Cowboy Commando

“You don’t listen, do you?”

Cutter was speaking in that authoritative, rankling military tone again. She wasn’t under his command. “I listen just fine.” She started to march away.

Cutter grabbed her arms and tugged her around to face him. “You’re a kindergarten teacher. You know kids better than I do. Secret surveillance and invasion without detection are my areas of expertise. I’m not risking either of us getting arrested – or killed – because you’re too stubborn to listen to reason.”

“ So it’s your way or not at all?”

“In this case.”

He wasn’t going to budge. His attitude was arrogant, determined. And unequivocally protective. She wanted to lash out at him, but the truth was she’d never felt more safe and turned on in her life.

Available in August 2010 from Mills & Boon® Intrigue

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by Debra Webb

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by Carla Cassidy

Mountain Investigation

by Jessica Andersen

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Priceless Newborn Prince

by Ann Voss Peterson

Set Up with the Agent

by Lori L Harris

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Terms of Attraction

by Kylie Brant

Cowboy Commando

by Joanna Wayne

JOANNA WAYNE was born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana, and received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from LSU-Shreveport. She moved to New Orleans in 1984 and it was there that she attended her first writing class and joined her first professional writing organisation. Her first novel, Deep in the Bayou, was published in 1994.

Now, dozens of published books later, Joanna has made a name for herself as being on the cutting edge of romantic suspense in both series and single-title novels. She has been on the Waldenbooks bestselling list for romance and has won many industry awards. She is a popular speaker at writing organisations and local community functions and has taught creative writing at the University of New Orleans Metropolitan College.

She currently resides in a small community forty miles north of Houston, Texas, with her husband. Though she still has many family and emotional ties to Louisiana, she loves living in the Lone Star state. You may write to Joanna at PO Box 265, Montgomery, Texas 77356, USA.

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I’d like to offer my gratitude to the brave military men and women who sacrifice so much to protect our freedom. And a hug and heartfelt thanks to the people who love them.

Chapter One

“Welcome home, cowboy!”

Cutter Martin stopped just inside the door and waited for his pupils to adjust from the bright sunshine to the dim lighting of the bar and grill. Even after they had, it took a few minutes for him to spot the lean male frame propped on the barstool a few yards away.

Tom Porter. He hadn’t seen the guy in years. Would have been fine with Cutter if he’d gone a few more. The mood he was in right now was not suitable for company, especially not Tom’s. He waved anyway and made his way to the nearly empty bar.

“Not quite home,” Cutter said, sliding onto the barstool next to Tom, “but close.”

“Houston’s a hell of a lot nearer to Dobbin than Afghanistan was.”

“When you put it that way.” Odd thing was Dobbin, Texas didn’t seem like home anymore, either. There had been nights of sleeping on the hard ground in insect-infested forests that made the Double M Ranch loom like heaven in the back of his mind.

Now he was back in the States and the ranch was just wide open spaces. He figured he’d gone too deep into enemy territory and the military lifestyle to go back to his ranching roots. Not that he’d ever been much of a rancher. It was bronc riding on the rodeo circuit that had driven him in his younger days.

The bartender wiped a spot of moisture from the counter in front of Cutter and slapped down a paper napkin. “What can I get you?”

“Scotch on the rocks. Make it a double.”

“I saw your picture in the Houston Chronicle last month,” Tom said. “I been meaning to look you up ever since then. That was quite a hero’s welcome you got.”

“Yeah.” Cutter nodded and looked away, hoping that would end the hero talk. He hadn’t been any more a hero than every other frogman he’d served with.

Unfortunately, the bartender must have overheard Tom’s remark. He paused as he served Cutter’s drink. “Say, you’re that Navy SEAL fellow, aren’t you? The one who personally killed twelve of the enemy after you and your buddies were ambushed.”

“So they told me. I wasn’t counting at the time.”

