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The Cattleman's Bride
Joan Kilby
She has it all worked outSarah Templestowe figures she'll take two weeks off work, fly to Australia and buy out the other owner of the outback cattle station her father left her. Then she'll return to Seattle, give the station to her mother as a retirement present and pick up big-city life where she left off.He has other plansBut Luke Sampson is not about to let go of his dream of owning a cattle station. He's not about to let go of Sarah Templestowe, either. Warm, caring and frank, she stirs him the way no other woman has in years. Luke, though, is a man of few words, and he can't seem to tell her that.Now what?Sarah's trip Down Under turns her world upside down. Her short time in Australia provides endless surprises, especially where Luke is concerned. She loves him–enough to get out of his life forever.
HARLEQUIN SUPERROMANCE
Celebrates its 20th Anniversary
Two decades of bringing you the very best
in romance reading.
To recognize this important milestone,
we’ve invited six very
special authors—whose names you’re sure to recognize—
to tell us how they feel about Superromance.
Each title this month has a letter
from one of these authors.
Who better to write the foreword to Joan Kilby’s
The Cattleman’s Bride than acclaimed author
Margaret Way. Both writers live in Australia
and both have the magical ability to make the land
and its people come alive.
The Cattleman’s Bride is the story of a man and a
woman who must overcome differences as vast as
the outback itself in resolving the dilemma that
faces them. In that harsh and beautiful land,
superficialities are stripped away as Sarah and
Luke reach deep inside themselves and find a love
that promises them a lifetime of fulfillment.
This is Joan’s third book for Superromance.
Her first novel earned her a RITA nomination for
Best First Book, and her writing talents have
merited a profile in the much-respected Writer’s
Digest. It’s a pleasure to showcase Joan on this very
special occasion for Superromance.
Dear Reader,
I was born and grew up in Vancouver, Canada, but have lived in Australia for ten years now. My first impressions of this beautiful land remain vivid—the colors, the scents, the intensity of the sun, the enormous blue sky and the wide-open spaces.
The outback holds an almost mythical place in the hearts and minds of Australians, most of whom live in large cities along the coast. As I got to know more about the outback and talked with the people who live there, I was struck by the fact that, despite the harsh environment and the hardships they face, they passionately love their way of life.
As my heroine, Sarah, discovers, it’s not an easy life, but in the challenge lies the reward. Her greatest reward is Luke—a modern-day pioneer, a battler who loves the land and the freedom to be his own man. In each other, Sarah and Luke discover that once-in-a-lifetime love that transcends all boundaries.
I hope you find The Cattleman’s Bride as enjoyable and satisfying to read as it was for me to write. I love to hear from my readers. Please write me c/o Harlequin Enterprises Ltd., 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9, or e-mail me at www.superauthors.com.
Sincerely,
Joan Kilby
The Cattleman’s Bride
Joan Kilby
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
FOREWORD BY MARGARET WAY
When my editor, Paula Eykelhof, asked me if I would write a foreword for an upcoming Superromance, the year 2000 being the twentieth anniversary of the line, I agreed with pleasure—and with the sense of being honored for my own contribution to the big, bright, beautiful world of Harlequin romance novels.
Although I have written some 80-odd books for the Harlequin Mills and Boon Romance series, it was only recently, through Paula’s encouragement, that I extended my boundaries to Superromance. The Australian Heiress, released in 1998, was the first. My second, already researched, is in the process of being written. It is again set in the Australian outback, and I hope it will be an exciting read with a fascinating and provocative theme. Ancient Egyptian presence in tropical far north Queensland? The hunt is on for treasure in the rainforests and crocodile-infested swamps of Australia’s top end wilderness coast. Be assured that a great romance figures in this story, along with the skulduggery and high tension. I look forward to seeing it in the Superromance lineup for 2001—and I hope you will, too.
Although I greatly enjoyed writing for the Romance series and have done so for the past thirty years, Superromance has provided me with a fresh challenge. I derive considerable satisfaction from the longer story, which gives me the opportunity to weave a more complex plot, introduce more characters and let them speak as they develop a fuller personality.
Being a successful writer (for which I must thank my publisher, my excellent caring editors and my loyal readers) must be one of the best jobs a woman can have. I love getting involved with my characters. I love falling in love with my heroes (yes, I do), but one of the most delightful aspects of the job is bringing pleasure to a lot of readers.
And speaking of readers…I’ve recently had the pleasure of catching up on my Superromances. I read books by Jan Freed, Bethany Campbell, Margot Early and others—and I thoroughly enjoyed a diversity of compelling stories. On the newcomer front, I particularly enjoyed A Father’s Place by a fellow Australian, Joan Kilby. This book has an important message to deliver through a very engaging heroine. Such messages can change lives. I’m sure that writing such an eloquent first book gave Joan enormous pleasure and satisfaction. I know she’ll go on to even greater things.
A peaceful and prosperous 2000 (and beyond) to all our readers (with the fervent hope for better government around the world!).
