His Dakota Heart Read online

  Table of Contents

  His Dakota Heart

  Copyright © 2015 by Lisa Mondello

  HIS DAKOTA HEART BLURB

  Ebooks by Lisa Mondello

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Dear Reader

  Bonus Material

  Ebooks by Lisa Mondello

  His Dakota Heart

  By Lisa Mondello

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  Published by: Lisa Mondello

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  Copyright © 2015 by Lisa Mondello

  License Notes

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people unless it is part of an approved lending program from an authorized retailer. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or downloaded it free from an unauthorized distributor, then you are stealing the author’s work. You must delete it from your device and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work and copyright.

  From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lisa Mondello...

  HIS DAKOTA HEART, book 7 of DAKOTA HEARTS

  How do you say goodbye to a love when it had no ending? Gray McKinnon has spent two years struggling with moving on when the woman he loved suffered an accident that left her in a coma and no hope of recovery. Everyone urged Gray to move on. He's had plenty of offers to help him mend his broken heart on and off the rodeo circuit. But moving on is easier said than done when your heart belongs to someone else. At least, he thinks so until he sees Nina Hendrix again.

  Nina couldn't help falling in love with her big sister's cowboy any more than she could bring her sister, Jen, back from her coma. She's kept her distance from Gray out of respect for her sister. But when her family decides to move Jen to another medical facility a few states away, she can't help but reach out to Gray, even though she has no illusions that he could love her the way she loves him. She won't let herself be just another woman passing through his life, helping him forget. But one night in his arms makes her realize there is no future for them if every time he looks at her he sees the one woman he can never have.

  DAKOTA HEARTS

  Her Dakota Man book 1 of Dakota Hearts

  Badland Bride book 2 of Dakota Hearts

  Dakota Heat book 3 of Dakota Hearts

  Wild Dakota Heart book 4 of Dakota Hearts

  His Dakota Bride book 5 of Dakota Hearts

  Dakota Wedding book 6 of Dakota Hearts

  His Dakota Heart book 7 of Dakota Hearts

  Dakota Cowboy book 8 of Dakota Hearts

  One Dakota Night book 9 of Dakota Hearts

  Dakota Homecoming book 10 of Dakota Hearts

  TEXAS HEARTS

  Her Heart for the Asking - book 1 Texas Hearts

  His Heart for the Trusting - book 2 Texas Hearts

  The More I See - book 3 Texas Hearts

  Gypsy Hearts - book 4 Texas Hearts

  Leaving Liberty – book 5 Texas Hearts

  His Texas Heart - book 6 Texas Hearts

  Texas Hearts Box Set (Books 1-3)

  FATE WITH A HELPING HAND

  All I Want for Christmas is You - book 1

  The Marriage Contract – book 2

  The Knight and Maggie’s Baby – book 3

  My Lucky Charm - book 4

  Tempting Fate Box Set (books 1-3)

  SUMMER HOUSE (Coming 2015)

  Moment in Time book 1 Summer House Series

  Moment of Impact book 2 Summer House Series

  Moment of Truth book 3 Summer House Series

  Moment of Trust book 4 Summer House Series

  Material Witness - book 1 (**Named one of Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2012)

  Nothing But Trouble (Contemporary Western Romance)

  Never miss a new release by Lisa Mondello. Sign up for my new release newsletter at http://eepurl.com/xhxO5

  Chapter One

  Eight seconds.

  That’s all Gray McKinnon needed. He wasn’t so broken down at thirty-two that he couldn’t hold his seat on the back of a bucking bull for eight seconds, despite the whispers that he was as ancient as the dirt beneath him. He’d cut his eyeteeth at rodeos, like most of the McKinnons.

  Gray positioned himself on the back of the dusty bull named Frozen Tundra. He wasn’t as rank as some of the other bulls being drawn today. Even if he kept his seat, the bull’s score may not be high enough to give him placement today. But it didn’t matter. He wasn’t here to prove anything to anyone.

