Cowboy Redemption: Down Under Cowboy Series, #6

Dedication

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To Jovi

You taught me the hard way that life is too short.

Five and a half years with you wasn’t long enough; but for a parent, forever isn’t long enough.  I love you with my whole heart.  I miss you even more. xx

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You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.

Ray Bradbury

Dedication

To Poppy Skip

Come to Me

God saw you getting tired,

And a cure was not to be.

So he put his arms around you,

And whispered, ‘Come to me.’

With tearful eyes we watched you,

And saw you pass away.

And, although we love you dearly,

We could not make you stay.

A golden heart stopped beating,

Hard working hands at rest.

God broke our hearts to prove to us,

He only takes the best.

-Anonymous

Other titles by Kasey Millstead

Steele Investigations

Sapphire

Emerald

Down Under Cowboy Series

Cowboy Town (Eden & Jackson)

Sky Cowboy (Ava & Jeremy)

Cowboy Dreams (Jules & Clay)

Cowboy Christmas (A Henley Christmas Novella)

Tatted Cowboy (Laura & Luke)

Rogue Cowboy (Sienna & Zeke)

Cowboy Redemption (Kennedy & Kye)

Stand Alone Novels

Fighting to Stay

Illicit Desire

Vengeance is Mine

Dancing with Desire

Fighting for Switch

Family Secrets

Undercover

COMING SOON

Cowboy Endings

Liar, Liar

Acknowledgements

Troy – God blessed the broken road that led me straight to you... 

To my four beautiful babies – I love you beyond measure.  Thank you for being you.  Never change.

To Mel and Wurry, my soul friends - I think I II III IV III II says it all. Mwah.

Thanks to Meri for being my sounding board, for listening to me waffle on, and for giving great advice.  You’re one of the best!

To my mum and dad – thanks for having such an awesome child.  I bet you’re proud of yourselves! ;)  And an extra special thanks to my mum who implanted a deep love of reading in me at a young age by reading The Adventures of Blinky Bill & Nutsy to me every night when I was a little girl. 

If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.

Stephen King

Kylie at Give Me Books blog – thank you for all you do for me.  I’m lucky to not only have you as my promotions extraordinaire, but also as a friend.

Kell, thank you so much for everything you’ve done – the proofing, the teasers, the advice – all of it!!  I’m so lucky to have found such a beautiful friend in you!

Thank you Tracey for creating such a gorgeous cover for me.  You blew me away bringing Kye to life.

To my Vixens – You’re all awesome and I love each and every one of you!  You brighten my days and always give me a laugh.

To each and every blogger that participates in my cover reveals, blog tours and book blitzes – THANK YOU!!!  I wish I could list you all individually, but that would be a novel on its own!  Thank you for everything you do.  Your hard work never goes unnoticed and it’s appreciated from the bottom of my heart.

To the girls in 101 – Wow! You ladies are such knowledgeable, friendly, helpful people.  I’ve learned so much since I found y’all, and I’m so very grateful. <3

Lastly, thank you to each and every one of you that reads this book.  You are making my dreams come true.

www.facebook.com/authorkaseymillstead

Goodreads.com – Kasey Millstead

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COWBOY REDEMPTION

Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.

Bruce Lee

Kennedy:

If you learn from your mistakes, you’ll be a better person.

Life is all about making mistakes. I’ve made a lot of them in life, and learned from none of them. Until now. My biggest mistake of all was letting him go.

Kye:

I had it all. Money. Fame. Success.

Then I lost it.

I thought I finally had my life back on track when I found her.

But one slip-up and I lost everything. Again.

Kennedy Crawley spends her days helping others conquer their demons at Hope and Chance Retreat, in Australia’s Northern Territory.  After spending her life being someone even she didn’t like, she finally sought the courage to overhaul her life, dreams, and aspirations.  Now, she’s determined to stay on track and be a better person.

