Cowboy Famous: Book 4 (Cowboy Justice Association) Read online

  Cowboy Famous

  Cowboy Justice Association

  Book Four

  By Olivia Jaymes

  www.OliviaJaymes.com

  COWBOY FAMOUS

  Copyright © 2014 by Olivia Jaymes

  Kindle Edition

  E-Book ISBN: 978-0-9899833-7-2

  Print ISBN: 978-0-9899833-8-9

  Cover art by Sloan Winters

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

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

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Epilogue

  About Cowboy Command

  About Justice Healed

  About Cowboy Truth

  About Cowboy Famous

  About The Deputies

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  The best part of Griffin Sawyer’s day was the morning. He loved rising before dawn and sitting on the front porch of his home watching the sun come up while sipping on his first, second, and sometimes even his third cup of coffee. The peace and quiet were a balm to his solitude loving soul since he spent most of his waking hours dealing with the worst of humanity.

  He usually had quiet at the end of the day too but nothing compared to this. He could remember the frenzy of activity and his mother’s harried manner in the home he’d grown up in. She hadn’t had it easy getting ten children up, dressed, fed and off to school but somehow she’d managed it. With a lot of help from the older children of which he was one.

  Now, the only sounds were the rustle of the leaves and the muted quacks of a few ducks taking an early morning swim. No one was pulling on his sleeve asking for help to brush their hair, their teeth, or to get them more juice. He could be alone with only his thoughts for company.

  But all good things had to come to an end.

  Griffin heard the growl of an engine at the front of his home and then the clomp of heavy boots. He knew those boots as well has he did his own after the last few years. His deputy, Darrell “Dare” Turner, had come to pick him up for the monthly meeting with the town council.

  Griffin had once asked his second-in-command how he got his nickname “Dare.” The deputy had bravery and heart although it was usually covered up by a grouchy demeanor that had most people stepping lightly around the man. But nothing Griffin had seen Dare do had ever been foolhardy. He seemed to have a level head on his shoulders. Dare had simply scowled at the question and told Griffin the nickname had stuck in high school. No other details, which was just Dare’s way.

  “Are you ready to go?” Climbing the steps to the back deck, Dare wore the perpetual frown that furrowed his brow. Griffin had never figured out why Dare was always pissed off at life either but he could count the number of smiles he’d seen from the man on one hand.

  “You wouldn’t be so damn ugly if you smiled once in a while.”

  “No offense, but you’re not my type,” Dare answered flatly. His lips never twitched but Griffin thought he saw mirth in the deputy’s eyes.

  Laughter bubbled from Griffin and he had to put down his coffee mug before he spilled it on his clean uniform shirt. “Good morning, Dare. Want some coffee?”

  “I wouldn’t turn it down.” Dare shrugged. “You’re the one with the schedule.”

  Griffin lowered his legs from where he’d had them propped up on the deck and strolled into the kitchen through the sliding glass door knowing Dare would follow. They’d done this enough times to know the drill whenever Griffin’s truck was being serviced. He ought to replace the ornery thing but he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. It had been the first new truck he’d ever owned all by himself. He was the only one who had ever driven it.

  “I’ve got my meeting but we have enough time to pour you a cup.”

  “Thanks. Was that Tina I saw barreling down your driveway as I was heading up here?” Dare asked, accepting the mug from Griffin.

  Griffin’s lips twisted as he remembered the conversation between himself and the woman he’d been dating the last few weeks. It had ended better than he’d expected but as usual she didn’t understand. No one ever did.

  “It was. I don’t think I’ll be seeing her anymore though.”

  Dare lifted the cup to his lips probably to hide a smile. “I guess she didn’t get the memo.”

  “The memo?” Griffin filled his travel mug with coffee and a generous amount of cream. “What do you mean?’

  “Everyone knows what you’re like.” Dare snorted and shook his head. “The female gossip is that you don’t like women getting too fucking comfy here at your home. You like to sleep alone. You don’t let them leave anything personal here or anything. Stuff like that.”

  Griffin turned away to hide his warm cheeks. He was particular about some things and it was true Tina hadn’t appreciated that. Just this morning she’d used his fucking toothbrush because he wouldn’t let her leave one here. Now he was going to have to stop at the store and get a new one. He knew it was hypocritical considering the places he’d had his mouth but he didn’t like to share. His toothbrush or anything else.

  “I like my space, that’s all.” Griffin took a drink of the hot liquid before turning back to his right-hand man. “Is that a crime or something?”

  Dare lifted his hands in surrender. “Not to me. I don’t blame you, personally. I like my space too.”

  “It’s just they take over everything.” Griffin sighed, still smelling the distinctive perfume Tina had sprayed on herself and half of the house. He’d have to open the windows to get rid of the stench. “Their female crap is everywhere and a man can’t get a decent night’s sleep with them draped all over you. And they talk. Always asking me what I’m thinking or feeling. Shit, maybe I’m not thinking or feeling any damn thing.”

