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The Renegade Cowboy Returns
Tina Leonard
If you're selling something, I'm not buying, cowboy.” Not the warmest words of welcome for Gage Phillips, who’s just been named overseer of Dark Diablo ranch. On top of that, the Texas rover recently found out he’s a father. The last thing he needs is a woman ordering him around, not to mention driving him crazy with desire…especially now that he’s thinking about mending his footloose ways.Ireland seems a long way from Chelsea’s new life on the Callahans’ New Mexico spread. Which now includes a teenage girl and her father–the raffish Texas cowboy with the slow, easy grin who’s throwing temptation squarely in Chelsea’s path! But a proposal? Gage surprises even himself with that one.It’s strictly business–so Chelsea can get her citizenship. Or maybe not. Because as far as Gage is concerned she’s already hooked one ready and willing renegade!
“If You’re Selling Something, I’m Not Buying, Cowboy.”
They weren’t the warmest words of welcome for Gage Phillips, who’s just been named overseer of Dark Diablo ranch. On top of that, the Texas rover recently found out he’s a father. The last thing he needs is a woman ordering him around, not to mention driving him crazy with desire…especially now that he’s thinking about mending his footloose ways.
Ireland seems a long way from Chelsea’s new life on the Callahans’ New Mexico spread—which now includes a teenage girl and her father: a raffish Texas cowboy with a slow, easy grin who’s throwing temptation squarely in Chelsea’s path!
But a proposal? Gage surprises even himself with that one. It’s strictly business—so Chelsea can get her citizenship. Or maybe not. Because as far as Gage is concerned she’s already hooked one ready and willing renegade!
“I’m really happy you’re willing to marry me, Chelsea.”
Slowly she reached out to take the box. “What are we doing, Gage?”
He looked into her eyes. “Being expedient, I guess.”
“You need me, I need you.”
He nodded. “I hope you need me. I sure as hell need you.”
“Because of Cat.”
Not replying, he leaned to slip the ring on her finger where it sparkled and shone, catching the hot Texas sunlight spilling in from the window. Three round ovals glittered at her, more beautiful than anything she’d ever owned.
“Cat says there are three diamonds, one for each of us, all on the same band forever,” Gage said.
“She’s so sweet,” Chelsea whispered, touched.
“Are you marrying me because of my child?” Gage asked.
“Yes,” Chelsea said, and he laughed.
“Good. For a while there, I thought you might be marrying me for me,” Gage teased.
“Cowboy, you think too much of yourself.”
Dear Reader,
The thing about writing a series is that sometimes it’s hard to let a particular place or family go. And so it is with the Callahan Cowboys, six brothers who lured me in with their sense of adventure and die-hard commitment to stay single. I thought it would be fun to see what happened to Irish Chelsea Myers, who had once upon a time been engaged to the eldest Callahan brother, Jonas. Now Chelsea is house-sitting at Dark Diablo, where she can write her mysteries in peace. However, a cowboy shows up on her porch one day with his teenage daughter, a child he has just discovered is his. Peace and quiet is not to be the rule of the land, as Chelsea is about to find out! Not to mention that the cowboy is kind of stubborn, incredibly hot and definitely determined to be the best father he can be. A pretty irresistible combination for a woman who always secretly wanted a man who’s larger than life, even if she thought she was content to live her adventures on the pages of her own books.
I so hope you enjoy The Renegade Cowboy Returns. I fell in love with the town of Tempest, and the wonderfully patchwork-quilted family that the little farmhouse in Dark Diablo, New Mexico, shelters from life’s storms. It’s my greatest wish that you, too, will enjoy this “bonus” book—along with one other—as just-can’t-say-goodbye stories to the Callahan Cowboys series!
Happy summer and the best of beach reading to you!
Tina
www.tinaleonard.com (http://www.tinaleonard.com/)www.facebook.com/tinaleonardbooks (http://www.facebook.com/tinaleonardbooks) www.twitter.com/tina_leonard
The Renegade Cowboy Returns
Tina Leonard
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tina Leonard is a bestselling author of more than forty projects, including a popular thirteen-book miniseries for Harlequin American Romance. Her books have made the Waldenbooks, Ingram and Nielsen BookScan bestseller lists. Tina feels she has been blessed with a fertile imagination and quick typing skills, excellent editors and a family who loves her career. Born on a military base, she lived in many states before eventually marrying the boy who did her crayon printing for her in the first grade. Tina believes happy endings are a wonderful part of a good life. You can visit her at www.tinaleonard.com (http://www.tinaleonard.com).
