Southern Charm: A Single Daddy Cowboy, Secret Baby, Ranch Western Romance (Rainbow Canyon Cowboys Book 5) Read online

  Southern Charm

  A Single Daddy Cowboy Romance

  K.C. Crowne

  Copyright © 2020 by K.C. Crowne

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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  Contents

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  Also by K.C. Crowne

  Description

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Baby for the Mountain Man (Preview)

  About the Author

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  Also by K.C. Crowne

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  Mountain Men of Liberty Series

  Baby for the Mountain Man| Junior for the Mountain Man| Knocked Up by the Mountain Man| Baby For Daddy's Friend | Triplets for the Mountain Man | Taboo Mountain Daddy| Mountain Man’s Secret Baby | Mountain Man’s Accidental Surprise

  Rainbow Canyons Cowboy Series (this series) Untamed Cowboy |Taboo Cowboy |Cowboy’s Baby|Her Cowboy Daddies

  Big Bad Daddies Series

  Big Bad Doctor | Big Bad Daddy| Big Bad Taboo Daddy | Big Bad Prince|Big Bad Mountain Man| Big Bad SEAL| Big Bad Boss| Big Bad Sugar Daddy| Big Bad Mountain Brothers

  Bearded Brothers Mountain Man Series

  Her Mountain Daddy| Beauty and the Beard| Bride and the Beard| Built and Bearded |

  Firemen of Manhattan Series

  Big Bad Fireman’s Baby| Big Bad Firefighter| Big Bad Fire Daddy|

  Spenser Sisters Reverse Harem Series

  Men on a Mission| Christmas with Four Firemen| Dirty Cowboys

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  Description

  A little girl was dropped on my doorstep.

  And, this wild cowboy became a father overnight.

  I’ve seen a lot in my life.

  But nothing prepared me for fatherhood.

  What's worse is that El is five and she has my stubborn streak.

  H*ll, a man with my history isn't meant to raise another human.

  Sam is my only saving grace.

  But now I'm both excited and troubled by the feelings the beauty stirs up.

  Smart, caring, and hot enough to melt my cold heart.

  I need to look after my baby girl and run my family ranch - not fall hard for my kids' teacher.

  But when Sam's past follows her into my home,

  I'm forced to fight for my family's safety and the best thing that's happened to me in a long time.

  I'll protect Sam -and the secret miracle in her womb.

  Chapter 1

  CHANCE

  “I hate you!”

  I knew she was just a kid and didn’t really mean it. But damn, it still stung like hell.

  It’d been nearly two months since Ellie, my five-year-old daughter, had come to live with me. The whole situation was crazier than a steer let out among a pen full of cattle. One day I was a single man, living on my ranch with my family, life continuing as it always had. And the next, I received a call from Ellie’s grandparents letting me know she was coming to Rainbow Canyons to stay with me. Her grandpa on her mom’s side wasn’t doing too well – complications from a stroke – and neither of them was in a position to keep looking after her.

  I’d been shocked as shit to find out I even had a kid. I hadn’t been in contact with her mom, my ex, in years. She’d died in a car wreck, which had been difficult to hear, but when I learned she’d kept my daughter from me, I learned what difficult meant. After the initial shock had worn off, I couldn’t wait to meet my child.

  Ellie hadn’t taken the news well. I’d been happy as hell to meet her, of course, and figured living on the ranch would do her some good after five years of life in the city. But she didn’t see it that way. I couldn’t blame her – what kid would be okay with getting yanked out of the only home she’d ever known and sent to live with a father she’d never met? Especially after losing her mama so tragically.

  I was seated in the office of my cabin on the property, trying to get the next week’s activities organized on the ranch. My job was to make sure the tourists who stayed on the property never had a shortage of things to do, from hikes to fishing trips to horseback rides. I loved the work, loved helping the city folk get a taste of the rural life. And it kept me good and busy, which I liked.

  But Ellie coming had shaken all that up. I wasn’t upset about it. How could I be? She was my little girl, and I loved her to pieces even though we’d known each for barely a month. And she’d been through a hell of a lot, losing her mother at a young age. I finally had the chance to be in her life to make sure I raised her right.

  As much as I tried to focus on work, however, the fight we’d had earlier in the day was still fresh in my mind.

  “I hate you!”

  Just a kid. She was just a kid. And kids learned pretty darn quick how to get a rise out of adults when they were upset. Those three little words had power, just as much as their opposite three words did. It’d been a stupid little argument over getting her to finish her breakfast, but it wouldn’t leave my mind.

