Story Title
Ryelee's Cowboy ~~ Reader's Choice Award Winner 2010~~ Finalist in the 2010 Textnovel Contest

Jacket Copy (Genre: Romance - Contemporary)
Ryelee Snyder is pregnant and alone. Sexy,widower, Clint Maloney needs help with his daughter. Can this handsome cowboy keep Ryelee out of trouble long enough to lasso her? A sizzling romance full of fun and emotion!

Foreword/Preface
Thanks for all the support and loyalty!! Every vote, comment and fan has meant the world to me-- you are the reason I keep writing!! Join me on Facebook-- Kathleen Tighe Ball or Kathleen Ball Romance Author!!! cover by Vi_ZoMi***

This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and events are
fictitious in every regard. Any similarities to actual events and persons,
living or dead, is purely coincidental. Any trademarks, service marks,
product names, or named features are assumed to be the property of their
respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied
endorsement if any of these terms are used. Except for review purposes,
the reproduction of this book in whole or part, electronically or
mechanically, constitutes a copyright violation.

Copyright2011 by Kathleen Ball

Chapter 1

     Clint Maloney ran toward his screaming daughter faster than if the hounds of hell were on his trail. She tearfully pointed up into the tall white ash tree. He expected to rescue a stray cat but to his consternation, he saw Ryelee Snyder, his live-in nanny and housekeeper high up in the leafy tree.

     Frowning he looked up at her. The poor redheaded girl seemed to be stuck. Tears formed in her cornflower blue eyes. Clint shook his head. He seemed to be constantly saving Ryelee from one scrape after another. If it weren’t for the devotion she gave his daughter Rheenie, he’d have given her the heave ho long ago.

     “You’re not looking up my dress are you?” Ryelee asked.

     Clint wanted to laugh and roll his eyes. “Not something I’d like to view,” he mumbled.

     “What?”

     “I said I’m coming up after you.”

     Clint handed his black Stetson to his 4-year-old daughter, Rheenie and climbed the tree. He had enough work to do without constantly rescuing 20-year-old Ryelee. He couldn’t fathom why she climbed the tree in the first place. He climbed towards her branch by branch. Clint knew she wasn’t afraid of heights, he’d found her on his roof one day; trying to reach a Frisbee that Rheenie had thrown. Positioned just under her, he motioned to her to climb down.

     “I can’t,” she whispered. “My dress is stuck on the bark of tree and I can’t get it free.”

Ryelee looked to be holding on for dear life. The front of her faded blue dress had snagged on the bark of the tree. Clint shook his head. “Just rip it; it’s an old dress anyway.”

     Ryelee shook her head. “I can’t rip it. I need it,” she yelled.

     Clint cursed. “It’s only a dress for crying out loud!”

     Ryelee bit her bottom lip and looked away.

Clint climbed up the next branch glad it seemed sturdy since it held them both. Carefully, he reached around to where her dress was attached to the tree. It shocked him that he touched her breast. In fact, he hadn’t noticed that she had any, but he felt definitely more than a handful. Hearing her gasp, he ignored it. The sooner he got her out of the tree, the sooner he could get back to work. Carefully, he disentangled her dress.

     “Can you get down now or do you still need help?”

     “I can do it myself,” she told him, turning red.

     Carefully, they both climbed down. Clint immediately picked up his black haired, brown-eyed daughter. He gave her a reassuring squeeze. “Everything’s ok now, pumpkin,” he said as he rubbed noses with her. He put her down so she could hug Ryelee.

     Clint finally smiled as he watched the tall gangly redhead pick up his daughter. He could see the inseparable bond between them and he wasn’t quite sure that he approved.

     “Why were you in the tree in the first place?” he asked.

 “Rheenie climbed up in it,” she answered looking at the ground.

     Clint looked down at his daughter and frowned. Rheenie wore a leg brace and he couldn’t imagine her climbing a tree.

