Marie Ferrarella - The Maverick's Return

Congratulations...it’s a girl!

RUST CREEK RAMBLINGS

Talk about mending fences—have you heard that rugged rancher Daniel Stockton is back in town? It’s been ten years since Dan left Rust Creek Falls with Anne Lattimore’s heart in tow. She soon married someone else and had a child, but their marriage didn’t last. We here at the Gazette think we know why. It has something to do with Anne’s beautiful daughter, Janie...

Now that Dan has returned, will Anne find the courage to forgive him—and tell him that sweet Janie is really his? Will Dan find the courage to ask for a second chance? Stay tuned, you hopeful romantics, to see if love really can conquer all!

“Looks like you’ve been cleared to go,” he told her as the other woman stepped away.

Anne felt butterflies fluttering in the pit of her stomach. Why did she feel as if she was about to go out on a first date? She wasn’t, for heaven’s sake. This wasn’t even a date at all. She was just getting a cup of coffee with someone who had once meant a great deal to her.

Someone you had a baby with, the voice in her head reminded her.

With effort, Anne forced a ghost of a smile to her lips as she said, “Just let me get my purse and then I’m ready.”

After taking out her purse from one of the bottom drawers, Anne rose to her feet. She glanced at the phone, willing it to ring.

It didn’t.

She had temporarily run out of possible excuses.

“Okay,” she told Danny as she came around to the front of the reception desk, “let’s get that cup of coffee.”

Taking her elbow to help guide her out of the clinic, Dan murmured, “I thought you’d never ask.”

The butterflies went into high gear.

* * *

Montana Mavericks: The Great Family Roundup—Real cowboys and real love in Rust Creek Falls!

The Maverick’s Return

Marie Ferrarella

www.millsandboon.co.uk

USA TODAY bestselling and RITA® Award–winning author MARIE FERRARELLAhas written more than two hundred and seventy-five books for Mills & Boon, some under the name Marie Nicole. Her romances are beloved by fans worldwide. Visit her website, www.marieferrarella.com.

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To

Marcia Book Adirim,

Whose multilevel mind

Always leaves me in complete

Awe

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text Congratulations...it’s a girl! RUST CREEK RAMBLINGS Talk about mending fences—have you heard that rugged rancher Daniel Stockton is back in town? It’s been ten years since Dan left Rust Creek Falls with Anne Lattimore’s heart in tow. She soon married someone else and had a child, but their marriage didn’t last. We here at the Gazette think we know why. It has something to do with Anne’s beautiful daughter, Janie... Now that Dan has returned, will Anne find the courage to forgive him—and tell him that sweet Janie is really his? Will Dan find the courage to ask for a second chance? Stay tuned, you hopeful romantics, to see if love really can conquer all!

Introduction “Looks like you’ve been cleared to go,” he told her as the other woman stepped away. Anne felt butterflies fluttering in the pit of her stomach. Why did she feel as if she was about to go out on a first date? She wasn’t, for heaven’s sake. This wasn’t even a date at all. She was just getting a cup of coffee with someone who had once meant a great deal to her. Someone you had a baby with, the voice in her head reminded her. With effort, Anne forced a ghost of a smile to her lips as she said, “Just let me get my purse and then I’m ready.” After taking out her purse from one of the bottom drawers, Anne rose to her feet. She glanced at the phone, willing it to ring. It didn’t. She had temporarily run out of possible excuses. “Okay,” she told Danny as she came around to the front of the reception desk, “let’s get that cup of coffee.” Taking her elbow to help guide her out of the clinic, Dan murmured, “I thought you’d never ask.” The butterflies went into high gear. * * * Montana Mavericks : The Great Family Roundup—Real cowboys and real love in Rust Creek Falls!

Title Page The Maverick’s Return Marie Ferrarella www.millsandboon.co.uk

About the Author USA TODAY bestselling and RITA® Award–winning author MARIE FERRARELLA has written more than two hundred and seventy-five books for Mills & Boon, some under the name Marie Nicole. Her romances are beloved by fans worldwide. Visit her website, www.marieferrarella.com .

Dedication To Marcia Book Adirim, Whose multilevel mind Always leaves me in complete Awe

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

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Epilogue

Extract

Copyright

Prologue

Daniel Stockton wearily walked into the log cabin he lived in at the Comanchero Ranch. For the last ten years, he’d been in charge of booking vacations for city dwellers who yearned to sample the cowboy life for a week or two and pretend they lived back in the days of the old Wild West. The dude ranch, one of Colorado’s most popular, was currently in the height of its busy season. Attendance was at an all-time high and would probably remain so until somewhere around the end of next month.

As he concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other on the way to his secondhand sofa, Dan felt as if all those years had been packed into this last week and a half.

He sighed and collapsed on the worn, cracked sofa in the center of his small living area.

His stomach rumbled, asking to be appeased, but for now, Dan felt as if he couldn’t move more than the first two fingers of his right hand. The hand that was currently wrapped around the remote control for the TV that had been in the cabin when he’d initially moved in. The cabin was too quiet and he just wanted some background noise to distract him.

Even now, after all these years, he didn’t like being alone with his thoughts.

Aiming the remote at the twenty-four-inch TV screen, he pressed the power button, content to watch whatever program came on. He just wanted some company he didn’t have to explain anything to. The tourists who came to the ranch always seemed to be filled to the brim with questions.

Most of the time, that didn’t bother him, but there was this one family this last week that had a kid with them—Harlan—who just wouldn’t stop asking questions no matter what. The kid, all of eleven or twelve, was obviously trying to trip him up.

Dan felt as if his head was throbbing and, quite possibly, on the verge of exploding.

The pay at the Comanchero Ranch was fairly decent and he did get to spend most of his life on horseback, which he loved, but there were times—like this last week—when the loneliness caught up to him, wrapping its tentacles around him so hard he could scarcely breathe. That was when he found his patience to be thin and in relatively short supply. And when that happened, his tolerance went out the window.