Harland County Christmas (Harland County Series) Read online

  “We’re alone and you’re still pretending you don’t know me?” Confusion and anger mixed to turn his gorgeous eyes a green as vibrant as the leaves on the nearby oak. He stepped closer and loomed over her. “But you do, you know me very well, just as I know the little sounds you make wh—”

  “Shh…” She grabbed his arm and yanked him inside the barn hard enough to shut him up. A quick glance up and down the deserted walkway confirmed they were alone. She turned back to the quiet man and released him. “Of course I know you. I was only pretending not to because I thought you’d rather the others didn’t know. Was I wrong?”

  His chin lifted slightly. “No.”

  “Okay.”

  He shook his head. “No, it’s not. Last weekend was a—”

  She slapped a hand over his mouth and glared up at him. “Don’t you dare say it was a mistake, because it wasn’t. It wasn’t planned, it was a new experience, one I won’t repeat, but it was incredible.”

  He relaxed, and she could feel his lips curve into a smile behind her hand before he grabbed her wrist and gently removed her touch. “It was?”

  “Yes, of course. Why?” She blinked as her heart dropped to her stomach. “Wasn’t it for you?”

  “Hell yeah, honey, but the way you seemed to forget it made me think I hadn’t taken good enough care of you.”

  She reeled back and snickered. “Oh, trust me, cowboy, you took care of me real good.”

  What they’re saying…

  About Her Uniform Cowboy:

  “Ms. Michaels pens a tale with pure heart and true grit! This story will hit so many readers close to home there is not one part of the plot that will feel foreign. No super models here, just true, down to earth servicemen and woman getting back to their place in the world. The characters and plot have a wonderful arc and the laughter, tears and emotional ride readers get to take on this journey will not disappoint.”

  —Night Owl Reviews, Reviewer Top Pick

  —InD’tale Magazine, Crowned Heart of Excellence 4.5 Stars

  --Voted BEST COWBOY in a Book/Reader’s Choice-LRC

  --BTS Magazine Red Carpet Book Award Nominee-Reader’s Choice

  About Her Forever Cowboy:

  “Ms. Michaels has done it again! Book four in this series is another great success. The author knows how to lure her readers in by telling them a wonderful story that’s wrapped around characters we get to know and love as if they’re real people. This book was no exception. I highly recommend this book and this author!”

  —Night Owl Reviews, Reviewer Top Pick

  —InD’tale Magazine, Crowned Heart of Excellence 4.5 Stars

  --July Read of the Month SSLY 2014

  --BTS Magazine Red Carpet Book Award Nominee-Reader’s Choice 2015

  About Her Fated Cowboy:

  “As always, this author perfectly blended an amazing storyline, which contained characters you just can’t help but fall in love with and she worked her magic in creating a masterpiece of the heart. I even enjoyed her sense of humor sprinkled throughout, which was placed in all the right places. This is one story I highly recommend and one author I just can’t read enough from. Since this is the first book in the Harland County series, I’m eagerly looking forward to the next book.”

  —Night Owl Reviews, Reviewer Top Pick

  A note from Donna

  Thank you for purchasing Harland County Christmas. This novella is special because it’s about the first cowboy to fall…

  If you’ve already read the first four books in my Harland County Series, then I hope you enjoy reading Jen and Brock’s story. I had a blast writing it for many reasons. First, because the story takes place before the other cowboys were tamed. It was so much fun revisiting the handsome, sexy, misguided cowboys. Second, because I got to have fun torturing another handsome cowboy. And finally, because it takes place from the very end of August right to December with the McCalls throwing their annual Christmas party. You know there’s always a good time to be had by all. I hope you enjoy.

  Thanks for reading,

  ~Donna

  www.donnamichaelsauthor.com

  Also by Donna Michaels

  ~Novels~

  Captive Hero (Time-shift Heroes Series-Book One)

  The Spy Who Fanged Me

  Her Fated Cowboy (Harland County Series-Book One)

  Her Unbridled Cowboy (Harland County Series-Book Two)

  Her Uniform Cowboy (Harland County Series-Book Three) Her Forever Cowboy (Harland County Series-Book Four)

  She Does Know Jack

  Wyne and Dine (Citizen Soldier Series-Book 1)

  Royally Unleashed (Book 1)

  ~Novellas~

  Cowboy-Sexy

  Thanks for Giving

  Ten Things I’d Do for a Cowboy

  Vampire Kristmas

  ~Short Stories~

  The Hunted

  Negative Image

  The Truth About Daydreams

  Holiday Spirit

  ~Do-Over Series~

  Valentine’s Day Do-Over

  Valentine’s Day Do-Over Part II: The Siblings

  UPCOMING RELEASES:

  Cowboy Payback (Cowboy-Sexy Sequel)

  ~Time-shift Heroes Series~

  Future Hero—Book Two

  ~Harland County Series~

  Her Healing Cowboy (Book 5/Jace)

  ~Citizen Soldier Novels~

  Wyne and Chocolate (Book 2/Mason)

