Cade's Loss: California Cowboys 1 Read online

  Cade’s Loss

  California Cowboys 1

  Selena Laurence

  Golden Age Press

  Contents

  About Cade’s Loss

  Praise For Selena Laurence

  Books by Selena Laurence

  Author’s Note

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Special Excerpt of Vaughn’s Pride

  About the Author

  Copyright 2017 © Selena Laurence

  All Rights Reserved

  ISBN 978-0-9977188-6-7

  Copy Editing by LindaEdits.com

  Cover by Premade Ebook Covers

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, sorted in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner of this book. This contemporary romance is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents, are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners. This ebook is licensed for your personal use only. This book may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with.

  For permission to use any portion of this material, please contact the author at: [email protected]

  Created with Vellum

  About Cade’s Loss

  "A remarkable story about family, love, and letting go of the past." - Rach Lawrence Books.

  Cade Jenkins is a study in loss. At twenty-five he lost his parents, his dreams, and his career on the pro surfing circuit. He gained guardianship of his two younger brothers, responsibility for an entire ranch, and a life without love.

  Nina Cline is on the mend. Her cheating fiance is in the rear view, and she's concentrating on her job as an organic certification consultant. Now that she's gained her independence, Nina will never make the mistake of giving it away again. Especially to some anonymous hookup she meets at a beachside bar...no matter how good he looks in the water. Then she meets her newest Big Sur client and realizes that the beach bum that curled her toes is her new boss—and he thinks “organic” is a dirty word.

  As tensions, tempers, and chemistry reach a boiling point at the ranch, these two heartbroken souls will need to decide if they’re willing to take a chance again, or let the love of a lifetime slip away with the tide.

  Praise For Selena Laurence

  "Laurence’s tightly woven story is a superb mix of sexual and political tension that’s certain to please fans of both." — Publisher's Weekly review of THE KINGMAKER

  "Delicious and Intriguing." — Lauren Blakely, NYT Bestselling Author on A LUSH BETRAYAL

  “Selena Laurence has the ability to bring to life complex characters you instantly start rooting for from page one. Passion, humor, and a sexy hero all make for one read you don’t want to miss.” — Ilsa Madden-Mills, Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author on PLAYING WITH FIRE

  "I totally fell in love with Nico and Tess’s story." — Cindi Madden, USA TODAY Bestselling Author on THE HEIR

  "The plot is deftly written and readers will be totally engrossed in the story" — InD'Tale Magazine review of A LUSH BETRAYAL

  “Selena Laurence delivers on the promise of heat, and love with her sexy romances!” — Nana Malone, USA TODAY Bestselling Author

  Books by Selena Laurence

  The Lush Rockstar Series

  A Lush Betrayal (Lush 1)

  Loving a Lush (Lush 2)

  Lowdown and Lush (Lush 3)

  A Lush Reunion (Lush 4)

  The Rhapsody Rockstar Series

  A Lush Rhapsody (A Rhapsody Novel)

  Racing to Rhapsody (A Rhapsody Novel)

  Dreaming of Rhapsody (A Rhapsody Novella)

  Addicted to Rhapsody (A Rhapsody Novel) coming July 2017

  The Powerplay Series

  Prince of the Press (A Powerplay Novella)

  The Kingmaker (A Powerplay Novel)

  POTUS (A Powerplay Novel)

  SCOTUS (A Powerplay Novel) coming May, 2017

  The California Cowboys Series

  Cade’s Loss (California Cowboys One) coming February 2017

  Vaughn’s Pride (California Cowboys Two) coming June 2017

  Ty’s Heart (California Cowboys Three) coming September 2017

  Standalones

  The Heir: A Standalone Greek Billionaire Romance

  Pax (Lush the Next Gen)

  The Czar: A Standalone Hockey Billionaire Romance coming March, 2017

  The Hiding From Love Series

  Falling for Trouble

  Secrets in a Kiss

  Concealed by a Kiss

  Playing with Fire

  Author’s Note

  In the Summer of 2016 I attended the annual Romance Writer’s of America conference in San Diego, California. At the end of the conference my family joined me and we set off on a road trip up California’s famous Highway One, parts of which are referred to as the Pacific Coast Highway or the "PCH." This famous road travels through some of California’s most beautiful scenery, including the rugged coastline area of Big Sur.

  While we were driving along above the ocean in Big Sur, I noticed a sign on the inland side of the highway for a Cattle Ranch. For some reason it struck me as unusual that there would be a cattle ranch so close to the ocean. In my mind, cowboys on a ranch in Big Sur would be different than cowboys in places like Montana or Wyoming. It didn’t take my writer’s mind long to envision cowboys who surfed, and thus the California Cowboys were born.

  Because this is fiction, I created a small town called Big Sur, and stretched and massaged a few other details as well. We writers are notorious for taking a little artistic license.

