Peggy Moreland - In Name Only

“You make me sound like some kind of white knight or something. A knight,” Troy repeated, then snorted a disbelieving laugh. He nestled his cheek against Shelby’s neck, then laid his head back down on the pillow.

He was a knight, she reflected wistfully, listening as his heavy breathing grew rhythmic. Troy had saved her family from the disgrace associated with having an unwed pregnant daughter, and he’d saved her child from the stigma of being born out of wedlock. Yes, he was a white knight, all right.

But could she keep this cowboy knight in her little Texas castle…forever?

Dear Reader,

Silhouette is celebrating our 20th anniversary in 2000, and the latest powerful, passionate, provocative love stories from Silhouette Desire are as hot as that steamy summer weather!

For August’s MAN OF THE MONTH, the fabulous BJ James begins her brand-new miniseries, MEN OF BELLE TERRE. In The Return of Adams Cade, a self-made millionaire returns home to find redemption in the arms of his first love.

Beloved author Cait London delivers another knockout in THE TALLCHIEFS miniseries with Tallchief: The Homecoming, also part of the highly sensual Desire promotion BODY & SOUL. And Desire is proud to present Bride of Fortune by Leanne Banks, the launch title of FORTUNE’S CHILDREN: THE GROOMS, another exciting spin-off of the bestselling Silhouette FORTUNE’S CHILDREN continuity miniseries.

BACHELOR BATTALION marches on with Maureen Child’s The Last Santini Virgin, in which a military man’s passion for a feisty virgin weakens his resolve not to marry. In Name Only is how a sexy rodeo cowboy agrees to temporarily wed a pregnant preacher’s daughter in the second book of Peggy Moreland’s miniseries TEXAS GROOMS. And Christy Lockhart reconciles a once-married couple who are stranded together in a wintry cabin during One Snowbound Weekend.…

So indulge yourself by purchasing all six of these summer delights from Silhouette Desire…and read them in air-conditioned comfort.

Enjoy!

Joan Marlow Golan

Senior Editor, Silhouette Desired

www.millsandboon.co.uk

PEGGY MORELAND

published her first romance with Silhouette in 1989 and continues to delight readers with stories set in her home state of Texas. Winner of the National Readers’ Choice Award, a nominee for the Romantic Times Magazine Reviewer’s Choice Award and a finalist for the prestigious RITA Award, Peggy has appeared on the USA Today and Waldenbooks bestseller lists. When not writing, she enjoys spending time at the farm riding her quarter horse, Lo-Jump. She, her husband and three children make their home in Round Rock, Texas. You may write to Peggy at P.O. Box 2453, Round Rock, TX 78680-2453.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

A black cat streaked in front of the diner’s entrance and directly across Troy Jacobs’s path. Startled, Troy stumbled to a stop, then frowned as he watched the cat dart around the side of the building and disappear from sight. Well aware of the superstitions associated with black cats, he knew he should probably turn right around and head in the opposite direction.

But he didn’t.

He figured a black cat crossing his path couldn’t hurt his current run of luck. It was already running so low on the downside of bad he didn’t think it could possibly get any worse.

With a rueful shake of his head, he pushed open the door, stepped inside and bumped into the Corley brothers who were just leaving.

He nodded a greeting to the cowboys as he pulled off his hat.

Rudy, the older of the two, clapped a hand on Troy’s shoulder. “Too bad about that steer you drew tonight. I’ve never seen one drop and cut behind a hazer as fast as that one. Didn’t even give you a fair chance to throw him.”

Troy nodded his agreement. “Yeah, well, seems as if I’m drawing all the strange ones lately.”

Rudy wagged his head sympathetically, then grinned and gave Troy a friendly punch on the arm. “But, hey, your luck’s bound to change soon, right? This losing streak can’t last forever.”

Troy tried to force a game smile—though he certainly didn’t feel the sentiment—but he couldn’t seem to muster the enthusiasm required for the action. After putting up entry fees for three months without any wins to offset his expenses, it was hard to find anything to smile about. “I sure hope so,” he said with a resigned sigh, “because if it doesn’t, I might have to break down and sell my horse.”

Rudy hooted a laugh and slapped Troy on the back. “If it comes to that, you give me a call. I’ve always admired Danny Boy. There’s not a horse around with more heart.” Rudy snugged his cowboy hat over his head and reached for the door, touching a finger to the hat’s brim in farewell. “See you around, Troy.”

“Yeah,” Troy replied with a jerk of his chin. “See you.”

Road noise from the highway that stretched in front of the truck stop rushed in as the Corley brothers left, then dulled to a low roar when the door closed behind the two men.

Wishing he’d arrived earlier so that he could’ve shared a meal with the two cowboys and avoided eating alone, Troy looked around the nearly empty room, searching for a hostess. He didn’t see one, but at this hour of the night, he wasn’t surprised. The only customers remaining were a couple of truck drivers huddled at the counter, nursing thick porcelain mugs of steaming coffee, and a woman who sat alone in a booth on the opposite side of the room. When Troy glanced the woman’s way, he found her staring at him, but she quickly looked away when their gazes met, a blush staining her cheeks.

She was a pretty little thing, he noted absently. Blond, with big blue eyes, a peaches-and-cream complexion…and from what he could see, a nice figure. If Pete was with him, Troy knew his friend would already be hustling over to her table and striking up a conversation. Pete did love women. And women seemed to love Pete.

He smiled inwardly as he thought of his friend, wondering if he ought to mosey over and try one of Pete’s tactics on the woman and see if she’d be willing to share her table with him…but he quickly discarded the notion. He wasn’t like Pete who could charm the skin off a snake and the clothes off a woman’s back, and he’d rather suffer the agony of eating alone than take a chance on being rejected.

Instead, he plucked a menu from the rack on the wall and dropped down in a booth near the front door, placing his cowboy hat crown side up on the seat beside him.

He flipped open the menu and studied it, wishing Pete and Clayton, his traveling buddies, were with him. He hated like hell eating alone. But Pete was still at Clayton’s ranch, keeping an eye on things, while Clayton chased after his wife in hopes of talking her out of leaving him. Personally, he hoped Clayton was successful. He liked Rena, though he wondered sometimes why she’d put up with Clayton’s indifference for so long.

“What can I get you, cowboy?”

Troy looked up and found a waitress standing beside the booth, the stubbed point of her pencil poised over a pad. He offered her an easy smile. “What would you recommend?”