Cowboy Hank (Cooper's Hawke Landing Book 3)

  Cowboy Hank

  (Book 3, Cooper’s Hawke Landing Series)

  Rhonda Lee Carver

  Cowboy Hank

  Copyright Rhonda Lee Carver 2021

  Ebook Edition

  Electronic book publication 2021

  All rights reserved.

  Blurb

  When he met her, she needed him…but he realized he might need her more. Every cowboy deserved to find the one.

  Being on the run, homeless and hungry wasn’t what single mother, Helena Remington, wanted for her five-year-old daughter but she’d do anything to save her child. When a twist of fate brought them to Cooper’s Hawk and on the doorstep of a helpful cowboy, things started to look up. After so long, she felt a sense of peace and purpose, but can she hide in a small town where everyone knows everyone, and everything?

  Hank Hawke wasn’t a stranger to running, even if it didn’t take him far. He’d been dealing with his past since he came home from Iraq with wounds and PTSD. He kept his distance from others because he didn't want his scars under a microscope. Running his bar and volunteering in a search and rescue unit was enough for him…

  Until he met Helena and her daughter, and his eyes were opened to what he’d been missing in his life.

  Helena and Hank both have trust issues that run deep, but the unexpected connection helped them start to mend and heal.

  Can they face the hurdles of the past when it comes crashing in? Are they strong enough to challenge the enemy, both invisible and real? To find happiness they’ll have to fight for it because trust isn't always easy to keep.

  Copyright © 2020 by Rhonda Lee Carver

  www.rhondaleecarver.com

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without permission from the author, Rhonda Lee Carver, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages written in a review. For information, please contact Rhonda Lee Carver at rhondaleecarver.author@gmail.com.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, incidents and dialogue in this work are from the author’s imagination and creation. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.

  This book is for your personal pleasure. Ebooks are not transferrable. They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work. If you have enjoyed this book and wish to share with another reader(s), please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work the author invested in this book.

  This book contains material that isn’t suitable for anyone under the age of 17.

  For more titles by Rhonda Lee Carver, please visit www.rhondaleecarver.com or see her complete list of novels at the end of this book.

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  To Rhonda Lee Carver’s Rowdy Readers.

  I don’t know what I’d do without you.

  Table of Contents

  Front Matter

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Eighteen

  Nineteen

  Twenty

  Twenty-one

  Twenty-two

  Twenty-three

  Twenty-four

  Twenty-five

  Twenty-six

  Epilogue

  Backmatter

  Bonus – Hitched (Book 1, Texas Tarnation, Chapters 1 & 2)

  One

  Helena Remington peered into the fog that was creeping in like an ominous foreshadowing. The twisting, narrow back road was sandwiched between tall, daunting trees that swayed eerily in the strong wind. The scene belonged in the opening credits of a horror film, but this wasn’t a movie. This was her life.

  Why had she left the highway? She knew better. Every crime show she’d ever watched warned travelers to never exit the interstate when the GPS stopped working, but a sign promising a gas station had changed her course. Twenty miles later she still hadn’t found it. Maybe the almost obsessive amount of detective shows she’d watched had her feeling so paranoid.

  Either way, her bladder was about to burst.

  She’d been driving for hours, days, but no matter how many miles, and the amount of distance she put between her and the past, it wasn’t nearly enough. At every curve and turn she stared into her rearview mirror as if the monster she’d left behind had caught up.

  Remembering how close she’d come to losing her freedom gave her the motivation to keep moving. She couldn’t give up.

  Glancing over at the passenger seat, her five-year-old daughter, Freya, was cradled in a fetal position, her prayer-like hands tucked under her chin, as she slept peacefully. Helena wished she could sleep too. She’d slept with one eye open for months.

  The wind whistled through the nooks and crannies of the car, giving her a chill.

  Switching the heat up and reaching into the backseat for a blanket, she covered Freya with the soft fleece. It was her favorite blanket that she’d had since she was a baby.

  When Helena brought her gaze up, the flash of headlights in the rearview mirror made her squint. A familiar suffocating feeling made her squeeze the steering wheel so tight that her knuckles stung. The speeding car with the high beams came upon them fast, making visibility even worse on the winding, dark road.

  She turned the music off and pressed the brake, giving the car opportunity to pass on probably the only straight stretch of road for miles. Yet, the car didn’t take the chance to go around, which made the hair stand at attention on the nape of her neck.

  For two more miles she drove with a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach. Finally, she saw a sign, “Cooper’s Hawk. Five Miles.”

  Without turning on her signal, she made a quick right turn onto the narrow road and gave a sigh of relief when the car that had been trailing her continued straight.

