Claimed by a Cowboy

Claimed by a Cowboy
Tanya Michaels

There’s No Place Like TexasSam Travis doesn’t like to be tied down. He’s used to picking up work all around the Hill Country, including odd jobs for Wanda Keller, an older woman who treats him as a son. When Wanda suddenly dies, her estranged daughter shows up…and Lorelei Keller turns out to be more than he bargained for. Polished—some might say uptight—Lorelei left Fredericksburg in the dust years ago.Coming home for her mom’s funeral sends her into a tailspin of regrets. But that’s nothing compared to the shock of learning that Sam has inherited her mother’s B and B. Did the sexy cowboy manipulate his way into her mother’s heart? Lorelei is determined to clean up this mess, and then get the heck out of Texas. For good this time. Because there’s nothing to keep her there now…except maybe Sam?

There’s No Place Like Texas

Sam Travis doesn’t like to be tied down. He’s used to picking up work all around the Hill Country, including odd jobs for Wanda Keller, an older woman who treats him as a son. When Wanda suddenly dies, her estranged daughter shows up…and Lorelei Keller turns out to be more than he bargained for.

Polished—some might say uptight—Lorelei left Fredericksburg in the dust years ago. Coming home for her mom’s funeral sends her into a tailspin of regrets. But that’s nothing compared to the shock of learning that Sam has inherited her mother’s B and B. Did the sexy cowboy manipulate his way into her mother’s heart? Lorelei is determined to clean up this mess, and then get the heck out of Texas. For good this time.

Because there’s nothing to keep her there now…except maybe Sam?

“I’m about to pour a glass of milk and cut into the German chocolate cake. You want a piece?”

Finding herself temporarily mute, Lorelei shook her head. At her silence, Sam turned around. Their eyes locked, and she was glad she stood in the shadows. Maybe he couldn’t see the blush heating her cheeks. Although she’d been infuriated by the hateful way he’d spoken to her earlier, the anger didn’t stop her instinctive female appreciation of his broad shoulders and bare chest. Knowing he’d defined those arms and abs working hard under the Texas sun somehow made them even more appealing than muscles honed through an expensive gym membership. It was a damn shame the man ever wore a shirt. Her gaze slid involuntarily down his body toward the denim waistband of his jeans.

The corner of his mouth kicked up. “You stare any harder, you’re going to bore holes in me.”

The warmth in her face ignited to full-on flames. She opened her mouth to snap that she hadn’t been staring, but the lie stuck in her throat. She settled for, “Don’t be conceited. Haven’t you displayed enough character flaws for one day?”

Dear Reader,

Texas is a huge state, made up of many regions that are each special in its own way. In my new Hill Country Heroes miniseries, I get to share some of my favorite aspects of the Texas Hill Country—from outdoor recreation to generations of history and folklore to the award-winning vineyards. (The Frederick-Fest event mentioned in all three books is fictional, but it’s based on the many real festivals that take place throughout the year in Fredericksburg.)

My first Hill Country Hero is cowboy Sam Travis, who was raised on a ranch by his bachelor uncle and has never truly felt like he fit in anywhere. The closest thing Sam has to family these days is his sometimes landlady at a Fredericksburg bed-and-breakfast. When she dies unexpectedly (and leaves Sam the B and B) it’s difficult to say who’s more shocked, Sam or the woman’s estranged daughter, Lorelei Keller. Knowing how much Mrs. Keller had missed her daughter and had wanted her to come home, Sam talks Lorelei into staying for an annual festival, as a way of honoring her mother’s last wishes. When Lorelei agrees, two people who’ve always felt like outsiders might finally find the place where they fit—with each other.

If you get a chance, I highly recommend you visit the Texas Hill Country. In the meantime, I hope the stories make you feel like you’re there!

