Debbi Rawlins - Sizzling Summer Nights

She’s got this cowboy hot and bothered

A week in Montana at the Sundance Ranch is exactly the break Hannah Hastings needs. No dry, dusty Texas. No painful reminders that she’s not the son her rancher father wanted. Plus there seems to be no shortage of dead-sexy cowboys in Blackfoot Falls...especially one tall, dark drink of delicious in a Stetson.

Hannah was just hoping for a little sexy fun. She never expected Seth Landers to rock her world—or just how much she’d love being in his. But disputes over government land are growing heated in the small Montana town. And Hannah is being drawn into a war she can’t win. One where finally gaining her father’s approval may mean losing the cowboy she can’t help falling for...

“I should’ve taken you straight to the Sundance.”

Hannah gaped at him. “No way. And miss this?”

“Don’t worry. In a week you’ll see your fill of stars.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Hannah said.

Seth cupped her face with one hand and deepened the kiss, their tongues touching and stroking each other. His hand moved to her neckline, and he toyed with the fabric before dipping his fingers just underneath, just enough to tease.

She trembled when his mouth left hers and his lips blazed a damp path down the side of her neck.

The temptation was there. She could feel his tension, his indecision, his restraint.

Oh, God, how she wanted to touch him. But she didn’t dare. His mouth was hot and hungry, his skin feverish. His warm, rugged scent surrounded her. It was all going to her head.

Stepping just one toe over the line would be all it took. They wouldn’t stop.

And there would be no turning back...

Dear Reader,

I’m happy to say Blackfoot Falls, a kissing cousin to the Rocky Mountains, is still alive and kicking, and waiting for you to pay a visit. In this story you’ll be bumping into quite a few characters you already know from the Sundance and Whispering Pines ranches, as well as a handful of townsfolk who keep the rumor mill well-oiled. To add to the fun and mayhem, you’ll also meet a new troublemaker who’s mixing it up with the old ones.

After writing sixteen books set in Blackfoot Falls, it’s amazing how attached I’ve become to the town and its cast of characters. Although some of them would tell you otherwise and they’d have a point. When I started writing someone we haven’t seen in a while, I got annoyed with myself. How could I have left Barbara McAllister on the sidelines for so long? Completely unforgivable!

And then we have the hero and heroine—Seth and Hannah. I generally form bonds with all my characters, though on many different levels. When Hannah met Seth, I knew these two were destined for a happy-ever-after, and no interference from me would change their destiny. Not that I wanted to keep them apart. I can honestly say that at the end of the book, I felt as though I was saying goodbye to two very good friends. I didn’t want them to leave. But of course they’ll be with me for a while...making me smile.

I hope they make you smile, as well.

Regards,

Sizzling Summer Nights

Debbi Rawlins

www.millsandboon.co.uk

DEBBI RAWLINS grew up in the country and loves Western movies and books. Her first crush was on a cowboy—okay, he was an actor in the role of a cowboy, but she was only eleven, so it counts. It was Houston, Texas, where she first started writing for Harlequin, and now she has her own ranch...of sorts. Instead of horses, she has four dogs, four cats, a trio of goats and free-range cattle on a few acres in gorgeous rural Utah.

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This is for my editor, Laura Barth, who’s been with me for the whole series, through thick and thin, for better or for worse, and for Oh, my God, I’m never going to finish this book!

And please, no one tell her, but Hannah is a little like Laura in some ways. That’s all I’m saying.

Thanks also to Jo Leigh, my partner in crime and plotting.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Extract

Copyright

1

“I’VE STAYED OUT of trouble for six years,” Hannah Hastings said, shaking her head, resigned and not nearly tipsy enough. “And now you’re going to make me do this, aren’t you?”

“Of course I am.” Rachel grinned at her. “Get up there before someone beats you to the mic.”

“Gee, that would be a shame.” Sighing, Hannah pushed back in the old oak chair. “No pictures.”

“Yeah, right. Okay.”

“I mean it. Put your damn phone away. We’re not stupid college kids anymore.”

“No?” Rachel burst out laughing.

“I haven’t taken a vacation in four years,” Hannah muttered. “And I decide to come all the way to Montana to see you. I’m such an idiot.” She drained the last of her watered-down margarita, then got to her feet, glaring at the small makeshift stage next to the jukebox. “What’s wrong with you people? Who does karaoke night anymore?”

She glanced around at the good-sized crowd crammed into the rustic bar. The Watering Hole was supposed to be a nice, quiet place where they could talk, catch up with what had been happening to each other since their college days. Ha.

Tears from laughing filled Rachel’s eyes. Sitting next to her, Jamie, her sister-in-law, only had a vague idea of what was going on but it seemed that laughter really was contagious.

God help her. Hannah figured she might as well get it over with. She just wished this wasn’t her first night in Blackfoot Falls. She’d only be here a week. Not nearly long enough for these nice people to forgive and forget.

Now, the tall, dark-haired cowboy sitting at the bar? He was the one she really cared about. Since walking in five minutes ago he’d kept his head down and nursed his beer. Bad break-up was Hannah’s guess. Poor guy showed all the signs of love gone wrong. Something she might’ve been willing to help him forget for a while. But what were the odds he wouldn’t turn around to see who couldn’t carry a tune with both hands and a two-ton pickup truck?

Oh, and who had the nerve to get up in front of a roomful of strangers and completely humiliate herself. Sure, he’d be all over her. She wouldn’t be able to fight him off.

Five stupid minutes. Rachel couldn’t have called in her marker before then?

Hannah sat down again. “Is there an expiration date on that coupon? I bet there is.”

Rachel grinned. “Nope.”