  “You’re preaching to the choir, boss man. The problem is they’re always thinking something. Fuck, it’s a wonder their brains don’t explode from how much they’re always thinking. That’s not for me, man. You’ve got the right idea. Stay single and live alone.”

  Alone.

  Griffin didn’t want to apologize to the woman in his life constantly, but yes, he enjoyed being alone. He liked sleeping in his big bed by himself and drinking milk out of the carton. He liked having control over the thermostat and the television remote. If he wanted to eat ice cream for breakfast he could or maybe stay up all night watching a Clint Eastwood marathon. There was no one to bother, no one else’s feelings that might get hurt. He only had to worry about himself.

 
; “Shit, we better get on the road.” Griffin glanced at his watch and grimaced. These meetings with the town council were never fun but they were necessary. Normally they were also uneventful but lately there had been a lot of wrangling over the budget. They wanted Griffin to cut a deputy and he was pushing back. They were too short staffed as it was.

  He shoved his hat on his head and followed Dare out to the truck, his mind already moving past the events of the morning. The woman who would understand Griffin simply didn’t exist. There was no point in even looking.

  * * * *

  This couldn’t be happening.

  Jazz Oliver stared at her cell phone in disbelief, blinking back the tears. She’d wanted that part. Badly. Desperately. She’d been in Hollywood for six years and the only thing she had to show for it was a few commercials, a bloody low-budget horror flick, and an impressive resume of waitressing jobs. Some unpaid bills too. She certainly couldn’t forget those.

  She was currently serving the breakfast crowd at Virgil’s Waffle and Pancakes. There was more on the menu than just those two items but they did a big early morning business and she was loath to miss out on the tips.

  “You’ve got customers at table three.” Patty, another waitress and sometime actress, nudged Jazz. “You don’t want to get Virgil’s attention. He’s in a mood today, has been all week.”

  Jazz grimaced and shoved her cell back in her pocket. Her boss had a rule about phones which most of them ignored but this might not be the day to push her luck.

  Especially as she didn’t have much luck to begin with.

  “I didn’t get the part.” Even as she said it, the words formed a hard lump in her stomach. She’d been counting on that role. Born to play it, dammit. They’d passed her over and it hurt. She never got used to the rejection in show business. Her friends were constantly telling her she needed to grow a thicker skin if she wanted to be an actress in this town.

  Patty, who’d had her share of disappointments, put her hand on Jazz’s shoulder, her mouth turned down. “I’m sorry. You really thought you had it didn’t you? I know how that feels, hon.”

  “I know.” Jazz tried to push away the disappointment but fear wrapped around her heart instead. She’d really needed the influx of cash that job promised. She was swimming in a sea of red ink. “I shouldn’t let these things bother me.”

  She tried to muster a smile despite what felt like the weight of the world on her shoulders. Patty was a good friend but she didn’t seem to take the rejection as personally as Jazz did. But then Patty had a husband who made a decent living. Jazz, on the other hand, was already thinking about how she could possibly pay the rent and still have money to eat this month.

  Like a robot on automatic, she went through the motions of waitressing, trying to keep a smile on her face when she really wanted to sit down and cry her eyes out. The customers didn’t know or care about her problems.

  “I need to talk to you before you leave,” Virgil said as she shoved her tips deep into her purse and pulled on a sweater. “Just a quick meeting.”

  “Fine.” She slung her purse over her shoulder and followed him to his office in the back of the restaurant. The other waitresses who had worked the morning shift, including Patty, were already there. Apparently he was planning to give everyone one of his usual royal ass chewings. Would today’s be about upselling dessert or about keeping the patrons moving through their meal so he could turn over the tables faster?

  “I’ll tell the rest of the staff later,” he began, his pock-marked features a ruddy tone that spoke of anger. “They’ve raised the rent here and I can’t afford it any longer.”

  “What does that mean?” Patty asked, leaning against the door frame. “Are you moving to another location?”

  “I’m closing,” Virgil answered baldly, not bothering to soften the blow. “At the end of the day. I’m going to work for my father-in-law. So you’re fired. Here’s your final pay.”

  He shoved some envelopes their way and they all looked at each other disbelieving. This had to be some kind of joke. Luck this bad simply wasn’t possible in one human being.

  “Today?” Mary asked, her finger wagging under his nose. “Are you serious? Why didn’t you tell us before now?”

  “Because you would have walked out.” Virgil shrugged. He didn’t give a shit about his waitresses—Jazz had known that for a long time but this move seemed especially odious. Even for him.

  Jazz grabbed the stack of envelopes from his desk and rifled through it to find her own before handing them off to Patty, anger churning in her gut. Jazz might be tiny in stature but Virgil didn’t intimidate her in the least. “You’re a real class act, you know that? A regular humanitarian.”

  She didn’t bother to dial down the sarcasm in her tone. She had plenty of references available to get another crappy waitressing job. She didn’t need his.

