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A Christmas Baby For The Cowboy
Deb Kastner
’Tis the season for a new startBut can he be a daddy in Cowboy Country?With a baby on the way and Christmas around the corner, disgraced rodeo rider Cash Coble returns to Serendipity hoping to fix his reputation. Cash never imagined that pretty Alyssa Emerson would inspire him to cowboy up—let alone open his heart. But will she agree to be part of his new family once she learns his dark secret?
’Tis the season for a new start
But can he be a daddy in Cowboy Country?
With a baby on the way and Christmas around the corner, disgraced rodeo rider Cash Coble returns to Serendipity hoping to fix his reputation. Cash never imagined that pretty Alyssa Emerson would inspire him to cowboy up—let alone open his heart. But will she agree to be part of his new family once she learns his dark secret?
A Publishers Weekly bestselling and award-winning author with over 1.5 million books in print, DEB KASTNER writes stories of faith, family and community in a small-town Western setting. She lives in Colorado with her husband and a pack of miscreant mutts, and is blessed with three daughters and two grandchildren. She enjoys spoiling her grandkids, movies, music (The Texas Tenors!), singing in the church choir and exploring Colorado on horseback.
Also By Deb Kastner (#u2e883781-8dec-50f6-8dc7-4606072b5074)
Cowboy Country
Yuletide Baby
The Cowboy’s Forever Family
The Cowboy’s Surprise Baby
The Cowboy’s Twins
Mistletoe Daddy
The Cowboy’s Baby Blessing
And Cowboy Makes Three
A Christmas Baby for the Cowboy
Christmas Twins
Texas Christmas Twins
Email Order Brides
Phoebe’s Groom
The Doctor’s Secret Son
The Nanny’s Twin Blessings
Meeting Mr. Right
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
A Christmas Baby for the Cowboy
Deb Kastner
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-08646-2
A CHRISTMAS BABY FOR THE COWBOY
© 2018 Debra Kastner
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.
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www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
“I hope I didn’t frighten them too much.”
Cash crouched beside the box and ran the tips of his fingers across the kittens’ soft fur. “I suspect the mama cat is going to be the most difficult to deal with.” He flashed the back of his left hand. Angry red claw marks etched the skin.
“Your poor hand,” Alyssa murmured sympathetically. “Between the cat and your hammer…” She was serious, but she added a teasing note in her voice.
“Rub it in, why don’t you?”
She chuckled. “Can I help it if you’re a walking accident just waiting to happen?” Who also happens to save kittens.
He snorted. “That about sums it up.”
Their gazes met and locked for a moment before she looked away.
Her heart was rapidly beating, and she took a deep breath, concentrating on slowing her pulse to its normal rate.
She tried to tell herself that it was just the adrenaline of having found the litter of kittens, but deep inside, she knew better...
Dear Reader (#u2e883781-8dec-50f6-8dc7-4606072b5074),
What fun it is to head back into Serendipity, Texas and auction off yet another bachelor for the town’s First Annual Bachelors and Baskets Auction benefiting the senior center.
It’s amazing how one second can change everything. For Cash Coble, the death of his best friend Aaron imploded his world. For Alyssa Emerson, her dear brother Aaron’s death broke apart her family. It’s only when the two of them connect and support each other that they learn to move forward.
No matter what the situation, the one cornerstone we can always count on is Jesus. He never moves but is right beside us all the way. Sometimes it’s harder to see and feel Him there with us, but the Bible assures us we can always count on His divine love and mercy.
I’m always delighted to hear from you, dear readers, and I love to connect socially. You can find my website at www.debkastnerbooks.com (http://www.debkastnerbooks.com), where I hope you’ll join my mailing list to learn of new projects and special offers. Come join me on Facebook at Debkastnerbooks (https://www.facebook.com/debkastnerbooks/), and you can catch me on Twitter @debkastner (https://twitter.com/debkastner?).
Please know that I pray for each and every one of you daily.
Love courageously,
Deb
Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
—Isaiah 55:6–7
To the choir
at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church.
You are my tribe and I’m incredibly blessed to be a part of this wonderful, talented group.
Contents
Cover (#u9a82b2a9-c6be-5f4c-8264-9cf666ccb2e0)
Back Cover Text (#u5ca2bf57-0c41-523d-ba86-c034b32d9840)
About the Author (#u6eb0adb9-b863-5ee1-b9e3-caab151ed861)
Booklist (#u0c266c27-1dc0-5598-84db-748ae52c8d25)
Title Page (#ua2b075df-1985-5792-9c91-d8e4c76f4776)
Copyright (#u2a9a2a14-31dc-5cef-ba6f-c8c6a66805d9)
Introduction (#uef97118d-e7b6-5c73-a87f-7e8ba086ea1c)
Dear Reader (#u4e4c1da3-0f5d-595e-822a-f0b0b21916a0)
Bible Verse (#u2052836a-4f1b-5d69-8c2a-46f00747c6cd)
Dedication (#u918557ff-220e-5b89-9418-3909739aeaa9)
Chapter One (#uf6ba171e-b812-58c1-94bf-7e06aaec3b8c)
Chapter Two (#ud0ef4fad-b29c-5846-8b1f-4e5d35125eab)
Chapter Three (#u64a6a96b-368d-535c-b78b-5cde1ab766aa)
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)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One (#u2e883781-8dec-50f6-8dc7-4606072b5074)
“Cash Coble, front and center, please.”
Jo Spencer, the bubbly elderly redhead serving as the auctioneer, had more energy in her pinky finger than Cash had in his whole body, and her warbling voice made his head throb mercilessly.
Cash, a rodeo bareback rider only recently returned to his hometown of Serendipity, Texas, winced at the high-pitched feedback of the microphone that followed his name being called over the loudspeaker. The screechy whine drilled straight into the space between his eyes.
He was the next bachelor on the docket at Serendipity’s First Annual Bachelors and Baskets Auction in the middle of June.
But if he had his way, he would be anywhere but here.
The last thing he wanted right now was to display himself for all his hometown to see. He’d left Serendipity in the dust when his rodeo career had taken off and he hadn’t been home since—with good reason.
Now he had no choice. Even if he’d rather slink off to the nearest bar and drink himself into forgetfulness.
“Remember,” said his publicist, Martin Brandt, stepping back a pace as he surveyed Cash from the tip of his boots to the top of his hat. “You get up there and turn on your cowboy charm. Don’t forget to smile. I have a photographer from Rodeo Times here to document this, so you’d better make good out there if you want your career back.”
Cowboy charm.
That was what had got him into this predicament in the first place. His once-handsome face and enormous ego.
He scoffed under his breath. There wasn’t one blessed thing that could even remotely be considered charmed about his life right now.
What was the opposite of charmed, anyway?
Pete Drexler grinned and held up his camera as Martin leaned up on tiptoe and adjusted Cash’s black cowboy hat, presumably to reveal more of his eyes. The middle-aged publicity agent was a diminutive fellow who stood no taller than five feet even. Cash, at six-one, towered over him.
But what Martin lacked for in size, he made up for in vigor, and he was one of the best agents in the business, with all the attitude of a T. rex in obtaining the best for his clients.
