Dorsey Kelley - Nevada Cowboy Dad

“How could I live in the same house with a female like you and not want you?” Rusty said. “How could I live in the same house with a female like you and not want you?” Rusty said. “You’re beautiful,” he continued. “And all woman.” Stunned, Lucy kept her head down. “Please,” she said belatedly, “don’t say those things.” “Why not?” “Because I can’t. I didn’t come to the Lazy S for that. I want a family, Rusty.” “Family,” he echoed in disbelief. “You mean you want to treat me like some kind of...of brother?” At least he understood, she thought, relieved. She nodded firmly. “Yes. A brother.” Surprising her, he threw back his head and guffawed. “Woman, I think maybe you’ve lost a few head of cattle from your herd.” His laughter filled the fall air. “There’s nothing brotherly about the way I feel about you, Lucy. And you’re not being truthful with your own feelings if you say you think of me that way.” Letter to Reader Dear Reader, As spring turns to summer, make Silhouette Romance the perfect companion for those lazy days and sultry nights! Fans of our LOVING THE BOSS series won’t want to miss The Marriage Merger by exciting author Vivian Leiber. A pretend engagement between friends goes awry when their white lies lead to a real white wedding! Take one biological-clock-ticking twin posing as a new mom and one daddy determined to gain custody of his newborn son, and you’ve got the unsuspecting partners in The Baby Arrangement, Moyra Tarling’s tender BUNDLES OF JOY title. You’ve asked for more TWINS ON THE DOORSTEP, Stella Bagwell’s charming author-led miniseries, so this month we give you Millionaire on Her Doorstep, an emotional story of two wounded souls who find love in the most unexpected way...and in the most unexpected place. Can a bachelor bent on never marrying and a single mom with a bustling brood of four become a Fairy-Tale Family? Find out in Pat Montana’s delightful new novel. Next, a handsome doctor’s case of mistaken identity leads to The Triplet’s Wedding Wish in this heartwarming tale by DeAnna Talcott. And a young widow finds the home—and family—she’s always wanted when she strikes a deal with a Nevada Cowboy Dad, this month’s FAMILY MATTERS offering from Dorsey Kelley. Enjoy this month’s fantastic selections, and make sure to return each and every month to Silhouette Romance! Mary-Theresa Hussey Senior Editor, Silhouette Romance 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 Nevada Cowboy Dad Dorsey Kelley www.millsandboon.co.uk Dedication I dedicate this novel to all the fine organizations that support verbally abused and physically battered women, and most especially to the Nicole Brown Simpson Charitable Foundation. For any abused wife: Please, take heart, and get help. About the Author DORSEY KELLEY can hardly get off a horse long enough to write books. She helps ranchers move cattle around in annual drives, participates in roundups and brandings and hams it up in parades. Now she is learning to team rope because, she says, “It’s so dam much fun!” When she isn’t horsing around, Dorsey plays tennis, takes her three daughters to the mall and makes her husband crazy with planning even more ranch trips. Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Epilogue Copyright

“How could I live in the same house with a female like you and not want you?” Rusty said.

“You’re beautiful,” he continued. “And all woman.”

Stunned, Lucy kept her head down. “Please,” she said belatedly, “don’t say those things.”

“Why not?”

“Because I can’t. I didn’t come to the Lazy S for that. I want a family, Rusty.”

“Family,” he echoed in disbelief. “You mean you want to treat me like some kind of...of brother?”

At least he understood, she thought, relieved. She nodded firmly. “Yes. A brother.”

Surprising her, he threw back his head and guffawed. “Woman, I think maybe you’ve lost a few head of cattle from your herd.” His laughter filled the fall air. “There’s nothing brotherly about the way I feel about you, Lucy. And you’re not being truthful with your own feelings if you say you think of me that way.”

Dear Reader,

As spring turns to summer, make Silhouette Romance the perfect companion for those lazy days and sultry nights! Fans of our LOVING THE BOSS series won’t want to miss The Marriage Merger by exciting author Vivian Leiber. A pretend engagement between friends goes awry when their white lies lead to a real white wedding!

Take one biological-clock-ticking twin posing as a new mom and one daddy determined to gain custody of his newborn son, and you’ve got the unsuspecting partners in The Baby Arrangement, Moyra Tarling’s tender BUNDLES OF JOY title. You’ve asked for more TWINS ON THE DOORSTEP, Stella Bagwell’s charming author-led miniseries, so this month we give you Millionaire on Her Doorstep, an emotional story of two wounded souls who find love in the most unexpected way...and in the most unexpected place.

Can a bachelor bent on never marrying and a single mom with a bustling brood of four become a Fairy-Tale Family? Find out in Pat Montana’s delightful new novel. Next, a handsome doctor’s case of mistaken identity leads to The Triplet’s Wedding Wish in this heartwarming tale by DeAnna Talcott. And a young widow finds the home—and family—she’s always wanted when she strikes a deal with a Nevada Cowboy Dad, this month’s FAMILY MATTERS offering from Dorsey Kelley.

Enjoy this month’s fantastic selections, and make sure to return each and every month to Silhouette Romance!

Mary-Theresa Hussey

Senior Editor, Silhouette Romance

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

I dedicate this novel to all the fine organizations that support verbally abused and physically battered women, and most especially to the Nicole Brown Simpson Charitable Foundation. For any abused wife: Please, take heart, and get help.

DORSEY KELLEY can hardly get off a horse long enough to write books. She helps ranchers move cattle around in annual drives, participates in roundups and brandings and hams it up in parades. Now she is learning to team rope because, she says, “It’s so dam much fun!”

When she isn’t horsing around, Dorsey plays tennis, takes her three daughters to the mall and makes her husband crazy with planning even more ranch trips.

Chapter One

She was coming back. And she was bringing her money with her.

That was all Rusty Sheffield allowed himself to think about as he waited on horseback for the sleek sports car to make its way up the gravel drive of the Lazy S Ranch. The expensive engine almost purred, he thought broodingly, as out of place on the Nevada cattle ranch as antlers on a sheepdog.

Impatient and frustrated, Rusty yanked off his hat and slapped at a clump of dried mud on his thigh. Dust rose from both his hat and his worn jeans, making thin clouds in the chill air. Damn, he hated what he was about to do, hated the reason for this meeting with Lucy Donovan.

Still, every time he reviewed the ranch’s dismal finances the truth was a fist slamming agonizingly into his gut. He resettled his hat, but there was no denying it—he was getting desperate.

Lifting the reins, he urged his sorrel gelding out the corral and toward the gravelled area where Lucy had parked her car and was now emerging.