Sheriff Takes A Bride

Sheriff Takes A Bride
Gayle Kaye

FAMILYMATTERSTHE LAWMAN AND THE LADYHallie Cates's biological clock was ticking, but there was nary a husband on the horizon. Then she returned to her hometown and discovered Cam Osborne–a gorgeous small-town sheriff straight out of her dreams. He was everything she wanted in a man, but he'd sworn off commitment. And although she tried to steer clear of the handsome lawman, Cam was impossible to resist.Avowed loner Cam liked his bachelor life-style–until he butted heads with the lovely schoolteacher over her law-breaking grandmother. Sweet Hallie with her down-home values was a lady worth chasing. Only problem was, Hallie was the kind of woman a man married, and Cam wasn't looking for a wife…was he?Kisses, kids, cuddles and kin. The best things in life are found in families!

“Hello, Cam,” (#udb8b76b0-5f31-592e-a9e0-beadb4b5be75)Letter to Reader (#u1dfefe01-c341-52b3-86cd-8acc33ec45b3)Title Page (#u1af05252-7007-5433-9d94-92d392e06241)Dedication (#uc6950e8c-ca56-5f29-8a54-ab7841c95b00)About the Author (#ueb1bcacc-fca0-5c8e-8ff4-1f956b1a2ef1)Letter to Reader (#ue2b39f51-d4f0-547b-ae47-b32f322a3d86)Chapter One (#u4b19191e-149a-50df-9f2f-7f108651898e)Chapter Two (#u966ec955-c0d1-5009-9bae-17d266a91cf0)Chapter Three (#u8b9130c8-838b-565a-b0a8-c78ed0b85355)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)Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

“Hello, Cam,”

Hallie said as he neared the porch.

Cam’s breath stopped for just a second, at the sight of Hallie. Her hair was tucked up and held in place with a tortoiseshell comb, but wispy tendrils escaped here and there and teased at the blush on her cheeks.

She’d changed into a pair of white shorts that made her legs look a good mile longer than they already were, and all too shapely for his peace of mind. Her top was a pretty shade of mint—and made her green eyes look big and wide in the evening twilight. If he’d ever wanted to touch a woman, it was this woman...at this moment.

But what about forever?

Dear Reader,

March roars in like a lion at Silhouette Romance, starting with popular author Susan Meier and Husband from 9 to 5, her exciting contribution to LOVING THE BOSS, a six-book series in which office romance leads to happily-ever-after. In this sparkling story, a bump on the head has a boss-loving woman believing she’s married to the man of her dreams....

In March 1998, beloved author Diana Palmer launched VIRGIN BRIDES. This month, Callaghan’s Bride not only marks the anniversary of this special Romance promotion, but it continues her wildly successful LONG, TALL TEXANS series! As a rule, hard-edged, hard-bodied Callaghan Hart distrusted sweet, virginal, starry-eyed young ladies. But ranch cook Tess Brady had this cowboy hankerin’ to break all his rules.

Judy Christenberry’s LUCKY CHARM SISTERS miniseries resumes with a warm, emotional pretend engagement story that might just lead to A Ring for Cinderella. When a jaded attorney delivers a very pregnant stranger’s baby, he starts a journey toward healing... and making this woman his Texas Bride, the heartwarming new novel by Kate Thomas. In Soldier and the Society Girl by Vivian Leiber, the month’s HE’S MY HERO selection, sparks fly when a true-blue, true-grit American hero requires the protocol services of a refined blue blood. A lonewolf lawman meets his match in an indomitable schoolteacher—and her moonshining granny—in Gayle Kaye’s Sheriff Takes a Bride, part of FAMILY MATTERS.

Enjoy this month’s fantastic offerings, and make sure to return each and every month to Silhouette Romance!

