Cathy Mcdavid - The Rancher's Homecoming

A Time To Rebuild

It’s gone—everything Annie Hennessey, and two generations of Hennesseys before her, had worked so hard to build. The devastating forest fire didn’t just claim her family’s Sweetheart Inn—it also burned half a town whose livelihood is wedding tourism. Now the struggle to rebuild is just beginning, and Sam Wyler’s sudden reappearance isn’t going to make things any easier on Annie.

Nine years ago, Annie and Sam were deeply in love. When he left to seek his fortune, Annie couldn’t forgive him. Now Sam, widowed with a young daughter, is back and eager to help the town recover. But Annie needs more than bricks and builders to heal her proud and wounded heart. Could the love they once shared hold the key?

A figure emerged from the shadows. A man.

He wore jeans and boots and a black cowboy hat pulled low over his brow.

Even so, she instantly recognized him, and her broken heart beat like it was brand-new.

Sam! He was back. After nine years.

Why? And what was he doing at the Gold Nugget?

“Annie?” He started down the stairs, the confused expression on his face changing to one of recognition. “It’s you!”

Suddenly nervous, she retreated. If he hadn’t seen her, she’d have run.

No, that was a stupid reaction. She wasn’t young and vulnerable anymore. She was thirty-four. The mother of a three-year-old child. Grown. Confident. Strong.

And yet, the door beckoned. He’d always had that effect on her, been able to strip away her defenses.

A rush of irritation, more at herself than him, galvanized her. “What are you doing here?”

Dear Reader,

I always love starting a new series. It’s kind of like decorating a barren room or planning a huge event. There are so many possibilities, and exploring them is fun and exciting. I get to decide where the series takes place, what about this particular community makes it unusual and interesting, and, most important, who are the characters that will inhabit it? I’m not sure what part appeals to me the most.

I visited Lake Tahoe and the surrounding area many years ago and was struck by its rugged beauty. I left thinking that someday I would set a book there. The chance didn’t come until now. Sweetheart, Nevada, is based loosely on the area north of Lake Tahoe. And here’s a secret just between you and me. The Gold Nugget Ranch featured in my book is inspired by the Ponderosa Ranch where the TV series Bonanza was filmed. Promise not to tell?

With a name like Sweetheart, you can count on a lot of romance. But the road won’t be easy for Sam and Annie, my struggling couple in The Rancher’s Homecoming. In addition to rebuilding a relationship that went wrong years ago, they are fighting to save their town after a devastating wildfire nearly destroyed it. The situation is further complicated by their young daughters, Annie’s charming yet difficult mother and grandmother, and a menagerie of orphaned animals.

As always, I love hearing from readers. You can contact me at cathy@cathymcdavid.com.

Warmest wishes,

Cathy McDavid

The Rancher’s Homecoming

Cathy McDavid

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cathy makes her home in Scottsdale, Arizona, near the breathtaking McDowell Mountains, where hawks fly overhead, javelina traipse across her front yard and mountain lions occasionally come calling. She embraced the country life at an early age, acquiring her first horse in eighth grade. Dozens of horses followed through the years, along with mules, an obscenely fat donkey, chickens, ducks, goats and a potbellied pig who had her own swimming pool. Nowadays, two spoiled dogs and two spoiled-er cats round out the McDavid pets. Cathy loves contemporary and historical ranch stories and often incorporates her own experiences into her books.

When not writing, Cathy and her family and friends spend as much time as they can at her cabin in the small town of Young. Of course, she takes her laptop with her on the chance inspiration strikes.

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To my fellow brainstorming divas: Pam, Libby,

Connie and Valerie. I’m always so inspired by our

sessions and by the four of you. Thank you for asking

the right questions and for forcing me to stretch

as a writer. I wouldn’t take the abuse from anyone else!

Contents

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

Epilogue

Excerpt

Chapter One

Six weeks since the fire and the lingering smell of smoke still burned like acid in the back of her throat. Annie Hennessy covered her mouth and nose, remembering the days immediately following the fire when they were forced to wear face masks and hazmat suits as they waded through the waist-deep ruins of the inn that had been in her family for the past fifty years.

Like then, she bit back the sobs, afraid even letting one escape would cause her to break down entirely. Where would she and her daughter be then? Her mother and grandmother? Homeless, probably. Or living on the generosity of some relative.

Annie took a tentative step forward, wincing as something crunched beneath the sole of her hiking boot. She dreaded looking down but did anyway.

The charred remains of a picture frame lay in her path, barely recognizable. Whichever room the painting had once hung in was anyone’s guess. During the fire, the roof caved in on the second floor, which had then collapsed onto the first floor.

Only the foundation, parts of the exterior walls and a few blackened ceiling beams remained. All the precious heirlooms, antiques, furnishings and mementoes the Hennessy women had collected over the past half century had been reduced to a giant pile of rubble in a matter of minutes.

No, not everything. As Annie took another step forward, something metallic peeked out from beneath a plank of wood.

Squatting down, she shoved aside the plank, mindless of the grime smearing her hands. One by one, her fingers closed around the object, and her pulse quickened. Why hadn’t she noticed this before today?

Like a miner discovering a diamond in a barren field, she unearthed the discolored desk bell and held it up to catch the late-afternoon sunlight streaming in from overhead. For as long as she could remember, this bell had sat atop the lobby desk. Hundreds, no, thousands of guests had rung it.

Another piece of Annie’s shattered heart broke off.

She clutched the bell to her chest and waited for the strength to rise in her. She would add this to her collection of salvaged treasures. A metal comb, a silver teapot, an iron hinge to the storeroom door, to name a few.

Annie fought her way across the piles of crumbling debris covering the former lobby floor. Staying here another minute was impossible. Why did she insist on torturing herself by stopping every day on her drive home from work?

Because this was her home. Not the tiny two-bedroom apartment in town where she and her family currently resided.