Lisa Plumley - Notorious in the West

“Am I?”

Her annoyed gaze locked with his. “Yes.”

“Hmm. That’s interesting.” He observed her anew, liking her courage. “I bet you wish you’d left when you had the chance.”

He felt a smile sneak onto his face and was dumbfounded by it. It couldn’t be that he was enjoying her company, could it?

It seemed it could, Griffin marveled, and smiled afresh. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d smiled twice in one day.

His pleasure only appeared to gall her further.

“I wish I’d clobbered you with your breakfast tray. That’s what I wish!”

He offered a tsk-tsk of sham politeness. “Come, now. That’s hardly the exemplary service the Lorndorff is known for.”

An unintelligible sound of frustration came from her. Oddly enough, Griffin liked it. He liked seeing her ladylike façade crumble. He liked knowing he could affect her. He liked … her.

The realization made Griffin falter.

Thank you for reading NOTORIOUS IN THE WEST! I’m delighted to return to the Arizona Territory, and I’m thrilled to share Olivia and Griffin’s story with you. If you had fun reading about them—and I hope you did!—please try another book in my Morrow Creek series. It includes THE HONOUR-BOUND GAMBLER, MAIL-ORDER GROOM, THE BRIDE RAFFLE and several others—including some short stories and an eBook exclusive—all set in and around my favourite Old West town.

If you’d like to try a few sample chapters, you can find first-chapter excerpts from all my books at my website: www.lisaplumley.com. While you’re there, you can also download an up-to-date book list, sign up for new-book alerts, read sneak previews of forthcoming books, request reader freebies and more. I hope you’ll stop by today!

As always, I’d love to hear from you! You can follow me on Twitter @LisaPlumley, ‘friend’ me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/lisaplumleybooks, send an e-mail to lisa@lisaplumley.comor visit me online at www.community.eharlequin.com

Best wishes till next time!

Notorious in

the West

Lisa Plumley

www.millsandboon.co.uk

DEDICATION

To John, with all my love,

now and forever.

When she found herself living in modern-day Arizona Territory, LISA PLUMLEYdecided to take advantage of it—by immersing herself in the state’s fascinating history, visiting ghost towns and historical sites, and finding inspiration in the desert and mountains surrounding her. It didn’t take long before she got busy creating light-hearted romances like this one, featuring strong-willed women, ruggedly intelligent men, and the unexpected situations that bring them together.

When she’s not writing Lisa loves to spend time with her husband and two children, travelling, hiking, watching classic movies, reading, and defending her trivia game championship. She enjoys hearing from readers, and invites you to contact her via e-mail at lisa@lisaplumley.com, or visit her website at www.lisaplumley.com

Previous novels by the same author:

THE DRIFTER

THE MATCHMAKER * * Morrow Creek mini-series And in Mills & Boon® Historical Undone! eBooks: WANTON IN THE WEST Did you know that some of these novels are also available as eBooks? Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk THE SCOUNDREL * * Morrow Creek mini-series And in Mills & Boon® Historical Undone! eBooks: WANTON IN THE WEST Did you know that some of these novels are also available as eBooks? Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk THE RASCAL * * Morrow Creek mini-series And in Mills & Boon® Historical Undone! eBooks: WANTON IN THE WEST Did you know that some of these novels are also available as eBooks? Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk MARRIAGE AT MORROW CREEK * * Morrow Creek mini-series And in Mills & Boon® Historical Undone! eBooks: WANTON IN THE WEST Did you know that some of these novels are also available as eBooks? Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk (part of Halloween Temptations anthology) MAIL-ORDER GROOM * * Morrow Creek mini-series And in Mills & Boon® Historical Undone! eBooks: WANTON IN THE WEST Did you know that some of these novels are also available as eBooks? Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk THE BRIDE RAFFLE * * Morrow Creek mini-series And in Mills & Boon® Historical Undone! eBooks: WANTON IN THE WEST Did you know that some of these novels are also available as eBooks? Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk SOMETHING BORROWED, SOMETHING TRUE (part of Weddings Under a Western Sky anthology) THE HONOUR-BOUND GAMBLER * * Morrow Creek mini-series And in Mills & Boon® Historical Undone! eBooks: WANTON IN THE WEST Did you know that some of these novels are also available as eBooks? Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk

* Morrow Creek mini-series

And in Mills & Boon® Historical Undone! eBooks:

WANTON IN THE WEST

Did you know that some of these novels are also available as eBooks? Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk

Contents

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

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter One

March 1872, Boston, Massachusetts

Even at the age of fourteen, Griffin Turner always knew when one of his mother’s “bad times” was coming on. First she’d quit cleaning the meager four rooms they shared. Dust would pile up. Dirty pans and plates would accumulate. Rats would saunter across the gritty floors, as bold as you please—as bold as they tended to be in the tenement building Griffin and his mother had moved into After Their Circumstances Changed—and chew their way into the few remaining foodstuffs in the kitchen. A good swat with a broom got rid of them, Griffin had learned, but he hated the way that smacking their furry bodies made his skin crawl.

He also hated how weak it made him feel to admit that. After their circumstances changed, Griffin had become the man of the house. The man of the house could not be weak. He knew that.

When he failed to remember it, his mother reminded him.

A day or so after she stopped cleaning up, his mother would pull all the tatty draperies tightly shut, so that not even the tiniest sliver of wintertime sunlight could penetrate their home’s dank interior. Then she would abandon whatever piecework job she’d grudgingly taken on. Finally, she would take to her bed.

Griffin wasn’t sure how that was supposed to help anything. After all, nothing happened in bed except dreaming. Dreaming didn’t exactly put food on the table and kindling in the fireplace. But he knew better than to say so.

At least he knew better than to say so twice.

Most of the time, Griffin managed his mother’s bad times without too much hardship. He learned how to dust and sweep. He figured out how to light the stove and how to inveigle a few grocery items from their careworn neighbors when things got desperate. He learned to leave crackers by his mother’s bedside while she was asleep, but never to mention having done so the next day. He learned the precise time to bring a bracing cup of coffee into his mother’s room. He learned that doing so made her smile at him...but only if he got the timing right. So he learned well.