The Renegade
Cowboy Returns
Many thanks to Roberta Brown of the Roberta Brown Agency, who has been such a wonderful guide for the past year and a half—I can’t thank you enough. I wish I knew all the names of the wonderful, magical people at Harlequin who shape the final product that becomes a Tina Leonard book, but they are numerous and work in the unspecified and sometimes unthanked shadows—heartfelt appreciation for your unstinting care. Kathleen Scheibling gently keeps me focused, and Laura Barth is kind enough to always have a cheery word. Much love to my family, who are simply my rock, and also to the awesome readers who have my sincere thanks for supporting my work with such amazing generosity and enthusiasm. I am quite blessed.
I would also like to thank someone who will never read this dedication, as he cannot, since he is a dog. Bailey, my angel, as I write this note on the eve of Christmas Eve, I would like to say thank you for all the wonderful times you kindly lay in the room with me as I wrote, and then gave me a gentle nudge to go out and take a walk with you. You raised my children and me and even my husband with joyous kindness. The past six years have been such a blessing, and I will always be grateful to the Golden Retriever rescue society for granting us your golden goodness. I know you won’t be here when this book is published, and so, in your honor, I’d like to tell everyone that the best friend they could ever have is an angel from the rescue of their choice. Alternatively, a wonderful gift that keeps on giving is a donation to a rescue society. I love you, and we miss you terribly already.
Contents
Chapter One (#uf59682ca-0ff2-5909-b826-6ab9c0938ff2)
Chapter Two (#uf8cb3661-a796-58e9-b9af-f6e77e732d07)
Chapter Three (#u3d3b3cc5-1d9b-5bca-a76b-e43a05cc9ce7)
Chapter Four (#u96a58be9-19a5-580c-8809-f3dc778a0027)
Chapter Five (#uacd1f88a-03e3-5f41-86e7-97bb34417bf9)
Chapter Six (#udcb98b42-a329-5f92-9e5e-fa20ed410489)
Chapter Seven (#ud4a8f10d-3e2f-50d5-ae84-83a678860c4d)
Chapter Eight (#ud071f152-0901-56f1-b186-763532969944)
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)
Chapter One
“What’s past is prologue”
–The Tempest by William Shakespeare
The secret to Gage Phillips’s happy existence was ridiculously simple: stay far away from women, specifically those who had marriage on their mind.
He put his duffel on the porch of the New Mexico farmhouse and looked around. The rebuilding project he’d taken on for Jonas Callahan was perfectly suited for a man who gloried in solitude. Gage knew his formula for a drama-free, productive lifestyle seemed oversimplified to some people, especially ladies who wanted to show him how much better life could be in a permanent relationship with a good woman. Yet he was thirty-five and a die-hard, footloose cowboy—testament to remaining single being the best choice a man could ever make on this earth, besides finding the right career and spending hard-earned cash on a dependable truck.
He hadn’t always been die-hard and footloose. Fourteen years ago he’d been at the altar, and fourteen years ago he’d learned a valuable lesson: marriage was not for him.
His friends were fond of saying he was just too much of a renegade to be tied down. Gage figured they might have a point. Fatherhood had been a late-breaking bulletin for him. About a year ago he’d been delivered the news. What man was so busy traveling the country that he didn’t know he had a daughter?
Leslie, convinced by her parents not to tell him about his child so they wouldn’t have to share custody, made a midlife decision to invite him to Laredo to come clean. He was pretty certain Leslie had told him only because she was at her wits’ end with Cat—and because her teenager apparently was fond of making her mother’s new boyfriend miserable.
The situation was messy.
So it was time for a little escape. This desolate, dirt-as-far-as-the-eyes-could-see forgotten hideaway was also perfect for getting away from his other problem—the family. If anybody needed quiet and a place to plot his exit strategy from The Family, Inc., it was he.
“Excuse me,” a female said, and Gage jumped about a foot. “If you’re selling something, I’m not buying, cowboy. And there’s a No Trespassing sign posted on the drive, which I’m sure you noticed. And ignored.”
He’d whipped around at her first words and found himself staring at a woman of medium height, with a slender build and untamable red hair, eyeing him like a protective mother hen prepared to flap him off the porch. Maybe she was the housekeeper, getting the place cleaned up for his arrival. He couldn’t place her accent—perhaps Irish or Scottish. Either way, she seemed intent on him not getting past the front door. He plastered on a convincing smile to let her know he was harmless. “I’m not selling anything, ma’am. I’m moving in.”
She blinked big, glass-green eyes. “You have the wrong address.”
“This is Dark Diablo Ranch.” It was impossible to have the wrong address; there were no other houses around for miles. “Owned by Jonas Callahan of Rancho Diablo, right?”
