Texas Outlaws: Cole Read online

  Criminally Hot!

  Cole Chisholm is a droolworthy bronc rider, and every inch the bad boy most mothers would warn their daughters about. Which means he’s exactly the guy Nicole Barbie needs.

  Nicole has carefully cultivated a rep of her own, but she’s not really the bad girl everyone thinks she is. Her mother is pushing her to continue in the tradition of the wild women in their family when all Nicole wants is to focus on becoming the best chef in fifty states. Fortunately, Cole is the perfect guy for creating a sinful sensation…or at least helping with the pretense of one.

  But once these two bad reputations get together, there’ll be more heat between the sheets than in all of Texas!

  Praise for USA TODAY bestselling author

  Kimberly Raye

  “Kimberly Raye’s A Body to Die For is fun and

  sexy, filled with sensual details, secrets and

  heartwarming characters—as well as humor

  in the most unexpected places.”

  —RT Book Reviews

  “Dead Sexy by Kimberly Raye

  is funny and exciting—with great sex,

  characters and plot twists.”

  —RT Book Reviews

  “Kimberly Raye has done a wonderful job of

  creating characters that are unique

  and imaginative!”

  —Romance Reviews Today on Dead and Dateless

  “A laugh-out-loud, sexy, heartwarming story

  and a wonderful heroine.”

  —RT Book Reviews on Drop Dead Gorgeous

  Dear Reader,

  It’s always hot in Texas, but it’s blazing-hot this month thanks to Cole Chisholm, the last of the notorious Chisholm brothers and the star of my newest novel, Texas Outlaws: Cole. Cole is a professional bronc rider and the sexiest bachelor on the professional rodeo circuit. He’s also the hottest commodity among the single women of Lost Gun, Texas, and so the race is on to see who can lasso him to the altar first.

  The lucky winner? Resident bad girl Nikki Barbie. Nikki comes from a long line of wild and wicked women—particularly a mother who thinks men are only good for one thing. The thing is, Nikki isn’t half as wild in the bedroom as she is in the kitchen. She wants to become a professional chef and she’s this close to making her dream come true. But when her sisters get married and she becomes her mother’s last great hope to continue the family’s risqué reputation, Nikki knows she has to get the woman off her back once and for all. The only way to do that? Tie the knot.

  When Nikki makes her proposition—a marriage of convenience followed by a quickie divorce—Cole agrees. It’s the perfect setup. That is, until things start to get complicated thanks to a lot of money from an old bank heist, an unexpected robbery and a bad case of lust.

  Sit back, relax and enjoy as Cole and Nikki do their best to recover the money, clear Cole’s good name and not fall in love!

  Much love from deep in the heart,

  Kimberly Raye

  P.S. Don’t forget to stop by and visit me on the web at www.kimberlyraye.com or friend me on Facebook. I love hearing from readers!

  Texas Outlaws:

  Cole

  Kimberly Raye

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  USA TODAY bestselling author Kimberly Raye started her first novel in high school and has been writing ever since. To date, she’s published more than fifty novels, two of them prestigious RITA® Award nominees. She’s also been nominated by RT Book Reviews for several Reviewer’s Choice Awards, as well as a career achievement award. Currently she is writing a romantic vampire mystery series for Ballantine Books that is in development with ABC for a television pilot. She also writes steamy contemporary reads for Harlequin’s Blaze line. Kim lives deep in the heart of the Texas Hill Country with her very own cowboy, Curt, and their young children. She’s an avid reader who loves Diet Dr Pepper, chocolate, Toby Keith, chocolate, alpha males (especially vampires) and chocolate. Kim also loves to hear from readers. You can visit her online at www.kimberlyraye.com.

  Books by Kimberly Raye

  HARLEQUIN BLAZE

  6—THE PLEASURE PRINCIPLE

  127—THE SEX SOLUTION

  131—THE FANTASY FACTOR

  191—TEXAS FEVER

  198—TEXAS FIRE

  233—TALL, TANNED & TEXAN

  264—BOYS OF SUMMER

  “The Sweet Spot”

  358—DEAD SEXY

  390—DROP DEAD GORGEOUS

  431—A BODY TO DIE FOR

  447—BLAZING BEDTIME STORIES

  “Once Upon a Bite”

  496—CODY

  551—THE BRADDOCK BOYS: BRENT

  627—THE BRADDOCK BOYS: TRAVIS

  690—THE BRADDOCK BOYS: COLTON

  780—TEXAS OUTLAWS: JESSE*

  784—TEXAS OUTLAWS: BILLY*

  *The Texas Outlaws

  For Debbie Villanueva Dimas,

  My long-time BFF

  and the best godmother in the entire world!

  You’re the best and we love you!

  Contents

  Prologue

  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 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Epilogue

  Excerpt

  Prologue

  “HERE’S THE LAST of it.” Cole Unger Chisholm stood in the four-foot-deep hole and pulled the small metal coffee can from the freshly turned dirt before handing it to his brother.

  “We don’t know that for sure.” Jesse Chisholm was the oldest Chisholm and the only reason Cole had spent nearly every night for the past three months digging up a storm. When he wasn’t busting his ass on the pro rodeo circuit, that is.

