Kat Brookes - The Cowboy's Little Girl

Title Page The Cowboy’s Little Girl Kat Brookes www.millsandboon.co.uk

Copyright ISBN: 978-1-474-08438-3 THE COWBOY’S LITTLE GIRL © 2018 Kimberly Duffy 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 It was the child’s eyes that caused his heart to lurch... Those were his eyes. And that was undeniably the Wade family dimple that dipped into one side of Tucker’s daughter’s baby-soft cheeks. His daughter. A barrage of emotions swept over Tucker as he stood looking down at her. He was a father. That revelation had his world tilting. “Are you all right?” Autumn asked. “You look mighty pale.” He gave a forced laugh. “I’m better than all right. I’m a daddy.” “Tucker?” Autumn said, bringing him back to full awareness. He blinked hard and then cleared his throat. “Sorry,” he said. “This is a lot to take in.” “Would you like to call someone?” she suggested. “One of your brothers perhaps?” The only time he’d ever come close to passing out had been when he’d gotten bucked off Little Cyclone during the Pioneer Days Rodeo up in Lander several years back. However, the little bombshell Autumn Myers had dropped on him just moments before had nearly managed to do what Little Cyclone hadn’t been able to. Bring this Montana-bred cowboy to his knees. Nearly.

Dear Reader Dear Reader Contents Cover Back Cover Text About the Author Booklist Title Page Copyright Introduction Dear Reader Bible Verse Dedication Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Epilogue Extract About the Publisher , Life is filled with choices. Each and every one of those choices we make takes us down a different path. Tucker chose never to marry again after his first marriage failed, living a life he thought was fulfilling enough. It wasn’t until the Lord brought Autumn into his life with the daughter Tucker never knew existed that he found himself considering a new path, wanting something more than what he’d settled for. And in doing so, he found true happiness. I believe the Lord provides us with many opportunities to find our own happiness. We just have to be willing to go in a direction that we’d never considered, or, perhaps, were too afraid to. I hope you’ve enjoyed sharing Tucker and Autumn’s journey. Be sure to look for Garrett’s and Jackson’s upcoming stories. Kat

Bible Verse Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift. —2 Corinthians 9:15

Dedication I’d like to dedicate this book to my wonderful agent, Michelle Grajkowski, with 3 Seas Literary Agency. She has been so incredibly supportive with my writing endeavors, always believing in me. She’s also a dear friend. I feel so blessed to have her in my life, both professionally and in friendship. I would like to extend my deepest thanks to Ryan Sankey from Sankey Pro Rodeo, who offered me a wealth of information when I was researching this rodeo-cowboy series. She was always willing to answer any questions I might have without hesitation. Sankey Pro Rodeo has four Saddle Bronc of the Year PRCA awards, twelve PRCA Stock Contractor of the Year nominations, as well as many PRCA and Montana Circuit awards. They’ve been featured on ESPN, USA TODAY, Western Horseman and CMT. More information on Sankey Pro Rodeo can be found at www.sankeyprorodeo.com .

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Epilogue

Extract

About the Publisher

Chapter One

A persistent knocking at the front door of his ranch house had Tucker Wade setting the half-eaten grilled cheese he’d made himself for dinner back onto the plate beside him. Dropping his booted feet from the rough pine coffee table to the wood-planked floor, he stood to answer the door.

His first thought was that it was his oldest brother, Garrett, stopping by to shoot the breeze after returning from tending to Wilbur Davies’s sick cow. Garrett, the town’s only vet, had gotten called away, leaving Tucker and his other brother Jackson—older by just one year—to see to it the horses were fed and settled in for the evening. But his brothers rarely knocked. And if they did it was a loud, firm rap on the door, not the tentative tapping that had him moving into the front entryway. Not to mention it was near dark and they all followed an early-to-bed-and-early-to-rise routine.

Very little surprised Tucker, but nothing could have prepared him for the shock of opening the door to find his long-lost wife looking up at him. A woman he’d come to accept he would never see again. Didn’t care to see again, truth be told. But there she stood, in the fiery red-orange light of the setting sun, looking every bit as pretty as he remembered and yet so very different.

The wispy blonde ponytail Summer had always worn had been replaced by a short, smooth haircut that hung longer in front than in the back. A formfitting navy skirt and matching jacket replaced her well-worn jeans and usual T-shirt. And... Tucker’s gaze dropped lower, a dark brown brow lifting. Heels? The Summer he’d known would never have worn high heels, no matter how good they looked on her. Even her cowgirl boots had low heels. But then again, he’d only thought he’d known the girl he’d exchanged vows with six years before.

All the hurt, anger and confusion he had worked so hard to suppress after Summer took off without a word threatened to surface once again. Thickly lashed ice-blue eyes—eyes that had once held only warmth, now stared back at him with something akin to...mistrust? Him. The man she’d run out on.

“Tucker Wade?” his long-lost wife asked as if she wasn’t quite sure it was him.

A frown tightened the line of his mouth. While he’d admittedly filled out a good bit in terms of muscle, no longer the lanky, bull-riding twenty-four-year-old she’d exchanged vows with at the Laramie County Courthouse, he was pretty certain she knew it was him. What sort of game was his wife playing now?