     “I climbed very very high like a birdie, Daddy,” Rheenie told him proudly.

     Clint shook his head. Ever since Ryelee had joined his family, Rheenie had become more daring. He wasn’t sure what to think about it. On one hand, he liked that she wasn’t sitting around due to her injury but on the other hand, he didn’t want her getting hurt.

     “No more tree climbing, young lady,” he admonished as he grabbed his Stetson from the ground. He slapped it against his jeans a few times and put it on his head. He looked at Ryelee again but she still looked away. She never looked at him.

Ryelee could still hear him grumbling as he stalked off to the barn. She had to be more careful. She couldn’t afford to lose this job. It was this or the streets. Clint’s boss Annie Dawson had given her the job here at Dawson’s Haven, when she had no other place to go. Her drunken father had thrown her away. She just needed to stay out of Clint’s way.

     If she could manage that, she’d be fine. Her work as housekeeper and nanny never came into question. She gave it her all. She didn’t know why but Clint wasn’t too fond of her.

     “Well sugar plum, I see Annie is rocking Seth on her back porch. Let’s go and say hi.”

     Rheenie quickly grasped Ryelee’s hand and practically dragged her along. Crossing the yard Rheenie quickly bent and grabbed a handful of Shasta daisies. “Aren’t these pretty Rye?”

     Ryelee looked down at Rheenie’s hopeful expression and nodded. “Beautiful.”

 She couldn’t help but notice how much Rheenie and Clint looked alike. They both had midnight black hair, tanned skin, and whiskey colored eyes, though Clint’s had specks of gold in his. Ryelee had never asked his age but she figured he was in his late twenties. 

     Annie Dawson smiled. “What was all the commotion in the tree?”

     Ryelee admired one-month-old Seth. He looked like a little angel. His sparse hair looked auburn like his mother’s. “I got stuck in the tree,” Ryelee explained.

     Annie’s green eyes twinkled as she turned to Rheenie who stared happily at Seth. “Were you in the tree too?”

     “You betcha!” Rheenie whispered, not wanting to disturb Seth. “Does he sleep all the time?”

     Annie laughed softly. “It seems that he likes to sleep all day and be up all night.” She quickly turned her head as she heard footsteps coming toward her. Annie smiled at her hunky husband, Burke.

     “Yeah and I got night duty last night.” He grinned as he placed a kiss on Annie’s check and rubbed Seth’s head with his large hand.

     Rheenie wrinkled her nose. “Maybe I should visit Seth at night.”

     “I don’t think your Daddy would like you out at night,” Annie said.

     “I guess,” Rheenie responded glumly.

     “Cheer up Princess, give Seth a few more months and I’m sure you’ll see him awake.”

     Rheenie’s dark eyes lit up. She loved it when Annie called her Princess. “I broughted you a present,” she said proudly as she handed the daisies to Annie.

     “Aren’t you the sweet one,” Annie praised as she accepted the flowers. “I will put these in my prettiest vase and we’ll enjoy them on the kitchen table.”

“I think we should think about nap time,” Ryelee said.

     Rheenie screwed up her face as in thought. “I think no.”

     Ryelee laughed as she led Rheenie toward their home. Home, it wasn’t where Ryelee would have thought she’d be. Clint’s house was brand new as were many of the buildings on Dawson’s Haven. The main house looked beautiful with a plantations style wraparound porch. Yellow and red roses lined the perimeter. The house stood sheltered on both sides by massive live oaks.

     Clint’s house might not have been nearly as grand but it was much nicer than any place she’d ever lived. It had two stories and plenty of room. Heck, the running water was a treat to her. Dirt poor is how she was raised. For now, she felt extremely grateful to have a roof over her head and food to eat. Fate smiled down on her when this job dropped in her lap.

