Cathy Thacker: The Texas Rancher's Vow

Never Again!

Jen Carson made a promise to herself: no more powerful, controlling husbands. So why is she letting herself be tempted by Matt Briscoe, surely the most alpha male in Laramie County? She only agreed to stay at the Triple B to create a series of commemorative bronze plaques for Matt’s father. Not end up sharing taboo kisses with six feet four inches of irresistible cowboy.

A cowboy who also happens to be her client’s son. Talk about mixing pleasure with business! And now Jen’s suddenly the reluctant keeper of a Briscoe family secret. Which thrusts her into an even more heated conflict with Matt. No matter how strong her feelings for the studly rancher, Jen has so many good reasons to keep him from becoming a permanent part of her life.

Too bad her heart won’t listen to her head….

“What if I want to make a pass at you?”

With both hands free, Jen wreathed Matt’s neck.

To her disappointment, nothing.

“What if I want to kiss you….” She rose on tiptoe, and with lust pouring through her, brushed her lips ever so briefly across the scruff on his jaw. “Just like this…”

Matt remained still as a statue, the only hint he was affected by her outrageous ploy was the heat emanating from his body, the thudding of his heart and, lower still, the unmistakable imprint of desire.

“You really want to find out?” he asked hoarsely.

Did she? Jen tilted her head, her heart—and temper—raging. She studied his battle-weary eyes.

Maybe not…

She stepped back slightly, telling herself that she had made her point.

Then, to her shock, Matt made his. His arms clamped around her, tugging her closer still.

Dear Reader,

Crisis—in the form of illness—eventually strikes every family, and Matt Briscoe and his father, Emmett, are no exception. Matt’s mother’s death profoundly affected him and his dad. Although they sought very different remedies for their broken hearts….

Since then, Matt has tried to control everything he can in life. He goes the extra mile to protect his vulnerable father. Emmett—always something of a risk-taker, and a very loving, if egocentric, man—has tried another approach. Constantly seeking to replace the passion he lost, he has married multiple times, to disastrous result. And now, much to Matt’s consternation, Emmett is at it again.

Enter bronze sculptor Jen Carson. She, too, lost her mom, and dealt with the fallout from her father’s crushed dreams. Now, she takes nothing for granted, and tries to control nothing except her own reaction to things.

There’s only one problem with that. Jen can’t seem to quash her fast-rising reaction to sexy, fabulously wealthy rancher Matt Briscoe. Nor he to her. Neither Jen nor Matt put their trust in the future, or dare hope that passion will last more than the moment they are in. And yet, the kind of love that can last has a way of entering the picture after all. The only question is: dare they risk all for the happiness that has always seemed just out of their reach?

Happy reading! And feel free to visit me at cathygillenthacker.com, and on Facebook and Twitter.

Cathy Gillen Thacker

The Texas Rancher’s Vow

Cathy Gillen Thacker

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cathy Gillen Thacker is married and a mother of three. She and her husband spent eighteen years in Texas and now reside in North Carolina. Her mysteries, romantic comedies and heartwarming family stories have made numerous appearances on bestseller lists, but her best reward, she says, is knowing one of her books made someone’s day a little brighter. A popular Harlequin Books author for many years, she loves telling passionate stories with happy endings, and thinks nothing beats a good romance and a hot cup of tea! You can visit Cathy’s website at www.cathygillenthacker.comfor more information on her upcoming and previously published books, recipes and a list of her favorite things.

The Texas Rancher’s Vow

Contents

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

Epilogue

Chapter One

“I know what he said, but it’s not your artistic talent that my father is interested in.”

Jen stared the unexpected visitor to her Austin gallery. Matt Briscoe was six foot four inches of incredibly determined, swaggering cowboy. As well as handsome to a fault.

Knowing it would irritate him as much as he had already irritated her, she let her glance drift slowly over his ruggedly chiseled face to his thatch of curly black hair. It was cut short in a way that wouldn’t require much maintenance. His beard was another matter. He had the kind of dark, dangerous-looking scruff that never totally disappeared no matter how closely he shaved. The kind that made her suspect the man just oozed testosterone. In bed. And out. “And you know this because…?” Jen prodded.

Eyes the color of the Texas summer sky zeroed in on hers. Lingered. Just long enough to get her pulse racing in a way she most definitely did not like.

The corner of his sensual mouth lifting slightly, Matt Briscoe continued brusquely, “In the past ten years Emmett’s married—and divorced—a novelist, a violinist and an actress.”

Okay, so that not only wasn’t a good personal track record to have, it didn’t portend well for her future dealings with the wealthy Texas cattleman.

On the other hand, Jen reminded herself, Emmett Briscoe hadn’t been hitting on her—or even flirting with her—when he had made the appointment.

On the phone, Matt’s sixty-year-old father had been all business, and perfectly polite.

Unlike the blunt-to-a-fault younger man standing in front of her.

Jen took a calming breath and forced herself to look around the small but respectable gallery she had leased to display her work.

She was a sculptress—and a darn fine one at that—whether Matt Briscoe chose to acknowledge it or not. So she wasn’t going to let him, or anyone else in his blue-blooded, Texas ranching class disparage her.

“This leads you to believe that your father would now turn to a practitioner of the visual arts—for female company?”

Matt flinched. Her assumption had clearly struck a nerve. “For more reasons than you could possibly understand,” he retorted gruffly. “Yes. It does.”

He really thought her a gold digger?

Jen folded her arms beneath her breasts. “Well, you’ll be happy to know, Matt Briscoe, that I am not looking for a sugar daddy.”

He rested his hands on his hips, pushing back the edges of his lightweight summer sport coat, then rocked forward on the toes of his expensive, hand-tooled leather boots. “It wouldn’t start out that way.”

Unable to take the raw masculine intensity of his gaze, Jen focused her attention on the strong column of his suntanned throat, visible in the open collar of his pale blue dress shirt.

Damn, he smelled good. Outdoorsy and brisk and male. Not that she should be noticing, she thought firmly.

Indignantly, she forced her glance upward and continued as if he hadn’t spoken, “Nor am I looking to get married again. Ever.”

His gaze meshed with hers. Something that might have been empathy appeared all too briefly in his expression. “So you’ve been…?”

“Divorced.” Old bitterness welled inside her, filling her heart, keeping the force field of independence up and running. “Yes.” Jen nodded. She wasn’t ashamed, just regretful. “I have.”