Teresa Southwick - The Way to a Cowboy's Heart

“You’ve turned this house into a home, P.J.” “You’ve turned this house into a home, P.J.” “It was a home when I got here.” He shook his head. “Nope. Not even close,” he said. “How do you do it?” Shyly she said, “I suppose it’s just because I’m a woman.” She’d meant the remark in the most innocent way. But the feelings it generated in him went from touch-and-go to downright dangerous. “It’s easier for women,” she said. “We’re naturally nesters. We pull in a bit of this, a smidgen of that, and—” she threw her arm out in a circular motion “—voilà. A building becomes a home.” And when she left at the end of the summer, the nest would go back to being just bits of this and that with no one to breathe life and vitality and warmth into it. This home would be a ranch again. And he’d be a footloose cowboy once more. Isn’t that what he’d always wanted? Letter to Reader Dear Reader The wonder of a Silhouette Romance is that it can touch every woman’s heart. Check out this month’s offerings—and prepare to be swept away! A woman wild about kids winds up tutoring a single dad in the art of parenthood in Babies, Rattles and Cribs...Oh, My! It’s this month’s BUNDLES OF JOY title from Leanna Wilson. When a Cinderella-esque waitress—complete with wicked stepfamily!—finds herself in danger, she hires a bodyguard whose idea of protection means making her his Glass Slipper Bride, another unforgettable tale from Arlene James. Pair one highly independent woman and one overly protective lawman and what do you have? The prelude to The Marriage Beat, Doreen Roberts’s sparkling new Romance with a HE’S MY HERD cop. WRANGLERS & LACE is a theme-based promotion highlighting classic Western stories. July’s offering, Cathleen Galirz’s Wyoming Born & Bred, features an ex-rodeo champion bent on reclaiming his family’s homestead who instead discovers that home is with the stubborn new owner...and her three charming children! A long-lost twin, a runaway bride...and A Gift for the Groom—don’t miss this conclusion to Sally Carleen’s delightful duo ON THE WAY TO A WEDDING.... And a man-shy single mom takes a chance and follows The Way to a Cowboy’s Heart in this emotional heart-tugger from rising star Teresa Southwick. Enjoy this month’s selections, and make sure to drop me a line about why you keep coming back to Romance. We want to fulfill your dreams! Happy reading, Mary-Theresa Hussey Senior Editor, Silhouette Romance 300 East 42nd Street, 6th Floor New York, NY 10017 Please address questions and book requests to: Silhouette Reader Service U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269 Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3 Title Page The Way to a Cowboy’s Heart Teresa Southwick www.millsandboon.co.uk Dedication For my brother Dan Boyle and his wife, Katie. Your laughter, loyalty and love is always an inspiration. Thanks for the verbal crash course, no pun intended, in horseback riding. I’m grateful that you didn’t call me crazy for asking, “But he could touch her leg now, right?” About the Author TERESA SOUTHWICK is a native Californian with ties to each coast, since she was conceived in the East and born in the West. Living with her husband of twenty-five years and two handsome sons, she is surrounded by heroes. Reading has been her passion since she was a girl. She couldn’t be more delighted that her dream of writing full-time has come true. Her favorite things include: holding a baby, the fragrance of jasmine, walks on the beach, the patter of rain on the roof, and above all—happy endings. Teresa also writes historical romance novels under the same name. Letter to Reader Dear Reader, Relatives. Gotta love ‘em. Right? I was one of six kids in a close-knit family. My brothers and I still get together one weekend a year, without spouses and children, to reconnect. We actually like each other. My husband and I tried to give our two sons the foundation of family that we both enjoyed. Then along came their teenage years. The kids tried to grow up while we struggled valiantly to keep them little and convince them that we knew best. I found that often what I didn’t say was more profound than platitudes tuned out by selective teenage hearing. There were times when we fought, but we always loved each other. We were always family, and that relationship—good or bad—shapes our lives. This is the theme of The Way to a Cowboy’s Heart—a father’s stern discipline and a rebellious teenager’s interpretation that he’s no good. Cade McKendrick is convinced that he has nothing to offer anyone, including the teenagers he’s forced to take in for the summer. He hires single mom P. J. Kirkland as a cook and she soon sets out to show him he’s one of the good guys. Because family has always been such an important element in my life, I’m very proud that The Way to a Cowboy’s Heart is included in FAMILY MATTERS. Silhouette Romance’s promotion this month. I fell in love with Cade McKendrick and hope this cowboy finds his way into your heart too. Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Copyright

“You’ve turned this house into a home, P.J.”

“It was a home when I got here.”

He shook his head. “Nope. Not even close,” he said. “How do you do it?”

Shyly she said, “I suppose it’s just because I’m a woman.”

She’d meant the remark in the most innocent way. But the feelings it generated in him went from touch-and-go to downright dangerous.

“It’s easier for women,” she said. “We’re naturally nesters. We pull in a bit of this, a smidgen of that, and—” she threw her arm out in a circular motion “—voilà. A building becomes a home.”

And when she left at the end of the summer, the nest would go back to being just bits of this and that with no one to breathe life and vitality and warmth into it. This home would be a ranch again. And he’d be a footloose cowboy once more.

Isn’t that what he’d always wanted?

Dear Reader

The wonder of a Silhouette Romance is that it can touch every woman’s heart. Check out this month’s offerings—and prepare to be swept away!

A woman wild about kids winds up tutoring a single dad in the art of parenthood in Babies, Rattles and Cribs...Oh, My! It’s this month’s BUNDLES OF JOY title from Leanna Wilson. When a Cinderella-esque waitress—complete with wicked stepfamily!—finds herself in danger, she hires a bodyguard whose idea of protection means making her his Glass Slipper Bride, another unforgettable tale from Arlene James. Pair one highly independent woman and one overly protective lawman and what do you have? The prelude to The Marriage Beat, Doreen Roberts’s sparkling new Romance with a HE’S MY HERD cop.

WRANGLERS & LACE is a theme-based promotion highlighting classic Western stories. July’s offering, Cathleen Galirz’s Wyoming Born & Bred, features an ex-rodeo champion bent on reclaiming his family’s homestead who instead discovers that home is with the stubborn new owner...and her three charming children! A long-lost twin, a runaway bride...and A Gift for the Groom—don’t miss this conclusion to Sally Carleen’s delightful duo ON THE WAY TO A WEDDING.... And a man-shy single mom takes a chance and follows The Way to a Cowboy’s Heart in this emotional heart-tugger from rising star Teresa Southwick.

Enjoy this month’s selections, and make sure to drop me a line about why you keep coming back to Romance. We want to fulfill your dreams!

Happy reading,

Mary-Theresa Hussey

Senior Editor, Silhouette Romance

300 East 42nd Street, 6th Floor