     It hurt her feelings to know that Clint didn’t approve of her. She could see it in his eyes. She did her job. She took pride in how clean she kept his house and how well she took care of Rheenie. Both were a pleasure for her, especially Rheenie. She couldn’t help herself; she’d fallen in love with her immediately.

     Unfortunately, she’d become a bundle of nerves and in constant fear of losing her job. One misstep and she would be homeless. She had to be ever vigilant. She just wished she could control her impulsiveness that seemed to get her into so much trouble, especially with Clint.  

***

Ryelee had the table set. Clint told her that they would be having company. She labored trying to get everything just right. She loved that all of his dishes matched, his silverware too. Growing up poor with a hodge-podge of cups and plates and silverware, she felt excited to use a tablecloth and all the finery. She spent most of the afternoon cooking a roast with fingerling potatoes and homemade biscuits. She knew how to cook and this accomplishment pleased her.

     While the dinner cooked, Ryelee went to her room and brushed her curly red hair again and again hoping to make it look presentable. She didn’t have any clips or ribbons to help keep it neat, but it gleamed. Clint didn’t say who was coming and Ryelee felt nervous.

     She’d made sure that Rheenie looked her best in a pretty blue dress. The contrast between their clothes was pitiful. Ryelee’s dress looked faded and threadbare.

     While busily working in the kitchen Ryelee heard Rheenie yelling that their guest had arrived. She turned as she heard the door close. She wasn’t sure whom she’d expected but it certainly wasn’t Dottie Long. Ryelee’s smile faded quickly as she saw the other woman. A lump grew in her throat as she saw how nicely Dottie dressed. Then again, Dottie always looked nice with her designer clothes. She’d been a few grades ahead of Ryelee. Dottie always led the bullying, name calling and ostracizing of Ryelee. Ryelee finally dropped out of school. Dottie had made it too unbearable.

     “Dottie says she already knows you, Ryelee,” Clint said.

     Ryelee nodded her head. “Yes,” she responded woodenly turning back to her cooking.

     “Who else is joining us Clint?” Dottie asked looking at the place settings.

     “It’s just us.”

     “Surely, you don’t allow the help to eat with you! Clint that is definitely not done in polite society,” she counseled. She smiled at him as she took his arm. “You can’t allow your Rheenie to grow up with the wrong ideas.”

     Bending over to take the roast out of the oven, Ryelee’s face grew warm as she heard their conversation. They were talking as if she wasn’t even in the next room. It cut her to the core. Ryelee held her breath waiting for Clint’s response.

 “Ryelee, you need to take away one of these place settings,” he said from the doorway.

     Ryelee didn’t turn around she felt too ashamed. She simply nodded as she took the biscuits off the baking tray. Some things just never changed. She wasn’t the type of person that was invited to dinner; she was the type that cooked it and washed the dishes afterward.

     She heard Dottie laugh at something Clint said as they went into the family room, and the sound grated on her. She heard Clint introduce Rheenie as she removed her place setting from the table. Sadly, she gazed at the wildflowers in the center of the table. They’d found black-eyed Susans and mixed them with blue and pink Bachelors Buttons. Her heart beat faster as she grew more and more upset. Dottie was husband hunting, that much she knew. How she wanted to pull the fake blonde wig off her head. Her family had a lot of old money and Dottie always dressed to the nines, thinking herself better than anyone else. Ryelee knew what people thought mattered. She’d grown up with the title of the town drunk’s daughter.  

     Clint escorted both Dottie and Rheenie into the dining room. He pulled out their chairs for them and Rheenie looked enthralled.

“Where is my Rye?” she asked, starting to get out of her chair.

     “Sit down like a good young lady,” Dottie instructed. “You should know better at your age.”

     “I want my Rye Rye,” she insisted starting to get out of her chair again.

Hearing the whole conversation, Ryelee hurriedly appeared, holding a platter of roast beef.

     Ryelee quickly brought each dish out, hoping to retreat to the kitchen as soon as possible. She knew her face flamed with embarrassment. Finally, as she brought out the biscuits, Dottie decided to comment on her food.