  Except himself.

  When he was sure his rigging strapped to the bull was secure, he nodded that he was ready and the chute opened. He expected power beneath him and Frozen Tundra didn’t disappoint. The bull tucked its head and showed him just how unhappy he was to have Gray on his back. The next Gray knew his hand broke free of the leather strap and he was airborne a few seconds. Then his body connected hard with the dirt. He didn’t even have time to be disappointed, or to react to the pain that shot through his body. He saw the rodeo clown headed toward him to distract Frozen Tundra and Gray knew he had to get out of the path of the charging bull. Still feeling the adrenaline rush, Gray scrambled to his feet as quick as he could and ran to the sideline. Only when he was climbing the rail did he feel pain shoot up his wrist.

  Fifteen minutes later Gray sat in the tented medic area with an ice pack on his wrist, staring at an empty gurney as the sound of rodeo erupted in the nearby arena.

  “You’ll have to keep that ice on you for another ten minutes or so. Probably should have an X-ray, too,” the medic said. “You work at the rig?”

  Gray nodded. He’d been working in the family oil business since he could hold his own out in the field. His father had insisted all of his children at least learn about the business before going off on their own. Each McKinnon took their turn as they came of age. Luke was the first. He’d worked at MW Oil before heading off to college. They’d all teased him that he’d purposely gone to law school to avoid having to come home and continue working under their father and uncle’s tutelage. But he hadn’t been home since. His brother Ian had been next, but then had left for a career in military soon after. His sister Grace had been exempt from working on the rig, but still worked in the offices. Julian was the youngest and the most stir crazy of all the McKinnons. That left Gray.

  “I’m working out in the field but I’m not doing anything with my hand that will prevent me from working.”

  The medic, a man in his mid-fifties that looked as if he’d spent too much time in the sun, shook his head. “Rules are rules. You have an injury. You need to get some film of it before you can be cleared to go back on the job. I can’t force you to do it, of course. But you put the company at risk without it. If anyone at the oil company finds out you were injured, you’re going to catch hell Monday morning.”

  Gray chuckled wryly. “It won’t even take that long.”

  The medic looked at him, his wiry gray and black brows pulling together into a frown.

  “I’m having Sunday dinner with the boss.”

  Dawning showed in the man’s expression. “Then you best get yourself an X-ray before you sit down at the dinner table. I’ll be back in a few minutes to take that ice pack and then wrap your wrist.”

  Alone in the medic tent again, Gray listened to the roar of the crowd as another rider finished their ride. He’d planned on doing his ride and then watching the other riders to get his head back into the sport. As he flexed his fingers and felt the ache in his wrist, he decided maybe coming back to the rodeo
was a bad idea in more ways than just a sore wrist.

  * * *

  He was here.

  Her heart pounded in her chest so hard, it drowned out the roar of the crowd as she wove through the throng of people milling about the sidelines of the arena. And then she stopped.

  Nina Hendrix didn’t have to look at Gray McKinnon to know he was standing a mere thirty feet away from her. She knew. She always knew.

  Dragging in a deep breath of dust and air, she steeled herself. If there was one thing she couldn’t stand was a coward. For better or worse, that’s what she was being if she gave into her gut reaction to turn her boots in the opposite direction and walk away from Gray. But she couldn’t ignore the man any longer. She’d made a promise, however reluctantly, and she’d keep it.

  Besides, Gray had already seen her. If she walked away now, he would know for sure that she was avoiding him.

  She brushed the imaginary dirty from her jeans as she made her way through the crowd, stopping for a rider leading her horse to the holding area for competition, until she reached the spot where he stood against the fence overlooking the arena. He looked as uncomfortable as she felt, although she couldn’t imagine why. He wasn’t in love with her.

