Pamela Britton - Kissed by a Cowboy

THE COWBOY WHISPERER

Deep down, Jillian has always known she couldn’t be a wife and mother. After the pain she’s experienced in past relationships, she can’t risk the heartbreak. But she has her animals and her special gift, which has brought her to Via Del Caballo, California. The tiniest sign tells her everything an animal is feeling. To observers, it’s uncanny.

To Wes Landon, the stories of the gorgeous “horse whisperer” are so much mumbo jumbo. Then he sees Jillian in action, charming horses, dogs...even him. When his brand-new baby daughter is left in his care, Wes has hopes that Jillian would want to be part of his family. But the closer he tries to get to her, the more she pulls away. Can he convince her to take a leap of faith?

A new song came on over the speakers. Wes grabbed her hand. “Dance with me.”

“Oh, but I—”

“No buts.” He winked at Jim. “Nice meeting you.” He tugged Jillian toward the dance floor.

“That was rude.”

“No,” he said, spinning her around to face him. “What was rude was the way you told me to get lost last week.”

“I did not.”

He held her too closely, and as it always did when he touched her the electricity that stretched between them danced along his arms and his belly. It’d been weeks since they’d been together, and yet he still craved her just as badly as that first time.

“You did, and you’ve been avoiding me this week.” He felt her tense in his arms. “My mom says she’s asked you to come over at least a half a dozen times.”

“I’ve been busy.”

“You’ve been avoiding me,” he repeated.

Just as quickly as it’d come, the tension left her body. “All right, I have.”

Dear Reader Dear Reader Title Page About the Author Dedication 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 Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-One Epilogue Extract Copyright ,

Two years ago I bought a horse out of someone’s backyard. It was love at first sight. It was almost a disaster.

The horse had serious mental issues. I feared for my life every day I went out to ride. If he wasn’t trying to take my head off in his stall, he tried to kick me or run me down. Scary.

The breeder of the horse heard about my problems. She took pity on me and arranged for a session with a world-renowned animal communicator. Desperate, I agreed to talk to the communicator even though I didn’t believe anyone could actually communicate with animals, especially over a phone. Boy, was I in for a surprise.

The communicator told me things about my horse that blew my mind, things that only I would know. She knew he had a problem with his right front hoof (he’d recently suffered an abscess). That he hated anyone invading his space. That he thought of himself as king. Most surprising of all, she claimed that he loved me. Loved? The skeptic in me had a hard time believing that. Still, I was desperate enough to listen to her advice.

Two months later it was like I owned a different horse. I became a believer.

There are things in life that we can’t understand. I wanted to write about those things. I wanted to tell the story of a heroine with a heart as big as the animals she loved, but who was afraid. And I wanted to give her the man of her dreams—her perfect match. She just has to take her own advice—to trust in something you can’t see—in this instance, love.

I hope you enjoy Kissed by a Cowboy.

Pamela

PS: To view pictures of my reformed rake of a horse visit my Facebook page at facebook.com/pamelabrittonauthor.

Kissed by A Cowboy

Pamela Britton

www.millsandboon.co.uk

With over a million books in print, PAMELA BRITTON likes to call herself the best-known author nobody’s ever heard of. Of course, that changed thanks to a certain licensing agreement with that little racing organization known as NASCAR.

But before the glitz and glamour of NASCAR, Pamela wrote books that were frequently voted the best of the best by the Detroit Free Press, Barnes & Noble (two years in a row) and RT Book Reviews. She’s won numerous awards, including a National Readers’ Choice Award and a nomination for the Romance Writers of America Golden Heart® Award.

When not writing books, Pamela is a reporter for a local newspaper. She’s also a columnist for the American Quarter Horse Journal.

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In Memory

Colonels Smoking Gun

(Gunner)

1993–2013

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text THE COWBOY WHISPERER Deep down, Jillian has always known she couldn’t be a wife and mother. After the pain she’s experienced in past relationships, she can’t risk the heartbreak. But she has her animals and her special gift, which has brought her to Via Del Caballo, California. The tiniest sign tells her everything an animal is feeling. To observers, it’s uncanny. To Wes Landon, the stories of the gorgeous “horse whisperer” are so much mumbo jumbo. Then he sees Jillian in action, charming horses, dogs...even him. When his brand-new baby daughter is left in his care, Wes has hopes that Jillian would want to be part of his family. But the closer he tries to get to her, the more she pulls away. Can he convince her to take a leap of faith?

Introduction A new song came on over the speakers. Wes grabbed her hand. “Dance with me.” “Oh, but I—” “No buts.” He winked at Jim. “Nice meeting you.” He tugged Jillian toward the dance floor. “That was rude.” “No,” he said, spinning her around to face him. “What was rude was the way you told me to get lost last week.” “I did not.” He held her too closely, and as it always did when he touched her the electricity that stretched between them danced along his arms and his belly. It’d been weeks since they’d been together, and yet he still craved her just as badly as that first time. “You did, and you’ve been avoiding me this week.” He felt her tense in his arms. “My mom says she’s asked you to come over at least a half a dozen times.” “I’ve been busy.” “You’ve been avoiding me,” he repeated. Just as quickly as it’d come, the tension left her body. “All right, I have.”

Dear Reader Dear Reader Dear Reader Title Page About the Author Dedication 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 Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-One Epilogue Extract Copyright , Two years ago I bought a horse out of someone’s backyard. It was love at first sight. It was almost a disaster. The horse had serious mental issues. I feared for my life every day I went out to ride. If he wasn’t trying to take my head off in his stall, he tried to kick me or run me down. Scary. The breeder of the horse heard about my problems.