Betting on a Good Luck Cowboy

Book 2: Star Valley

by Sara Richardson

Genres: Women's Fiction; Western Romance

Synopsis

A former SEAL and his best friend’s widow find that the path of healing leads to forbidden feelings in this emotional western romance for fans of Maisey Yates and Jennifer Ryan!

For widow Tess Valdez, there are two things keeping her husband’s memory alive: her daughters and the ranch he loved. And Tess has thrown herself into caring for both. But when the wild horses that roam her land are threatened, Tess seizes the opportunity to become their advocate—and finds a new purpose that is hers alone. She expects resistance from some of the locals, but what she doesn’t anticipate is needing the one man she can’t have by her side…

No one understands Tess’s pain better than SEAL Silas Beck. He lost his best friend on the battlefield, and he’s spent every day since living up to the promise he’d made Jace to take care of the family he left behind. Falling for Tess was never supposed to happen, and Silas knows he should leave for both of their sakes—but he can’t say no when she asks him for one last favor. Even if staying means confronting feelings they’d both rather ignore . . .

Release date: June 6, 2023

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Print pages: 368

Sample

Tess Valdez had experienced many firsts since burying her husband two years ago, but this one might be the toughest.

Staring at herself in the hotel’s bathroom mirror, she pulled up the side zipper on her brand-new cocktail dress and exhaled against the sense of dread building behind her ribs. It wasn’t the dress. No, the little black off-the-shoulder number happened to be fabulous. The red cowgirl boots she wore on her feet completed the ensemble, making it the perfect outfit to wear to her brother’s rustic yet swanky engagement party at one of the nicest hotels in Jackson. She looked good.

But this would be the first party she’d attended without Jace by her side—the first large-scale celebration she’d have to walk into alone…

“Tess?” Her friend Lyric knocked on the bathroom door. “You almost ready? I told Thatch and Silas we’d meet them in the lobby five minutes ago.”

“Almost ready.” She didn’t know how to be ready for these new firsts. Truthfully, she never felt ready. But she’d gotten through them—the first full night in her bed without Jace, the first Christmas for her and her daughters without him, the first family vacation on their own.

But tonight, everyone would be watching her. Tonight, she was stepping outside of her comfort zone.

Glancing in the mirror, she smoothed her hair once more. She couldn’t very well hide in the bathroom forever. So, Tess did what she’d had to do many times before. She put one foot in front of the other.

“Sorry,” she said when she opened the door to see Lyric standing on the other side. “I wasn’t sure about this dress.” That was an easier explanation than confessing the real reason for her hesitation.

“Seriously?” Her friend sashayed over to her wearing an incredible floor-length red number with a plunging neckline. Her friend’s sleek black hair had been elegantly knotted at the crown of her head. “That dress is exquisite. Trust me.”

“Your dress is exquisite.” That was the only adjective to describe Lyric. Her friend was graceful and wise and thoughtful. Since they were nearly the only two single women from Star Valley attending this party, they’d decided to bunk up together tonight. “My dress is pretty. But I’ll take it.” Tess snatched her clutch purse off the dresser. “I’m not sure I remember how to go out and be a grown-up.”

For the last two years, her two main companions were under ten years old. Sure, she’d spent time with her brother and his two SEAL friends who’d moved to Star Valley to help take care of her and the girls after Jace had died. And she, Lyric, and Kyra got together every so often too. But hanging out was different than attending a fancy party. Maybe she should’ve stayed home with Morgan and Willow instead of letting her parents travel out to babysit.

“I’m not much of a partier,” Lyric reminded her. “But I can’t wait to celebrate your brother and Kyra’s engagement.”

“I can’t either,” Tess said as she finally stepped out into the plush hallway. “I’m thrilled for them.” She’d already learned it was possible to be happy and lonely at the same time. “Some of Jace’s family will be here,” she continued as they waited for the elevator. “Aiden felt like we should invite them.”

For over ten years, Jace’s family had been hers—and Aiden’s by proxy. “I haven’t seen a lot of them since the funeral.” Her husband had had too many cousins and aunts and uncles for her to know any of them well. “I guess I’m a little nervous.”

