Lisa Jackson: The Mccaffertys: Thorne

THE PAST IS NEVER TOO FAR BEHIND…

The McCaffertys: THORNE

When Thorne McCafferty rushes home to the family ranch, he is thinking only about whether his sister Randi will survive the car wreck that has put her in the hospital. He never expects that Randi’s E.R. doctor will be Nicole Stevenson.

Nicole has never forgotten the teenage passion she shared with Thorne… or the sting of his unexplained rejection. Now she’s all grown up—but he still affects her in the very same way. Will they both be able to move beyond their pasts for a second chance at a happy ending?

The McCaffertys: Thorne

Lisa Jackson

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Dear Reader,

The most wonderful time of the year just got better! These six captivating romances from Special Edition are sure to brighten your holidays.

Reader favorite Sherryl Woods is back by popular demand with the latest addition to her series AND BABY MAKES THREE: THE DELACOURTS OF TEXAS. In The Delacourt Scandal, a curious reporter seeking revenge unexpectedly finds love.

And just in time for the holidays, Lisa Jackson kicks off her exciting new miniseries THE MCCAFFERTYS with The McCaffertys: Thorne, where a hero’s investigation takes an interesting turn when he finds himself face-to-face with his ex-lover. Unwrap the next book in A RANCHING FAMILY, a special gift this month from Victoria Pade. In The Cowboy’s Gift-Wrapped Bride, a Wyoming rancher is startled not only by his undeniable attraction to an amnesiac beauty he found in a blizzard, but also by the tantalizing secrets she reveals as she regains her memory.

And in RUMOR HAS IT…, a couple separated by tragedy in the past finally has a chance for love in Penny Richards’s compelling romance, Lara’s Lover. The holiday cheer continues with Allison Leigh’s emotional tale of a runaway American heiress who becomes a Mother in a Moment after she agrees to be nanny to a passel of tots.

And silver wedding bells are ringing as Nikki Benjamin wraps up the HERE COME THE BRIDES series with the heartwarming story of a hometown hero who convinces his childhood sweetheart to become his Expectant Bride-To-Be.

I hope all of these breathtaking romances warm your hearts and add joy to your holiday season.

Best,

Karen Taylor Richman

Senior Editor

Books by Lisa Jackson

Silhouette Special Edition

A Twist of Fate #118

The Shadow of Time #180

Tears of Pride #194

Pirate’s Gold #215

A Dangerous Precedent #233

Innocent by Association #244

Midnight Sun #264

Devil’s Gambit #282

Zachary’s Law #296

Yesterday’s Lies #315

One Man’s Love #358

Renegade Son #376

Snowbound #394

Summer Rain #419

Hurricane Force #467

In Honor’s Shadow #495

Aftermath #525

Tender Trap #569

With No Regrets #611

Double Exposure #636

Mystery Man #653

Obsession #691

Sail Away #720

Million Dollar Baby #743

* He’s a Bad Boy #787

* He’s Just a Cowboy #799

* He’s the Rich Boy #811

A Husband To Remember #835

* He’s My Soldier Boy #866

† A Is for Always #914

† B Is for Baby #920

† C Is for Cowboy #926

† D Is for Dani’s Baby #985

New Year’s Daddy #1004

‡ A Family Kind of Guy #1191

‡ A Family Kind of Gal #1207

‡ A Family Kind of Wedding #1219

§ The McCaffertys: Thorne #1364

Silhouette Intimate Moments

Dark Side of the Moon #39

Gypsy Wind #79

Mystic #158

Silhouette Romance

His Bride To Be #717

Silhouette Books

Silhouette Christmas Stories 1993

“The Man from Pine Mountain”

Fortune’s Children

The Millionaire and the Cowgirl

Montana Mavericks: Wed in Whitehorn

Lone Stallion’s Lady

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

Epilogue

Prologue

Last Summer

“The truth of the matter, son, is that I’ve got a request for you,” John Randall McCafferty stated from his wheelchair. He’d asked Thorne to push him to the fence line some thirty yards from the front door of the ranch house he’d called home all his life.

“I hate to ask what it is,” Thorne remarked.

“It’s simple. I want you to marry. You’re thirty-nine, son, Matt’s thirty-seven and Slade—well, he’s still a boy but he is thirty-six. None of you has married and I don’t have one grandchild—well at least none that I know of.” He frowned. “Even your sister hasn’t settled down.”

“Randi’s only twenty-six.”

“High time,” J. Randall said. A shell of the man he’d once been, J. Randall nonetheless gripped the arms of his metal chair, often referred to as “that damned contraption,” so tightly his knuckles bleached white. An old afghan was draped over his legs though the temperature hovered near eighty according to the ancient thermometer tacked to the north side of the barn. Across his lap was his cane, another hated symbol of his failing health.

“I’m serious, son. I need to know that the McCafferty line won’t die with you boys.”

“That’s an archaic way of thinking.” Thorne wasn’t going to be pushed around. Not by his old man. Not by anyone.

“So be it. Damn it, Thorne, if ya haven’t noticed I don’t have a helluva lot of time left on this here earth!” J. Randall swept his cane from his lap and jabbed it into the ground for emphasis.

Harold, J. Randall’s crippled hunting dog, gave off a disgruntled woof from the front porch and a field mouse scurried into a tangle of brambles.

“I don’t understand you,” J. Randall grumbled. “This could have been yours, boy. All yours.” He swept his cane in a wide arc and Thorne’s gaze followed his father’s gesture. Spindly legged colts frolicked in one pasture while a herd of mottled cattle in shades of russet, black and brown ambled near the dry creek bed that sliced through what was commonly referred to as “the big meadow.” The paint on the barn had peeled, the windows in the stables needed replacing and the whole damned place looked as if it were suffering from the same debilitating disease as its owner.

The Flying M Ranch.

John Randall McCafferty’s pride and joy. Now run by a foreman as he was too ill and his children too busy with their own lives.