Linda Warren - Tomas - Cowboy Homecoming

A Hart’s Greatest Gift

Marine Staff Sergeant Tomas “Tuf” Hart is beginning to understand why they say “you can never go home again.” Still grappling with the mental scars of battle, Tuf’s just learned that Thunder Ranch is in trouble. Now, the Harts are banking everything on their stallion, Midnight, winning the National Finals Rodeo. The only easy part of Tuf’s homecoming was falling for his high school crush all over again.

Cheyenne Sundell has always been drawn to Tuf. But as a single mom of twin daughters, she’s wary of getting involved, especially with another military man. Cheyenne’s disastrous marriage taught her that war changed men, and not always for the better.

Tuf and Cheyenne have been through hell and back. But with a little hope and a lot of holiday spirit, they just might find a way to heal themselves…and each other.

Tuf held up a hand. “Can we be friends?”

He grinned and Cheyenne’s heart hammered wildly. Oh, he was good. But as tempting as he was, she still had to say no. Even though it had been more than ten years, they still weren’t right for each other. They had too much baggage and heartache to deal with.

Then Tuf did something unexpected. He reached across the table and gently ran one long finger across her freckles. He’d never touched her before, and a sea of emotions swamped her, emotions she’d just sworn she didn’t have. Why was she suddenly hot all over and why did she have the urge to giggle?

“In grade school, I thought your freckles were cute. I actually tried to count them one time. You frowned at me so I had to stop counting. I like the freckles.”

Was he for real?

“I’d really like it if we could be friends. Do you think that’s possible?”

No. No. No!

But the word that slipped from Cheyenne’s lips was “Yes.”

Dear Reader,

Tomas: Cowboy Homecoming is the last book in the Harts of the Rodeo continuity series. Please don’t miss the other five books: Aidan: Loyal Cowboy by Cathy McDavid, Colton: Rodeo Cowboy by C.J. Carmichael, Duke: Deputy Cowboy by Roz Denny Fox, Austin: Second Chance Cowboy by Shelley Galloway and Beau: Cowboy Protector by Marin Thomas. I’m excited to be a part of this project and to work with these talented authors. I grew up in rural Texas and rodeo was a big thing and lots of fun. I never thought about what went on behind the scenes. After researching this book, I now know more about rodeos and cowboys and cowgirls than I ever thought I would.

My character Tomas, nicknamed Tuf, is the youngest of the Hart family. As a kid he was always trying to prove he was as tough as his older brothers and cousins. When his dad passed away, he joined the marines to find his own way in life. He returns home a hero, but scarred. The first person he meets is Cheyenne Sundell, a girl he had a crush on in high school. But Cheyenne is dealing with her own kind of pain. Her deceased marine husband committed suicide. It was a challenge to pull together two deeply scarred characters against the backdrop of the rodeo. I hope their love story is as real to you as it was to me.

So saddle up. We’re going to a rodeo—and all the way to the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the ride of your life on a black stallion named Midnight. Don’t forget your hat and boots.

With love and thanks,

Linda Warren

It’s always a pleasure to hear from readers. You can email me at Lw1508@aol.com or write me at P.O. Box 5182, Bryan, TX 77805. I will answer your letters as soon as I can. Or visit my website at www.LindaWarren.netor join me on Facebook or on Twitter, @texauthor.

Tomas: Cowboy Homecoming

Linda Warren

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

RITA® Award nominated and award-winning author Linda Warren has written thirty-one books for Harlequin, including stories for the Superromance, American Romance and Everlasting Love lines. Drawing upon her years of growing up on a farm/ranch in Texas, she writes about sexy heroes, feisty heroines and broken families with an emotional punch—all set against the backdrop of Texas. When she’s not writing or at the mall, she’s sitting on her patio with her husband watching the wildlife and plotting her next book. Visit her website at www.LindaWarren.net.

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To my wonderful editor, Kathleen Scheibling, for creating the Harts of the Rodeo and giving us such interesting characters to develop. And a temperamental black stallion to tame.

To Johanna Raisanen for editing the books to make them the best they could be.

To the men and women in our military. Thank you.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to all the people who answered my many questions about rodeo, especially Catherine Laycraft from the Calgary Stampede. And a special thanks to Rogenna for sharing her knowledge of the military. And for all the info available on the internet about rodeo and PTSD.

All errors are strictly mine.

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

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Epilogue

Excerpt

Chapter One

Home to Thunder Ranch.

In a coffin.

The only way Marine Staff Sergeant Tomas “Tuf” Hart ever saw himself returning to the place of his birth from the battlefields of Afghanistan was in a pine box.

Draped with an American flag.

Every time his unit engaged the enemy, bullets whizzed past him as mortar fire exploded in his ears. Two of his buddies died not twelve feet from him, but he’d been spared. Unscathed. Except for the invisible wounds on his soul that would be with him a lifetime. He’d seen too many innocent women and children killed for them not to.

But that was behind him and he was ready to see his family again. Though he’d been out of the Marine Corps two years, he hadn’t been home. Explaining that wasn’t going to be easy, but talking about the war was something he didn’t do, and he hoped his family respected that.

The sleepy town of Roundup, Montana, nestled in the pine-clad valley of the Bull Mountains. The town got its name because the valley near the Musselshell River was a natural place for ranchers to round up their cattle.

It was three days after Christmas and the town was quiet as he drove down a snow-covered Main Street, tire-track trails visible in the slush. Red-and-green decorations still fluttered from every building. Familiar storefronts. He noticed a redbrick building with black trim—Number 1 Diner. That was new, but otherwise the place was the same—his hometown.

He left town and turned south, taking the county road leading to the ranch. A light snow began to fall and he flipped on the windshield wipers. As he rounded a corner, he saw a little girl about four or five walking on the side of the road. She wore a heavy purple coat with a fur-lined hood, but the hood wasn’t over her head. Flakes of snow clung to her red hair, gathered into a ponytail, as she purposefully marched forward in snow boots.