At Close Range

At Close Range
Marilyn Tracy

How could he tell the woman who touched his heart about the nightmares that haunted him? Mack Dorsey's scars served as a permanent reminder of the children he couldn't save in a school bombing, even though he had been hailed a hero.The tortured teacher had come to the Ranch Milagro foster home in the remote New Mexican desert to start anew with a group of children who desperately needed him. What he hadn't planned on: meeting beautiful, spirited Corrie Stratton, a former journalist and ranch co-owner who knew there was more to his story than he was telling. And more to their soul-searching kisses than he admitted. But could Corrie heal his wounded heart before danger struck again–and Mack was called to be a hero one more time?

“Anything’s possible.”

“Like for you to forgive me for last night?” Mack’s voice, deepened by emotion, seemed to slice right through her. Her gaze cut to his and the rough demand in his blue eyes snared her completely. She must have looked confused because he added, “For the stupid things I said?”

“I should apologize, too.”

“No, Corrie,” he said firmly, taking a step forward. “You had every right to be angry. You’ve been nothing but wonderful from day one. I’m the one whose been slinging a bushel of mixed signals.”

“You were pretty clear last night,” she said. Her voice felt rusty, her jaw stiff.

“Yes, if you mean my wanting to kiss you. And liking it. And wanting to do it again.”

“You do?”

“God, yes.”

Dear Reader,

Our exciting month of May begins with another of bestselling author and reader favorite Fiona Brand’s Australian Alpha heroes. In Gabriel West: Still the One, we learn that former agent Gabriel West and his ex-wife have spent their years apart wishing they were back together again. And their wish is about to come true, but only because Tyler needs protection from whoever is trying to kill her—and Gabriel is just the man for the job.

Marie Ferrarella’s crossline continuity, THE MOM SQUAD, continues, and this month it’s Intimate Moments’ turn. In The Baby Mission, a pregnant special agent and her partner develop an interest in each other that extends beyond police matters. Kylie Brant goes on with THE TREMAINE TRADITION with Entrapment, in which wickedly handsome Sam Tremaine needs the heroine to use the less-than-savory parts of her past to help him capture an international criminal. Marilyn Tracy offers another story set on her Rancho Milagro, or Ranch of Miracles, with At Close Range, featuring a man scarred—inside and out—and the lovely rancher who can help heal him. And in Vickie Taylor’s The Last Honorable Man, a mother-to-be seeks protection from the man she’d been taught to view as the enemy—and finds a brand-new life for herself and her child in the process. In addition, Brenda Harlan makes her debut with McIver’s Mission, in which a beautiful attorney who’s spent her life protecting families now finds that she is in danger—and the handsome man who’s designated himself as her guardian poses the greatest threat of all.

Enjoy! And be sure to come back next month for more of the best romantic reading around, right here in Intimate Moments.

Leslie J. Wainger

Executive Senior Editor

At Close Range

Marilyn Tracy

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

MARILYN TRACY

Ranging in subject matter from classic women-in-jeopardy scenarios to fallen angels fighting to save the universe, Marilyn’s books have placed on several bestseller lists and earned her such awards as Romantic Times Career and Lifetime Achievement Awards, and Best of Series. She claims to speak Russian with fair fluency, Hebrew with appalling mistakes and enough Spanish to get her arrested at any border crossing. She lives with her sister in Roswell, New Mexico, where the only aliens they’ve seen thus far are the critters in their new home, a converted railroad warehouse.

For Dar, who lost Jim but has dear friends.

For Linda, who survived chemo and has dear friends.

And for Mom, who scared us all this year,

but has cool daughters.

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 1

“They say that curses follow blessings,” Rita said, snapping a top sheet over the bed. “That’s the way it happens. First the good, then the bad.”

“Who’s saying this?” Corrie asked the housekeeper, not looking up from her notebook. She crossed out a word, penned in another.

“Oh, you know. People. Lots of different people, smart people. Too many good things have happened here, they are saying.”

“And there’s something wrong with that?”

“There’s nothing wrong with good things. Good is good. But when so much good happens…”