All Hat No Cattle: A Red Hot and BOOM! Story by Randi Alexander

Chapter One
    Harper Johansen backed into the last diagonal parking spot on Main
Street in Belle Fourche, South Dakota. She jumped out of her
company car just as the cattle drive started, and leaned against
the front bumper, watching the longhorns plod toward her. Cowboys
and cowgirls rode horses along each side of the sauntering cattle,
close enough for Harper to touch.
    And she had a need to touch. She wanted a
genuine cowboy so bad, she almost ached. This was Wednesday, the
first day of the four-day rodeo, so she had through Saturday to
look for one. There had to be at least one man in town who’d fit
her requirements.
    Straightening to her full five-foot, two
inches, she fluffed her shoulder-length red hair and tugged her
T-shirt down. Cocking her jeans-shorts-clad hip toward one of the
younger, sexier horsemen, she gave him the look . He grinned
at her but lifted the reins in his left hand, showing her his
wedding ring.
    Taken. All the cowboys who matched her idea
of perfection were either taken or far too young. Not that she was
old at thirty, but she did have an age limit. Rodeo cowboys were
usually way beneath her minimum requirement, but she still got
enough propositions from them to fill an arena.
    After the short parade passed, she headed to
the sidewalk, flip-flops flapping, and opened her trunk. She lifted
out the box of free samples she had been giving away at every one
of the twenty rodeo towns on her summer tour this year. This
afternoon’s samples were alcohol-free, but tonight at the rodeo,
she’d be gifting her company’s best fermented beverages. Harper set
the box on the bumper, balancing it with one hand while she reached
up to grab the trunk hood.
    Two strong arms reached over and grabbed the
teetering box, lifting it out of her way. Attached to the arms was
a hunk of a man in a cowboy hat. His plaid shirtsleeves were rolled
up over tan, muscled forearms and the top buttons on the shirt were
open, revealing a few brown curls. His big brown eyes shone against
his tan, strong-jawed face. “Ma’am. Can I help?”
    Despite having promised herself there’d be no
more men unless she verified they were the real thing—cowboys seven
days a week—she smiled. “Thank you.” She shut the trunk and patted
the top of it. “Here is fine.”
    He leaned over and set the box carefully on
the trunk and backed away a step.
    His clean soap and pine scent turned
everything deep inside her all warm and gooey.
    “You’re selling those?” He tucked his fingers
into his front pockets.
    She pulled out a red can of cola and offered
it to him. “Free samples. I work for the company.”
    He nodded and accepted it from her. “Thanks.
One of my favorites.” His voice was deep and slow, just like she
imagined her perfect cowboy’s would be.
    “Are you...in the rodeo?” He looked a little
older than most. Maybe twenty-five.
    “No. Just came into town to watch it.” He
looked at her box of cans then back into her eyes. “Will you be at
the rodeo tonight?”
    She nodded. “Section C, Row 5.”
    People wandered by, slowing to look at her
box of cans. Pasting on her professional smile, she handed out
samples. She struggled for the right words to ask the helpful stud
if he was a ranch worker or a stockman or what his cowboy status
was. Her inability to formulate a question probably meant it was
far too soon to start vetting him.
    “I’ll look for you, ma’am.” With a sexy grin,
he touched his hat brim and walked away.
    Harper stared at the gorgeous sight. Wide
shoulders, narrow hips, sweet ass, and long legs in faded denim.
Her mouth watered for a bite of those round cheeks. “Yummy.”
    “What?” An older woman frowned at her as she
took her free sample.
    “Yummy...cola. It’s wonderfully refreshing,
too.” She focused on handing out the cans and when she looked
again, he was gone from sight. When her box was empty, she drove
the few blocks back to her hotel room. It was the best inn in town,
but after