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Twins For The Rancher
Trish Milburn
Mixing businessWith pleasureTexan Rancher Adam Hartley has a plan to expand the family business – unfortunately, someone else beat him to it. Beautiful single mum Lauren Shayne has just stolen Adam’s dream – and his heart! Lauren knows that love is dangerous, and she won’t ever make that mistake again, but sexy Adam is determined to win over Laura and her adorable twins
MIXING BUSINESS WITH PLEASURE
Rancher Adam Hartley knows that big rewards mean big risks. His plan to expand the family business in Blue Falls, Texas, is a good one. Unfortunately, someone else beat him to it—and bought the old abandoned restaurant he’d been eyeing. Yep, a beautiful newcomer just stole his dream...and his heart, too.
Except single mom Lauren Shayne knows that love is dangerous. Love almost destroyed her business and her reputation, and she won’t ever make that mistake again. So why is she so attracted to Adam? The drop-dead-sexy cowboy seems determined to win over Lauren and her adorable twin babies...but how can she be with him if she’s not sure she can trust him?
TRISH MILBURN writes contemporary romance for Mills & Boon. She’s a two-time Golden Heart® Award winner, a fan of walks in the woods and road trips, and a big geek girl, including being a dedicated Whovian and Browncoat. And from her earliest memories, she’s been a fan of Westerns, be they historical or contemporary. There’s nothing quite like a cowboy hero.
Also by Trish Milburn
Her Perfect Cowboy
Having the Cowboy’s Baby
Marrying the Cowboy
The Doctor’s Cowboy
Her Cowboy Groom
The Heart of a Cowboy
Home on the Ranch
A Rancher to Love
The Cowboy Takes a Wife
In the Rancher’s Arms
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Twins for the Rancher
Trish Milburn
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-07744-6
TWINS FOR THE RANCHER
© 2018 Trish Milburn
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)
Thanks to Beth Pattillo for helping me brainstorm
Lauren’s character and for being a friend
from back when I was taking my first fledgling
steps into the world of romance writing.
Contents
Cover (#u08bbda04-0151-5ed2-ab4f-188ed55f7621)
Back Cover Text (#uc3ebecd0-b995-53d2-9927-30d48292d22b)
About the Author (#u57767dc0-4fbd-517a-a620-cbb9076c14ac)
Booklist (#u5d1a3632-d262-5a9b-abea-e2fcf19abe68)
Title Page (#u2f65cc98-8586-5dee-bd3b-ba6fecd1f4ea)
Copyright (#u37dc1e27-47b5-5c94-a305-2fcd1e899a84)
Dedication (#u7d6dc2a3-fa9f-56da-86ca-177b91b6929f)
Chapter One (#u497e277b-5fd6-5223-9278-0773c1ee7349)
Chapter Two (#u803c238a-6d4d-5a47-8dbc-d051ef849144)
Chapter Three (#u76a2be61-6d2c-58e4-94d0-06d9a1e1b4f6)
Chapter Four (#u981fc918-e766-5a61-a0f9-a8e6e035e4ca)
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)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One (#ud91be61a-f37b-598f-a931-51b3fda4e69c)
The floorboards creaked as Lauren Shayne took her first steps into the building that she’d become the owner of only minutes before. Her hands shook from the enormity of what she’d done. The mortgage on what had been a German restaurant called Otto’s years ago wasn’t small, but neither was her dream for the place.
A dream that she would have never guessed would take her so far from home.
Despite her initial “this is perfect” reaction to seeing the inside, the fact it was four hours from her home in North Texas gave her significant pause. Taking the leap had required a week of denial, then pondering and number-crunching after every adult member of her family had told her to go for it. She’d finally reasoned she could get the place opened and leave the day-to-day running to a manager who lived in Blue Falls or nearby. If it did well enough for her to expand in the future, then maybe she could finally find a space closer to home.
But she couldn’t let her imagination run wild. Not when there was still a lot of work and a ton of luck standing between her and making even one restaurant a success. Loyal watchers of The Brazos Baker cooking show, or fans of her cookbooks and magazine alone, weren’t going to be enough to keep the place afloat. And she needed to get the bulk of the work done before her TV show resumed production after the current hiatus—that would require her to be back in her kitchen on a regular basis.
She attempted a deep breath, but it was a bit shaky. She hoped she hadn’t just gambled her daughters’ future security away with a bad business decision.
As her steps echoed in the rafters, where forgotten cloth banners decorated with German coats of arms hung, Lauren saw beyond the dust and detritus to a restaurant filled with people enjoying her grandfather’s prize-winning barbecue, and baked goods made with her recipes, while they took in an unbeatable view of Blue Falls Lake.
