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The Cowboy's Little Surprise
Barbara White Daille
THE LONG WAY HOMEA guy like Cole Slater is hard to forget. Tina Sanchez should know–for years since high school she's tried to bury the pain of Cole's cruel betrayal. But it's impossible to ignore the man she sees reflected in her young son's eyes now that Cole is back in her life–and about to meet the child he never knew he had.Returning home to New Mexico, Cole is determined to put his playboy reputation to rest. Especially now that he knows there's a little boy looking up to him. And seeing Tina again reignites all the feelings Cole ran from as a teen. Despite his fear that he can't be the man Tina deserves, he's determined to try. For his son's sake–and his own.
The Long Way Home
A guy like Cole Slater is hard to forget. Tina Sanchez should know—for years since high school she’s tried to bury the pain of Cole’s cruel betrayal. But it’s impossible to ignore the man she sees reflected in her young son’s eyes now that Cole is back in her life—and about to meet the child he never knew he had.
Returning home to New Mexico, Cole is determined to put his playboy reputation to rest. Especially now that he knows there’s a little boy looking up to him. And seeing Tina again reignites all the feelings Cole ran from as a teen. Despite his fear that he can’t be the man Tina deserves, he’s determined to try. For his son’s sake—and his own.
Footsteps on gravel made her pause.
It wasn’t Jed’s familiar tread, and they had no one staying at the hotel at the moment. Maybe this was someone who wanted to book a room. Tina turned with a welcoming smile.
That smile died on her lips when she saw the cowboy standing in front of her.
Cole Slater.
In one startled, reflexive sweep, she took in almost everything about him. The light brown hair showing beneath the brim of his battered hat. The firm mouth and jaw. Broad shoulders. Narrow hips. The well-worn jeans, silver belt buckle and scuffed boots. In the next reluctant second, she turned her gaze to the one feature she had deliberately skipped over the first time.
A pair of blue eyes that made her think instantly of her son.
She clutched the grocery sack and demanded, “What are you doing here?”
His face looked flushed. But he didn’t look angry, the way he would have if he’d seen Robbie and put two and two together. She breathed a sigh of relief at the reprieve, no matter how brief, giving her a chance to come to grips with his reappearance.
If she ever could.
Dear Reader (#ulink_4e899fb0-8087-5bfe-98b8-2f9d9f5ca710),
Cowboy Creek is typical of my small towns, where everyone knows everyone else—and their business. Though you’ll find lots of matchmakers and nosy neighbors around, you can be sure they’re all wonderful folks at heart.
No one in Cowboy Creek has a bigger heart than Jed Garland, the local hotel owner and meddling grandpa who wants to see his granddaughters happy and settled down. Oh...and providing him with a few more great-grandchildren!
In The Cowboy’s Little Surprise, I hope you enjoy discovering how a marriage-shy cowboy handles secrets, betrayal, unexpected fatherhood and a matchmaker who is certain he knows what’s best for him.
As always, I would love to hear what you think about this story. You can reach me at PO Box 504, Gilbert, AZ 85299, or through my website, barbarawhitedaille.com (http://barbarawhitedaille.com/). You can also find me on Facebook (barbarawhitedaille (https://www.facebook.com/barbarawhitedaille)) and Twitter, @BarbaraWDaille (https://twitter.com/barbarawdaille/status/528592878512406528).
All my best to you.
Until we meet again,
Barbara White Daille
The Cowboy’s Little Surprise
Barbara White Daille
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
BARBARA WHITE DAILLE lives with her husband in the sunny Southwest, where they don’t mind the lizards in their front yard but could do without the scorpions in the bathroom.
A writer from the age of nine and a novelist since eighth grade, Barbara is now an award-winning author with a number of novels to her credit.
When she was very young, Barbara learned from her mom about the storytelling magic in books—and she’s been hooked ever since. She hopes you will enjoy reading her books and will find your own magic in them!
She’d also love to have you drop by and visit with her at her website, barbarawhitedaille.com (http://barbarawhitedaille.com/).
This book is dedicated only, and as always, to Rich.
I’m so glad we got hitched!
Contents
Cover (#uafbb2194-71dc-5216-8598-d6e23805df6c)
Back Cover Text (#uc01ddb47-7f04-5275-aa83-24614a62478b)
Introduction (#u2b8c7832-fc7a-5750-a91e-e6d2aa115eb0)
Dear Reader (#ulink_ca9a8068-07f1-5f29-891a-518daa769d24)
Title Page (#uabcce025-8c4d-5ef7-a1a7-83260e405814)
About the Author (#u9c060418-de13-555d-817b-04e14a78571e)
Dedication (#u76407d37-31d2-5bba-8524-40c76f20f3e3)
Prologue (#ulink_6b80e4b5-c4eb-575e-a23a-9244ea9c2bdf)
Chapter One (#ulink_fcb1203e-50da-59de-ae5e-3ee5972a65eb)
Chapter Two (#ulink_cd612e26-325f-5f0d-a7da-7c0980a65cd7)
Chapter Three (#ulink_cf34ed3d-6bbf-5227-8ad4-c74643f63e3d)
Chapter Four (#ulink_54bd44cb-1eb6-59fe-ad8f-c06683aafc2a)
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)
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)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
Prologue (#ulink_04efeca2-f033-55dd-b4e7-26d3dd4e2c5f)
Seventy-some-odd years on this earth had taught Jedediah Garland what made life most worth living—and it was the one thing he wanted more of to call his own. Not property. He owned plenty of that, between the Hitching Post Hotel and the ranch it sat on. Not friends. He had a sufficient number of those, too, and wouldn’t give up a single one of them. But the most important thing...family.