Kye Austin was living his dream life as a professional football player.  Until the day his sins caught up with him.  He was sent to Hope and Chance Retreat to get his life back on track.  After winning his battle, he decides to stay in the area and try to win the affections of Kennedy. 

There’s just one problem:  she’s not interested.

CHAPTER ONE

How was your night? I ask.  My sister, Ava, is standing in front of the mirror, towel drying her hair.  She has always been incredibly beautiful.  The kind of beauty that she doesn’t have to try to attain, it just shines so brightly from the depths of her soul.  The thing that annoys me the most is, she doesn’t even realise how gorgeous she is.

I have always been extremely resentful of her.  The fact she can spend all day out with her horses, come home covered in dust and sweat in dirty jeans and an old T-shirt, but still look like a million dollars, pisses me off.

Drunken, she replies sarcastically.  Even rolling her eyes she’s gorgeous.  Bitch.

"Jeremy’s a good screw isn’t he?  He’s the best I’ve had... by far," I say sweetly, hoping to make her look ugly for just a second.  She turns to look at me, her mouth agape, her eyes wide.  Still beautiful.  Grrrr!. 

What? she chokes.

Oh, I gasp, feigning shock. She looks like she wants to slap me.  You didn’t know? I laugh, just once.  Oh, I’m sorry, Ava. But I do remember telling you some time ago that you wouldn’t find a man in this town who wasn’t giving you my sloppy seconds. Did you forget?

Whatever, Kennedy. She flips her hair and turns away from me, but I can still see the hurt in her eyes.

I’m such a fucking cow.

Oh my god! I screech. He didn’t fuck you, did he? Ha! Most likely because he doesn’t want second best. I bet you feel like a worthless piece of shit, Ava, I grin evilly.

I’m the biggest bitch alive.

Fuck. Off. Kennedy, she spits, annunciating every word slowly and forcefully.

Oh, Ava, Ava, Ava, I tut, I also specifically remember telling you that no guy in this town would want you, and this just proves my point.  I skip away, giggling.

Locking myself in my room, I flop down on my bed and cry, like I always do after I am nasty to my sister.  Deep down, I wish we could get along, but I’m so jealous of her, I can’t see past the green haze that clouds my vision.

Real beauty will always outshine fake beauty.  Because the fake is only masking the true ugly that is shining from the soul.

I wake up with a gasp, my heart thudding in my chest.  Tears prick my eyes, a reminder that my nightmare isn’t just a bad dream, but a real memory.   The truth is, I never slept with Jeremy.  I don’t even know why I told her I did.  Resentment, jealousy, envy.  There is no excuse. The way I treated my sister when we were younger was despicable and I will never truly forgive myself for it, even if she already has.

I know you probably hate me.  Hell, I hate myself most of the time, so it doesn’t surprise me in the least that you are feeling a little reserved about getting to know me on a deeper level.  All I can ask is that you come along for the ride with an open mind, and trust me when I tell you that I have changed. 

I am not the spoiled, selfish bitch that you remember.

For the first time in my life, I’m proud of the job I am doing.  For many years, I worked at a car lot in Darwin.  It wasn’t hard work, standing around, looking pretty and enticing men who think primarily with their dicks, to purchase a car.  Nor, was it fulfilling.  But, it paid my bills, and that was the main thing.  Then, one day I came across an advertisement in a newspaper for a job on a reserve outside my hometown of Pine Creek.  The government was running a program for wayward youths and adults on parole.  Kind of like a rehabilitation scheme, getting back to nature, and finding your true inner self without the temptations of your regular, everyday life.  For some reason, the position appealed to me, called to me on a deeper level.  I applied for the job and was ecstatic when I received a call two weeks later saying I had got the job.

Three weeks after that, I packed up my personal belongings and moved into a hut on the reserve.  The program is split into two groups – one for under eighteens, and one for over eighteens.  As a sponsor, I work six days a week alternating between the two groups but primarily with the younger residents.  There are seven other sponsors, and up to thirty residents at any given time.  The length of the residents stay depends on their needs and what led them here.

