Jolene Navarro - Lone Star Bride

An Unwanted Marriage

Sofia De Zavala wants to help her father run their family’s Texas ranch—but he has other ideas for her future. Faced with an arranged marriage, Sofia dresses as a boy and joins a cattle drive, determined to prove herself to her father. But her plan backfires when she’s forced to save her reputation by marrying trail boss Jackson McCreed.

Jackson thought he was hiring a scrappy young boy—instead, the wary widower has landed his business partner’s feisty, headstrong daughter as his bride. He believes a marriage of convenience is the best they can hope for. But Sofia dares him to look to the future again...and find a love strong enough to lasso a lifetime of happiness.

“He can’t make you marry me.”

“We might not have much choice if we want to have a chance at the dreams we both want.”

“All I want is to work on the ranch with my father, and you want to raise your horses.”

Jackson nodded, his jaw sore from the tension. “Despite you lying to me, we were friends, right?”

Sofia nodded.

“We talked about you working for me.”

“But that is different than getting married.”

“It doesn’t have to be.”

That got her attention. Moving back, she wiped her face clear of the tears. “What do you mean?”

“We can treat it like a partnership. I didn’t plan on ever marrying again.”

“I know. I don’t want a husband.”

“Good. Because I don’t want a wife. We could just stay friends. Have our own rooms, our own lives.” He shrugged. “Just friends, business partners. But I’m not going to let your father force us into this. You have to agree.”

A seventh-generation Texan, JOLENE NAVARRO fills her life with family, faith and life’s beautiful messiness. She knows that as much as the world changes, people stay the same: vow-keepers and heartbreakers. Jolene married a vow-keeper who shows her holding hands never gets old. When not writing, Jolene teaches art to inner-city teens and hangs out with her own four almost-grown kids. Find Jolene on Facebook or her blog, jolenenavarrowriter.com.

Lone Star Bride

Jolene Navarro

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Be still, and know that I am God.

—Psalms 46:10

Dedicated to my grandmother, Jo Ann Crawford. She gave me the spark to tell stories and to pass down stories from our own family. Thank you for inspiring me and allowing me to read all your Zane Grey books. This one is for you and the women in our family who made Texas their home before it was Texas.

Acknowledgments

Some say that writing is a solitary endeavor, but I find I’m surrounded by many people who help me along the way.

First, to my amazing brainstorming team, Storm Navarro, Sasha Summers and Willa Blair and the SARA to SARA Sundays.

Special thanks to the family of the late historian W. T. Block. His article on the Opelousas Trail inspired my pirates on a cattle drive.

To editor extraordinaire Emily Rodmell. Thank you for your insight and eye for detail. To executive editor Tina James for giving Jackson and Sofia a home beyond my computer. I discovered them six years ago. That they are in the world is a dream come true.

To the most wonderful agent, Pam Hopkins, for being a mixture of kindness, support and honesty. Thank you.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

About the Author

Title Page

Bible Verse

Dedication

Acknowledgments

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

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Epilogue

Dear Reader

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

Blood raced through Sofia De Zavala’s veins as she stepped to the edge of the spacious veranda. The native stone floor kept the area cool in the Texas heat. It was only April, and the sun had already become a relentless rival to the numerous layers of material she wore. Wearing pants would be so much easier.

The sounds of the vaqueros and American cowboys filled the area near the horse barns.

Ignoring her father’s orders, she planned on going to the stables today. Rumors of a new stallion that had come all the way from Ireland were impossible to ignore.

“Señorita Sofia, wait!” Her mother’s maid ran after her. “I have your bonnet and gloves.”

Not wanting to upset the older woman, she bit back a sigh. “I left them behind on purpose.” Rosita went ahead with her mission and started pulling the long white gloves onto Sofia’s hands. “These will be ruined.”

“Your mother never allowed you to leave the house without them.” The large overly decorated bonnet went on next. Tears hovered on the edges of the maid’s russet eyes. “I can’t believe they are gone.”

“I know.” She still expected to hear her mother’s voice in the house. A voice that she took for granted and now dearly missed. “We all miss her, but I can’t see as well with the bonnet on. It completely blocks my side view.” What she wanted was a flat wide-brimmed hat like the men wore. If it wouldn’t upset her father so much, she’d go get one of her brother’s hats.

Her father still refused to talk about their loss, and Rosita cried at the mention of her mother. There was no place for her own grief to be shared.

Head high, more so in order to see in front of her than pride, Sofia hurried to the pens.

There were more people than she had ever seen at the corrals. Many of the women who lived on the ranch stood on the railing, watching the activity that stirred the dust. She loved being around the horses and had missed them.

On most of the ranches she had visited with her father, there were women working alongside the vaqueros, but her mother had believed that women belonged in the home. So, on their ranch, the men worked the livestock, and the women stayed inside.

This was her chance to change that for the De Zavala ranch and her people.

Her gloves immediately lost their whiteness when she grabbed the top of the wood fence and stepped up.

As she looked over the railing, she felt as if her heart and lungs stopped working. The most magnificent animal she had ever seen loped on the opposite side of the corral. Tucking his tail, he stopped and turned in one quick motion.

The glossy black coat lay over sculpted muscles. Long solid legs covered the ground in fluid motion. The stallion tossed his head, sending his mane flying in the breeze.

She was in love. “He’s gorgeous.”

Maria, Rosita’s granddaughter, leaned in close to her. “They say he’s from Kentucky.” The younger woman sighed. “I’ve never seen anything like him.”