Linda Miller - The Rustler

#1 New York Times bestselling author Linda Lael Miller returns to Stone Creek, where secrets have a way of coming to light…

Where does an outlaw go when he’s ready to turn straight? For Wyatt Yarbro, reformed rustler and train robber, Stone Creek is his place of redemption. And lovely Sarah Tamlin is the perfect angel to help him clean up his act.

But Sarah keeps a dark secret behind her prim and proper facade, even as her heart is lost to charming, sexy Wyatt. When a vengeful enemy prepares to unleash havoc on their peaceful town, Wyatt and Sarah will discover that they can’t hide from the past. To win the fight, they must believe in something they never trusted before—the hope of tomorrow.

Praise for The Rustler by #1 New York Times bestselling author Linda Lael Miller

“Miller’s third Stone Creek novel gets as hot as the noontime desert. Miller’s portrayal of Sarah as a strong, independent woman sets this novel apart from customary tales of the damsel in distress and the rescuing hero. Instead, Miller focuses on Sarah and Wyatt’s shared and separate vulnerabilities and how they find it easier to face the difficulties of everyday life when they’re together. Well-developed, personable characters and a handful of loose ends will leave readers anticipating future installments.”

—Publishers Weekly

“Welcome back, Yarbros, those bad-boy outlaws turned into heroes! But it’s Miller’s intrinsic understanding of the West that is the real hero of her novels. Her characters are true to their nature, the era and the place. This story creates lasting memories of soul-searing redemption and the belief in goodness and hope.”

—RT Book Reviews

“As the attraction between Wyatt and Sarah deepens, the anticipated happy ending veers in an unexpected direction that makes this novel a real page-turner. With vibrant prose, fully realized characters, an engrossing plot set amid the dangers of the Old West, and a dash of Eastern guile thrown in for good measure, Ms. Miller has hit another bull’s-eye.”

—LoveWesternRomances.com

“My, my, there is nothing like a ruggedly handsome cowboy to make good reading. Throw in a feisty heroine, sexual tension and a tale told by bestselling author Linda Lael Miller and you have the best of the best reads. Ms. Miller’s words flow effortlessly weaving a story that captures and holds the reader spellbound. The Rustler is an awesome addition to the Stone Creek novels.”

—SingleTitles.com

“Linda Lael Miller is a good judge of horseflesh, and an astute student of human nature. Miller seems to understand her characters’ thoughts and state of mind while fulfilling her reader’s expectations. She doesn’t disappoint.”

—Armchair Interviews

The Rustler

Linda Lael Miller

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Dear Reader,

Those wonderful Yarbro men are back! This time, it’s Wyatt, down on his luck after a lifetime of rustling and robbing trains, and determined to make a fresh start with Sarah Tamlin, the spirited banker’s daughter and a woman with a past.

I invite you to stop by my website, www.lindalaelmiller.com, where you’ll find my blog and information on the Linda Lael Miller Scholarships for Women, a cause near and dear to my heart. As a young, divorced mom, I experienced my share of hard times, so I have a lot of sympathy for women in tough situations—and for their children, as well. I believe education is the best way to improve lives, and the scholarships, awarded annually, are my way of giving back.

I have been tremendously blessed. I’m so grateful to live on a thirty-acre horse property outside of Spokane, Washington, and I really enjoy the country life—though I also love to travel. I get to tell stories for a living—does it get any better?—and have lots of animals around.

I adore animals, obviously, and although I’m not formally associated with any group, I like to encourage people to support the shelters in their own communities first. Spokanimal and SCRAPS are my local favorites, and I know several of the dedicated folks who run them with wisdom and compassion.

My own menagerie currently includes five horses, two cats, and one Yorkie named Bernice. Buck, a gelding, and Sadie, a beagle, both gone now, live on in our hearts. Although I don’t have much time for hobbies, I love to make artist trading cards, raise peonies and read, read, read.

I hope you’ll enjoy reading this historical tale as much as I enjoyed writing it.

May you be blessed.

With love,

For Donna Hayes,

and all cowgirls everywhere.

Contents

PROLOGUE

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 SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

EPILOGUE

PROLOGUE

Southern Arizona Territory

August, 1907

A RUSTLER’S MOON GLIMMERED faintly in the sky, a thin curve of light soon obscured by rain-ripe clouds. Wyatt Yarbro sat a little straighter in the saddle and raised the collar of his battered canvas coat, not so much against the threat of bad weather as the intuitive sense that things were about to head south, literally and figuratively. He tugged the brim of his hat lower over his eyes as the kid rode toward him, bearing the unlikely name of Billy Justice, along with a shotgun, bad skin and a contentious attitude.

Skirting the restless herd of soon-to-be-stolen cattle, Billy drew his sorrel up alongside Wyatt’s paint gelding, shifted his slight frame with an easy, soft creak of old leather.

“The boys are ready,” Billy said, in that lazy drawl of his. “You with us, or not?”

Inwardly, Wyatt sighed. Thunder rolled across the darkened sky, like a warning from God. Turn your horse and ride, cowboy, said a still, small voice deep inside him. Go now, while the getting is good.

His younger brother, Rowdy, was up north, in Stone Creek, and he’d offered Wyatt a place to stay. Said he could get him honest work, help him leave the outlaw life behind for good. Still, the town seemed far away, like some fairy-tale place. Wyatt was flat broke, his horse—won in a poker game in Abilene two weeks after he got out of a Texas prison—wasn’t fit for the trip.

He supposed Rowdy would wire him some money, if he could swallow his pride long enough to ask, but stealing would be easier. It was the only trade he’d ever learned.

“I’m with you,” Wyatt said without inflection.

Billy nodded. “Then let’s make for the border.”

Wyatt assessed the sky again, watched as a streak of lightning ripped it open in a jagged, golden gash. “I don’t like this weather,” he admitted.

Billy turned his head and spat. “You turnin’ coward on me, Yarbro?” he demanded coolly.

“Ever seen a stampede, Billy?” Wyatt countered, keeping his voice quiet. Young as Mrs. Justice’s boy was, Wyatt had him pegged for the sort who could draw and shoot without so much as a skip in his heartbeat or a catch in his breath.

The cattle, more than five hundred of them, roiled in the gulch below like water at the base of a high falls, swirling in on each other in dusty, bawling eddies of hide and horns.

“Nope,” Billy said, his tone blithe. Wyatt knew the kid was probably planning to gun him down from behind as soon as they’d delivered the herd and collected the loot. He wasn’t afraid of a pockmarked whelp, even a cold-eyed one like Billy, but the charge in the air itself made his nerves claw and scramble under his skin.