Mary-Theresa Hussey

Senior Editor, Silhouette Romance

Please address questions and book requests to:

Silhouette Reader Service

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Sheriff Takes a Bride

Gayle Kaye

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

To the Gopher Girls,

Mary, Zeidi and the one

who always got caught

GAYLE KAYE

lives in Kansas City, Missouri, and finds the Midwest a rich setting for romance novels. Her first romance in 1989 reached the finals of the Romance Writers of America Golden Heart contest; a second was nominated by Romantic Times Magazine as Best Silhouette Romance of the year. A wife, a mom, a nurse, she draws from many life experiences for her ideas. Her passions include her husband, her kids, traveling, reading and, of course, writing romances.

Gayle loves to hear from her readers. You can write to her at P.O. Box 29275, Parkville, MO 64152.

Dear Reader,

I was excited to learn Sheriff Takes a Bride is part of Silhouette’s new promotion, FAMILY MATTERS. Families today can be far from the typical family of the “Leave It to Beaver” days, but the key ingredient remains: love. In all my stories love abounds, love accomplishes, love encourages and love protects.

I believe in the power of family relationships. I can draw from my own experience as a single mom raising two daughters and finally meeting my very own Prince Charming, of the hardships endured and the love that was gained. I’ve written about these single moms, giving them their own unique stories.

We all have a cherished family member, one in whom we can put our trust, one who nurtures and encourages us. For Hallie Cates in Sheriff Takes a Bride that person is her independent and often cantankerous grandmother. Hallie has her job cut out for her trying to corral the moonshining Granny Pearl—and it doesn’t help that the local sheriff, Cam Osborne, has arrested the woman for her illicit trade. Or that he believes Hallie is involved.

Family means everything to Hallie and, in its own way, to Cam. But can love prevail between the two of them? It takes Granny Pearl to see that they have “family” potential.

Chapter One

“Hallie, I need you. You gotta come.”

Hallie Cates had never heard such a tremor in Granny Pearl’s voice before. Her grandmother was headstrongly in charge of her own life. Always. Something was definitely wrong.

Hallie abandoned the cookies she’d just taken from the oven and shifted the phone on her shoulder. “Granny Pearl, what is it? Are you all right?”

“No—I’m far from all right. In fact, I might never be all right again.”

There. Hallie heard the old familiar spunk she always associated with Granny Pearl. She drew an easier breath, if only for the moment. The seventy-nine-year-old woman lived all alone, tucked away in tiny, backwards—to Hallie’s way of thinking. Greens Hollow, Arkansas, but it was home to Granny Pearl. And the old girl vehemently refused to budge from there.

“I wouldn’t call you if it wasn’t important, Hallie.” The woman snuffled. Or maybe it was the scratchiness of the phone system in the Ozark hill country.

“You know you can call me anytime, Granny Pearl. Now, calm down and tell me what it is.”

Granny could take care of herself, even reveled in the fact, claimed she’d be carried out of her cabin feet first and no other way. And Hallie wasn’t sure she could change her mind on that score. Still, she worried about her relative.

“This... horrible cuss of a varmint has arrested me. Locked me up and won’t let me go home. I need to feed George and Myrtle.”

Granny’s voice quavered again at the last Hallie heard it, knew her grandmother would be upset to be away from her two pesky goats, but she suspected the animals would somehow survive. It was Granny Pearl she was concerned about

“Arrested? Granny, there must be some mistake.” Who would arrest a harmless little old lady, and for what? Jaywalking across the town’s lone hilly street that saw maybe four cars and six dogs in the way of traffic in any twenty-four hour period?

“He’s locked me up and throwed away the key. I’m sure he means to feed me bread and water for supper—if I even get supper.”

Granny’s voice sounded strong. And mad. Hallie took that as a good sign. When Granny Pearl got her dander up, the earth shook around her. In fact, maybe Hallie should have a little charitable pity for the poor sheriff.

“Let me talk to Sheriff Potts, Granny Pearl.” Hallie would settle this.

“It’s not Sheriff Potts. We buried him six months ago. This...varmint’s a new breed. And not from these parts.”

Hallie was sorry to hear about Virgil Potts. She remembered him from summers she’d spent with Granny in Greens Hollow. “Then let me talk to this new var—man,” she said, correcting herself. “I’m sure I can straighten everything out.”