  He gave her a faint smile as she came within ten feet of him. With each step she took, the memory of just how ruggedly handsome a man Gray McKinnon was assaulted her. His gray-blue eyes hadn’t changed despite the heartache he’d experienced these last few years. He’d always been a strong man—as a bull rider, strength was an asset—and that hadn’t changed even though word had it he hadn’t seen the inside of a rodeo arena in nearly two years.

  “It’s been a while,” he said.

  “I’ve been really busy with…everything.” It was a lame excuse, but he seemed to accept it anyway. “I didn’t expect to see you here today. You haven’t been to any of the rodeos I’ve been to in a while.”

  He shrugged. “I heard you’d gone back to competing.”

  “I finished school. I thought it was a good idea before I got settled in whatever career I end up in.”

  “Still figuring that out?”

  She shrugged. “I wish there was a way to incorporate my love of horses and riding into a profession that actually made money.”

  It had been a topic of conversation between the two of them when they’d first met. Gray loved working at his family’s South Dakota oil company, MW Oil. He split his time between bull riding and the demanding schedule he had working on the oil rig located on a stretch of land in the northern part of the state.

  On the other hand, Nina had been trying to figure out how she could make a decent living without becoming the banker or accountant her father had been pushing her to be. She was surprised Gray had remembered those conversations.

  “You’ve done pretty well barrel racing.”

  She shrugged and actually felt flattered that he knew as much. “That’s only going to get me so far. What about you? What made you finally decide to come back to rodeoing?” she asked.

  His face grew serious. “I wanted to give it another try before I officially hang up my spurs.”

  She chuckled. “Hang up your spurs? Does a cowboy ever really do that?”

  “I suppose not.”

  “I saw your run.”

  He grimaced. “Now I’m embarrassed.”

  She laughed. “Since when?”

  “Since now I know you saw me fall.”

  Her mind hummed with memories she didn’t want to come to the surface. Trying to sound nonchalant, she said, “Well, here is a news flash, cowboy. I’ve seen you fall before. Many times, in fact. You and every other cowboy in this arena. It’s nothing special.”

  “Wait, are you telling me I just blend in with all these cowboys? I’m not sure I like that.”

  Hardly. Gray McKinnon had always stood out among men in Nina’s eye. But he had never been hers. That pleasure had been reserved for her sister.

  “No one is watching anyone,” she said, trying to keep her voice nonchalant. “At least, not in the way you’re thinking. They do their run, learn what they can, and then move on to the next rodeo. Half of the cowboys who competed today are probably in a truck headed for Montana.”

  He chuckled with a shake of his head. “If you say so.”

  “I’m surprised you’re not.”

  “I’m not what?”

  “Headed to the next rodeo with them. That must mean you’re watching. Or waiting for someone. Which is it?”

  She was fishing, which irritated her. She’d always hated that coy way women did that to find out information a man didn’t want to disclose. But Nina had heard that Gray McKinnon had started dating again. Something like that was somewhat hard to ignore when so many of the girls on the circuit were eagerly talking about getting in line for their first date with Gray McKinnon.

  But Gray shook his head. “Just killing time.” He lifted his arm, which was draped in a sling. “I need to head over to the hospital for an X-ray and I’m stalling.”

  She nodded and then turned to look out at the arena as the crowd applauded on another bull rider making eight seconds. Nina knew which hospital Gray would end up in later. Within a few minutes, the announcer gave the score.

  Gray whistled. “That score will give him some money. He had a good bull.”

  Nina drew in a deep breath and focused on the strong line of Gray’s jaw. She’d always loved the way he looked so determined when he stared out at the other cowboys, studying their rides. Cowboys were a competitive bunch, and Gray was no different. But he’d never been cocky. He could appreciate a good rider without it somehow making him less of a cowboy.

  “To be honest, I was hoping I’d see you today,” she finally said.

  His lips tilted into a half grin. “Yeah?”

  “It’s…been a while. A long time.”

  “I seem to miss you every time I’ve gone to visit, Jen. It’s hard to get there during the day with work and all.”

