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Lone Star Christmas
Jolene Navarro
The Cowboy’s Christmas ReunionA Lone Star Legacy romanceDetermined to restore the historic buildings in Clear Water, Texas, Jackie Bergmann needs permission from the property’s new owner—her ex-boyfriend. And though Max Delgado agrees to give her access, he has one request: that she help him care for his orphaned brothers. But when she starts to fall for Max again, can she convince him not to sell his family’s ranch…and stay home for Christmas and forever?
The Cowboy’s Christmas Reunion
A Lone Star Legacy romance
Determined to restore the historic buildings in Clear Water, Texas, Jackie Bergmann needs permission from the property’s new owner—her ex-boyfriend. And though Max Delgado agrees to give her access, he has one request: that she help him care for his orphaned brothers. But when she starts to fall for Max again, can she convince him not to sell his family’s ranch...and stay home for Christmas and forever?
A seventh-generation Texan, JOLENE NAVARRO fills her life with family, faith and life’s beautiful messiness. She knows that as much as the world changes, people stay the same: vow-keepers and heartbreakers. Jolene married a vow-keeper who shows her holding hands never gets old. When not writing, Jolene teaches art to inner-city teens and hangs out with her own four almost-grown kids. Find Jolene on Facebook or her blog, jolenenavarrowriter.com (http://www.jolenenavarrowriter.com).
Also By Jolene Navarro (#u3fe89e3b-0e99-5609-bb44-f48bc393f505)
Lone Star Legacy
Texas Daddy
The Texan’s Twins
Lone Star Christmas
Lone Star Holiday
Lone Star Hero
A Texas Christmas Wish
The Soldier’s Surprise Family
Love Inspired Historical
Lone Star Bride
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Lone Star Christmas
Jolene Navarro
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-08640-0
LONE STAR CHRISTMAS
© 2018 Jolene Navarro
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.
® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
“Why am I here?”
“Every small town needs a good-looking cowboy.” Jackie grinned. “Plus, you’re famous to boot. I’m sure the tourists would love to meet a real bull rider.”
Max’s jaw tightened. “Yeah, that was my father’s thought, too.” The man had ignored him until he started making a name in the PBR circuit. All of a sudden, Max was good for business.
He stuffed his hands into his pockets. “I’m going. Tomas needs to rest, and we still have a bunch of stuff to do at the ranch.” He turned to leave.
“Max.” She caught up with him before he made it outside. “I was just teasing. I didn’t mean to upset you. Most people don’t mind being called good-looking.”
He saw concern in her eyes. Riding bulls was so much easier than dealing with life.
He feared she saw the weakness in him.
The truth of who he was.
Dear Reader (#u3fe89e3b-0e99-5609-bb44-f48bc393f505),
Life can take us to places we never planned or imagined. And at times we are unable to get what we think we want, but God has us. He is always there, waiting to heal all hurts.
Jackie and Max’s story is a romance, but it is also about relationships with parents, sisters and brothers. Family helps shape who we are—the good, the bad and the painful.
And sometimes the hardest part in life is accepting forgiveness for yourself.
I hope you enjoyed the time with Max and Jackie along with all their siblings. Nikki and Adrian’s story is in Texas Daddy, and you can find Danica and Reid in The Texan’s Twins.
I have enjoyed these trips to Clear Water, Texas. Thank you for coming along.
I love chatting with readers. You can find me on Facebook at Jolene Navarro, Author, or drop me a note at Jolene Navarro c/o Love Inspired Books, 195 Broadway, 24th Floor, New York, NY 10007.
Blessings,
Jolene
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart;
and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him,
and he shall direct thy paths.
—Proverbs 3:5–6
In memory of my mother-in-law, Francisca Guerrero Navarro. Te amo con todo mi corazón.
