Stella Bagwell - The Best Catch in Texas

The conviction in his face told her so as he said, “I’m finding I like the clinic and this hospital. And I like my new ranch. So that’s a start.”

What about a woman to go with all that?

But Nicolette would bite off the end of her tongue before she’d ask him such a thing. She’d be a fool to lose what little heart she had left to a man like him.

She drank her coffee and felt his gaze on her face. His subtle inspection made her extremely aware that she was a woman.

A woman who had not felt the arms of a man around her in years…

Dear Reader,

Each member of the family on the Sandbur ranch has become beloved to me, and when the time came for the oldest daughter to find her soul mate, I wanted him to be a very special man. After all, Nicolette had lost her faith in men and it was going to take more than a charmer with a handsome face and sexy smile to touch her broken heart.

Who was this great guy going to be? The moment Ridge popped into my mind, I liked him. Which was a surprise because normally I’m not attracted to a man like him, who spends his days inside an office—even if his job is saving lives. I’m drawn to strong, outdoor men, whose faces are carved by the elements and with hands callused by hard, honest work. But wait a minute! Ridge isn’t just a doctor. At the end of the day he takes off his stethoscope and goes home to pull on his boots. Aaah! What could be sexier than a doctor who wears spurs?

Like me, when Nicolette first meets Ridge, she swoons. But it isn’t until she discovers the man inside that she starts to fall in love. He has a mind of his own and values that can’t be swayed by money or prestige. He knows exactly what he wants in life—a real marriage, children and a home full of warmth. And he’s more than willing to put his family before his career. What woman could resist?

I hope you enjoy reading this latest story in my MEN OF THE WEST series, and please watch for my next book to see how Cordero finally surrenders to love!

Happy trails,

Stella Bagwell

www.millsandboon.co.uk

sold her first novel to Silhouette in November 1985. More than fifty novels later, she still loves her job and says she isn’t completely content unless she’s writing. Recently, she and her husband moved from the hills of Oklahoma to Seadrift, Texas, a sleepy little fishing town located on the coastal bend. Stella says the water, the tropical climate and the seabirds make it a lovely place to let her imagination soar and to put the stories in her head down on paper.

She and her husband have one son, Jason, who lives and teaches high school math in nearby Port Lavaca.

To my dear Marie

and the memory of her beloved Rocky.

Someday you’ll be together again.

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

“Did you get a glimpse of Dr. Garroway’s backside? Oooee, what a treat it would be to see him in a pair of jeans.”

“Jeans? I’d like to see him without the jeans—without anything—except that smile of his!”

The hushed prattle of the two nurses turned into low giggles just as Nicolette Saddler approached the work desk where stacks of medical charts were waiting to be dispensed to waiting doctors.

“Ladies, do you think one of you might find the time to dig out Mr. Stanfield’s chart?” she asked.

Both women, who were several years younger than Nicolette’s thirty-eight years, looked around with shocked, parted lips. Obviously, neither nurse had been aware of her presence as they’d gushed over the new cardiologist.

“Oh!” Embarrassed, one of the nurses whirled toward the pile of manila folders and began to fumble through them. “Oh, sure, Dr. Saddler. Just a moment. It’s right here.”

Technically, Nicolette wasn’t a doctor. She was a P.A., a physician’s assistant. But most of her patients and colleagues called her doctor, simply because it was easier.

The second nurse smiled sheepishly. “Uh, we were just discussing the new heart doctor. Everybody in the clinic is excited about him.”

Everybody meaning all the women, Nicolette thought, as she did her best to stifle a sigh. From the moment she’d walked into the clinic this morning, she’d heard nothing but praise and adoration for the new cardiologist, who’d filled the empty spot left by Dr. Gray Walters’s retirement. But as far as Nicolette was concerned, no man could fill the elderly doctor’s shoes. He’d worked tirelessly to see that each and every patient had the best care. While other physicians enjoyed themselves on the golf course, or fishing down on the coast, Dr. Walters had been in the clinic or the hospital, giving of himself to his patients. She didn’t expect the same sort of dedication from the new man. From what she’d heard, he was only twenty-nine and the biggest thing he had going for him was his looks.

“Yes, I’ve heard,” Nicolette said drearily. Today was her first day back at Coastal Health since she’d taken two weeks off to nurse her ailing mother. Though she hadn’t expected to find Welcome banners for her return, she would have enjoyed having at least one person express their pleasure at seeing her. Instead, the new Dr. Garroway seemed to have turned the place on its ear.

The young nurse looked at her with a puzzled frown. “You don’t sound a bit excited. Haven’t you met him yet?”

“I’m not excited,” Nicolette briskly informed her. “And I haven’t met him yet. I have more important things on my agenda. Like sick patients.”

She took the chart from the other nurse’s hand and left the work station. As she walked down the corridor to her office, she pretty much felt the two women staring after her, as though she was some sort of hardened matron. Maybe they were right, she thought dismally. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d gotten excited about a member of the opposite sex. Since she and her ex-husband had parted, she hadn’t looked twice at one. She’d had her turn with a good-looking, sweet-talking man and she wasn’t interested in having another.

Ten minutes later Nicolette was sitting at her desk, going over a battery of test results before she saw her first patient, when the nurse who worked as her personal assistant stepped through the open doorway.

“There’s someone in the waiting room to see you, Doctor,” she said.

Frowning, Nicolette glanced up at Jacki, a young woman with a mop of curly red hair and an effervescent smile that lasted throughout the day, even when everyone else was growling with fatigue. For the past three years, Jacki had been at Nicolette’s side. She’d become a friend, and thankfully Nicolette could talk to her as such.

“Should be a room full of patients,” Nicolette replied dryly.

“The patients are there, plus someone else. I told him I’d see if you had a minute or two.”

Nicolette’s brows peaked. “Him?”

Nodding, Jacki took a small step into the office, leaned toward Nicolette and whispered loudly, “The new doctor. I think all the women in the waiting area are trying to feign heart trouble.”

Murmuring a curse word under her breath, Nicolette tossed down her pen and pushed back her chair. “Why didn’t you tell the man I was busy? You certainly wouldn’t have been lying!”

Unaffected by Nicolette’s sharp words, Jacki made a palms-up gesture. “Because he would only come back later. Besides, he’s only trying to be neighborly. Something you normally try to be.”