DONNA ALWARD: The Cowboy's Christmas Family

Cole chuckled and she felt the vibration of the sound through his chest and into her back. “You’re not the only one with baggage,” he admitted. Before she could ask what he meant, he continued on. “Listen, what happened to you just made you cautious. You’re not prickly. You’re scared. I would be, too.”

They let the thought sit for a few minutes, and then Cole spoke again. “I don’t know, Maddy. I got thinking about how you’re young and pretty and so damned strong and then … and then I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

She looked up into his face. “The last thing I was looking for was a date. Maybe it just snuck up on both of us.”

She licked her lips, which suddenly felt dry, and saw his gaze drop to where her tongue had wet the surface. Desire surged through her, terrifying by its very presence and exhilarating at the same time.

“It snuck up on me for sure,” he admitted quietly, smiling. “You snuck up on me.”

The Cowboy’s

Christmas Family

Donna Alward

www.millsandboon.co.uk

DONNA ALWARDis a busy wife and mother of three (two daughters and the family dog) and she believes hers is the best job in the world: a combination of stay-at-home mum and romance novelist. An avid reader since childhood, Donna has always made up her own stories. She completed her arts degree in English literature in 1994, but it wasn’t until 2001 that she penned her first full-length novel and found herself hooked on writing romance. In 2006, she sold her first manuscript, and now writes warm, emotional stories for Mills & Boon.

In her new home office in Nova Scotia, Donna loves being back on the east coast of Canada after nearly twelve years in Alberta, where her career began, writing about cowboys and the West. Donna’s debut romance, Hired by the Cowboy, was awarded a Booksellers’ Best Award in 2008 for Best Traditional Romance.

With the Atlantic Ocean only minutes from her doorstep, Donna has found a fresh take on life and promises even more great romances in the near future!

Donna loves to hear from readers. You can contact her through her website, www.donnaalward.com, or follow @DonnaAlwardon Twitter.

To my family—the reason for everything.

Contents

Cover

Introduction “Cole, why me?” Maddy sighed. “I’ve got baggage. A lot of it. I’m prickly.” Cole chuckled and she felt the vibration of the sound through his chest and into her back. “You’re not the only one with baggage,” he admitted. Before she could ask what he meant, he continued on. “Listen, what happened to you just made you cautious. You’re not prickly. You’re scared. I would be, too.” They let the thought sit for a few minutes, and then Cole spoke again. “I don’t know, Maddy. I got thinking about how you’re young and pretty and so damned strong and then … and then I couldn’t stop thinking about you.” She looked up into his face. “The last thing I was looking for was a date. Maybe it just snuck up on both of us.” She licked her lips, which suddenly felt dry, and saw his gaze drop to where her tongue had wet the surface. Desire surged through her, terrifying by its very presence and exhilarating at the same time. “It snuck up on me for sure,” he admitted quietly, smiling. “You snuck up on me.”

Title Page The Cowboy’s Christmas Family Donna Alward www.millsandboon.co.uk

About the Author DONNA ALWARD is a busy wife and mother of three (two daughters and the family dog) and she believes hers is the best job in the world: a combination of stay-at-home mum and romance novelist. An avid reader since childhood, Donna has always made up her own stories. She completed her arts degree in English literature in 1994, but it wasn’t until 2001 that she penned her first full-length novel and found herself hooked on writing romance. In 2006, she sold her first manuscript, and now writes warm, emotional stories for Mills & Boon. In her new home office in Nova Scotia, Donna loves being back on the east coast of Canada after nearly twelve years in Alberta, where her career began, writing about cowboys and the West. Donna’s debut romance, Hired by the Cowboy, was awarded a Booksellers’ Best Award in 2008 for Best Traditional Romance. With the Atlantic Ocean only minutes from her doorstep, Donna has found a fresh take on life and promises even more great romances in the near future! Donna loves to hear from readers. You can contact her through her website, www.donnaalward.com , or follow @DonnaAlward on Twitter.

Dedication To my family—the reason for everything.

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

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

There were days when Madison Wallace felt like a single-mom Cinderella.

She blew at a few strands of hair that had escaped her messy ponytail, then tucked them behind her ears for at least the tenth time in the past half hour and checked her watch yet again.

Six twenty. The library closed at eight. The meeting was due to start in ten minutes and she didn’t even have the coffeepot going yet. The boys were in a playpen in one of the smaller meeting rooms, and her brain was on the verge of shutdown, with her body not far behind.

Whoever came up with the idea of Snowflake Days needed their head examined.

Oh, right. That would be her.

Of course, she’d put forth that proposal last winter, and the mayor and council had loved the idea. She’d thought she’d have tons of time to help with the planning committee. The babies would be a little older, she’d be back at work, Gavin would be home at night to lend a hand, and life would be back to normal.

And then everything had changed.

She couldn’t think about that now. She didn’t have time. And playing the what-if game was a waste of energy, anyway.

The meeting room where the twins were was quiet except for the odd babble, so she rushed around as committee members started arriving and gathered in the foyer, chatting. There were twelve altogether, a blend of male and female, young and old, business owners and retirees and anything in between. She put tablets of paper at each spot at the conference table as well as pens that said Gibson Public Library on them. A separate table held coffee, now dripping merrily into the pot, ice water, and an array of muffins and breads, which she’d baked just this morning while the boys were napping rather than taking from the library’s petty cash, which was always pretty tight.

“Maddy, this is just lovely, dear.” Pauline Rowe stopped and patted her arm. “Thank you for setting it up. Now that Thanksgiving is over, we’re really going to get into the nitty-gritty of the planning. Lots of coffee required.”

Maddy smiled at Pauline, who owned the town’s only dry cleaning and alterations shop. “Thanks, Pauline. Let me know if you need anything else, okay?”

An ear-splitting scream punctuated the relative quiet and Maddy winced. “Sorry. I’ll be right back.”

She rushed to the meeting room and found Liam and Lucas in the playpen. Liam was hanging on to the edge for dear life and crying, while Lucas whimpered softly in the corner, big crocodile tears on his cheeks.