Holt Men of Clifton, Montana Book 12 Read online

  HOLT

  Susan Fisher-Davis

  Men of Clifton, Montana

  Book 12

  Erotic Romance

  Holt Men of Clifton, Montana Book 12

  Copyright © 2020 Susan Fisher-Davis

  First E-book Publication: December 2020

  Cover Model: Tommy Voorhis

  Photographer: David Bair

  Cover design by Amy Valentini

  All cover art copyright © 2020 by Susan Davis

  Editing by Romancing Editorially

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER: Blue Whiskey Publishing

  www.susanfisherdavisauthor.com

  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  DEDICATION

  This book is in memory of David Bair, who passed away January 9, 2019. David and I had spoken several times about me using this photo on a cover. I’m just sorry that he missed seeing it come to fruition. He was a wonderful, talented man and so very kind.

  You are missed, David.

  Acknowledgements

  To my betas, Toby, Renee, Alison, and Ginny—you ladies are the best and I love all of you.

  To my husband, Rob—you are my cowboy.

  To Amy Valentini, the best editor an author could have. You have taught me so much. You crack that whip and I appreciate your honesty and input. I’m honored to not only have you for my editor but to call you my friend.

  To Tommy Voorhis for being the cover model. Tommy is a farrier and trains horses and dogs. You can find Tommy on Instagram: @tjvoorhis

  To Sherri Bair for giving me permission to use the photo. I appreciate it more than you could possibly know.

  To the ladies in my Facebook group: Susan’s Hot Cowboys—you make it fun.

  As always to you, my readers, I wouldn’t be able to do this without you. I love each and every one of you and I appreciate your support. Remember when I said I was retiring? We all see how that went, but I love writing these stories for you. I’m going to keep going as long as you ask for more. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

  Chapter One

  The heat blew through the vents of the truck as Holt James reached over to turn the volume up on the stereo and started tapping his fingers on the steering wheel when God’s Country by Blake Shelton began playing. As he rounded a curve, a car came at him too close to the centerline. He blew the horn and he saw the driver jerk the car to the right then end up in the ditch. Pulling over as close to the guardrail as he could, he tugged his gloves on, threw the door open, then ran across the road to the vehicle. He tapped on the window, but the woman had her head against the steering wheel. At least, he thought it was a woman. It could be a man with long hair. He watched as they lifted their head and turned to look at him. Nope. Not a man, but rather a breathtakingly beautiful woman looked up at him and blinked her gorgeous emerald green eyes several times.

  “Are you all right?” he asked through the glass.

  She lifted her hand to her forehead and winced when she touched the goose egg forming there. The large bump was already beginning to turn purple.

  “Ma’am? Are you all right?” He reached to open the door, but it was locked.

  He blew out a breath and pulled his cellphone from his pocket and dialed nine-one-one and reported the accident.

  She lowered the window, leaned her head on the door then slowly raised it to look at him. “Don’t call an ambulance, I’m fine. I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

  “No, ma’am. I blew the horn since you were close to the centerline and I guess I scared you. I apologize for that.”

  “No need. I should have been watching better. I’ve never driven on this road, and it’s damn scary.” She opened the door but stayed seated.

  “Yes, ma’am, it is. Do you want to get out or just sit here for a little bit?”

  “Just give me a minute here and then I can go.”

  “You’re not going anywhere. Your car is in the ditch, and it’s going to take a tow truck to get it out. Especially with all the snow.”

  “Damn it,” she muttered.

  He squatted down alongside the open door. “What’s your name?”

  “Sloane…Gates. Yours?”

  “Holt James. It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Gates. Is there anyone you need to call?”

  “My head hurts.” She held her head in her hand.

  “You probably hit it pretty hard on that steering wheel, if going by that lump.”

  She leaned her head back against the seat rest and closed her eyes. Holt couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was simply exquisite with her black hair, those emerald green eyes, and clear porcelain skin. There was something familiar about her. Her lips were a perfect Cupid’s bow, and he had the absurd desire to kiss her. Hell, she could be married. He glanced at her left hand and no rings were on her fingers. He straightened up when he heard sirens in the distance then an ambulance, and the sheriff’s SUV came into view then pulled to a stop on the road alongside her vehicle.

  Holt turned to walk to meet the EMTs when he saw the sheriff striding toward him. The man stopped in his tracks.

  “Holt?” Grayson Beckett tilted his head as he stared at him.

  “How are you, Gray?” Holt grinned and held his hand out, which Gray took. “Why are you doing this accident?”

  “You’re in Hartland County.” Gray jerked his chin to the sign.

  “Hartland County?” Holt glanced around and saw the Clifton County sign a few more feet up the road. “Hell, I thought I passed into Clifton. I just had lunch with a client at the Hartland Restaurant.”

  “How’s the driver?” Gray asked as he glanced in the direction of the car in the ditch.

  “She has a nasty bump on her head but seems coherent.”

  “Good. Now, tell me about this.”

