Judy Duarte - The Cowboy's Secret Family

Star-crossed teenage lovers finally reunite for a second chance

Losing Miranda broke Matt Grimes’s heart—and kept him from knowledge of his impending fatherhood. Now Miranda Contreras has returned to Rocking Chair, Texas—with their eight-year-old daughter. In search of safe haven, this runaway bride needs to regroup. Matt should be angry! What other secrets is Miranda keeping? But all he sees is a chance to be the family they were meant to be.

Since 2002, USA TODAY bestselling author JUDY DUARTE has written over forty books for Mills & Boon, earned two RITA® Award nominations, won two Maggie Awards and received a National Readers’ Choice Award. When she’s not cooped up in her writing cave, she enjoys travelling with her husband and spending quali-ty time with her grandchildren. You can learn more about Judy and her books on her website, judyduarte.com, or at Facebook.com/judyduartenovelist

Also by Judy Duarte Contents Cover Back Cover Text About the Author Booklist Title Page Copyright Dedication Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Epilogue Extract About the Publisher

Roping in the Cowgirl

The Bronc Rider’s Baby

A Cowboy Family Christmas

The Soldier’s Twin Surprise

The Lawman’s Convenient Family

Wed by Fortune

From Fortune to Family Man

No Ordinary Fortune

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

The Cowboy’s Secret Family

Judy Duarte

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-09118-3

THE COWBOY’S SECRET FAMILY

© 2019 Judy Duarte

Published in Great Britain 2019

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To “Honey” Colwell,

my fur grandchild and the inspiration for

Sweetie Pie, the rescued stray dog in

The Cowboy’s Secret Family . No matter how many times Honey gets sprayed by Eau de Stink, she’s determined to catch the rascally skunk that prowls the neighbourhood at night. Maybe next time, Honey.

And to Jeff and Sarah Colwell.

Thank you for the opportunity to spend a

special summer with Emalee and Katie, my

two granddaughters, and a barnyard menagerie

consisting of one overly protective shepherd mix,

six free-range chickens, two 4-H lambs and a

couple of horses. Love you, guys!

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text Star-crossed teenage lovers finally reunite for a second chance Losing Miranda broke Matt Grimes’s heart—and kept him from knowledge of his impending fatherhood. Now Miranda Contreras has returned to Rocking Chair, Texas—with their eight-year-old daughter. In search of safe haven, this runaway bride needs to regroup. Matt should be angry! What other secrets is Miranda keeping? But all he sees is a chance to be the family they were meant to be.

About the Author Since 2002, USA TODAY bestselling author JUDY DUARTE has written over forty books for Mills & Boon, earned two RITA® Award nominations, won two Maggie Awards and received a National Readers’ Choice Award. When she’s not cooped up in her writing cave, she enjoys travelling with her husband and spending quali-ty time with her grandchildren. You can learn more about Judy and her books on her website, judyduarte.com , or at Facebook.com/judyduartenovelist

Booklist Also by Judy Duarte Contents Cover Back Cover Text About the Author Booklist Title Page Copyright Dedication Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Epilogue Extract About the Publisher Roping in the Cowgirl The Bronc Rider’s Baby A Cowboy Family Christmas The Soldier’s Twin Surprise The Lawman’s Convenient Family Wed by Fortune From Fortune to Family Man No Ordinary Fortune Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk .

Title Page The Cowboy’s Secret Family Judy Duarte www.millsandboon.co.uk

Copyright ISBN: 978-1-474-09118-3 THE COWBOY’S SECRET FAMILY © 2019 Judy Duarte Published in Great Britain 2019 by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental. By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher. ® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries. www.millsandboon.co.uk