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Texas Outlaws: Cole
Kimberly Raye
Criminally Hot!Cole Chisholm is a drool-worthy bronc rider, and every inch the bad boy most mothers would warn their daughters about. Which means he’s exactly the guy Nicole Barbie needs.Nicole has carefully cultivated a rep of her own, but she’s not really the bad girl everyone thinks she is. Her mother is pushing her to continue in the tradition of the wild women in their family when all Nicole wants is to focus on becoming the best chef in fifty states.Fortunately, Cole is the perfect guy for creating a sinful sensation…or at least helping with the pretense of one.But once these two bad reputations get together, there’ll be more heat between the sheets than in all of Texas!
Criminally Hot!
Cole Chisholm is a droolworthy bronc rider, and every inch the bad boy most mothers would warn their daughters about. Which means he’s exactly the guy Nicole Barbie needs.
Nicole has carefully cultivated a rep of her own, but she’s not really the bad girl everyone thinks she is. Her mother is pushing her to continue in the tradition of the wild women in their family when all Nicole wants is to focus on becoming the best chef in fifty states. Fortunately, Cole is the perfect guy for creating a sinful sensation…or at least helping with the pretense of one.
But once these two bad reputations get together, there’ll be more heat between the sheets than in all of Texas!
Praise for USA TODAY bestselling author
Kimberly Raye
“Kimberly Raye’s A Body to Die For is fun and
sexy, filled with sensual details, secrets and
heartwarming characters—as well as humor
in the most unexpected places.”
—RT Book Reviews
“Dead Sexy by Kimberly Raye
is funny and exciting—with great sex,
characters and plot twists.”
—RT Book Reviews
“Kimberly Raye has done a wonderful job of
creating characters that are unique
and imaginative!”
—Romance Reviews Today on Dead and Dateless
“A laugh-out-loud, sexy, heartwarming story
and a wonderful heroine.”
—RT Book Reviews on Drop Dead Gorgeous
Dear Reader,
It’s always hot in Texas, but it’s blazing-hot this month thanks to Cole Chisholm, the last of the notorious Chisholm brothers and the star of my newest novel, Texas Outlaws: Cole. Cole is a professional bronc rider and the sexiest bachelor on the professional rodeo circuit. He’s also the hottest commodity among the single women of Lost Gun, Texas, and so the race is on to see who can lasso him to the altar first.
The lucky winner? Resident bad girl Nikki Barbie. Nikki comes from a long line of wild and wicked women—particularly a mother who thinks men are only good for one thing. The thing is, Nikki isn’t half as wild in the bedroom as she is in the kitchen. She wants to become a professional chef and she’s this close to making her dream come true. But when her sisters get married and she becomes her mother’s last great hope to continue the family’s risqué reputation, Nikki knows she has to get the woman off her back once and for all. The only way to do that? Tie the knot.
When Nikki makes her proposition—a marriage of convenience followed by a quickie divorce—Cole agrees. It’s the perfect setup. That is, until things start to get complicated thanks to a lot of money from an old bank heist, an unexpected robbery and a bad case of lust.
Sit back, relax and enjoy as Cole and Nikki do their best to recover the money, clear Cole’s good name and not fall in love!
Much love from deep in the heart,
Kimberly Raye
P.S. Don’t forget to stop by and visit me on the web at www.kimberlyraye.com (http://www.kimberlyraye.com) or friend me on Facebook. I love hearing from readers!
Texas Outlaws: Cole
Kimberly Raye
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
USA TODAY bestselling author Kimberly Raye started her first novel in high school and has been writing ever since. To date, she’s published more than fifty novels, two of them prestigious RITA® Award nominees. She’s also been nominated by RT Book Reviews for several Reviewer’s Choice Awards, as well as a career achievement award. Currently she is writing a romantic vampire mystery series for Ballantine Books that is in development with ABC for a television pilot. She also writes steamy contemporary reads for Harlequin’s Blaze line. Kim lives deep in the heart of the Texas Hill Country with her very own cowboy, Curt, and their young children. She’s an avid reader who loves Diet Dr Pepper, chocolate, Toby Keith, chocolate, alpha males (especially vampires) and chocolate. Kim also loves to hear from readers. You can visit her online at www.kimberlyraye.com (http://www.kimberlyraye.com).
