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McKettricks of Texas: Austin
Linda Lael Miller
#1 New York Times bestseller Linda Lael Miller brings you the next installment in her unforgettable McKettricks of Texas series. The three McKettrick brothers meet their matches in the three Remington sisters, and now it's Austin's turn…World champion rodeo star Austin McKettrick finally got bested by an angry bull. With his career over and his love life a mess, the lone maverick has nowhere to go when the hospital releases him…except back home to Blue River and the Silver Spur ranch. But his overachieving brothers won't allow this cowboy to brood in peace. They've even hired a nurse to speed his recovery. Paige Remington's bossy brand of TLC is driving him crazy. Not to mention her beautiful face, sexy figure and silky black hair.Paige has lost count of the number of times Austin has tried to fire her. She's not going anywhere till he's healed–body and heart.
#1 New York Times bestseller Linda Lael Miller brings you the next installment in her unforgettable McKettricks of Texas series. The three McKettrick brothers meet their matches in the three Remington sisters, and now it’s Austin’s turn…
World champion rodeo star Austin McKettrick finally got bested by an angry bull. With his career over and his love life a mess, the lone maverick has nowhere to go when the hospital releases him…except back home to Blue River and the Silver Spur ranch. But his overachieving brothers won’t allow this cowboy to brood in peace. They’ve even hired a nurse to speed his recovery. Paige Remington’s bossy brand of TLC is driving him crazy. Not to mention her beautiful face, sexy figure and silky black hair.
Paige has lost count of the number of times Austin has tried to fire her. She’s not going anywhere till he’s healed—body and heart.
Praise for the McKettricks of Texas series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Linda Lael Miller (#ulink_d7fd525c-31d7-5909-9208-cee7b2606d2d)
“A passionate love too long denied drives the action in this multifaceted, emotionally rich reunion story that overflows with breathtaking sexual chemistry.”
—Library Journal on McKettricks of Texas: Tate
“Linda Lael Miller delivers a powerful novel of love lost and love regained…. The author does a great job of letting you into the heart of these characters.”
—BestRomanceStories.com on McKettricks of Texas: Tate
“The tale of Austin McKettrick…is completely wonderful. Austin’s interactions with Paige are fun and lively and the mystery that began in Tate’s story ends with Austin’s love story and adds quite a suspenseful punch.”
—RT Book Reviews on McKettricks of Texas: Austin
“A heartwarming romance and the perfect ending to a wonderful series.”
—JoyfullyReviewed.com on McKettricks of Texas: Austin
“Miller’s fast-moving, emotional contemporary romance continues the McKettricks series’ plotlines, with more installments to come.”
—Booklist on McKettricks of Texas: Garrett
“[Miller’s] subtle blend of sensuality, chivalry, and the clear roles of her men and women create charming romances. The McKettrick brothers are sexy gentlemen with Stetsons. Whether they’re from 1810 or 2010, Linda Lael Miller’s cowboys are timeless.”
—JoyfullyReviewed.com on McKettricks of Texas: Garrett
“A fitting addition to the…well-written McKettrick novels from Miller. This one will not disappoint either old fans or new.”
—The Romance Reader on McKettricks of Texas: Garrett
McKettricks of Texas: Austin
Linda Lael Miller
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Dear Reader (#ulink_9e8895fb-6d6f-5a9a-91d2-5c4c7bc3246e),
Welcome to the third of three books starring a group of modern-day McKettrick men. Readers who have embraced the irrepressible, larger-than-life McKettrick clan won’t want to miss the stories of Tate, Garrett and now Austin—three Texas-bred brothers who meet their matches in the Remington sisters. Sidelined by an injury, bad-boy rodeo star Austin McKettrick fears he’s got nothing left to live for…until spirited nurse Paige Remington makes him dream of the happily-ever-after he hadn’t thought he wanted.
As I’ve said in earlier letters, I love all things Western: the landscape, the people and, of course, the stories. Especially stories with a lot of romance in them… There’s nothing like a cowboy, after all! I’ve set books in a number of different Western locales, including Texas (like these three books), Montana (the Parable series), Arizona (the Mojo Sheepshanks stories) and now Wyoming (the Brides of Bliss County, my newest trilogy).
I also want to remind you, my dear readers, about something else that’s extremely important to me and, I know, to you—animals, and our responsibility to them. We should all support our local shelters, and the best way to do that is to adopt your pets from them! I can’t stress enough the importance of keeping our pets safe—neuter and vaccinate them and make sure they’re properly identified, with microchips and/or tags. Encourage everyone you know to do these things, too. The animals in our lives bring us so much happiness; they’re the very definition of unconditional love. And we should treat them the same way!
Check out my website, lindalaelmiller.com (http://www.lindalaelmiller.com/), to read my blog, to comment and to learn about current releases and contests.
With love,
For Wendy Diane Miller, my daughter.
I love you.
Acknowledgments (#ulink_57108cbd-f3a3-5802-b60a-94cdaf1b91bb)
Every book presents its special challenges, as does every series. But some touch writers more deeply than others, and require more in terms of creativity, energy, depth of emotion. This trilogy, The McKettricks of Texas, was such an experience. There were times of soaring joy, of course; there was also a lot of difficulty. Without the help, patience and faith of my beloved editor, Joan Marlow Golan, and the constant encouragement of my agent, Irene Goodman, the books would have been far more challenging, if not impossible, to write. My love and heartfelt thanks to both of these impressive women.