“Cool, man. I thought about becoming a Navy SEAL. My girlfriend didn’t like the idea of my getting shot at, though.”

Cutter studied the guy. Early twenties, hair a little too long, tattoos all over his arms like blotchy skin. Big enough, but no muscular definition. Cutter wondered if he’d last a day in BUD/S. Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training was twenty-six weeks of grueling preparation for what lay ahead for the few who saw it through.

“You must be glad to be home,” the bartender continued. “Bet it was even worth getting shot in the leg to get out of the war zone.”

As if on cue, Cutter’s left thigh started to throb and his irritation level climbed. The bartender wasn’t the first to assume he must have hated his time in the service. They were dead wrong. It was trying to adjust to life without the rugged edges that was taking the fight out of him. He didn’t seem to fit in civilian life half as well as he’d fit in with his SEAL team.

He picked up his drink and downed half of it before setting the glass back on the table. Fortunately, by that time another customer had snagged the bartender’s attention. Now he only had Tom to contend with.

Tom grabbed a handful of peanuts from the bowl near him, spilling a few down the front of his plaid cotton sport shirt as he dropped them into his mouth. “Are you planning to get the ranch up and running again now that you’re back? I hear your aunt sold most of the stock.”

Actually, she’d sold everything except her favorite horses. That was part of his adjustment problem—not that it had come as a surprise. It just hadn’t quite hit home until he saw the empty pastures.

She’d asked Cutter before she’d auctioned off the herd. He’d told her to go ahead. At the time he hadn’t been planning to leave the SEALs for years. The land was still there. Livestock could be added at any time.

Merlee loved her newfound freedom. At seventy-five, she was ready to travel and do some of the things his uncle Hank had never been interested in.

“They say you can’t go home again,” Cutter said, when he realized that Tom was still staring at him, waiting for an answer.

Tom nodded. “I know what you mean. Too quiet out in Dobbin for me. No action and nowhere to find any. I’m in waste management now, right here in Houston.”

“Sounds like a winner.” Cutter finished his drink. “Good to see you. I’ve got to run, though.”

“Too bad. I was thinking if you didn’t have plans, we might grab a bite to eat together. Catch up on old times.”

“Maybe another day.”

“Yeah, right. I’ll give you a call. You in the book?” Tom asked.

“Yeah, in the book. Look me up.”

Cutter pulled some bills from his pocket and left them on the bar, more than enough to cover the price of the drink and a tip. He didn’t look back as he pushed through the door and back into the humidity of a hot June afternoon.

He had another interview scheduled, this one at a new car dealership out on I-45. He made a quick decision to blow it off. Selling cars just wasn’t going to cut it. Not that he had a clue what would.

He missed the danger, missed knowing that every decision was crucial, missed feeling the heat of the enemy breathing down his neck even when he couldn’t see them. Most of all, he’d lost the feeling that what he was doing made a real difference.

Houston wasn’t a walking town, but Cutter couldn’t bring himself to crawl back into the new black Chevy pickup truck he’d left parked in the lot. He stopped by it just long enough to shed his tie and sports jacket and toss them into the backseat of the double-cab. Then, rolling up his sleeves, he headed down Montrose Boulevard.

Breaking a sweat felt good. He covered the blocks fast in spite of his slight limp, turning onto Westheimer and then onto a dozen more streets he never bothered to check the names of. Cars whizzed by him. A black man on a bicycle almost ran him over. A guy walking a pair of poodles walked by Cutter without glancing his way.

A young woman in a thin summer dress that hugged her perky breasts and swung from her narrow hips walked out of a coffee shop on his right. She caught his eye and smiled at him invitingly. He considered stopping to see how far her invitation went, but decided against it. She was about ten years too young for him and likely a lifetime too innocent.

He kept walking, past cafés that were no more than holes in the wall emitting odors of peppers and chilies and frying tortillas. Past upscale dining spots with white-shirted valets parking Mercedes and BMWs.