  Harland County Christmas

  Harland County Series

  Prequel Novella

  Jen and Brock

  By

  Donna Michaels

  HARLAND COUNTY CHRISTMAS

  Harland County Series/Prequel Novella/Jen and Brock

  Copyright © 2014 Donna Michaels

  Cover Art by Donna Michaels © 2014

  Edited by Brieanna Robertson

  Excerpt from Her Fated Cowboy Copyright © 2013

  Donna Michaels

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without written permission from the author—except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine, newspaper, or on the web. For information, please contact the author via email at [email protected]

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

  ISBN-13:

  ISBN-10:

  Print edition December 2014

  Prequel Novella in Harland County Series

  Dedication

  To Donna Michaels’ Minions-my wonderful Street Team, thank you for your continued support! To Harland County fans, I hope you enjoy this prequel of how Jen tamed her cowboy, Brock, and started it all.

  To my husband Michael and my family, my cp JT Schultz, and the HOODS. And finally, to my editor, Brieanna, and to Emily for their help in the final stages. ♥

  Table of Contents

  What they’re saying…

  A note from Donna

  Also by Donna Michaels

  Print edition December 2014

  Prequel Novella in Harland County Series

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Epilogue />
  Prologue- Her Fated Cowboy

  Chapter One

  For announcements about upcoming releases and exclusive contests:

  Chapter One

  Three months earlier…

  “Your brother is a dreamboat.”

  “Yeah…”

  “I’d so do him.”

  If Jennifer Dalton had a nickel for every time one of her friends gushed over her black-haired, blue-eyed brother blessed with movie-star-worthy good looks and easy charm, she’d already have enough money to pay off her tuition.

  And she was just starting her final year to get her MA in Accounting.

  But today, the Casanova cowboy’s presence on campus worked to her advantage. Leave it to Kevin to incite a mob of volunteers. She eyed the swarm of beauties with their assets spilling out of their tank tops and Daisy Duke shorts while helping her move back into her apartment dorm. Yep. A definite Kevin fandom.

  The brilliant programmer’s recent promotion to vice president at McCall Enterprises earned him the ability to change his hours and work as needed. Which helped today. He’d followed her from Shadow Rock Ranch, the family horse ranch, back to the campus apartment she shared with two other classmates. Within minutes, girls had crawled out of the woodwork. And possibly a swimming pool. She shook her head and smiled at the crowd visible from the window. A few new arrivals were clad in skimpy bikinis that left little to the imagination and a lot to over-exposure.

  “Yeah, Kevin is gorgeous,” her roommate Sonny agreed, sun-streaked honey hair falling forward as she nodded to her and the other women still in the room. “But, I prefer the alpha, take-charge type like Jen’s hot cousin Kade. Those gray eyes, perfect jaw, and crew cut…ooh, that cowboy makes me sweat just thinking about that hard body of his.”

  “Amen,” one of their friends said before disappearing upstairs with a box.

  Jen’s insides twisted into a tight knot at the mention of her cousin. He grew up at Shadow Rock, and was more like a brother than cousin. She loved Kade just as much as Kevin, and now he was in harm’s way.

  Again.

  The horse-whisperer had joined the Texas Army National Guard before he’d graduated high school, and eleven years later, he was still in. This was his third deployment, and with each one, she worried more, slept less, and admittedly wasn’t handling this one well. Always glued to the TV for updates. Days.

  Nights.

  Registering for classes had even been tough, especially with the mention of casualties in battle on the news. How the heck was she supposed to concentrate after hearing that? She’d managed, barely, then allowed her roommate and friends to persuade her to join them for a much needed “summer hurrah” last weekend. But, even at the laid back gulf resort, her gaze had been glued to the TV above the outdoor bar.

  Until he sat down next to her.

  Not her type. Hair a little darker than Sonny’s, smoldering green eyes, strong jaw covered in five o’clock shadow, which were all actually pretty great, really great. The guy was gorgeous. It was the T-shirt, Levis, and Stetson she didn’t like. He was a cowboy.

  She swore off cowboys. And ranch hands. And any guy with anything to do with the rodeo circuit.

  Especially clowns. No clowns. They were just…wrong.

  But he wasn’t. No. The stranger was a little bit of all right, and by morning, he was no longer a stranger. About the only thing they hadn’t shared were names. He’d called her Sapphire and she’d called him Cowboy, but once they’d gotten a room, they hadn’t done much talking.

  “You all right, Jen?” Sonny frowned. “You look a little flushed.”

  She snickered inwardly. Thoughts of the hot cowboy and their scorching night were cause to raise her temperature. “I’m fine,” she replied, fanning her face with one hand as she pulled her phone out with the other and tapped an app. “It’s already eighty-four degrees with seventy percent humidity, and it’s only ten in the morning.”

  Thank goodness she had the foresight to braid her hair. Late August in south Texas was hot.

  “Then it’s a good thing the boxes are all in, except the ones you wanted to take back home with you.” Sonny smiled. “Your brother’s groupies did the heavy lifting for us. They unloaded your car and his truck.”

