Kathryn Albright - Western Spring Weddings - The City Girl and the Rancher / His Springtime Bride / When a Cowboy Says I Do

‘Funny. Enjoyable. Adventurous. Banning has written another winning Western.’

—RT Book Reviews on The Lone Sheriff

‘Banning pens another delightful, quick and heartwarming read.’

—RT Book Reviews on Smoke River Bride

‘[A] fast-paced, sensual and delightful read about lovers torn apart by duty and reunited by destiny.’

—RT Book Reviews on The Gunslinger and the Heiress

‘Fans of Western and marriage-of-convenience romances have it all.’

—RT Book Reviews on Texas Wedding for Their Baby’s Sake

‘The Roaring Twenties come to delightful life.’

— Heroes and Heartbreakers on The Bootlegger’s Daughter

‘Robinson delivers a sexy, engaging adventure.’

—RT Book Reviews on A Fortune for the Outlaw’s Daughter

LYNNA BANNINGcombines her lifelong love of history and literature in a satisfying career as a writer. Born in Oregon, she graduated from Scripps College and embarked on a career as an editor and technical writer, and later as a high school English teacher. She enjoys hearing from her readers. You may write to her directly at PO Box 324, Felton, CA 95018, USA, email her at carowoolston@att.netor visit Lynna’s website at lynnabanning.net.

KATHRYN ALBRIGHTwrites American-set historical romance for Harlequin Mills & Boon. From her first breath she has had a passion for stories that celebrate the goodness in people. She combines her love of history and her love of story to write novels of inspiration, endurance and hope. Visit her at kathrynalbright.comand on Facebook.

A lover of fairy tales and cowboy boots, LAURI ROBINSONcan’t imagine a better profession than penning happily-ever-after stories about men (and women) who pull on a pair of boots before riding off into the sunset—or kick them off for other reasons. Lauri and her husband raised three sons in their rural Minnesota home, and are now getting their just rewards by spoiling their grandchildren. Visit: laurirobinson.blogspot.com, facebook.com/lauri.robinson1or twitter.com/LauriR.

Western Spring

Weddings

The City Girl and the Rancher

Lynna Banning

His Springtime Bride

Kathryn Albright

When a Cowboy Says I Do

Lauri Robinson

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Table of Contents

Cover

Praise

About the Authors

Title Page

The City Girl and the Rancher

Dear Reader

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

His Springtime Bride

Dedication

Dear Reader

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

When a Cowboy Says I Do

Dedication

Dear Reader

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

Extract

Copyright

The City Girl and the Rancher

Lynna Banning

After winter—often a long, cold, bleak period in nature and in life—a miracle happens: Nature regenerates and lives change.

To me, spring signals the renewal of both living things and the human spirit. It’s a time when growth is resumed, when hope is renewed, when fear turns into courage and when the seeds of new life are sown.

Lynna Banning

Chapter One

April, 1873

“Hey, mister! Mister? Are you awake?”

Something lifted the battered wide-brimmed hat Gray had pulled over his face. “Who wants to know?” he grumbled.

“Me!”

He opened one eye. “Yeah? Who’s ‘me’?”

“Me! Emily!”

Gray stared into a pair of wide blue eyes framed by a mop of bright red curls. A kid. A female kid, by the look of her ruffled blue plaid dress.

“Are you sleeping?” a high-pitched voice chirped.

“He— Heck, yeah. At least I was tryin’ my da—darndest.”

“Are you hungry? My mama’s gone to get something to eat.”

“Gone where?” He surveyed the other seats in the stifling passenger car. Three silver-haired ladies with big hats, two ranchers he thought he recognized and a preacher in a shiny black suit and stiff collar.

“Gone with the conductor man. To get a sandwich for me. I hope it’s not chicken. I hate chicken!”

Gray stretched his legs across the aisle space. “What’s wrong with chicken?”

A frown wrinkled the girl’s forehead. “A chicken pecked me once. It hurt.”

“Yep, a chicken’ll do that sometimes.” He resettled his hat over his face and closed his eyes.

“Mister? Mister, aren’tcha gonna talk to me?”

“Not if I can help it,” he said. He’d just finished a four-hundred-mile cattle drive plagued by bad weather, rustlers and no sleep. He was desperate for some shut-eye.

“Emily!” The voice was stern and female. “What are you doing bothering that man?”

“I’m not botherin’ him, Mama. I’m talkin’ to him.”

“Haven’t I told you never to talk to strangers? Come away from there, honey. I’ve brought you a sandwich.”

“It isn’t chicken, is it?” the small voice inquired.

“I beg your pardon? Emily, what’s wrong with chicken?”

Something swished past him. Something that smelled good, like soap. Maybe honeysuckle, too. “She doesn’t like chicken,” Gray said. He thumbed his hat back and opened his eyes. And then he sat up straight so fast his jeans rubbed the wrong way on the velvet upholstery. Holy—! The prettiest woman he’d ever seen in his life sat opposite him, a brown paper sack in her lap. She wore a stiff dark blue traveling dress and a silly-looking hat with lots of feathers on top. Partridge feathers.

She looked up and smiled. “Oh, good morning, sir. I trust Emily was not bothering you?”

“Uh, no.”

“Would you like a sandwich? I wasn’t sure how long it would be before the train made its next stop, so I purchased an extra one.”

He shot a glance at Emily. “Is it chicken?”

“Well, yes, it is. You do not like chicken?”

“Nope.” He winked at the girl who was sprawled on the seat next to her mother. “A chicken pecked me once.”

Emily giggled.

“Oh. I also have, let’s see...roast beef and egg salad. I trust a cow has not pecked you in the past?”

Gray laughed. “Not hardly, ma’am. Fact is, I’ve seen enough cows in the past month to last me a good while, so if it’s all the same to you, I’ll take the chicken after all. And thanks.”

“You are quite welcome,” she said primly. “I suspect my daughter has interrupted your rest.” She looked straight at him with eyes so green they looked like new willow leaves and handed him something wrapped up in butcher paper. “Emily is quite skilled at interrupting.”

Emily unwrapped her sandwich. “Mister sleeps under his hat!”

“I do hope you didn’t wake—”

“Yes, I did!” Emily crowed. “And he talked to me and everything.” The girl’s bright blue eyes snapped with intelligence. He’d bet she was a real handful. He didn’t envy her mother one bit.