Best wishes,

Tanya Michaels

Claimed by the Cowboy

Tanya Michaels

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

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Three-time RITA® Award nominee Tanya Michaels writes about what she knows—community, family and lasting love! Her books, praised for their poignancy and humor, have received honors such as the Booksellers’ Best Bet Award, the Maggie Award of Excellence and multiple readers’ choice awards. She was also a 2010 RT Book Reviews nominee for Career Achievement in Category Romance. Tanya is an active member of Romance Writers of America and a frequent public speaker, presenting workshops to educate and encourage aspiring writers. She lives outside Atlanta with her very supportive husband, two highly imaginative children and a household of quirky pets, including a cat who thinks she’s a dog and a bichon frise who thinks she’s the center of the universe. You can visit her at www.TanyaMichaels.net.

This book is dedicated to Jane Mims (what would I do without you?) who graciously chauffeured me around the hill country in spite of the world’s most diabolically uncooperative GPS.

Contents

Chapter One (#ufd4abac0-5930-5c3f-8b13-772d559497b9)

Chapter Two (#u28c52dd5-ecd9-5edb-bdb1-86f7f5d3a6aa)

Chapter Three (#u8a8ca064-63fc-53a7-9268-8b5056ea66a3)

Chapter Four (#ue16cb2cc-a934-5721-b1bf-0334accf4a38)

Chapter Five (#ud09e5bb0-8253-543a-a79e-d4760c16d26c)

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 One

The fifth floor of the insurance company was impressively quiet. Nothing so crass as noise leaked from the opulent and distinguished conference rooms at the end of the long corridor—which made junior actuary Lorelei Keller want to cringe at the staccato echo of her navy pumps against the marble tile. She preferred to stand out in meetings because she possessed a lightning-quick mind, not because everyone could hear her coming from a mile away.

As if her footfalls weren’t making her self-conscious enough, the cell phone in her jacket pocket suddenly buzzed. Even with the ringer turned off, the vibration seemed loud in the empty hall. She fished the phone out to check the display screen and scowled. Though no name showed, the 830 area code meant Fredericksburg, Texas. More specifically, her mother. Again.

Exhaling an impatient breath, Lorelei turned the phone off completely and repocketed it. Wanda Keller was her only immediate family and Lorelei loved the woman. But mother and daughter were painfully dissimilar. Graduating from an Ivy League university had been easier for Lorelei than getting through to her mom. Not that I’m deliberately avoiding her. She fully intended to call Wanda back later, after business hours. Headed into a meeting with one of the company’s top executives was not the time to rehash their argument about Lorelei’s refusal to visit at the end of the month.

“You loved Frederick-Fest as a child,” Wanda had burbled just two days ago, sounding as enthusiastic as a child herself. She claimed the timing of the weeklong March event would be extra festive this year, since its dates fell over St. Patrick’s Day—never mind that their ancestry was German, not Irish—and the spring equinox.

“But I’m not a kid anymore,” Lorelei had pointed out as gently as possible. “I have adult responsibilities, like a job I worked hard to get.”

“They have to give you vacation time, don’t they?” Wanda had persisted.

Lorelei had bit her tongue to keep from saying anything cruel. Like, I’m not about to use up vacation to come help sell crystals and hand out bookmarks on the protocol for “What to Do if You Encounter a Hill Country Ghost.” “I’ve got a really busy month ahead of me, Mom.”

Wanda’s voice, which had been by turns cheerfully cajoling and stubbornly challenging, fell to a barely audible level. “You haven’t been home in over a year.”

Home. How could Lorelei explain that Texas hadn’t felt like home since her father had died twenty years ago? Her freshman year of college, Lorelei had joked with her roommate about “Philadelphia freedom” because moving to Pennsylvania truly had liberated her. She’d been free of living in a house that was a shrine to her dad, free of her mother’s increasingly bizarre beliefs. Lorelei had soothed her frazzled nerves with the orderly logic of numbers and let her first snowy Pennsylvania winter numb a decade of tangled emotions.

“You know I had to cancel at Christmas because I had the flu,” Lorelei had defended herself. “I’ll come down for a visit this year. I promise.”

“When?”

“I don’t know, Mom. Soon.” Soonish, anyway. “But not this month, okay? I’ll look at my calendar, talk to my boss and get back to you.”