An Honorable Texan

An Honorable Texan
Victoria Chancellor

Baby Changes Everything! Christie Simmons left Fort Worth behind for good reasons. A new life in Brody's Crossing means her son can know his father. Christie and Cal Crawford had a brief affair before he left to go overseas, and she's sure that finding out about the baby wasn't the homecoming he imagined…. Everything in Cal's life is upside down, starting with the fact that his cattle ranch, the Rocking C, is raising everything except cows.Now he's discovering there's a lot more to being a dad than just fathering a child. But as a man who believes in tradition, can Cal change everything about his life? More important, will Christie–a woman he's growing closer to every day–be there if he doesn't?

“No,” Christie said, hoping she sounded more certain than she felt. “Not now. Not tonight…”

“Why?”

“Because there’s too much unresolved between us.”

“This might be a good opportunity to resolve some of those issues,” Cal said, no longer kissing her skin but still holding her tightly against his hard body and the soft couch.

“I don’t think making love will resolve anything. I think it will just make our lives more complicated and confusing.”

Cal moaned against her shoulder, “You think too much, Christie.”

She pushed and he levered himself away. She scooted off the couch, her shorts and top badly crumpled and her emotions in a jumble. “Someone has to think for both of us,” she said as she flipped her hair out of her eyes. “I’m going to bed—alone.”

Dear Reader,

I’ve learned, in the past thirty-four years I’ve lived here, that Texas is a state rich in honor and tradition, especially among the original settlers and ranching families. Sometimes, such devotion to principle might even be seen as stubbornness.

The men of the Crawford family of Brody’s Crossing are single-minded in their convictions. When I wrote Troy Crawford’s story, Temporarily Texan, I knew I had to write his older brother Cal’s story, as well. Cal’s family traditions and his personal history shaped him more than most heroes I’ve “met” in the more than twenty books I’ve written. Of course, Cal deserves (and gets!) a very independent, smart and caring woman in Christina Simmons. He thought she was special when they spent two days—and nights—together in Fort Worth before his military service in Afghanistan, but knew she could be only a weekend fling. That was before he returned to find the consequences of their actions.

I hope you enjoy Christie and Cal’s story. And if you think these are the last of the Crawfords, don’t be surprised if the brothers discover one more family secret in the upcoming months. I would love to hear from you via my Web site, www.victoriachancellor.com. Have a wonderful summer filled with your own discoveries, and I hope you’ll look for more BRODY’S CROSSING stories beginning in December, when the town’s mayor, Toni Casale, is reunited with her former love, the dashing and successful Wyatt McCall.

Victoria Chancellor

An Honorable Texan

Victoria Chancellor

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Victoria Chancellor married a visiting Texan in her home state of Kentucky thirty-five years ago, and has lived in the Lone Star State for thirty-two years after a brief stay in Colorado. Her household includes her husband, four cats, a very spoiled miniature pinscher, an atrium full of tortoises, turtles and toads, and lots of visiting wild critters. Last year she was blessed with both a new son-in-law and a granddaughter. Her former careers include fine jewelry sales, military security and financial systems analysis. She would love to hear from you via her Web site, www.victoriachancellor.com, or P.O. Box 852125, Richardson, TX 75085-2125.

To my editor, Kathleen Scheibling,

for making my books better, and for her patience

with my sometimes humorous and

embarrassing errors of omission.

Contents

Acknowledgments

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 Fourteen

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

Thanks to SSG Kenneth Marion, U.S. Army, Plano,

Texas, for his help with the army reserves and active

duty details. Any errors or literary license are mine.

Also, thanks to Beverly Brown

of the Lucky B Ranch in College Station, Texas,

for her help understanding and appreciating bison,

and for all bison ranchers and organizations who

have useful information on their Web sites.

Chapter One

Christie Simmons put her Cadillac SRX into Park but didn’t turn off the engine. She didn’t plan to get out of the car unless a certain tall, tan, brown-haired rancher exited the ranch house and asked what the heck she was doing on his property.