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Those Texas Nights
Delores Fossen
Welcome to Wrangler’s Creek…The Granger siblings thought they’d left their ranching days behind, until fate sends them home to Wrangler’s Creek, Texas – and into the passionate arms of those they’d least expect…It’s some run of bad luck when Sophie Granger loses her business and gets left at the altar all in one day. Desperate to not appear jilted, Sophie begs Clay McKinnon, Wrangler’s Creek’s smoking-hot police chief, to pretend they’re having an affair. But Clay refuses, leaving Sophie to retreat to the family ranch to lick her wounds.Hoping to leave his disreputable past behind, Clay moved to Wranger’s Creek for a fresh start. But that looks unlikely when Sophie’s ex-fiancé shows up married to Clay’s impulsive kid sister. Overcome, Sophie re-suggests the affair—but this time for real. Clay’s hesitant. City-girl Sophie isn’t usually his type. But he can’t deny the desire she elicits—or his yearning to have her plant her cowboy roots for good.
The Granger siblings thought they’d left their ranching days behind, until fate sends them home to Wrangler’s Creek, Texas—and into the passionate arms of those they’d least expect...
It’s some run of bad luck when Sophie Granger loses her business and gets left at the altar all in one day. Desperate to not appear jilted, Sophie begs Clay McKinnon, Wrangler’s Creek’s smoking-hot police chief, to pretend they’re having an affair. But Clay refuses, leaving Sophie to retreat to the family ranch to lick her wounds.
Hoping to leave his disreputable past behind, Clay moved to Wrangler’s Creek for a fresh start. But that looks unlikely when Sophie’s ex-fiancé shows up married to Clay’s impulsive kid sister. Overcome, Sophie resuggests the affair—but this time for real. Clay is hesitant. City-girl Sophie isn’t usually his type. But he can’t deny the desire she elicits—or his yearning to have her plant her cowboy roots for good.
Praise for Delores Fossen (#u3622d7f9-d230-5874-beef-0c8c025c5f71)
“Clear off space on your keeper shelf, Fossen has arrived.”
—New York Times bestselling author Lori Wilde
“Delores Fossen takes you on a wild Texas ride with a hot cowboy.”
—New York Times bestselling author B.J. Daniels
“In the first McCord Brothers contemporary, bestseller Fossen strikes a patriotic chord that makes this story stand out.”
—Publishers Weekly on Texas on My Mind
“Fossen delivers an entertaining romance between two people with real-life issues.”
—RT Book Reviews on Texas on My Mind
“This is a thrilling and twist-filled read that will keep you guessing till the end.”
—RT Book Reviews on Lone Wolf Lawman
Also available from Delores Fossen
and HQN Books
The McCord Brothers
Texas on My Mind (http://ads.harpercollins.com/hqnboba?isbn=9781459292420&oisbn=9781460397725)Lone Star Nights (http://ads.harpercollins.com/hqnboba?isbn=9781459294097&oisbn=9781460397725)Blame It on the Cowboy (http://ads.harpercollins.com/hqnboba?isbn=9781460396100&oisbn=9781460397725)
And don’t miss the upcoming novel
in Delores Fossen’s
Wrangler’s Creek series
No Getting Over a Cowboy (http://ads.harpercollins.com/hqnboba?isbn=9781460397749&oisbn=9781460397725)
To see the complete list of titles available from Delores Fossen, please visit www.deloresfossen.com (http://www.deloresfossen.com).
Those Texas Nights
Delores Fossen
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Table of Contents
Cover (#u2652c684-21bc-5dd0-bb81-ff502e600da1)
Back Cover Text (#ue22f698f-a63d-53a0-be9d-73e702d8a926)
Praise (#u25c0b1b4-8672-5ad0-bcd8-606abd009e16)
Booklist (#u825739f6-3d80-599b-8fcd-66a06a753347)
Title Page (#u9634850f-9aa6-5161-82ef-85b807f5614e)
Dedication (#u6196845b-3f73-5740-b88a-07a8ace7b8fa)
Those Texas Nights (#uf7b9370c-b345-585a-8d08-00fbbfd6c9f8)
CHAPTER ONE (#uf7df2941-1f83-5805-9dd7-5e2d3725e643)
CHAPTER TWO (#ud8b7e208-bcc4-58f7-adb3-d3e47fb80f12)
CHAPTER THREE (#u4655214d-c15c-519c-ba1a-604a7675e2dd)
CHAPTER FOUR (#uc5692e66-3e62-5105-94b0-8adff6ad698f)
CHAPTER FIVE (#u6ddf370b-6b26-55df-9e36-b09cc98a7205)
CHAPTER SIX (#u7a230060-f7e8-5531-9c6e-d4b47edc04bc)
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)
CHAPTER TWENTY (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO (#litres_trial_promo)
Lone Star Cowboy (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ONE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWO (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER THREE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FOUR (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
To my husband, Tom. Thanks for all you do for me.
