скачать книгу бесплатно
Wedding At Rocking S Ranch
Kathryn Albright
Can a widow in the Wild West……find wedded bliss again?When Cassandra Stewart fulfils her husband’s dying wish by visiting the ranch he loved, she plans to sell it. But then she meets his best friend. And as aloof, ruggedly handsome Wolf shows Cassandra the value of life on the prairies, tenderness begins to grow from their shared pain into something more… Maybe there’s a future for her at the Rocking S Ranch after all…
Can a widow in the Wild West...
...find wedded bliss again?
When Cassandra Stewart fulfills her husband’s dying wish by visiting the ranch he loved, she plans to sell it. But then she meets his best friend. As aloof, ruggedly handsome Wolf shows Cassandra the value of life in the prairies, tenderness begins to grow from their shared pain into something more... Maybe there’s a future for her at the Rocking S Ranch after all...
“A fast-paced, sensual and delightful read about lovers torn apart by duty and reunited by destiny.”
—RT Book Reviews on The Gunslinger and the Heiress
“Fans of western and marriage-of-convenience romances have it all in this pleasant, quick-paced love story.”
—RT Book Reviews on Texas Wedding For Their Baby’s Sake
KATHRYN ALBRIGHT writes American-set historical romance for Mills & Boon. From her first breath she has had a passion for stories that celebrate the goodness in people. She combines her love of history and her love of stories to write novels of inspiration, endurance and hope. Visit her at kathrynalbright.com (http://www.kathrynalbright.com) and on Facebook.
Also by Kathryn Albright (#u6f04fd97-e1f2-5c3d-a04c-5fce2fd3a870)
Wild West Christmas
Western Spring Weddings
Mail-Order Brides of Oak Grove
The Prairie Doctor’s Bride
Heroes of San Diego miniseries
The Angel and the Outlaw
The Gunslinger and the Heiress
Familiar Stranger in Clear Springs
Christmas Kiss from the Sheriff
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk).
Wedding at Rocking S Ranch
Kathryn Albright
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-07397-4
WEDDING AT ROCKING S RANCH
© 2018 Kathryn Leigh Albright
Published in Great Britain 2018
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.
® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Dedicated to my father,
who has championed my writing career from the
beginning and who, when I was barely up to his knee,
introduced me to a love of stories with his
amazing tales of a young girl and her flying horse.
Contents
Cover (#u995de938-4a89-50a7-96a6-7a2b98471502)
Back Cover Text (#u8350b063-33c5-52cf-a0d4-b771c8be2ecc)
About the Author (#u0b3b8398-7303-5ff8-a87b-e68d7b6f64fe)
Booklist (#ub97da436-59f8-5e82-aa60-44366c70e554)
Title Page (#u4a40f54a-fc88-5123-b010-b6585ed1157a)
Copyright (#uf02d14e5-d2ec-5451-9d61-69745b3641de)
Dedication (#u6736cc3b-27f4-5912-9109-39b43b7cb109)
Prologue (#u4384d443-85ec-5024-b809-f46976bd186d)
Chapter One (#uce2408aa-cb93-5b4a-b509-73d381c883a0)
Chapter Two (#u6e2f7cfa-f885-5705-a9ad-474a693b1341)
Chapter Three (#ue1d8dcf6-34e9-5ce1-8cfc-859952907cd9)
Chapter Four (#ucd7bb4a2-26b9-5cad-89a6-01ea3794816d)
Chapter Five (#u7070c479-7ca8-5892-9f19-06ce609c7c41)
Chapter Six (#ue87d60b3-15d9-554a-82f5-377f572f5b31)
Chapter Seven (#ud4c90f33-45de-5a70-919f-d40cb43a821f)
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 Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nineteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-One (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Two (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Three (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Four (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twenty-Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
Prologue (#u6f04fd97-e1f2-5c3d-a04c-5fce2fd3a870)
Oak Grove, Kansas, 1878
Raymond Wolf rammed the oil-soaked cloth down the rifle’s barrel for one last coating, making sure the path was smooth and slippery without any catches. It had to be perfect if it was to be his best friend’s wedding present.
The long swab pressed against the farthest end of the shaft, and at the same moment, something squeezed in Wolf’s chest. An invisible weight descended, as if the very air pressed down on him. Maybe he had been working too hard. He’d had that large order to finish for Dodge City last week, which demanded all of his time. This was the first chance he’d had to work on Doug’s rifle.
The sensation grew stronger. Doug’s face filled his mind. He set the rifle barrel on his workbench and clutched the turquoise stone at his neck. The small workshop, the snow falling outside the front window, all faded away into a gray mist. Then his friend’s face faded too. Something had happened.
“Wolf?” Jackson Miller spoke from the doorway, breaking into the strange fog. Miller stepped inside quickly, followed by another man—a stranger—and shut the door. “Got a man here looking for you.”
Wolf released his grip on the stone and struggled to shake off the premonition. He stood and backed away from his work area, staring at the hammer, trigger guard and bow drill that lay on the table. Absent only a moment ago, now the strong scent of oil and varnish filled the air once more.
Miller stepped farther into the room and removed his flat cap. “Are you all right?”
Wolf looked up, still slightly dazed. “Miller,” he said, acknowledging his neighbor.
Then his thoughts cleared, and he noticed the short, pudgy man in a gray suit peering around Miller’s shoulder. Wolf wiped the oil from his hands on an old rag and slowly removed his shop apron, hanging it from its neck loop on the peg beside the window. He turned back to the two men. “What can I do for you?”
“Raymond Wolf?” the stranger asked, his gaze dubious.
Outsiders always took a moment to adjust to his looks. Confusion happened first, quickly followed by suspicion, and then the lingering unspoken question: Why wasn’t he on a reservation with the rest of his tribe? And more than that—was he dangerous? Wolf counted it ironic that along with his appearance, the profession he had fallen into—gunsmithing—also made them nervous. It was ironic and, if he was truthful, satisfying.
“Excuse me. My name is Franklin Masters. I...uh...have some unfortunate news regarding an acquaintance of yours. A Mr. Douglas Stewart.”
Wolf blew out his breath and braced himself. He knew what would be said before the man continued. His friend—his blood brother—wouldn’t be coming home.
Chapter One (#u6f04fd97-e1f2-5c3d-a04c-5fce2fd3a870)
Alexandria, Virginia
Cassandra Stewart slipped her hand through the crook in her father’s arm and leaned on him for support as she descended the grand staircase of her parents’ estate.
At the bottom of the stairs, her mother stood beside their housemaid. “I don’t like this, Cassandra. Not one bit. Are you sure that you want to do this today?”
“No. I’m not sure, but I’ve put it off for far too long. It’s been ten months since Douglas has been gone.”
“You are still weak. Just the work of dressing has taxed your strength.”
She smoothed the wide silk belt at her waist. It matched the dress she had donned. How she hated the color black. “The attorney said it was necessary as soon as I was feeling well enough. Today is a good day. I feel stronger. Besides, Mr. Edelman went out of his way to travel all the way from the city to take care of things. It is time.”
