Tina Leonard - Mason's Marriage

Mason was about to grunt a reply when his brother continued. “A bachelor dad, of course. A single father. An unwedded man.”

“Thank you, Last. You can go now.”

Last turned serious. “Mason, it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. Just be nice to Mimi, okay? That’s your future lying in there next to the little pink giraffe. You don’t want to goof up the thing that means the most to you.”

Last thundered down the stairs and went out the front door. Mason sighed, taking one last look at his daughter, then headed toward his own room.

Last was right about one thing. Nanette was his future. However, he would allow Mimi to visit whenever she wanted. Underneath his anger, he didn’t really intend to keep her away from her child. As long as everything went his way.

As long as Nanette stayed here with him, where she belonged.

Dear Reader,

The wild boys of Malfunction Junction meant so much to me to write, and I greatly appreciate the love and enthusiasm you have shown for the wily Jefferson brothers. They are a tightly knit family who tried to do right, and now they have their own happy ending. I lived with these brothers for three years, and am delighted that you took them into your hearts, as well. My mother, sister and grandmother were not able to read any of the series, so I was fortunate to have you to love the stories, which were very much a part of my heart. Your letters meant a lot.

It’s always hard to say goodbye, but through the blessings of fate it turns out we are saying goodbye only temporarily. In Crockett’s Seduction we met a trio of determined ladies who happened upon Valentine’s special Men Only Day. These women have a very stubborn sheriff back in their small town—and some tricky characters to outwit—so they are taking some of the good ideas they learned in Union Junction back to their tiny town of Tulips, Texas. Please join me in the next chapter of fun as the Forrester family learns that tea at the Tulips Saloon is anything but sanely predictable, and Ladies Only Day is introduced in a town where men think they are in charge.

Best wishes and much love,

Tina Leonard

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To the readers who have loved the

Cowboys by the Dozen—every one of these

stubborn Malfunction Junction men—

thank you with all my heart.

Prologue

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

Epilogue

I was sure as hell no hero. I don’t know why she loved me. But she did, and I loved her for it, with all the love a man can give anyone.

—Maverick Jefferson, from a notation in his private journal, which was delivered to his son Mason by family friends.

Mimi Cannady took a deep breath as the election results came in. Of course, there had never been any doubt that Mason Jefferson, popular cowboy and owner of Union Junction Ranch, affectionately known in these parts as Malfunction Junction, would be elected sheriff by a landslide. The only doubt she’d had recently was when she would tell Mason the truth about his daughter.

Mason came to stand beside her, after everyone had finished congratulating him and filed out. “Thanks for all your hard work on the campaign, Mimi. Although I’m not sure what kind of adventure you’ve gotten me into this time.”

Knowing now, when he was happily elected, was probably the perfect time for the truth, she smiled wanly. “Mason, I have to talk to you about something.”

“I’m listening,” he said. “What does my campaign manager want to tell me?”

Mimi tried to stop her hands from shaking, but she couldn’t. She willed her heart to be brave and told her spirit that she had faced more difficult challenges.

Friendship was really all she’d ever had from Mason Jefferson—and she’d desperately tried to hang on to it over the years. But she knew hanging on to Mason’s goodwill was selfish when she thought about what her daughter and Mason were missing by not knowing their true relationship.

“Mason,” she said softly. “Maybe I’ve waited too long to tell you this, but there’s something you must know. I hope you can forgive me for not telling you sooner.” Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to speak. “Nanette is your daughter.”

The victory smile he’d been wearing faded from his face. He stared at her, clearly dumbfounded. “Of course she is,” he said. “I mean, I love her as if she were my very own flesh and blood.”

Mimi’s heart thudded low and slow, heavy and hard and almost painful. “Mason, the night before I got married—”

“Don’t say another word,” Mason commanded, his voice like cold, hard marble. He stared at her, obviously remembering that night, and suddenly looking like a complete stranger she didn’t know at all. The longest seconds of her life passed as he studied her face, his gaze hawkish and suspicious. She could almost hear a door slam shut between them.

He strode from the campaign “war room.” Mimi hurried after him, but Mason turned, holding up a hand so that she wouldn’t follow. Helplessly, she watched as he went to Widow Fancy, who kept the town paperwork records, and whispered something in her ear.

The two of them walked down the hall of the old courthouse and into the records room. A loud click erupted as Mason locked the door behind them. Realizing what he was about to do, Mimi ran to bang on the door.

“Mason! Let me in!”

But there was no reply.

There were many important memories in Mason Jefferson’s life, some so poignant that they were etched like sand-scratched glass in his mind. One was realizing his father had gone away, leaving him in charge of a family of rambunctious, grieving boys. That was the moment Mason had first learned the meaning of the word responsible.

After that, he’d been responsible for a hell of a lot. It wasn’t easy being a parent when all he’d known how to be was a boy.

Another sharp memory was the day Mimi had gotten married. Right up until the moment she’d said “I do,” he’d believed she would not marry another man. He’d had every right to think that, since just the night before he had made wild, uninhibited love with her. It was the only time in his life he could truly say he’d let loose the mantle of responsibility that he’d worn over the years—and he’d loved every sweet moment of it.

“May God forgive me,” he muttered to himself as he sat in a hard-backed wooden chair, one of the pieces of furniture that came with the sheriff’s office. “May God forgive me for the sin of loving another man’s wife.”

But there was no forgiveness for that, which he knew too well by now. The price to pay for stealing forbidden love was that you paid forever. He’d paid every time he’d seen Mimi, every holiday, every waking moment of his life.

The price was never enough to stop a man from the folly of his ways. Love would not stop just because a man knew the price was out of his reach.

Mason crossed his ankles and rested his boots on the old, well-worn desk that had belonged to Mimi’s father, the former sheriff, Sheriff Cannady. This was his office, and it would take a long time for Mason to be able to believe the truth of the bronze door placard that read Sheriff Mason Jefferson.