Son of Texas

Son of Texas
Linda Warren

Caleb McCain, Texas Ranger, will always be a son of Texas - loyal to the badge, always working above and beyond the call of duty. Which means taking care of Belle Doe, a woman rescued from a horrible fate and left without any memories. But Belle is starting to remember. As Belle disappears, Josie Marie Beckett emerges, and Caleb knows he must back away to allow Josie to complete her healing.As they get closer to finding the person who tried to kill her, she recalls more of her past - including her fiance. Loyalty to his job means he must let her go. Loyalty to his heart means he wants to keep her close….

“What are you thinking about?” Caleb asked

“About the future. The person who shot me. My memory. And you.”

“Me?” He lifted an eyebrow.

“Yes.” Josie snuggled into him once again and his arm instinctively went around her. “And how much I’m going to miss you and your voice.”

“My voice?”

Josie told Caleb about the warm milk and how his voice made her feel, especially when she was afraid.

“You can always drink a glass of warm milk with chocolate in it when I’m not around.” He was trying to be flippant, but his heart felt heavy.

“It won’t be the same.” Josie looked at him and slowly kissed the corner of his mouth. “Kiss me, Caleb.”

He couldn’t resist. He took her lips with a fiery hunger fueled by a year of glances, touches and yearnings. For a brief moment he ignored the warning in his head and tasted her tongue, her lips, her mouth, and let himself feel everything that he shouldn’t. He couldn’t do this to her, to himself, to Eric. Once her memory returned, she would regret this lapse.

Josie belonged to someone else.

Dear Reader,

Thank you for the many letters asking about Caleb McCain and Belle Doe from Forgotten Son (Harlequin Superromance #1250). I’m happy to tell you that this is their story.

Many of you wrote asking who Belle Doe is. I have to tell you a secret. Her character just sort of evolved in Forgotten Son, and at the time I had no idea who she was or who had shot her. When I was faced with writing her story, I had a blank page. I knew I wanted her to be from south Texas. Other than that, Belle Doe really was Belle Doe—as mysterious to me as she was to you.

People often ask me where I get my ideas for stories. In this case, the process was simple yet very complex. I had to unravel the mystery of Belle Doe—the mystery I had created. I was halfway through the book and I still had no idea who had shot Belle. Her story kept changing as the characters took over. Luckily, I have a very understanding editor.

I had fun traveling to south Texas and solving this mystery. So come along and see what happens.

Happy reading,

Linda Warren

P.S. It’s such a pleasure to hear from readers. You can e-mail me at Lw1508@aol.com or write me at P.O. Box 5182, Bryan, TX 77805 or visit my Web site at www.lindawarren.net or www.superauthors.com. Your letters will be answered.

SON OF TEXAS

Linda Warren

To Pamela Litton, Christi Hendricks and Naomi Giroux—

the ladies who sat at my kitchen table many nights

munching popcorn and critiquing my first manuscript,

The Truth About Jane Doe. Thanks for helping make a

dream come true. This is book number fifteen.

Look what you started.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

One of the very good things about being an author

is that I get to meet a lot of nice, friendly people

who share their lives with me. One of those people is

Becky Wood, R.N. Thank you so much for your support

and for allowing me to share Chula with readers.

Another person is Viola Barker—Thanks for sharing your

interesting life, especially your home remedies.

It’s been a pleasure getting to know you.

Any errors in this book are strictly mine.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN