The Cowboy's Lesson in Love Read online

  Learning to love again

  Is his hardest assignment

  Ever since Clint Washburn’s wife abandoned him, the stoic rancher has built up defenses to keep everyone in Forever, Texas, out—including his young son. Now the boy’s teacher, Wynona Chee, is questioning his parenting! And Clint is experiencing feelings he thought long dead. Still, Wynona has her homework cut out for her if she’s going to teach this cowboy to love again.

  “I can put on a pot of coffee if you like,” she offered, straightening and turning to look in his direction. “What’s your pleasure?”

  Only then did she realize that Clint had crossed the room to her. He was now all but toe-to-toe with her, looking down into her face.

  “You.” The response was automatic, without any deliberation or thought from him.

  Trying to remember to breathe, Wynona released the refrigerator door and pushed it shut.

  “Then I guess you’re in luck,” she answered. “I just happen to have some of that on hand.”

  Before she could berate herself for giving voice to a totally mindless answer, Clint had caught her up in his arms and brought his mouth down on hers.

  The heat, the combustion between them, was instant, firing her up and setting Wynona off like a flare shooting up into the darkened night sky.

  She kissed him back as hard, and with as much feeling, as he had kissed her. This part of her life had been untapped for a very long time, but there was no working her way up to passion. It was right there, waiting to be set off. One spark and it was engulfing her.

  * * *

  FOREVER, TEXAS:

  Cowboys, ranchers and lawmen—oh my!

  Dear Reader,

  As some of you might know, the Harlequin Western Romance line has ridden off into the sunset as of the end of last June. Sadly, I assumed that with the line’s demise, I had seen the last of Miss Joan and all the residents of Forever, Texas. But, thanks to the powers that be, the tiny Texas town with its adjacent Navajo reservation has been kindly resurrected and its stories allowed to continue to unfold, so brace yourselves. Miss Joan, Forever’s wisecracking conscience, is back, along with all of its fine citizens, old and new.

  Meet Wynona Chee and her cousin, Shania Stewart, who were orphaned and then raised by their great-aunt Naomi, a fiercely independent Houston-based doctor. Now the young women are back in Forever, determined to give back and share a little of their good fortune with the local citizens.

  Wynona is a teacher and takes a newly vacated position teaching the eight- and nine-year-olds of Forever. One of her students is Ryan Washburn, whose mother took off when he was a baby. His dad, Clint, was scarred by the incident and hasn’t been able to open up since then, even to the son he loves. Ryan is suffering because of this emotional neglect. Wynona is determined to make Clint come around for the sake of his son. She never dreamed that in so doing, she would wind up meeting her soul’s other half.

  As always, I would like to thank you for taking the time to read one of my stories, and from the bottom of my heart, I wish you someone to love who loves you back.

  All the best,

  Marie

  The Cowboy’s Lesson in Love

  Marie Ferrarella

  USA TODAY bestselling and RITA® Award–winning author Marie Ferrarella has written more than two hundred and fifty books for Harlequin, some under the name Marie Nicole. Her romances are beloved by fans worldwide. Visit her website, marieferrarella.com.

  Books by Marie Ferrarella

  Harlequin Special Edition

  Matchmaking Mamas

  Wish Upon a Matchmaker

  Dating for Two

  Diamond in the Ruff

  Her Red-Carpet Romance

  Coming Home for Christmas

  Dr. Forget-Me-Not

  Twice a Hero, Always Her Man

  Meant to Be Mine

  A Second Chance for the Single Dad

  Christmastime Courtship

  Engagement for Two

  Adding Up to Family

  The Fortunes of Texas: The Secret Fortunes

  Fortune’s Second-Chance Cowboy

  The Montana Mavericks: The Great Family Roundup

  The Maverick’s Return

  The Fortunes of Texas: The Rulebreakers

  The Fortune Most Likely To...

  Visit the Author Profile page at www.Harlequin.com for more titles.

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  To

  Glenda Howard,

  With Gratitude

  For

  Continuing To Make

  My Dreams

  Come True

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Epilogue

  Excerpt from A New Leash on Love by Melissa Senate

  Prologue

  “Are you nervous?”

  Shania Stewart’s softly voiced question to her twenty-six-year-old cousin broke through the otherwise early-morning silence within their small kitchen in their newly rented house located in Forever, Texas.

  Wynona Chee didn’t answer her immediately. She was tempted to nonchalantly toss her long, shining black hair over her shoulder and confidently deny the very idea of having even a drop of fear regarding whatever might lay ahead of her today.

  Ahead of both of them, really.

  But over the course of her young life, Wynona had gone through a great deal with Shania, more than so many women even twice their age. Always close, the cousins had suffered the loss of their parents almost simultaneously. For Wynona, it had been the death of her single mother—she had never known her father—when sickness and heartbreak had claimed her. For Shania, it had come in waves. First, her father had died when a drunk driver had hit his car, then her mother, who had by that time taken in an orphaned Wynona to live with them, had succumbed to pneumonia.