Contents
Cover (#u1018dcb3-fdb6-51d7-8513-35b924ae6561)
Back Cover Text (#uab8a5d93-cf70-5303-b9e7-4534b31a3224)
About the Author (#u00bd5c1d-f9d6-5662-aff2-005e1c5a371e)
Booklist (#u961b0fe6-058b-5d1f-9a9b-4c3b5dfc5c51)
Title Page (#u507ba8cf-1530-5fb5-97e4-29db18b2e5cd)
Copyright (#u5f3b479a-20fd-531c-a6f2-a47f77289683)
Introduction (#uf4b2c8e4-6b1d-52ca-b926-96de7af4e081)
Dear Reader (#ue4a005cc-fe5f-5def-a256-9cb429f2bb9e)
Bible Verse (#ud0d35356-f321-542c-842a-4a46998a8587)
Dedication (#ufd9d6675-4c4f-50f5-bf8b-ae65dff24528)
Chapter One (#u41d889a8-d23a-5f83-ad9b-e45b04459eec)
Chapter Two (#ub7cd99c7-7478-59b7-beb5-624e80de01ce)
Chapter Three (#ua96f0247-3265-5739-97d4-b13f98fdaf9e)
Chapter Four (#ud148927d-4e4e-5a37-aa7d-735cc56853d3)
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)
Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One (#u3fe89e3b-0e99-5609-bb44-f48bc393f505)
Bitter winds whipped through the valley and down the back of Max Delgado’s neck. Twenty years had passed since his last visit to the ranch. The Delgado Ranch, his family’s homestead since the early 1800s. He carried the name of the first Delgado in Texas: Maximiliano Francisco Puentes Delgado. Always sounded a bit pretentious to him.
Looking over the fence to the vast landscape, he tried to pull up memories of his childhood, but being here didn’t help. He had been told he’d spent most of his early years here with his mother. There was probably a reason they were so elusive, or maybe he just didn’t have a good memory. He tended to live in the moment. It was easy, and he liked easy.
His focus went back to the broken gate. November was never this cold in the Texas Hill Country. The way his life had been going the last few months, though, he probably shouldn’t be surprised.
Right on cue, the rotten wood crumbled in his gloved hand, the old hardware now useless. The corral was in worse shape than Max had first thought. He’d need a truckload of panels before he put any bulls in this pen. He had hauled a couple practice bulls along with his favorite horses.
They were getting restless and needed to be unloaded. He glanced back at the neglected pens and arena. Either his uncle had lied about the condition of the ranch, or the man he’d hired had been cashing the checks without doing the work.
His father’s voice jumped through his head, calling him useless and lazy. Dropping to his haunches, he planted his elbows above his knees and lowered his head. The memories he tried ignoring bombarded his brain. All those years spent trying to prove himself to a father who didn’t care, trying to gain approval from a man who had written him off when he was ten. A man who was now dead. Any chance of mending that relationship was gone.
In the past when these thoughts started crowding in, he’d have leaped on a bull or driven until he found a crowd that would help him drown the feelings he didn’t want to deal with.
But that was getting old. A few months ago, he’d tried something new. He’d sought out Pastor Wayne, the cowboy preacher who followed the rodeo circuit. So now he prayed. He prayed for wisdom and patience.
“I’m hungry.” One of his new responsibilities interrupted the prayer.
“Me, too, and I’m cold. Can we go inside?”
Even though Tomas and Isaac were a year apart at six and five, he wasn’t sure who was who. What he did know was that his half brothers had started grumbling about an hour ago. All three of them. He shot a glance at the teen. Ethan had asked to come along on the road trip. Ethan’s mother, the second wife, had headed back to Chicago and didn’t seem to care that her son wanted to spend the holidays with three brothers he had just met at his father’s funeral. Right now, the only thing that made them family was a last name. On impulse Max had thought this trip would give them a chance to connect before the little ones went to live with their aunt and Ethan returned to school.
“Max!” they cried out at the same time.
With a heavy sigh, he made sure to smile at them. It wasn’t their fault, and it wouldn’t be right to get mad at them. He’d seen the boys once, when they were too small to remember him. Now they had lost both parents and were stuck with brothers they didn’t know, other than what they had been told.
He rubbed one of them on the head. “There are some protein bars in the truck.”