  Holt explained what happened and watched as Gray wrote it down then nodded. When Gray headed for the woman in the car, he followed behind. The EMTs were checking her out, and he could see she was in pain. Her face was pale and her hands were shaking. They placed a brace around her neck then the stretcher was pulled up close to the door but when they tried to help her out, she shook her head and vomited. Holt knew that was one of the signs of a concussion. She must have hit her head hard on that steering wheel even though the airbag had deployed.

  Shaking his head, he blamed himself. Striding over to her, he squatted down again and took her hand in his. She looked at him with glassy eyes.

  “You might have a concussion. Just take it slow and let them get you on the stretcher. Okay? Is there someone the sheriff can call for you?”

  “One of my cousins, I suppose. I was looking for the diner they worked in and got lost.”

  It suddenly dawned on him why she looked so familiar and he should have realized it when she’d said her last name.

  “Are your cousins Deidra, Lanie, and Rissa?”

  “Yes.”

  “You were definitely going the wrong way for the Clifton diner,” Gray said. “But we’ll let someone at the diner
know what’s happened.”

  Holt stood then moved out of the way for the EMTs. He and Gray turned to watch as the woman was placed on the stretcher. She put her hand on her forehead and moaned. Hell, he shouldn’t have laid on the damn horn. He knew he had scared her, and that was why she jerked the car to the right and ended up in the ditch.

  “They’ll transport her to Clifton Memorial since it’s closer. I’ll call Preston, let him know what’s happened, and see if he minds if her car is towed to his place, if there’s not much damage then she can get in touch with her insurance company later.” Gray stuck out his hand.

  “You know Preston won’t mind.” Holt shook his hand then watched as the ambulance left with Gray following it and was about to cross the road to his truck when a tow truck pulled up past the car and stopped. The driver’s door opened, and the driver jumped down and walked toward the car but looked his way and stopped.

  “Hey, Holt,” Chuck Sampson called out to him.

  “Chuck.” He nodded his head at him. “If you could take the car to Preston’s ranch. I think Gray was going to call him.” Preston Mitchell was a good friend of Holt’s, and he knew he’d let them tow Sloane’s car there, especially since she was related to Deidra, Preston’s fiancée.

  “All right. I’ll call Gray once I get it loaded.”

  “Thanks. I’ll be going then.” Holt touched the brim of his hat, jogged across the road, climbed into his truck then headed to town.

  He hoped Sloane was going to be all right. She seemed to have a concussion. He’d had those before, and they weren’t fun. Headaches for days. He’d had a severe concussion last year when a horse kicked him. His head had hurt so bad, he was ready to shoot that beast but he knew it wasn’t the horse’s fault. It was just his instinct to fight when the men tried to rope him and get him into the barn so he could be broken.

  Driving into town, he headed for the Feed Store to pick up some extra oats for his horses. Most of the time, he had Beckett Feed delivered but it never hurt to have extra on hand. He raised Morgans. The main distinctiveness wasn’t connected to their physical appearance, as much as it was all about their temperament. They showed deep loyalty and affection to their handlers. The average price for a Morgan was around two thousand dollars, and he sold quite a lot of them, so financially he did well.

  As he pulled into the parking lot, he saw it was packed, as per usual on a Saturday. He backed his truck up to the dock then quickly made his way inside to get out of the cold. Several people waved to him as he entered the store and headed for the counter.

  After placing his order, he strolled around the store, just browsing, when he heard someone say his name, and he turned to see Boone Evans striding toward him. Holt stuck his hand out to his friend.

  “Hey, Boone.”

  “Holt, how are you doing? I haven’t seen you for a while.”

  “Been busy on the ranch. How about you?”

  “I’m just waiting for the temperatures to get above forty so I can plant. Can’t grow barley in the Montana winters.” Boone grinned.

  “I’m happy to hear you decided to go see Ash.”

  “Hell, if it hadn’t been for Preston suggesting it, I definitely would’ve lost the ranch.”

  Holt nodded, understanding well the position his friend had been in. “We’ve all needed help at one time or another. I know it would have about killed you to lose that place.”

  “Yes. It happens too much nowadays. Listen, I need to pick up some new tack, so I’ll talk to you soon, Holt. It was good seeing you.” Boone stuck his hand out, and Holt shook it again.

  After bidding him farewell, he watched as Boone made his way through the store. Damn, he was happy that Boone hadn’t lost his ranch, and had gone to see Ash. That ranch of his had been in his family for generations. But it was the norm nowadays for farmers and ranchers to lose what took generations to build. He was just lucky that people still liked buying horses and Morgans, at that. From what he had in the bank, he could quit selling horses and retire, but he loved working with the animals and making sure they got good homes.

  His name was called over the PA to let him know his feed was loaded, so Holt strolled out the door to his truck, and after waving at the men standing on the dock, he climbed in then headed home. As he drove home, his thoughts went to Sloane Gates and he hoped she was all right. He still felt bad about honking at her and causing her to veer off the road into the ditch.

