From Here to Texas

From Here to Texas
Stella Bagwell

EVERYONE ASKED HIM WHEN HE PLANNED TO FIND A GOOD WOMAN. MAYBE SHE'D JUST WALKED IN THE DOOR.Quito Perez did not know what to make of it. There he was, minding his own business when who should stroll in but Clementine Jones. She looked as stunning as ever–blue eyes, long blond hair, expensive jewelry–and as out of place as a kitten in a cattle yard.Catching sight of him in the restaurant sent Celementine into shock. His mahogany skin, flinty Navajo gaze and quiet voice brought back searing memories that made her burn with desire. Now she understood why she'd returned to Aztec. First she had to convince the sheriff that she was no longer the flighty, immature girl who had walked out on him years ago. Then she had to steal back his heart.

Quito shut the door to the sleek, black sports car and stepped back. “Will I see you again before you leave?”

It wouldn’t be wise. The few minutes she’d spent with him already were burned into her memory. “I don’t know. Do you want to?”

A devilish smile suddenly crooked his mouth and he bent his head through the open window and kissed her. For a moment she was stunned and then, slowly, her mouth opened and her hand came up to cup the side of his face.

How could it be that the taste of him, the feel of his lips, were so sweetly the same? she wondered. And how could it be that she still wanted him so badly?

By the time he pulled his head back from hers, she could feel her pulse beating wildly in her temples.

“What do you think?” he asked.

Dear Reader,

Well, as promised, the dog days of summer have set in, which means one last chance at the beach reading that’s an integral part of this season (even if you do most of it on the subway, like I do!). We begin with The Beauty Queen’s Makeover by Teresa Southwick, next up in our MOST LIKELY TO… miniseries. She was the girl “most likely to” way back when, and he was the awkward geek. Now they’ve all but switched places, and the fireworks are about to begin….

In From Here to Texas, Stella Bagwell’s next MEN OF THE WEST book, a Navajo man and the girl who walked out on him years ago have to decide if they believe in second chances. And speaking of second chances (or first ones, anyway), picture this: a teenaged girl obsessed with a gorgeous college boy writes down some of her impure thoughts in her diary, and buries said diary in the walls of an old house in town. Flash forward ten-ish years, and the boy, now a man, is back in town—and about to dismantle the old house, brick by brick. Can she find her diary before he does? Find out in Christine Flynn’s finale to her GOING HOME miniseries, Confessions of a Small-Town Girl. In Everything She’s Ever Wanted by Mary J. Forbes, a traumatized woman is finally convinced to come out of hiding, thanks to the one man she can trust. In Nicole Foster’s Sawyer’s Special Delivery, a man who’s played knight-in-shining armor gets to do it again—to a woman (cum newborn baby) desperate for his help, even if she hates to admit it. And in The Last Time I Saw Venice by Vivienne Wallington, a couple traumatized by the loss of their child hopes that the beautiful city that brought them together can work its magic—one more time.

So have your fun. And next month it’s time to get serious—about reading, that is….

Enjoy!

Gail Chasan

Senior Editor

From Here to Texas

Stella Bagwell

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

To my editor, Stacy Boyd, for being such a dear joy to

work with. Thank you for keeping me on the right track.

STELLA BAGWELL

sold her first book to Silhouette in November 1985. More than fifty novels later, she still loves her job and says she isn’t completely content unless she’s writing. Recently she and her husband moved from the hills of Oklahoma to Seadrift, Texas, a sleepy little fishing town located on the coastal bend. Stella says the water, the tropical climate and the seabirds make it a lovely place to let her imagination soar and to put the stories in her head down on paper.

She and her husband have one son, Jason, who lives and teaches high school math in nearby Port Lavaca.

My darling Clementine,

Morning is dawning and as I watch the sun rise over the desert mountains, I can hardly wait for the day to come and the hours to pass before I can be with you again.

The scent of you, the taste of you, the feel of your soft body next to mine runs deep in my blood and I realize I am a lost man.

I understand that we come from different worlds and that you’re afraid to try to live in mine. But when we make love I believe we both forget that I am Mexican and Navajo and that you are from a rich, white family.

If you go back to Texas, my love, my broken heart will go with you for always.

Love,

Quito

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter One

Quito Perez was sweating by the time he walked into the Wagon Wheel Café and, though he hated sitting close to the door, he sank onto the first available bar stool rather than work his way toward a booth in the back.

Damn it! He hated the weak quiver in his legs, the labored breathing after two blocks of simple walking. Even so, he was grateful to God to still be alive.

A month had passed since someone had driven up beside his SUV and blasted three nine millimeter slugs at him. The bullets had smashed into his vehicle and gone on to shatter his ribs, collapse a lung and rip his spleen to shreds. But he’d cheated the murdering bastard who’d tried to kill him. He’d survived.

“Hey, Sheriff, how’s it going today?”

He looked up to see Betty, a middle-aged waitress who’d worked at the Wagon Wheel for as long as he could remember. She had coarse features and rough hands but she was a hardworking woman with a soft heart. He could always count on her for good service and a sympathetic word.