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A Man Of Honor
Tina Leonard
A man of honor always protects the woman he lovesCord Greer was one such man. Tessa Draper had been his brother's woman, but no matter how it broke his heart, Cord would do whatever it took to keep her safe. Even marry her in name only.Tessa was pregnant and alone, and her life–as well as Cord's–was threatened. Marriage provided them temporary security–and the ultimate temptation. As danger closed in, was it fear that drove Tessa into Cord's arms–or something more than Cord had dared to hope for?A Crookseye Canyon Story: A small town full of strong men and women–and love as everlasting as the wide Texas sky.
A man of honor always protects the woman he loves
“I’m suggesting you protect me by giving my child a father and a name. In return, as your wife, I will be unable legally to say anything that might implicate you. I think this is a fair trade.”
Maybe it was. It just wasn’t the way he wanted her. And Cord didn’t know if he could settle for less. She reached out to touch his forearm, and something like lightning sizzled across his conscience.
Maybe Tessa was thinking straighter than he was. Maybe her idea was a good one. His pride stood in the way of his seeing clearly, because he so badly wished Tessa would see him as a real husband, a lover, a friend.
But at least you’d have her, an eager voice prompted. Under your roof for good is a step closer…to having her forever.
Dear Harlequin Intrigue Reader,
Sunscreen, a poolside lounge—and Harlequin Intrigue: the perfect recipe for great summer escapes!
This month’s sizzling selection begins with The Stranger Next Door (#573) by Joanna Wayne, the second in her RANDOLPH FAMILY TIES miniseries. Langley Randolph is the kind of Texan who can’t resist a woman in trouble. Can he help unlock a beautiful stranger’s memories…before a killer catches up with her first?
Little Penny Drake is an Innocent Witness (#574) to a murder in this suspenseful yet tender story by Leona Karr. The child’s desperate mother, Deanna, seeks the help of Dr. Steve Sherman. Can Steve unlock her daughter’s secrets…and Deanna’s heart?
Dr. Jonas Shades needs a woman to play his wife. Cathlynn O’Connell is the perfect candidate, but with time running out, he has no choice but to blackmail his bride. Each minute in Jonas’s presence brings Cathlynn closer to understanding her enigmatic “husband” and closer to danger! Don’t miss Blackmailed Bride (#575) by Sylvie Kurtz.
Bestselling Harlequin American Romance author Tina Leonard joins Harlequin Intrigue with a story of spine-tingling suspense and dramatic romance. She’s created the small town of Crookseye Canyon, Texas, as the backdrop for A Man of Honor (#576). Cord Greer must marry his brother’s woman to keep her and her unborn baby safe. But is it fear that drives Tessa Draper into Cord’s arms, or is it something more than Cord had hoped for?
Indulge yourself and find out this summer—and all year long!
Sincerely,
Denise O’Sullivan
Associate Senior Editor
Harlequin Intrigue
A Man of Honor
Tina Leonard
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
As a child, Tina Leonard cut her teeth on Alfred Hitchcock black-and-white TV shows, enjoying late-night summer episodes with her stepmother, Judy. To this day, Tina has an affinity for the old, scary movies—the hokier, the better! Tina in person is a self-avowed chicken, however. The only brave thing she has ever done is scare a large rat away from an open car door! She eschews the blood-and-guts movies and books, preferring instead more psychological bogeys, and believes fervently that the most compelling part of any good romantic mystery is the timeless and magical love between a man and a woman.
Books by Tina Leonard
HARLEQUIN INTRIGUE
576—A MAN OF HONOR
HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE
748—COWBOY COOTCHIE-COO
758—DADDY’S LITTLE DARLINGS
771—THE MOST ELIGIBLE…DADDY
796—A MATCH MADE IN TEXAS
811—COWBOY BE MINE
829—SURPRISE! SURPRISE!
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Tessa Draper—The father of her baby is gone. Are her growing feelings for his brother real or caused by the danger that surrounds them?
Cord Greer —Protecting Tessa is second nature, as is hiding the love that burns in his heart.
Hunt Greer—Two strangers claim he’s dead. So why are they still looking for him?
Nan Ashley—Cord’s neighbor treats him like a son. Now she wants Tessa for a daughter.
Hester Draper—Tessa’s mother has nothing good to say about anyone. Will becoming a grandmother melt her cold heart?
Sheriff Grimes —A cop on a mission or a crook looking for an easy arrest?
Colonel John West—Hunt’s mentor was a second father to him.
Salvador and Rossi—Their code demands a life for a life.
Eleanor—Tessa’s new puppy is darling, but no watchdog.
Many thanks to my father, Tom Sites, for his military advice and plotting assistance.
Also my mother, Sylvia Kalberer, who liked this story from the get-go.
Lisa and Dean, I love you. Thanks for always being supportive of “Mumsie.”
To Denise O’Sullivan, thanks for believing in this book from the start, and Natashya Wilson, more thanks than I can possibly give you for helping me make it what I wanted it to be.