  Jen laughed as they headed outside with another box she’d decided to take back to the ranch. Lack of sleep. That’s what it was. That’s the reason she’d packed more than she needed to keep at the apartment. This year, she’d planned to dorm and commute at the same time, especially once Kade came home in two months. Now, she had to take a few things back home and unpack them. Double the work. Still, she was grateful for everyone’s help in unloading.

  “I’d buy them a drink, but I think my brother has plans for lunch, and we still have a forty-five minute drive back to Harland County.” She was heading home for the final few days before the fall semester officially started next week.

  After promising to hook up for breakfast before their first class on Tuesday, Jen hugged her roommates, then pried Kevin away from his groupies.

  “Ah, alas, darlins’, I bid you adieu.” He tipped his hat and sent the girls a lopsided grin.

  Several sighed; two swayed and grabbed the truck for support.

  “Thank you all for your help,” she said, knowing most only half heard, gazes still glued to her smiling brother, including the almost-fainters white-knuckling the tailgate. “See you next week.”

  “Yes, see you in the fall, darlins’,” Kevin echoed. “Now, please step back so I don’t hurt anyone.”

  Doing as they were told, the girls stepped back, and soon Jen was following Kevin’s truck down the interstate on her way back home.

  Shadow Rock had been a great place to grow up. Nearly a thousand acres of prairies and creeks, the ranch was unhindered with only two stables, several corrals, ranch hand quarters, a small cabin for the ranch manager, and the main, sprawling, single-story house. Her childhood had been full of horses and cowboys and cats and love, and despite the death of her uncle, then father, then eventually her mother, Jen had a lot of fond memories.

  But it was almost time to move on, and out. Kevin and Kade would have to hire someone to take care of Shadow Rock’s finances, because once she graduated, she planned to head to Houston and secure a job with one of the many corporations thriving in the city. Harland County only offered small jobs. And cowboys.

  She was so done with cowboys.

  The summer she’d turned eighteen, she’d given her heart to a cute ranch hand who promised her a ring. By the fall, he was gone, along with her virginity. Two years ago, a local rodeo star had persuaded her to give him a chance with his dark good looks and devilish grin, but once he found a sponsor, he hit the circuit and didn’t look back. Two strikes. She was done. No more cowboys. They never stayed. Always left, taking a little piece of her heart with them. Only a portion remained, and she was clutching that sucker tight.

  Houston not only offered exciting jobs, the city was full of men who made a living behind a desk, not on a horse. They were stable. They stuck. She wanted a stable, stuck, guy for a change.

  Turning off the road onto Shadow Rock land, Jen blew out a breath and smiled. This was the last time she’d come home from unpacking her car temporarily at the dorm apartment. Next year in the spring, she’d graduate and move out of the county.

  Her heart twisted. She’d miss Kevin and Kade, and their neighbors the McCalls, riding her horse on her land, and yes, the county. Harland was full of good, hardworking people, but she needed a change of scenery that didn’t include handsome cowboys whispering fake promises.

  In fact, with the exception of her brothers and the McCalls, if she never saw another gorgeous cowboy again it would be too soon.

  As she pulled up to the main house and stared at the swing on the wrap-around porch, she experienced a rush of warmth. Despite the cowboy issue, the ranch would always be her sanctuary. She got out of the car and stepped toward a smiling Kevin who stood by his truck.
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br />   “I know we go through this every fall, but I’m going to miss you, sis,” he said, pulling her into a hug. “I didn’t want to give you this in front of your friends. I have to admit, I was afraid I’d get mauled.”

  She hugged him back and laughed. “It probably would’ve started a riot.”

  “Yeah?” He drew back and grinned. “Then my money was on the two in bikinis. Their bodies were pretty tight. If I didn’t have that rule about dating your friends...”

  Snickering, she slapped his shoulder as they walked to the back of his pickup. “Since when did you start dating? You never go out with the same girl twice.”

  He opened the tailgate and smiled. “Yeah, but I make our one date very memorable. Believe me.”

  “Okay, yeah, see, I don’t want to know the details, thank you,” she said, grabbing one of the boxes she’d decided wasn’t needed at the apartment. “I’d rather hear if anything exciting happened around the ranch while I was on vacation.”

  “Not really.” Kevin shrugged. “We hired two ranch hands, one is real good. Knows his way around every chore, is great with horses. Kind of like a mini-Kade, except Brock isn’t mini. I told him the linebacker called, he wants his shoulders back.”

  Jen started to tune her brother out the second the words ranch hands hit her ears. Whatever. She just wanted to unload, unpack what she’d decided to leave at home, and chill with a good book on the swing.

  “…too bad he’s only here until the end of November.” Her brother’s voice broke through her thoughts as he placed a box on top of the one already in her arms.

  Time to change the subject. “Are Lenny and Sherry coming to dinner tonight?”

  The ranch manager and his sweet wife were like an aunt and uncle to Jen. The couple had been living in the two-bedroom cabin behind the stables for ten years now. They were like family. Even ate holiday dinners with her and Kevin and Kade.