A Proposal for Her Cowboy

Book 7: Three Springs, Texas

by Cari Lynn Webb

Genres: Clean & Wholesome Romance; Police & Law Enforcement Romance; Western Romance; Small-town Romance

Synopsis

Family brought her home…

Can love make her stay?

Now that she’s finally back in Three Springs, Texas, Deputy Sheriff Lacey Nash wants nothing more than to reconnect with her nine-year-old daughter, Aspen. Carefree Caleb Sloan is just a distraction—even if he is surprisingly helpful. He not only pitches in to train Aspen for the junior rodeo contest, but he also makes Lacey feel both welcome in town and truly special. Though will that be enough for by-the-book Lacey…to let this fun-loving cowboy prove he’s ready for an instant family?



USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR

From Harlequin Heartwarming: Wholesome stories of love, compassion and belonging.

Three Springs, Texas

Book 1: The Texas SEAL's Surprise
Book 2: Trusting the Rancher with Christmas
Book 3: Her Cowboy Wedding Date
Book 4: Falling for the Cowboy Doc
Book 5: His Christmas Cowgirl
Book 6: The Rancher's Secret Crush
Book 7: A Proposal for Her Cowboy

Release date: August 20, 2024

Publisher: Harlequin

Print pages: 336

Sample

CHAPTER ONE

BABYMOON. BEFORE LACEY NASH could translate her ex-husband’s early-morning text, the two-way radio clipped to her shoulder chirped.

Static scratched across the speaker, followed by the timid but sweetly high-pitched voice of Gertie Tiller. The long-time dispatcher for Three Springs County Sheriff’s Department. “Deputy Nash. You copy? C-o-p-y.”

Lacey waited for Gertie to finish stretching out the y in copy like the final note in a solo stage performance. Silence was her cue. She pressed the button on her radio and said, “Ten-two.” Then a quick, “Copy.”

“Copy that,” Gertie singsonged. “Over.”

Lacey grabbed her newly issued camel-colored deputy’s hat from the hook in the mudroom and walked outside.

More static. A distinct throat clearing, then Gertie said, “Code ten-fifty-three at Clearwind Lake.”

The road was blocked at Clearwind Lake. Lacey locked the door to her stepdad and late mom’s ranch house, which was serving as Lacey’s residence, and reached for her radio.

But Gertie was back. Her words expanded her vocal range into a squeaky high pitch. “Correction. Code ten-ninety-two at Clearwind Lake.”

Parking complaint. Lacey unlocked the dark blue SUV parked in the driveway and climbed inside the latest addition to the fleet of vehicles for the Three Springs County Sheriff’s Department.

Another throat clearing crossed the speaker and Gertie’s overly excited words peeled out. “Code ten-fifty-four. Clearwind Lake. That’s the one.”

Livestock on the roadway. Lacey buckled her seat belt, started the SUV, and pulled out of the driveway. Given the continued stretch of silence across the two-way, Lacey finally took her chance. She activated the radio speaker and said, “I’m en route to Clearwind Lake.”

A long sigh pushed across the two-way. Censure filled Gertie’s suddenly bland words. “I know you are new, Deputy Nash, but we prefer to use codes on this frequency.”

Lacey laughed, then sobered before she spoke. Gertie was part of her team now, and Lacey wanted the woman to like her. She pressed the radio button for a succinct “ten-four.”

Sunglasses on, Lacey watched a hawk soar above the endless open plains of the Texas Panhandle that stretched out on either side of the road. The land was broken only by fence lines marking off ranches, cattle farms, and recently harvested wheat fields. Not another person was in sight. Only her and the hawk. Her shoulders loosened as they’d been steadily doing since her arrival stateside six months earlier. Now she was back home for good. No more active-duty deployments overseas. No more putting service before family. She’d made promises, and it was past time to keep them.

Her phone chimed a new text alert. No doubt from her ex-husband. Again. He was one of a handful of people who had her personal phone number and used it regularly. Lacey ignored it. She had time to deal with her ex-husband and his babymoon situation—whatever that was—after her shift ended.

She might have moved home to reconnect with family, but she still had a job to do. One she took quite seriously, even if she was patrolling sleepy country roads, instead of being part of an active military police force stationed on a massive base in South Korea or Germany.

