Excerpt of Her Big Sky Cowboy by Alissa Callen

Chapter One

"Come on Trin, give me something to go on."

Trinity Redfern smiled. She might be talking via her cell, and not face-to-face with Ivy, but she could sense her oldest friend's deep curiosity. The mysterious twelve long-stemmed red roses delivered to Trinity last week had become a regular item on their conversation list.

"I've got nothing -" She stopped as the door to her right opened and a small dark-haired boy joined her on the porch of the summer camp building. "Hang on, Ivy. Finn's here. Hank's running late to collect him."

Trinity hunched her shoulder to hold her cell closer to her ear while she helped Finn climb onto the bench seat. The five-year-old snuggled against her and she wrapped an arm around his thin body. They'd spent the past two days together at the Marietta Mad Scientist School but it was only when they were alone that she took off her teacher-hat and put on her friend one.

She again used her hand to hold her cell. "Sorry, Ivy. As I was saying I've got nothing. Really. The card wasn't signed. It never is."

"Never is?" Trinity held the phone further from her as Ivy squealed. "Trinity, have you been holding out on me? It wasn't only last week that you received red roses from a secret admirer?"

Trinity stifled a sigh. She'd walked straight into that one. She wasn't used to watching what she said to her oldest friend. They didn't usually keep secrets from each other. But the name of the person who'd sent her the roses had been off-limits, even to Ivy. Trinity hadn't wanted her city-past to taint the new life she'd worked so hard to make in Montana.

"No, it wasn't."

"You know I'm not giving up until I find out a name. I'll need it for the wedding guest list."

Trinity groaned. "You and your lists will be the death of me. As I've said before, as your chief bridesmaid I'll be busy enough without having a partner to entertain." Before Ivy could reply, Trinity added, "I'll put Finn on. I know he'd love to tell you what he caught in the pond today."

She lowered the phone and passed it to Finn. Last summer he'd lost his parents in a light plane crash and both Trinity and Ivy made a point of looking out for him. Finn pressed the cell against his ear and smiled.

"Say hi to Ivy," Trinity said gently when Finn showed no sign of talking.

Finn chewed his bottom lip and then spoke, his voice low and quiet. "Hi, Ivy."

Trinity held her thumb up in a ‘good job' sign. Finn rarely spoke.

"Hi, Finn." Even without having the phone close to her, Trinity could hear Ivy's cheerful words. "Have you had fun with Trinity at science camp?"

Finn nodded. Trinity mouthed the word ‘yes'.

Encouraged, Finn again spoke. "Yes. I ... caught a big bug."

He quickly passed Trinity the phone. She dropped a kiss on his silken dark head. He smelled of sunshine and oranges.

"Ivy, Finn sure did catch a big water bug. It was a water strider."

"That's great. I know how he loves his bugs. And that's the most words I've heard him say. You're good for him."

"Thanks."

She didn't voice her thought that seeing as she was a speech therapist when she wasn't knee-deep in pond water, she should be able to help him. Finn was already self-conscious enough about people commenting on his lack of speech.

She'd watched him closely over the past days and she was certain he didn't have an expressive or receptive language delay or any auditory processing concerns. He understood everything anyone said to him and when he did speak his words were quiet but clear. She suspected that the loss of his parents, and the combination of grief and anxiety, meant he spoke as little as possible. She was confident he'd find his words again. The only problem was he was due to start school in the fall.

Finn yawned. The fresh air mightn't have put any color in his pale face but it had tired him out. She tightened her arm around him as he rested his head on her shoulder.

"You'd also be good for his uncle. He's not a great talker either."

Trinity's attention zeroed in on Ivy.

"Who?"

"His uncle, Zane Nash. He'd be good for you too. I saw the way you stared at each other at Rhett's Christmas bonfire."

"Did we?" Trinity kept her question casual. "It was so long ago I can't remember. You'd have to remind me what he looked like."

The truth was she didn't need any help to remember Zane Nash. Or the awareness that had curled through her as their eyes had locked across the fire pit. In that brief moment it was as though all the dreams that had caused her to defy her family and head west to Montana had a chance to come true. But then the grey-eyed and wide-shouldered cowboy had never looked at her again. She also suspected he'd gone out of his way to avoid her for the rest of the night.

"Trinity, I know you remember Zane. I also know you know who sent those roses. Maybe Mr. Red Rose Man isn't your Mr. Right, but he does exist and is out there somewhere."

Trinity laughed to mask her fears. She was an eternal optimist but with Ivy having found her ‘happily ever after' with rancher Rhett, Trinity's certainty that she too would find such happiness decreased with every lonely summer vacation.

"Let's hope Mr. Right does exist. But I'm starting to think he rides a unicorn and is a mythical creature himself."

Ivy joined in with her laughter. "What happened to Mr. Right being articulate, well dressed and letting you be the boss?"

"Oh, he's still all of those things but whatever far-off kingdom he's hiding in with his unicorn, it isn't Marietta."

"Are you sure? He could be hiding in plain sigh."

