Tina Leonard: Crockett's Seduction

Mason (38), Maverick and Mercy’s eldest son—He can’t run away from his own heartache or The Family Problem.

Frisco Joe (37)—Fell hard for Annabelle Turnberry and has sweet Emmie to show for it. They live in Texas wine country.

Fannin (36)—Life can’t get better than cozying up with Kelly Stone and his darling twins in a ring house in Ireland.

Laredo (35), twin to Tex—Loves Katy Goodnight, North Carolina and being the only brother to do Something Big.

Tex (35), twin to Laredo—Grower of roses and other plants, Tex fell for Cissy Kisserton and decided her water-bound way of life was best.

Calhoun (34)—Loved to paint nude women, and finally found Olivia Spinlove, the one woman who could hold his heart.

Ranger (33), twin to Archer—Fell for Hannah Hotchkiss and will never leave for the open road without her.

Archer (33), twin to Ranger—E-mail and an Aussie stunt-woman named Clove Penmire were this cowboy’s undoing.

Crockett (31), twin to Navarro—He was the first artist in the family! And now everyone—including his new wife Valentine Cakes—knows it!

Navarro (31), twin to Crockett—Fell for Nina Cakes when he was supposed to be watching her sister, Valentine, who is the mother of Last’s child.

Bandera (27)—With Holly Henshaw in a hot air balloon he doesn’t need poetry to keep his mind off his troubles.

Last (26)—The only brother who finds himself a new father with no hope of marrying the mother. Will he ever find the happy ending he always wanted?

Bake with love

¾ cup shortening

1 cup sugar (dark or light brown)

¼ cup light molasses

1 beaten egg

2 cups flour (unsifted)

¼ tsp salt

2 tsp soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp cloves

Cream shortening and sugar, then add molasses and egg. Beat well.

Mix together flour, salt, soda and spices, and sift.

Add sifted dry ingredients to creamed mixture and mix well.

Put in refrigerator for a while. My grandmother’s handwritten note to the side says to cover and chill for at least one hour. Roll out dough and cut out in gingerbread shapes.

Try baking at 350°F for ten minutes.

In my family, we do not use frosting on our gingerbread men! You can use frosting, or what Mimi always bought was red hots and sprinkles (like chocolate and colorful ones). We press the decorations into the gingerbread men and then bake them. That’s how my kids love them. It’s just so delicious to taste the gingerbread at holiday time! Hope you enjoy!

With love,

Tina Leonard and Isabel Sites (Mimi)

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Tina Leonard loves to laugh, which is one of the many reasons she loves writing Harlequin American Romance books. In another lifetime Tina thought she would be single and an East Coast fashion buyer forever. The unexpected happened when Tina met Tim again after many years—she hadn’t seen him since they’d attended school together from first through eighth grade. They married, and now Tina keeps a close eye on her school-age children’s friends! Lisa and Dean keep their mother busy with soccer, gymnastics and horseback riding. They are proud of their mom’s “kissy books” and eagerly help her any way they can. Tina hopes that readers will enjoy the love of family she writes about in her books. Recently a reviewer wrote, “Leonard had a wonderful sense of the ridiculous,” which Tina loved so much she wants it for her epitaph. Right now, however, she’s focusing on her wonderful life and writing a lot more romance! Visit her at www.tinaleonard.com.

To Heather Diane Tipton, Marcy Shuler and Dawn Nelson, the quicker-picker-uppers, who pulled me out of the dumps. I loved having you in my office for “tea.” What wonderful friends you are!

To all my Tina Leonard’s Corral Gal Pals,

for being awesome friends.

To the Scandalous Ladies, for recipes, reading and support you provide so generously.

Thank you, Stacy Boyd, for being a patient, encouraging editor. Kathleen Scheibling, bless you for your stalwart heart and patience.

Maggie Kelly, you are a gem.

Lisa and Dean, you have made my life fun!

Tim Leonard, my childhood best friend. I’m glad you did my homework in first grade.

Mother, I miss you. Judy, I miss you, too.

Shannon and Dad, what a wonderful blessing to have a wedding in the family. Welcome to the family, Shannon. We will take good care of you.

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

Epilogue

Sometimes she riled my temper, but she always made me smile.

—Maverick Jefferson to his sons after his wife, Mercy, passed away

As Crockett Jefferson stood at his brother Bandera’s wedding, he wondered if Valentine Cakes ever realized how much time he spent staring at her. He shouldn’t. She was the mother of his brother Last’s child. Crockett’s deepest, darkest secret was that Valentine evoked fantasies in his mind, fantasies of the two of them laughing, touching, kissing—

“Well, that’s that,” his eldest brother, Mason, said looking to Hawk and Jellyfish, the amateur detectives and family friends who’d come to the Malfunction Junction ranch to deliver news about Maverick Jefferson, the Jefferson brothers’ missing father. Before he heard anything else about the mystery that obsessed Mason Crockett once again found his vision glued to Valentine and her tiny daughter, Annette. His eyes had a habit they didn’t want to give up, no matter how much family drama flowed around him.

Hawk looked at Mason. “Do you want to know what we learned about your father before or after you eat your piece of wedding cake?”

Crockett sighed, watching the fiery redhead as he heard the pronouncement about Maverick. With regret he took his gaze off Valentine. She held her daughter and a box of heart-shaped petits-fours she’d made for Bandera’s wedding reception. Being an artist of sorts, he appreciated both Valentine’s lovely baked goods and her beauty. She smiled at him, her pretty blues eyes encouraging, her mouth bowing sweetly, and his heart turned over.

She could never know how he felt about her.

He didn’t want to feel the way he did about the mother of his brother’s child. So, to get away from the temptation to look at Valentine again, Crockett followed Hawk, Jellyfish and Mason to the shade of a tree so they could talk.

“We were able to confirm that Maverick was in Alaska, for a long time,” Hawk said. “Your father lived with an Alaskan woman of Inuit descent. She found him slumped in a boat one day, floating offshore. Not knowing who he was or where he’d come from, she had friends help her carry him to her home. When he awakened, Maverick had no memory. She lived in a remote area, far from any town where a tourist group might have lost a member. Mannie kept him with her for four years, always hoping he might tell her something about himself.”

Crockett looked at Mason, who surely had to be feeling the same lead in the pit of his stomach that he was feeling. Finally, some trace of Maverick had been found, but he also feared there must be more to the story.