He was in an eclectic area of shops, restaurants, and aging houses infiltrated by sleek new townhomes, all practically within the shadows of the downtown skyscrapers.

It was dark when he ended up back at the bar, and the parking lot was full. He started to go in for another drink but decided to head back to the tiny claustrophobic condo where he was staying. Two rooms, unless you counted the closet-size bath. A living/kitchen area and a bedroom. Fortunately, there were lots of windows.

Merlee had bought the property a few years back when Hank had first been diagnosed with cancer and was under-going chemo. It was near the hospital and had eliminated the long commute during that already stressful time.

She’d decided to keep it after he died and now she and her friend Josie used it when they wanted a few days of city living. Culture, she called it, though the theater and symphony attendance was rivaled by shopping and baseball. Merlee was a rabid Astros fan.

She’d given Cutter the key to the condo when he’d started searching for employment. He’d have to take the job hunt more seriously tomorrow. Deal with more applications.

Skills: Hand-to-hand combat. Smelling out the enemy. Putting his life on the line.

None of them looked particularly good on a résumé.

There was a light on in the condo when he pulled in to his parking spot. He didn’t remember leaving it on, and it couldn’t be Merlee or Josie. They were off on an Alaskan cruise. He’d driven them to the airport himself.

His instincts for trouble checked in. He hesitated at the door. Interesting odors wafted out. Garlic. Onions.

The voices coming from inside were even more interesting. The male was undoubtedly George Strait singing “All My Exes Live in Texas.” The female singing along with a definite lack of enthusiasm and totally off-key was anybody’s guess. Except…

No. He was imagining things.

Cutter opened the door, unlocked now, though he was sure he’d left it locked this morning. He stepped inside. There was definitely a woman in his kitchen and singing along with his CD. He headed that way.

“Honey, I’m home.”

“Cutter.”

No mistaking the voice when it called his name. His body tightened. His stomach flipped. A second later Linney Gayle Ringle stood in the doorway. Her red hair was caught up in a knot at the nape of her neck, but more than a few tangled curls fell over her cheeks and danced about her forehead.

He gave in to the initial spicy thrill of her, letting his gaze scan her shapely body before reining in his natural instincts and reminding himself of the misery that had stemmed from their last encounter. Not to mention the fact that she was now a married woman.

She looked up at him from beneath her thick lashes, her emerald-green eyes as bewitching as ever, though the sparkle he remembered was shadowed.

“God, you look good, Cutter, much better than that newspaper photo.”

To say she looked good would be the understatement of the year. She was dynamite. Too hot too handle. Nothing new there.

“Nice to see you, too, Linney. Now, care to tell me why you broke into my condo?”

“I didn’t. Merlee gave me a key.”

“That explains it.” He let his gaze scan her body again, then wished he hadn’t. Her breasts were perky little mounds that pushed against the thin cotton T-shirt that scooped just low enough to show a hint of cleavage. The white shorts hit midthigh, showing off the perfectly tanned legs. Legs that had once wrapped around him while—

He fought the stirrings back into submission before he reached really dangerous territory. “So why are you here, or do you chase after every guy who gets his picture in the paper?”

“Just the cute ones.”

She walked over, rose to her tiptoes and gave him a peck on the cheek. “We’re friends, Cutter. I wanted to welcome you home.”

There was a tenseness about her that made him sure that wasn’t the whole story—not by a long shot. “You can do better than that, Linney.”

“Not in present company.” Linney put her hand out and Cutter spotted the little girl who’d just stuck her head around the counter that separated the living area from the kitchen. The preschool-age child walked over and scrunched behind Linney’s shapely hip before stealing a sheepish glance at Cutter.

So Alfred and Linney had a daughter. Might even have a house full of kids. “Where’s big Al,” he asked, “or is he going to jump out next?”

“You heard about the marriage?”

“Word gets around.”

“All the way to the Middle East?”

“Just the big stuff.”