  My phone buzzed on my desk, and I snatched it up. It was Wyatt, my older brother, and the man in charge of veterinary duties on the ranch. And a new father himself.

  “What’s up, big bro?” I leaned back in my chair, propping my boots up on the long, oak desk.

  “You holdin’ up alright?” he asked.

  “What, you talkin’ about that little scrap Ellie and I had at breakfast? Not bothered in the slightest.”

  He chuckled. “Assuming you’re tellin’ the truth, which I’m not convinced of, that’s the best way to handle it. You know how kids can be. Or at least you’re learnin’ real quick.”

  “I sure as hell am. What’s she up to right now?”

  “She’s playin’ with Olivia, doin’ a little peekaboo in the kitchen with Mama G.”

  The mental picture brought a smile to my face. She might’ve been pissed at me, but hearing she was getting along with the rest of the family was no small consolation.

  I sighed. “
Hell, Wyatt, is this how it’s gonna be from here on out? Her treatin’ me like I’m the enemy or somethin’?”

  “Nah, don’t you worry about that. The girl’s had to deal with a lot, and she’s gotta have some way to take out her frustrations. Sorry to say it, but you’re gonna be the target. But look at the bright side.”

  “There’s a bright side?” I scoffed.

  He chuckled. “She’s not bein’ ornery with any old stranger – she’s bein’ that way to you because she knows deep down, maybe on a level she doesn’t understand, that you’re gonna love her no matter what. And when she understands that, she’ll come around.”

  I’d never really been the type to talk about personal matters, but when I did, Wyatt was the one I went to. He was a rough-as-hell cowboy like the rest of us, but he was sharp as a tack on top of that. Always had a way of looking at things all analytical-like.

  “Thanks,” I said. “Hopin’ it’s sooner than later it happens.”

  “It’ll be sooner than you think. Just keep bein’ a kick-ass daddy, and she’ll see it.”

  I chuckled. I was a kick-ass cowboy, a kick-ass event planner, and a kick-ass whiskey drinker. But a “kick-ass daddy” I was most certainly not. At least I didn’t feel like I was.

  “Well, thanks for the vote of confidence, bro.”

  “Anytime. But that’s not the reason I called.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah. You got someone here at the house.”

  “Really?” I asked, wracking my brain. I didn’t have an appointment that I could remember.

  “Yeah. Someone from the nanny company said they were here for an interview.”

  “Ah, hell – that’s right. Slipped my mind.”

  When Ellie’d showed up, I’d figured I’d need all the help I could get. Not to mention, it was probably a good idea to have a female figure around for her. She had Mama G, my mom, as well as a plethora of aunts, but she needed someone who’s focus was on her. So, I’d called one of the local nanny services.

  “Not like you to get your schedule all scattered. Hell, your job’s making schedules.”

  “I know, I know. Just trying to get used to my new normal, man.”

  “I get it – kids have a way of putting a wrench into plans. A good kinda wrench, but a wrench all the same. You want me to tell her to come back later?”

  “Nah. If she trucked out all the way here, the least I can do is meet with her.”

  “Alright, I’ll drive her over to your place.”

  “Sounds good. Thanks, Wyatt.”

  I ended the call, took my boots off the desk, and heaved my body out of my leather chair. Once up, I started some coffee in the French press. I wasn’t normally the type for fancy stuff, but I liked my specialty coffee. One of my few indulgences. About the time the water reached a boil, I heard the grumble of Wyatt’s truck as it pulled up in front of the house, followed by a car door opening and closing, then the sounds of soft footfalls on the gravel of my cabin’s driveway.

  I poured myself a cup of coffee as a soft knock sounded from the door. “I’m a-comin’,” I said as I set down the steaming mug on my desk and hurried over. I threw the door open, and it was a damn good thing I wasn’t taking a sip of coffee because I would’ve sprayed it out like a damn cartoon character.

  She was on my doorstep, and damn, was she beautiful.

  The woman at my front door was petite with curves in all the right places. Her hair was long and straight, the color of hay. Her eyes were a gorgeous green-gray and set among delicate features, her face a perfect heart-shape. She wore an off-white blouse that clung to her body, accentuating her full breasts. And the jeans she wore fit so perfectly it looked like she’d been poured into them.

  I was stunned. She was about the best-looking woman I’d ever seen in my life. And I’d be interviewing her for the job of taking care of my daughter.

  “Hi!” she said, her voice chipper and cheery as she extended her hand. “I’m Samantha Taylor – here about the nanny position.”

  I cleared my throat, trying my best to snap myself out of the daze she’d put me in. “Chance Walker,” I said, shaking her hand. “Pleasure to meet you.”

