Her Forever Cowboy

Her Forever Cowboy
Debra Clopton

Mule Hollow, Texas, is chock-full of handsome cowboys ready to say "I do." So veterinarian Susan Worth moves in, dreaming of meeting Mr. Right.He's most certainly not the gorgeous rescue worker blazing through town on a motorcycle. Cole Turner is a sixth-generation Mule Hollow rancher, but he's all about roaming Texas to save everyone but himself. The hurt hidden deep inside his heart keeps him from settling down. But Susan is determined–and knows just how–to make him her forever cowboy.

Cole threw a leg over the big machine and held out his hand.

“Hop on,” he said with a lopsided grin that made her mind go momentarily blank.

She swallowed hard, reminded herself this was just a ride home—on a motorcycle—and took his hand. Climbing on behind him, she sat stiffly.

“How long are you in town for your visit?” she asked, then wanted to kick herself. She hoped he was leaving the next day. He was not her forever cowboy!

The engine burst to life. He glanced over his shoulder at her and his eyes glinted in the moonlight. “Depends on a few things, but I’m here for a few weeks.”

A few weeks. “That long?” she said, but her words were drowned out by the roar of the motorcycle. Or so she thought until Cole shot her another sly look.

“Yeah,” he said, over the growl of the motorcycle. “I think it’s going to be real interesting. Now hang on.”

Oh, dear…

DEBRA CLOPTON

was a 2004 Golden Heart finalist in the inspirational category, a 2006 Inspirational Readers’ Choice Award winner, a 2007 Golden Quill award winner and a finalist for the 2007 American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year Award. She praises the Lord each time someone votes for one of her books, and takes it as an affirmation that she is exactly where God wants her to be.

Debra is a hopeless romantic and loves to create stories with lively heroines and the strong heroes who fall in love with them. But most importantly she loves showing her characters living their faith, seeking God’s will in their lives one day at a time. Her goal is to give her readers an entertaining story that will make them smile, hopefully laugh and always feel God’s goodness as they read her books. She has found the perfect home for her stories writing for the Love Inspired line and still has to pinch herself just to see if she really is awake and living her dream.

When she isn’t writing, she enjoys taking road trips, reading and spending time with her two sons, Chase and Kris. She loves hearing from readers and can be reached through her Web site, www.debraclopton.com, or by mail at P.O. Box 1125, Madisonville, Texas 77864.

Her Forever Cowboy

Debra Clopton

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

When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you,

O Lord, who know my way.

—Psalms 142:3

This book is dedicated with much love and appreciation to my new friends Sharon Howell and Jo Anne Faerber.

Jo Anne, I’m so glad you came to my book signing and brought Sharon to meet me. God blessed me that day—you gals have inspired me to step out of my comfort zone this year and let God lead me forward. Bless you both for listening to His voice!

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 Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Epilogue

Questions for Discussion

Chapter One

Susan Worth rubbed her eyes, fighting the exhaustion threatening to overtake her. She’d spent most of the night saving the life of an unborn calf and mother and her adrenaline had kept her moving. Emergency calls had kept her out three nights in a row and she was dead on her feet—the drone of her truck’s engine and the dark, deserted road were working against her. Tightening her fingers around the steering wheel, she dug deep, sat up straight and concentrated on keeping her eyes open.

She still had an hour’s drive to make it home. Once again she was alone in the middle of the night on a deserted road, halfway along the seventy-mile stretch between the tiny ranching town of Mule Hollow and the larger town of Ranger, where her clinic and apartment were—for the time being.

She loved her job and had worked hard to have her career as a small-town vet. But the exhausting pace was sometimes too much to take. The threat of falling asleep at the wheel was a risk for anyone who covered a full day’s schedule and handled all emergency calls. More so for her, since her large-animal business had grown so big over in the Mule Hollow area—great for the bottom line, but bad on the body.

And bad on her personal life. With her hours growing longer and longer, quality life after work had become almost nonexistent.