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A Rugged Ranchin' Dad
Kia Cochrane
FabulousFathersFOREVER A FATHERWhen single dad Stone Tyler first met the beautiful and free-spirited Dahlia nine years ago, he was a rough-edged cowboy with no intention of getting married–ever. But it wasn't long before he was asking for Dahlia's hand, certain their love would last forever.But then an unthinkable tragedy struck their blissful home and tore his family apart. Although Stone and Dahlia couldn't deny the love that brought them together, they were suddenly separated by a world of pain and grief. Now Stone had to find a way to save his family and somehow convince his wife a lifetime of love awaited them….This ranchin' dad would do anything to save his family.
Stone knew exactly what he had to do. (#u2d76a9bd-4ed6-5ae8-bf49-a9bcf8aed48e)Letter to Reader (#u8ad8c0b2-c693-557f-a124-912ba331e05f)Title Page (#ud24fda04-97a3-5cb3-935a-daf3a22db8a9)Dedication (#u626bf865-55fe-5b15-a554-e721425b11ba)About the Author (#u3f1adc78-dd06-5432-a75a-02df2c50e749)Prologue (#u9311a727-906b-579c-abc4-f07ddb87e2c0)Chapter One (#u7c0bf8fa-3265-5074-84f2-ced1c6528374)Chapter Two (#uaee34136-0c5f-51fe-b2a4-ac9421c40208)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)Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
Stone knew exactly what he had to do.
He’d known for weeks.
He had to pick up the pieces of his life—and Dahlia’s, too—and he had to do it now. Tonight.
His life had broken apart one year ago, large pieces of it crushed beyond recognition. Even so, one piece, shining and pure, yet sharp enough to draw blood, a piece Stone could hold on to, was solid and it was real.
He was still deeply, hopelessly in love with Dahlia—and he’d do anything, absolutely anything—not to lose her.
Even if it meant he had to risk his heart all over again....
Dear Reader,
Silhouette Romance is proud to usher in the year with two exciting new promotions! LOVING THE BOSS is a six-book series, launching this month and ending in June, about office romances leading to happily-ever-afters. In the premiere title, The Boss and the Beauty, by award-winning author
Donna Clayton, a prim personal assistant wows her jaded, workaholic boss when she has a Cinderella makeover....
You’ve asked for more family-centered stories, so we created FAMILY MATTERS, an ongoing promotion with a special flash. The launch title, Family by the Bunch from popular Special Edition author Amy Frazier, pairs a rancher in want of a family with a spirited social worker...and five adorable orphans.
Also available are more of the authors you love, and the miniseries you’ve come to cherish. Kia Cochrane’s emotional Romance debut, A Rugged Ranchin’Dad, beautifully captures the essence of FABULOUS FATHERS. Star author Judy Christenberry unveils her sibling-connected miniseries LUCKY CHARM SISTERS with Marry Me, Kate, an unforgettable marriage-of-convenience tale. Granted: A Family for Baby is the latest of Carol Grace’s BEST-KEPT WISHES miniseries. And COWBOYS TO THE RESCUE, the heartwarming Western saga by rising star Martha Shields, continues with The Million-Dollar Cowboy.
Enjoy this month’s offerings, and look forward to more spectacular stories coming each month from Silhouette Romance!
Happy New Year!
Mary-Theresa Hussey
Senior Editor, Silhouette Romance
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A Rugged Ranchin’ Dad
Kia Cochrane
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
For Keith
KIA COCHRANE
reads anything she can get her hands on. “I love books with happy endings,” Kia says, “especially romances.” Kia, who has been writing since she was nine years old, was born and raised in Virginia and now lives in North Carolina with her husband, their white miniature poodle, their golden retriever and their new kitten.
Stone Tyler on Fatherhood...
I never thought much about faith—until mine was put to the test. You see, I blamed myself for my daughter’s death last year. And I promised myself that nothing—absolutely nothing—would harm my little boy. Not if I could prevent it.
But I went about it all wrong. I took control of Field’s life. I took away all the things that he cared about—just to keep him safe. But I forgot that kids need freedom as much as they need rules. And to be trusted nearly as much as they need to be loved.