  By the time Wynona was ten and Shania was eleven, they did not have a living parent between them. Instead, they faced the grim prospect of being sent off to family care where they would then be absorbed into the foster care system. The latter fact ultimately meant that they would be separated.

  The immediate future that faced the two cousins had been beyond bleak at that point.

  It was then that they learned the true meaning of the word hope. Their late grandmother’s sister, Great-Aunt Naomi, came swooping into their lives from Houston like an unexpected twister sweeping across the prairie.

  A fiercely independent woman, Naomi Blackwell, a dedicated physician who had never married, had been notified about the cousins’ pending fate by the town’s sheriff. She immediately came and took the girls under her wing and returned with them to Houston to live with her in her oversize mansion.

  Over the course of the next sixteen years, Naomi not only provided them with a home, she also made sure that they both received an excellent education. This helped gu
arantee that they could go on to become anything they set their minds to.

  It turned out that the girls had set their minds to return to Forever and give back a little of their good fortune to the community. After a short attempt to talk the cousins out of it, Naomi gave them her blessings and sent them off.

  When they finally returned to Forever, the house where they had spent their early childhood—Shania’s parents’ house—was gone, destroyed in a fire some eight years ago. Some of the ashes were still there. Consequently, when they arrived back that summer, they moved into a house in town and then set about putting their mission into motion.

  Today marked the beginning of their new careers. Shania had been hired to teach physics at Forever’s high school while Wynona was taking over a position that had been vacated at the end of the school year by Ericka Hale, the woman who was retiring as Forever Elementary’s second/third grade teacher.

  “A little,” Wynona finally admitted after pausing to take in a deep breath. She could feel her butterflies growing and multiplying in her stomach. “You?”

  Shania smiled. As the older of the two, Shania had always felt it was up to her to set the example. But like Wynona, she couldn’t be anything but truthful. It just wasn’t in her nature.

  “I’d like to say no,” she told her cousin, “but that would be a lie.” Her smile was slightly rueful. “I feel like everything inside me is vibrating to Flight of the Bumblebee.”

  “Really?” Wynona asked, surprised to hear that her cousin was anything but confident. She’d always projected that sort of an image. “But you’ve always been the calm one.”

  “Most of the time,” Shania admitted. “But I’m not feeling very calm right now, although I guess I did manage to fool you,” she told Wynona with a self-deprecating laugh. “Now I guess all I have to do is fool everyone else.”

  “That’s easy enough,” Wynona assured her cousin. “All you have to do is channel Great-Aunt Naomi.” A fond smile curved her lips. “That woman could make a rock tremble in fear.”

  Shania laughed. “She could, couldn’t she?” A wave of nostalgia came over her as she looked at her younger cousin. “Do you find yourself wishing we were back in Houston with her right now?”

  “No,” Wynona said honestly. She saw that her answer surprised her cousin. “Staying with Aunt Naomi would have meant taking the easy way. I think we both know that we’re right where we’re supposed to be just as I know that Aunt Naomi is proud of us for choosing to do this.”

  Shania smiled in response, nodding her head. “I think you’re right.” The young woman looked at her watch, then raised her eyes to meet Wynona’s. She took in a deep breath. “Well, Wyn, it’s almost seven. If we don’t want to be late our first day of school, we really should get going.”

  Wynona nodded in agreement as she felt her butterflies go into high gear. “Okay, Shania. Let’s do this.”

  Chapter One

  Clint Washburn wiped the back of his wrist against his forehead while crouching down and holding the stallion’s hoof still with his other hand. Seven thirty in the morning and it was already getting hot.

  This was fall, he thought. It shouldn’t be this hot, certainly not this early in the day. These days it felt as if things were making even less sense than usual.

  A movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. Clint frowned when he saw the skinny little figure entering the corral. After closing the gate, he was walking toward him.

  Ryan.

  The boy wasn’t supposed to be here. He was supposed to be on his way to school by now.

  Clint stopped working on the stallion’s hoof. The tiny rock or whatever had worked its way under the horseshoe, causing the animal to limp, was just going to have to wait until he sent his son on his way.

  He squinted. The sun was directly behind the boy, making Ryan’s fine features as well as his expression momentarily difficult to see. Clint’s frown deepened.

  “Shouldn’t you be on your way to school by now, boy?” Clint asked.

  There was no warmth in his voice, only impatience.

  Rather than answer immediately, the small boy looked at his father with wide eyes, his fine, light brown hair falling into his piercing blue eyes. He turned a slight shade of red before answering.

  “I...I thought I’d stay home and help you with the horses today.”

