Brenda Harlen - One Night With The Cowboy

No need for a shotgun wedding this time.

They’re still married!

An impromptu trip to Vegas brings Brielle Channing face-to-face with her ex-husband. Except Caleb Gilmore has some news—the handsome cowboy never signed those divorce papers years ago. Still husband and wife, they rekindle their undying spark and receive the ultimate surprise. But is a baby on the way enough to keep them together when their families are wanting to tear them apart once again?

BRENDA HARLENis a former attorney who once had the privilege of appearing before the Supreme Court of Canada. The practice of law taught her a lot about the world and reinforced her determination to become a writer—because in iction, she could promise a happy ending! Now she is an awardwinning, RITA® Award-nominated national bestselling author of more than thirty titles for Mills & Boon. You can keep up-to-date with Brenda on Facebookand Twitteror through her website, brendaharlen.com

Also by Brenda Harlen

The Sheriff’s Nine-Month SurpriseHer Seven-Day FiancéSix Weeks to Catch a CowboyClaiming the Cowboy’s HeartDouble Duty for the Cowboy

Baby Talk & Wedding BellsThe Last Single Garrett

Bring Me a Maverick for Christmas!

The Maverick’s Midnight Proposal

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

One Night with the Cowboy

Brenda Harlen

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-09140-4

ONE NIGHT WITH THE COWBOY

© 2019 Brenda Harlen

Published in Great Britain 2019

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Version: 2020-03-02

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This book is dedicated to my dad.

Daniel Stickles

5 December 1931–25 September 2018

My first hero. Forever in my heart.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Note to Readers

Dedication

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

Chapter Sixteen

Epilogue

Extract

About the Publisher

Prologue

Brielle Channing slid out of bed in the darkness before dawn, dressing quickly in a plain T-shirt, a pair of well-worn jeans and her favorite cowboy boots. She didn’t need any light to make her way down the stairs, out the back door and toward the stables—she’d traveled the familiar route more times than she could count.

She saddled up Domino, the black gelding with white markings, and tried not to think about the fact that this would be their last ride before Brie piled her bags into the back of her father’s truck and headed to the airport. She would miss her equine companion as much as she’d miss her parents and sister and brothers, but the hardest goodbye would be the one she said this morning, by the stand of ponderosa pines on top of the rocky ridge that formed part of the northern boundary of the Crooked Creek Ranch.

By the time she led Domino out of the barn, the sun had begun to rise, painting streaks of orange, pink and purple across the early morning sky. She lifted herself into the saddle, then let her horse take the lead, bending low over Domino’s back as the gelding galloped across the field, hooves biting chunks out of the tired, dry soil. The wind whipped through Brie’s hair and made her eyes sting, but she kept them open and focused to absorb all the sights and scents and sounds of the world around her—as if to lock them into her memory forever.

The sky was more light than dark now, and she could see the outline of the simple cabin that had been built as a shelter for cowboys caught by unexpected severe weather. The first time she’d given herself to Caleb Gilmore had been in that cabin, and the primitive shelter had become their private refuge from everything that wanted to tear them apart.

She was thinking about Caleb as she dismounted and led Domino to the narrow stream to drink. The boy she’d known for most of her life had always been serious and intense, and when he’d focused that intensity in her direction, she hadn’t stood a chance.

Not that she’d resisted. Not even for a minute. Because she’d loved Caleb Gilmore with every beat of her heart—and loving him had nearly destroyed her family.

The thundering hooves of Indigo, his prized stallion, crashed through her reverie moments before horse and rider came into view. As always, the sight of him made her body quiver and her heart sigh. Though barely twenty, he was already so much more man than boy: over six feet tall with a solid build that attested to years of work on his family’s cattle ranch. He controlled the powerful animal beneath him with a light hand on the reins and subtle signals from the strong thighs that gripped its flank. Indigo pulled up and Caleb slid off the stallion’s back, releasing the reins so the animal could dip its head to drink from the stream beside Domino.