Those Texas Nights (#u3622d7f9-d230-5874-beef-0c8c025c5f71)
Delores Fossen
CHAPTER ONE (#u3622d7f9-d230-5874-beef-0c8c025c5f71)
SOPHIE GRANGER WIPED her eyes with the back of her hand and squeezed her mud-splattered Elie Saab wedding dress into the Wrangler’s Creek Police Department.
It wasn’t easy getting ten yards of ivory tulle through the doorway, especially while crying and being light-headed. Sophie had to gather up the sides of the dress into puffy balls and turn sideways to manage it. Even then she stumbled, and her big toe got caught in the netting so she stumbled again. With all the mumbled cursing that accompanied the stumbling, it was no surprise that she got everyone’s attention in the squad room.
Everyone in this case was Ellie Stoddermeyer, the weekend dispatcher/receptionist, and the two deputies—Rowdy Culpepper and his sister, Reena. What she got from them was silence.
And stares.
“I need to see Chief McKinnon,” Sophie said with as much dignity as she could muster. Which wasn’t very much.
Reena had her mouth open so wide that Sophie could see the quarter-sized wad of pink chewing gum on her tongue, but she hitched her thumb in the direction of the office all the way at the back of the squad room.
“He’s in there,” Ellie added once she got her mouth working. “But he’s not officially the chief until his trial period is up and Lordie knows when that’ll be. Right now, he’s just the interim ’cause the mayor and city council haven’t given him a permanent contract yet. Is, uh, there anything I can do for you?”
Since Ellie was one of the biggest gossips in town, Sophie considered asking the woman to refrain from mentioning this visit, but Ellie had already gotten herself unfrozen from the shock and was taking out her phone. No doubt to text every single human being she knew to let them know that Sophie Granger was having a breakdown along with looking like something the cat had dragged in.
That meant Sophie didn’t have much time.
Her family would find her.
Sophie declined Ellie’s offer of help, and she made her way through the squad room. Again, not easily. Like a white fluffy plow going through a farmer’s field, Sophie cleared the edges of desks and toppled over trash cans. Ink pens pinged to the floor, rolled. So did a plastic bottle of Diet Coke, and the cap gave way to the pressure of the fall and started spewing.
She tried to do a cleanup, but there was no way she could fully bend down in the dress, not with the overly cinched corset bodice vising her ribs and stomach. However, she did grab a Kleenex from one of the desks, and she put it to good use wiping away a fresh round of tears.
The door to the interim chief’s office was even narrower than the front so Sophie wadded up the dress again. Squeezed. Turned. Grunted. Until she finally broke through to the other side. She must have looked like a vanilla custard oozing through pie crust.
And there he was.
Clay McKinnon. Or the cute cowboy cop as folks called him.
Even though she didn’t make it back to Wrangler’s Creek very often, Sophie had seen him around, but she’d never seen him quite like this. Sweet heaven. There was blood in his cocoa-brown hair, a cut on his forehead and scrapes and scratches on his knuckles.
“Are you all right?” She used her bouquet to point toward the first aid kit on his desk. Little bits of petals and leaves fluttered through the air and fell to the floor.
He nodded, slid his gaze from her tiara headpiece to her muddy bare feet, before he got back to dabbing his knuckles with some hydrogen peroxide.
“I’m having a bad day,” he confirmed. “But something tells me yours is worse.”
“Possibly.”
He didn’t really look at her, but he lifted an eyebrow. “Possibly?”
“Grading on a curve here, but at least I’m not bleeding.” Sophie wasn’t a fan of tears or mud, but the sight of the blood made her queasier than she already was. “Were you attacked?”
This time he lifted his shoulder. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
Sophie was sure she’d hear the details of the incident soon enough. Well, maybe. Her situation was likely such a hot topic that folks wouldn’t bother to jabber about a puny altercation where the interim Chief of Police had been injured.
“I need a date,” she said, wiping back more of the blasted tears.
Judging from the look he gave her, he was either about to call the mental hospital or laugh at her attempted joke. Nope, no laugh. She hoped this idea of hers sounded better than it was. Actually, she hoped it not only sounded better, but that it was better. Because it didn’t sound very good in her head.
“Date as in the fruit or a date?” he asked.
“Date.” Which, of course, would require some clarification. Chief McKinnon had moved to town several months ago, but their paths hadn’t crossed enough for an actual introduction. “I’m Sophie Granger. I’m head of marketing for Granger Western.”
“I know who you are. You’re getting married—” he checked his watch “—in about fifteen minutes. But judging from your dress and the fact that you want a date, I’m figuring things didn’t go as planned.”
“No.” And that single-word answer was a huge understatement. It also brought on more crying. “My fiancé, Brantley Barnwell, came by the dressing room at the church and said he couldn’t marry me after all.”
