Sharp Shootin' Cowboy by Victoria Vane

face. —Haley
    Spent two days building a soccer field for the Iraqi kids only to have the insurgents destroy it. It’s an uphill battle at best. Still thinking about you, Haley Cooper. —Reid
    I’ve been accepted to UC Davis. Heading to Sacramento in a few weeks, so I won’t be here when you return. Should I send your jacket to Camp Pendleton?—Haley
    Negative, Haley Cooper. Will collect it in person…along with something else I promised myself. —Reid
    In your dreams, Marine. —Haley
    Every single night, sweetheart. —Reid
    * * *
    Over time she’d come to look forward to his messages. The last email had been a photo of a desert sunset with no message attached. Her chest tightened. That was almost three weeks ago. She hadn’t heard from him since.

Chapter 6
    Camp Pendleton, Southern California coast
    Garcia was sacked out on his rack watching Reid pack. “You going back to Bum Fuck for the holidays?”
    â€œYeah. I haven’t been to Wyoming in over two years.”
    When their time had come up, he and Garcia hadn’t balked about staying on, but following back-to-back tours and all the post-deployment bullshit, he now had an eighteen-month-long promise to keep to himself.
    â€œâ€™Sides,” he added, “seventeen hours alone in my truck is better therapy than any of that mandatory decompression the government provides.”
    â€œYou need a hand with anything?”
    â€œNope.” Reid slung his duffel over his shoulder. “Got it covered.”
    Garcia cocked a brow. “You’re gonna drive to Wyoming dressed like that?”
    â€œYou got a problem with it?” Reid challenged. Although he rarely wore his dress uniform, he was proud of the fresh stripes he’d earned and the gold chevron that marked his promotion. He was pulling out all the stops. Few women could resist a U.S. Marine in dress blues. He hoped Haley Cooper didn’t prove immune.
    â€œNo man.” Garcia chuckled. “I guess you’re taking lessons from me now…along with a detour.”
    Garcia was right on both accounts, but Reid refused to comment and headed out the door. Although his final destination was Wyoming, a stop in San Jacinto wouldn’t be out of his way. He hadn’t heard from Haley in months, but his combat duties hadn’t allowed email access. He’d debated calling her first, but then decided the element of surprise might work in his favor. In all likelihood she was involved with someone else by now, but, one way or another, he was determined to find out.
    Reid threw his gear in the truck and hit the highway bearing east. An hour later, he pulled onto a street lined with rows of small stucco houses. They looked much alike, but he remembered which was hers. Recon was a big part of his job.
    He parked in the drive and climbed out of his truck, taking a moment to straighten his uniform. By the time he approached the front door his palms were sweating. He could run without a thought straight into AK-47 fire, but the thought of seeing Haley made him sweat? Fuck that.
    He cursed himself and wiped his palms before ringing the bell, waiting in a parade stance, psyching himself up to engage. His mission was to win her over by any means, fair or foul. He was even ready to throw her over his shoulder, if it came down to it.
    To his disappointment, it wasn’t Haley who answered, but an elderly gentleman surrounded by a choir of barking dogs.
    â€œHush now!” He stifled the canine chorus. Straightening, he slowly assessed Reid from the mirrorlike gleam of his black shoes to his snowy white cap. “Can I help you, young man?”
    Reid slowly released his breath. “Yes, sir, I’m looking for Haley Cooper.”
    â€œAre you now?” One bushy brow rose over a pair of sharp gray eyes. “Are you a friend of my granddaughter?”
    â€œYou might say that, sir. We have a long-standing