For Debbie Villanueva Dimas,
My long-time BFF
and the best godmother in the entire world!
You’re the best and we love you!
Contents
Prologue (#u4bbfe79d-b1ed-5af6-8174-cff8c9bdc08d)
Chapter 1 (#u442d0e7c-5558-579d-a524-a26527458f48)
Chapter 2 (#ufe8110b2-b73b-565b-bad6-5925dc32fbed)
Chapter 3 (#u06d63f2a-7ca9-51e6-9324-2b899a165c0b)
Chapter 4 (#u119648df-e296-50e0-a0c5-2fc35bbd5b17)
Chapter 5 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 6 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 7 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 8 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 9 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 10 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 11 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 12 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 14 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 15 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 16 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 17 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 18 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 19 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 20 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 21 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 22 (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Excerpt (#litres_trial_promo)
Prologue
“HERE’S THE LAST of it.” Cole Unger Chisholm stood in the four-foot-deep hole and pulled the small metal coffee can from the freshly turned dirt before handing it to his brother.
“We don’t know that for sure.” Jesse Chisholm was the oldest Chisholm and the only reason Cole had spent nearly every night for the past three months digging up a storm. When he wasn’t busting his ass on the pro rodeo circuit, that is.
At twenty-eight, Cole was pro rodeo’s reigning saddle-bronc star with a record-setting five championships under his belt. He was also the favorite to take home a sixth in just a few short weeks in Vegas.
If he could finish up with this mess and get back to his normal practice schedule. As it was, he’d been spending every free moment in his hometown of Lost Gun, Texas, helping his two brothers dig up an entire fifty-acre pasture to find the money that their criminal father had stolen from a local bank over fifteen years ago. Before the old man had set himself on fire and gone up in a blaze of glory.
They’d hit the mother lode approximately three months ago when Billy had unearthed a small metal box. They’d all been convinced they’d found the missing one hundred thousand dollars, until they’d counted the contents to find only a measly one thousand. Since then, they’d unearthed ninety-eight more containers—everything from a metal lock box, to rusted-out coffee cans, to a dozen shoe boxes—each containing exactly one grand.
“This is the hundredth container,” Cole said, taking a swig from a water bottle. “This has to be it.”
“Most likely,” Jesse agreed, but he wasn’t placing any bets, not until he went through the contents.
“Just count it so we can get out of here.” Cole took another swig before chucking the bottle to a nearby trash pile. “I’d like to get out of here sometime before my next rodeo.”
“Tired, big brother?” Billy, Cole’s youngest brother, gave him a knowing glance. “Or are you just anxious to get back home so you can lick your wounds since Jake and Jimmy beat you to the punch and took the Barbie sisters off the market?”
“There’s still one left.” Not that Cole had his sights set on sister number three. Nicole Barbie had been just a kid when they were growing up, a good six years younger than Cole, and so he’d never paid her no nevermind. Rather, he’d been fixated on her two older sisters. He’d dated them both off and on over the years. Nothing serious, but then the Barbie sisters didn’t do serious. They were the baddest bad girls in town.
Once upon a time, that is.
Until last month when his best buds Jimmy and Jake Barber had popped the question and the girls had actually said yes.
Cole still couldn’t believe it. Out of all the women he knew, Crystal and April didn’t seem like the marrying type.
And Cole Chisholm knew the marrying kind. Since both of his brothers had recently settled down, Cole was now the only single Chisholm left. He’d had a slew of women after him over the past few months, particularly since he’d been spending so much time hanging around Lost Gun, helping Billy and Jesse dig up the money.
