Carolyne Aarsen - Reunited with the Cowboy

Second Chance at Love

Heather Bannister is back in Montana for her sister’s wedding. But returning to Refuge Ranch brings her face-to-face with a past best forgotten—including high school sweetheart John Argall. Now a single dad, John simply wants to provide for his daughter’s future. And Heather’s reappearance may be an obstacle to his plans to buy into her family’s ranch. Yet when Heather agrees to babysit his sweet little girl, the old feelings come flooding back. And John realizes that Heather may have left town years ago, but his love for her has endured. Could this be their second chance at a future together?

Refuge Ranch: Where a Montana family comes home to love.

“It’s just a scrape. I’ll wash up when we’re done.”

She gave him a quick smile, dirt still speckling her cheeks, loose tendrils of damp hair hanging around her face.

In that moment he remembered the Heather he used to hang out with. The Heather who used to race madly around the barrels he and Lee set up. The Heather who would help build tree forts and go riding out in the hills.

The Heather he had so easily fallen in love with. He felt a resurgence of the old yearning she could create in him, a crack in the defenses he had spent so long building up against her.

He spun away, irritated with himself and his reaction. He was supposed to be immune to her. Years ago, Heather had chosen Mitch and a lifestyle that had taken her far away from Refuge Ranch. Far away from him. They were on completely different paths now.

Yet, even as his words kept time with his pounding heart, he couldn’t stop another glance back at her over his shoulder.

CAROLYNE AARSEN and her husband, Richard, live on a small ranch in northern Alberta, where they have raised four children and numerous foster children and are still raising cattle. Carolyne crafts her stories in an office with a large west-facing window, through which she can watch the changing seasons while struggling to make her words obey.

Reunited

with the Cowboy

Carolyne Aarsen

www.millsandboon.co.uk

See, I have engraved you in the palms

of my hands. Your walls are ever before me.

—Isaiah 49:16

For Lula Gelderman, faithful and steadfast.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text Second Chance at Love Heather Bannister is back in Montana for her sister’s wedding. But returning to Refuge Ranch brings her face-to-face with a past best forgotten—including high school sweetheart John Argall. Now a single dad, John simply wants to provide for his daughter’s future. And Heather’s reappearance may be an obstacle to his plans to buy into her family’s ranch. Yet when Heather agrees to babysit his sweet little girl, the old feelings come flooding back. And John realizes that Heather may have left town years ago, but his love for her has endured. Could this be their second chance at a future together? Refuge Ranch: Where a Montana family comes home to love.

Introduction “It’s just a scrape. I’ll wash up when we’re done.” She gave him a quick smile, dirt still speckling her cheeks, loose tendrils of damp hair hanging around her face. In that moment he remembered the Heather he used to hang out with. The Heather who used to race madly around the barrels he and Lee set up. The Heather who would help build tree forts and go riding out in the hills. The Heather he had so easily fallen in love with. He felt a resurgence of the old yearning she could create in him, a crack in the defenses he had spent so long building up against her. He spun away, irritated with himself and his reaction. He was supposed to be immune to her. Years ago, Heather had chosen Mitch and a lifestyle that had taken her far away from Refuge Ranch. Far away from him. They were on completely different paths now. Yet, even as his words kept time with his pounding heart, he couldn’t stop another glance back at her over his shoulder.

About the Author CAROLYNE AARSEN and her husband, Richard, live on a small ranch in northern Alberta, where they have raised four children and numerous foster children and are still raising cattle. Carolyne crafts her stories in an office with a large west-facing window, through which she can watch the changing seasons while struggling to make her words obey.

Title Page Reunited with the Cowboy Carolyne Aarsen www.millsandboon.co.uk

Bible Verse See, I have engraved you in the palms of my hands. Your walls are ever before me. —Isaiah 49:16

Dedication For Lula Gelderman, faithful and steadfast.

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

Epilogue

Dear Reader

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

She saw the truck a split second too late.

The snow swirling up from her tires and the sun shining directly in her eyes blinded Heather Bannister as she crested the hill. The pickup was coming right at her and there was nowhere to go.

So she did what any self-respecting country girl would.

She swerved, then stepped on the gas.

The back end of her car fishtailed on the icy patches of gravel as she fought to get it away from the truck, praying her tires would grab something. Anything.

She caught a glimpse of a panicked face behind the wheel of the pickup as her tires spun on the road. A half second before she would have been hit, she gained enough traction to move her car past the vehicle, missing it by mere inches.

And sending her directly toward the ditch. This time Heather slammed her foot on the brake and madly turned the steering wheel.

But with a crash and a heavy thud, the side of her car slammed into the bank of old spring snow. The impact spun her around, so that the front of her vehicle plowed into the bank.

Dazed and confused, Heather sat without moving for a moment, the whine of her engine and the ringing in her ears the only sounds she heard.

A heavy ache radiated from her shoulder, across her chest and up her neck, surprising in its intensity. For a stunned moment Heather wondered if the airbag had even done its job, but it lay deflated across her lap, proof that it had, in fact, deployed.

Hands still clenched around the steering wheel, she sucked in another breath and coughed on an exhalation. Her arms shook and her legs felt suddenly rubbery.

She had come within inches of a serious accident.

Her heartbeat thundered in her ears as reaction set in. Her legs were trembling now, adrenaline being replaced by a chill coursing through her body as her mind called up images of twisted steel and horrible injuries.

She shook the thoughts off. She couldn’t allow herself to think of what-ifs. She hadn’t hit the truck head-on. She had avoided a collision that would have had far worse consequences.

As she laid her head back on the headrest, trying to pull herself together, tattered prayers fluttered through her mind.

Thank You, Lord. Forgive me, Lord.

The same feeble petitions she had sent heavenward for the past few years. That was all she’d been capable of in the aftermath of the mess that was her married life with her ex-husband, Mitch.

An insistent banging on her door made her jump, adding to the piercing pain in Heather’s head.

“You okay in there?”

The muffled voice outside the car and the continued thumping made her wince again as she painstakingly found the clip for the seat belt, then released it. But when she tried to open the door, it wouldn’t budge.

She didn’t need this, she thought, allowing herself a moment of self-pity. Stuck in the ditch only five miles from home, with a cell phone that was out of juice and some stranger banging on the window.