Contents
Cover (#u6dc3f596-4b77-5453-8fd5-e8328dd766b0)
Back Cover Copy (#u3a46b9e4-8cd7-5296-8080-0ea6ec57cc92)
Praise (#ub19d4cf0-421a-5fda-9ae1-095072c11c4f)
Title Page (#u2df7edcc-042e-5065-9f88-bf40b62ae9ce)
Dear Reader (#uc3f254f4-0c11-5d5a-acc4-b1e0105d4025)
Dedication (#u420633d9-71de-580b-9aed-893ae01ef965)
Acknowledgments (#ueffa2f92-5d10-5292-9c88-54a2c0feec56)
PROLOGUE (#u6dff7b6e-a03e-52dd-aabc-07b9dc54511d)
CHAPTER ONE (#u0bd2b252-eaa6-51c5-bae3-3e343ddf3b6c)
CHAPTER TWO (#u0a145464-c2a7-5f0c-b2c4-da70d52b4bfe)
CHAPTER THREE (#u3c7ee0b5-a32a-5266-a57d-8f79b46c1015)
CHAPTER FOUR (#u0d0bbd03-2ca6-570d-ba66-eaf87988e7a2)
CHAPTER FIVE (#u9a74c209-a44f-5184-be67-a356db6ca6e7)
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)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
PROLOGUE (#ulink_8fd7bf18-218a-549f-b06d-b2a0e207860a)
San Antonio, Texas October
EIGHT SECONDS.
Outside the world of rodeo, it was hardly any time at all.
Add two thousand pounds of ticked-off bull—aptly named Buzzsaw—to the equation, though, and eight seconds could seem a whole lot like forever.
Standing at the bar in a little backstreet, hole-in-the-wall dive a more prudent man would likely have steered clear of, Austin McKettrick reflected on the ride he’d made a few hours before and wondered why he didn’t feel more like celebrating.
For months now, ever since the first go-round with that particular bull, when he’d nearly been killed, Austin had thought about little else except riding Buzzsaw.
Now that he’d done it, and laid a demon or two to rest in the process, he was fresh out of worthy objectives.
A flicker in the mirror behind the bar drew Austin’s attention; he adjusted his hat and scanned the shadowy width of the glass with an imperceptible movement of his eyes.
Shit, he thought as he watched his brothers, Tate and Garrett, approach.
They were both cowboys, lean and tall, with broad shoulders and Clint Eastwood attitudes. Folks just naturally stepped out of their way.
Without turning around, Austin lifted his mug and took a long, slow sip of beer.
Tate, the eldest of the three, bellied up to the bar on Austin’s right, while Garrett took the left side, both of them crowding into his space. As if he might not have noticed them otherwise. He grinned to himself and adjusted his hat again.
Pinky, the bartender, a woman in her mid-seventies with her hair plaited into a long gray braid and skin that glowed with good health behind a veil of wrinkles, appeared right away.
“What’ll it be?” she asked, her gaze moving from Tate’s face to Garrett’s, but slipping right on past Austin’s as if he weren’t there.
Once married to one of the wranglers on the Silver Spur, Pinky was still a friend of the family. The wrangler, on the other hand, was long gone.
Tate, always a hand with the ladies, tugged at the brim of his hat, gentlemanlike, and favored the woman with that famous white-toothed smile of his. “Nothing for me, thanks,” he said, exaggerating the drawl. “How’ve you been, Pinky?”
“I’m holding up okay,” Pinky allowed. She smiled, nodded to Garrett. “I hear there’s going to be a double wedding out there on the Silver Spur come this New Year’s Eve. That true?”
“Sure is,” Garrett answered easily. “Your invitation will be along in the mail, Pinky.”
“So you’re both getting hitched?” Pinky said after clucking her tongue at the marvel of it all.
“Yes, ma’am,” Tate replied. “I’m marrying Libby Remington, and Garrett’s tying the knot with her sister, Julie.”
Pinky gave a long, low whistle of exclamation through her teeth. “Brothers marrying sisters. Don’t that beat all? Your kids will be double-cousins, won’t they?”
“Yep,” Garrett said.
At long last, Pinky fixed Austin with a look. “Tate’s taking a wife,” she said, cutting straight to the chase. “So is Garrett. What’s keeping you single, handsome?”
Tate and Garrett both leaned in a little, putting the squeeze on him.
Austin felt heat climb his neck, and he was glad for the dim, smoky light, because there were a few things he wanted to keep to himself.
Nobody needed to know he was embarrassed.
“I’m too young to get married,” he told Pinky, employing his most endearing grin.
“Nonsense,” Pinky blustered. “Marriage might settle you down a little. And you could do with some settling down, if you ask me.”
Austin refrained from pointing out that he hadn’t asked her.
It was right about then that he felt a strange squeezing sensation in his lower back, and his left leg went numb to the knee. He shifted his weight to the right, hoping to relieve some of the pressure, but it didn’t help much.
“Tate and I couldn’t agree more,” Garrett chatted on. “Austin definitely ought to settle down. Quit bumming around the rodeo circuit, start a family, do something constructive with his life.”
Privately, Austin scoffed at his brother’s remark. Garrett had a hell of a nerve making a speech like that. Up until a few months ago, when Julie Remington had roped him in and then hog-tied him for good, Brother Number Two had worked for a United States senator and had his pick of smart, beautiful, willing women.
Tate hadn’t exactly lived like a monk either, back in the wild days after he and Cheryl divorced and before he’d fallen back in love with Libby, his high school sweetheart and Julie’s older sister.
The way they talked now, a person could almost imagine that they’d been living saintly and celibate lives right along.
Austin took a long swig of his beer and waited for the feeling in his leg to come back.
