Trish Milburn - Marrying the Cowboy

Friends To Roommates…To Lovers?

Living with the Cupid of Blue Falls, Texas—her aunt Verona—Elissa Mason should be married by now. Or so her friends tease. But Elissa is wedded to the family nursery she’s turned into a success. Following a devastating tornado, she has to rebuild and nothing’s going to distract her. Not even her new feelings for neighbor-turned-roommate Pete Kayne.

Deputy Sheriff Pete Kayne understands having a dream and doesn’t want to get in Elissa’s way. Especially after the tornado has taken his house, his truck, everything but his horse and his friends. All he’s got left to share is his heart. He has his own ambition: a chance to join the ultimate in law enforcement—the Texas Rangers. Elissa was his friend. That would have to be enough….

When did Pete Kayne get so ripped?

“Sorry, I thought you were gone already.”

At the sound of Pete’s voice, the voice of her friend, Elissa snatched her gaze away from his chest to find an awkward, embarrassed look on his face. She half turned and gestured vaguely toward her room. “I think I sort of slipped into a coma last night.”

“Me, too.”

She forced herself to meet his eyes as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on, that she hadn’t just ogled the pectorals of one of her best friends. “Are you late for work?”

He shook his head. “On this afternoon.”

She glanced at the bathroom behind him.

“Sorry,” he said again, this time moving out of the doorway to give her access. “I’ve got errands to run.”

Pete hurried past her toward the guest room. Unable to help herself, she glanced over her shoulder. Damn, his back was every bit as well cut as his chest, a fact she would have been much better off not knowing. Even after he slipped into the room and shut the door behind him, she didn’t move. Memories started tumbling through her head, and she realized she’d never seen Pete without a shirt on. And now she feared she’d never be able to forget the sight.

Dear Reader,

What if you found your true love in, literally, the boy next door? The one who’d been your friend for years? That’s the stunning possibility facing Elissa Mason when her good friend Pete Kayne loses his home to a tornado and moves into her guest room. One moment he’s the good guy deputy sheriff, and the next he’s the sexy man she can’t stop thinking about. As Pete, Elissa and the rest of Blue Falls pick up the pieces after the tornado, these two friends find a love neither expected.

I love friends-to-lovers stories, so I had a lot of fun writing Marrying the Cowboy. I hope you enjoy Pete and Elissa’s journey to their happily ever after and the return trip to Blue Falls, Texas.

Trish

Marrying

the Cowboy

Trish Milburn

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Trish Milburn writes contemporary romance for the Harlequin American Romance line and paranormal romance for the Mills & Boon Nocturne series. She’s a two-time Golden Heart award winner, a fan of walks in the woods and road trips, and a big geek girl, including being a dedicated Whovian and Browncoat. And from her earliest memories, she’s been a fan of Westerns, be they historical or contemporary. There’s nothing quite like a cowboy hero.

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To the art department at Mills & Boon for all the gorgeous covers you’ve given me.

You’ve made me a very happy author.

And to anyone reading this who’s ever had a tornado rip through your life. My heart goes out to you for your loss, and I’m awed by your strength in the aftermath. As I write this dedication, it’s only been a few days since the massive tornado devastated Moore, Oklahoma, and more tornadoes hit Shawnee and other parts of Oklahoma. My heart aches for the loss of life, homes and livelihoods.

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

Excerpt

Chapter One

Ominous. That’s the word that came to mind as Elissa Mason stared at the western horizon from the front porch of the house she shared with her aunt. Angry, dark clouds were doing their best to snuff out the last sliver of daylight hanging at the edge of the world. A gust of wind pushed the wisps of hair that had escaped her ponytail into her eye and sent a soda can careening end over end down the street.

Verona, her mother’s older sister, came out of the house behind her. “Looks like we might finally get an end to this drought.”

“It’s what is coming along with the rain that I’m concerned about.” Already they were under severe thunderstorm and tornado watches for the remainder of the night. As thunder rumbled in the distance, Elissa couldn’t kick the bad feeling she had.

“Yeah, might be a doozy, but beggars can’t be choosers,” Verona said.

There was no denying that this part of central Texas was in dire need of rain. The ground was so dry throughout the Hill Country that it was cracking, and already ranchers were having to sell off stock because they didn’t have adequate grazing. Not to mention the fact that even native Texans were getting tired of baking every time they stepped foot outside, no matter the time of day. It was almost autumn, and there still hadn’t been any relief from the heat. The only ones who were likely seeing any benefit from this Hades-like weather were the electric utilities fueling all the air conditioners running nonstop.

As she watched the sky darken, she noticed Pete Kayne turning onto the street in his sheriff’s department cruiser. She waved as he pulled into his driveway next door. When he shut off the engine and got out of the car, he glanced back to the west, as well. Another gust of wind had him grabbing his Stetson to keep it from taking flight.

“Looks like you might have a busy night,” she said.

He took off his hat and ran his fingers through his dark hair. “That’s what I’m afraid of. Going to try to catch a nap in case I end up having to go back in.”

She smiled. “Good luck with that.” While she was a morning person, Pete Kayne definitely wasn’t. Sometimes she gave him extra-bubbly greetings in the mornings when he had to work first shift just to see the annoyed look on his face.

He gave her one of those looks now, the type shared by people who’d been close friends for a long time. She laughed as he headed into his little house. After watching the sky darken more, Elissa headed inside. She checked the weather coverage on TV until it started getting repetitive.

“We better go ahead and eat in case we lose power,” Verona said as she headed toward the kitchen.

“Not a bad idea.”

As they ate several minutes later, Elissa flipped through some nursery supply catalogs she’d brought home from work.

“Are they still planning to start on the addition Monday?” Verona asked.

A zing of excitement shot through Elissa as she envisioned the pottery studio in its completed form, a place where locals and tourists alike could come and learn to make their own pottery. And the new florist shop she was adding to her already thriving nursery and landscape décor business would boost sales during the parts of the year when people weren’t landscaping. “Yeah. I’m having to rein myself in when I look at these catalogs. I could spend myself into bankruptcy with all the neat stuff in here.”