down there. All of my ranch hands are men, and you’re—”

  “Not,” she finished for me softly.

  I wanted to kick my own ass when a lone tear spilled down Alexandra’s cheek, and I wasn’t any happier with Irene when she offered a solution. “She’s more than welcome to use a room at the motel. I’d be happy to give her rides in exchange for her skills in the kitchen in her downtime.”

  “No,” I barked. “That’d mean she’d never get a break from work.”

  “That’s okay,” Alexandra interjected softly. “I’m used to cooking large meals every day.”

  Her confidence in her cooking abilities was a big part in my decision to hire someone so young, but I didn’t like to hear that this beautiful, young girl was so familiar with hard work. But that wasn’t why I continued to argue. It was because I didn’t want her spending the night off my property, outside of my protection. “She can use one of the guest bedrooms here.”

  “Here? With you?” Alexandra gasped. “I couldn’t possibly.”

  “Do you want the job or not? Because it comes with room and board, and this is the only option that’s acceptable to me.” No way in hell was I going to let her live with my men. It didn’t matter that I could’ve swapped people around so she’d have her own private space. Not that I didn’t trust them to stay away from her if I told them to—my men followed my orders. And as much as I wanted to believe that my insistence on this was because she would’ve been a young girl living among all men, I knew that I really had my over-the-top reaction to her to blame for it.

  “I do want the job, but”—she heaved a deep sigh and peered up at me from underneath long lashes—“I don’t want to put you out or anything, having me stay under your roof when you have living quarters for all of your other your employees. I mean, wouldn’t your men think it was weird?”