A Cornerstone Ranch Christmas - Clean Cowboy Romance (PRE-ORDER AVAIL. 11/01/2026)(eBook)

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Chapter 1
Kate balanced the phone between her ear and her shoulder as she climbed out of her car. “I know your opinion on the matter, dad. And you know mine. We’ve been through this.” More times than she wanted to admit, actually. “I need to meet them.”
“They want nothing to do with us, Kate. How can I make that anymore clear. Those people dumped me when I was a baby and they never came looking.”
She rolled her eyes. “Those people? The people who gave you life are dead. Those people are his grandchildren. My cousins. Those people might not even know you exist.” Kate had mentioned her theory once already and her father had disliked that notion just as much as he probably hated it now.
By the way he went silent on the other end of the line, she knew he did.
“All the more reason to let ghosts lie, Kate. There’s nothing there for you.”
“You don’t know that.”
He sighed. It was a heavy one—the sort that made her stomach twist with guilt. He didn’t want anything to do with the family that was related to him by blood and all because his biological parents had put him up for adoption.
She had a sinking suspicion that he had been hurt more by realizing that they’d gone and had another child after him.
The truth was, neither of them knew the whole story and that was why she’d come.
“You should have never taken that genealogy test. I told you nothing but trouble would come from it.”
She wanted to laugh at his words. This was yet another one of his arguments and for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out why he was so against her learning about the only other people she could call family—at least by blood.
Her curiosity had won out and she’d caught a plane to Colt, Texas just so she could meet them.
Maybe she was a little crazy.
Kate glanced up at the house. It was large. Old. But it had been kept up nicely. She didn’t know much about her cousins besides their first names and how many there were.
Five.
She had five cousins.
Kate only knew their grandfather’s name from the research her father had done when he’d become an adult and went searching for his biological family. And she knew he’d had one other son. Beyond that, she didn’t know who she’d be meeting at this interview.
Was it crazy that she’d learned they were hiring someone for their ranch and she put in an application rather than meeting them the normal way?
Probably.
But it was the only way she could rationalize coming here without raising any red flags. Her father didn’t want anything to do with the Stone family.
“It’s going to be fine, dad. I’m going to have my interview. See what I can learn about them. Then I’ll be back home. No harm, no foul.”
“And if you want to get to know them better? What then?”
She sighed, closing her eyes briefly. There was the chance that might happen. She couldn’t promise it wouldn’t. “I don’t know. If that happens, then I’ll figure it out. Whether we want to admit it or not, they’re family.”
“They’re not,” he ground out. “Your family is with us. Your mom. Me. The people in your life who would do anything for you. That’s family. Those people? They’re strangers.”
Kate pinched the bridge of her nose and shut her eyes against the headache that always came with this argument. “My interview is in five minutes, dad. I don’t want to be late.”
He grumbled something away from the speaker.
“I’ll text you when the interview is over, okay?”
More muttering and then, “Be careful.”
“I will. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
She shut the door to her car with her hip after gathering her resume in hand and putting the phone in her back pocket. Then she turned around and nearly collided with a wall of blue linen. Her eyes lifted higher and higher until they landed on the most beautiful brown eyes framed by the longest lashes she’d ever seen.
Her skin heated with embarrassment and her throat went dry. The man’s face was shadowed by the brim of a weathered looking cowboy hat. He had his hands shoved in his pockets and his eyes were narrowed as they took her in. “Ma’am.”
She cleared her throat and nodded. “Good afternoon.”
“Is there something I can help you with?” His voice was low and gravely with a southern sort of twang that didn’t match with the accents she’d heard while in town. It made the hairs on the back of her neck lift on end. Flutters erupted in her chest and she couldn’t help but fidget beneath his scrutiny.
Kate gestured toward the house. “Is this where I go for an interview? I’m supposed to meet with Luke and Colt Stone in…” She glanced at the watch on her wrist. “Four minutes.”
Mr. Cowboy arched a single brow. “Cutting it close, aren’t you?”
She grinned. “I like to live life on the edge, don’t you?”
His expression didn’t change a bit. No smile. No acknowledgment that she’d even said a single thing.
Kate frowned then cleared her throat again. “So…”
He gave her a curt nod. “I’m sure they’re waiting for you. Just knock.”
“Will do…” she drawled. Kate made a move to get past him but he moved at the same time and blocked her. Narrowing her eyes, she waited for him to explain himself but of course he didn’t. “Excuse me.” She sidestepped him this time and shot him a look over her shoulder once she was a few feet away.
Mr. Grumpy Cowboy wasn’t paying her any attention. He was headed for the barn on the other side of the property. Sheesh. If everyone was like him, then maybe her father was right. She didn’t want to be here.
Then again, Grumpy Cowboy was definitely cute in a brooding sort of way.
