Where Have All the Cowboys Gone? Read Free

thank you.’
    Peggy kissed her husband’s gnarled cheek. ‘This is Doug. We come here every year to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We ran away together fifty years ago.’
    ‘That’s amazing. Congratulations!’ Lauren studied their blissful faces and then turned towards the lobby. Grayson walked across to her with his easy long stride. Peggy followed her gaze.
    ‘Is that your young man, dear? He looks like the steady reliable type. Are you married then?’
    ‘Not yet,’ Lauren said with a laugh. ‘He hasn’t asked me.’
    Lauren became engrossed in studying Grayson as he approached her. What would it be like to take a chance and marry a stranger just because you thought you’d connected at a soul-deep level? Was it possible that she and Grayson would be coming back to Vegas in fifty years to celebrate their own special anniversary?
    ‘Lauren, are you OK?’ Grayson tipped his hat at the elderly couple and then crouched in front of her. She met his searching blue gaze as best she could. Peggy poked Grayson in the ribs with her walking stick.
    ‘She’d probably feel a lot better if you made an honest woman out of her, young man. I don’t hold with all this living together nonsense,’ Peggy said.
    Grayson took Lauren’s cold hands in his. ‘Are you planning a wedding, Lauren, honey?’
    She waited for the masculine reaction of caged terror which usually accompanied the use of the word wedding. Grayson didn’t move and his expression remained as intense as ever.
    ‘If I was going to get married, I’d need a bridegroom wouldn’t I?’
    His smile died. ‘You wouldn’t have to look far. I’d marry you in a heartbeat.’
    She stared at him intently. What if he was the one? What if he offered her a new start in life and the opportunity to leave her troubled past behind? She needed to move on. She needed to be brave. His gaze narrowed and he brought her hand to his lips.
    ‘Marry me, Lauren, and I swear I’ll be the best darned husband in the universe.’
    She touched his cheek, felt the roughness of his stubble and the strength inherent in his jawline. If she could trust him with her body shouldn’t she be able to trust him with her heart?
    ‘All right then, I will.’
    Lauren woke with a start as the never-ending rumble of traffic penetrated the silence in the room. With great care, she removed Grayson’s arm from around her waist and scurried into the bathroom. She checked her watch. It was five in the morning. Her gaze remained riveted on the cheap gold wedding band Grayson had placed on her finger not two hours earlier.
    She buried her throbbing head in her hands and silently screamed. Two hours ago she’d thought she’d found the perfect man, a man who didn’t know who her father was or care less. A man who liked her for herself, not for her connections or for what she could do for him. They’d connected on a level so deep that it stunned her. Marrying Grayson had seemed the perfect opportunity to move beyond her father’s reach and declare her independence.
    After a deep breath, Lauren raised her head and looked in the mirror. She had to leave. She had no right to involve a good and decent man in the complicated relationship between herself and her father. Las Vegas wasn’t big enough for her to hide in. And she was done with that anyway. She had a business to run, a new life to lead.
    Slipping into her clothes, she took off the wedding ring and laid it carefully on the countertop. She’d left her business card in Grayson’s wallet. She swallowed a sob. When he woke up and discovered she’d gone would he be secretly relieved or mad as hell? If she was lucky, perhaps he would call her and they could begin the messy business of the divorce proceedings.

Chapter One
    With a murmured excuse, Lauren squeezed past the passenger on her left and headed for the bathroom. In the enclosed space, the hum of the aircraft increased to a dull roar. She peered into the mirror and, despite the yellowish