She nodded. “It is. But Jonas never mentioned anything about anyone living here.”
He could see she wasn’t the kind of woman who could be swayed with easy charm. Probably didn’t trust strangers, which was a good thing. By the way her hand moved impatiently to rest on her slim hip, it was obvious she didn’t trust him, even with his pointed mention of Jonas’s name. A woman who had nice long legs like hers usually caught his eye. He loved tiny freckles, too. She had a light dusting on her pale legs and arms exposed by her green tank top. Even across her delicate nose… But she also had a healthy dose of ire clouding her brow.
Nope. This was not a lady one enjoyed for a night or two in the name of good sex.
“Sorry,” he said. “I’ve definitely got the right address, then. Looks like we’re going to be housemates.”
“I don’t think so.” She remained stubborn, not giving an inch. “There’s a run-down barn out back, and a small bunkhouse, which, though antiquated and not exactly a five-star hotel, will suit you. I’m going inside to call Jonas and tell him there’s been some kind of mix-up.”
“That’s a good idea,” Gage said. “Ask Jonas why he didn’t warn me about Lucy Ricardo being my bunk mate.” Gage shook his head, deliberately trying the lady’s patience. “He knows I’m not a fan of redheads. There’s two things in life that should be left well alone, and they both happen to be the same shade.” He grinned, a rascal in denim, determined to needle her. “That’d be a stick of dynamite and a redhead, ma’am, if I need to spell it out for you.”
“Really.” She gave him a last annoyed look and went into the house, letting the screen door slam behind her. Gage sat on the porch, whistling to himself, leaning back on his elbows as he stared up at the jewel-blue New Mexico sky. He could hear her complaining to Jonas, and grinned as bits of dialogue confirmed to him that Jonas was verifying his story.
She wasn’t happy about it, either.
“You might have told me,” she said, her tone begrudging as she came back out, “that you’re here to do work for Jonas.”
“You didn’t seem interested in my curriculum vitae,” Gage said. “Better to let Jonas tell you. Funny thing, he didn’t mention you to me.” He gazed at her again, thinking how attractive she was, even for a redhead. “My name’s Gage Phillips.” He stuck out a hand, which she pointedly didn’t accept. Shrugging, he shoved it in his jeans pocket.
“I don’t need to know your name,” she said. “You’ll be staying in the bunkhouse, as my mother and I live here.”
Mother? He was going to read Jonas the riot act the next time he saw him. The ornery son of a gun had said nothing about a saucy female and no doubt equally prickly ma infesting his solitude. “My understanding is that the barn and the bunkhouse are fairly uninhabitable,” Gage said. “That’s part of the reason I’m here.”
She pressed her lips together, catching his attention. He thought she’d be really pretty if she ever smiled—not that she seemed interested in doing much of that around him. Very tantalizing, though. He gazed at her, wondering why Jonas would have left out telling him about this very luscious detail when he’d hired him. Jonas had specifically told him he’d be staying at the farmhouse. He’d never mentioned females.
“Wait a minute,” Gage said. “Where are you from?”
“Dublin, Ireland,” she said, her tone stiffer than an ironing board.
“You’re Jonas’s ex-fiancée,” Gage said, a light dawning. “I had an invitation to Sabrina and Jonas’s wedding, though I couldn’t make it over from Hell’s Colony in time. But I heard about you.”
She looked at him, not pleased. “Jonas and I are good friends, and nothing more.”
He laughed. “Cupcake, I get the whole setup now. Those damn Callahans. They want everyone to share their misery.”
“What are you talking about?”
Gage couldn’t wipe the smirk off his face. It was all so obvious. “You’re not a United States citizen, are you?”
“No. What does that have to do with anything?”
He shrugged. “You. Me. One house. It’s a setup.”
“I don’t think so,” she said, her voice subarctic. “There is no setup.”
“Sure.” He leaned forward on his knee. “How long are you planning to stay here?”
“Here? As long as I can.”
“And how long would that be?”
She sniffed. “I’m in the process of getting a green card.”
“So you want to stay a while?”
“Being in New Mexico has had a wonderful effect on my mother’s health. We’re hoping to remain here permanently, if possible. Mum and I have been traveling, and we’re getting to the end of my legal time here. Filing the paperwork has been a very slow process. But I don’t see what that has to do with you, or—” Her expression suddenly changed from ire to horror. “You think Jonas sent you out here so I could snare you into marrying me! Because I’m his ex-fiancée? You think I just need another man to make all my problems go away, and Jonas sent you as some kind of consolation prize.”
He smiled. “Don’t look so shocked, cupcake.”
She shook her head. “You’re dumb. I’m going inside, and I hope our paths cross very rarely.”