  Peeling her fingers from the steering wheel, she turned down the heat as sweat beaded her forehead.

  The buzzing of her phone made her almost jump out of her skin

  Get ahold of yourself, Helena.

  Pulling over to the side of the road and shutting off the engine to save gas, she grabbed the disposable phone. There was only one person who had the number…

  “Hello?”

  “Is everything okay, Helena?”

  “Astrid, we’re okay,” she assured her friend. “Are you okay? Did something happen?”

  “I’ve been trying to reach you since your message this morning. When I couldn’t get you, I was so worried.” Astrid’s voice rattled the line.

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you. We left the highway and have been in the mountains with poor service. Freya and I are on the move again.”

  “Oh no
. What happened?”

  Helena heard a muffled voice in the background. “Who is that? Is someone there?” Helena placed her finger on the end button, waiting.

  “It’s only Jamie. He’s spending the night. He went upstairs so we can talk in private. Tell me why you’re on the run again.”

  “I got spooked,” Helena said softly. “A man came into the diner and I…well, I got a bad vibe. I grabbed Freya and we took off. We didn’t even go back to the hotel.” Even now, almost three hundred miles away from the city where they’d huddled up for a month didn’t seem like enough space.

  “Helena, you left everything? Not again.”

  “I couldn’t risk it.”

  “Do you need money?”

  “I can’t ask you for any more. You’ve already helped enough.”

  “You didn’t ask. I’m volunteering. I told you, I’d do everything and anything to get you away from that malicious web.” There was a bitterness in her tone.

  “We’re okay.” Helena mentally counted the money she’d stuffed into her purse. It had been early in her shift, so she hadn’t made more than a few dollars in tips and she’d left the little bit of savings she had in an envelope under the mattress of the seedy hotel. “I won’t accept any more help. You and Jamie are planning a wedding and the baby will be here before you know it. Freya and I will be okay.” Although she’d managed to sound upbeat, a wrenching feeling gnawed in her chest. They had no food, no money, and the gas needle rocked somewhere at the quarter of a tank mark. And the icing on the cake…they were lost in nowhere land.

  “Honey, are you sure this is what you want? I’m sure it’s not too late to come back—”

  “It is too late,” Helena said. “I can’t go back there, and I definitely can’t take Freya back. Have you spoken to him?”

  “Not since the wedding. He was furious that you left him at the altar, but he wouldn’t hurt you, right? His ego was wounded but he’ll be okay.”

  Craven Wales had enough ego he could spare some. “This isn’t about his ego.” She couldn’t get her her best friend to understand how dangerous Helena’s ex-fiancé was so she didn’t even waste her breath. “We can’t come back.”

  “Where will you go? If you want to come here, you can. The door’s always open.”

  “That’s impossible. You know we can’t. It’s too risky.” With a deep breath, she let it out with a laugh. “I’m sure it would make Jamie’s day if we came there.”

  “He might complain a little, but he’d get over it. I miss you. When will I see you again? You must be here for the wedding. And the baby. What will I do if you’re not? I’ll have to ask JoBeth to be my maid of honor and we both know the shit show she brings with her.”

  Tears filled Helena’s eyes. She couldn’t answer those questions, so she simply said, “I miss you too.” She sucked back emotion. “I have to go. I’ll call you soon.”

  Hanging up, she bottled her tears and shoved them down deep into the dark recesses of her mind. She couldn’t allow her feelings to get in the way and conjure doubt. She’d made the right decision.

  Glancing over at Freya, she was a reminder of all the reasons why leaving had been the only choice. She couldn’t have the same childhood Helena had in a cold, callous environment surrounded by security.

  Turning the key to start the engine, she heard a clicking sound. She tried several more times and the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree. Her heart sunk into her shoes. All she could hear was the wind blowing through the cracks of the car.

  Climbing out, she pulled the collar of the jacket higher around her ears and glanced up and down the dark road. There were no lights in the distance. Where the hell were they? Could she trust the sign that read “Cooper’s Hawk. Five Miles”? They hadn’t passed a house or business in miles upon miles and she had to pee so bad she felt like she was swimming.

  Grabbing take out napkins and hand sanitizer from inside the car, she had to do what she had to do.

  Nothing was around but the woods and quiet. She did her business and felt an overwhelming sense of relief, until she remembered they were stranded on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere.

  Pouring the sanitizer in her palm, she scrubbed up then dropped it into her jacket pocket.

  Pressing her fingers to her temples, her mind swirled at their predicament. They were sitting ducks if they stayed in the vehicle but if they started walking where would they end up? With only a few dollars to her name, she didn’t have many options.