  At twenty-eight, Cole was pro rodeo’s reigning saddle-bronc star with a record-setting five championships under his belt. He was also the favorite to take home a sixth in just a few short weeks in Vegas.

  If he could finish up with this mess and get back to his normal practice schedule. As it was, he’d been spending every free moment in his hometown of Lost Gun, Texas, helping his two brothers dig up an entire fifty-acre pasture to find the money that their criminal father had stolen from a local bank over fifteen years ago. Before the old man had set himself on fire and gone up in a blaze of glory.

  They’d hit the mother lode approximately three months ago when Billy had unearthed a small metal box. They’d all been convinced they’d found the missing one hundred thousand dollars, until they’d counted the contents to find only a measly one thousand. Since then, they’d unearthed ninety-eight more containers—everything from a metal lock box, to rusted-out coffee cans, to a dozen shoe boxes—each containing exactly one grand.

  “This is the hundredth container,” Cole said, taking a swig from a water bottle. “This has to be it.”

  “Most likely,” Jesse agreed, but he wasn’t placing any bets, not until he went through the
contents.

  “Just count it so we can get out of here.” Cole took another swig before chucking the bottle to a nearby trash pile. “I’d like to get out of here sometime before my next rodeo.”

  “Tired, big brother?” Billy, Cole’s youngest brother, gave him a knowing glance. “Or are you just anxious to get back home so you can lick your wounds since Jake and Jimmy beat you to the punch and took the Barbie sisters off the market?”

  “There’s still one left.” Not that Cole had his sights set on sister number three. Nicole Barbie had been just a kid when they were growing up, a good six years younger than Cole, and so he’d never paid her no nevermind. Rather, he’d been fixated on her two older sisters. He’d dated them both off and on over the years. Nothing serious, but then the Barbie sisters didn’t do serious. They were the baddest bad girls in town.

  Once upon a time, that is.

  Until last month when his best buds Jimmy and Jake Barber had popped the question and the girls had actually said yes.

  Cole still couldn’t believe it. Out of all the women he knew, Crystal and April didn’t seem like the marrying type.

  And Cole Chisholm knew the marrying kind. Since both of his brothers had recently settled down, Cole was now the only single Chisholm left. He’d had a slew of women after him over the past few months, particularly since he’d been spending so much time hanging around Lost Gun, helping Billy and Jesse dig up the money.

  Susie Carlisle had baked him three dozen brownies and Jenny Farmer had brought him fresh canned preserves. Delilah Martin had even made her prize-winning meatloaf. And while Cole had nothing against a good hunk of meat, he was smart enough to know that enjoying even one bite would send the wrong message—namely that he was ready to slow down and settle down.

  Like hell.

  “Well? How much is there?” he asked Jesse.

  “Yeah,” Billy chimed in. He was the youngest Chisholm, and just as anxious to be done with the digging as Cole. Albeit for different reasons. Like Jesse who’d found the love of his life, Billy had recently traded in his bachelor status to play house with his one and only. Both men were set to tie the knot after the finals in Vegas. “What’s the verdict?”

  “Hold your horses.” Jesse peeled off bills one after the other. “I’m counting.”

  Cole leaned on the edge of the shovel and stared over the top of the hole at the pastureland surrounding them. It was just a few minutes shy of sunrise and a faint orange glow lit the horizon. They usually started digging late at night, under the cover of darkness, but it was Saturday. The Saturday, and so Jesse had said to hell with caution.

  Cole eyed the rutted ground. They’d tried to fill in the holes so as not to raise any red flags. The people of Lost Gun, along with a mess of fortune hunters, had been looking for Silas Chisholm’s missing fortune for years now. If word got out that his three sons had actually found the money, the place would be crawling with people.

  But Cole, Jesse and Billy intended to be the only ones to dig up their father’s past. Once they had every penny present and accounted for, they intended to give it back to the town and kill the rumors that had been circulating about them once and for all.

  That they’d been in on it. That they’d secretly been spending the cash over the years. That they were every bit as worthless as their father.

  They hadn’t even known about the money until a few months ago when Jesse had uncovered a connection between Silas and the town’s most notorious moonshiner. Unfortunately, Big Earl Jessup wasn’t the man he used to be. In his nineties now, his old-timer’s had set in. He could no longer whip up his infamous White Lightning moonshine any more than he could remember where he’d buried the money from the bank heist committed by his good friend and partner in crime, Silas Chisholm.

  The plan had been for Silas to hand off the money to Big Earl, who would then bury it until the fuss died down. Then they would both dig it back up at a later time and enjoy the spoils. But then Silas had set himself on fire and drawn a wave of media attention to their small Texas town. The story had attracted tons of reporters and earned a spot on a Discovery Channel documentary called Famous Texas Outlaws. Most recently, a “Where Are They Now?” episode had aired on the documentary’s tenth anniversary.

  Bottom line, Big Earl had sat on the money for so long that he’d eventually forgotten where he’d buried it all. And so Cole and his brothers, along with Big Earl’s great granddaughter, Casey, had been digging up the old man’s pasture for the past three months.

