Soul Mates

Soul Mates
Carol Finch

TOO HOT TO HANDLENate Channing was back in town. And Katy Bates could almost see him leaning leisurely against his rattletrap car, wearing a white T-shirt and faded jeans. She remembered how his shaggy hair shone like a raven's wing, how his midnight-black eyes twinkled down at her with that endearing hint of deviltry….No one in their windblown west Texas town had realized that Katy and Nate were kindred spirits, even if they had been raised on opposite sides of the tracks. But Katy knew, remembered with vivid clarity, the passion they'd shared.Folks said that Nate was nothing but trouble. But Nate hadn't looked like trouble to Katy. For he had been her forbidden first love!

Nate reminded himself he wasn’t the same bitter, resentful kid who’d been spirited out of town in a patrol car sixteen years ago.

And Katy Bates sure wasn’t the same lively, optimistic teen beauty he’d left behind.

That thought diverted Nate from the townfolks’ taunts.

Suddenly his return wasn’t about proving something to himself and the citizens of Coyote Flats.

It was about bolstering the spirits of his first love.

Now was time to return the favor Katy had granted him sixteen years ago.

Nate made a pact with himself. Somehow, some way, he was going to put a smile back on Katy’s lips, to return the sparkle to her hypnotic blue eyes.

And prove to this woman he never forgot that he could be worthy of her love.

Dear Reader,

With spring in the air, there’s no better way to herald the season and continue to celebrate Silhouette’s 20th Anniversary year than with an exhilarating month of romance from Special Edition!

Kicking off a great lineup is Beginning with Baby, a heartwarming THAT’S MY BABY! story by rising star Christie Ridgway. Longtime Special Edition favorite Susan Mallery turns up the heat in The Sheik’s Kidnapped Bride, the first book in her new DESERT ROGUES series. And popular author Laurie Paige wraps up the SO MANY BABIES miniseries with Make Way for Babies!, a poignant reunion romance in which a set of newborn twins unwittingly plays Cupid!

Beloved author Gina Wilkins weaves a sensuous modern love story about two career-minded people who are unexpectedly swept away by desire in Surprise Partners. In Her Wildest Wedding Dreams from veteran author Celeste Hamilton, a sheltered woman finds the passion of a lifetime in a rugged rancher’s arms. And finally, Carol Finch brings every woman’s fantasy to life with an irresistible millionaire hero in her compelling novel Soul Mates.

It’s a gripping month of reading in Special Edition. Enjoy!

All the best,

Karen Taylor Richman

Senior Editor

Soul Mates

Carol Finch

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

This book is dedicated to my husband, Ed, and our children—Christie, Jill, Kurt, Jeff and Jon—with much love. And to our grandchildren, Brooklynn, Kennedy and Blake. Hugs and kisses!

Books by Carol Finch

Silhouette Special Edition

Not Just Another Cowboy #1242

Soul Mates #1320

CAROL FINCH,

who also writes as Gina Robins, Debra Falcon, Connie Drake and Connie Feddersen, has penned fifty-four novels in the historical romance, contemporary romance, mystery and romantic suspense genres. A former tennis pro and high school biology instructor, Ms. Finch devotes her time to writing and working on the family’s cattle ranch in Oklahoma.

Ms. Finch is a member of the Oklahoma Professional Writers’ Hall of Fame. She has received seventeen nominations and seven career achievement awards from Romantic Times Magazine for Historical Love and Laughter, Historical Adventure, Best Contemporary Romance and Storyteller of the Year.

Contents

Prologue (#u721fb053-9ccb-5cb5-9b0f-4acbbace4edf)

Chapter One (#u81ccc793-8529-5c79-a779-cc0a9dfee211)

Chapter Two (#uc79d8e8c-ab24-514a-bf81-4174009671db)

Chapter Three (#u30769b55-6a07-5ea2-945a-a60513d12c37)

Chapter Four (#ubec38298-92eb-56f4-a078-b0d5ae94ed9b)

Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)

Prologue

You can do this, Nate. You’ve spent fifteen years planning and dreaming of this moment. Don’t wimp out now.

Nate Channing hauled in a bracing breath and exhaled slowly. He stood face-to-face with his lowly beginnings, and he was determined to lay the bad memories to rest—here and now, once and for all.