Christmas On His Ranch: Maggie's Dad / Cattleman's Choice

Christmas On His Ranch: Maggie's Dad / Cattleman's Choice
Diana Palmer

Maggie's DadHot-tempered rancher Powell Long had once stolen Antonia Haye's heart. But small-town lies tore their young love apart, forcing Antonia to flee.Years later, she's returned to find Powell raising a daughter alone. Fatherhood hasn't tempered his wild side, or his feelings for the one woman he's always wanted–Antonia.Not even her pride could make her ignore the eager pull of her heartstrings. And taking a chance at a future family with Powell was simply too irresistible….Cattleman’s ChoiceCarson Wayne had come to Mandelyn Bush with the ultimate request: he needed her to teach him how to treat a lady. No doubt he'd asked the right person—Mandelyn was as polished and feminine as Carson was rough and reclusive. And she was the only person who could reason with him during one of his barroom brawls.It was too intriguing a challenge to turn down. Mandelyn was curious about what lay beneath the outlaw's hard shell. She suspected that the renegade was really a caring and sensitive man.But what she hadn't counted on were her own feelings for this irresistible rebel.

Christmas on His Ranch

Maggie’s Dad

Diana Palmer

Cattleman’s Choice

Diana Palmer

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

Table of Contents

Cover (#u1a77866d-799f-5a02-91a4-91fe3e3d42d8)

Title Page (#u16ffaad7-8c23-5957-b992-4b5ab36dfb72)

Maggie’s Dad (#u79f0fc02-97c7-57ee-a69b-89370404c879)

About the Author (#uf6c2fd4d-cbda-52e6-bbfb-053748f1d097)

Prologue (#u91db5824-5415-539b-8dfe-e331866c5dc7)

Chapter One (#ua65d5eaa-58b5-5d7b-8dad-82bbb8ff08ed)

Chapter Two (#u97517d90-aaeb-50d7-b787-a8d6e6af0116)

Chapter Three (#u60726aa0-0022-5538-afc0-6d9f6776ef6b)

Chapter Four (#ua24741ef-11ba-55ae-aabf-90583e119364)

Chapter Five (#u0258ae8d-1a8f-5eb6-ad55-e099296347fc)

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)

Cattleman’s Choice (#litres_trial_promo)

Back Cover Copy (#litres_trial_promo)

Dedication (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter One (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Two (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Three (#litres_trial_promo)

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)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

Maggie’s Dad (#ub88dd233-2ec8-5cf7-915f-b52f0618cec1)

The prolific author of more than a hundred books, DIANA PALMER got her start as a newspaper reporter. A multi–New York Times bestselling author and one of the top ten romance writers in America, she has a gift for telling the most sensual tales with charm and humour. Diana lives with her family in Cornelia, Georgia.

Visit her website at www.DianaPalmer.com (http://www.DianaPalmer.com).

Prologue (#ub88dd233-2ec8-5cf7-915f-b52f0618cec1)

Rain was peppering down on the roof of the small house where Antonia Hayes’s parents lived. It was a cold rain, and Antonia thought absently that she was very glad it was summer, because by early autumn that soft rain would turn to sleet or snow. Bighorn, a small town in northwestern Wyoming, was not an easy town to leave once it was covered in ice. It was rural and despite having three thousand inhabitants, it was too small to offer the transportation choices of a larger town. There wasn’t even an airport; only a bus station. The railroad ran through it, too, but the trains were spaced too far apart to do Antonia much good.

She was about to begin her sophomore year in college, at the University of Arizona in Tucson, and snow was fairly rare in that area in winter, except up in the mountains. The desert floor had light dustings, but not enough to inconvenience anyone. Besides, Antonia—having just finished her first year there—had been much too busy trying to pass her core courses and heal a broken heart to notice the weather. She did notice the summer heat now, though, she mused, and thanked God for air-conditioning.

The clock sounded and Antonia turned, her short, blond hair perky and her gray eyes full of sadness at having to leave. But fall semester started in less than a week, and she had to get back into her dorm room and set up some sort of schedule. The only comforting thing about going back was that George Rutherford’s stepdaughter, Barrie Bell, was her dorm roommate, and they got along very well indeed.

“It’s been lovely having you home for a whole week,” her mother, Jessica, said warmly. “I do wish you could have stayed the whole summer….”

Her voice trailed off. She knew, as did Antonia and Ben, her husband, why Antonia couldn’t stay in Bighorn very long. It was a source of great sadness to all of them, but they didn’t discuss it. It still hurt too much, and the gossip hadn’t quite died down even now, almost a year after the fact. George Rutherford’s abrupt move to France a few months after Antonia’s departure had quelled the remaining gossip.

Despite what had happened, George had remained a good, true friend to Antonia and her family. Her college education was his gift to her. She would pay him back every penny, but right now the money was a godsend. Her parents were well regarded in the community, but lacked the resources to swing her tuition. George had been determined to help, and his kindness had cost them both so much.