  Happy Reading!

  1

  The water sluiced off Cade’s skin as he emerged from the salty ocean, dragging his surfboard behind him. It was early in the season, and the air was brisk, causing goose bumps to break out on his arms that weren’t covered by his wet suit.

  “Killer run, dude,” a teenage boy called from a few yards down where he was exiting the water with his own board.

  Cade gave the kid a chin lift to indicate he’d heard him.

  “Hey, aren’t you—”

  Aw fuck. He hated this part. Cade sighed long and slow, counting to three in his head. He couldn’t believe a kid that age even remembered him. It had been six years since he’d been on the pro circuit; this kid would have been in elementary school then.

  “Cade Jenkins,” he said. “Yeah, that’s me.”

  “Wicked,” the kid gushed, coming closer. “My old man got to see you in the Rip Curl Pro back in oh four. He still talks about it. Has old editions of Surfer magazine with you on the cover and everything.”

  Cade dredged up a smile and muttered, “Thanks, that’s great.”

  “Hey, would you
be willing to sign my board? I could take it home and give it to my dad. Then I’d get a new board and he’d get your signature. That’s a win-win.”

  Cade had to admire the kid’s entrepreneurial spirit, so he agreed, and after the kid harassed everyone on the beach until he came up with a Sharpie, Cade gave the battered board his John Hancock and sent the boy home to make his father’s night.

  The sun was getting low in the sky when he stripped out of his wet suit at the truck and donned an old Foster’s Ale T-shirt and a pair of board shorts. He’d parked the truck facing the water and the sunset and took great pains to keep his eyes on the ocean view and not on the rolling green land dotted with grazing cattle that lay across Highway One.

  After changing, he locked up the truck and made his way down the boardwalk to the Big Sur Inn, a 1950s hotel rehabbed to upscale vintage charm, with a bar that was fronted by a deep deck the width of the building, looking out over the ocean.

  “Hey, man, the usual?” the blocky bartender asked as Cade found his way to the outdoor bar.

  “Nah, I’m going to shake it up tonight. How about a couple of shots of Patrón?”

  The bartender chuckled before depositing three shots on the bar along with a glass of water. “Keep drinking that, man. You’re not used to the hard stuff,” he joked.

  Cade couldn’t help but feel it was an indication of just how old he really was when the bartender was prescribing water with his booze. But, the guy was right. Cade was a two-beer-at-a-time kind of man. He drank once or twice a week, almost always after his day surfing and sometimes after a long day at work. And those one or two days a week consisted of a couple of microbrews from one of the local breweries, or possibly a Mexican beer if it was especially hot outside. Beyond that? Yeah, Cade didn’t drink much.

  “I used to,” he told the bartender.

  “Yeah? I bet the celebrations on the circuit are pretty extreme.”

  Cade chuckled. “Well, there were a lot of nights I can’t remember, and a lot of mornings I’d rather not remember.”

  The bartender laughed with him and then got called away to the other end of the bar. Cade salted and licked his hand before throwing back the first shot and sucking on the lime. Then he turned to watch the sunset over the shifting gray waters of the Pacific Ocean. His heart ached as he watched the slow roll of the waves into shore, one after another, tops foaming as they curled under and caressed the sand.

  There was nothing that soothed Cade’s battered soul more than the ocean. He’d been that way as long as he could remember, spending every available moment at the beach, in the water, following his dad from wave to wave until he’d been better on a board than the old man. As he looked at the water now, he could almost see the outline of his dad’s form, riding the long tail of a wave midway out, sun on his hair that was the exact color of Cade’s, water spraying on his tan skin, weathered from the years of being outdoors. The familiar ache that was his companion so much of the last six years caught him like a hoof to the gut, and he swallowed, tasting the lime and tequila in the back of his throat as he blinked the painful image away.

  And that was when he saw her. She was leaning on the glass wall that ran along the edge of the deck, her blonde curls blowing in the light breeze that came off the water. She had on a sundress, white cotton, like a little girl’s, but it was backless, tiny straps running over her slim shoulders, and with the sun shining through it, the long skirt was nearly transparent. He could see enough to know that she was wearing thong underwear or none at all, and that her legs were long and lean, curved in all the right places.

  Before he could think about it, he’d snatched the other two shots off the bar and was walking toward her, drawn like a moth to a flame, ready to incinerate himself for only a moment of warmth. As he drew closer, he saw another man approaching from across the deck. He gave the guy a hard look, and the dude stepped off, hands up to communicate “no harm no foul.” Cade slid into position to her right and set the shots down on the railing.

