The New Cowboy at Miller Ranch - Miller Brothers of Texas Prologue (EBOOK)

He’s a rich Texas rancher. She’s just a tomboy ranch employee. Can she make him see life can still be happy without all that money?

Samuel Miller is as tall and strong as they come. And if he wasn’t so soft-hearted, he’d be set to become the head of his family’s ranching empire. But as his father sees it, one of his younger brothers is better equipped to do the job.

It’s no wonder that when his Aunt Annie Miller from Montana asks him to come and help out at their ranch for a little while, he jumps at the opportunity.

Right off the bat, Samuel notices how different things are at the Miller Ranch. It’s more down to earth than his family’s ranch. There’s more manual labor, which he enjoys, and the animals are allowed to roam around freely.

But… That’s not the only thing he notices.

There’s a certain someone around the ranch with wild, curly hair and big, hazel eyes. Virginia West. She’s a tomboy through and through. So strong and sure of herself that it was mildly intimidating.

Seems she’s noticed him too, but only because Samuel can’t stop staring at her. Still she can’t seem to get the curious new Miller out of her mind.

Being at the Miller Ranch makes Samuel realize he wants more from life and ranching than the money-hungry way his father runs their ranch.

He’s strong for sure… but is he going to be strong enough to stand up to his father when the time comes? And even more so… Will he ever be able to work up his courage to ask Virginia out?

“I thought… I thought I heard something. Are you alright in there?”

Of course, it was him.

She didn’t know if it was a blessing or a curse, but she did absolutely know that was the voice of none other than Samuel Miller on the other side of the door.

“I’m fine,” she groused, trying to sound nonchalant. “Just twisted my ankle.”

“You’re hurt?”

Aw, the amount of concern in his voice was sweet. Especially for someone who usually avoided her like she had the plague.

“Just a little.”

“I’m coming in to help.”

It was a statement, not a question, and it was possibly the most direct she’d ever heard him address her. The next moment the door was opening, and goodness if he wasn’t striding in like some sort of knight in shining armor.

“Here,” he said simply, offering her his hands. She took them and was surprised when he was able to haul her up without any sort of effort. It didn’t stop there either. The next thing she knew, he turned and crouched, his broad back so close to her she could feel the heat from it.

Goodness, the Lord really made the Miller boys outta something special, didn’t he?

“What are you doing?” she asked, her brain blinking out.

“I… is it not obvious?”

She had to swallow to wet her dry mouth. “I could be mistaken, but I’m pretty sure that’s the international piggyback ride symbol.”

“Good, then my meaning came across then. Get on.”

Virginia felt herself blush and if that wasn’t the most embarrassing thing. “Uh, I appreciate the offer and all, but I’m heavier than I look, and I don’t exactly look like a lightweight.”

“It’ll be fine.”

Virginia thought about her thighs squishing against both of his sides and his hands wrapping under her legs. While she was normally pretty confident and loved her body, the thought of a man who was practically a complete stranger getting a good grip on her made her nervous.

“I’m not—”

He looked back at her over his shoulder, affixing her with that same intense gaze that had caught her attention before. “Trust me, please? I’ll just take you to the porch so we can get a look at that ankle.”

Virginia began to realize that if she resisted further, she would end up being rather ridiculous, so she just sighed and shrugged to herself. “Alright then. You asked for it.”

“That I did.”

Putting her hands on his broad shoulders, she went through the awkward process of getting on his back, and then he was standing up.

Sure enough, his hands gripped her as he wrapped his arms around her thighs. Her front was all pressed up against his back and her mind was suddenly a little too cognizant of it. She’d always been a tactile person, hugging her friends, holding their hands. High fives and shoulder rubs. Sitting close together on the couch with a bowl of popcorn in their laps.

But that comfort with touch and connection was a whole lot different than what she was feeling as Samuel picked their way out of the chicken coop. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but it was more of a… hyperawareness. She could feel his muscles bunching and releasing as he moved. Strong. Sure. She felt a little silly that a grown man was technically rescuing her, but it was also kind of nice. When was the last time she’d ever been playfully carried? It had to be sometime when she was under five foot six. Back before she hit puberty and her figure filled out, at the same time she discovered her vested interest in being able to do all the same chores her male ‘cousins’ did.

From there it was a pretty quick trip to the porch, which he backed up to and gently sat her down on the edge of. Then he turned and faced her, and crouched to the ground, gently pulling her ankle into his lap.

“These are some low boots,” he said casually as he unlaced her working shoes.

“Yeah, I wasn’t doing anything heavy-duty today, just a lot of busywork, so I wore my more easy-going shoes.”

“Huh. The top part is too low, doesn’t support your ankle. Gopher hole?”

She recognized his question a couple of beats after he said it. “Oh yeah. I think so.”

He nodded solemnly then finally finished taking her boot and sock off. She couldn’t help the pained little sound that escaped her throat.

His eyes flicked to her, just as intense as ever. “You alright?”

“Just peachy,” she answered with tight lips and an even more terse tone.

“Good. You mind if I look at it?”

“Sure, you some sort of ankle expert?”

He chuckled lightly at that. “I have experience.”

“Well, alright then. But I’m pretty sure that it’s just sprained.”

He nodded, then one of his big hands wrapped around her calf, supporting her leg while the other probed at the swelling length of her ankle.

She wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but she was relieved to see no bruising. That meant there probably wasn’t a torn muscle or anything like that. Just a very angry joint that had rolled the wrong way.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure that it’s just twisted, not even a sprain. I’m sure you can head to the doctor tomorrow if you like, but some ice and elevation overnight should do you well enough.”

Virginia nodded, her tongue coming out to lick her lips. Out of nowhere, she realized that she was sitting within a few feet of the man who had been evading her for days. If there was ever a time to start up a conversation, it was definitely now.

“So, do you often hang outside the chicken coop or were you not-following me again?”

He flushed at that, his head ducking, and for a moment she was sure that he would just excuse himself and rush off. But instead he gently set her foot down and went about sliding her sock back on. “I wasn’t following you.”

“So you’ve said.” She recognized the hunch to his shoulders, the way he ducked down his head, and his face flushed. If she didn’t know better, she would think that he felt guilty maybe. Embarrassed.

Leaning down, she put on the best smile she could. “I never said I minded. But a girl can’t help but be curious.”

He looked up at her and the expression on his face, once he realized they were so close, was definitely one that she would remember. “Curious?”

“Yeah, of course.” She tried to play it nonchalantly. “I don’t mind when there’s a handsome man who happens to glance once in a while, but all the running away sure did hurt my feelings.”

“Hurt your feelings?”

“Yeah, it’s one thing if a fella likes to look at you once in a while, it’s another if he runs like he’s seen a ghost every time you’re around.”

“…I wasn’t running.”

“You weren’t staring, you weren’t running. Well, what were you doing then?” She flashed him one of her charming smiles, one that usually let her get away with getting an extra cookie from Frida at lunch or maybe the mechanic to charge her the regular price instead of the inflated ‘woman tax’ that happened so often in shops.

The sound he let out was somewhere between a pained chuckle and a laugh, one of those big hands of his coming up to wipe at his face.

“You sure don’t go easy on a fella, do you?”

“Never had much of a reason to.”

The color that spread across the top of his cheeks was flattering. Maybe even cute. Virginia knew she shouldn’t be flirting with the nephew of her employers, but it wasn’t her fault that he was kneeling there, looking all handsome and aw-shucks right in front of her.

“Would it be out of line to ask for a little mercy now?”

“Well, that depends.”

He raised one of his thick brows. “On what?”

“If you give me a reason to be merciful.”