Lacey turned onto the road leading to Clearwind Lake and pulled in behind a familiar deep blue Three Springs County Sheriff’s Department truck. Her stepdad, Sheriff Wells Hopson, was already on the scene. No surprise there. Swells, as she’d affectionately called him when she was a kid, was more dedicated to his job than anyone Lacey knew. Her superstep—her other nickname for him—was the reason she’d chosen a career in law enforcement.

But right now, he was Sheriff Hopson, her superior and her boss. He stood in the middle of the road with his back to her. Two men stood beside him. The taller was a classic cowboy, from his worn brown hat and his plaid shirt and fit-just-right jeans to his dust-covered boots.

Oversize camo-colored waders swallowed the shorter man. Still, she recognized the shock of white in the man’s otherwise short dark hair. Mayor Paul Molina had been at her swearing-in ceremony for Three Springs County Sheriff’s Department. Mayor Molina had a firm handshake, a thick accent, and a rumbling, good-natured laugh not easily forgotten.

“Gentlemen.” Lacey approached the trio, followed the direction of their focus, and finally got to the source of their standoff. A turtle. Albeit a very large one. And if she wasn’t mistaken, a turtle of the snapping breed. No wonder Gertie had trouble with the correct code. Lacey shook her head. “Don’t tell me you three are scared of a turtle.”

“It’s not exactly little,” Mayor Molina mused and switched his fishing pole to his other hand.

Lacey eyed the turtle, guesstimating he weighed in at close to forty pounds.

“And they aren’t called snapping turtles for nothing,” Sheriff Hopson offered.

“Remember when Gus Ranford lost his toe to a snapper?” Mayor Molina rocked in his rubber boots as if checking that his toes were still attached.

Lacey winced. Her gaze tracked to the cowboy, and her own toes curled in her black patrol boots. Her heart snapped to full attention. Caleb Sloan. The cowboy was no stranger. And he was no longer a boy she’d once known in high school. He was inches taller than her towering stepdad, unfairly handsome, and watching her like he knew the secret to life and wasn’t willing to share.

One corner of his mouth tipped into his cheek, and he touched the brim of his hat. Just a flick of his fingers in acknowledgment. Amusement washed through his slow Texas drawl. “Where exactly was Gus when this snapper got him?”

Lacey knew exactly where she was when she’d first been hooked by Caleb Sloan, his daredevil charisma, and thrill-seeking ways. On a date with one of his best friends. That hadn’t stopped her from recklessly accepting Caleb’s dare that night and the many others that soon followed.

But the days of carefree nights, reckless abandon, and teenage adrenaline rushes were long gone. Her mother’s cancer diagnosis had reined Lacey into being responsible and pragmatic. Later, an unexpected pregnancy had extinguished the last of the impulsive nature still kindling inside Lacey. She’d outgrown cowboys like Caleb Sloan and was surely better for it.

“Gus was walking barefoot in Eagle Run River.” Sheriff Hopson rubbed his fingers across his upper lip hidden inside his well-groomed beard. “Got him good. Wouldn’t let go until he’d gotten what he wanted.”

“Never did find that turtle.” Mayor Molina eyed the turtle blocking the road as if he might be the toe-snatching culprit.

“I’m sure Gus always put his boots on before going into the river after that incident,” Lacey said.

“Don’t reckon that he did.” Mayor Molina chuckled. “Rather, he walked on the other bank of the river. Used to say if he lost his other little toe, he’d be back in balance.”

Caleb’s laughter spilled out, unchecked and unabashed.

And entirely too distracting.

Lacey’s lips twitched. She tugged her attention from the much-too-good-looking cowboy and focused on the issue at hand. “Well, this turtle can’t be left here. Someone will run him over.”

“How do you tell a male from a female turtle?” Mayor Molina knocked his bucket hat askew.

“Tail size.” Lacey waved toward the turtle. “Males have longer tails than the females.” The guys blinked blandly at her. She shrugged. “Aspen got an A on her school project about turtles and sent it to me.”

Caleb stuck his hands in the back pockets of his jeans and considered her. “Then you know the proper way to handle a turtle, Deputy.”

She knew the proper way to handle more than a turtle, including how to handle a disarming cowboy like him. Don’t. She added a challenge to her words. “Do you?”

His close-lipped grin and his hooded gaze were pure mischief, as if riling her was the only game he wanted to play. But Lacey dealt with lawbreakers and avoided heartbreakers at all costs.