Trinity shook her head not so much in reply to Ivy's teasing but to clear her mind of an intense grey gaze. "I've lived in Paradise Valley long enough to know he's not here."

A familiar white pickup drove into the summer campgrounds, a trail of bone-dry dust in its wake. Hank, Hollyhock Creek's ranch foreman, had arrived to collect Finn. He must have sorted his sick calf.

"Finn's ride is here." Trinity glanced at the child next to her. His small red-shirted chest rose and fell in the timeless rhythm of sleep. "So I'll say good-bye."

"Okay. See you soon. We're looking forward to you staying next week. Rhett especially. He says if he has to give his opinion on another color sample he's spending the rest of the summer in the line cabin away from his sisters. He has no idea what the difference is between Persian and Royal blue."

Trinity laughed softly. "Poor Rhett. If he had to decide between cows I'm sure he'd have no trouble. Tell him I'll help choose the color for the bridesmaid dresses. See you Monday."

Trinity ended the call. Her arm lowered but instead of returning her cell to her pocket, she stared out at the pathway, her phone forgotten in her hand.

The tall and lithe cowboy who strode toward her didn't resemble the bowlegged and wizened ranch foreman who'd previously collected Finn. And unlike Hank, no white smile flashed across his face as he drew near. Instead the tanned planes of the man's handsome face remained settled in remote lines.

Heart hammering, she made no move to wake the warm child sleeping against her or to stand.

The cowboy halted on the bottom porch step. Beneath his battered Stetson too-long dark hair curled over the collar of a shirt that was once blue but was now a sun-bleached grey. The left knee of his fitted jeans was ripped and thick dust coated his right side as though he'd lain on the ground or barn floor.

Slate-grey eyes met hers.

Her chin tilted. She hadn't forgotten a thing from the night of the bonfire. There was no doubt the scruffy and unsmiling man before her was no regular Hollyhock Creek ranch hand. He was Zane Nash. Finn's uncle.

Mr. oh so Wrong.

* * *

Zane Nash anchored his dusty boots onto the wooden step beneath him. He could face a badass stallion without breaking into a sweat but when it came to the woman hugging a sleeping Finn, his iron control went into a free fall.

Miss Trinity Redfern was trouble. Beautiful trouble.

He'd heard her carefree laugher at the Christmas bonfire first. And when he'd glanced across the fire pit at the woman whose marshmallow was in flames his self-control had incinerated. The woman's coffee-brown hair had been pretty the way it had fallen from beneath her Santa hat but it was the full curve of her smiling mouth that he couldn't tear his gaze away from.

Then he'd looked into her eyes and he'd forgotten where he was let alone who he was. In her clear green gaze he'd seen the warmth, passion and spirit of a woman who'd face life head on. A woman who'd stand by her man no matter what hand life dealt them. A woman to believe in and to trust.

And just like now, alarms had detonated in his head. Life had kicked him in the teeth enough times for him to never trust a woman again. So he'd spent the night staying out of Trinity's way even if he couldn't stop his gaze from seeking her out. It'd then become a bad habit the past five months whenever he was in Marietta to scan the streets for a glimpse of her.

Now here she was. Her large eyes were still a vivid green and while her lips weren't curved in a smile, their soft contours caused his chest to tighten with need. But it was the loving, and almost possessive, way she held Finn that winded him like a saddle bronco's kick.

Finn deserved to have a woman hug him every day. As much as Zane could give him the love of a father, a secure home and future, he could never replace the mother Finn had lost. He'd do anything to repair Finn's fractured world, but thanks to Marlisa, Zane was no longer the marrying kind.

The arch of Trinity's fine dark brow informed him that not only was he staring, but that his tension must have shown in the severity of his expression. Hank was always telling him to lighten up and smile.

Zane swept his hat off his head and nodded. Hank was also telling him to talk more but why waste words when he had nothing to say? He'd grown up on a ranch full of men where actions counted more than pretty words and where silence could often be the best answer. A man was judged on what he did, not what he said.

Instead of acknowledging his greeting, Trinity's eyebrow remained raised as if in a silent challenge. He hadn't mistaken the strength he'd glimpsed at the bonfire. The woman before him wasn't content with a gallant sweep of a Stetson, she wanted words and would wait until she got them.

Now wasn't the time for a battle of wills. Trinity had stayed with Finn while he'd waited to be collected. She'd also been why Finn had appeared so happy and content the past days. Zane owed her his thanks as well as an apology.

He cleared his throat and turned his hat in his hands. "Hi, I'm Zane Nash. Sorry, I'm late."

Her eyes softened but when she spoke, her words were as cool as the trough water he'd earlier splashed over his face after his work-in-progress stallion threw him. "Hi. I'm Trinity and that's no problem. Hank called so I knew Finn hadn't been forgotten."

He nodded. It was his turn to now add something to the conversation but he couldn't think of anything to say. He was certain the self-assured woman waiting for him to talk wouldn't want to know about the latest cattle prices.