I haven’t been a good father to my son this past year. Haven’t been much of a husband to Dahlia, either, to tell you the truth. But I’m trying to get past the grief and the guilt and to face the future with an open heart.
I just hope it’s not too late....
Prologue
Dahlia walked toward the beckoning white light. She felt warm all over—and, finally, at peace. She hadn’t felt this good since...well, since her hell on earth had begun twelve months ago.
The place was crowded. Everyone was lined up, waiting to get their wings, and to be escorted through the white gates. The guy in front of her wore brief bathing trunks, and he was carrying a surfboard, his shoulder-length blond hair still damp. He smelled faintly of salt and seaweed.
Dahlia sighed and glanced down at herself. She wasn’t much better. She had on worn, faded jeans and a soft blue denim shirt. Odd, she had always believed entering heaven meant wearing white.
She glanced at the sentinel beside the gate. He wore a long, beautiful robe of ivory silk. He also had wings and a glorious halo to go along with his leather notebook and pencil. Maybe you weren’t given white clothes until you passed through the gates.
Dahlia suppressed a sigh. What was taking so long? she wondered. She was filled with anticipation and excitement. Your loved ones were supposed to be waiting for you, weren’t they?
She bit her lower lip. Impatience was a trait she possessed in abundance, one that she wasn’t proud of, and she tried hard to rein it in.
She did permit herself a small, bouncing motion on the balls of her booted feet, hoping to relieve some of her stress. She hated waiting in lines, but comforted herself with the knowledge that this line would be her last one ever.
Finally, finally, she reached the man with the wings and the halo.
“Your name, please?” he asked briskly.
“Dahlia Tyler.”
“Ah, yes. Demise by being thrown from a horse.”
“Actually, Firelight didn’t throw me,” she gently corrected him. “The branch of a tree knocked me to the ground.”
“Ah, yes. Head injury,” he said, as though that explained everything. “My name is Basil, and I am the Chief Angel. Here is a ticket for your wings and halo at the end of the path.” He placed the ticket in her hand and immediately Dahlia found herself in a long white gown. Silk. Pure silk, she thought, running her hands over the material.
“Step through here, please.”
Dahlia studied the gate he was holding open for her. She wanted to get out of this white mist, and go through the gate. It was clear on the other side.
She could see stone pathways through beautiful green fields, could hear the sound of rushing water somewhere beyond the gate, and she wanted very much to go there. She needed to go there, where it was safe and warm—but where was...?
“Mom! Over here!”
And Dahlia saw her. Brooke. Her daughter, standing on the path. She was wearing the long white gown, wings and halo of an angel. She looked so beautiful, Dahlia’s heart ached. She hadn’t seen her little girl in such a long time.
Twelve months, to be exact.
Her little girl. Her precious baby—no, not her baby. Brooke always hated it when she called her that. Brooke was gazing back at her with big blue eyes, her long dark hair loose and free, a wreath of white flowers on her head.
“Mom, hurry! I’ve been waiting and waiting for you!” Brooke held her arms out with a joyous smile.
Dahlia started to run toward her, but Basil stopped her with a gentle, but firm, hand. “There will be a short delay,” he said quietly. “It has been brought to my attention—”
“Oh, no, please!” Dahlia cried. “Let me go through the gate now. I’ve waited so long for this,” she pleaded with him. She had to make him understand! “I want to be with my daughter. I haven’t held her or touched her in a year—”
“I am sorry, but there are rules, you know.”
Basil did look as though he regretted keeping her out of heaven, but why couldn’t he just let her go through the gate as planned? Why the delay? What had she done wrong?
“I’ve been standing in this line forever, waiting, waiting to be with my daughter.” Dahlia was close to tears.
Basil’s heavenly blue eyes rested gently upon her face. “It will only be three weeks,” he promised her.
Dahlia looked wistfully at Brooke, who was still waiting on the path. Then she nodded slowly. After all, she wanted to make a good impression. She took a deep breath and almost saluted. “All right.”
Basil looked pleased. “There is a man who is dangerously close to losing faith in himself. You are to help him find it.”
