The Rancher's One-Week Wife

The Rancher's One-Week Wife
Kathie DeNosky

It’s a quickie marriage to a rich cowboy from USA TODAY bestselling author Kathie DeNosky!Blake Hartwell is a sexy-as-sin rodeo champion with money to burn and a way with the ladies, but to Karly Ewing he’s her soon-to-be ex! Their whirlwind affair ended with Vegas ‘I do’s’—but saying yes was a mistake. So Karly heads to his ranch, divorce papers in hand, only to be stranded with the man she can’t resist! Will temptation lead them to happily ever after? Or will Blake’s secrets tear them apart for good?

It’s a quickie marriage to a rich cowboy from USA TODAY bestselling author Kathie DeNosky!

Blake Hartwell is a sexy-as-sin rodeo champion with money to burn and a way with the ladies, but to Karly Ewing he’s her soon-to-be ex! Their whirlwind affair ended with Vegas “I dos”—but saying yes was a mistake. So Karly heads to his ranch, divorce papers in hand, only to be stranded with the man she can’t resist! Will temptation lead them to happily-ever-after? Or will Blake’s secrets tear them apart for good?

The room was so cozy and inviting, she felt as if she belonged there, which was absolutely ridiculous.

Karly turned to go back into the kitchen to wait for Blake, and walked right into his broad chest. Stumbling backward, she would have fallen if not for his big hands encircling her upper arms to steady her.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

Her voice failed her as she gazed up into his sexy brown eyes, and for a split second, she thought she caught a glimpse of the warm, compassionate man she’d thought she was in love with. But just as quickly as it appeared, the glimmer was gone, replaced by a closed-off stare.

“You’d better watch your step,” he said, his deep baritone sending a shiver coursing through her. “One of these days those ridiculous shoes are going to cause you to fall and break an ankle.”

Before she could find her voice and tell him that she didn’t need his input on what she should or shouldn’t wear, he released her and motioned toward a door across the room.

“Let’s go into the office for this talk you seem to think is so important.”

She took a deep breath and followed him. Now she had to find a way to tell him she was still his wife.

Dear Reader (#ulink_38c7170b-6cf2-596b-a330-aa68c71718a1),

A few years ago, I introduced you to Blake Hartwell, the best friend of the hero in my book In the Rancher’s Arms. So many of you wrote to tell me how much you loved Blake and wanted to read his story that, this month, I’m happy to be bringing you his book.

When Blake ran into Karly Ewing in a Las Vegas hotel lobby, he bought her a drink to apologize for his carelessness. By the end of the day, they were lovers. By the end of the week, they were married. And by the end of the next week, they were filing for divorce.

In The Rancher’s One-Week Wife we take a look at what happens when a couple who think they’re divorced find out they’re not only still married, but that they still can’t seem to keep their hands off each other. Unfortunately, they both have secrets that could very well make finding their happily-ever-after impossible.

Sometimes rocky, sometimes filled with unexpected detours, the road to love is never easy. But it’s always worth the journey.

All the best,

Kathie DeNosky

The Rancher’s One-Week Wife

Kathie DeNosky

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

KATHIE DENOSKY lives in her native Southern Illinois on the land her family settled in 1839. Her books have appeared on the USA TODAY bestseller list and received numerous awards, including two National Readers’ Choice Awards. Readers may contact Kathie by emailing Kathie@kathiedenosky.com. They can also visit her website, www.kathiedenosky.com (http://www.kathiedenosky.com), or find her on Facebook at Facebook.com/Kathie-DeNosky-Author/278166445536145 (https://www.facebook.com/pages/KathieDeNosky-Author/278166445536145).

This book is dedicated to my editor, Stacy Boyd. Thank you for being my cheerleader and for waving those pom-poms when I need them the most.

Contents

Cover (#u04a2cebd-fe20-5e3b-a27a-2bcfdd638bc8)

Back Cover Text (#uef769283-f960-5d12-8c9d-6306077d66cf)

Introduction (#ucdc5996b-a46b-56c5-a2f6-6c24d1be3eed)

Dear Reader (#ulink_63687535-3bd9-590d-910a-19b8e5a10e97)

Title Page (#uca4d4965-fd0d-5d36-a6e7-833ff3def8e5)

About the Author (#u1fbd1479-fc49-568a-bc3e-d93bdaa12b67)

Dedication (#ud9ee6a21-fefa-5cd0-9b44-c6a20aceead0)

One (#ulink_0b34be0f-2203-5f88-94c1-9cf43261ceeb)

Two (#ulink_65dc7dea-3052-54ce-9729-2d3820311aea)

Three (#litres_trial_promo)

Four (#litres_trial_promo)

Five (#litres_trial_promo)

Six (#litres_trial_promo)

Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)

Extract (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

One (#ulink_c7aaabcb-e3cd-5d61-859f-e5870e21eade)

Blake Hartwell shook his head in disgust when he heard the low-slung sports car bottom out in first one, then another of the many potholes pitting the dirt lane leading up to the foreman’s cottage. As he brushed the sorrel gelding he’d tied to the side of the corral, he decided right then and there that whoever was behind the steering wheel of that little red toy couldn’t be from the area. Folks in rural Wyoming had better sense than to drive a vehicle that sat that low on unpaved mountain roads. It was a surefire way to knock a hole in the oil pan or tear up the exhaust system on a car.

“Whoever he is, he’d better be prepared to hitch a ride on the back of an antelope if he breaks down because I’m not driving his fool hide back to town,” Blake muttered as he glanced at the afternoon sun sinking toward the taller peaks to the west.

The car stopped at the side of the foreman’s cottage next to Blake’s truck. When the driver’s door opened, a leggy blonde stepped out, causing his heart to stall and the breath to lodge in his lungs.

Blake clenched the grooming brush he’d been using on Boomer so tightly he wouldn’t have been surprised if he left his fingerprints in the wood. He swallowed hard as he watched her walk toward the corral as fast as her spiked heels would allow on the uneven ground.

Slender and sleek in her formfitting black dress, her delicate body moved much like a jungle panther on the prowl. Blake’s lower body tightened and he wasn’t sure if it was in response to the sight of her now, or the memory of how those long legs felt wrapped around him when they made love.