     “The roast is dry and unseasoned. Look how lumpy this gravy is! The potatoes need fresh chives on them, it makes them so much better,” she said, giving Ryelee a mocking smile.

Clint frowned as Ryelee hurried from the room. The roast and gravy seemed perfect to him. He wasn’t a big fan of chives so he liked that Ryelee served the potatoes without them.

     “Really Clint, you can’t allow her to walk around so untidy. I know she grew up as trash but you have to maintain certain standards. Look she even brought weeds into the house and set them on the table. You may need to find someone else to take care of the child. You know I have your best interest at heart. The child doesn’t even know what good manners are!”

     Clint didn’t get a chance to respond.  

     Rheenie jumped down out of her chair and threw a biscuit at Dottie. Running up to her she kicked Dottie in the ankle with her tiny foot. Rheenie ran from the room crying out for Ryelee in a heartbroken voice.

     Clint started to get up to follow Rheenie, but he sat down when he heard the soft crooning of Ryelee’s voice. Rheenie had immediately quieted. He knew that she was in good hands.

     “That type of behavior is exactly what I’ve been talking about,” Dottie said as she laid her hand on his forearm, smiling sympathetically at him.

     “She’s fine now,” Clint replied.

     “She needs a firm hand. In fact, she deserves punishment for her behavior. A good old fashioned spanking is what she needs, not some coddling from a two-bit whore.”

     Clint looked at Dottie in surprise. He thought that he was doing a fine job of raising Rheenie. It’d been a hard road since his wife died, but he really thought that he had Rheenie in hand. He rubbed the back of his neck, making a mental note that his hair needed cutting. “I’m doing the best I can.”

     “Of course you are darling. The problem is that you aren’t with her all the time. I know that you are a wonderful father, but it is so obvious that Ryelee’s influence had been very detrimental. Did you know she dropped out of high school?”

     Clint shook his head. In fact, he didn’t know much about Ryelee. She was good with Rheenie, or so he thought. Now he wasn’t so sure.

     “What do you suggest?” he asked Dottie.

     Dottie preened. “Well, honestly I’d get rid of Ryelee. Trash is trash and no one is going to allow their child to be associated with Rheenie as long as she is under Ryelee’s care.”

     Clint felt shocked. It had never occurred to him that other kids would ostracize Rheenie because of Ryelee. His daughter had it hard enough always gawked at because of her leg brace.

     “I’ll have to mull it over for a while,” he told Dottie. “It’s going to break Rheenie’s heart.”

     Dottie leaned closer to Clint rubbing her breast against his arm. “I’m here for you, baby. I’ll take care of Rheenie. I’ve always wanted a daughter.”

     Dottie’s implication went right over Clint’s head. All he knew was that he had a major problem and Dottie offered to help.

***

Clint brooded for the next week, trying to make a decision. He could see the love between Rheenie and Ryelee. It worried him what firing Ryelee would do to Rheenie. She had already lost her mother just little over a year ago. They had lost their ranch due to medical bills. He had to admit that Dottie made a lot of sense. She seemed to have Rheenie’s well being at heart.

     Ryelee had many strikes against her. Her clothes were practically rags despite the fact that he paid her a good salary. Her hair was always wild. It seemed as though she didn’t even care about her appearance. She didn’t have a high school diploma and her background seemed the worst possible.

     He tried to make conversation with her, but she shied away like a frightened filly. She barely made eye contact with him and it made him uncomfortable. He knew she was a woman full grown, but she acted more Rheenie’s age than her own age.

     He wanted to talk to Annie about it but she was so busy with the new baby. He began to rely on Dottie’s counsel but he wasn’t sure if it was unbiased. He glanced at his watch and realized that he was late for his lunch date with Dottie. He planned to take her to the diner and she was sure to squawk if he arrived late.

