Wind River Ranch

Wind River Ranch
Jackie Merritt

ONE STRONG COWBOY…From the moment Dena Colby returned to Lander, Wyoming, handsome rancher Ry Hardin was there for her. Her father had just died and left her the ranch. But Dena had no intention of lowering her defenses for anyone, least of all her father's foreman. Dena might be saying "hands off," but Ry knew better.The darn fool woman needed him, even if she was too stubborn to admit it. This former cowgirl - now city girl - belonged in his strong cowboy arms, and he'd fight heaven and earth to get her there… .

When He Kissed Her Again, She Held Nothing In Reserve, (#u5d3c9be4-94a1-5625-9e72-bea25f4b9d65)Letter to Reader (#u4cc3eb19-5f01-5148-9528-40b0eec28a29)Title Page (#ucac4854c-863a-58e1-b5d7-3bad2f227711)About the Author (#u7871c649-165c-5519-9562-531429b8bce5)Prologue (#u1c18c7d9-18f7-5694-9fb5-e00778fdc9b1)Chapter One (#ubcf9beb5-c2cf-5b79-85b6-4b4c0e071f46)Chapter Two (#ud7975e23-dfc7-5aaf-ae27-58d65a8c2d04)Chapter Three (#u7f1fdbdf-5d93-5ea1-83a8-c28df59120cc)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)Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

When He Kissed Her Again, She Held Nothing In Reserve,

not even a tiny part of herself, just in case this never went beyond tonight.

It was a risk for a woman like her, giving everything to a man who’d sworn off marriage for good. She knew it, too. She’d taken almost the same vow, but hers had been tempered with I will only marry again if I meet the perfect man.

Well, no one was perfect, but Ry Hardin was darned close. She was already feeling emotionally committed to him, and if he didn’t reciprocate, she could be in for some big-time heartache.

But what else was new? Wasn’t she so used to heartache that she wouldn’t know how to behave if it should suddenly disappear?

In the next heartbeat she wasn’t thinking about anything....

Dear Reader,

THE BLACK WATCH returns! The men you found so intriguing are now joined by women who are also part of this secret organization created by BJ James. Look for them in Whispers in the Dark, this month’s MAN OF THE MONTH.

Leanne Banks’s delightful miniseries HOW TO CATCH A PRINCESS—all about three childhood friends who kiss a lot of frogs before they each meet their handsome prince—continues with The You-Can’t-Make-Me Bride. And Elizabeth Bevarly’s series THE FAMILY McCORMICK concludes with Georgia Meets Her Groom. Romance blooms as the McCormick family is finally reunited.

Peggy Moreland’s tantalizing miniseries TROUBLE IN TEXAS begins this month with Marry Me, Cowboy. When the men of Temptation, Texas, decide they want wives, they find them the newfangled way—they advertise!

A Western from Jackie Merritt is always a treat, so I’m excited about this month’s Wind River Ranch—it’s ultrasensuous and totally compelling. And the month is completed with Wedding Planner Tames Rancher!, an engaging romp by Pamela Ingrahm. There’s nothing better than curling up with a Silhouette Desire book, so enjoy!

Regards,

Senior Editor

Please address questions and book requests to:

Silhouette Reader Service

U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269

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

Wind River Ranch

Jackie Merritt

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

JACKIE MERRITT and her husband live just outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. An accountant for many years, Jackie has happily traded numbers for words. Next to family, books are her greatest joy. She started writing in 1987 and her efforts paid off in 1988 with the publication of her first novel. When she’s not writing or enjoying a good book, Jackie dabbles in watercolor painting and likes playing the piano in her spare time.

Prologue

Carrying her medical bag, purse and an assortment of file folders, Dena Colby walked into her primary place of employment, Meditech Home Care, which consisted of an office in the front of the building and a lab in the back. It was nearly six, and she was through for the day except for returning the files she had used for today’s appointments and checking her schedule for tomorrow’s. She was currently working days, although all of the employees’ shifts fluctuated on a twenty-four hour basis. Dena was an RN and enjoyed working for a company that supplied around-the-clock home nursing visits when prescribed by a physician.