To his relief, Finn's eyelids fluttered and opened. When he saw Zane, he smiled. Zane's heart clenched. He'd never met Finn before he'd become an instant father less than a year ago but he loved him with a depth and a certainty he'd never thought himself capable of. Zane's hat crumpled in his tense hands. But alongside such love, bitterness co-existed. For almost five years his brother and Marlisa had cut him out of Finn's life.

Instead of leaving Trinity's side and coming to Zane for his usual hug, Finn gazed at the woman beside him, his blue eyes adoring.

Trinity lifted her arm from around Finn. "Did we turn off the hose when we watered the vegetable garden beds? Maybe you could go and check while I have a quick word with Zane?"

Finn stretched and nodded. He left the bench, walked down the steps to hug Zane's leg. Zane ruffled his dark hair before he scooted off around the back of the summer camp building.

"He's a great kid," Trinity said, and in her wistful expression he caught a glimmer of the same yearning he'd witnessed on Finn's face.

"He is."

She stood and fixed him with a now serious stare that let him know their conversation wouldn't be about the weather.

As she moved toward him, it wasn't his reluctance to talk that held him still and silent. At the bonfire Trinity had been glossy and city-polished. Despite an oversize Santa hat, she'd managed to look stylish in her snug white jeans and fitted red jacket. After keeping up with energetic five-year-olds she now looked more tired than tailored. But even with a casual ponytail and wearing hiking boots, denim cut-offs and a simple green T-shirt she was still the prettiest woman he'd ever seen.

He stepped off the bottom step and onto the pathway to allow her room to pass. On the step that put their eye lines at the same level, their gazes met and held. Just like at the bonfire it was as though the real world fell away. All he could focus on was the woman before him and how something within her spoke to something within him.

She hesitated on the second step, her eyes widening as if she too felt the connection. But as quickly as the impression appeared it was gone. Her lips pressed together as she descended the last two steps. Head high, she stood in front of him. He breathed in a faint floral scent that stirred buried memories of a time when Hollyhock Creek Ranch hadn't been all men.

"Before Finn gets back," Trinity said, her words teacher-firm. "Can I talk to you about his speech?"

Zane nodded, showing no surprise. Not that he'd been snooping, but he'd asked Rhett about Trinity and discovered she was single and ran Chatterbox Speech Therapy in downtown Marietta.

"Finn said he goes to Bozeman and sees ‘people.' I wanted to check that one of those people is a speech therapist?"

Zane nodded again. Then before Trinity's brow could arch at his lack of words, he spoke. "Yes, he does. He sees a psychologist as well as a speech therapist."

"Wonderful." Relief relaxed her mouth and reminded him of the warmth that underpinned her strength. "Finn's been through so much and needs all the professional support he can get. Has the speech therapist given him any home programs to complete?"

"At first Shelly did, but not anymore. She ran tests to find out why Finn doesn't speak much and she now suspects Finn was a shy and anxious child before he lost his parents. Shelly also doesn't think he had many opportunities for social interaction with kids his own age as Russ and Marlisa moved so much." He paused to allow the anger to drain from his voice. Trinity didn't need to know his disgust that Finn's early life had been both unpredictable and nomadic. "Even though Shelly says he'll be fine, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about how he's going to do at school."

The angle of Trinity's chin lowered. "And I'd be lying if I said I didn't share your concerns. But there's still the rest of the summer to work on encouraging his words and coming to camp has been good for him. He's made a new friend, Andy, who will be in his class at school so that's a start." Trinity opened her mouth as if to add something but then Finn raced from around the building corner. Cheeks flushed from the late afternoon summer warmth, he slid to a stop beside Trinity and took her hand.

"How did you go checking on the hose?" she asked with a smile that would weaken the knees of a grown man let alone a motherless boy.

"Good."

Zane barely heard Finn's quiet reply. Regret dug itself into his shoulders. Since when did he ramble on like he'd had too many beers in Grey's Saloon? As for him admitting he was worried about Finn starting school ... where had that come from? He never talked, especially about his emotions. Maybe he'd hit his head when he'd fallen from Diablo?

He took his hands from his jeans pockets and folded his arms. His gut was right. Trinity was trouble. She could pry words from a stone. For a dangerous second her genuine concern for Finn had lulled him into confiding in her and trusting her with his fears. He frowned and looked at his pickup truck. He had to get back to the sanctuary of his ranch. At least there, his self-control would hold. After his mother had walked out and the woman he loved ran off with his brother, he didn't need another lesson about misplaced trust.

He glanced at Finn and realized two pairs of eyes watched him. Trinity's narrow with speculation and Finn's shiny with eagerness.

His frown deepened. What had he missed?

"So we'll see you tomorrow for our closing campfire?" Trinity asked.

He nodded slowly. He'd rather go another round with his uncooperative stallion than spend an afternoon in Trinity's company. The instincts that kept him safe on the range all hollered at him to stay as far away as possible from the stunning speech therapist. His jaw clenched. But for Finn, he'd do anything.