Kara Larkin - The Sheriff With The Wyoming-Size Heart

Yes, she ached to be held in Riley Corbett’s arms again. Yes, she ached to be held in Riley Corbett’s arms again. Yes, she wished for a family. Yes, she wished the family could be this one, with a man who had literally swept her off her feet and a little girl who tugged at her heartstrings. Yes, she’d like to believe in miracles. But emotions aside, she’d forfeited her right to a normal life a long time ago, and she couldn’t ask a man like Riley, sworn to uphold the law, to overlook her past. And yet, Ariel’s arrival in her life seemed like a gift, like the answer to a prayer, and she wouldn’t insult the gift by denying it. Maybe somewhere in that gift would come the strength to deal with Riley. If so, she prayed she could find it soon.... Letter to Reader Dear Reader, To ring in 1998—Romance-style!—we’ve got some new voices and some exciting new love stories from the authors you love. Valerie Parv is best known for her Harlequin Romance and Presents novels, but The Billionaire’s Baby Chase, this month’s compelling FABULOUS FATHERS title, marks her commanding return to Silhouette! This billionaire daddy is pure alpha male.,.and no one—not even the heroine!—will keep him from his long-lost daughter.... Doreen Roberts’s sparkling new title, In Love with the Boss, features the classic boss/secretary theme. Discover how a no-nonsense temp catches the eye—and heart—of her wealthy brooding boss. If you want to laugh out loud, don’t miss Terry Essig’s What the Nursery Needs... In this charming story, what the heroine needs is the right man to make a baby! Hmm... A disillusioned rancher finds himself thinking, Say You’ll Stay and Marry Me, when he falls for the beautiful wanderer who is stranded on his ranch in this emotional tale by Patti Standard. And, believe me, if you think The Bride, the Trucker and the Great Escape sounds fun, just wait till you read this engaging romantic adventure by Suzanne McMinn. And in The Sheriff with the Wyoming-Size Heart by Kathy Jacobson, emotions run high as a small-town lawman and a woman with secrets try to give romance a chance.... And there’s much more to come in 1998! hope you enjoy our selections this month—and every month. Happy New Year! Joan Marlow Golan Senior Editor Silhouette Books 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 Sheriff With The Wyoming-Size Heart Kara Larkin www.millsandboon.co.uk Dedication For Shannon, my daughter and my friend. Thank you for the year we spent as roommates. About the Author KATHY JACOBSON is a writer, teacher and adventurer, not always in that order. Currently she lives in Utah on the side of a mountain overlooking the Salt Lake Valley. She has two grown children, who no longer live with her, and an Airedale terrier, who does. In addition to romance novels, she’s written a how-to book for fiction writers. Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Copyright

Yes, she ached to be held in Riley Corbett’s arms again.

Yes, she wished for a family. Yes, she wished the family could be this one, with a man who had literally swept her off her feet and a little girl who tugged at her heartstrings. Yes, she’d like to believe in miracles.

But emotions aside, she’d forfeited her right to a normal life a long time ago, and she couldn’t ask a man like Riley, sworn to uphold the law, to overlook her past.

And yet, Ariel’s arrival in her life seemed like a gift, like the answer to a prayer, and she wouldn’t insult the gift by denying it. Maybe somewhere in that gift would come the strength to deal with Riley. If so, she prayed she could find it soon....

Dear Reader,

To ring in 1998—Romance-style!—we’ve got some new voices and some exciting new love stories from the authors you love.

Valerie Parv is best known for her Harlequin Romance and Presents novels, but The Billionaire’s Baby Chase, this month’s compelling FABULOUS FATHERS title, marks her commanding return to Silhouette! This billionaire daddy is pure alpha male.,.and no one—not even the heroine!—will keep him from his long-lost daughter....

Doreen Roberts’s sparkling new title, In Love with the Boss, features the classic boss/secretary theme. Discover how a no-nonsense temp catches the eye—and heart—of her wealthy brooding boss. If you want to laugh out loud, don’t miss Terry Essig’s What the Nursery Needs... In this charming story, what the heroine needs is the right man to make a baby! Hmm...

A disillusioned rancher finds himself thinking, Say You’ll Stay and Marry Me, when he falls for the beautiful wanderer who is stranded on his ranch in this emotional tale by Patti Standard. And, believe me, if you think The Bride, the Trucker and the Great Escape sounds fun, just wait till you read this engaging romantic adventure by Suzanne McMinn. And in The Sheriff with the Wyoming-Size Heart by Kathy Jacobson, emotions run high as a small-town lawman and a woman with secrets try to give romance a chance....

And there’s much more to come in 1998! hope you enjoy our selections this month—and every month.

Happy New Year!

Joan Marlow Golan

Senior Editor

Silhouette Books

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

www.millsandboon.co.uk

For Shannon,

my daughter and my friend.

Thank you for the year we spent as roommates.

KATHY JACOBSON is a writer, teacher and adventurer, not always in that order. Currently she lives in Utah on the side of a mountain overlooking the Salt Lake Valley. She has two grown children, who no longer live with her, and an Airedale terrier, who does. In addition to romance novels, she’s written a how-to book for fiction writers.

Chapter One

After hours—or minutes—of concentration, the words slowed. Then ended. Margo Haynes didn’t know how long they’d been pouring from her mind to her fingers to the keyboard. It didn’t matter. Another scene had taken shape.

In the bright golden heat of an Indian summer, she pulled a second patio chair around to stretch her legs out on it. The afternoon breeze blew softly from the south. The giant cottonwood tree that shaded her back yard surrendered an occasional yellow leaf. A pair of squirrels chased each other tirelessly up and down an evergreen.

If she’d needed validation of a good choice, made at the right time, the new energy in her writing provided it. And the serenity of her new environment reinforced it.

Content, she tipped her face to the Wyoming sun and stretched her arms over her head to ease the stiffness from her shoulders. If she were to write a description of heaven right now, this minute, she would use today as her model. Cloudless skies, fresh air, silent streets. Privacy, anonymity, freedom.

Freedom.

After eleven long, torturous years, she had a home of her own, a new name in a town where no one knew her, enough work to keep her mind occupied and her hours filled, and an incredibly beautiful October day that invited her to work outside in shorts and a T-shirt. Paradise.

With peace shimmering inside her, she downed half a glass of iced tea and moved her portable computer from the patio table to her lap, adjusting the screen to eliminate glare.