Margaret Way
Margaret Way is one of the best-known and most-loved romance writers in the world. Her books are usually set in her native Australia, which she writes about with passion and immense skill. She’s made Australia real for millions of readers. She continues to be published by Harlequin Romance—the original romance series. And her second Superromance will appear in February 2001.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE (#u42ebe555-e843-53f6-aff0-1152f91fea84)
CHAPTER TWO (#uc77e04fd-ae74-5457-8161-3703b387f8df)
CHAPTER THREE (#u1a7913db-6652-556f-94ba-dcd13ce90391)
CHAPTER FOUR (#ua3d6e0d5-6393-5285-b884-67dd31682932)
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)
EPILOGUE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ONE
“DOUBLE HAZELNUT MOCHA with a sprinkle of cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg, please.”
Sarah drummed the steering wheel while the attendant at the drive-through stall in Eastside Seattle whipped up her coffee. She usually ordered espresso to wake her up on gray October mornings, but in times of crisis a jolt of flavored caffeine usually helped perk her up.
Okay, so her father’s death wasn’t exactly a crisis; she hadn’t seen him more than a handful of times since he and her mom had split up when Sarah was a baby. The shock was learning he’d left her Burrinbilli, the outback cattle station where her mother had grown up. Half the station, that is. The station manager owned the other half.
“Thanks,” Sarah said to the attendant, and maneuvered the steaming foam cup through the window of her Mazda.
Back in the stream of traffic, she sipped her coffee and fantasized about buying the penthouse suite for sale on top of her employer’s office building. If she lived there she could be at work by now. Imagine, rising at a civilized hour, having a leisurely breakfast in the café next door, then taking a mere elevator ride up to the computer programming department where she designed educational software. Urban paradise.
The traffic inched along. The windshield wipers slapped away the rain. The fax machine rang. Sarah pressed the start button and glanced at the emerging paper—a request for details on the new software package she was working on.
She could sell her half of Burrinbilli and buy that penthouse suite.
Or she could do something really nice for Mom.
She pulled into the car park opposite her office building and hurried across the street. Minutes later she stepped onto the fourth floor to navigate the rabbit warren of cubicles to her workspace. Some people complained about the cramped quarters, but Sarah didn’t mind. She’d plastered the divider walls with Far Side cartoons and pictures of her cat. With her coffee at hand and a family-size bag of Gummi Bears in her drawer, what more could she ask for?
She pulled the letter from the executor of her father’s estate out of her briefcase, punched in the phone number of Burrinbilli, then swung around to gaze at the old photo tacked to the wall of her cubicle, the receiver tucked under her ear. The little girl standing on the steps of the veranda and squinting into the brilliant sunlight of western Queensland was her mother.
Mom had raved about Burrinbilli for as long as Sarah could remember. Endless blue sky, the creek where she fished for the freshwater crayfish she called yabbies, the wide shady veranda that wrapped itself right around the elegant 1880s homestead.
And best of all, to Sarah’s mind—Lake Burrinbilli.
The telephone rang and rang. Sarah wondered belatedly what time it was in Australia. Was it five hours ahead or nineteen behind? Either way, that meant…Uh-oh. She started to hang up the receiver.
“H’llo.” The man on the other end stifled a yawn.
“Hi!” she said. “I’ve just realized what time it is there. I’ll call back later.”
“Who’s this?”
“Sarah Templestowe. My father was Warren Temp—”
“What can I do for you?” His sleep-roughened twang suddenly had an edge like a boomerang.
“I’m looking for the station manager, Luke Sampson.”
“You found him.”
“Hello. Nice to meet you.” Slow down, Sarah. Breathe. “I guess you’ll have heard from his executor. That he left his half of the property to me, I mean.”
“I heard. Sorry about your father.”
“It’s okay.” She felt uncomfortable accepting condolences for a man she’d hardly known. The man who hadn’t cared enough to do more than send a Christmas card and visit once every five years. Warren Templestowe might have been her biological father, but her stepdad, Dennis, had been the stable, loving man who’d always been there for her.
“I was going to call,” Luke said. “Offer to buy you out.”
“Oh, no,” she said. “I want to buy your half.”
A long silence ensued. “Hello?” Sarah said, thinking she’d lost the connection.
“A week before your father died I made him an offer on the property,” Luke informed her. “I’ve got a bank loan arranged and the paperwork drawn up.”
“Did he actually agree to sell?” Sarah doodled furiously on her scratch pad. “Did he sign any documents?”
“No,” Luke said slowly. “But he hasn’t put a bean into this place in years.”
Sarah wasn’t surprised her father had neglected the station. He’d never given her mother a cent for Sarah’s maintenance, either. “Burrinbilli belonged to my mother’s family—she grew up there. I’d like to give it back to her.”
“I didn’t know that about your mother,” Luke said. “Burrinbilli used to be one of the best properties in the area, but with the drought times have been tough. There are better stations around if you’re looking for an investment.”
“What exactly is the problem?”
“Cattle yards need repairing. Machinery needs replacing. We badly need a new bull. That’s just for starters.”
