Trish Milburn - The Cowboy Sheriff

He wants to serve and protect…

Still, Keri Mehler wants nothing to do with Sheriff Simon Teague. Keri has lost almost her entire family, her brother Carter is who knows where, and now she is sole guardian of her late sister’s ten-month-old girl. She doesn’t need her old crush coming around and stirring things up even more!

Everyone in Blue Falls, Texas, might find the cowboy sheriff charming, but Keri knows the truth. Simon was the reason her brother ran off for a life of trouble, and he’s the last person she would turn to for comfort. But the lawman seems determined to help her and her little niece. Keri is equally determined to keep Simon at arm’s length. She wants to hate him, but his charm may finally be getting to her, too.

“You want to be a cowgirl?

“If so, you’re going to have to learn how to ride a horse.” Simon began bouncing his leg as he held the baby firmly. Hannah laughed.

After a couple of minutes, he noticed Keri standing in the doorway.

“Look, Hannah, it’s your aunt Keri.”

A hint of a smile tugged at the edges of Keri’s mouth. Then, as if she realized what she’d done, her lips formed a humorless line.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked.

“Because once upon a time we were friends, and I’d like to be again.”

He braced himself for a hot and sharp response, but it didn’t come. Keri simply stood in the doorway for a few seconds then turned to head back to work.

He wasn’t about to examine why, but her response made him smile. Sure, they’d been friends before and the whole deal with her brother was long past due for resolution. But those weren’t the only reasons he was determined to place himself back in Keri Mehler’s life.

He was attracted to her, and no one was more surprised than him.

“So, what do you think, Hannah? Think I have a shot?”

Dear Reader,

I hope you’ve been enjoying The Teagues of Texas trilogy and falling in love with those handsome cowboy brothers. In The Cowboy Sheriff, oldest brother, Simon, finally finds the woman who will put his serial dating ways to rest forever—and she’s been under his nose the entire time.

I’m a big fan of stories where friends fall in love, and this one has a twist. Friends become enemies become lovers. Simon and Keri have a winding road to their happily-ever-after, but I think that makes it all that much sweeter.

I’d love to hear what you think of the Teague brothers and their stories. You can find me on Facebook, Twitter and my website at www.trishmilburn.com. Hope to hear from you soon.

Trish

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Trish Milburn wrote her first book in the fifth grade and has the cardboard-and-fabric-bound, handwritten and colored-pencil-illustrated copy to prove it. That “book” was called Land of the Misty Gems, and not surprisingly it was a romance. She’s always loved stories with happy endings, whether those stories come in the form of books, movies, TV programs or marriage to her own hero.

A print journalist by trade, she still does contract and freelance work in that field, balancing those duties with her dream-come-true career as a novelist. Before she published her first book, she was a finalist eight times in the prestigious Golden Heart contest sponsored by Romance Writers of America, winning twice. Other than reading, Trish enjoys traveling (by car or train—she’s a terra firma girl!), watching TV and movies, hiking, nature photography and visiting national parks.

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To Kim Law, Lara Hansen and Gretchen Stull—

my awesome brainstorming buddies.

Thanks for the titles.

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 One

Simon Teague eyed the radar image on his computer and groaned.

“Colorful,” said Deputy Pete Kayne as he walked behind Simon with a fresh cup of coffee.

“Little too colorful.” The image showed too much blue and pink for his taste. If the snow and, worse, ice dipped down much farther, they were going to have a devil of a night.

“I heard on the way in that they think at least the ice will stay north.”

Simon grunted. It was bad enough when Dallas and Fort Worth got socked with winter weather. On the rare occasion that it ventured as far south as Austin, San Antonio and the Hill Country where they now sat, people tended to freak out as if the apocalypse had arrived. That led to wrecks, which led to his deputies and him spending miserable hours out in the cold.

He’d just clicked on the hourly forecast when the phone rang. He reached for the receiver as he scrolled through temperatures that should never cross the Red River into Texas.

“Sheriff’s Department.”

“May I speak to Sheriff Teague?”

“Speaking.” Simon minimized the computer screen and shifted his focus fully to the phone call.

“This is James Dial with the Dallas P.D.”

“Just saw you all are getting slammed up there.”

“Yeah, that’s why I’m calling,” Dial said, sounding serious.

A chill went down Simon’s back. This wasn’t going to be good.

Dial took a deep breath before continuing. “I just got back from a crash scene, two deaths. Next of kin for one of the deceased is listed as living in Blue Falls, but I’ve been unable to make contact. Probably better coming from someone local, anyway, though it’s going to be awful either way.”

Damn, of everything his job entailed, telling relatives someone they loved had died was the absolute worst. He’d rather break up a thousand bar fights, even take a few punches himself, than have to make one next-of-kin call.

“Who are you trying to contact?”

“Keri Mehler.”

A rush of cold washed through Simon. His first thought was of Carter, Keri’s brother and his once-upon-a-time best friend. But then the fact that Dial was calling from Dallas registered. Keri’s older sister and her family lived in Dallas.

“Sammi?”

“Samantha and Benjamin Spencer died at the scene when their SUV flipped and rolled several times.”

Simon gripped the phone harder. “The baby?” He’d last seen the little girl at the Fourth of July celebration as she crawled around on a blanket next to the lake while her parents, Keri and the rest of Blue Falls had waited for the fireworks to start. He swallowed hard at the idea that she’d been killed, too, before reaching her first birthday.

“Scared, but not a scratch on her,” Dial said. “It’s a miracle considering how bad that vehicle looked.”

Simon ran his fingers through his hair. How was he going to tell Keri, after everything she’d been through?