GI Cowboy

GI Cowboy
Delores Fossen

Battered ex-soldier Parker McKenna is facing his riskiest mission yet: guarding Bailey Lockhart. Returning to civilian life hasn't been easy, but Parker's new job with Corps Security and Investigations gives him purpose again–if he can keep Bailey alive.The privileged governor's daughter has been receiving threats–and they've just escalated into dangerous territory. Someone close to her wants her dead. Parker can handle any adversary, but handling Bailey proves more difficult–the stubborn, independent beauty stirs the passion Parker had thought long buried. Passion has no place in war, and the enemy is always watching, waiting. Now with desire blurring his objectivity, Parker must face the fact that the greatest danger to Bailey just may be him….

“Come to my bed tonight.”

Oh, mercy. She was in trouble here.

Her body was tingling just thinking about it. All that precision. All that superhero strength. All those muscles. She wasn’t a shallow woman, but the thought of getting her hands on his body made her mouth water, literally.

Bailey really wanted to go to his bed tonight.

But then something in the backyard caught her eye. Some kind of movement. Maybe. Bailey tried to pick through the unfamiliar surroundings and sounds. Bailey saw it then. It wasn’t an animal. Nor a shadow.

It was a man….

GI Cowboy

Delores Fossen

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

To Max. This one is for you.

Special thanks and acknowledgment to Delores Fossen for her contribution to the Daddy Corps series.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Imagine a family tree that includes Texas cowboys, Choctaw and Cherokee Indians, a Louisiana pirate and a Scottish rebel who battled side by side with William Wallace. With ancestors like that, it’s easy to understand why Texas author and former air force captain Delores Fossen feels as if she were genetically predisposed to writing romances. Along the way to fulfilling her DNA destiny, Delores married an air force top gun who just happens to be of Viking descent. With all those romantic bases covered, she doesn’t have to look too far for inspiration.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Parker McKenna —Former army captain who joins the Daddy Corps as a bodyguard for the governor’s daughter, Bailey Lockhart. Parker closed down after his wife’s death five years ago, but protecting Bailey makes him see that he still has a lot to lose—and win—if he can only trust his heart again.

Bailey Lockhart —The governor’s headstrong daughter and owner of Cradles and Crayons Daycare and Preschool. Even though she’s in danger, she’s reluctant to rely on Parker, the hot GI, but Bailey soon realizes that Parker is her best chance at staying alive.

Zach McKenna —Parker’s thirteen-year-old son. He lives with his father, but they haven’t really communicated in years.

Bart Bellows —The eccentric Texas billionaire and head of Corps Security and Investigation who would do anything for his old friend, the governor. But all Bart’s money and influence might not be enough to save the Lockharts.

Lila Lockhart —The governor of Texas who’s considering a run for the White House…but first she has to deal with the threats against her daughter, Bailey.

Timothy Penske —Lila’s personal bodyguard. Bailey rejected his advances, but does he still have feelings for her, and are those feelings a part of what’s happening to her now?

Sidney Burrell —The handyman at Cradles and Crayons. He’s kept a secret about his past. Just how far will he go to make sure no one finds out what he really is?

Chester Herman —The mystery man who shows up in town at the same time the threats on Bailey begin. He could be Bailey’s stalker…or maybe someone wants it to look that way.

Contents

Prologue

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

Epilogue

Prologue

Parker McKenna stopped cold. The dinner invitation sure hadn’t said anything about sharing a fancy meal with an assassin, but he was pretty sure the guy in the far right corner fit that particular bill.

“Takes one to know one,” Parker mumbled to himself.

Except Parker had killed only when there’d been no other option, when it had been necessary to protect someone in the line of duty. He wasn’t sure this guy could say the same.

Parker eased out of the doorway and stood next to the wall so he could take in the rest of the private dining room in the posh Dallas hotel. The Wainwright wasn’t exactly his kind of place. Too rich for his middle-class army blood with its glossy marble floors and crystal chandeliers shimmering overhead.

Normally, Parker wouldn’t have come within a mile of a place like this, but the invitation had, well, made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. His host, Bart Bellows, had sent the handwritten dinner request along with round-trip plane tickets.