Healing the Cowboy - Signed Paperback

Nora St. James returns to Redemption Ridge to find her family ranch falling apart. Her dad’s gambling addiction is out of hand, and they’re on the verge of losing everything.

Clint Taylor knows exactly what he wants, and it’s the one woman who is immune to his charms–his best friend, Nora. She’s determined and independent, and while he loves those things about her, they also help her keep him at arms’ length.

Nora has too many problems to worry about romance, but her flirty best friend is pulling out all the stops. If he keeps pursuing her, she might not be able to resist much longer.

When an injury lands Clint in a cast and Nora’s ranch isn’t safe anymore, she comes to Taylor Ranch to care for him and help keep things going until he heals. The Christmas season has Nora opening her heart, but if she lets her guard down, she might lose her best friend, her job, and her home.

Return to Redemption Ridge, Colorado and enjoy the faith, friendships, and forever-afters in this Christian Christmas Romance.

Healing the Cowboy is book 8 in the Christmas in Redemption Ridge series, but each of the books can be read on their own.

Clint rapped his knuckles against the console to the beat of the song as he drove through the night toward Denver. Not even the high-pitched 80s power ballad could take his mind off the road ahead. 

Okay, so it wasn’t the road that had his attention. It was the woman at the end of the road. He hadn’t seen Nora St. James in months–two hundred and forty-nine long days, to be exact. Now that he was down to the final minutes, they were passing as slow as molasses. 

Nora was noble and all, serving as a traveling nurse in south Texas, but his first summer without her was long and dull.

Zero out of ten, do not recommend. 

Clint gave up the knuckle rapping and shifted to heel tapping. Coming into Denver traffic did nothing to help his fidgeting. Why was there even traffic at this hour? It was a good hour past his bedtime, but apparently, Denver was the city that never sleeps. 

Redemption Ridge had a few stop signs, and that was plenty big enough for him. Denver had never been to his liking for quite a few reasons. He’d rub shoulders with more people today than in the rest of the year combined. 

Gripping the steering wheel of his trusty old pickup, he zeroed in on the reflective sign for Denver International Airport. 

Bingo. 

His phone rang and he grabbed it from the cup holder. “You’ve reached the answering service for Clint Taylor. Please leave a message after the beep.”

“Dude, stop–”

“Beeeeeepppp.”

Hollis sighed. “Are you done?”

Clint would gladly offer Hollis the title of second best friend right behind Nora if the guy would loosen up a little. “If you’re calling for a favor, I’m busy.”

“I know. You’re picking up Nora. Trust me. You only mentioned it a dozen times.”

“Oh good. You were listening. Brownie points for you.”

Hollis let a gap of silence as long as the Colorado River stretch between them. That was the universal sign of a lecture coming. “I just don’t want you to get ahead of yourself.”

“Listen, man, it’s sweet that you care, but I’ve got this covered.”

“You’re seriously going to tell her?”

“Why did you say it like that?”

“Like what?”

“Like I’m marching off to certain death. I’m confessing my feelings, not falling on my sword.”

“What if those two things are the same?” Hollis asked. 

Clint flipped on his turn signal with a little too much force and craned his neck to see when the line of traffic might open up for him to merge toward the exit. “This is why I wanted you to leave a message. Stop raining on my parade.”

“You’ve known Nora your whole life. She doesn’t usually like surprises.”

Okay. Hollis had a point. Nora liked certainty and order. It was why she overplanned for everything and never left room for errors. 

Hollis sighed. “Just… think about it. Maybe give her a few days to get settled back in town. She’s been gone for a while. She might even have a boyfriend.”

All the air left Clint’s body and he tightened his death grip on the steering wheel. “She does not have a boyfriend.”

“How do you know? Because she would tell you if she did?”

“Well, yeah. Maybe.” Would she? “Probably. She tells me everything else.”

“Hmm. This is my last suggestion to proceed with caution. You’ve been ridiculously happy all day. I know I shouldn’t care if you’re digging your own grave, but it would be hard to watch you fall off of cloud nine.”

Clint shoved the warning into the back of his mind. Hollis was always a downer, and his negativity would only ruin the plan. “I knew you cared.”

“If she breaks your heart, I still have to put up with you. As much as I don’t like it when you play around, I hate it even more when you walk around like a sad puppy.”

“Okay, I’m going to ignore everything you just said because it sounds like you don’t like me, and that can’t be true.”

“Clint, listen–”

“I’m pulling into the airport. I’ll call to let you know you were wrong later,” Clint said as he headed toward the hub of blinking lights and towers. 

Hollis ended the call without even wishing Clint good luck. Typical. Hollis was a lot like Nora in that way–always looking out for Clint when he wanted to rush in with guns blazing. 

This time was different. Clint had a good feeling about his decision to finally lay it all out on the line with Nora. He’d kept his mouth shut for half his life, and he couldn’t keep it bottled up anymore. 

He loved her. There wasn’t any doubt about it. They could carve it on his headstone at this point because it wasn’t changing. She’d stood by him through everything. She put up with his goofiness. She looked out for him when he failed to look out for himself. 

Being away from her for over half a year was torture, and he didn’t want to do it again. Nora told him she was glad she took the traveling nurse job, but she wouldn’t be leaving Redemption Ridge again. It was her home, and she already had a steady job waiting for her. 

She wasn’t going anywhere, and neither was he. He couldn’t keep living across the street from her, hanging out with her, calling her every day, and basically living his life with her by his side without telling her that she’d completely stolen his heart. 

Nora was his best friend, but he wanted more. He wanted her heart and her future. Everything he had to offer was already hers. 

Clint pulled into the waiting lot and turned off the engine. His entire body hummed in the silence of the night. Driving across the Rockies in a truck with a diesel engine wasn’t the smoothest ride. He pulled out his phone and looked up Nora’s flight information. 

A text came through as soon as the page loaded. 

Nora: Landed! Heading to grab my bag. 

Showtime. He jumped out of the truck and stretched his arms over his head. She’d be happy to see him. He’d confess his undying love, and he’d finally get to kiss her. 

Clint glanced west toward the Rockies and his home on the other side. He was pretty sure she felt the same way he did. She liked spending time with him. She called him just as often as he called her. She told him everything. 

But those things sounded like things a friend would do. What if she really did just want to be friends?

Shoot. Why did Hollis have to call and ruin everything? Clint was doing just fine until the sour grape mucked everything up. 

He got back in the truck and pulled up to the curb outside baggage claim. He scanned the sidewalk until her dark hair caught his eye. It was pulled back into a high ponytail, and she swept it off her shoulder as she spotted him. Her smile grew as she lifted her hand and waved him over. 

Clint jumped out of the truck. He wiped his sweaty hands on his jeans and tried to ignore the knot in his gut. 

Hollis was officially off the friend list. All of this churning going on in Clint’s middle was his fault. 

Clint rounded the front of the truck, and Nora launched herself at him. Her body pressed against his as her arms wound around his neck. With his face buried in the crook of her neck and his arms around her, he took his first full breath in months. 

The force of his love for her hit him in the chest like a herd of wild horses. He’d never missed anyone the way he missed Nora. Not even close. 

She pulled back, and he reluctantly loosened his hold on her. Her warm brown gaze locked with his, and all his plans to pour his heart out dried up. He’d been ripped and ready to lay it all out on the line as soon as he saw her. 

Now that she was in his arms, his throat closed like a vise. 

She sighed and let her arms fall from his shoulders. “Let’s get outta here.”