He nodded.

She set her hands on her hips. “Then why haven’t you moved the turtle?”

“We like our toes and our fingers.” Sheriff Hopson held his arms out in front of him and wiggled his fingers.

“We can’t stand here all day, watching this turtle to make sure he crosses safely.” Lacey didn’t try to hide her exasperation.

“I suppose we could draw straws,” her stepdad offered. “Shortest one moves the turtle.”

Lacey glanced at her watch. Thirty minutes until the park officially opened. They could be sorting straws for the next hour. She walked to her vehicle and grabbed a pair of gloves from the passenger seat. Passing by the men, she tossed over her shoulder, “Watch and learn, boys.”

Lacey circled the turtle from the back and picked him up. Quick and efficient. She wasted no time releasing him into the grass and backing away with her hands up. Like most wild animals, turtles preferred not to be handled. The turtle poked his head out, considered her for a brief second, then started ambling through the grass. Lacey turned to gloat, but the men were focused on Sheriff Hopson. Huh?

Her stepdad tapped his phone screen, cleared his throat, and announced the time.

A triumphant grin spread across Caleb’s face, and he extended his hand, palm up. “Pay up. I called that one almost to the minute.”

“She always had a big soft spot for wildlife.” Her stepdad passed Caleb a twenty-dollar bill and added, “Even the mean ones.”

Mayor Molina placed another twenty dollars on Caleb’s palm and said, “I suppose you knew that little fact too, Caleb Sloan.”

“I used to know that.” Caleb smiled and stuffed the cash in his back pocket. “But it has been years since Lacey and I have seen each other. People change.”

Caleb had changed. His

shoulders were broader. The beginning of a dark beard covered his cheeks as if he’d woken up eager to take on the day and skipped shaving. And there was a confidence in the well-built man before her that she found more than a little appealing.

But clearly the boy she’d known hadn’t grown up. The devil-may-care is rooted deep in that boy, Lace. Take care not to get tangled up too. Those had been her mother’s words after meeting a teenage Caleb Sloan.

Lacey hooked her thumbs on her utility belt, jabbed her elbows out to expand her space, and bumped her unwanted thoughts about the handsome cowboy aside. “This was a bet? Don’t you have real work to be doing somewhere else?”

“It’s my day off.” Mayor Molina snapped the suspenders on his waders and waggled his eyebrows. “Only work I intend to do today is fish.”

“Well, now that the livestock is no longer blocking the roadway—” Lacey peeled off her gloves and turned toward her vehicle “—I think I’ll get back to work.”

“The turtle isn’t the livestock, Deputy Nash,” Caleb drawled and then chuckled. His gaze gleamed before he pointed to the lake nearby. “Walter is.”

Lacey gasped, then sputtered, “That’s a bull.”

CHAPTER TWO

ONE OF THE largest bulls Lacey had ever seen was standing serenely in the lake, within splashing distance of the area roped off for public swimming. The same area families would soon be arriving to use while they enjoyed their last days of summer vacation. She’d been so focused on the snapping turtle she’d never even glanced at the water. Not exactly the attention to detail she prided herself on in her line of work.

“That’s a Beefmaster bull to be exact,” her stepdad offered mildly.

“What’s he doing here?” Lacey asked.

“Don’t look at me.” Caleb held up both hands, grinning. “I didn’t invite him.”

“Clearly, Walter believes the lake is his own personal watering hole.” Mayor Molina waved his arms and brandished his fishing pole as if preparing for a joust. “He charged me something good earlier. I dropped my tackle box, and now my best lures are scattered all over the shore.”

Lacey spun and eyed the rust-colored bull. “Who does Walter belong to?”

“Murphy.” That reply came in unison from the trio.

“Where’s Murphy?” Lacey prodded.

“Boise.” Again, the reply came in unison.

“As in Boise, Idaho?” Lacey clarified.

The trio nodded.

“Well, Walter can’t stay here.” Lacey crossed her arms over her chest. “Allyson Loret is having her tenth birthday party here in just over an hour.” Gertie had shown Lacey the parks and rec calendar yesterday after they’d gone through the fish and game handbook.

“Sort of takes pin-the-tail-on-the-bull to a whole other level, doesn’t it?” Caleb quipped.

Her stepdad and the mayor chuckled.

