Carla Cassidy - The Colton Bride

Bestselling author Carla Cassidy brings danger and deception to Dead River Ranch for the Coltons of Wyoming

Ranch foreman Gray Stark and heiress Catherine Colton may live together on Dead River Ranch, but they’re from different worlds. She made that clear when she broke his heart years ago. With their passionate, complicated past, marriage is not an option. Until he finds out that she—and her unborn baby—are targets.

Making Catherine his wife is the best way to ensure her safety. But as desire resurfaces, it wars with the danger that hovers close. Is Gray ready to face his biggest threat yet to keep Catherine safe…and by his side…forever?

His gaze left Catherine’s face and focused someplace over her shoulder. “First love, teenage fantasies.” He looked at her once again, his eyes dark and unreadable. “What we had was just the lust and the wonder of young love. I did you a favor by leaving here and letting you get on with your adult life.”

“It didn’t feel like a favor at the time,” she said softly, remembering the aching pain he’d left behind. However, there were certainly bigger issues at the moment.

“Water under the bridge, right?” he said. “We can’t go backward, Catherine. We need to figure things out here and now. We need to make sure that you’re covered at all times. And the only way I can do that is if you marry me.”

The Coltons of Wyoming:Stories of true love, high stakes…and family honor.

Dear Reader,

The excitement and dysfunction of the Colton family makes the best kind of reading—addictive and a definite guilty pleasure.

There’s also nothing better than a Colton marriage…unless the bride is unwilling and the groom is reluctant. Add in a heavy dose of desire between the two and a kidnapper determined to claim the new bride for ransom and you’ve got a roller coaster ride!

I hope you enjoy reading The Colton Bride as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Keep reading!

Carla Cassidy

The Colton Bride

Carla Cassidy

www.millsandboon.co.uk

CARLA CASSIDYis an award-winning author who has written more than one hundred books for Mills & Boon. In 1995 she won Best Silhouette Romance from RT Book Reviews for Anything for Danny . In 1998 she also won a Career Achievement Award for Best Innovative Series from RT Book Reviews .

Carla believes the only thing better than curling up with a good book to read is sitting down at the computer with a good story to write. She’s looking forward to writing many more books and bringing hours of pleasure to readers.

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Contents

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

Excerpt

Chapter 1

The three Colton sisters sat in the parlor area of Catherine’s bedroom suite, each of them pretending to carry on a casual conversation while ignoring the reason they were gathered together.

The pregnancy test Catherine had just taken was in the adjoining bathroom and none of them had looked at it yet to see the results.

The suite was three rooms: the sitting area, the bedroom and the bath. All were decorated in a splendor of pinks and black with silver accessories. This was Catherine’s haven, the place she felt most safe and secure, but at the moment her nerves screamed inside her.

“Jim Radar’s bull got himself all tangled up in a mess of barbed wire this morning. It took me hours to get him unwound and cleaned up,” Amanda said. At twenty-eight, Amanda had a successful large animal veterinarian practice and a six-month-old daughter, Cheyenne, who was the love of her life. “I gave Jim a lecture about the dangers of barbed wire, but I think it went in one ear and out the other.”

“How’s the barn project coming along?” Catherine asked her younger sister, Gabriella. Gabby had a dream of turning an old red barn on the property into a center for troubled teens. She was not only devoted to her project but also planning a Christmas wedding with Trevor Garth, head of security here at the Dead River Ranch.

“Slowly,” Gabby admitted, her green eyes sparkling with happiness. “I keep getting distracted by wedding plans. It’s already October and that doesn’t give me much time to have a perfect wedding by December.”

“It’s going to be a beautiful wedding and hopefully it will bring some joy into this place,” Catherine replied.

Amanda sighed with a touch of impatience. “We’ve only got an hour before dinnertime. Shouldn’t somebody go in there and check and find out if the answer is yes or no?”

Once again Catherine’s nerves jumped erratically inside her veins, as if attempting to make a hasty escape. How had she gotten herself into the situation where she’d even have to take a pregnancy test? Before the question fully formed in her head, she knew the answer. She’d been such a fool. They’d always been so careful, always had what she assumed was safe sex, but apparently it was possible that at some point a condom hadn’t done its job.

She stood from the dainty pink-and-white chair where she’d been seated, an anxious dread attempting to weigh her back down. “I guess I’ll go find out.”

Gabby jumped up off the chaise where she and Amanda had been seated. She grabbed hold of Catherine’s cold hand. “I’ll go with you, Cath.”

The whole thing felt surreal. When Catherine had missed her first period she’d chalked it up to all the stress and madness that had been taking place over the past couple of months at the ranch. When she’d missed her second period, she’d finally decided it was time to take the test. And now it was the moment of truth.

She squeezed Gabby’s hand tightly as they entered the large, plush bathroom. The plastic test container was on the back of the stool and within five steps of it she could see the result. The positive sign glared up at her.

She was vaguely aware of Gabby’s small gasp, but a curious numbness swept over Catherine. Pregnant. She was pregnant. The words went around and around in her head, but she couldn’t grasp the concept.

She picked up the test and threw it into the small trash can next to the commode and then she and Gabby returned to the sitting room. Gabby gave a nod to Amanda as Catherine sank back down on her chair.

“So, what are you going to do, Cath?” Amanda asked.

“I don’t know. I’m not sure. I need some time to think,” Catherine replied. “Neither of you can tell anyone about this. It has to be our secret until I figure things out.”

Amanda nodded solemnly. “My lips are sealed.”

“Pinky swear,” Gabby said. “You know your secret is safe with us.”

Catherine did know. She and her sisters had always been a team, confiding in each other, trusting each other, especially lately when there was such tension, such a sense of uncertainty and a faint simmer of danger in the house.