Susie Carlisle had baked him three dozen brownies and Jenny Farmer had brought him fresh canned preserves. Delilah Martin had even made her prize-winning meatloaf. And while Cole had nothing against a good hunk of meat, he was smart enough to know that enjoying even one bite would send the wrong message—namely that he was ready to slow down and settle down.
Like hell.
“Well? How much is there?” he asked Jesse.
“Yeah,” Billy chimed in. He was the youngest Chisholm, and just as anxious to be done with the digging as Cole. Albeit for different reasons. Like Jesse who’d found the love of his life, Billy had recently traded in his bachelor status to play house with his one and only. Both men were set to tie the knot after the finals in Vegas. “What’s the verdict?”
“Hold your horses.” Jesse peeled off bills one after the other. “I’m counting.”
Cole leaned on the edge of the shovel and stared over the top of the hole at the pastureland surrounding them. It was just a few minutes shy of sunrise and a faint orange glow lit the horizon. They usually started digging late at night, under the cover of darkness, but it was Saturday. The Saturday, and so Jesse had said to hell with caution.
Cole eyed the rutted ground. They’d tried to fill in the holes so as not to raise any red flags. The people of Lost Gun, along with a mess of fortune hunters, had been looking for Silas Chisholm’s missing fortune for years now. If word got out that his three sons had actually found the money, the place would be crawling with people.
But Cole, Jesse and Billy intended to be the only ones to dig up their father’s past. Once they had every penny present and accounted for, they intended to give it back to the town and kill the rumors that had been circulating about them once and for all.
That they’d been in on it. That they’d secretly been spending the cash over the years. That they were every bit as worthless as their father.
They hadn’t even known about the money until a few months ago when Jesse had uncovered a connection between Silas and the town’s most notorious moonshiner. Unfortunately, Big Earl Jessup wasn’t the man he used to be. In his nineties now, his old-timer’s had set in. He could no longer whip up his infamous White Lightning moonshine any more than he could remember where he’d buried the money from the bank heist committed by his good friend and partner in crime, Silas Chisholm.
The plan had been for Silas to hand off the money to Big Earl, who would then bury it until the fuss died down. Then they would both dig it back up at a later time and enjoy the spoils. But then Silas had set himself on fire and drawn a wave of media attention to their small Texas town. The story had attracted tons of reporters and earned a spot on a Discovery Channel documentary called Famous Texas Outlaws. Most recently, a “Where Are They Now?” episode had aired on the documentary’s tenth anniversary.
Bottom line, Big Earl had sat on the money for so long that he’d eventually forgotten where he’d buried it all. And so Cole and his brothers, along with Big Earl’s great granddaughter, Casey, had been digging up the old man’s pasture for the past three months.
“This is it,” Jesse announced, stashing the rolls of cash back inside the coffee can. “One hundred thousand dollars.”
“Finally,” Cole muttered.
While he was glad they’d recovered the money and he wanted to see the Chisholm name cleared, he wasn’t as haunted by it as his oldest brother. No, he’d killed himself shoveling dirt for Jesse. So that his oldest brother could make peace with the past.
Cole wasn’t half as anxious to make peace as he was just to forget. To leave the memories where they belonged—way, way behind him—and focus on the future. His RV was packed and waiting back at the prime stretch of land he’d purchased on the outskirts of town. The perfect spot to breed some prime, Grade A horseflesh if he ever got the notion.
A slim possibility because Cole liked moving around, traveling, living.
He’d spent his entire childhood barely existing. Food had been in short supply. Money had been practically nonexistent. And love? He’d had his brothers, but Silas had been a piss-poor excuse for a father. There’d been too much misery, too many days spent feeling like he was being suffocated by his situation, snuffed out, beaten down. He’d been so close to giving up.
But then legendary bull rider Pete Gunner had taken him and his brothers in and helped them become rodeo’s best and most notorious. Cole was now one of the infamous Lost Boys—the hottest group of riders on the circuit, so named because they all hailed from the same small town.
