Susan Crosby - A Family, At Last

USA TODAY bestselling author Susan Crosby brings you a story of complex family ties and a couple brought together by one adorable little girl in the newest installment of her Red Valley Rancher miniseries!

When Karyn Lambert appears on Vaughn Ryder’s doorstep, claiming to be his little girl’s aunt, he can hardly turn her away. Instead, the guarded rancher invites her to stay, and soon they’re engaged in a battle of the sexes, each trying to prove how good they are with little Cassidy…as well as fighting the raging attraction that blooms the instant Karyn steps over the threshold!

For years Vaughn has been focused only on being the perfect father. Now the bubbly personal shopper has taken hold of his heart, and he wonders if they might be able to create the perfect family for Cassidy—and each other. Not just out of blood connections—but out of true love….

“I wanted to finish this first.”

He turned the pad around. “Is that how you see me?”

“Do you find fault with it?” Oh, he was so close. Close enough to steal a kiss before he could back away, if she dared.

“You make me look younger than I feel.”

“A little bit of gray at the temples doesn’t age you.” She brushed at the gray with her fingers, then let them drift over his ears and down his jaw.

He drew a quick breath. “We can’t do this,” he said roughly, capturing her hand, holding it.

“Do what?”

“Any of this. It’s too complicated. We barely know each other.”

He was right, of course. What had gotten into her? It would be crazy—

“When we have the test results and know what we’re dealing with, then we can make conscious, thought-out decisions,” he added.

“You talk too much, cowboy lawyer.”

He laughed softly and stood. It was obvious he wanted her. She hadn’t overestimated him, not in the sketch and not in her mind.

She didn’t want him to reject her, nor did she want to confuse their situation, so she got up from the chair and left, not looking back once, knowing he watched her, excited by the idea.

And hopefully leaving him wanting more.

Dear Reader,

A Family, At Last is the second book in my Red Valley Ranchers series, and features another Ryder brother, Vaughn, who is about as opposite of my heroine as anyone can be. Does that stop them from falling in love, or do their differences enhance the relationship?

Since this is a romance novel, the answer is clear, but how they get there, how they learn to embrace each other’s differences, is the fun part. Plus, at the heart of the story is six-year-old Cassidy, who was doing fine with just her father but who blooms when Karyn Lambert comes into her life.

I love these kinds of transformations, whether adult or child. I hope you do, too.

Susan

A Family,

At Last

Susan Crosby

www.millsandboon.co.uk

SUSAN CROSBYbelieves in the value of setting goals, but also in the magic of making wishes, which often do come true—as long as she works hard enough. Along life’s journey she’s done a lot of the usual things—married, had children, attended college a little later than the average co-ed and earned a BA in English. Then she dove off the deep end into a full-time writing career, a wish come true.

Susan enjoys writing about people who take a chance on love, sometimes against all odds. She loves warm, strong heroes and good-hearted, self-reliant heroines, and she will always believe in happily-ever-after.

More can be learned about her at www.susancrosby.com.

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With gratitude to Mary & Jim Rickert and Mark Estes

of Prather Ranch, who believe in running a humane

operation, because it’s good for the animals, the land

and the people, and who were so generous with their

time and expertise.

And to my Lunch Bunch—

Lori, Nancy, Sheryl and Virginia. We’ve shared it all!

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 One

Karyn Lambert took yet another look at her rearview mirror. No doubt about it. She was being followed. Maneuvering her Beetle through heavy 6:00 p.m. traffic on Santa Monica Boulevard, she changed lanes—and so did the black SUV that had been tailing her since she’d left Disneyland an hour ago. And now, as she was pulling up at Sprinkles Cupcakes to pick up a well-earned red velvet treat, she had to make a decision. Go to the bakery’s cupcake dispenser as planned and see if the guy in the SUV followed—or lose him in traffic?

Karyn inched past the bakery. All the street parking was taken. She weighed the risk of the parking garage nearby and rejected it after another quick glance at her mirror. Headlights and Christmas lights created a dark, distinctive silhouette of the driver.

“Man Wearing Cowboy Hat, you are following the wrong girl.”

This was Karyn’s turf. She knew how to zip through the side streets of Beverly Hills efficiently. It didn’t take her long to leave the SUV in the dust and make a quick retreat to her Hollywood duplex, its garage tucked in the rear. She’d never been so grateful for that privacy before.

Grabbing her packages, she rushed upstairs to her unit, let herself in and slammed the door shut. She left the lights off, set down her bags on the kitchen table, then waited in the dark for fifteen minutes, going from window to window, peering through the blinds. Finally she turned on the living room light and sat on the sofa, her legs bouncing. Why would someone follow her? In the land of Hollywood-star wannabes, she was the least likely person to stalk.

Then again, maybe it was her imagination, a fanciful notion of her overtired brain. It was six days before Christmas, hell week in her line of work. She was exhausted, so maybe her mind was playing tricks on her.

Of course. That had to be it.

Shrugging it off, Karyn headed for the kitchen. The doorbell rang.

She froze.

When it rang again she stealthily made her way to the front door and looked through the peephole. She hadn’t turned on her porch light, but she could make out the silhouette. A man in a cowboy hat.

“Ms. Lambert?” he asked through the door. “I know you’re there. I just want a few words with you.”

Not a snowflake’s chance in—

“Please. I’m a lawyer. I’m looking for your brother, Kyle.”

Stunned, she covered her mouth with her hand and took an involuntary step back.

“Turn your outside light on and look through the peephole. I’ll show you my identification.”

“Why do you want Kyle?” she asked.

A beat passed. “He’s not in trouble, Ms. Lambert, but I also don’t want to shout personal information through your door. I don’t need much of your time.”

She flipped on the porch light. “Prove who you are.”