Marie Ferrarella - A Baby on the Ranch

Real Love Is Worth The Wait

When Kasey Stonestreet’s husband walked out on her and their newborn son, her best friend, Eli Rodriguez, was her rock. Eli took them in at his Forever, Texas, ranch without hesitation. As a suddenly single mom with nowhere else to go, Kasey expected to feel out of place. Instead, for the first time in her life, she felt as though she was home.

Eli has secretly loved Kasey since they were kids; he was devastated when she married another man. Now, he’s got a second chance at happiness. The woman of his dreams, and the family he always wanted, are in his reach. But if he reveals his true feelings, it could ruin their friendship, and he’d lose Kasey forever.

How long can Eli and Kasey go on pretending to each other—and to themselves—that they’re still just friends? And what will happen when Kasey’s husband returns? A Baby on the Ranch

“Don’t you want to kiss me, Eli?”

Kasey whispered the words to Eli’s back, knowing that if he faced her, she wouldn’t have the nerve to say them.

Eli stopped, half convinced that he’d imagined her saying words that he would have sold his soul to hear. Releasing the breath that had gotten caught in his throat, he slowly turned around.

“More than anything in the world.”

“Then what are you waiting for?”

He could have said that he couldn’t kiss her because, technically, she was still Hollis’s wife. Or that he couldn’t because he didn’t want to take advantage of her, or the situation. There were as many reasons to deny himself as there were leaves on the tree by his window. And only one reason to do it.

Because he ached for her.

Dear Reader,

I have this thing about families. When I was little, I wanted three older brothers. Unfortunately, since I was the first born, no amount of my pleading seemed to rectify that. All my parents could give me were two younger ones. Now, because of our ages, I tell people they’re my older brothers, so in essence, it all worked out. Once I began writing, I created those brothers (and sisters) that nature (and my parents) failed to give me. I became caught up in the worlds I was creating and just kept going. What began as a small family—and small town—kept on growing. Which is why Alma, who first appeared in the sheriff’s story, suddenly was given siblings en masse by the time she got her own story (Lassoing the Deputy). I like large families and I like returning to them. So this is Eli’s story, which shows how selfless love is ultimately rewarded. It’s also a story about never giving up hope because if something is meant to be, it will happen.

I hope you enjoy this latest addition to the Forever, Texas saga. As always, I thank you for reading, and from the bottom of my heart I wish you someone to love who loves you back.

All the best,

Marie Ferrarella

A Baby on the Ranch

Marie Ferrarella

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

This USA TODAY bestselling and RITA® Award-winning author has written over two hundred books for Harlequin Books, some under the name of Marie Nicole. Her romances are beloved by fans worldwide. Visit her website at www.marieferrarella.com.

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Baby on the Ranch

To Kathleen Scheibling,

for wanting to see more.

Thank you.

Contents

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

Prologue

“Eli!”

The loud, insistent pounding worked its way into his brain and rudely yanked Eli Rodriguez out of a deep, sound sleep. Eyes still shut, he sat up in bed, utterly disoriented, listening without knowing what he was listening for, or even why.

He’d fallen into bed, exhausted, at eleven, too tired even to undress.

Was he dreaming?

“Eli, open up! Open the damn door, will you?”

No, he wasn’t dreaming. This was real. Someone was yelling out his name. Who the hell was pounding on his door at this hour?

The question snaked its way through his fuzzy brain as Eli groped his way into the hallway and then made his way down the stairs, clutching on to the banister. His equilibrium still felt off.

Belatedly, he realized that it was still the middle of the night. Either that, or the sun had just dropped out of the sky, leaving his part of the world in complete darkness.

His mind turned toward his family. Had something happened to one of them? They were all well as of the last time they’d been together, but nothing was stationary.

Nothing was forever.

“Eli! C’mon, dammit, you can’t be that asleep! Wake up!”

The voice started to sound familiar, although it was still hard to make it out clearly above the pounding.

Awake now, Eli paused for a second to pull himself together before opening the front door.

And to pick up a firearm—just in case.

The people who lived in Forever and the surrounding area were good people, but that didn’t mean that unsavory types couldn’t pass through. There’d been an incident or two in the past five years, enough to make a man act cautiously.

“Dammit all to hell, Eli!”

That wasn’t an unsavory type—at least, not according to the general definition. That was his friend, Hollis Stonestreet. Except right now, he wasn’t feeling very friendly.

With an annoyed sigh, Eli unlocked his front door and found himself face-to-face with Hollis.

A one-time revered high school quarterback, the blond-haired, blue-eyed former Adonis had become a little worn around the edges. Though he was still considered handsome, the past eight years hadn’t been all that good to Hollis.

Eli rested the firearm he no longer needed against the wall. “You trying to wake the dead, Hollis?” he asked wearily.

“No, just you,” Hollis retorted, walking into the front room, “which I was starting to think was the same thing.”

“This couldn’t wait until morning?” Eli asked, curbing his impatience.

Hollis was wearing his fancy boots, the ones with the spurs. They jingled as he walked.

Looking at the boots, Eli started getting a very bad feeling about this. What was Hollis doing here at this hour?

Last he’d heard, Hollis had been missing for almost a week now. At least according to his wife, Kasey. She’d said as much when she’d called him two days ago, apologizing for bothering him even though they’d been friends forever. Apologizing, and at the same time asking that if he wasn’t too busy, would he mind driving her to the hospital in Pine Ridge because her water had just broken.

“The baby’ll be coming and I don’t think I can drive the fifty miles to the hospital by myself,” she’d said.

He’d known by the tone in her voice that she was afraid, and doing her best not to sound like it.

His pulse had begun to race immediately as he’d told her to hang in there. Five seconds later, he’d torn out of his ranch house, dashing toward his Jeep.