***

     Driving into the town of Weltworth made Clint smile. He grew up in this quaint little town and it made him happy that he’d been able to raise Rheenie here as well. They drove by Penny’s General Store, Hal’s Hardware, and Wilt’s Hats and Spurs. All were places he’d frequented his whole life. He bought his first comic book at Penny’s and spent a lot of his youth dreaming of the day he could afford his first black Stetson at Wilt’s. Most of the stores had the original wooden facades that had aged over the years. The sidewalks were still made of wood and the main street was cobbled. They even a community garden where the townspeople grew vegetables and flowers. Pulling up to the town’s only diner Clint smiled at Dottie.

     Clint walked into the old-time diner with Dottie on his arm. He frowned when he didn’t get his usual friendly greeting from the older, saucy owner, Noreen. Usually Noreen acted overjoyed to see him.

     Noreen took one look at him, frowned, and turned away.

     He sat in a booth with Dottie and was surprised that Noreen didn’t immediately rush over with coffee. She always had in the past. Looking toward the diner counter it disturbed him to find Noreen actually glaring at him.

     Finally, Noreen made her way to their table. She greeted Clint but noticeably snubbed Dottie. “Hey cowboy, I think you’re in here with the wrong female. This one’s a barracuda.” Noreen gave Dottie a derisive look. “Where are Rheenie and Ryelee?”

     “Home,” he answered in confusion. “Is something wrong Noreen?”

     Noreen looked pointedly at Dottie, whose face turned redder by the minute. “Nothing wrong with you handsome, it’s the company you keep that stinks,” she said as she walked away trying to put her graying hair back into its bun.

     Clint’s jaw dropped open. Noreen had always been a champion for him and Rheenie. When his ranch fell into foreclosure, she helped him get his current job running the horse-breeding program on the Dawson ranch.

     He started to get up to talk to Noreen but he felt Dottie’s hand on his arm stopping him.

     “She doesn’t like me. Let’s just go somewhere else,” she said.

     Clint looked into her pleading eyes and smiled. “Let’s go,” he agreed as he stood up and took her hand. He led her out of the diner without looking at Noreen. He’d talk to her later, alone.

     Clint drove them both to his house. He really wanted to know the problem between Dottie and Noreen but he didn’t ask. Instead, he acted as though nothing happened and promised her that Ryelee would make them lunch.

     As they drove up the dirt road to his house, a most remarkable sight greeted him. In fact, he had to do a double take. Rheenie was dressed in her pink cowgirl outfit that Annie bought her and Ryelee had on a makeshift Indian headdress, giving her best war cry, while Rheenie screamed and pretended to shoot. Clint could see out of the corner of his eye that Dottie was horrified. Personally, Clint enjoyed the show. Rheenie’s eyes were bright and her cheeks were a healthy apple red. He could see her joy and it made him warm inside.

     Before he could stop her, Dottie got out of the truck, and stalked up to Ryelee with her hands on her hips.

     Clint stepped out of the truck and watched as Rheenie’s joy left her. He couldn’t hear all Dottie said but it wasn’t good. Cursing under his breath, he knew he had some damage control to do.

     Rheenie ran crying to Clint.

     Clint scooped her up and kissed her tears. “Hey,” he crooned. “It’s not so bad is it?”

     Rheenie hiccupped as she buried her head in his broad shoulder and cried. She was inconsolable and for the first time, Clint could not bring comfort to his daughter. He walked over to Ryelee, who looked deathly white and handed her his daughter. Rheenie quieted right away as she wrapped her arms around Ryelee’s neck.

     Ryelee carried Rheenie inside and up to her room.

     Clint took Dottie home, neither speaking. Later when he looked in on Rheenie, it touched him to find both Rheenie and Ryelee asleep together. He smiled as he pulled a quilt up over the two of them. He still didn’t know what to do, but he realized that he couldn’t take Ryelee away from Rheenie. She’d lost too much already.