  “You thought wrong,” Clint replied flatly. “I don’t need your help with the horses. That’s what I’ve got Jake and your uncle Roy for,” he reminded the boy crisply, referring to the ranch hand and his brother. “What you need to do is go to school.” Shading his eyes, Clint scanned the area directly behind his son. “Lucia is probably looking for you right now. Don’t give her any extra work,” he instructed his son briskly, then ordered, “Go.”

  The answer, although not unexpected, was not the one his son was hoping for.

  Summoning his courage, Ryan tried to change his father’s mind. “But—”

  “Now.”

  A stricken look came over Ryan’s thin face. His shoulders were slumped as he turned on his heel and made his way back into the house.

  “Kind of hard on the boy, aren’t you, boss?” Jake Weatherbee asked. He’d waited until Ryan had left the corral and was out of earshot before he raised the question. “He just wanted to help.”

  “He just wanted to skip school, like any kid his age,” Clint replied gruffly.

  “So let him once in a while,” Roy Washburn, Clint’s younger brother, told him, adding his voice to the argument. “Nothing wrong with that. If you let your son work with you, he’ll get to see just what it means to be a rancher. It’s what Dad did.”

  Clint’s expression hardened. This was not advice he welcomed. “Dad didn’t do anything. He was too drunk half the time to work the ranch. That’s why we did. The boy has to learn discipline before he learns anything else, not to mention what they can teach him at school.” Clint’s eyes swept over the two men standing before him. “I want that kid to be able to pick his future, not be stuck with it the way you and I were,” he told Roy.

  Clint brushed his hands off on the back of his jeans. “Now, if you two bachelors are through debating whether or not I’m raising my son properly, maybe you can get back to doing what you’re supposed to be doing.”

  “Didn’t mean no disrespect, boss,” Jake told him. “I was just remembering what it felt like being the boy’s age.”

  Clint’s eyes narrowed. “Maybe you should try remembering what it’s like being your age and working for a living.” He turned to look at his brother. “Same goes for you.”

  “Yes, sir,” Roy answered with just a slight hint of mocking in his voice. He turned his attention back to the recently purchased stallion he was preparing to break.

  Clint’s frown appeared to have been chiseled into his features. He was more dissatisfied with his own behavior than with the behavior of either his brother or his ranch hand. He knew that ultimately, the men meant well even if he hadn’t asked for or welcomed their opinions.

  Clint blew out a breath. Maybe he’d gone a little too far. “Look, I didn’t mean to go off like that,” he told Jake and Roy. “I’ve got a lot on my mind right now and this thing with the boy isn’t helping any.”

  Given a reprieve, Roy decided to take the opportunity to reach his brother. “Don’t you think you’re making more of this than you should, Clint? At least Ryan was offering to help. He wasn’t just running off—”

  “Yet,” Clint interjected seriously. “But if I don’t force him to do what he’s supposed to, it’s only going to get worse. I’ve got to nip this sort of behavior in the bud,” he insisted. A distant look came into his eyes. It still haunted him. Seven years and the wound still hadn’t healed. “I missed what was right in front of me once. I’m not going to let that happen again,” he stated firmly.

  Roy
paused to look at his brother. Though Clint had shut down again, Roy could see the glimmer of pain in his eyes. He knew that he wasn’t referring to his son when he talked about missing what was right in front of him. Clint was talking about Susan, Ryan’s mother. He was talking about the bomb she had detonated in the center of his life.

  He had come home late one evening to find a crying baby and a note pinned to the sheet in his crib. Susan was nowhere to be seen and he had no idea how long she had been gone. When it finally dawned on him that she wasn’t home, he was absolutely devastated. The woman he adored and had been married to for almost two years had left without warning.

  The short, terse note she’d left in her wake stated that she realized that she wasn’t cut out to be a rancher’s wife and even less to be a mother. She went on to tell him that he needed to cut his losses and forget about her.

  According to her note, they had never been a proper “fit.”

  That had probably hurt most of all, the antiseptic words Susan had used to describe what to him had been the most wonderful part of his life.

  What he had thought of as his salvation had turned into his personal hell.

  From that moment on Clint had sealed himself off from everyone and everything.

  He hired someone to care for his house and his son—in that order. He didn’t feel that he was up to doing either for a long, long time. To keep from falling into an apathetic abyss, Clint forced himself to run the ranch and to look after the horses that he bought and sold as well as the cattle on the ranch. It gave him a purpose. Otherwise, he felt he had no reason to go on.

  Time went on and he made peace with his lot, but he still didn’t come around, still didn’t reach out to the son who seemed to need so desperately to be acknowledged by him.

  While no one could have accused Lucia of being an outspoken woman, his housekeeper did do her best to try to make Clint open up to the boy, but none of her efforts were successful.

  Clint made sure that the boy was clothed and that he always had enough to eat, but that was where it ended. There was no actual bonding between them. If Clint did manage to make it home for a meal—which he missed with a fair amount of regularity—there was no animated conversation to be had at the table. If it weren’t for Roy, who lived in the ranch house with them, there would have been very little conversation at all.