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    Come Hell or High Water: Stripped Down Cowboy Preqel, #2
    Come Hell or High Water: Stripped Down Cowboy Preqel, #2
    Come Hell or High Water: Stripped Down Cowboy Preqel, #2
    Ebook156 pages2 hours

    Come Hell or High Water: Stripped Down Cowboy Preqel, #2

    By Sabrina York

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    About this ebook

    Back in her hometown on the heels of a nasty divorce, Lisa Binder is looking for a quiet place to curl up and lick her wounds. The last thing she wants is a man--she's been hurt too many times by the faithless breed. But then Cade Silver steps through the flames, into her life and into her bed, and she begins to question her resolve to spend the rest of her life as a single cat lady. The tall, handsome cowboy/fireman--an Eagle Scout and military vet--seems to be the kind of man she's always craved, and he seems to be fascinated with her as well. But can she trust him not to break her heart?

    Cade has been a little in love with Lisa since high school, but when she started dating his much more charming and handsome brother, he was devastated. He left town and joined the Marines to avoid the torment of seeing the two of them together. Now, years later, he's traveled the globe, survived multiple disasters and experienced loss. He is a man who knows what he wants and is willing to fight for it. And he wants Lisa. Now that life has given him a second chance to win her heart, he's determined to prove to her he can be the hero she desires...come hell or high water.

    4 Flames

    Read all the Stripped Down Cowboys:

    PREQUELS

    The Real McCoy
    Come Hell or High Water
    Protect and Serve

    NOVELS

    Stud For Hire
    Cowboy to Command
    Spurred On

    Read all the Stripped Down Cowboys:

    PREQUELS

    The Real McCoy
    Come Hell or High Water
    Protect and Serve

    NOVELS

    Stud For Hire
    Cowboy to Command
    Spurred On

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSabrina York
    Release dateOct 22, 2016
    ISBN9781941497159
    Come Hell or High Water: Stripped Down Cowboy Preqel, #2
    Author

    Sabrina York

    Sabrina York is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of more than twenty hot, humorous written works, including Hannah and the Highlander. Her stories range from sweet and sexy to scorching romance.

    Read more from Sabrina York

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      Book preview

      Come Hell or High Water - Sabrina York

      Come Hell or High Water

      By Sabrina York

      Back in her hometown on the heels of a nasty divorce, Lisa Binder is looking for a quiet place to curl up and lick her wounds. The last thing she wants is a man—she’s been hurt too many times by the faithless breed. But then Cade Silver steps through the flames, into her life and into her bed, and she begins to question her resolve to spend the rest of her life as a single cat lady.  The tall, handsome cowboy/fireman—an Eagle Scout and military vet—seems to be the kind of man she’s always craved, and he seems to be fascinated with her as well. But can she trust him not to break her heart?

      Cade has been a little in love with Lisa since high school, but when she started dating his much more charming and handsome brother, he was devastated. He left town and joined the Marines to avoid the torment of seeing the two of them together. Now, years later, he’s traveled the globe, survived multiple disasters and experienced loss. He is a man who knows what he wants and is willing to fight for it. And he wants Lisa. Now that life has given him a second chance to win her heart, he’s determined to prove to her he can be the hero she desires...come hell or high water.

      Chapter One

      It was a good goddamn thing he’d put the truck in park and set the brake before he saw her, or else he might have gunned the engine and slammed through the plate-glass window of Sweet Sally’s Five and Dime.

      Of all the people in the world, Lisa Binder was the last one Cade Silver expected, hoped, wanted to see strolling down the main street of Snake Gully.

      Because hell, he’d thought he’d forgotten her. Wiped every vestige of her from his mind.

      Apparently he hadn’t.

      He tightened his hold on the steering wheel and tried to calm his pattering heart. He was a grown man. A veteran of brutal tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Something of a badass in his own mind. His heart should, of all things, not fucking patter.

      He didn’t like it. Didn’t like it at all. It made him feel the way he’d felt in high school, when he’d been that gawky, awkward, stuttering kid with a paralyzing crush on the prettiest girl in school—the girl who was dating his brother.

      He wasn’t that kid anymore.

      He was an experienced man of the world.

      He was.

      But an experienced man of the world wouldn’t have ducked down beneath the dash when she passed—to avoid catching her attention. Wouldn’t have pretended there was something fascinating in the footwell on the passenger side. Wouldn’t have peeped up to make sure the coast was clear. Wouldn’t have gusted a sigh of relief—or regret—that it was.

      Because damn.

      She was gone. Again.

      It had taken only a glimpse to tip his world on its end. It wasn’t fair that a mere glance at her could do this to him. Not now. Not after all these years.

      The last time he’d seen her had been at the spring dance his senior year, before he’d enlisted. She’d been in his brother’s arms, gazing up at Cody with an adoring expression as they twirled through the shimmering lights showering the auditorium. The sight had been too painful to bear.

      He’d had to turn away.

      He’d had to leave.

      Oh, he got why he couldn’t have her. He got why she would pick his brother over him—what girl wouldn’t? But he hadn’t needed to stay. He hadn’t wanted to see it.

      And so he hadn’t.

      He’d turned around and kept on going. He’d enlisted in the marines and hadn’t come back to Snake Gully for years. Even though she and Cody broke up that long-ago summer. Even though she’d moved away.

      Now he was back.

      And so, apparently, was she.