There were only a few people in the office, one of whom was the receptionist, Gail Anderson. Gail was talking on the phone and she waved and motioned at Dena. “One moment, please. Dena just came in. I’m going to put you on hold while I transfer your call to her phone.”

Dena deposited her load on her desk. “Who is it, Gail?” Wearily she sank into her chair. It had been a busy day, and she was tired, definitely ready to go home, have a hot shower and put up her feet.

“A man named Ryson Hardin. He said it was urgent that he speak to you as soon as possible. He’s on line three, Dena.”

Dena frowned slightly. “I don’t know a Ryson Hardin. How urgent could a stranger’s call be?” She stared at the blinking light of line three on her telephone for a few seconds, then rather belligerently reached for the receiver. If Hardin was using “urgent” to try to sell her something, she was apt to let him know what she thought of such tactics. She spoke coolly. “This is Dena Colby. What can I do for you?”

She heard the man clear his throat. “Miss Colby, this is Ry Hardin. I used your father’s personal telephone directory to locate you. I... have some very bad news.”

Dena gripped the telephone tighter as a barrage of emotions and memories struck mercilessly. “What sort of bad news?” she asked, the sharpness of her voice caused by a sudden acute fear.

“It’s about your father. Simon...died this morning.”

It didn’t sink in. Dena sat there statue still, holding the phone to her ear without saying anything.

“Miss Colby, did you hear what I said?” Ry asked. He’d expected shock, but he hadn’t anticipated total silence from Simon’s daughter. He hadn’t wanted to be the person to call Dena Colby, but the only other candidate for the discomfiting job was Nettie Bascomb, the housekeeper, and Nettie was up there in years and so shaken over Simon’s death she was all but incoherent.

Dena’s thoughts were beginning to coalesce. But denial was rampant in her system. This had to be some sort of cruel joke. “Who did you say you are?”

“Ryson Hardin. I’ve been the foreman on your father’s Wind River Ranch for three years, Miss Colby. I’m surprised my name isn’t familiar.”

He doesn’t know, Dena thought dully. Mr. Hardin did not know Colby family history. There were people who could have told him, Nettie for one. But maybe Nettie had left the ranch, for some reason, since their last correspondence.

“What happened?” Dena asked in a lifeless voice.

“To Simon?”

“Of course to Simon,” she replied impatiently. “Who else would I be asking about?”

“Sorry,” Ry said gently, realizing the shock he’d anticipated from Dena Colby was beginning to develop. “Dr. Worth thinks it was a cerebral hemorrhage. He can’t say for sure without an autopsy, which, of course, is your decision to make. The doc believes it happened some time this morning. Your father had taken a pickup truck and gone to the south end of the ranch early this morning. No one—the ranch hands, Nettie and myself—was alarmed when he wasn’t back by noon. Simon rarely announced or explained his plans for the day. By three I began wondering, however, and I asked Nettie if Simon had taken lunch with him. When she said no, I had everyone start looking for him.”

Dena’s voice had become quite hoarse. “And you found him dead.” In the far recesses of Dena’s mind was the fact that Nettie was still at the ranch. It was small comfort at this moment, but somewhat relieving regardless.

“Not me, personally, but yes.” Two of the hands had spotted Simon’s pickup from a hilltop. They were on horseback, and had ridden hard and fast from that hill to the truck. Simon was still in the driver’s seat, slumped over the wheel. Dr. Worth’s opinion was that he had died instantly. Ry didn’t think he needed to explain every tiny detail to Dena Colby during this call, figuring that she had enough to digest with what he’d already told her.

He couldn’t possibly grasp the true nature of Dena’s state of mind. She could just barely think; her heart was pounding hard enough to hear and her hands were shaking like twigs in a high wind. Her mouth was so dry that speaking was almost impossible.

“I—I’ll catch the first flight out,” she mumbled thickly.

“If you let me know your flight schedule, I’ll meet your plane, Miss Colby.”

“I...” She was beginning to crack. Her father had died without forgiving her. He was too young to die, barely fifty years old, and now there was no longer a chance of forgiveness, of reconciliation. “Th-thank you for calling. I’ll be in touch.” She put down the phone.

“Dena?” It was Gail, looking at her across several desks with a worried expression. “Are you all right?”

“My...my father died this morning,” Dena said in a choked whisper.