Knox Dude Ranch - 3 Short Stories in 1

USA Today Bestselling Author Hope Ford, brings you Knox Dude Ranch - the complete romance series.

It contains three stories in one:

Be My Cowboy
My ex left me because she didn't want to live on a ranch in the country. So yes, I'm a little bitter toward city women. But when Arabella shows up at our dude ranch, she's fun, flirty and tempting. Oh so tempting!

In Love with a Cowboy
Our chef had to leave, and we were left in a bind. My best friend of twenty years offered for his daughter, that just graduated from culinary school, to come and help us out. She's no longer the little pudgy girl with pigtails that ran around on my ranch. Now she is a grown, curvy, beautiful woman. I'm more than twenty years older than Holly, and I plan to stay away from her. I just have to convince my heart of the plan.

Last Chance Cowboy 
He left me. No note... no goodbye... nothing. I thought I would be able to let him go, but I had to find him. I had to protect what's mine... and his. And even if he didn't want me, I knew he would help his daughter that he knows nothing about.

Each Steamy, Sweet, Short Story has an Alpha Man, Curvy Woman and a Happily Ever After.

Chapter 1

Liam

“This is a crazy idea, Dad.  We don’t need city slickers here at the ranch.”  I shake my head at him.  I haven’t stopped shaking my head at him since he announced this idea to me a year ago.  I know it’s too late now.  He has officially turned our working horse ranch into a dude ranch.  He’s built ten cabins on our 350 acres and turned our house into a lodge.  However, I have to try one more time to talk him out of this nonsense.  “Come on, Dad.  Things were perfect the way they were.”

I normally don’t buck my dad on anything.  We are co-owners on this spread; however, he owns fifty-one percent, making him the final decision maker.  He came up with this idea shortly after I got my heart broke by some city girl.  And yes, I’m a little bitter.  I definitely don’t want to be around city people.  Especially ones that come here thinking they are going to love the country life and then decide they can’t leave here fast enough.

“Liam, we have gone over this.  It’s happening.  Now come on, let’s go meet our guests,” he says as he walks out onto our front porch.  I follow and let the screen door slam behind me.  I look out at our ranch and know it really is picture perfect.  The Smoky Mountains serve as a beautiful backdrop to the expansive land.  The beauty of it still takes my breath away even after living here for the whole twenty-five years of my life.

I hear the gravel crunch as the shuttle pulls in with our first guests.  I stand back and watch as my dad and some other ranch hands go out to greet everyone.  There are around four couples that step out of the shuttle and before the last person gets out, I can feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

I have plenty I should be doing, but I’m glued to the spot and can’t take my eyes off that door.  Kolton, one of our ranch hands, sticks his hand out to help whoever it is step down onto the gravel driveway.  I can’t see anything around his broad shoulders.  I walk slowly down the steps, willing him to move out of my way.

When I get to the bottom step, Kolton finally moves and standing before me is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.  She has long blond hair with big blue eyes.  Her lips are candy apple red and she has big hoop earrings dangling from her small ears.  I know I shouldn’t, but I glance down the rest of her.  Her large breasts are pressed against her tight blouse.  She has on tight blue jeans encasing her wide hips and I silently wish for her to turn around so I can see her backside.  She stumbles, and before I can reach her, Kolton has his hands out to steady her.  I take my hat off and wipe the back of my sleeve across my forehead.  She has on heels of some sort that look like a door wedge.  She screams city girl, and I should be running in the opposite direction, but I can’t move from my spot.  My cock swells in my jeans and my whole body heats at seeing her with Kolton’s hands on her shoulders.

I stalk over to her and when I get close, where I’m standing right in front of her, she raises her head to look up at me.  At first glance, her cheeks turn red and she smiles widely.  Man, she’s even more beautiful up close and that seems to piss me off even more.

“This is a ranch.  You either wear tennis shoes or boots here.  Those”—I point at her shoes—“well, you will kill yourself in those,” I say to her snidely.  The heat of July in Tennessee, the fact that she’s obviously a city girl or being pissed about her being in Kolton’s arms could be any of the reasons for why I’m so enraged right now.  She stares back at me, shocked, and before she can respond, I walk away from her toward the barn.  I can hear my dad apologizing as I walk away.

Arabella

What in the world was that?  I feel it in my core, it’s a soft burn in my lower belly.  I watch the cowboy saunter away and I can’t take my eyes off him.  His jeans are tight and worn, showing off his firm ass.  He’s tall, a lot taller than my five foot six inches, and he’s got broad shoulders.  I’m not sure because of the hat, but I would bet he keeps his hair short.  Even with his back to me now, I can’t get the image of his face out of my mind.  He was pissed.  I could see it in the depths of his deep brown eyes and the flair of his nostrils.  But there was something else.  There was a heat coming from him, and I felt the lust in his gaze.  For whatever reason, he’s not happy with me.  But that doesn’t deter me.

I came here because I want a cowboy.  I know maybe I have built this up in my mind, but I want someone that is not afraid of hard work, who values family, and is a real man.  I’m here for a week, and besides relaxing, I plan to make that cowboy mine.

“I apologize for my son, ma’am.  I swear I raised him better than that,” an older man says to me.

“Son.  That man is your son?” I ask him curiously, but even as I ask, I can see the resemblance.

“Yes.  I’m Jacob, owner of the Knox Dude Ranch.  And that is Liam.  He’s my son and also half owner.” He gestures to the barn that Liam walked into.  “Anyway, I’m sorry, there’s no excuse to treat a woman that way and he knows better.  I’ll have a talk with him.”

“Oh no, please don’t.  It’s fine.  I think I’ve upset him somehow.  But trust me, I’ve dealt with worse.  I will work it out with him.”  I smile at the older man gently and I can tell by the way he looks at me he can see the glint in my eye.

He hesitates as if trying to read my mind, then smiles at me. “I’m sure you will.  Dinner is served in the main lodge at six.” And he tips his hat before he walks away.

I smile innocently at him before I follow one of the ranch hands that offered to show me to my log cabin.

The cabin is spacious and in way better condition than one would expect from a dude ranch.  It has an open floor plan with two doors off the living room.  One leads to the full bathroom and the other to the bedroom with a king-size bed.  Everything is tastefully decorated.  I start to unpack, but I can’t get my mind off Liam.  I decide to freshen up, change my shoes and go check out the ranch.

I stop on my porch and appreciate the view.  In front of me are the scenic Smoky Mountains and to the right of me is the beautiful Knox River.  Stepping down off the porch, I go in search of Liam.