“Alfred and I are divorced.”

That he hadn’t heard. “Is this where I’m supposed to say I’m sorry?”

“Are you?”

No and yes. It was easier to resent the both of them if they were living their idyllic life in the world of the rich and modestly famous. “Divorce is tough on kids,” he said, knowing it was the most honest statement he could offer.

“Alfred and I didn’t have children.”

So there was a new man in her life. And still Linney was here, in his condo, the spitting image of the woman who’d starred in thousands of his unsolicited erotic fantasies over the last six years. But only after he was sound asleep and too out of it to remember that she’d walked out on him without so much as an adios.

“Look, Cutter, I know it’s in bad taste to just let myself in, but I wasn’t sure when you’d be home and I didn’t want to keep Julie out in the hot sun.”

“How did you know I was staying here?”

“Your aunt Merlee called last week and told me. She thought I should give you a call and welcome you to Houston.”

“I didn’t know you and Aunt Merlee were such good friends.”

“We talk at the symphony during intermission, mostly about you. Our seats are only two rows apart.”

“Nor did I know you were a fan of the symphony.”

“There are lots of things you don’t know about me.”

“Apparently. Is this story going somewhere, Linney? Because I’ve had a really long day, and I’m not up for entertaining.”

“You don’t have to get in a huff, Cutter. Just tell me where you keep your extra sheets and blankets and I’ll make Julie a bed on the sofa.”

“Whoa! This is not a hotel.”

“I know, but I need a favor. One night.” She managed a strained smile. “And I cooked dinner. There’s pasta with red sauce. No meat. You didn’t have any—or much of anything else except beer and moldy cheese.”

“I wasn’t expecting company.”

“Just for one night, Cutter. I promise. We won’t put you out.”

“I only have one bed.”

“Julie can sleep on the sofa.”

Which would leave the one bed for him and Linney. It was hard enough controlling his libido standing in the same room with her. Fat chance he’d be able to do it with her stretched out next to him between the same pair of sheets.

“You can’t stay here.” His command came out a lot harsher than he’d intended. Julie started to cry.

“Now see what you’ve done.” Exasperation and a tinge of desperation tugged at her voice and expression.

Linney dropped to the sofa, took the small child in her arms and started rocking her back and forth. “Cutter didn’t mean to frighten you, sweetheart. He’s glad you’re here. He loves little girls. Tell her, Cutter.”

“I adore them. Linney, we have to talk.”

“Right, as soon as Julie’s asleep, but that will take a little longer now that you’ve upset her.”

Cutter still had no clue what was going on, but the chances that he was going to sleep alone in this apartment tonight were growing slimmer by the second. If the vibes of anxiety Linney was emitting weren’t at frightening levels, he’d insist she go to a hotel.

But there was more going on than Linney had admitted in front of the child, and there was no way he could just toss her out if she were in some kind of real trouble. His gut instinct was that she just might be.

“Put Julie in my bed,” Cutter said. “The sheets are fresh. The cleaning woman was here today. You can sleep with her and I’ll take the couch.”

“Thanks, Cutter. I knew I could count on you.”

Their gazes met and he had that same crazy sensation he used to get when he was parachuting into a hostile environment with no clear means of escape.

“Just for tonight, Linney. Don’t even think of unpacking a suitcase or finding a spot for your toothbrush.”

“No luggage,” she admitted. “No toothbrush, either. I was kind of hoping you’d have an extra for your sleepover guests.”

“I don’t have sleepover guests.” At least he hadn’t until now.

Cutter watched Linney walk toward the bedroom with the young child clutching her hand. He followed the pungent odors to the range and lifted the lid. A deep red sauce was simmering in the pot.

He dipped a spoon into it, blew on the hot liquid, then hesitantly sampled the sauce. Not half-bad. It surprised him that the wife of a man as wealthy as Al Kingston actually cooked.

