Horses, a sympathetic ear, or a good night’s sleep. Cole Woodruff, owner of the Lazy W Dude Ranch, supplies whatever his guests need. But when Jack Harmon arrives, Cole’s own desires clamor to be met. Should he risk the ranch to satisfy what might be nothing more than an itch? And even if Jack turns out to be that special man Cole’s yearned for, is it right to move forward when a vulnerable child is involved? Not long ago, Jack was awarded custody of his son Alex after the sudden death of the boy’s mother. Out on the road for all of his son’s life, what does he know about being a dad? Sleepless nights spent worrying have worn Jack to a raw nerve. Visiting the dude ranch with Alex, Jack delights in Cole's friendship. And the way Cole’s warm, wonderful voice is so soothing, it cradles Jack to sleep whenever they’re together. Jack aches to spend every night dreaming in the big cowboy's arms. But can a lullaby last forever? Or will the dream fade when morning comes?

Cowboy Lullaby

Fishing the phone from his pocket, he blinked the sleep out of his eyes and saw the call was from his boss, Dan Travers. Just what he needed. He considered ignoring it, but a tug of conscience made him answer. “Hello, Dan.”


“We have an emergency.” The man’s voice was shrill. “The Blackstone account—it’s about to disappear. That idiot Marcus managed to piss off the biggest account we have. Their production is stopped dead, and they’re furious. They’ve agreed to give us until the end of the day before they pull the plug. You’ve got to go calm everything down.”


“Yeah, yeah, I know. And I feel terrible about it. But you’re the only rep who’s near enough to pull our asses out of the fire.”


“I’m here with my son. I can’t just leave.”


“I get that, but you’re just a couple of hours away. You could be there before close of business, fix the problem, and be back before the kid’s bedtime.”


“No, I can’t.” Why couldn’t the man just let it go?


Chapter 9