Cathy Thacker: One Wild Cowboy and A Cowboy To Marry: One Wild Cowboy / A Cowboy to Marry

ONE WILD COWBOY

All Emily McCabe wants is for Dylan Reeves to pretend they’re dating, so she can get her overprotective clan out of her life. But he flat-out refuses. So why does the sexy horse whisperer kiss her in front of the whole town? Could the untamable bachelor actually be dreaming of making a life with Laramie County’s most willful woman?

A COWBOY TO MARRY

The only way for widow Libby Lowell to move on with her life is to leave Laramie, Texas. But Holden McCabe isn’t letting Libby go. Not after she turned to him in her hour of need…and their passion created a baby. Is this their biggest mistake, or the second chance they’ve both been searching for?

“I never said I didn’t desire you,” Dylan said in a low, rich voice that practically oozed testosterone.

He was acting as if their madcap embrace was a good thing. Emily fumed. “How dare you!”

He stepped forward and further invaded her space. “How dare you?”

With effort, Emily ignored the sexual tremors starting deep inside her. Determined to get command of a situation that was fast escalating out of control, she extended her index finger and tapped him on the center of his rock-solid chest. “Let’s get something straight, cowboy.” She waited until she was certain she had his full attention. “My request for help did not include anything sexual.”

He winked at her facetiously. “Too bad, ’cause if it had, I might have said yes.”

Dear Reader,

We hope you enjoy the Western stories One Wild Cowboy and A Cowboy to Marry, written by bestselling Mills and Boon American Romance author Cathy Gillen Thacker.

The Mills and Boon American Romance series is a celebration of all things Western! These stories are heartwarming contemporary tales of everyday women finding love, becoming part of a family or community—or maybe starting a family of her own.

And don’t miss an excerpt of Home to Wyoming by Mills and Boon American Romance author Rebecca Winters at the back of this volume. Look for Home to Wyoming, available September 2013.

Happy reading,

The Mills and Boon American Romance Editors

One Wild Cowboy

A Cowboy to Marry

Cathy Gillen Thacker

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Table of Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

One Wild Cowboy

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

A Cowboy to Marry

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

Copyright

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 Mills and Boon 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.

One Wild Cowboy

Cathy Gillen Thacker

Chapter One

This is not good, Emily McCabe thought as she led her beloved mare, Maisy, toward the Circle M Ranch stable. Standing just inside the entrance to the barn were all three of her older brothers. Their postures were as inflexible as the set of their jaws, and they appeared to be waiting on her.

The relaxation she’d felt after her Monday afternoon ride was fading fast as Emily studied the trio of determined expressions. “What’s going on?” she asked warily. It had to be something. Otherwise, Jeb would have been looking after his rodeo livestock, Hank would have been tending his cattle, and Holden would have been caring for his quarter horses. Instead, all three ranchers were gathered here on her parents’ property.

Awkward glances were exchanged—the kind that told her this was not an actual emergency. Great, Emily thought. Just what she needed—her wildly overprotective clan butting into her life again.

Looking less rambunctious than usual, Jeb squared his shoulders. “We wanted to talk to you.”

Emily sighed, bored already. She patted Maisy’s silky black mane and led the big bay mare past her brothers, toward her horse’s stall. “About what?”

“Mom and Dad are worried about you.” The always-gallant Holden kept pace. “You’ve put everything you’ve got into the café for two years now. And with the new diner opening...”

They were all acting as if she was about to have her heart broken. “I have a very loyal customer base. It’s not going to cut into my business.”

To her annoyance, her brothers stood their ground.

“On top of that,” Holden continued, “it’s been over a year since you had a date.”

Uh-oh. Now that had an ominous ring. Emily knew her brothers could be ridiculously sexist where she was concerned. They had been that way since she was a kid, something that happened when there was only one girl in a family. It didn’t mean she had to like it.

“So?” Emily unfastened the girths on Maisy’s saddle and lifted it off. She set the saddle and blanket on the cement floor outside the stall. “Since when do you-all care about my social life?” she demanded, aiming a disparaging look their way.

Ignoring her Hank replied pleasantly, “Since we’ve taken it upon ourselves to do you a big favor and help you out.”

Emily liked the sound of that even less. Wordlessly, she removed the rest of Maisy’s tack and heaped it on top of the leather riding gear. She ran an affectionate hand down Maisy’s neck and rubbed her face against her beautiful horse in silent thanks for a great canter across the meadow. Then she stepped outside the stall, shutting the door behind her. While Maisy quenched her thirst from the stall water trough, Emily confronted her three well-meaning but totally idiotic brothers. “Didn’t you learn anything from the last time you guys tried to fix me up?” What an unmitigated disaster that had been! The longest evening on record, followed by an impossibly awkward good-night. She propped her hands on her hips and glared at them. “No more!”

“Normally we’d agree.” All three nodded vigorously. “But that was before Mom figured out who you should be seeing,” Hank explained.

Emily’s heart sank.

She had no doubt her mother meant well, too.

Thanks to more than thirty-six years of happily wedded bliss with the love of her life, there was no one more romantic than her mother. Her father, in his own way, was just as bad although her dad had yet to actually approve of any man she’d dated.

“Tell me you’re pulling my leg here,” Emily pleaded.

“Nope.” Jeb flashed a grin. “Mom’s planning to play matchmaker at tonight’s charity dinner for the Libertyville Boys Ranch.”

There was no way Emily could avoid the fund-raiser. Her Daybreak Café was one of a handful of restaurants in town providing food and beverage for the outdoor event. Plus, it was a worthy cause.