Lori Connelly - The Lone Cowboy of River Bend

A division of HarperCollins Publishers

www.harpercollins.co.uk

Harper Impulse

an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain by Harper Impulse 2017

Copyright © Lori Connelly 2017

Cover photograph © Shutterstock.com

Cover design © HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2017

Lori Connelly asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, 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 HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780008263126

Ebook Edition © July 2017 ISBN: 9780007544493

Version: 2017-06-21

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page The Lone Cowboy of River Bend Lori Connelly A division of HarperCollins Publishers www.harpercollins.co.uk

Copyright Harper Impulse an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF www.harpercollins.co.uk First published in Great Britain by Harper Impulse 2017 Copyright © Lori Connelly 2017 Cover photograph © Shutterstock.com Cover design © HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2017 Lori Connelly asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work. A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library. This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, 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 HarperCollins. Source ISBN: 9780008263126 Ebook Edition © July 2017 ISBN: 9780007544493 Version: 2017-06-21

Dedication For my family

Prologue

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

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Epilogue

Author Note

About the Author

Also by Lori Connelly

About HarperImpulse

About the Publisher

For my family

At high noon, Nathaniel Rolfe looked up, away from the teeming town square to the clear blue sky. The sun blazed gold overhead. On this rare winter day, not a drop of rain, flake of snow or cloud above was present, only the pronounced chill in the air suggested it was nearing the end of November. The drone of countless conversations around him increased in volume and his breath frosted the air in an irritated huff.

Restless, Nate straightened away from the old, weathered post as Marshal Evans’ voice cut through the din. He turned, giving his back to the gallows. He determined the best way to escape the crowd after the hanging while only half listening to the lawman’s statement. With nothing left to do, he tugged the brim of his hat down, shielding his eyes from the sunlight’s glare, and waited.

An expectant hush fell. The group surrounding him pressed in tighter. He tensed, eager to be gone. As soon as Nate heard the leaves of the trap door crash open, he started walking and didn’t bother glancing back. People who usually stayed at home during this time of year, rarely socializing with those outside their immediate family, stood young to old all around him, doing the exact opposite. He shook his head in disbelief, watching them crane their necks, straining to get a better view of the Nash brothers hanging at the ends of their ropes. Only the bonds of friendship and family brought him to this spectacle and he couldn’t wait to leave.

It wasn’t that he disagreed with the sentence. The two men convicted of the murder of Janet Payne and the abduction of his shirttail cousin, Claire, had been guilty beyond all doubt. They’d earned their fate. Still, Nate frowned when cheers echoed down the length of the street. He took in the excited crowd, hooting and hollering, celebrating death, and his scowl deepened. It was times like this he questioned taking part in society at all.

Nate quickened his stride, heading toward the Trail’s End Saloon on the edge of Silver Falls City, where he’d arranged to meet his friend, Matthew Marston. People littering the streets and plank sidewalks hindered him, slowing his pace. After only a few yards’ progress the sensation of someone staring at him prickled his skin, further souring his mood. Two possibilities sprang to mind. Occasionally a person took a less-than-polite interest in the scar a strand of barbed wire had left over his eye in childhood. He hoped that was it.

However, something odd had been happening lately. Women had been taking an undue interest in him. He pressed onward harder, somewhat faster, but hadn’t made it ten steps before a young woman planted herself in his path.

“You’re him, aren’t you?” She matched his sidestep, stopping him cold when he tried to dodge her.

Nate stepped in the other direction. “Excuse me.”

Again, she matched his movement, remaining directly in his way as she reached out, placing a hand on his arm. “I’m Nancy and you’re the-”

“No,” he broke in, hoping to stop her loud, high-pitched voice from cutting through the ruckus of the crowd and drawing more unwanted attention to him.

Her hands clapped together like an excited child. “Yes, you are.”

How did she notice me in this mess of people?

It didn’t make any sense. Nate gritted his teeth. He wasn’t unusually handsome. His facial scar wasn’t that remarkable. He wore the same basic clothing as most of the men on the street, sturdy leather boots with signs of wear, blue jeans, an oil- cloth duster over a wool-lined coat and a brown hat that had seen better days.

“I can’t believe I spotted you.”

Neither could he, but Nate managed, barely, not to speak the sentiment aloud. He didn’t try to question her, though. Recent experiences led him to believe it’d be pointless, asking the others hadn’t gained him any useful answers.

In the last several months while he’d been helping Matt, the Sheriff of Silver Creek County, and his cousin, Ben, track rustlers, someone had spread romanticized gossip about him. Only Heaven knew why. Now random women sought him out but how they’d known Nate on sight remained a mystery. At times like this, he could swear someone must have drawn up a sketch of him, then passed it around the county, woman to woman, like some sort of wanted poster.