“This isn’t really a time for jokes,” Lacey said. “Walter needs to be moved. We can’t very well throw a rope around him and walk him home.”

“Why not?” Caleb dusted his hands on his jeans. “You said it yourself, Deputy Nash, we can’t have Walter crashing the birthday party, even though he’s quite tame.”

Tame. “That’s a two-thousand-pound animal,” Lacey said. With a battering ram for a head, amazing agility, and nothing meek in his massive, muscular body. She glanced at Caleb. “What? Are you going to stroll over there and just lasso Walter?”

“Something like that.” Caleb lifted one shoulder.

“Be serious, Caleb.” Lacey moved to block him. “This isn’t a game.”

Caleb eyed her from beneath the brim of his cowboy hat. “This isn’t my first rodeo, Deputy.”

Lacey shot him a look. “This isn’t a rodeo either.” There was no arena. No fences. No precautions. No first aid. Nothing but him and a bull. The odds heavily favored the bull.

A teasing tone matched his broad grin. “Why, Deputy Nash, I do believe you might be worried about me.”

“Of course I am.” Lacey leaned toward him. “It’s my second day on the job, Caleb Sloan. I can’t have a citizen I’m supposed to protect be trampled by a bull. Not. On. My. Second. Day.”

“No one is getting trampled today.” Caleb knocked his cowboy hat lower on his head. “Your record will remain unblemished.”

He sounded disappointed in her, as if she’d somehow let him down. Lacey narrowed her eyes and searched his face. Impossible. This was Caleb here-for-the-entertainment-only Sloan.

“Relax, Deputy.” Caleb’s smile thinned. “Reinforcements have arrived.”

The reinforcements were two trucks with attached trailers and a pair of tall cowboys. After handshakes with the newcomers, Lacey was introduced to Evan Bishop, one of the largest local cattle ranchers in the area. The other cowboy was none other than Ryan Sloan, Caleb’s champion bronc-riding older brother.

Lacey’s stepdad and the mayor jumped into the sheriff’s truck and drove it to block the park entrance until Walter was contained.

“What’s the plan?” Ryan opened the doors of the horse trailer hitched to his truck. Evan went inside and guided a sleek bay out.

“I figure I’m going in.” 

Caleb handed his cell phone to his brother. “Unless either of you want to test the waters?”

“My Mischief doesn’t appreciate the water like your horse.” Ryan led a gray-dun mustang into the parking lot, then worked on saddling the powerful horse. Evan seconded Ryan’s claims.

“You aren’t seriously going into the water, are you?” Lacey watched Caleb head inside the trailer. “That’s your plan? Swim with Walter?”

“There’s a little more to it than that.” Caleb guided a stunning dark gold Palomino horse out of the trailer.

“A cowboy, a bull, and a lake.” Lacey shifted her gaze from one cowboy to the next. “Does anyone else think that sounds like the start of a bad joke?”

Evan ducked his head, hiding his grin, and escaped inside the trailer.

“We need to stop and think.” Lacey squeezed her fingers to her temple. She was known for being levelheaded in any situation, even the most stressful. She was also notoriously hard to ruffle, according to her former captain. Yet she felt flustered. And wasn’t that more irritating than a swarm of horseflies? She widened her stance as if to prove her cowboy couldn’t knock her completely off-balance. “We need to talk this through.”

“There’s no time. The kids are coming soon. Walter has got to go.” Caleb tapped his wrist. “Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.”

Still, she hesitated and rounded on Caleb’s older brother for backup. “You have to agree there’s nothing reasonable about swimming with a bull.”

“There’s nothing particularly sensible about Walter preferring this lake,” Ryan countered.

“But here we are.” Caleb motioned toward the bull still standing hip-high in the water, seemingly bored by the commotion he was causing.

Lacey knew better than to believe a bull had found his inner zen in a public lake. Even one with a fetching white mottled face and a sleepy look about him.

“My daughter is coming to the birthday party.” Evan carried a saddle from the trailer and set it on his bay horse. “Riley will be more than mad if Walter ruins her afternoon swim with her friends.”

“Nothing for it, Lacey.” Caleb laughed, easy and upbeat. “Walter’s pool time is up.” He paused and tipped his head at her. His grin came slowly. “Now, Deputy, as luck would have it, we have an extra horse who appreciates the water. You’re welcome to join me for a morning dip.”

Join him.

