A Cowboy Comes A Courting

A Cowboy Comes A Courting
Christine Scott

He'sMyHeroCOWBOY GROOMWith his easy smile and laid-back manner, Tyler Bradshaw spelled "Danger" from his Stetson to his spurs. And if citified Skye Whitman had learned anything, it was that cowboys–no matter how charming or finely chiseled–could not be trusted.But as the hot Texas days and sultry nights passed, Skye saw some extra qualities to the childhood friend recuperating on her ranch. A secret side Tyler rarely showed anyone. And a tender, loving side he showed only her. But if Skye were to give in to this cowboy's gentle courtship, would she wind up his wedded wife…or with a broke heart?

“I sure could use a lucky charm.” (#ue79f70de-2ec1-55a5-9e49-8e87ebd56e01)Letter to Reader (#u399b785e-56ee-5d87-be6d-127065df8bd0)Title Page (#uf11ebdce-2395-5a48-b128-b240e1f9daea)Dedication (#u3d91f474-f473-589d-b8c6-f2f32a360875)CHRISTINE SCOTT (#u5b479a7f-f6e0-5354-882a-b18b54351ccf)Chapter One (#ua0511dbd-da08-5d6d-9ad2-94ce7eba9ab6)Chapter Two (#u3f56c4ac-05ed-53d6-8b39-7cf5585ab72f)Chapter Three (#u956ff7c9-8da4-5487-b518-b42ad2fa6f11)Chapter Four (#litres_trial_promo)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)Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

“I sure could use a lucky charm.”

She frowned. “Lucky charm?”

He nodded. “It was your kiss that brought me good luck.”

“Tyler, I hardly think—”

“Hey, don’t knock a cowboy for his superstitions,” he said, grinning. “So what do you say, care to join me for another night at the rodeo?”

Indecision flickered in her blue eyes.

Tyler’s breath caught. He’d be damned, but he almost believed she was tempted. As the male in him considered the possibilities time with Skye might offer, the sensible side of him panicked at the thought of her saying yes. He wasn’t looking for an emotional involvement. He had enough problems in his life to deal with already. Tangling with Skye Whitman was one mistake he didn’t need to make.

But he knew he would....

Dear Reader,

This April, Silhouette Romance showers you with six spectacular stories from six splendid authors! First, our exciting LOVING THE BOSS miniseries continues as rising star Robin Wells tells the tale of a demure accountant who turns daring to land her boss—and become mommy to The Executive’s Baby.

Prince Charming’s Return signals Myrna Mackenzie’s return to Silhouette Romance. In this modem-day fairy-tale romance, wealthy FABULOUS FATHER Gray Alexander discovers he has a son, but the proud mother of his child refuses marriage—unless love enters the equation.... Sandra Steffen’s BACHELOR GULCH miniseries is back with Wes Stryker’s Wrangled Wife! In this spirited story, a pretty stranger just passing through town can’t resist a sexy cowboy struggling to raise two orphaned tykes.

Cara Colter revisits the lineup with Truly Daddy, an emotional, heartwarming novel about a man who learns what it takes to be a father—and a husband—through the transforming love of a younger woman. When A Cowboy Comes a Courting in Christine Scott’s contribution to HE’S MY HEROI, the virginal heroine who’d sworn off sexy, stubborn, Stetson-wearing rodeo stars suddenly finds herself falling hopelessly in love. And FAMILY MATTERS showcases Patti Standard’s newest novel in which a man with a knack for fixing things sets out to make a struggling single mom and her teenage daughter

His Perfect Family.

As always, I hope you enjoy this month’s offerings, and the wonderful ones still to come!

Happy reading!

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, Boffalo, NY 14269

Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

A Cowboy Comes a Courting

Christine Scott

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

For Joan, Mary Ann and Dorthy,

three wonderful sisters.

Thanks for all your support.

CHRISTINE SCOTT

grew up in Illinois but currently lives in St. Louis, Missouri. A former teacher, she now writes full-time. When she isn’t writing romances, she spends her time caring for her husband and three children. In between car pools, baseball games and dance lessons, Christine always finds time to pick up a good book and read about...love. She loves to hear from readers. Write to her at P.O. Box 283, Grover, MO 63040-0283.

Chapter One

“I’m not marrying a cowboy,” Skye Whitman announced, raising her chin at a determined angle. “I’m marrying Ralph.”

“Now there you go again, jumping to the wrong conclusions.” Her father released a disgusted breath. “Did I say you had to marry a cowboy? All I said was, why would you want to go and do a fool, stupid thing like marrying that skinny little, pencil-pushin’, four-eyed excuse of a man. For God’s sake, girl, Ralph Breedlow can’t even hold a decent conversation ’cause he’s always got his nose stuck in a book!”

“Ralph’s an intellectual,” Skye insisted. “He doesn’t have time for social niceties.”

Lifting a cardboard box from the back of Skye’s car, Gus Whitman snorted rudely, giving his opinion on that explanation. “Ralph’s a horse’s behind. He uses his intelligence as an excuse to be boring.”

Skye sighed and grabbed the last box for herself. For the last thirty minutes, she’d been treated to a lecture on the folly of marrying a medieval history professor. She didn’t blame her father for being skeptical of Ralph. He wasn’t like most men her father knew. As an ex-rodeo star, her father just didn’t understand a man who’d never ridden a horse, let alone been near one.

It wasn’t Ralph’s fault that he didn’t fit the cowboy’s macho image.

As far as she was concerned, not fitting the cowboy image was what made Ralph so appealing. Though she loved her father dearly, he hadn’t always put his family above his true love, the rodeo. If she’d learned anything from her parents’ disastrous marriage, it was not to lose her heart to a cowboy.

A trickle of perspiration ran down the valley between her breasts, as she climbed the wooden steps of the family’s ranch house. After spending the last six years in the cool, cultured world of the northeast, coming home to the heat and humidity of a Dallas summer to finish her master’s thesis in Philosophy was probably not her smartest move. Not only was it as hot as Hades outside, but her father’s mood was causing her spirits to wilt fast.

“Gus, could we save this discussion for another day? We haven’t seen each other since Christmas. I don’t want to waste any of our time together by arguing.”

Gus paused at the door to the house, raising a silvering eyebrow in question. “If you don’t want to waste any of our time together, then why don’t you move into the apartment in Dallas with me?”

Skye’s shoulders slumped in defeat. Her father was in one of his cantankerous moods. They both knew he wasn’t serious, the offer made out of guilt, rather than the truth. Gus would no more want her to stay with him in the tiny apartment above his Western store in Dallas, than he would want to be forced to live with her at the ranch house that had once belonged to his mother. Either choice involved making a commitment, something her father had never been able to do.

She went along with the game, however, going through the motions of an obligatory refusal. “We’ve already been through this, Gus. I’ve been living on my own for a long time. I need my privacy.”

“You’re not going to get much privacy if you marry Ralph,” he pointed out, proving himself to be every bit as stubborn as she’d remembered.

Refusing to be baited into another argument, she let the comment slide without a response. She bumped the front door open with her hip. The house was old, wearing a dusty film of neglect, looking eerily much the same as it had before her grandmother’s death six years earlier. “My thesis is very demanding. I’m going to be spending most of my time working. You know as well as I do, you’d never be able to sit by and watch me work without interrupting.”

He followed her inside. “I’ll be at the store most of the day.”

“This is a tough project.” She strode into the living room and dropped the box onto the floor, next to an already teetering stack. “I’ll be putting in a lot of hours. Day and night.”

He scowled. “What’s the point of coming home, if you’re going to be working all the time? You might as well have stayed up north with Ralph.”