Lone Star Kind Of Man

Lone Star Kind Of Man
Peggy Moreland

THE LONG ARM OF LOVE…Sheriff Cody Fipes's idea to advertise for women to revitalize Temptation, Texas, just backfired… because the maid of honor for Temptation's newest bride is the one woman Cody can never forget: Reggie Giles. Ten years ago, when he was a down-and-out cowboy, Reggie had loved him… and begged him to run away with her.But Cody had said no and gone off to seek his fortune on the back of a bronc. And when he finally came back to claim Reggie, she wasn't there. Now she's back, and Cody doesn't think his heart can survive letting her go… again!TROUBLE IN TEXAS… When Temptation beckons, three rugged cowboys lose their hearts.

“I Wanted To Make Love To You So Bad That Day, I Could Taste It.” (#u8f2c63f2-e82c-58ca-90d0-cd286e4f6d9f)Letter to Reader (#ucc340f96-2e79-5c41-a447-c15316dbd20b)Title Page (#u9a42f79f-60cc-541a-8388-6cc99c907dff)Dedication (#uaa2db1e0-d042-57da-9966-b73c54f84c9d)About the Author (#udb59f6b4-53c8-5a1c-bde3-6ac479c61bcb)Letter to Reader (#u75e547d1-ef69-5081-b780-3c8cc1876c48)Prologue (#ucb24116f-a207-5df6-b69e-55ba213f9bed)Chapter One (#ub302940f-9896-58a0-a96e-290ee18bd24f)Chapter Two (#u2889ee15-c3cf-5ad5-80ee-926896183bc4)Chapter Three (#litres_trial_promo)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)Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

“I Wanted To Make Love To You So Bad That Day, I Could Taste It.”

Reggie tipped her face to his. “Why didn’t you?”

He peered down at her. “Well...because,” he finished lamely.

“Because I was the boss’s sister? Because you were afraid of what Harley would do to you if he caught us?”

Cody frowned. “No, because I was three years older than you.”

“Three years. Big deal.”

“Yeah, it was a big deal,” he replied defensively.

“You were sixteen, and I was nineteen, legally a man who was supposed to know better than to play around with innocent young girls.”

“I’m not sixteen anymore, Cody,” she reminded him, smoothing a hand across the flat plane of his stomach. “And I’m not innocent.”

Cody sucked in a breath. “No,” he agreed, as the breath rattled out of him on a sigh. “You’re not.”

Dear Reader,

This month: strong and sexy heroes!

First, the Tallchiefs—that intriguing, legendary family—are back, and this time it’s Birk Tallchief who meets his match in Cait London’s MAN OF THE MONTH, The Groom Candidate. Birk’s been pining for Lacey MacCandliss for years, but once he gets her, there’s nothing but trouble of the most romantic kind. Don’t miss this delightful story from one of Desire’s most beloved writers.

Next, nobody creates a strong, sexy hero quite like Sara Orwig, and in her latest, Babes in Arms, she brings us Colin Whitefeather, a tough and tender man you’ll never forget. And in Judith McWilliams’s Another Man’s Baby we meet Philip Lysander, a Greek tycoon who will do anything to save his family...even pretend to be a child’s father.

Peggy Moreland’s delightful miniseries, TROUBLE IN TEXAS, continues with Lone Star Kind of Man. The man in question is rugged rogue cowboy Cody Fipes. In Big Sky Drifter, by Doreen Owens Malek, a wild Wyoming man named Cal Winston tames a lonely woman. And in Cathie Linz’s Husband Needed, bachelor Jack Elliott surprises himself when he offers to trade his single days for mamed nights.

In Silhouette Desire you’ll always find the most irresistible men around! So enjoy!

Senior Editor

Please address questions and book requests to:

Silhouette Reader Service

U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269

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Lone Star Kind of Man

Peggy Moreland

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

To Carolyn and Jerry Hawes. Thanks for answering

all my “dumb” questions about birthin’ calves.

Your patience is equaled only by the goodness

of your hearts!

PEGGY MORELAND

published her first romance with Silhouette in 1989. She’s a natural storyteller with a sense of humor that will tickle your fancy, and Peggy’s goal is to write a story that readers will remember long after the last page is turned. Winner of the 1992 National Reader’s Choice Award, and a 1994 RITA finalist, Peggy frequently appears on bestseller lists around the country. A native Texan, she and her family live in Round Rock, Texas.

Dear Reader,

There’s only ever been one woman for me.... Regan Giles... my Reggie. We pretty much grew up together, our homes being less than a mile apart. When we were youngsters, she was like a kid sister to me, but then, as we grew older, my feelings for her changed to less-than-brotherly ones.

Reggie had it pretty tough growing up. She lost her father, her mother, then her stepfather If that wasn’t bad enough, her stepbrother’s wife took an instant dislike to her and made Reggie’s life a living hell. Since she didn’t feel she could go to her stepbrother with her troubles, she turned to me for comfort She made me feel important, needed, loved. And for a man without a family of his own, that made me feel pretty darned good.

But then everything went to hell in a hand basket. Reggie decided she couldn’t take living at home anymore, and she asked me to run away with her and marry her. Though there was nothing that would’ve made me happier, I had to tell her no, because I had nothing to offer but a run-down cabin and the salary I earned working on her family’s ranch. And I felt Reggie deserved more. I’ve had years to regret that decision. Reggie ended up running away without me, telling no one of her plans or her destination... and I lost her—the only woman I’ve ever loved.

And now she’s back in Temptation, even prettier than I remember, and a successful businesswoman to boot She broke my heart the last time she left...and it seems she’s determined to break it again when she leaves this time. But how can I ask her to give up everything she’s worked for and stay in a two-bit town like Temptation, Texas, with a broken-down cowboy like me?

Prologue

The Kerr Ranch, Temptation, Texas 1986

Cody squinted against the darkness in the hayloft. “Regan?” he called softly.

“O-over here,” came her muffled reply.

Quickly Cody climbed the last few steps and hurried to the pile of hay where she lay sobbing and dropped down to a knee at her side. “Honey, what’s wrong?” he asked as he gathered her into his arms.

“She burned them,” she cried, curling her fingers into fists against his chest. “She burned them all.”

Cody knew without asking who “she” was. Susan Kerr, Regan’s sister-in-law, her stepbrother’s wife. He’d known as soon as he stepped into the barn and heard Regan’s sobs coming from the hayloft above him that the two had had another fight. More often than he cared to think about, Cody had found Regan just so, crying her heart out after crossing swords with Susan.

“What did she burn?” he asked gently.

“Everything in Mother’s trunk. Her pictures, her wedding gown, m-my christening dress.”

All the memories of the mother she had lost. Hugging her to him, Cody felt her pain as if it were his own. “I’m sorry, Reggie. So sorry.”

“Why does she hate me?” she cried helplessly, clinging to him.

“I don’t know,” he murmured, trying his best to soothe. When she continued to cry, he sat down on the scattered hay, pulling her to his lap.