Judy Christenberry - The Rancher Takes A Family

Everything about her husband

had changed….

Debra tried telling herself it didn’t matter, that she didn’t care. She didn’t want him. But she did. In fact, she ached for him. Over time, she’d come to realize John tried to do what he thought was right. John Richey was a good man.

Every once in a while she would think about how wonderful it would be if they were truly married. Oh, she knew legally they were. But she dreamed of being John’s wife, of having the right to touch him when she wanted. And where she wanted.

This was one of those times, and, for the first time since she’d come to his Wyoming ranch, she reveled in her fantasies….

Dear Reader,

I love to write cowboy stories, and when my editor requested I write exactly that, it made me very happy. I think I love cowboys so much because my father and mother were country kids, and visits to my grandparents in the country were a regular occurrence when I was little. Then, in my early teens, I began reading Zane Grey because my mother had the complete set of his books at home. I found them fascinating. I actually began my writing career in the Regency period, writing historical romance, but when I turned to contemporary romances I found my true voice in westerns. I usually set them in Wyoming, which is a place I’ve visited many times. For those of you who haven’t been there, Wyoming is not as large as Texas, my home state, but it’s a lot less populated. This works well with Western stories, because in Wyoming you find people still depending on their neighbors for help.

I’ve always enjoyed marriage-of-convenience stories, too, and that’s why I’ve written this book, The Rancher Takes a Family. John doesn’t think he will ever find a woman to love again, so decides to embark on a simple marriage of convenience. But things don’t go to plan, and his new wife, Debra, soon has him reassessing their situation. As always, love finds a way, and these two discover that they can be a proper family.

I hope you enjoy John and Debra’s story, and if you haven’t read a Western before, I hope you’ll give me and my cowboys a chance. If you have any questions or comments, you can reach me at www.judychristenberry.com.

Happy reading!

Judy Christenberry

www.millsandboon.co.uk

JUDY CHRISTENBERRY

has written over seventy books for Silhouette Books®, and she’s a favorite with readers. Now you can find more of Judy’s heartwarming and powerful stories in Harlequin Romance®.

Step into a world where family counts, men are true to their word—and where romance always wins the day!

OTHERS BOOKS BY JUDY CHRISTENBERRY

HER CHRISTMAS WEDDING WISH #3919

RANCHER AND PROTECTOR #3941

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

EPILOGUE

“YOU know we’ve got to do something, don’t you, John?”

John Richey looked at his right-hand man, Bill Hobbs, and sighed. “I know we need to, Bill, but I’ve thought and thought, and I can’t come up with any answer except to just make the best of it.”

In spite of his worries he smiled at his baby daughter as he removed the empty bottle from her mouth. She gave him a contented grin worth more than anything money could buy.

Bill persisted. “Damn it, man, we’re risking a big loss with just you, me, Mikey and Jess working the ranch, especially since you and me are only working half days so we can take care of Sugar here.”

“I told you to call her Betsy. That’s her name, after all.”

“You’re not focusing, John. And I have a solution to our problem even if you don’t.”

John looked up in surprise. It wasn’t the first time they’d had this discussion, but it was the first time Bill had said he had the answer. “What do you mean, you’ve got the solution? What is it?”

“You won’t like it.”

John’s eyebrows soared. “That’s positive.”

“Well, you won’t. But it’s the only way, and it would help someone else out and cure all your ills, too.”

“And you’ve been keeping this miracle to yourself until you thought I was really desperate? I’m beginning to smell a rat, here, Bill.”

“I’ll tell you what it is if you’ll promise to hear me out.”

“Okay, I promise.” He put Betsy on his shoulder and gently patted her back. Almost immediately, Betsy let out an unladylike burp.

“Good girl,” John said with a smile at his nine-month-old daughter.

As if he’d been waiting for that sign, Bill said, “Remember, you promised to hear me out.”

“I remember,” John said, but his stomach was beginning to churn. Something was bad about Bill’s idea.

“You get married again.”

John turned to stare at him. “You’re crazy, old man! That’s not going to happen!”

He stood, with Betsy in his arms, ready to leave the room, but Bill reminded him, “You promised.”

“What kind of job is it, Uncle Bill?” Debra Williams asked hesitantly after finally settling herself in his old truck. The day so far had been hectic, what with taking Andy on his first plane ride—hers, too, for that matter. Even now that they were on terra firma, the trip was still bumpy as the truck bounced along the rutted road to Westlake, Wyoming.

But a rough patch was the least of her worries. Her life had been difficult, but she was a survivor. Always had been. But she wanted more than survival; she wanted to start the life she’d put on hold.

Her dream of being a teacher had been delayed when she’d found herself pregnant in her senior year of high school. Then, when the baby’s father died before their son was born, she’d had to face the hard fact that she was the sole support for herself and Andy until he was grown.

For years she’d been doing the best she could, but life hadn’t been wonderful.

So when Uncle Bill had called and told her he had a great job for her where she could keep her little boy with her, she accepted his word impulsively.

After she’d picked up the plane tickets and got aboard the flight to Casper, she’d had time to think about what she’d done. She hadn’t seen her uncle Bill since she was about six. How much did he know about her life? She knew her mother got letters from him fairly regularly, but that was it, as far as she knew.

Her mother had pleaded for Debra not to take Andy and go. Debra had been surprised and gratified to know that her mother wanted her to stay but she didn’t allow such uncharacteristic behavior to influence her decision. Now, though, she needed reassurance that she’d made the right decision, that what she’d done would help her little boy.

She’d asked a couple of questions earlier, but Uncle Bill had refused to answer her while Andy was awake. Now the three-year-old had finally fallen asleep in his car seat, and she could no longer wait for information. “You know I’m not trained for too many jobs. I was going to go to night school this fall, but you said this was a great job.”

“It is, honey, and it will let you stay home with Andy. That’s what you want, isn’t it?”

“You know it is, Uncle Bill, but there aren’t many jobs that will allow that. What do I have to do?”

“Things you already know how to do. Cooking, cleaning, taking care of kids.”

“So it’s a housekeeping job?”