“Stick with me.” Lyric held her hand as they stepped into the elevator. “We’ll do this together. You and me and Silas and Thatch. And Aiden and Kyra when they’re not busy dancing or gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes.”

“I don’t know what I would do without you all.” They’d gotten her through, these friends who’d become her family. They’d gotten both her and her daughters through.

“We’re going to have a blast,” Lyric assured her.

The elevator came to a stop and they stepped into the hotel’s main lobby. Tess wasn’t sure she’d ever stayed anywhere quite this nice. As a ranching family, she and Jace never had the money to splurge for fancy hotels. She hadn’t needed expensive lodging, because they were just as happy camping in the high meadow back at the ranch.

Tess admired the massive antler chandeliers dangling from log beams overhead and the enormous stone fireplace that provided a focal point for the space. Yes, she had certainly found herself in a new era of her life.

Silas and Thatch stood at the bar on the other side of a baby grand piano, both dressed in jeans, crisp button-up shirts with sport coats, and their cowboy boots, naturally.

“Sorry we’re late,” Lyric said, leading Tess to the men by the hand. “Tess wasn’t sure about her dress.”

Silas tilted his head and gave her a long, smoldering appraisal—because he had long ago perfected the smolder. “I’m damn sure about that dress, Tess. Damn. Sure.”

“Yeah. Looks great.” Thatch’s opinion would’ve meant more if he could’ve managed to tear his gaze away from Lyric and roll his tongue back into his mouth. But she also thought his crush was cute.

As for Silas, Tess knew how he operated. The man was full of smooth lines and charm and, yes, intense smolders. And he handed them out to nearly every female for free. Most women found him difficult to resist because he had one of those chiseled handsome faces, not to mention blue eyes full of mischief and thick dark hair with an unkempt wave—who wouldn’t want to run their hands through hair like that?

But Tess prided herself on not being most women.

“I knew I should’ve worn the blue dress.” She shot him her sassiest smirk to show him she wouldn’t fall for his wizardry. Though she’d be lying if she said she hadn’t been tempted a time or two.

Matching her smirk, he thumped his fist into his chest directly over his heart. “Why you gotta wound me like that?”

No matter what, Silas always seemed to lure a laugh out of her. He’d been the only one who could make her smile in the months following Jace’s death. “Easy, Beck. Save that charisma for the women who’ll actually appreciate it. I’m sure the party will be crawling with them.”

Aiden and Kyra had gone all out for this shindig. Last she’d heard, there were 136 people on the guest list.

“Well, those other women won’t look as good as you look in that dress.” Silas said the words without the smolder this time, which gave them a more genuine ring.

“Hey, Lyric.” Thatch moved in on her friend. “I’ve been dealing with this sciatica thing and wondered if you could recommend some stretches.”

Tess snorted. That was a new approach. Had Thatch really stooped to asking for yoga advice? A month ago, her friends had opened up a holistic health clinic in Star Valley, offering medical care by Kyra and yoga classes and naturopath services from Lyric. But as far as Tess knew, Thatch had never had any interest in yoga before.

“Sure. I can recommend some things to try.” Lyric led him in the direction of the ballroom talking about a pose called half lord of the fishes. Either her friend was clueless or she continued to ignore Thatch’s blatant interest in her.

“I guess we should get in there too.” Silas offered her his arm. “Ready?”

“No.” Instead of letting him escort her away, she sat on a stool and ordered a martini. A little pregame libation would potentially relax the nervous fluttering that seemed to be gaining momentum.

“Ooookay.” Silas slid onto the stool next to her. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Tess sipped the drink the bartender set in front of her and coughed. Whew! Martinis were a lot stronger than she remembered.

Silas swiveled his stool to face her fully, his expression calling bullshit. “Tess.”

The way he spoke her name said so much—that he knew her, that she wasn’t allowed to lie to him… not after all they’d been through together. Lying to Silas was impossible. She didn’t even know why she tried.

