Lawman In Disguise

Lawman In Disguise
Laurie Kingery

The Lawman’s SecretWhen her son discovers an injured outlaw in their barn, the mysterious stranger instantly turns widow Daisy Henderson’s world upside down. But Daisy senses Thorn Dawson’s a good man…and there’s more to his story than he can tell her. So she can’t turn him away before he heals, even if she’s falling for him—something she swore she’d never do again after her husband died.An undercover lawman, Thorn never lets himself get too close to anyone. But that's before he meets single mother Daisy and her spirited son. Now Thorn has to protect them from the Griggs gang—a gang that's come to accept him as one of their own. And if he can't keep up the charade, the woman of his dreams might just pay the price.Brides of Simpson Creek: Small-town Texas spinsters find love with mail-order grooms!

The Lawman’s Secret

When her son discovers an injured outlaw in their barn, the mysterious stranger instantly turns widow Daisy Henderson’s world upside down. But Daisy senses Thorn Dawson’s a good man...and there’s more to his story than he can tell her. So she can’t turn him away before he heals, even if she’s falling for him—something she swore she’d never do again after her husband died.

An undercover lawman, Thorn never lets himself get too close to anyone. But that’s before he meets single mother Daisy and her spirited son. Now Thorn has to protect them from the Griggs gang—a gang that’s come to accept him as one of their own. And if he can’t keep up the charade, the woman of his dreams might just pay the price.

“You’re a good mother,” he assured her. “You let him know you care about him, that he’s important to you. Not like my father...”

He hadn’t meant to say those last four words, but it was as if they had been ripped from the deepest part of his heart.

“Not like your father? What do you mean, Thorn?” she asked, her face puzzled, her eyes searching the depths of his gaze.

Perhaps it was time to get it out in the open. No wound could heal if it was left to fester.

“My birth cost my mother her health,” he told her. “She was never well afterward, and she died before I was old enough to remember her. She’d wanted to name me Thornton, after her father, but after she was gone, my father just called me Thorn. He made sure I knew it was because I was a thorn in his side...”

“Oh, Thorn!” she cried. And suddenly she had thrown her arms around him as she began to cry.

He was so astonished—and moved, because no one had found him worthy of weeping over before—that he could only wrap his arms around her and pull her close...

LAURIE KINGERY is a Texas transplant to Ohio who writes romance set in post–Civil War Texas. She was nominated for a Carol Award for her second Love Inspired Historical novel, The Outlaw’s Lady, and is currently writing a series about mail-order grooms in a small town in the Texas Hill Country.

Lawman in Disguise

Laurie Kingery

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

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy path.

—Proverbs 3:5–6

To Deb Siegenthal and Rhonda Gibson, the best encouragers anywhere, as well as being fine novelists themselves, and as always, to Tom

Contents

Cover (#u49953578-393c-5211-a6ed-1d74a00f6524)

Back Cover Text (#ude6248e0-d12b-5bf9-abdc-3fa12b0d70a4)

Introduction (#ude059275-69d6-5923-bac4-dce70d337c0a)

About the Author (#ue7d80ebc-501e-5a96-b52c-18cf7cf32bb1)

Title Page (#u89c28752-f79e-5d5c-8384-2d39d30d236e)

Bible Verse (#ufb0a0824-46ea-5f0f-b028-8fba929d7b99)

Dedication (#u83a7f529-eedf-557e-8ef1-5cf378a6d817)

Chapter One (#ulink_113ceba2-efc0-5b7b-8364-e2b54f27e491)

Chapter Two (#ulink_7bb2cbe5-7de6-5e19-8302-a1b64e4a2781)

Chapter Three (#ulink_6179b7f4-5263-5720-9b76-4b5e8daec2a3)

Chapter Four (#ulink_f7c9bad3-608d-5590-be1f-d947ec462eec)

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)

Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)

Dear Reader (#litres_trial_promo)

Extract (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter One (#ulink_66ecd1ad-cda2-5a0c-86cb-d46b0480b6c7)

Simpson Creek, Texas

August 1870