Generally, the children who are sent here are one step away from juvenile detention, and the court, (or in some cases, their parents) send them here for an up to three-week stay to hopefully get them on the right track. 

The court usually sends the adults here as part of their parole requirements, or in conjunction with a good behaviour bond in lieu of a prison sentence.

In the two years I have been working here, I have completely changed.  Being surrounded by the residents, hearing their stories, watching them change their lives for the better, made me reassess my own life.  I realized I had made a lot of mistakes.  I have behaved in ways I am not proud of, I have done things I wish I could take back, but the reality is, I can’t.  All I can do is look to the future and concentrate on being the best me I can be.

I have taken a lot so steps to improve my life, including realising what a selfish, immature brat I have been.  I reconnected with my sister, who I was estranged from thanks to my attitude and careless actions when we were growing up, and I am doing my best to be the best damn aunty to her beautiful children, and to be the sister she deserves.  Ava is a beautiful person, inside and out, and instead of being jealous of her, I should have admired her.

I’m not proud of the person I was, but I am proud of who I am now.

Standing up, I exit my hut and walk across the grass area to the communal hall.  I smile and wave to a few residents I see on the way, before I open the door and walk inside.  The hall is a big room lined with tables.  Down one end is a massive industrial kitchen where the staff prepares all the meals. 

Hi, Kennedy, a group of residents all greet me.

Morning, all.  Sleep well?

Yes, a few of them answer, while the others nod.

Excellent.  We’ve got a big day planned.  I take my seat at the table with the other sponsors and eat my breakfast.

After we’ve all finished eating, we stand and move to the front of the room to address all the residents.

Morning, guys, hope you’re all ready for a big day.  We have lots planned.  When you’re finished eating, we would like you all to divide up into groups of three.  Have a great day everyone, I say.

Twenty minutes later, I’m sitting on a makeshift stool made from a stump of wood and sitting around me in a circle are the three residents in my group, Malakye, Taleasha and Benny.

How are we all this morning? I ask.

Good.

Tired.

Alright.

Why are you tired, Taleasha?

Just didn’t sleep well.

Okay, well let’s get right into today’s activities.  First up, we’re going to do an exercise in trust.  Benny, stand up next to me, please.  I move to a position and he follows.  Now, Taleasha, can you come and stand here, please?  She takes my position in front of Benny and I step out of the way.

Just relax, Taleasha, and fall back into Benny’s arms, trusting that he will catch you.

She giggles, and then stalls.  I can’t do it.

Yes, you can, I encourage.  You won’t fall.

I’ll catch you, Leash, Benny tells her.

Okay.  But, don’t drop me, she warns him, pointing a finger. 

Taking a deep breath, she closes her eyes, scrunches her face and lets herself fall backwards into Benny’s waiting arms.

I did it! she shrieks, racing over to hug me.

Congratulations. I smile.  We repeat the process, over and over, until each person has had a turn of catching and falling.  Then we move on to the next activity.

Sitting back down in a circle a little while later, I address my three residents.

As you know, Malakye only arrived yesterday.  What we like to do, Malakye, is share a little about ourselves so we each know something about each other.  You can share as much or as little as you like.  Whatever you feel comfortable with.  Taleasha, would you like to go first?

Sure.  I’m Taleasha, I’m sixteen and I’m from a small town called Karathe.  My parents sent me here because I was getting into trouble at school and the principal was going to expel me if I didn’t get my act together.  So, here I am.

Thank you.  Benny?

I’m Benny, seventeen, from Darwin.  I was sent here by a judge who thought this would benefit me more than going to juvie.  I’ve been here three weeks, and I’m going home on Friday.  I’m a completely different person to the one I was when I arrived. 

I smile, knowing exactly how true that last statement is.  Benny was a sullen, cocky boy with a huge chip