And she’d become a mom. In none of his fantasies on the cold, hard, mountain earth had he ever pictured her standing over a kitchen range or tucking a golden-haired little girl into bed. Now here she was in the flesh and the surprises just kept on coming.

He was setting the table when Linney rejoined him. She went to the refrigerator, opened the door and took out a couple of beers. “Can I offer you a drink?” she asked.

“Only if it comes with an explanation as to why you’re entertaining me in my own kitchen. And don’t revert back to the friendship scenario. That won’t cut it.”

“You’re not going to like it.”

“I figure that’s a given.” He opened the beers and pushed hers across the table to where she’d dropped into one of the padded wrought iron-and-wood dining chairs.

She toyed with her beer, finally taking a tiny sip. “You’re the only one I have to turn to.”

“What about Julie’s father?”

She shook her head.

“I don’t want to be pulled into something between you and your husband.”

“There’s no husband, Cutter. There’s just me and Julie. That’s why I need your help.”

“Why me?”

“Everyone in Dobbin has been talking about you. You’ve won medals for your bravery. You’re used to danger and not afraid of anything.”

Except spending the night in this house with Linney. “Cut to the chase. What have you got yourself and your daughter into?”

“Well, you see, that’s just the thing, Cutter. Julie’s not my daughter. I’ve kind of…Well, it’s just that…” She threw up her hands in a display of frantic frustration. “I sort of kidnapped her.”

Chapter Two

“You sort of kidnapped her? What is that supposed to mean?”

Linney tried to stay calm. “I didn’t set out to do it. The woman at the day-care center called and said Julie was crying hysterically. I went to check on her.”

“Why did the center call you instead of her parents?”

“They tried to reach her father. He didn’t answer his cell phone. Amy—her mother—had put my name on the emergency caller list so the woman who manages the center called me.”

“If you’re on the list, then how is this kidnapping?”

“I said ‘sort of’ kidnapping. You have to pay attention, Cutter.”

“It would be easier if you didn’t talk in riddles. The father must have called you by now to see where his daughter is and when you plan to bring her home.”

“He hasn’t.”

“Then this is simple. Just take Julie home.”

“It’s not quite that simple.”

His eyebrows arched again. “Because…”

“Keep your voice down. You’ll wake Julie.”

“She’s already asleep? What did you do, drug her?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. She’s exhausted and she’s been through a terrible ordeal over the last few days.”

“A sort-of kidnapping will surely help that.”

“Sarcasm under fire is not the mark of a hero, Cutter Martin.”

“I never claimed to be a hero and we’re not under fire. Not yet, anyway.”

Linney flashed what she hoped was a persuasive look. “Would you just sit down and let me explain?”

“I like standing, and I don’t see how anything you will say can justify a kidnapping—or even a sort-of one.”

Linney studied Cutter. He looked different than he had the last time she’d seen him. Older, harder and, if possible, even more ruggedly handsome. Then, desire had fired in his dark eyes. Tonight his gaze seared into hers accusingly.

His five o’clock shadow was pronounced, his face a mix of taut planes and angles, his muscles strained and pushing against the white cotton dress shirt. The white dress shirt didn’t fit the image she’d carried of him for the last six years, not even with the top two buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up to just below his elbows.

The rest of him fit the image perfectly. The lean, hard body. The tanned skin. The thick locks of dark hair falling across his forehead giving him a devil-may-care look and a sexiness that wouldn’t quit.

Linney took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, then pushed her back against the slats of the chair. “Julie’s mother drowned last Friday. Amy Colley. You may have read about it in the newspaper. It happened in Green’s Harbor. That’s a small town on the bay about twenty miles south of Houston.”

“Yeah, I know where Green’s Harbor is. And I read about the accident. Her husband came home from work and found her floating in their backyard swimming pool.”

“That’s what he said. It’s not what happened.”

Cutter’s eyebrows arched. “Oh?”

“He killed her.”

“By he, I assume you are talking about the husband?”