  “I’m not running a charity here,” he blustered.

  “As of today, you’re not running anything at all,” Jazz retorted. “I’m out of here.”

  With her check clenched in her fist and her head held high, Jazz marched out of the restaurant, Patty and the others at her heels. Once on the sidewalk, Jazz paused, unsure as to what to do. She’d been planning to hit the grocery store on her way home but she wasn’t sure she could afford food any more.

  Mary pulled a credit card from her wallet. “The bars open and I’m buying. Or technically, my mom and dad in Virginia are buying.”

  “I always liked your parents. Lovely people,” Patty giggled. “I’m in but only for sodas. Damn cold medicine means I can’t drink. But I can be the driver for all of you.”

  The others parroted their agreement and Jazz didn’t argue. No point in heading back to an apartment she could no longer afford. She’d have a few cocktails and drown her sorrows before going home. Sort of a last hurrah before facing the reality that she couldn’t get away from.

  She’d lost her job and the role of her dreams all within the space of a few hours. Things were definitely not going her way.

  Chapter Two

  “Are you drunk?”

  Caitlin Dalton, Jazz’s roommate and best friend stood in the living room with her hands on her hips and a disgusted expression. Caitlin’s boyfriend, Tony Albright, was lounging on an easy chair with a grin on his face, presumably at the picture Jazz made in the doorway. She’d spent the afternoon drinking with her now unemployed waitress friends and she probably looked a funny sight still in her cheap, polyester uniform, her cheeks pink from the booze, her blonde hair askew from running her fingers through it in worry.

  “I’m not drunk,” Jazz denied, dumping her purse on the table beside the door along with her keys. “I’m tipsy.”

  “Can you feel your lips?” Caitlin demanded. “When you’re drunk you can’t feel your lips.”

  Jazz moved her mouth around and Tony’s smile got even wider. “I can feel my lips. Don’t have a cow.”

  “I’ll get you some coffee. Patty called, by the way, and told us everything. About the part too.”

  Awesome. Patty, true to her word, had stayed sober as a judge all afternoon. She’d apparently informed Caitlin as to what a loser Jazz had become all in one day.

  Jazz sank onto the couch cushions and kicked off her sensible tennis shoes she wore when waitressing and sighed in relief. She needed to soak in a hot tub and forget these last eight hours ever happened.

  “I know I look ridiculous in this outfit,” Jazz told Tony who was regarding her as if he were a kindly older brother and she a dotty younger sibling.

  “The mustard color doesn’t do anything for you,” he responded. “So you got canned today?”

  She winced at his plain speech but Tony rarely wrapped up his rhetoric in roses and moonbeams. He was a successful television producer-director and as such got to speak to people rudely. This was Hollywood after all, and Jazz was low on the totem pole while Tony was riding high.

  “The restaurant is closing, so the short
answer is yes. As for the part, well, it sucks. I would have been good in that movie.”

  Jazz had felt a symbiotic relationship with the role she’d been denied, had felt it was hers to lose. Every time she thought about the drunken, slutty child star who would be playing the part instead, she felt sick inside. But name recognition was everything and no one knew Jazz from Adam and Eve.

  “Rogers is a decent director but he tends to the maudlin side.” Tony took the cup of coffee Caitlin offered. “What will you do now?”

  Jazz accepted the mug from Caitlin with a grateful smile and her roommate settled on the arm of Tony’s chair. They’d been dating awhile and Jazz wouldn’t be surprised to see the two of them get married. Because of his connections, Caitlin had landed a part in a soap opera.

  “Get another job, I guess. Maybe two.” Jazz’s eyes filled with hot tears. She simply couldn’t seem to catch a break in this town. She was already in debt due to her car breaking down. There had been no choice but to fix it. If she couldn’t get to work and auditions, she couldn’t earn money.

  “Do you have any savings?” Caitlin asked, biting her lip. Until recently, she’d lived on a shoestring budget the same as Jazz.

  “None.” Jazz shook her head, misery winding its way through her abdomen and curling up like a heavy log while tears started to streak down her cheeks. “I have a big balance on my credit card because of the car repairs too. Plus all the other crap that waitressing doesn’t pay for.”

  Something flickered in Tony’s gaze but he remained silent and Jazz shifted her attention back to her roommate. The pretty redhead had a sad droop to her mouth and sympathy in her green eyes.

  “You’ll get another job,” she encouraged. “A better one. You should try for one of those fancy ones in the Hills. Bigger, better tips, I bet.”

  “I need another job yesterday.” Jazz tried to smile for her friend despite the feeling that the walls were closing in. She had few options at this point and crawling home to her family wasn’t one of them. Whining wouldn’t fix this either. She laughed but it didn’t sound particularly happy. “Hey, maybe I could turn tricks on Hollywood Boulevard. Fresh air. Exercise. Meet new people. It’s a cash business, I bet.”