Carla Cassidy - Cowboy's Triplet Trouble

None of this made any sense, but there was no mistaking that those bullets had been meant for her. Her heart pounded so loudly in her ears she couldn’t hear anything else. Why was this happening? What was going on? The sight of Jake barreling out of the front door with a gun in his hand forced a sob of relief to escape her lips.

He fired several shots into the woods where the original bullets had come from as he ran toward her.

“You all right?” he asked, his voice a terse snap of tension.

She gave a curt nod, unable to find her voice.

“Did you see anyone?” he asked.

“No, I just felt the first bullet buzz by my head and I ran.” A tremble tried to take hold of her body but she fought against it, knowing she couldn’t give in to her fear until she was safe and sound.

She certainly felt safer with Jake by her side, but someplace out there was somebody who had apparently just tried to kill her not once, not twice, but three times.

Dear Reader,

I love babies. I love their smell, their drooling smiles and their cuddly warmth. If my husband would have agreed I would have filled our house with babies, and then given each of them away when they got to be teenagers!

When Grace Sinclair gets pregnant after a crazy one-night stand, she’s horrified to find herself carrying not one baby, not twins, but triplets and with the daddy of the babies only a distant memory in her mind.

With the help of MysteryMom, a cyber friend, she finally locates the daddy working the family ranch with his brothers. But, when Grace goes to the ranch for a family reunion, she’s in for a surprise. Not only does danger come her way, but also so does an unexpected love.

All she has to do is survive a cunning killer and keep her babies safe to get the happily-ever-after she and her daughters deserve.

Enjoy and keep reading!

Carla Cassidy

CARLA CASSIDYis an award-winning author who has written over eighty books for Mills & Boon. In 1995, she won Best Silhouette Romance from RT Book Reviews for Anything for Danny . In 1998, she also won a Career Achievement Award for Best Innovative Series from RT Book Reviews .

Carla believes the only thing better than curling up with a good book to read is sitting down at the computer with a good story to write. She’s looking forward to writing many more books and bringing hours of pleasure to readers.

Carla Cassidy

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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To Gretchen Jones,

My personal computer genius, back deck sitter and shoe

fetish friend. Thanks for your friendship and support.

I appreciate you!

“I can’t believe you’re going to do something so risky,” Natalie Sinclair exclaimed.

Grace leaned back in the kitchen chair and smiled at her younger sister. “This conversation is backward. Isn’t it usually me saying stuff like that to you?”

The two were seated in Grace’s kitchen where the late May afternoon breeze drifted through the open windows, bringing with it the sweet scents of early summer.

“That’s because normally I’m the one doing the crazy, reckless things,” Natalie replied. She picked up her lemonade and took a sip, eyeing Grace over the top of the glass as if suspecting her older sister had been replaced by a look-alike alien. “Maybe this is some sort of postpartum insanity,” she said as she placed her glass back on the table.

Grace laughed. “It’s been almost a year since I was pregnant. This definitely isn’t postpartum anything.” Her laughter faded as she leaned forward. “I have to do this, Natalie. I’ve made up my mind, and I’m leaving first thing in the morning.”

Natalie shook her head. “At least give me the directions to where you’ll be so I know where to send the police when you’re in trouble.”

Grace opened the manila folder next to her laptop and took out a piece of paper. “I already intended to give you the details, although I’m certainly not expecting any trouble.” She handed Natalie the directions she’d printed off her computer earlier in the morning.

“You’re leaving here to travel almost two hundred miles away to a place you’ve never been before because some person on the internet, who you’ve never met, told you to go there. Gee, sounds brilliant to me,” Natalie said sarcastically.

Grace felt an uncharacteristic flush heat her cheeks. “It’s not just anyone. It’s MysteryMom.”

“Yeah, and for all you know this MysteryMom is some fifty-year-old male pervert sitting around in his underwear and talking to you over the computer.”

Once again Grace couldn’t help but laugh. “I’ve been corresponding through email with MysteryMom for almost two years now. I’d think if that were the case I would have gotten a clue by now. Besides, I’m taking my gun with me.”

Both Grace and Natalie had gotten handguns from their mother on their twenty-first birthdays, unusual gifts from a strong, nontraditional woman. She had endured a violent mugging and had sworn her daughters would never be helpless victims.

“At least that makes me feel a little better,” Natalie conceded.

“It would make me feel a little better if you had a job. Are you putting in applications everywhere?” Grace asked, eager to get the conversation off her plans and on to something else. Certainly Natalie’s lack of employment was a concern, especially since she wasn’t going to school either. She was twenty-four years old and just seemed to be drifting through her life at the moment.

“Sure, I’m trying, but I can’t find anyone who wants to hire me.”

“Maybe if you’d take that ring out of your eyebrow somebody would be more interested in giving you a job,” Grace replied gently. “Or you could go back to school and get some training. You have the money to do that and you could decide to go into whatever field you wanted to.”

“Okay, that’s my clue to get out of here,” Natalie said, not hiding her irritation. She checked her watch. “Not only do I not want one of your loving lectures, but I’m meeting Jimmy in a few minutes for a late lunch.”

“When do I get to meet this paragon of virtue that you’ve been dating?” Grace asked as they both rose from the table.

Natalie gave her a secretive little smile. “When I’m good and ready for you to meet him.” Together the two walked to the front door. “You’ll call me as soon as you get to where you’re going tomorrow and let me know that you’re okay?”

“Of course I will,” Grace replied and pulled Natalie close for a quick hug. There was almost ten years’ difference in their ages, and Grace had always mothered Natalie. Now that their mother was gone, she felt especially maternal toward her younger sister.