  ****

  Sloane blinked her eyes against the bright lights and tried to sit up, but pain ripped through her head. She touched her forehead and groaned at the goose egg there. Damn, she’d hit her head hard on that steering wheel, and her seatbelt hadn’t stopped her momentum very well. She didn’t understand why the airbag hadn’t helped either.

  “Sloane?”

  Turning her head slowly to avoid pain, she looked to see her cousin, Deidra, standing beside the bed.

  “Hi, Deidra.”

  “How do you feel?”

  “Like someone hit me with a baseball bat,” Sloane said with a weak smile.

  “You scared us to death. When Sheriff Beckett called and said you were involved in an accident, we got here as fast as we could.”

  “We?”

  “Yeah, Lanie and Rissa are here too. They went down to the cafeteria to get coffee.”

  “You all didn’t need to come here.”

  “Of course, we did.” Deidra touched her hand, making tears well up in her eyes.

  “I’ll be fine. I got lost somehow, and that damn road is an accident waiting to happen.”

  “There have been so many wrecks on it. A lot of people have lost their lives, but neither county will change it. Sheriff Garrett has been trying for years.”

  “I thought you said it was Sheriff Beckett?” Sloane frowned.

  “Copper Ridge runs through two counties. You had your accident on the Hartland County side. That’s Sheriff Beckett. Clifton County is Sheriff Garrett.”

  “God, you’re confusing me,” Sloane said, laughing.

  Deidra laughed with her.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to do that. We don’t want your brain working too hard until you’re better,” Deidra said.

  “That’s the truth,” her doctor said as she entered the room. She smiled at Sloane as she moved closer to the bed. “How are you feeling?”

  “I have a headache, but I guess that should be expected.”

  “You hit your forehead pretty hard. The sheriff said he thought maybe you lost consciousness. Do you know if you did?”

  “I don’t know. It’s possible. I remember jerking the car to the right, hitting the ditch, and then nothing until a man tapped on the window.”

  “A man? What man?” Lanie asked as she entered the room.

  “He said his name was…” She frowned because she knew he’d told her his name, but now it was gone. “I can’t remember. I do remember he was very good-looking.” She smiled.

  “That could be any number of men in this area,” Rissa said as she entered the room behind Lanie.

  “It’s so good to see you all,” Sloane said, choking back tears.

  “Aunt Connie said you could stay in the apartment above the diner,” Lanie told her.

  “Really? That would be great.”

  “I lived there for a while with Rissa. It’s a great little apartment, but I think you should come and stay with Preston and me while you recuperate,” Deidra said.

  “No, I don’t want to do that. I’d rather be alone. Can I do that, doctor?”

  “Of course, as long as you have someone check on you periodically. They can call you every four hours to see if your head hurts any worse. I prefer you stay with someone, but I can’t make you. Concussions are dangerous. I don’t want to scare you, but people can die from them. If you get any of the following symptoms: your head ache worsens, you feel faint or lose consciousness, or if you vomit, I want you to return to the hospital immediately. We did a CAT scan, and we didn’t see any ble
eding but please, return if you feel any of what I’ve mentioned. If you promise to do so and feel well enough to go, I’ll sign your release papers.”

  “Doctor, I did vomit at the scene.”

  “I’m sure that was just from the pain at the time. The sheriff did tell me that but since the CAT scan didn’t show any bleeding, I’m not really concerned. Only if it happens again.”

  “I just don’t understand why the airbag didn’t stop my momentum.”

  “I’d say it’s because you had the seat pulled forward. I can see that you’re petite, so you need to be closer to the steering wheel. Sometimes those bags don’t help if you’re too close to them.”

  “I see. Thank you, doctor. I promise I’ll return if I feel any of what you mentioned.”

  “I’ll prescribe some anti-nausea medicine but take acetaminophen. It will help with the pain because you will have a headache for a few days.”

  “We’ll check on her. She’ll be in the apartment above the diner,” Rissa said. “At least one of us is in the diner every day, so it’s no big deal to run upstairs and see how she’s doing.”

  “All right then. Let me get you out of here.” The doctor nodded then left the room.

  “Thank you,” Sloane said to her cousins.

  “No problem. We’ll take you to the apartment when you’re ready to go. We all came in one car.” Lanie smiled at her.

  “Where is my car?” Sloane asked with concern. She wondered how much damage she’d caused.

  “It was towed to the ranch,” Deidra told her. “Preston and I will bring it to you tomorrow. You don’t need it right now.”

  “All right. Thank you. You three are the best cousins ever.” Sloane blinked back tears.

  “Of course, we are.” Deidra laughed.

  Two days later, Sloane lay on the sofa in the apartment. She looked around and smiled. It was a great little place. Before coming to Montana, she had planned to live here with Rissa but since she moved in with her fiancé, Reece, Sloane was alone. Alone. The smile left her face when she thought of Doug. Damn him for hurting her. Ten years of her life just gone because he couldn’t keep his pants zipped around his secretary. The old cliché, the boss and his secretary having an affair. She would never forget the day she wanted to surprise him at his office…