  “Damn!” She kicked the tire then immediately felt a pain shoot up her foot and ankle. She hopped around on one foot, unsure whether she should laugh or cry. She reminded herself that she couldn’t lose it. If she wanted a new beginning, and she did more than she wanted her next breath, then she had to hold things together for a bit longer. How easy it would be to make a phone call—one demoralizing call to say that she had been wrong to leave—and then she could be back in the comfort of her home—or rather the comfort of his home.

  Touching the silver heart ring on her middle finger, she whispered, “Mom, what would you do? I need a sign. Something so I know I’m doing right by Freya. You were the bravest person I knew. I wish I could be more like you.”

  The wind picked up but there were no fireworks, or lightning strike, or asteroid colliding with the Earth to give Helena affirmation that her mother was sending her a message. For the last few years, Helena had spent more time inside a church than she had in all her life, searching for a sign of what her next step would be.

  Six months ago when she had been in her wedding dress in the old church, looking through a stained-glass window of Mother Mary, the soft muffled tunes of wedding music playing upstairs, her dreams of running away had seemed so clear. Helena had set the ball in motions. She’d ripped off the dress and left in in a heap on the floor, grabbed Freya, and emptied out her savings account. They left the life of luxury they’d become accustomed to.

  It was laughable now how once upon a time she didn’t blink an eye at spending hundreds of dollars on Manolo Blahnik, Jimmy Choo and Miu Miu shoes or dressing in designer clothes from H&M, Hermes, Gucci and Prada, which were some of her favorites. Now she had to budget just to eat. She and Freya had even less because the few clothes they had were left back in some ratty hotel room. Thankfully, Helena had always liked to be prepared and why she kept a packed bag in the car. Unfortunately, she didn’t have emergency funds too. The savings she had at the beginning of the venture was long gone.

  She couldn’t even afford dinner at a fast-food restaurant.

  Climbing back into the car, she quietly closed the door, grateful that Freya was still asleep because Helena needed a moment to gather her emotions.

  She’d have to figure something out soon.

  Laying her head back on the cracked cushion, she closed her eyes, allowing the sweet memory of Freya’s father to drift over her like a warm security blanket. There’d been a time when she was happy…in love, or at least she thought. She’d been young and naïve to think she could have the life she wanted. What she wouldn’t give to have just one more day in his arms—Greyson had been her only love. Then he was ripped away from her in a cold, damp parking lot the night Freya was born.

  Hearing a whimper, Helena fluttered her eyes open, looking at Freya. She’d adjusted her hands to rest under her cheek. She looked so much like her father that it could only be defined as bittersweet. Reaching over, Helena scooped up a strand of hair off Freya’s forehead and laid it among the red curly mass. She had his Irish genes, including his stubbornness.

  What would Greyson think of the child they created together?

  Helena had been twenty-three, in college, and spending every weekend at an exotic location living it up with her friends when she met him. He was forty and had just joined her father’s security team and from the start he seemed different than the others. He’d shown her kindness, interest, and she’d needed someone to sweep in and give her promise and hope.

 
A tragic love story.

  The whole situation was taboo, and a thorn in her father’s side who’d gotten what he wanted in the end.

  What would life be like if Greyson had lived? Could they have convinced her father to let them be together?

  Staring through the window, the massive trees bending and swaying under the sliver of moonlight that drenched the branches in quicksilver grabbed her attention.

  Drawing a heart with her finger through the condensation on the glass, she then swiped it away. She didn’t believe in forever. Not anymore.

  Ambushed in her thoughts, she almost missed the approaching lights.

  Straightening in the seat, she searched the inside of the car, looking for anything that could serve as a weapon. She’d fight tooth and nail if that’s what it came down to.

  Opening the glove box, she frantically combed through the documents until she came upon a small flashlight—a flimsy plastic one that probably wouldn’t protect them against a spider let alone someone who wanted to hurt her or Freya. But it was her only choice, so she grabbed it and gripped the handle.

  Sliding out of the car, she watched the red truck stop and the hazards come on. The driver’s door opened, and a wide silhouette walked toward her. She tightened her hold on the flashlight so tight that the plastic cut into her skin. Switching it on, she lifted the beam, directing it on the man. An old man with thinning white hair, wrinkled skin and a hump on his back—not like Hunchback of Notre Dame, but just enough that his steps were a bit wobbly. He brought his arthritic bent hand up to shield his eyes from the obnoxious light she shone on his face. She didn’t feel guilty. A mother and daughter stranded on the side of a strange, country road could be risky, so she had every right to be cautious. He wasn’t a large man, but most people were taller than her five-foot three height. She could probably outrun him, even carrying Freya.