Marin Thomas - Lone Star Father

Booklist Also By Marin Thomas Contents Cover Back Cover Text About the Author Booklist Title Page Copyright Introduction Dear Reader 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 Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Epilogue Extract About the Publisher The Cowboys of Stampede, Texas The Cowboy’s Accidental Baby Twins for the Texas Rancher Cowboys of the Rio Grande A Cowboy’s Redemption The Surgeon’s Christmas Baby A Cowboy’s Claim The Cash Brothers The Cowboy Next Door Twins Under the Christmas Tree Her Secret Cowboy The Cowboy’s Destiny True Blue Cowboy A Cowboy of Her Own Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Title Page Lone Star Father Marin Thomas www.millsandboon.co.uk

Copyright ISBN: 978-1-474-08475-8 LONE STAR FATHER © 2018 Brenda Smith-Beagley Published in Great Britain 2018 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

Introduction “Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea,” Reid said. “What?” “Coming back to Stampede.” Scarlett’s heart sank. The last thing she’d meant to do was discourage Reid from staying in town, especially when he hadn’t been home in over a decade. “You can’t leave.” She winced at the eager note in her voice. “Being with family will play in your favor when the social worker decides whether or not you should be given permanent custody of Jessie.” “Got any other reasons why I shouldn’t leave?” She shook her head. “That’s it, why?” His mouth curved into a smile. “I thought maybe you’d want to judge for yourself if my kissing has improved.” “Well, there is that, too.” Scarlett smiled. His blue eyes darkened. “I really like you, Scarlett.” Reid’s declaration wasn’t all that swoon-worthy but for a woman who dealt with the ugly side of life on a daily basis, it was a beacon of sunshine filled with hope and possibilities.

Dear Reader Dear Reader Contents Cover Back Cover Text About the Author Booklist Title Page Copyright Introduction Dear Reader 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 Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Epilogue Extract About the Publisher , I’m so excited to share Reid Hardell’s story with you! If you’ve read the previous two books in my Cowboys of Stampede, Texas series (The Cowboy’s Accidental Baby and Twins for the Texas Rancher) then you know that Reid is the black sheep of the Hardell family and he made a conscious choice years ago to keep his distance. I’ve always been fascinated by family secrets—we all have them. In Lone Star Father Reid Hardell is heading home to Paradise Ranch because he’s looking for help raising a daughter he never knew existed until recently. He knows the homecoming won’t be the stuff of fairy tales, but the last thing he expects to find waiting for him at the ranch is another family secret and a woman who quickly becomes more than just his daughter’s social worker. It’s Scarlett Johnson’s intention to help Reid and Jessie bond, but her heart keeps getting in the way of her job. As Reid and Scarlett consider what’s best for everyone concerned, they discover the only real way forward is together—as a family. I invite you to check out all of my books at marinthomas.com where you can also sign up for my newsletter and find links to connect with me on social media. Happy reading, Marin

Dedication For Cristina and Tom—dedicated social workers who spend their days and sometimes nights helping at-risk children and teenagers. And for Marin—a clinical psychologist who spends countless hours helping veterans and individuals suffering from PTSD and trauma-related disorders. The world would be better off with more people like you.

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

Epilogue

Extract

About the Publisher

Chapter One

Becoming a father was not something Reid Hardell had ever imagined for himself, especially twelve years after the fact.

The social worker’s voice echoed in his ear. Mr. Hardell, I realize this situation caught you by surprise, but you’re the only family Jessie has left.

Family .

His stomach churned as the word reverberated inside his head.

At half past midnight, he flipped on the blinker and took the exit for Stampede. He could only imagine the looks on the faces of his grandfather and brothers when Reid introduced them to his daughter. He should have warned the family that he was returning home to Texas and why, but he’d barely kept in touch with them since entering the military after high school.

Reid had always felt like an outsider in his family and had never figured out why his father had come down harder on him than his two brothers. His jaw tightened at the memory of the old man shoving him to the ground, then kicking dirt in his face, after Reid had asked for the keys to his truck so he could take a girl to the movies. Later that night his older brother, Logan, had driven off in the pickup with his friends.

When Reid’s enlistment in the marines was up, he hadn’t returned to Paradise Ranch. Instead, he’d chosen to settle in Albuquerque. It hadn’t made sense to go back to a place which held few good memories.

He glanced across the seat at his daughter—the reason Reid was making this trip. Six months had passed since he’d met Jessie in September, but her name still rolled off his tongue like a boulder. He was floundering in his role as her dad and he was looking to his siblings to help him navigate fatherhood.

Any day now Reid’s younger brother, Gunner, was going to become a first-time father and Logan had recently married a single mother with twin boys. Surely they could give him a few pointers on parenting.