That’s where his life fell far short.
Paz came into the dining room toting his breakfast. The hotel business had quieted down some lately—heck, it had up and gone to Tahiti—and he and his cook had the room to themselves. She set the platter on the table in front of him.
“Chile relleno okay with you for tonight, boss?”
He shrugged.
She put her hands on her hips. “What? All of a sudden you don’t like what I make for you?”
“It’s not that.” He shifted the cutlery on his napkin. “I’m off my feed today. It’s Thom’s birthday.”
“Yes.”
He thought of his eldest son, now long gone, and the rest of his small family, mostly scattered across the country. “I never thought things would come to pass the way they have. And I don’t know what I would do without you and Tina here.”
His youngest granddaughter was also Paz’s only grandchild. Tina and her four-year-old son were the only members of his family to live under his roof. “You know, Mary and I always thought we’d have our kids around us, if not on the ranch, then at least settled somewhere within hailing distance of Cowboy Creek. And we’d expected to see all the grandkids growing up in the area.”
“Yes, I know. But the girls plan to visit. You can spend time with them soon.”
“A week? Two weeks? That’s not enough.” He slapped his palm on the table. “And if the granddaughters I’ve got are all I’m going to have—well, I’ll learn to live with that. But they need to get busy and give us more great-grandkids. Heck, they all need to get married. Besides...” Frowning, he resettled the napkin beneath the cutlery at his place. After a long moment, he muttered, “I don’t like seeing my girls unhappy.”
“You think they’re not happy?”
“Of course they’re not. How can they be? One’s traipsing all over the world with not a chance of settling down. Another’s trying to raise two kids by herself. And then there’s Tina, on her own with Robbie. You want her married, too, don’t you?”
“Yes. But Tina’s very proud...”
“And we’re proud of her.” His youngest granddaughter had studied hard in school, then gone on to get her degrees. Now she kept the books for him and helped manage the hotel. Yes, they were both so proud of her.
Paz stared down at the tabletop.
He frowned. “I know what you’re thinking, and you know it makes no difference to me that our kids never got married. Tina’s just as much my granddaughter as Jane and Andi are.”
“Yes, I do know that.”
“Then tell me, flat-out straight, what’s bugging you?”
“Tina. She’s so independent.”
“Yeah. Too independent for her own good. Something’s got to be done about her, Paz. About her and my granddaughters, too.”
She said nothing.
He sighed and rubbed his chin. The rasp of a few whiskers he’d missed shaving that morning sounded loud in the silence. “I stopped in at SugarPie’s the other day.” Sugar Conway ran a combination bakery / sandwich shop / gossip parlor in the center of Cowboy Creek. “Sugar didn’t have any details yet, but the word is, Cole Slater may be headed back to town.”
Paz dropped the serving tray, which knocked against the saltshaker, spewing salt across the bare wooden tabletop. “Oh, I’m sorry, boss.” With hurried, jerky movements, she brushed the loose salt into her palm.
He frowned. “Something wrong?”
“No. Why should there be anything wrong?”
But she didn’t meet his gaze. He frowned at her bent head and eyed the silver strands threaded through her once-dark hair. Paz had worked for him for twenty years and more, and he could spot something odd about her with his eyes closed. “It’s not like you to drop things in the dining room. Or the kitchen or anywhere else for that matter.”
“I’m just rushing because I’m running late.”
He eyed her. “No later than normal. So I’ll ask you again, what’s up?”
“I was speaking with Sugar this morning,” she said with obvious reluctance.
“Must be some good scandal flying around to warrant a call this early.” He sat back in his chair without asking for details, knowing full well Paz would fill him in. And why not? As one of the town’s business owners, he had a right to know what happened in Cowboy Creek.
“Sugar said Layne just confirmed it this morning,” Paz said in a low tone. “Her brother will be here next week.”
“Will he? Well, it’s about time. It’s—what?—five years now he’s been gone.” He’d thrown that last comment out offhandedly, but to tell the truth, he knew down to the hour when Cole Slater had left town. “It seems to me Tina mentioned his name quite a bit in their school days.”
“Because their teachers had them work together.”
“Right. Now you say that, I do recall. And now he’s coming back, I’ve had another idea. There’s no reason those two shouldn’t work together again.”
“Oh, boss, I don’t think...”