  The moment my hand touched hers, a wave of something amazing ran through my body. It was so intense, such a turn-on, that I felt like I was on the verge of jumping out of my own skin.

  “Come on in,” I said.

  She gave me another warm smile as she stepped into the cabin. A folder was tucked under her arm, and she set it down on the coffee table before slipping off her purse and taking a seat. And, of course, I couldn’t help but appreciate her backside as much as I’d enjoyed the front. She had a perfect, and I mean perfect, ass, one of those rears you couldn’t help but imagine bent over in front of you.

  Fucking hell, Chance, I thought. Not getting this damn working relationship off to a professional start, huh?

  I cleared my throat again, trying to push the arousal running through me out of my mind.

  She looked around my small but cozy cabin. “This so cute,” she complimented with another smile.

  I laughed. “Cute ain’t really what I’m goin’ for. But I’m glad you like it.”

  She laughed. “Alright, it’s rugged. That better?”

  I grinned. “Suits me just fine. Coffee?”

  “I’d love some.”

  “Comin’ right up.” I stepped over to the kitchen and poured her a mug. When it was ready, I handed it to her as I sat down in the chair across from the couch.

  “So,” I began. “I gotta admit you’re not what I was expectin’.”

  She offered me a sly smile in response. “What do you mean?”

  I scratched the back of my head as I sank into my chair and crossed my legs. “Well, when I called the nanny service, I gotta say I was expecting someone a little more…I dunno – matronly?”

  Another twittering laugh. I was already impressed by Samantha – she had poise and confidence and wasn’t shaken or nervous so far.

  “Is that a nice way of saying you expected me to be an old lady?”

  “Don’t mean to offend, but yeah.”

  I tried to guess her age and figured she had to be around twenty-five or so. If that was true, it put her at a full decade younger than me, yet another reason to get myself in check – that much of an age difference didn’t sit quite right.

  “Well, the service does have a few older women working for them, if that’s more your speed.”

  I chuckled. “Nah, just surprised is all. If you can do the job, I don’t care how old you are.”

  My eyes flicked to the folder on the table. I picked it up and opened it, seeing that it was all her documentation and work history.

  “My background’s in elementary school education,” she offered.

  “I can see that. So you’re no stranger to kids?”

  “Not at all. I got my degree in elementary education from Washington State, then worked for a couple of years at Tillman Elementary in Portland.”

  “So, if you were workin’ in Portland, what brings you all the way out to Texas?”

  For the first time since she’d come in, a brief expression of worry flashed on her face. “Um, it’s a long story. I’d lived in Portland for years and decided I wanted a little more open space and quiet. Texas seemed like the perfect place for that. There are a lot of hoops to jump through to get your teaching certificate when you change states, so when I saw the posting online for the position at the nanny service, I figured it was meant to be.”

  There wasn’t a doubt in my mind she was hiding something. But from what I could tell, her record was clean, and the nanny service had assured me that everyone in their employ had gone through a deep background check. If she wanted to keep her secrets, I wasn’t about to pry.

  “This ain’t a school, you know. Workin’ on a ranch is gonna be like nothin’ you’ve ever done before.”

  Her confidence returned. “And that’s why I’m so eager for the chance. Working
one-on-one with a child in a place like this…it seems almost too good to be true.”

  “Well, I’m happy you’re excited about it. But what did the service tell you about the job?”

  “That the position is at Rainbow Canyons Ranch working for one of the members of the Walker family. They said your last name like you guys were celebrities or something, and when I asked who you were, my boss was surprised I hadn’t heard of you, said that if she didn’t know I was new to the area, that would’ve done it.”

  I laughed. “We’ve got a bit of a name around these parts, sure. Not intentionally, of course.”

  “When you run the biggest ranch in the area, kind of comes with the territory.”

  “Exactly. Doesn’t help that the gossip-mongers around town can’t get enough of talkin’ about us, neither.”

  “Four handsome cowboy brothers?” she asked, one perfect eyebrow lifted. “Sounds like a subject made for gossip.” As soon as she spoke the words, a tinge of red broke out across her stunning features.

  “So,” I went on, pretending not to notice her embarrassment over calling her prospective boss handsome. “You know about the place. But what do you know about Ellie?”

  “I know she lost her mother when she was three. So sorry to hear about that, by the way.”

  “Thanks,” I said. “Her mother and I…we didn’t have the most normal of relationships. Heather was kind of a free spirit and didn’t want to be tied down to any one place. So we dated for a time, and she moved on like I knew she would. But I had no idea she had my kid.”