Cowboy Heartbreaker

This bad-boy cowboy doesn’t know what to do with a good girl—but after one night together, he sure isn’t ready to let go...

Commiserating over a mutual friend leaving town, best pals since childhood Ryder Crowley and Allie Devlin wind up drowning their sorrows in booze—and each other. For Allie, Wrangler’s Creek’s resident good girl, it’s a secret fantasy come true. She’s been aiming to finally change her straitlaced reputation and knows a night with Ryder will do the trick. She just didn’t count on wanting so much more...

Bad-boy ranch hand Ryder is no stranger to one-night stands, but this is different. This is Allie. She’s not the kind of girl you love and leave, and that’s all he knows. But when Allie tempts him with a naughty, no-strings-attached weekend, Ryder can’t resist, soon realizing Allie might have his heart more tied up than he ever thought possible.

USA TODAY

 bestselling author

DELORES FOSSEN

 has had more than seventy-five novels published, with millions of copies of her books in print worldwide. She’s received the Booksellers’ Best Award and the RT Reviewers’ Choice Best Book Award, and was a finalist for the prestigious RITA® Award. In addition, she’s had nearly a hundred short stories and articles published in national magazines. Married to an air force colonel, Delores is the mother of four children and has lived in England and all over the United States. She’s had a variety of careers and jobs: an air force captain, a special-ed teacher and a rehab counselor. None was as fun or challenging as the time she spent as a stay-at-home mom. You can get updates about Delores’s books or contact her through her website at

www.deloresfossen.com

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Cowboy Heartbreaker

Delores Fossen

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-08237-2

COWBOY HEARTBREAKER

© 2018 Delores Fossen

Published in Great Britain 2018

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins

Publishers

 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Title Page

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER ONE

“WEDDINGS SUCK,” Ryder Crowley grumbled under his breath as he took a long drink of his beer.

He obviously hadn’t said his complaint quietly enough, though, because the woman standing next to him, Allie Devlin, poked his arm with her elbow. “I have more reasons to say that than you do. Five yards of reasons.”

Allie fanned her hand over his “Texas tuxedo”—jeans, jacket, Stetson and boots. Then she fanned that same hand over the “five yards” of bridesmaid’s dress she was wearing. The color was what Ryder would call turtle-snot green, and it puffed out in all directions because of the thick gobs of netting that were everywhere, even on the sleeves.

Ryder drank more of his beer and made a sound to indicate she was right, but the dress only confirmed that weddings did indeed suck on several levels. He wasn’t a fan of the clashing odors of the too-rich food, the flowers and the sweat being generated in the barn by the wedding guests who were boot scootin’ on the makeshift dance floor.

His attitude about weddings was likely heavily influenced by the fact that he didn’t consider himself the marrying sort. Of course, he hadn’t considered the groom that, either, but there was Curt Mercer, part one of his best friend posse, working up a sweat dancing with his bride, Savannah O’Neil, who he had met on one of the online dating sites.

After the reception, Curt and Savannah would be moving to her family’s cattle ranch two hundred and forty-five miles away in Abilene. Then, in about six months, they’d be having a baby that they’d yet to tell their folks about.

Ryder was happy for them and had never seen two people more in love, but he figured he was still allowed to feel the...loss.

Silently feel it anyway.

There was no chance in hell he’d ever let Curt know, but Ryder would miss not being able to call him at any time, any day for any reason. He’d miss their spur-of-the-moment fishing trips. And just hanging out when it was Curt, Allie, him and part four of the “Crab Posse,” Ryder’s twin sister, Bree, who was on the dance floor, too, with a groomsman.

They’d come up with the word crab using the first initials of their names. They’d been kids, only seven or eight, and had thought it pretty darn clever. By the time they learned it wasn’t just a dish served at the seafood restaurant but also a nasty STD, the name had already stuck.

Still did.

It was selfish, yes, to feel that loss, but the four of them had been best friends since preschool, and it was hard to let go of nearly twenty-seven years. You couldn’t just replace a first-part best friend.

His second-part best friend, Allie, gave him another nudge with her elbow—which was suddenly a lot sharper and more poky than he remembered. “Your date’s flirting with Dylan Granger. Nothing can go wrong with that.”

Ryder automatically smiled at the line the posse often threw around. “Nothing can go wrong with that”—something doled out with both sarcasm and assurance. It was used just slightly more often than their other tossed-around line—“Easy Cheesy cures all.”

Easy Cheesy was the brand of canned string cheese they preferred, and the line, too, was often said with sarcasm and assurance. However, it had proved to be their comfort food of choice and gotten them through elementary school and the rough teen years. So, maybe it did cure all.

“Did you hear me?” Allie asked. “Your date. Dylan Granger.”

He’d heard her just fine, and Ryder followed Allie’s gaze to the cleared-out area by the tack room, where he did indeed see his date, Mindy Franklin, eyeballing Dylan as if he were on the dessert menu. A lot of women eyed Dylan that way, though, since he was rich, good-looking and a Granger.

In their hometown of Wrangler’s Creek, Texas, the Grangers were practically royalty, and until three days ago, Curt had worked for Dylan and his family as one of their top hands. Ryder worked at the ranch, too, and Allie was their large-animal vet. Bree was the horse trainer, so even when it came to work, the Crab Posse had been inseparable.

“Mindy’s trying hard, but Dylan won’t hook up with your date,” Allie commented. “It’d be violating one of those man rules. But it’ll cause some talk about you not being able to keep a handle on your sweet things.”

He didn’t want a handle on Mindy, but he supposed it should bother him to have his date openly flirt with someone else. Mindy had moved on from eyelash batting to making sure her right boob bumped against Dylan’s arm. However, Ryder couldn’t even muster up a grunt of disapproval.

“I wish Dylan would put the moves on her. I’m not in the right mood to take Mindy home. Or have sex with her,” Ryder added in a grumble.

He really did need to work on his grumbling skills because Allie heard that, too, and she cut him a glance, complete with a raised, questioning eyebrow. “Really? You don’t want sex?”

Like Mindy’s flirting with Dylan, Allie’s skepticism was a reasonable reaction. Ryder didn’t have Dylan’s name or money, but he didn’t have trouble getting female company when he wanted it. Most folks thought all he did was want it, though, and with mandatory short-term relationship limits to boot, and that was how both Dylan and he had earned the labels of cowboy heartbreakers.

“Really,” Ryder verified.

“Careful, you’ll ruin your reputation,” she drawled, “and folks will think my prudish influence finally rubbed off on you.”

Well, maybe it had. Allie certainly didn’t have his “quick to bed ’em, just as quick to leave ’em” reputation.

Just the opposite.

She might not know that her nickname was Dr. Good Girl, but it fit her to a T. It was one of the reasons she was so easy and comfortable to be around, despite the fact that she was damn attractive. The issues that could h