      And damn, but she was still as beautiful. Her skin as clear. Her features as exquisite. She was slimmer than she’d been in high school, but her curves still packed a punch. Her hair was a rumpled welter of curls that tempted a man to sink his fingers in and hold her still for a kiss. And her lips... Ah, there was that. Perfectly formed in a seductive moue with a tantalizing Cupid’s bow arch.

      It hardly mattered, he reminded himself as he grabbed his jacket and levered out of the truck. Even though he wasn’t the stupid dork he’d been all those years ago, he still wasn’t the man for her and he never would be.

      Lisa was married now. It behooved him to remember that. He’d been deployed when he learned of her marriage to Guy Christie, some hotshot Dallas lawyer. The news had ravaged him.

      She lived the high life, jet-setting around the world and doing charity events that occasionally made the news—even out here in the boonies. And Cade was a wounded vet who co-owned a struggling ranch on the outskirts of the Podunkiest town in Texas. They didn’t even live in the same universe anymore. He kind of doubted they ever had.

      But at least she hadn’t married Cody.

      That would have fucking killed him.

      Not just because Cody always seemed to have everything come to him so easily, or because he was able to turn every woman’s head. Or because he was by far the better looking of the two of them.

      If Lisa had married his brother, Cade wouldn’t have ever come home. It would have been too hard to see the two of them together. Like that.

      Thrusting all thoughts of Lisa from his mind, he pushed through the door of the Five and Dime to the familiar tinkle of the bell and waved at Sweet Sally, who was helping Mabel Ostrom pick out a hemorrhoid cream. The conversation between the two elderly women made him shudder, but that was the beauty of living in a small town, he supposed. Everyone knew, with no doubts whatsoever, exactly who had hemorrhoids.

      How you doing, Cade? Little Willie asked as Cade passed the counter. Little Willie wasn’t little, but he had been once. In a town like Snake Gully, it was hard to shake off the past. Prickly things like nicknames tended to cling.

      Doing fine, Willie, he called as he headed for the chips and dip; it was his turn to provide the snacks for the quarterly training of the volunteer fire department. For the first time in months, he had a weekend off and he was looking forward to hanging out with his buddies at the firehouse. While he split his time between the ranch and his volunteer firefighting, he knew which one he enjoyed more. Especially now that the Double S had turned into such a zoo. He collected what he needed and headed back to the counter.

      How’s business at the ranch?

      God. Cade hated the lurid warble in Willie’s voice. It hadn’t been his idea to turn their father’s dream into a part-time strip club. His brother Cody had been the genius behind the venture of bussing in strippers and horny housewives on the weekends. To Cody’s credit, those parties had saved the ranch. Tattered their reputation in a conservative town, but saved the ranch.

      Things are great, Willie, Cade said as he dropped his items on the counter.

      I’ll bet they are. Big, bushy brows waggled. He leaned in, so Sally couldn’t hear him hiss, I bet you get laid all the time, all those wild city girls crawling all over the place.

      Cade didn’t have the heart to tell him their customers weren’t only from Dallas. More than one local girl had come to visit the Stud Ranch—but he would never reveal their names. They’d all sworn him to secrecy. And in his mind, customers were customers. They certainly weren’t there to tangle with him, not when they could rub up against a handsome, muscled dancer...who didn’t have any visible scars. But Willie was looking at him hopefully, so he forced a smile and said, How much do I owe you?

      Judging from his expression, Willie took the evasion as a confession and chuckled as he rang up and bagged the items. Which was just fine. No one needed to know the truth about Cade’s love life.

      Hell, even Cade didn’t want to think about it.

      It felt like escape as he stepped out onto the street. He stowed the snacks in his truck and headed for Bubba’s Bar and Grill, where he was meeting his friend, Ford, for a drink before joining the guys at the station.

      As he stepped into the B&G, it took a minute for his eyes to adjust to the dimness. It was only Friday afternoon, but the bar side of the establishment was already humming. Several of the tables were full and most of the stools. A couple of games were underway at the billiards tables in the back. Almost all the patrons wore worn Stetsons and dusty boots. Many of them lifted a hand in greeting.

      Everyone knew your name in Snake Gully. Of course, they knew your history too. And your shoe size. And probably which magazines you subscribed to. But after years away, living his life in military anonymity, nothing more than another pair of boots on the ground, Cade found he really enjoyed the sense of community, connectedness.

      He spotted Ford at a table in the back and winced.

      Damn. Cody was with him.

      Normally, that wouldn’t faze him. Cade and his brother got along...most of the time—they damn well better, since they shared a house. But today, after seeing Lisa, he was a little raw. He thought about slinking away and going straight to the firehouse but Cody saw him and waved.

      Too late.

      Cade set his teeth, fixed a smile on his face and headed over.

      Ford and their buddy Wayne were engaged in an animated discussion about the pros and cons of a new baler but greeted him with nods. As he took his seat, Cody nudged him with an elbow. Hey, we’re hosting a poker game tonight. Our place.

      Cade poured himself a beer from the pitcher. Ah... I’m not coming home tonight.

      What do you mean? Don’t you want to play poker with us? Cody said.

      Cade ignored his brother’s frown and lifted his beer to his lips. Not tonight, he said. I got plans.

      The chatter at the table descended into silence. The crack of balls from the pool tables twined with the Blake Shelton twang on the jukebox.

      Cade realized they were all gaping at him, waiting for him to elaborate. He let them gape.

      Cody was the first to break. His brother leaned forward and pinned Cade with what was probably supposed to be

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