Jill Limber - The Sheriff Wins A Wife

She hadn’t seen Trace McCabe since the night they’d gotten married.

Recollections of his smile flashed through her memory like summer lightning. Memories of the hurt and confusion her decisions had caused stung like the sparks coming off a Fourth-of-July sparkler.

Her stomach flipped and her hands began to sweat.

Trace McCabe.

The reason Jennifer had stayed away from her hometown for eight years.

Then she turned, and his easy grin became a look of disbelief, shock—followed by a flash of anger.

Dangerous thoughts and emotions shook her. Her stomach jittered just as it used to when she was seventeen.

Perhaps her feelings hadn’t been buried as deeply as she’d thought.

Dear Reader,

To me, September is the cruelest month. One minute it feels like just another glorious summer day. And then almost overnight the days become shorter and life just hits. It’s no different for this month’s heroes and heroines. Because they all get their own very special “September moment” when they discover a secret that will change their lives forever!

Judy Christenberry once again heads up this month with The Texan’s Tiny Dilemma (#1782)—the next installment in her LONE STAR BRIDES miniseries. A handsome accountant must suddenly figure out how to factor love into the equation when a one-night stand results in twins. Seth Bryant gets his wake-up call when a very pregnant princess shows up on his doorstep in Prince Baby (#1783), which continues Susan Meier’s BRYANT BABY BONANZA. Jill Limber assures us that The Sheriff Wins a Wife (#1784) in the continuing BLOSSOM COUNTY FAIR continuity, but how will this lawman react to the news that he’s still married to a woman who left town eight years ago! Holly Jacobs rounds out the month with her next PERRY SQUARE: THE ROYAL INVASION! title. In Once Upon a King (#1785), baby seems to come before love and marriage for a future king.

And be sure to watch for more great romances next month when bestselling author Myrna Mackenzie launches our new SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE miniseries.

Happy reading,

Ann Leslie Tuttle

Associate Senior Editor

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To Matthew and Zachary: my newest little heroes

Silhouette Romance

The 15 lb. Matchmaker #1593

Captivating a Cowboy #1664

Daddy, He Wrote #1756

The Sheriff Wins a Wfe #1784

Silhouette Intimate Moments

Secrets of an Old Flame #1266

lives in San Diego with her husband. Now that her children are grown, their two dogs keep her company while she sits at her computer writing stories. A native Californian, she enjoys the beach, loves to swim in the ocean, and for relaxation she daydreams and reads romances. You can learn more about Jill by visiting her Web site at www.JillLimber.com.

The Buzz About Town

By: Harriet Hearsay

We’ve got the dirt…straight from the pigpen!

It seems Jennifer Williams, now of Dallas, is back in town and helping her niece with Petunia the pig. But don’t you know, this girl is clueless about hogs and she nearly landed flat on her behind the first time in the pen. Surprise, surprise—guess who was there to pull her out of the muck and straight into his arms? Her old flame, Sheriff Trace McCabe! This columnist is definitely ready to watch the mud fly between these two!

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

Chapter Sixteen

Jennifer Williams tried to avoid breathing through her nose.

It had been eight years since she’d been to the Blossom County fair, and she’d forgotten how bad the smell of the animal barn could get during the heat of the day.

She’d never been involved in 4H in school. Her mother hadn’t allowed her or her sister to participate. Ellen Williams had declared that no daughter of hers was going to lower herself to clean up after an animal. Jennifer had felt left out; all her friends had raised 4H animals. But now, standing beside the smelly pen that held her niece Kelly’s 4H entry, Jennifer thought perhaps her mother had had a point.

Petunia the pig was large, pink and cranky. As far as Jennifer was concerned, Petunia was a three-hundred-pound porcine nightmare that was not going to end anytime soon.

This was not how Jennifer had anticipated spending her summer. But when her older sister, Miranda, called three days ago asking for help with a difficult pregnancy, Jennifer had taken vacation time from her job as a forensic accountant, packed up her seven-year-old son, Zack, and left Dallas.

She’d moved from Blossom the summer after high school, and aside from brief visits home to see her sister and bury her mother, she’d stayed away. There were too many bad memories here. And she wouldn’t have come back now, but Miranda and her daughter, Kelly, were family—outside of Zack, the only family Jenn had.

Petunia gave a squeal of displeasure, pulling Jenn out of her reminiscences. She watched as the very pregnant pig struggled to her feet and knocked over her water bowl.

The last thing Jenn wanted to do was climb into the pen with a grouchy pig, but Kelly and Zack had gone to get sodas twenty minutes before, leaving Jennifer to wait for Kelly’s 4H adviser.

Jennifer smiled, remembering the scowl on Kelly’s face when Zack had signed that he’d go with his cousin and Jennifer had translated for Kelly. No teenager wanted to haul a little boy around with her when she might run into her friends, but Kelly would have to get used to it, at least for a few months. Jennifer would need Kelly’s help looking out for Zack, especially after the baby arrived.

It was important that Zack learn to get around despite his deafness. He was usually shy about straying from her side, and when he showed some independence, Jennifer encouraged it. She just wished her niece had been more open to Jenn’s offer to teach her sign language so Kelly could communicate with her cousin.

Petunia nosed at her water bowl, her squeals escalating. She sounded as if she was being mistreated in some horrible way.

With no sign of Kelly, Jenn had little choice but to go into the pen and refill the water bowl. She had never raised a pig, but she knew from growing up in Blossom, Texas, that an overheated animal, especially a sow close to giving birth, could spell trouble.

The problem was that Petunia hated to be penned and had become an escape artist. Jenn found the bag of dog biscuits in Kelly’s canvas bag, slipped a few into her pocket, then tossed a handful across the pen to lure Petunia away from the door.

While the pig rooted in the hay for the treats, Jennifer let herself inside and closed the gate behind her. Just as she was congratulating herself on keeping the pig penned, she stepped in a soft pile of droppings hidden under the straw. Petunia chose that moment to sniff at Jenn’s pocket, smearing her white shorts with a mixture of mushy dog biscuit and pig saliva.

Jennifer heard the low rumble of male laughter right behind her and froze. Without even turning around she knew who that laugh belonged to. Trace McCabe. The one person she had hoped to avoid during her stay in Blossom.

Recollections of his smile and laugh flashed through her memory like summer lightning. Memories of the hurt and confusion her decisions had caused stung like the sparks coming off a Fourth-of-July sparkler.