  “Tequila?” he asked, turning to look at her profile. She had high cheekbones, and her skin was dark for a blonde, a beautiful golden shade that made her look like she’d walked off the pages of a swimsuit magazine. Her nose was straight and small, turning up ever so slightly on the end, but her lips were full, covered in some sort of peach shiny stuff that Cade thought might taste quite good if he could lick it off her.

  She turned to look at him when he spoke to her, and the breath was knocked clean out of him. Instead of the standard blue eyes that he’d expect from a blonde, hers were amber, almost glowing under the frame of thick black lashes. She blinked up at him, and Cade’s sore heart gave a jolt that nearly had him gasping.

  “I don’t generally take drinks from strange men in bars,” she said, her voice husky and rich.

  Cade cringed inside. Jesus. He was really out of practice at this. “And that would be a very smart choice,” he said, giving her an apologetic look. “The, uh, bartender gave me an extra, and I saw you standing over here and just thought…well, apparently I didn’t really think that much.”

  She smiled. “That’s okay. I understand, and I appreciate the gesture.”

  “Can I buy you something instead? Have the waitress serve it to you?”

  She gazed at him, seeming to size him up, and his heart beat out a tattoo that sounded an awful lot like say yes, say yes.

  “That would be fine,” she finally answered. Cade nearly turned to give a guy behind him a high five in celebration. But instead he gestured to a passing waitress he knew from high school, let his new friend order herself a drink, and then downed the other two shots before handing the glasses to Candace.

  “Hey, before you go, Candy, will you vouch for me to this lovely young woman?” he asked, deciding he could use every bit of help available to keep this girl talking to him.

  Candace smiled at him wickedly. “Vouch? For you?” Then she turned to the blonde, and Cade had a moment of regret.

  “This guy is the most—” She paused for effect. “Grumpy SOB in the whole town. But he’s as harmless as they come. He’s good people. His family’s been in Big Sur for three generations. Isn’t that right, Cade?”

  He nodded. “Yep. My granddad was the one who bought the family’s first piece of land.”

  “So, if he bores you, just holler,” Candace said to the blonde. “But he won’t hurt you, that’s for sure.”

  Cade rolled his eyes and yelled for Candy to get him a beer, while also regretting enlisting her help. After she walked away, the blonde smirked at him. “Boring and grumpy, huh?”

  “I took Candace to junior prom and forgot to bring her a corsage. She’s never forgiven me,” he said, flashing his biggest smile at her.

  “And your name is Cade?”

  “It is.” He leaned an elbow on the railing, facing her as he watched the fading sunlight turn her wavy hair into shades of crimson, gold, rose, and silver. “Are you going to tell me yours?”

  She smiled at him. “And ruin the mystery?”

  “Just first names,” he said, kind of liking the idea of a little mystery between them.

  She nodded as if that met her requirements. “Nina.”

  He picked up her hand and clasped it gently in his for a moment. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Nina.”

  She smiled at him, and his whole week slipped away—the stress, the frustrations, the heartache. And for a little slice in time, there was only Cade and Nina in the fading sunlight, listening to the roar of the ocean.

  “So your granddad bought land here?” she asked as they looked back out toward the water.

  “He did. I still live on it.”

  “That’s really nice. I’m from a country family. Owning a piece of land is a good thing.”

  Cade gave a small chuckle. If she only knew what “owning a piece of land” meant in his family. But he wasn’t about to enlighten her. That wasn’t a discussion for an ethereal girl watching a sunset.

  “I find land t
o mostly be an upkeep issue myself, but let’s not talk about real-life things. You must be on vacation since you’re at the Inn and I’ve never seen you around town before.”

  “Do you know everyone who lives in town?” she asked, turning to face him and evading his question at the same time.

  Candy came back with their drinks, and after Cade had a couple of sips from his beer, he answered, “If there’s someone in the town of Big Sur who I don’t know, I’d be surprised. Hazard of living somewhere your whole life.”

  Her tongue darted out to lick a bit of salt off the edge of her margarita glass, and Cade’s mind flew to fantasies of that tongue licking him the same way.

  “So you’ve never lived anywhere else?”

  “Well, it’s complicated. I went to LA for college for a bit, and then I spent a few years without a home.”

  Her eyes grew wide, sparkling with emotion. “You were homeless?” she gasped.

  He burst into laughter. “God, no.” He chuckled some more. “I’m sorry, it’s just…no. I wasn’t homeless, I was on the pro surf circuit, so all I did was travel for about five years.”

  “Ohhhh.” She blushed, and he tilted in toward her a bit, unable to resist the pull that was like gravity. “Well, that sounds much better. And really interesting. What was it like?”

  He turned his back to the railing and leaned against it, trying to sift through the images of those years, to distill them to something succinct and evocative.

  “It was like living in a frat house on wheels,” he answered, and she laughed, clean and bright, and it tugged at his heart, pulling on things that he didn’t even know were in there.