Claire McEwen - A Ranch to Keep

What she planned…or what she wants?

Samantha Rylant’s life is coming together as planned—promising career, awesome friends, perfect boyfriend. Then she inherits her grandmother’s ranch and sweet childhood memories come rushing back to her. Now this city girl is torn, wondering where she truly belongs. And the gorgeous cowboy down the lane is only complicating matters!

Jack Baron and his handsome, aggravating self are around every corner offering a helping hand, sharing his unwanted opinions and in general messing with Sam’s heart. The logical thing to do is to sell the ranch and return to San Francisco. But maybe this is one decision that requires the heart, not the head….

Hadn’t she dismissed this cowboy already?

But Jack just stood there, eventually letting go of the ladder and strolling to the fence a few yards away. “Well, how about I stay here a few minutes longer, until you get the hang of it?”

“Oh, no, please, you don’t have to,” Samantha said. She could figure this out on her own.

He said nothing, just hoisted himself up on the top bar of the fence and sat there.

“You’re not leaving, are you?” she asked in disbelief.

“Not at the moment.” He smiled at her pleasantly.

“Fine, suit yourself.” Knowing she sounded a bit like a peeved child, she turned toward the ladder. While he was still as gorgeous as he was yesterday, evidently he was a bit of a chauvinist, too. She didn’t appreciate all his worry. She thought of her work in San Francisco—people there knew that she could handle pretty much anything the world threw at her, including some rickety old ladder. But, if the man had nothing to do today but watch her pry boards off her windows, that wasn’t her problem.

Dear Reader,

I am a very happy person these days, but several years ago, I wasn’t. I had taken a few wrong turns in my career and my personal life, and I felt pretty lost. There were days when I wished I had the courage to get in my car and drive away, into some new kind of life.

A Ranch to Keep was born from that fantasy. What if I did get in my car and drive away? Who would I hope to meet and what kind of place would I end up in? Since I didn’t feel as if I could actually leave my life behind, I created Samantha and sent her on that journey instead.

Samantha loves her life in San Francisco and the career that gives her the stability she didn’t have as a child. She likes to be independent, and keep her life simple and predictable. Then she inherits her grandparents’ ranch in the wild and scenic Sierra Nevada, and finds herself on unfamiliar ground, in plenty of situations that she can’t handle on her own. And the last person she wants help from is the gorgeous cowboy next door who makes her feel way too many complicated emotions!

That cowboy has been nursing a bruised heart for a long time now, and Samantha’s arrival disturbs Jack’s peaceful world in more ways than one. For one thing, she’s thinking about selling the acres he’s leased for years. If she does, his business will be ruined. He needs to make sure that if she sells, he’s the buyer. But her beauty and determination are inspiring feelings he’s pretty sure he’ll regret when she heads back to the city. He loves the land, but is it worth risking his heart again?

I hope you enjoy this story about two people who find love in the wrong place, with the wrong person. But maybe two wrongs can heal old wounds and make their lives just right?

And as for the unhappy-me of several years ago? Well, I got in my car and drove to my first Romance Writers of America conference! Writing brought a new joy into my life. And eventually my own all-wrong hero showed up, and just like Samantha, we left the city behind, not for a ranch, but for a cottage by the ocean, which is just right for our own happily ever after.

With gratitude,

Claire McEwen

PS—I love to hear from readers. Please visit my website, www.clairemcewen.com, or find me on Facebook or Twitter!

A Ranch to Keep

Claire McEwen

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Although teaching, bartending, dancing and farming were all wonderful jobs, Claire McEwen thinks writing novels is her best career yet. She always dreamed of becoming a writer and A Ranch to Keep is proof that dreams can come true! She lives by the ocean in Northern California and, when not writing, can often be found digging in the garden, playing on the beach with her son or dancing with her own romantic hero, also known as her husband. Claire enjoys getting to know her readers and can be reached on Facebook, Twitter or at her website, www.clairemcewen.com.

For my family—

Melanie, Beth, Sally, Danny, Steve, Cisco, Sallie, Melia and Linnea, thank you for years of crazy plot ideas and laughter and for your boundless enthusiasm for this book.

Mango, sweetest pup ever, you were my loyal friend and writing buddy and always made sure I took my walks! I miss you every day.

Shane, you inspire me to pursue my dreams and so much else that is wonderful.

Arik, you gave us a love story that is more romantic than anything I could possibly imagine. You believed in me, you believed in my writing and you made me believe in true love.

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

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Excerpt

CHAPTER ONE

THE EASTERN SIDE of the Sierra Nevada Mountains was the perfect setting for fleeing a funeral. The high drama of the granite peaks rising abruptly from low, jagged hills, the earthy scent of sagebrush and pine, the open space of the high desert, were naturally suited to thoughts of life and death.

Grandma Ruth had loved these mountains. She’d lived most of her life in them. Driving down the scenic highway, marveling at each gorgeous view, seemed a much better way to celebrate her life than sitting in a musty Reno funeral chapel. Samantha still wasn’t sure how she’d ended up on this impromptu road trip. One minute she’d been listening to the pastor’s words, and the next an outraged voice was screaming in her head that this service wasn’t doing justice to Ruth. The rote text didn’t describe the loving, vibrant grandmother she knew. Samantha couldn’t stand it anymore, so she’d fled.

Running away wasn’t like her. Samantha felt her forehead, wondering if she was getting sick. She was known for showing up, helping out and always doing the right thing. But instead she’d abandoned the funeral and then, from the parking lot, called work to let them know she wouldn’t be in today. She’d cancelled all her meetings and now, instead of the many things she should be doing, she was speeding down this scenic highway to the ranch outside of Benson.

Her ranch. That idea would take some getting used to. Samantha smiled. In the past few years, Grandma Ruth had tried to get her to be more adventurous. Maybe leaving her the ranch was her last attempt to shake her granddaughter up a bit. “Well, Grandma,” Samantha said aloud to the mountains, “you have definitely stirred things up this time.”

Samantha turned up the volume on her iPod and let the strains of opera soar. Maybe it was melodramatic, but it had seemed like the only music appropriate for the splendor of this drive, the sadness in her heart and the emotion of this homecoming.