The Cowboy Code

The Cowboy Code
Christine Wenger

Actress Maggie McIntyre hadn't come to Mountain Springs, Wyoming, to be lassoed by handsome rancher Joe Watley!Still, to keep custody of her troubled nephew, she had to step away from the bright lights of Broadway and into Joe's Cowboy Quest program for wayward youths. But it was hard for city slicker Maggie to resist her sizzling attraction to the sexy cowboy, who awakened long-forsaken dreams of love and security.Would she have to choose between the career she loved and the man who could help mend her broken family? Or could Maggie truly have it all?

Maggie looked so very…kissable.

A laugh from the bunkhouse brought him back to reality. What was he thinking? She was a participant in his program.

“Um…good night, Joe.”

“Night, Maggie.” He headed down the path, then stopped. “The phone number to the bunkhouse is right by the phone. Call if you need anything—anything at all.”

He gritted his teeth. That sounded like a proposition, and he hadn’t meant that at all.

“I mean…uh…” He couldn’t think.

“I know what you mean, Joe. See you bright and early in the morning.”

He caught himself whistling as he walked to the bunkhouse. He hadn’t whistled in ages.

But sleep wouldn’t come. He kept thinking about Maggie, who had a wagonload of trouble she had to deal with. Her heaviest cargo was the smallest kid in Cowboy Quest.

Would he be able to help her?

Dear Reader,

The Cowboy Code kicks off my new miniseries, Gold Buckle Cowboys, which I hope you’ll love reading as much as I’ve enjoyed writing. The gold buckle symbolizes the cowboy’s victory over wild bulls, broncs or steers in competition. Every cowboy wants a gold buckle—even more than money. The buckle is a conversation piece, a good pickup topic for a “buckle bunny,” and it can be pawned when a cowboy is down and out—although he’d rather cut off an arm!

My Gold Buckle Cowboys are honorable men with hearts of gold and a trophy case full of gold buckles. They are cowboys who turn to mush over kids and can be tamed only by women who are as strong as they are.

They are cowboys who will win your heart in eight seconds!

What woman wouldn’t want a Gold Buckle Cowboy’s boots under her bed?

I’d love to hear from you! I can be contacted at www.christinewenger.com or at P.O. Box 2000, Cicero, NY 13039.

Cowboy up!

Chris Wenger

The Cowboy Code

Christine Wenger

CHRISTINE WENGER

has worked in the criminal justice field for more years than she cares to remember. She has a master’s degree in probation and parole studies and sociology from Fordham University, but the knowledge gained from such studies certainly has not prepared her for what she loves to do most—write romance! A native central New Yorker, she enjoys watching professional bull riding and rodeo with her favorite cowboy, her husband, Jim.

Chris would love to hear from readers. She can be reached by mail at P.O. Box 2000, Cicero, NY, 13039 or through her website at christinewenger.com.

To my wonderful sister-in-law, Jean Matyjasik,

for her friendship, laughter and good nature.

And she can make a really good babka!

Contents

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 One

Maggie McIntyre couldn’t wait to unfold herself from the dusty wreck of a pickup truck sent from the Silver River Ranch.

It had been a long, tedious day that had started at dawn, when her nephew Danny was released to her from juvenile detention in lower Manhattan. Then they had had to change planes three times—starting at JFK International Airport—before they’d finally landed at this blip on the map called Mountain Springs, Wyoming.

And throughout the day, Danny had barely spoke three words to her, civil or otherwise.

To alleviate his worries—if he was indeed worrying—she’d tried to convince him that the Cow boy Quest Program would be a good experience for both of them, but she had a feeling that her monologue had fallen on deaf ears.