“I don’t know how to act at things like this anymore.” She played with the toothpick that held the skewered olive in her drink. “Everyone stares at me.” Most people still saw Tess the widow. But she was someone else now. Someone who was still finding her way and figuring herself out but also someone who had walked through hell and survived. “I wish I could just have fun without anyone watching me or judging me or feeling sorry for me.”

There was no official twelve-step program for grieving your spouse. And yet, a lot of people sure seemed to offer their insight and advice on how she should be living. “You need to get out there again,” her mom had insisted before she’d left the house earlier this afternoon. “It’s been two years, honey. Jace would want you to move on.” And then there was Jace’s family. His sister asked Tess if she was dating anyone every time they talked on the phone, and when she told her no, Kelly sounded relieved. “Oh good. I don’t know if I could handle that.”

Sighing, she forced down two more gulps of martini. Gah! Her whole face grimaced. The vodka started a fire in her throat.

“All right.” Silas stood and downed the last half of her martini, likely so she didn’t have to. “Then that’s my mission tonight.”

Even though her drink was gone, she didn’t budge. “What’s your mission?”

“Fun.” He tugged on her hand until she stood too. “I am going to make sure you have too much fun to care if someone’s watching you or judging you.”

“So, you think I’m a charity case too.” She picked up her purse, but before she could leave a tip, Silas threw a ten-dollar bill down next to her empty glass.

“Yeah, but you’re a hot charity case, so I don’t mind.”

Tess punched his shoulder but the effort was futile. Silas happened to be all muscle.

“Come on.” He threaded her arm through his and prodded her toward the ballroom.

Music already played, the bass thumping out into the hallway.

“There’s one catch to this mission tonight. You have to pay attention only to me,” he told her outside the doors. “Keep your eyes on me, and you’ll have the time of your life. I promise.”

“God.” She rolled her eyes. “Are you sure there’ll be room in there for me? What with your ego taking up so much space and everything?”

Silas laughed. He always laughed when she gave him a hard time, which made her laugh too.

“See? You’re already having fun.” He gently nudged her. “Remember. Eyes on me,” he whispered on their way through the door.

A crowd already packed the ballroom. Most people were dancing in front of the stage set up for the live band, but there were also guests sitting at the tables on the outskirts of the room, drinking and enjoying hors d’oeuvres.

“Hey, Sis.” Aiden ambled to meet them, holding tightly to his fiancée’s hand.

“I’m so happy you’re here!” Kyra hugged her tight. “This is going to be so much fun! You look ravishing, by the way.”

“Told you,” Silas murmured a little too close to her ear.

The goose bumps his voice roused down her arm annoyed her. “Congrats, you two.” She hugged her brother. “I can’t wait for the wedding.” That would be a new first too. Attending a wedding without Jace, listening to the same vows Jace had said to her when they thought they’d have forever.

“What a great party.” Lyric joined their little posse. True to form, Thatch wasn’t far behind.

“We’d better get out on the dance floor,” Thatch said to Silas. “Show them all how it’s done.”

“But all of your clothes are staying on tonight, boys,” Kyra warned sternly. “I’ve heard all about you two, and this is an elegant affair.”

Silas shook his head. “Man. You strip at one Navy buddy’s drunken wedding reception—at the bride’s request, mind you—and everyone holds it over your head the rest of your life.”

“That was five years ago,” Thatch added. “We’ve matured since then.”

Tess laughed. “In all fairness, the bride did beg them to do a striptease. And it didn’t go further than their boxer briefs.” Thankfully. She’d attended that wedding with Jace and things had gotten a little wild after midnight. She decided not to mention that Aiden had been right there with Silas and Thatch. SEALs really knew how to let loose and party. “But I won’t vouch for their maturity since then.”

Silas made the dagger-to-the-heart motion again. “Come on.” He tugged her arm. “Let’s go dance and I’ll show you how much I’ve matured.”

“We’ll join you soon,” Kyra promised. “We still have a few more people to greet.”

“Count us in.” Lyric sidled up to Tess’s other side with Thatch and the four of them made their way through the crowd to the front of the stage.

The band had started playing “Little Bitty” by Alan Jackson.

“Perfect.” Silas took Tess’s hands and pulled her into a two-step. “I’ve been working on my moves.”