She smiled as she imagined the look on Papa Ed’s face when she finally revealed the finished product to match the images that had been in her head for a couple of years. At times, those images and the support of her family had been the only things that got her through one of the toughest periods of her life.
“Now, that looks like the smile of a woman about to do great things.”
Lauren startled at the sound of a guy’s voice and grabbed the back of a dust-covered chair at the sight of a tall man standing between her and the front door. He held up his hands, palms out.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Can I help you?” Miraculously, her voice didn’t reveal the runaway beating of her heart.
“Actually, I’m hoping I can help you.” He didn’t advance any closer, giving Lauren a few moments to take in his appearance, looking for clues to his meaning. Dressed in dark slacks, pressed white shirt and pale blue tie, he didn’t come across as a laborer looking for a job. She guessed he stood a bit over six feet, had sandy brown hair and was attractive in that clean-cut “businessman who used to be the high-school quarterback” sort of way.
“Tim Wainwright with Carrington Beef. We provide top-quality beef products to restaurants all over Texas. And it’s an educated guess that a barbecue restaurant is going to need a lot of ribs and brisket.”
Lauren tilted her head slightly. “How could you possibly know I’d be here or that I planned to open a restaurant? I literally signed the papers fifteen minutes ago.”
Tim smiled. “I’m just that good.”
Lauren made a sound of disbelief. This guy was full of himself.
Tim motioned, as if waving off his previous words. “It’s my job to know when potential new customers come on the scene. I heard from a friend on the local city council about your plans and that you were closing on the property this morning. Took a chance we’d cross paths.”
“You must really need the business if you’re here now.” She indicated their surroundings, covered with enough dust they could probably make dust castles. “As you can see, I’m a long way from opening my doors for business.”
“It’s never too early to make a good decision.”
She lifted an eyebrow. Did he brainstorm these business pickup lines? Her thoughts must have shown on her face because the teasing look on his disappeared. He reached into his pocket and retrieved a business card, which he extended as he walked closer.
“I’d like to sit down with you when it’s convenient and discuss what we can offer you. Dinner tonight, perhaps?”
There was something in the way he looked at her that made her wonder if his invitation was just about business. Or did he use his good looks to his professional advantage? That thought did not sit well with her. And with good reason.
“I’m afraid I won’t have time tonight.” Or any night, she thought as she accepted his card. “But when I’m ready to make those kinds of decisions, I’ll know how to reach you.”
She thought for a moment he might press for the “hard sell” approach, but thankfully he just nodded.
“The dinner invitation is a standing one. I’m through this area quite often.”
She simply nodded and offered a polite smile. No need to reveal that when she wasn’t working on Brazos Baker–related business, she was doing her best to not suck at being a mom. She’d save that tidbit in reserve in case he attempted to get personal. Nothing like the responsibility of twins in diapers to scare off unwanted advances.
Evidently getting the message that he wasn’t going to make any more progress today—professionally or otherwise—Tim gave a nod of his own and headed for the exit. Halfway there, he turned and took a few steps backward as he scanned what would become the dining room.
“Can’t wait to see what you do with the place.”
After he left, she was hit with just how much work she faced before decisions such as which food vendors to use made any sense. And none of that work was going to move to the “completed” column if she didn’t get to it. She rolled up her sleeves and took another step toward her dream.
* * *
IT WAS TIME for Adam Hartley to stop stewing over the potential customer he’d lost and forge ahead. His family had been understanding of the time and funds he’d put in to the branded-beef operation so far, but each day he wondered when that understanding would disappear. Everything his siblings did in addition to their regular ranch duties added to the Rocking Horse Ranch’s bottom line. Sure, Sloane’s camps for underprivileged kids cost money, but those funds were now coming from the product endorsements her new husband, Jason, had signed after winning the national title in steer wrestling the previous winter.
Adam kept reminding himself that big rewards required big risks. He just hoped his risks ended in the types of rewards he envisioned.
At the sound of the front door opening, followed by fast-approaching footsteps, he looked up from the list of possible customers throughout the Hill Country and into Austin.
“I have great news,” Angel said as she darn near slid into the dining room like Tom Cruise in Risky Business.
“You sold some photos?” His sister was slowly gaining recognition for her beautiful photos of ranch and rodeo life.
“No, great news for you.”
He leaned back in his chair. “I could use some of that.”
“I just heard from Justine Ware that the Brazos Baker is opening a restaurant here in town.”
“Who?”
“The Brazos Baker, Lauren Shayne.” At what must be a confused look on his face, she continued, “She has a cooking show on TV. Mom watches it all the time. She has a magazine, too. Some cookbooks. And now she’s planning to open a barbecue restaurant in what used to be Otto’s.”