Contents
Prologue (#uf0e5a73f-f600-5524-b994-7a2134c32ad0)
Chapter One (#ufa014836-4f59-5c42-8e7d-59440d7f73a1)
Chapter Two (#ue8900381-2a6c-5164-b940-06749f9f01db)
Chapter Three (#u9923746b-9ce4-55a1-b4fc-4bf6a4212244)
Chapter Four (#uf6f82a03-de0c-54f9-8934-fc2aed622f23)
Chapter Five (#u565dca33-e70a-5673-ba3d-00e585a69b6c)
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)
Prologue
For each man must look into his own soul
—John F. Kennedy, Profiles in Courage
The north Texas night was colder than most, stinging Cord Greer’s face as he went out into the February storm to get firewood. Sleet-driven wind slashed across his cheeks, but he merely lowered his black Stetson a little more and tried to ignore the chilling sensation that had been bugging him for the past two hours.
Something was wrong. He could feel it as surely as the ice storm gripping Crookseye Canyon. What really had his skin creeping was that he’d only had this feeling once before, when his brother, Hunt, had been in a car crash. It was as if Cord had felt the impact himself that night. Hunt walked away from the crash, but Cord could still remember the peculiar sensation that he’d been right there in the car with his brother.
Tonight he’d felt another kind of impact. This one closed over him with dark fingers of dread as his soul experienced a rending, a tearing of one half from the other.
He shook it off, telling himself the storm—and too much time alone on his ranch—was making him imagine things. Being half Navajo didn’t necessarily make him a mind reader, as some people seemed to think. But he did feel deeply, a trait he’d had all his life.
Taking an armload of firewood inside, he tried to force his mind off Hunt’s latest secret assignment.
Ten minutes later, the knock at his front door came as no surprise. Though he’d been dozing in the recliner in front of a crackling fire, his mind had been waiting. He got up reluctantly, bracing himself for what he knew he would hear.
Opening the door, he stared at the two men standing in the bitter black night. Framed by the yellow light from the porch lantern, they looked serious and official.
“Mr. Greer?”
Official-looking identification flashed at him, which Cord ignored. He kept his gaze fastened on the men instead, nodding once.
“We regret to inform you that your brother was killed tonight while on a sensitive assignment. Though we can’t divulge more than that at the present time, you may rest assured that your brother, Hunt Greer, died an honorable death.”
He let a moment pass. “You’re positive it was my brother?”
“Yes,” the tall man assured him.
The fools. Whom did they think they were kidding? Hunt wasn’t dead. Cord had felt something strange, an odd passing through his soul, but not the disconnection he would feel if Hunt was dead. He waited, his jaw tight.
His silence appeared to unnerve the smaller officer. “We would like to inform the fiancée.” He checked his paper. “She should be notified. Regretfully, we don’t have her location.”
You never will, Cord vowed. He wouldn’t allow these two lame excuses to go to Tessa’s door and frighten her out of her wits with their lack of emotion. Regret to inform you. She was carrying Hunt’s child, and the shock these unfeeling clods would give her could cause harm.
“I’m sorry,” he said with a shrug. “I’m not aware of her location myself.” He told the lie easily to spare her the pain.
The men shifted. “You don’t know where your brother’s fiancée is?” the taller man asked, his voice edged with surprised disbelief—and obvious disappointment.
Cord noted the foreign accent, possibly Mexican, Spanish more likely. “No, I don’t,” he said softly, his voice clear and hard as the ice forming on the streets. “My brother and I weren’t close.”
He shut the door. Oh, he’d known where Tessa was almost every time she rendezvoused with Hunt after he completed his assignments. Cord had pleaded with Hunt not to take his fiancée to places that teemed with unrest, pointing out that he risked her life as well as his. Should some subversive foreign faction ever figure out Hunt was breaking their codes and moving equipment and people in and out of high-risk positions, he would be at risk. Tessa might even divert his attention, getting both of them killed.
Nonsense, Hunt had laughed. Tessa and Hunt, two people who lived life to the fullest while Cord stayed on his ranch, watching after his cattle and tending a few crops. Hunt was an adventurer, and Tessa had caught his fever. “Having her with me sharpens my focus,” he’d told Cord. “I’m knife aware when she’s there. She makes every moment that much more defined.”
Cord had turned away, but not in disgust at his brother’s selfishness. He’d completely understood. Tessa was the kind of woman any man would want to protect, to give all his heart and soul.
She’d stolen Hunt’s heart the first time he met her—and then she’d stolen Cord’s.
Chapter One
“Who is it?” Tessa called as she rubbed sleep from her eyes. Running a fast hand over her hair, she cautiously waited at the door. Who could be knocking this late at night?
“It’s Cord, Tessa.”
Her heart plummeted with dread the moment she heard his deep voice. There was only one reason Cord would show up on her doorstep without calling, only one mission that would bring him to her house despite the hour.
Hunt. She’d been fearing the worst, and clearly, the news Cord had about his brother was too serious for a phone call. Swallowing tightly, she opened the door to stare at him.
His darkly handsome face was drawn and worried. “May I come in?”