Lacey blinked and watched his smile lift into his cheeks, all white teeth, charm, and challenge.

“I seem to recall a time when you couldn’t stay out of the water. Always goading me and our horses to join you for a swim.” He leaned toward her. “Think of it like old times.” With that, he walked away, whistling a happy tune, and then disappeared inside the trailer.

Oh, her cowboy wasn’t wrong. That was back when they were teens and she spent endless summer days doing exactly what she wanted. Indulging her love

of horses, the water, and whatever brought her joy. But this wasn’t a vacation. And one persuasive yet provoking cowboy wasn’t going to make her forget herself or her duty. Lacey crossed her arms over her chest.

Ryan said quietly, “Believe it or not, Caleb knows what he’s doing even if he seems less than serious.”

Serious. Caleb looked absolutely thrilled. Lacey muttered and reached down to untie her boot. “He looks like he’s headed to a water balloon fight with the birthday party kids.”

“Caleb treats everything like a good time.” Ryan met her gaze over his horse’s back. “This should not surprise you. Didn’t you two spend a lot of time together in high school?”

“That was high school.” Lacey loosened the shoelaces on her other boot. “It was all about having a good time back then.”

“True.” Ryan made a final adjustment to his horse’s saddle. “Gran Claire always admired what she called Caleb’s extra ounce of giddyup in his get-up-and-go.”

“I’m also certain your gran Claire wished for a little less giddyup more than once,” Lacey countered.

“It’s good to have you back, Lacey.” Ryan laughed. “Maybe you could hang out with my little brother more. Your down-to-earth sensibilities might rub off on him.”

Hang out with Caleb Sloan? Not happening. Lacey wasn’t a teen looking for adventure. These days she was looking for routine and stability. Things Caleb wasn’t known for. Her gaze landed on her barefooted cowboy. Caleb had swapped his jeans for swim trunks and ditched his plaid shirt for a plain T-shirt. But his cowboy hat remained firmly in place along with his confidence.

He watched her slide her boots off and headed toward her. “Change your mind, Deputy?”

About being tempted by a certain daredevil cowboy? Not likely. Lacey shook her head.

“Are you scared you might enjoy this, Deputy?” Caleb rubbed his chin, his words casual.

“There’s nothing to enjoy here. And you certainly shouldn’t be treating it like some big game either.” Lacey unfastened her utility belt and walked to her car. She dropped the belt, two-way radio, and her cell phone onto the seat and rearmed the vehicle. Then she went back to Caleb. “And I’m not scared.”

“I don’t believe you,” he challenged.

“I’m a mom now, Caleb.” She stripped off her socks and tossed them on her boots. “I don’t have time for fear or fun.”

He tapped the rim of his hat higher and eyed her. “Then what are you doing?”

“My duty.” Lacey took the reins of the chestnut Arabian horse with four white socks from Ryan. She led the horse toward a rock, stepped on the stone, and mounted bareback in one fluid motion.

Admiration flashed across Caleb’s face before he turned and mounted his horse bareback.

Lacey guided the horse to stand beside Caleb’s, close enough that her knee brushed his bare leg, and her words reached his ears only. “Seems not much has changed. You still need a cowgirl to protect

you from yourself, don’t you?”

“A lot has changed since high school, Deputy. That I can promise you.” There was a glint in his blue eyes. “But one thing remains the same.”

“What’s that?” She adjusted her horse’s reins.

His lips twitched. “Once a cowboy, always a cowboy.”

And once a fool... But she promised herself never again. Her failed marriage had taught her the perils of losing her heart to the wrong man. And this cowboy was all kinds of wrong for her.

“Time to wrangle Walter,” Caleb announced and handed Lacey a rope. “Do you remember what I taught you about roping a steer?”

“Some lessons are hard to forget.” Lacey coiled the rope to her liking and gripped it in one hand.

“That’s good to know.” Caleb chuckled. “And if you have fun, Deputy, I promise not to say: I told you so.” He winked and turned for the shoreline.

Lacey followed him. He looked relaxed, his horse equally untroubled by the bull staring them down.

Walter appeared unimpressed by their arrival and, more important, not the least bit riled. But even Lacey knew that could all turn on a dime. She kept Walter in her sight line.

“Fortunately for us, Walter is motivated by food,” Caleb explained. “This will help get him into the trailer once he’s out of the water. ...