Heart Of Texas

Heart Of Texas
Mary Lynn Baxter

Cozying up to the enemy makes sense. - Clark Garrison, urban cowboy and ruthless capitalist Clark Garrison had his reasons for returning to River Oaks and wasn't about to let anyone stand in his way - especially not Dr. Sara Wilson. Hell, she was just as beautiful and infuriating as he remembered, and clearly she still considered him the same swaggering bad boy she'd known years ago.Though he wanted to lure the lovely doctor to his bed, she was unquestionably off-limits. After all, it wouldn't be long before she discovered that the reason he was back had everything to do with her…Some men are made for lovin' - and you'll love our MAN OF THE MONTH!

“I Wouldn’t Look At Me Like That If I Were You, Unless...” (#ubcd9dc60-8133-59aa-a274-529bc1998477)Letter to Reader (#uf154a6bc-13ee-5c90-9aa0-05533185fa98)Title Page (#u2810b4bd-33d3-511b-bdc2-2edd15906d41)MARY LYNN BAXTER (#u6c59c155-49f1-528f-9e34-1abcc23a962e)Chapter One (#uebecff12-e63c-597c-973b-513e7eb77c43)Chapter Two (#ud4e1e7bf-8d4c-5dc2-9086-640717a51e76)Chapter Three (#u114046e8-68b8-5e6c-b52b-7a8f68c00187)Chapter Four (#u0488f877-2e25-5874-aa88-c97491e91fbf)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)Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

“I Wouldn’t Look At Me Like That If I Were You, Unless...”

Clark let the rest of his sentence trail off, but the message was clear.

“Sorry,” Sara muttered, ducking her head.

This urban cowboy was toying with her affections big time, and she was wallowing in it like someone starving for love and attention. So why didn’t she call a halt to this madness and insist he take her home? Now.

She licked her lips. “I’d... better go home.”

He moved his head close to her face and whispered, “Not now.”

“When?’ she whispered back, swaying toward him.

He closed his arms around her. “After we make love.”

Dear Reader,

Hey, look us over—our brand-new cover makes Silhouette Desire look more desirable than ever! And between the covers we’re continuing to offer those powerful, passionate and provocative love stories featuring rugged heroes and spirited heroines.

Mary Lynn Baxter returns to Desire and locates our November MAN OF THE MONTH in the Heart of Texas, where a virgin heroine is wary of involvement with a younger man.

More heart-pounding excitement can be found in the next installment of the Desire miniseries TEXAS CATTLEMAN’S CLUB with Secret Agent Dad by Metsy Hingle. Undercover agent Blake Hunt loses his memory but gains adorable twin babies—and the heart of lovely widow Josie Walters!

Ever-popular Dixie Browning presents a romance in which opposites attract in The Bride-in-Law. Elizabeth Bevarly offers you A Doctor in Her Stocking, another entertaining story in her miniseries FROM HERE TO MATERNITY. The Daddy Search is Shawna Delacorte’s story of a woman’s search for the man she believes fathered her late sister’s child. And a hero and heroine are in jeopardy on an island paradise in Kathleen Korbel’s Sail Away.

Each and every month, Silhouette Desire offers you six exhilarating journeys into the seductive world of romance. So make a commitment to sensual love and treat yourself to all six!

Enjoy!

Joan Marlow Golan

Senior Editor, Silhouette Desire

Please address questions and book requests to

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Heart of Texas

Mary Lynn Baxter

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

MARY LYNN BAXTER

A native Texan, Mary Lynn Baxter knew instinctively that books would occupy an important part of her life. Always an avid reader, she became a school librarian, then a bookstore owner, before writing her first novel.

Now Mary Lynn Baxter is an award-winning author who has written more than thirty novels, many of which have appeared on the USA Today bestseller list.

One

Sara Ann Wilson.

Her name had rattled around in Clark Garrison’s mind since he’d left Houston and headed for River Oaks. Although he finally spoke the name aloud, he still couldn’t believe the connection.

Why not? he asked himself as his Lexus sports utility vehicle hit the city limits of the small town—so small that it had only one caution light, a gas station and a grocery store of sorts. Some things, least of all small towns, never changed.

He didn’t know anything about the “grown-up” Sara Wilson. All he remembered was that he had dated her younger sister, Alice, and that Alice’s sister and mother hadn’t particularly liked him.

Alice had never said as much, but he knew that Katherine Wilson had thought he wasn’t good enough for Alice, that he was wild and unsupervised, the town’s bad boy. A snarl curled Clark’s lip. If she’d only known about her darling daughter—talk about wild.

As for Sara, he remembered very little, except that she’d been five years older than Alice and him, making her thirty-nine now. He racked his brain trying to recall what she looked like. No specifics came to mind other than she was tall and willowy and had auburn colored hair. She must not have been attractive or he would’ve remembered. A pretty face or a great body rarely got past him.

However, he did recall that Sara had been quiet and on the shy side, that she never seemed to have much to say. Smart. Alice always used to whine that Sara got all the brains in the family.

Not only did she have to be smart, but she had to have money to buy a nursing facility. Hell, as far as he knew she could be a millionaire, but he doubted that. In that postage-stamp-size town, there were no secrets.

It was open season on what went on behind closed doors. If Sara had come into a fortune, he would have heard it through the gossip pipeline. On second thought, maybe he wouldn’t have, since neither one of them lived in River Oaks, hadn’t for years.

After his boss, Lance Norton had given him the folder on the nursing facility, he’d had time only to glance at it, the owners’ names popping up first thing: Don and Opal Merrick and Sara Wilson.

His plan had been to study the file in detail before leaving the office, but that plan had gone awry. He’d had several important calls on other pending deals that demanded his attention. Also he’d had correspondence to dictate to his secretary.

However, as soon as he reached his aunt’s house, he would memorize everything in the file. His guns would definitely be loaded when he started on the hunt.

Business was booming, a fact that gave Clark the urge to pat himself on the back. He’d certainly done his share and more to make the company what it was today. But then, he was amply paid for what he did, not only in money but in stock. He had no kicks coming on that score.

One thing for sure, people would keep growing old, and the need for nursing homes and other special-care facilities would forever be in demand. And he planned to meet that demand, be Johnny-on-the-spot, to buy and sell those facilities in order to turn a profit.

Once he had himself a sizable nest egg, however, he’d always said he would retire. At thirty-four he had that goal already within reach. A grin teased Clark’s mouth as he thought about his cattle ranch in East Texas where he planned to settle.

But he wasn’t near ready to leave the city, to wake up to the sounds of nature instead of sounds of human beings. Maybe when he was too old to do anything except rock on the porch, he’d seriously consider making the move.

Yet there were times, like now, when he wished he were at the ranch helping his foreman Joe Hanover brand cattle, especially with the cool snap they were having, which accounted for his added energy.

However, that energy would be better used on the job he was sent here to do. Acquiring the nursing facility, Quiet Haven, and the surrounding land would be a real coup for Norton and Associates. He was the man who could pull that off.

In fact, this deal had the potential to be the biggest ever. An interstate was due eventually to go through the area which meant the property would be worth millions.