Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 114068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 570(@200wpm)___ 456(@250wpm)___ 380(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114068 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 570(@200wpm)___ 456(@250wpm)___ 380(@300wpm)
One wild, too—charming cowboy.
One snowed—in night that changes everything.
Wheeler Rankin isn't here for romance—she's come to Lucky River Ranch to visit her best friend, wrangle a business deal, and prove herself to everyone who ever doubted her. But when she collides with Duke Rivers—resident heartbreaker, restless cowboy, and brother to her best friend's new flame—sparks fly hotter than a Texas summer.
Duke has always dreamed of more than dusty trails and small—town life. He's itching to see the world, but one unforgettable night with Wheeler changes his course. When a blizzard and a business road trip leave them stranded together, their no—strings flirtation ignites into something deeper.
But passion brings complications—and unexpected news threatens to upend everything Wheeler's built. As family pressures, old wounds, and new dreams collide, Duke is determined to stand by her side, ready to forge a future neither of them ever imagined.
Can two fiercely independent souls trust in love, face their fears, and find home in each other's arms? Or will the ghosts of the past keep them apart for good?
Duke is an interconnected standalone novel in the Lucky River Ranch series, perfect for fans of Elsie Silver and Lyla Sage
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
CHAPTER 1
Bull’s-eye
Wheeler
November
That’s my cowboy.
I know it three heartbeats into the extended eye contact I make with the tall, broad-shouldered blond who greets me with a smile as I walk into the ranch’s enormous kitchen. He’s the kind of handsome in his faded button-up and baseball hat that makes my stomach do several backflips.
It’s my first time visiting Lucky Ranch, so I have no idea if cowboys in general are this friendly and gorgeous or if this guy is special. Whatever the case, I don’t hate it.
“I’m Duke.” He extends a hand. “Pleasure to finally meet the gal Mollie’s always talking to about boots on the phone. And about banging—”
“Can you not be gross for five fucking seconds?” Cash rolls his eyes. He’s my best friend and business partner Mollie’s boyfriend. He’s also Duke’s older brother.
Cash can be gruff, but as evidenced by his smile, he’s a secret softie. That smile probably has something to do with the fact that Mollie is tucked into his side, her eyes sated and happy as she looks up at him. They’ve been dating for all of two months, but it’s obvious they’re smitten.
“Banging business ideas.” Duke’s lips twitch. He looks a lot like Cash. Blue eyes. Square, Superman-like jaw. “Just showing respect where respect is due. As co-CEO of her own damn company, Miss Wheeler Rankin here knows what I’m talking about. Ain’t that right?”
I laugh as I take his hand. Mollie told me cowboys are a different breed, but I didn’t believe her until now.
The guy already knows my last name. Does that mean something?
That has to mean something. Mollie must’ve really talked up my arrival, and Duke must’ve really been paying attention. The idea makes a shiver of excitement dart up my spine.
The kitchen is full of people, their voices rising and falling in a happy kind of chaos. The space is clearly built to accommodate a crowd, with a huge island and a farm table with room for at least twenty.
Warmth blooms in my center. Feels good to laugh and be around people. Get out of my head for a minute.
Duke holds my hand—holds my gaze—with warm, intense confidence. His grip is firm.
“Nice to finally meet you too,” I reply.
Be careful, a voice inside my head warns as I stare into his eyes for a beat too long.
But then I remember my stay here on the ranch is temporary. Stumbling into any kind of real emotional intimacy is impossible when you’re literally and figuratively all over the place. Which is why I’m only looking for some no-strings-attached fun right now. Considering cowboys have a reputation for never resting their heads on the same pillow twice, I figured they’d be a perfect fit.
There are five Rivers brothers, all of them part of a long line of ranchers going back generations. Is being charming and gorgeous and so damn…big in every aspect part of their DNA?
Dallas may only be two hundred miles northeast of here, but you’d think the ranch was on a whole other planet for how different these cowboys are from the guys back home. Men there will approach you, but their friendliness is all pretense. All a show of swagger. But Duke here? His friendly energy feels genuine, like this is who he is all the time.
I also adore how he drops compliments that actually land.
Guys back in Dallas definitely don’t have hands this calloused. A hot, lovely drip of awareness works its way through my center at the feel of Duke’s palm pressed to mine. It’s dry, smooth in the center but rough at the base of his fingers and thumb.
Mollie was absolutely right about cowboys being a different breed. She discovered this fact after recently inheriting Lucky Ranch, her wildly wealthy late father’s two-hundred-thousand-acre property in the small town of Hartsville, Texas. After butting heads with the ranch’s foreman, Cash, the two of them promptly fell in love.
Now, Mollie has decided to split her time between Hartsville and Dallas, where our company is based. As her business partner, that means I get to regularly visit Lucky Ranch. Which is, well, lucky for me, because I’m interested in this cowboy.
Very, very interested in having some of that meaningless fun with him.
Judging by his expertise in flirting, there’s a good chance Duke just might want the same thing. The twins—babies of the family—are wild cards, Mollie told me, referring to Duke and his brother Ryder. You never know where they are or who they go home with.
Perfect.
“You know a lot about Bellamy Brooks,” I reply to Duke, referring to the cowboy boot company Mollie and I started in our dorm room eight years ago at the University of Texas.
“Big fan. Just waitin’ for y’all to start making men’s boots.”
“So you can model them?”
Duke’s smile touches his eyes, making them glimmer. “I’ve been told I’m very photogenic. Just keep me in mind, yeah? I’m cheap—”