She was already laughing too hard to answer. He had moves, she’d give him that. With one hand on her waist and the other clasped around hers, Silas led her around the dance floor, two-stepping and twirling and spinning her until she had no choice but to look only at him. God, she’d forgotten how fun it was to dance—to move with the music, to get her heart rate going with the beat.

At the end of the song, he dipped her low and she didn’t even have a chance to catch her breath before the band struck up a lively rendition of “Let’s Go to Vegas” and they were off again, dancing and laughing until she was almost dizzy.

Lyric and Thatch had disappeared in the crowd somewhere, but that didn’t even matter. Silas was taking good care of her.

She lost track of how many songs they danced to before she had to stop.

Silas was out of breath too. “Are you having fun?”

She couldn’t remember the last time she’d smiled and laughed for this long. Her cheeks ached as much as her feet. But it was the best kind of ache. “I’m having fun.”

“I’m glad.” He squeezed her hand. “I’ll go get us some drinks. What’ll you have?”

She shot him a sheepish frown. “Water?” If they were going to continue dancing like this, she’d need to hydrate.

“You got it.” He stepped away. “Be right back. Stay put.”

“I will.” She wasn’t sure she could walk very far right now anyway. The boots might’ve been a mistake.

“Tess?”

The voice behind her made every muscle in her neck tense. She turned, already bracing herself. “Hi, DeAnn.” She should’ve been on alert, watching for Jace’s cousin. Jace and DeAnn had been close after growing up just down the street from each other in California.

“Wow.” The woman looked much the same as she had when they’d all been teenagers, except her dark hair was shorter and she smiled less. “I’m so surprised you’re here. I mean, I know Aiden said you were coming, but I wasn’t sure.”

“Of course I’m here.” She grasped at her fading smile. DeAnn had visited her six months after the funeral and had seemed to criticize everything Tess had done that weekend—with the girls, with the house, with the ranch. Because she didn’t do things exactly like Jace had done them. “It’s my brother’s engagement party,” she reminded her.

“I know. But things have been incredibly difficult since Jace passed away, haven’t they?” DeAnn’s mouth pinched. “It would’ve been understandable if you didn’t feel like partying.”

DeAnn lived in the camp of people who thought Tess should still be holed up at home the way she’d been for a good two years. “The girls and I are doing better,” she said politely.

“You seem to be doing more than better.” DeAnn didn’t even try to disguise the judgment in her tone. “I saw you dancing with Silas Beck. Wasn’t he Jace’s best friend?”

“Yes.” So what? Her face was getting hot. “He and Thatch and Aiden have been my saving grace over the last two years.” And she had every right to dance with whomever she wanted to dance with.

“God, I still miss Jace so much,” DeAnn said through a sigh. “I do everything I can to keep his memory alive with my boys.”

“So do I.” But she couldn’t keep him alive, could she? And she couldn’t justify hiding herself the way she wanted to, because she had to show her girls how to live. That was what Jace had asked her to do. That’s what he would’ve wanted.

“Well, I’m glad to see that you’re getting out and having so much fun.” Even DeAnn’s raised eyebrows conveyed her distaste for Tess’s dancing antics. “It’s hard to get over losing someone you love. But you seem to be moving forward.”

“I don’t have a choice.” That was the truth.

“Right. Of course.” She overexaggerated her smile. “I should get back to Steve. It was good to see you.”

Tess didn’t return the sentiment. In fact, she did an about-face, walked in the opposite direction, and kept going all the way out the doors and onto a patio where a huge firepit glowed. Late spring snow had started to softly fall on the stone benches, but the anger kept her toasty warm.

Out of habit, she opened her purse and pulled out her phone to call the ranch.

“Hi, Mommy!” Willow’s little voice answered. “Are you having fun? You looked like a princess in that picture you sent.” Her younger daughter was still very into princesses.

“Sure. It’s great, honey.” She’d had fun. Maybe for a half hour or so. She should be grateful for that. “What about you? Are you having fun with Grandma and Grandpa?”

“Yes! We’re making chocolate chip cookies and then we’re going to have a tea party.”