Nope. She wasn’t even going to go there. Today, she had a purpose. She had a plan. And no amount of cute cowboy was going to get her of course.
Kate hustled toward the house and hurried up the steps toward the front door. She rapped her knuckles only once before the door swung open and a gorgeous woman with blue eyes and blonde hair stood before her. She had on a bright smile—one that made everyone in the vicinity feel welcome and loved.
“You must be Kate! Come in!”
Kate blinked with surprise, momentarily stunned. “Yes, I am.” It was the lamest thing she could have said. She shuffled forward, watching as the woman shut the door behind her.
“My name is Claire. Luke told me you were coming. I saw you though the window and thought I’d let you in so you didn’t have to wait for one of the guys to get the door. They’re just down there where the office is located.” She motioned toward a hallway. “First door on the left. Colt is there, too.” With that, she shooed Kate away.
Weird.
Kate shot her hostess one cautious look before she headed down the hallway. The door was ajar and she heard male voices speaking quietly. Not one to eavesdrop, she knocked on the door only for one of them to call out, “Come in.”
Slowly, she pushed the door open and then she froze. The man behind the desk was handsome. He had dark hair and hazel eyes. He looked nice and probably about her own age. There was nothing special about him that threw her off guard.
Nope, it was the other man who was seated in front of the desk. He’d turned to face her when she’d entered. And he bore a striking resemblance to her father. It was like seeing a younger version of the man she’d been raised by. Her eyes locked with his. He had dark hair too, scruff along his jaw, and a pair of blue eyes. He seemed relaxed and open.
“Kate Daniels?” The man behind the desk stood.
She dragged her attention from her father’s doppelganger and looked at the man holding out his hand. “Yes,” she murmured quietly, handing him her resume.
He stared down at the paper with confusion then chuckled as he placed it on the desk and held out his hand again.
That was when she’d realized her mistake. He’d wanted to shake her hand.
“I’m Luke,” he said, his voice warm and inviting. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting with you. Your resume is impressive.”
“It is?” She wanted to scoff. She barely had experience with horses. The last time she’d worked with them had been in high school. But she did none of that. She swallowed back her surprise and squared her shoulders. This was an interview. She had a part to play. “Thank you,” she said with more confidence than she felt. “I’ve been looking forward to this interview as well.”
Luke gestured toward the other man. “This is my brother, Colt. He’s involved with the finances for the most part. He’s joining us so we can decide what rate would work for both of us if you’re hired.”
She nodded. That made sense. It was impressive that they were thinking ahead. It was a good sign of their capabilities of running a business.
Just because they knew how to operate their ranch didn’t mean they were the kinds of people she’d want to include in her life.
Claire? She was the kind of person Kate could instantly like.
She let her focus shift over to Colt again and he flashed her a welcoming smile.
The interview was all business, but what did she expect? She couldn’t exactly drill them about their family. The only questions she could ask was regarding the position.
When they were done speaking, she rose, feeling like she hadn’t gotten nearly enough from them. Luke walked her toward the front door. “It really is a cool place to work. We’d have a place for you to stay onsite or you could find a place in town.”
She nodded. “It sounds like a lovely place. I’m very interested in the position.”
Was she?
Yes. She wanted to know more. She wanted to figure out why Robert Stone had given up his first-born son. She wanted to know if Luke and Colt or their brothers had known that they had an uncle. There was so much she wanted to figure out.
Luke turned to face her as he pulled the door open. He held out his hand to her. “We’ll be contacting you within the week with our decision.”
She took his hand and shook it firmly. “I’m looking forward to it.”
The second she got into her car, she dialed her friend.
“What’s up, girl. How did the interview go? Are you gonna go undercover an all that jazz?”
Kate glanced toward the house once more and a smile crept along her face. “I hope so.”
“That good, huh?” Tiffany laughed. “Any eligible bachelors I should know about?”
Kate’s thoughts shifted to Mr. Grumpy but then she shook off that thought as quickly as it came. “Don’t know. Looks like at least one of them is married. She seems nice.”
“Boo. I could use a strong man in my life. The guys at the office aren’t nearly interesting enough.”
Kate laughed. “Pretty sure you’ve dated every available guy in the office already.”
“Exactly. I need to broaden my horizons.”
She laughed again. “I’ll make sure you’re the first to know if there are any eligible bachelors worth picking up your life for.”
“You gonna be back for Thanksgiving?”
“Yeah. But if I get the job, they’ll have me start right after.”
Tiffany sighed. “Does that mean you’re not going to be here for Christmas?”
Pursing her lips to the side, Kate started her car. “I don’t know. I guess we’ll see.”

(Prequel) The Cowboy's Tattered Heart
1. The Cowboy's Second Chance
2. The Cowboy's Forbidden Love
3. The Cowboy's City Girl
4. The Cowboy's Love Bet
5. The Cowboy's Redemption

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