Oh, great! “Who is this man?” she asked.
Basil checked his list, then looked at her for a moment that seemed to stretch endlessly between them. “His name is Stone Tyler.”
Dahlia gasped. She’d never get into heaven now. There wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell to get Stone to believe in anything. Not after what had happened to their daughter.
“This is top priority,” he continued. “Stone Tyler is worth a little more effort.”
“Yes, I know he is,” Dahlia said softly. But she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t reach him. She’d tried and failed countless times before.
“Remember the power of love.”
Dahlia sighed at the trust she saw in Basil’s blue eyes. She peeked through the gate, but she could no longer see Brooke. Wearily she turned away.
Once again Basil stopped her with a gentle hand. “You have three weeks. If you do not complete your mission and return within the scheduled time, you may not go through the gate,” he warned.
“I’ll be here. I promise.” Dahlia looked at the ticket in her hand. “Do I have to give this back?”
Basil shook his head. “No, it is yours to keep.”
Dahlia stood still for a moment, frightened by the idea of leaving this place, and of the uphill battle ahead to restore Stone’s faith in himself. But she would do it.
She had to.
She’d do whatever it took to be with her daughter again.
Then she felt herself tumbling down, down, down....
Chapter One
Stone Tyler waited anxiously outside the hospital room while the doctor examined his wife. What in hell had he been thinking? Why had he spouted off about wanting to shoot Firelight? It wasn’t the horse’s fault that Brooke was dead.
He buried his face in his hands. If he hadn’t said all those things about killing Brooke’s golden palomino, then Dahlia wouldn’t have—
Guilt piled on top of guilt, like so many layers of dirt and grime.
He wouldn’t have shot Firelight. He wouldn’t have taken his rifle out to the corral and put a bullet in his daughter’s beloved horse.
He’d just been...frustrated. And angry.
At himself, mostly.
But why couldn’t Dahlia understand that the ranch was no place for Field? He didn’t want to lose his son, too. Why couldn’t she understand how much he needed to keep his surviving son safe—no matter the cost?
Why couldn’t she just let him do his job as a father? Sending their ten-year-old boy to a boarding school in San Antonio was not the end of the world. Stone hated the idea of not seeing his son every day, but Field could come home on weekends. Dahlia acted as though San Antonio was on the other side of the country, instead of only sixty miles from the ranch.
He glanced up when he heard footsteps. It was the nurse. “You may see your wife now,” she said. Her smile was reassuring.
He rushed to the door of Dahlia’s room, the past couple of days crowding his mind. The argument, Dahlia racing off blindly to save Firelight, the way he’d found her, unconscious, in the meadow, the coma she’d been in for the past thirty-six hours...
Relief crashed in on him, flooding him with memories. It hadn’t always been like this, Stone thought, as he hesitated outside the private room. Once there had been love and laughter.
Once he’d had a family. A whole family—with Dahlia, Field and Brooke.
Now it was breaking up all around him, and he didn’t know how to stop it from happening.
Stone entered the room, the scent of roses and carnations assaulting him from all sides, reminding him of the flowers at Brooke’s funeral.
And in the middle of the flowers, Dahlia lay still and silent in the white bed. But at least she was okay. The doctors had said so. All they’d been waiting for was Dahlia to wake up.
The doctor and nurse separated and let him pass between them, so he could bend over Dahlia’s bed. Stone swallowed slowly, taking her limp hand in his. “Dahlia,” he said quietly. “It’s okay. Everything will be okay now. I promise.”
He held his breath. He’d been talking to her for the past day and a half, hoping to get through to her. And then, a few minutes ago, she’d stirred and tried to open her eyes.
But what if she slipped back into a coma when she heard his voice this time? What if he was the reason she’d stayed unconscious for so long?
“Dahlia, open your eyes,” Stone said tightly, his fingers gripping her hand like a lifeline. That was exactly what she was to him. His lifeline.
The center of his universe.
But she was going to leave him if he sent their son away.
“Dahlia.” His voice was soft now, urging her to come back to him. “Dahlia, it’s Stone. Open your eyes and look at me.”