“That sounds wonderful.” She should’ve stayed home with the girls tonight. She could’ve been in her flannel pajamas by now, all snuggled up on the couch with them. “Can I say hi to Morgan?”

“Sure, Mommy! See you tomorrow.” There was a shuffling as Willow handed the phone off.

“Hey, Mom. How’s Uncle Aiden and Aunt Kyra’s party?”

“It’s good.” She drew closer to the fire to warm her bare shoulders. “And how are things there?”

“We’re having a great time,” her daughter assured her. “I love it when Grandma and Grandpa come to visit.” There was a pause. “Oh, we have to go, Mom! It’s time to put the dough on the cookie sheet!”

“All right, sweets.” She told them both she loved them and then hung up. Grandma probably made them get off the phone so Tess would be forced to go back to the party. But she couldn’t go back. Not after that exchange with DeAnn…

Behind her, the door to the ballroom whooshed open.

“Tess?” Silas came charging at her. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. It’s freezing.” He wriggled out of his suit coat and draped it over her shoulders. “What’re you doing out here?”

To her utter horror, tears built in her eyes and spilled over.

“What?” His voice was panicked. “What is it? What happened? Did someone upset you? I’ll go in there and find them and I’ll—”

“No. It’s fine.” Her voice got all soggy and pathetic and she tried to turn away before he could see what a mess she was.

“Aw, come here, honey.” He pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her. “I can’t stand to see you cry,” he murmured against her hair.

She couldn’t stand to cry either. And yet here she was, sniffling on his shoulder. “I’ll be fine.”

He said nothing more and simply stroked the hair at the back of her head while she shed a few more tears. Okay. That was enough. She wouldn’t continue to blubber all over him for the rest of the night.

Tess lifted her head and found herself peering up and into those baby blues that were usually so playful. Right now, however, they were filled with concern. For her. “Tess,” he murmured in that intimate tone he so rarely used.

“Silas.” It came out in a whisper. She’d looked into this man’s eyes hundreds of times over the last few years, but this time something shifted. There was a hard tug at her heart and before she knew what was happening, her lips were touching his.

For the briefest second, Silas’s arms tensed around her, as if the contact had shocked him, but then he seemed to recover and he tightened his hold on her with his hands strong on her lower back. Tess breathed him in, some masculine-scented cologne that reminded her of the woods right after a rainstorm. Their mouths fit together, exploring a rhythm she hadn’t anticipated, powerful enough to grip her by the heart.

A moan resounded deep in his throat and then his tongue grazed hers and flung her body into delirium—blood racing through her, hot and fast, knees failing—and suddenly she was reminded that she was alive. She was still alive.

“Let’s go upstairs,” she murmured against his lips. They could go now and she’d still be in her own bed before the party ended and Lyric came back to their room.

Silas drew back a few inches, his breaths heaving, bewilderment in his eyes.

“You promised fun. With no judgment, no cares.” She kissed him again, for herself, so the tingling in her body wouldn’t stop.

“Take me upstairs, Silas. Please?”

Silas moved the cursor over the send button but couldn’t seem to click.

In his previous line of employment, there’d been no room for hesitation. You take action or you risk losing a limb or your life. But he wasn’t a SEAL anymore. And maybe that was the problem.

Without sending the email, he moved the mouse on his computer and clicked back to his latest game of Battleship with Thatch. Narrowing his eyes, he read the grid on the screen. As usual, Thatch thought he could outwit him by putting his destroyer in a diagonal formation.

“Nice try.” He clicked the F8 square and blew up the ship, but Thatch wasn’t around for him to gloat. His friend had taken the day off and headed to Jackson to run some errands. And God only knew where Aiden was. He’d been taking some extra-long lunch hours lately. Seeing how Aiden was engaged and had recently moved in with Kyra, Silas never asked questions.

And it wasn’t like things were overly busy at Cowboy Construction right now. They were in between projects, and Silas knew where he’d want to be if he had a fiancée. Definitely not sitting in their office blowing up battleships.

When he, Thatch, and Aiden had first moved here to help Tess run Dry Creek Ranch after they lost their best friend Jace on . . .