  “This is it,” Jesse announced, stashing the rolls of cash back inside the coffee can. “One hundred thousand dollars.”

  “Finally,” Cole muttered.

  While he was glad they’d recovered the money and he wanted to see the Chisholm name cleared, he wasn’t as haunted by it as his oldest brother. No, he’d killed himself shoveling dirt for Jesse. So that his oldest brother could make peace with the past.

  Cole wasn’t half as anxious to make peace as he was just to forget. To leave the memories where they belonged—way, way behind him—and focus on the future. His RV was packed and waiting back at the prime stretch of land he’d purchased on the outskirts of town. The perfect spot to breed some prime, Grade A horseflesh if he ever got the notion.

  A slim possibility because Cole liked moving around, traveling, living.

  He’d spent his entire childhood barely existing. Food had been in short supply. Money had been practically nonexistent. And love? He’d had his brothers, but Silas had been a piss-poor excuse for a father. There’d been too much misery, too many days spent feeling like he was being suffocated by his situation, snuffed out, beaten down. He’d been so close to giving up.

  But then legendary bull rider Pete Gunner had taken him and his brothers in and helped them become rodeo’s best and most notorious. Cole was now one of the infamous Lost Boys—the hottest group of riders on the circuit, so named because they all hailed from the same small town.

  For him, it was all about living life now rather than merely enduring it. About feeling the rush of adrenaline when he climbed onto the back of a bronc, smelling the fresh dirt that kicked up around him, hearing the thunder of his own heart, seeing the whites of his knuckles as he held tight to the reins and gave the ride everything he had.

  He felt alive then. Free.

  All the more reason to get back out on the road.

  “Move your ass.” Billy reached out a hand to Cole and helped him out of the hole. “We’ve got an hour to get back to town and get cleaned up before we head over to the church. Jimmy and Jake will kill us if we’re late.”

  Yep, he was leaving, all right.

  After he stuffed himself into a tuxedo and walked some blushing bridesmaid down the aisle.

  “I’ll put in a call to the sheriff and see if I can set up a meeting for tomorrow morning so we can get this money back to its rightful owner.” Jesse started gathering up their tools. “In the meantime, we’ve got a wedding to get to.”

  1

  IT WAS THE SECOND biggest wedding the small town of Lost Gun, Texas, had ever seen. Next in line only to the marriage of pro bull-riding legend Pete Gunner who’d married his one and only earlier that year.

  Nikki Barbie hadn’t been in attendance at that particular event because she’d been home nursing a bad case of strep.

  Thankfully.

  Weddings were definitely not her thing.

  The truth struck as she stood to the right of the minister of the Lost Gun First Baptist Church and listened to her two oldest sisters vow to “love, honor and cherish.”

  Crystal and April were marrying the Barber twins in a massive double-wedding ceremony, complete with a fairy-tale theme that translated in the form of castle-shaped sugar-cookie favors and a live butterfly release. Jimmy and Jake Barber were the hottest team ropers on the rodeo circuit
and members of the Lost Boys, which meant that in addition to the few hundred guests, there were at least a dozen reporters crowded inside the sanctuary. Snapping pictures. Documenting memories.

  This was definitely the worst day of her life.

  And not just because she was wearing a floor-length, pink satin dress, complete with parasol and matching sandals.

  Raylene Barbie—Nikki’s mother and owner of The Giddyup, Lost Gun’s oldest and most popular honky-tonk—was the culprit behind the tragic state of Nikki’s life. Raylene was a card-carrying, ball-busting Southern bad girl who would sooner guzzle a lukewarm beer than narrow down her options and give up her freedom to just one man.

  Not that she didn’t like men. Quite the opposite. She appreciated a good hunk of beefcake as much as the next red-blooded woman. More so, in fact. Raylene Barbie went through men faster than the members of the ladies’ auxiliary went through panty hose.

  Men were good for one thing, and it had nothing to do with any sort of happily ever after. They were fun. Exciting. And very, very temporary.

  Which explained why she sat in the front row and stared at her youngest daughter as if she were the last beer in the cooler at a Fourth of July picnic.

  Nikki was so screwed.

  She swallowed the bile that rose in her throat and tried to focus on the positive. At least her mother had shown up for the wedding, which had made Crystal and April two happy campers. The woman had been giving them both the silent treatment since they’d announced their engagement six weeks ago, and so there had been speculation about her putting in an appearance on the most important day in their lives. But she’d come through, even if only out of desperate hope that they would both back out at the last minute.

  Nikki drew a much-needed breath and tried to settle the gymnastics routine currently going on in her stomach. Sweat beaded on her upper lip. Her hands went damp and she had to readjust her grip on the heavy bridesmaid’s bouquet.

  Tulips, of all things. And baby’s breath. And while the entire thing looked sweet and delicate, that was the point entirely. The Barbie sisters didn’t do sweet and delicate. Crystal and April lived in hot-pink cowboy boots, itty-bitty tank tops and black leather miniskirts. They were bold. Beautiful. Bad.