Carla Cassidy - Cowboy At Arms

“Solid storytelling and sympathetic, genuine characters will draw readers in from the start … this is one amazing read.”

—RT Book Reviews on A Real Cowboy

“Carla Cassidy has made this an extremely hard book to put down. The pages just flew past! A very talented and colorful author!”

—Fresh Fiction on Mercenary’s Perfect Mission

“Cassidy delivers with a one-two punch of intriguing suspense and tantalizing romance. A sure bet, this romantic read will have readers rooting for a reunion.”

—RT Book Reviews on Scene of the Crime: Baton Rouge

“[An] action-packed romantic suspense starring an amazing female and her deceiving beloved.”

—The Best Reviews on Deceived

“[A] taut, fast-paced romantic thriller … romance shines.”

—Publishers Weekly

Cowboy at Arms

Carla Cassidy

www.millsandboon.co.uk

CARLA CASSIDYis a New York Times bestselling author who has written more than one hundred books for Mills & Boon. Carla believes the only thing better than curling up with a good book to read is sitting down at the computer with a good story to write. She’s looking forward to writing many more books and bringing hours of pleasure to readers.

Contents

Cover

Praise Praise for New York TimesBestselling Author Carla Cassidy Praise Title Page About the Author Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Epilogue Extract Copyright “Solid storytelling and sympathetic, genuine characters will draw readers in from the start … this is one amazing read.” —RT Book Reviews on A Real Cowboy “Carla Cassidy has made this an extremely hard book to put down. The pages just flew past! A very talented and colorful author!” —Fresh Fiction on Mercenary’s Perfect Mission “Cassidy delivers with a one-two punch of intriguing suspense and tantalizing romance. A sure bet, this romantic read will have readers rooting for a reunion.” —RT Book Reviews on Scene of the Crime: Baton Rouge “[An] action-packed romantic suspense starring an amazing female and her deceiving beloved.” —The Best Reviews on Deceived “[A] taut, fast-paced romantic thriller … romance shines.” —Publishers Weekly

Title Page Cowboy at Arms Carla Cassidy www.millsandboon.co.uk

About the Author CARLA CASSIDY is a New York Times bestselling author who has written more than one hundred books for Mills & Boon. Carla believes the only thing better than curling up with a good book to read is sitting down at the computer with a good story to write. She’s looking forward to writing many more books and bringing hours of pleasure to readers.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Epilogue

Extract

Copyright

Chapter 1

Man up, Dusty Crawford commanded himself as he stared at the front door of the Bitterroot Café. It was almost nine o’clock on Friday night and the summer sun just barely skimmed the horizon in its downward descent.

As darkness slowly fell, the interior of the brightly lit café became more visible. He’d waited to arrive until late enough in the day that the dinner hour would be over and the popular eatery would be less crowded.

He’d wrestled stubborn cattle and faced more than one marauding cougar over the years, and yet the thought of the beautiful blonde waitress inside the café had him nearly shaking in his boots.

He turned his head at the sound of several doors slamming nearby. He narrowed his gaze as he watched three cowboys amble from the parking lot toward the café’s front door.

Zeke Osmond, Greg Albertson and Shep Harmon all worked on the ranch next to the Holiday spread where Dusty had worked and lived since he was fourteen years old. For the most part all of the men who were part of the Humes ranch were mean and liked nothing more than to stir up trouble wherever they went.

The Humes men were suspected of all kinds of mischief on the Holiday land, including tearing down fencing, setting nuisance fires and the occasional cattle disappearance.

As they went inside the building, Dusty shoved thoughts of them out of his head. He needed to focus on the reason he was here. After a little over six months of small talk whenever he ate at the café, tonight he was here to ask Trisha Cahill out on an official date.

He took off his black cowboy hat and set it on the passenger seat and then raked his hand through his hair. Drawing a deep breath for courage, he finally left his pickup truck and headed for the café door.

When he stepped inside, his nose was immediately assailed by the scents of fried potatoes and onions, a variety of simmering meats and a faint whiff of apples and cinnamon.

Even though it was late for dinner there was still a crowd at the tables and booths. This wasn’t just a place to eat in the small town of Bitterroot, Oklahoma; it was also a place where folks came to visit with neighbors and catch up with the local gossip.

His gaze instantly found Trisha, who was taking an order from Steve Kaufman, a widower who lived alone and spent most evenings in the café sipping coffee and reading a book.

Dusty headed toward an empty booth that he knew was in Trisha’s area and sat. He grabbed one of the plastic menus propped up between squeeze bottles of mustard and ketchup. He opened it even though he’d long ago memorized everything that the café had to offer.

Nerves jangled in the pit of his stomach. You’re being ridiculous, he told himself. The worst thing that could happen was that Trisha would tell him in no uncertain terms that she had no interest in going out with him. He could live with that. He’d certainly survived much worse in his twenty-nine years on earth.

He closed the menu and returned it to its place and then looked up and smiled as Trisha approached his booth. “Hi, Dusty. You’re a little later than usual tonight,” she said. Her eyes were the color of a clear summer sky and filled with her casual friendliness.

“Yeah, I decided to skip Daisy’s Friday night meat-loaf dinner and I ate at the ranch instead,” he replied. Her pale blond hair was pulled up into a slightly messy ponytail, and Dusty’s fingers itched with the desire to release all of it from its confinement.

“So, what can I get for you?” she asked.

“I’ll take one of Daisy’s apple dumplings and a cup of coffee.”

“I’ll have it to you in just a jiffy.” She turned and left his booth.

Dusty released a pent-up sigh. He’d ask her out after he’d eaten his dessert. Maybe by then a lot of the people would be gone and she’d be less busy.

Within minutes Dusty had his dumpling and coffee and Trisha had hurried to another table after serving him. As he ate he watched her taking care of her customers. She had a cheerful smile for everyone and she looked totally hot in her slim-fitting blue jeans and the red T-shirt with gold lettering advertising the café.

Despite the fact that he’d been interested in her for months, he really knew very little about her other than she lived in the Bitterroot Motel and had a young son and she was one of the most popular, well-liked waitresses at the café.