  With the mention of her sister, old hurts came to the surface. “You’re still at your family’s oil company?”

  She knew he was. She couldn’t imagine what would ever make him leave. Gray loved hard work and he loved family. He used to say he had South Dakota oil running through his veins.

  “I’m not in a suit if that’s what you’re asking. My father is still trying though. He’s looking to retire soon and wants one of his boys to step in. I’ll stay out on the rig as long as I can.”

  She nodded. “My parents were hoping I’d run into you.”

  A rider leading a horse by the reins walked past them. Gray turned to look, but Nina still caught the flash of guilt in his expression. “I haven’t had a chance to return your dad’s call. I wasn’t avoiding him.”

  “You wouldn’t be the only one.”

  He looked at her quickly, searching her face to see if she were kidding or serious.

  “He didn’t think you were avoiding him,” she finally said, mostly because she didn’t want to get into it here in the middle of the live rodeo arena. “You should call him, though. He really wants to talk to you.”

  Gray looked at the ground for a brief moment, and when he lifted his head again, he gave her a reassuring smile. “Sure thing.”

  She waved to him as she turned away and walked in the opposite direction, her heart pounding. She shoved her shaking hand into the pocket of her jeans to keep it steady.

  “Nina?”

  Swinging around, she said, “Yeah?”

  He looked at her for a moment as if he was about to say something that troubled him. Then he just smiled. “I’ll see you.”

  “Take care of that arm.”

  Nina turned back again and walked quickly toward the parking lot. Dusty Surprise was already in the trailer and she had a long ride home to Rolling Rock Ranch where she boarded her horse. She’d delivered the message as promised. She didn’t owe anyone anything else. Now she was leaving. It had been two hard years for all of them. Everyone else was mo
ving on with their life and it was time for her to do the same.

  As she walked through the passageway leading to the open parking lot, she paused, placing her hand on the wall to steady herself. Yeah, she was moving on. But it hadn’t felt good leaving Gray McKinnon behind the first time. This time would be no different.

  * * *

  “It’s just a sprain. But I’d still take it easy for a few days just to be safe,” the doctor in the ER said, looking at the X-ray on the screen. “You could go to work on Monday. But if you need a note for your boss to take a few days, I can give you one.”

  “That won’t be a problem. But thanks.” Gray slipped his arm back into the sling he’d gotten from the medic at the rodeo earlier in the day.

  “You need to hold back from any bull riding for a week or so. This sprain could easily turn into a fracture if you fall the wrong way. That’ll end your season.”

  Gray nodded, but he knew the truth. He didn’t need the sprained wrist to tell him his season was already over. It had been over before it even started. This was just the icing on the cake.

  He should have never tried to come back to the rodeo. It had nothing to do with age or strength, something so many people assume when a bull rider was away from the sport for a long stretch of time and then tried to make a comeback. No, this went deeper.

  Ian had been right. Gray’s heart wasn’t in it anymore. His brother had warned him about how he’d changed since Jen’s accident. Life just wasn’t what it used to be and he’d struggled to find that new “normal”. Of all of his kin, no one understood what that was like more than Ian.

  Gray left the emergency room through the double doors that led to the rehabilitation wing of the hospital. It was a familiar walk down the hallway toward Jen’s room. When Jen had first slipped into a coma, Gray had called this hospital his home for months. The whole Hendrix family had. Even Nina. Gray never left Jen’s side.

  But then Ian came home from the military and needed him. His brother was facing hard times that were different from Jen’s, but still affected the whole McKinnon family. His family needed him and the rodeo didn’t seem important anymore. Nothing did.

  Gray still visited Jen. But his daily visits soon turned to weekly and now, at the urging of everyone around him, he visited once a month. The distance would give him the time he needed to move on with his life, everyone had said. But how could he do that? How could he leave a woman he’d loved and never said goodbye to?