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Cowboy's Caress
Victoria Pade
A sprained ankle at her going-away party postponed Carly Winter's departure from Elk Creek indefinitely. Suddenly she was looking at a very full house when new town doctor Bax McDermot and his daughter moved into her home…as scheduled…then moved into her life…something totally unexpected.Bax looked more cowboy than caregiver, but his rock-solid build belied the gentleness of his touch. His tender, loving caresses helped to heal Carly's wounded foot–and her wounded heart. But Carly had given up on men, convinced she'd find true happiness when she explored the world outside Wyoming.Only everything she could ever want was living under her very own roof…
Though scattered by years and tears, they share mile-deep roots in one Wyoming ranch—and a singular talent for lassoing the unlikeliest hearts!
“Evie and I are both a little bit nuts about you,”
Bax said in a soft voice.
Carly realized only then that his hands were no longer massaging her foot, but caressing it….
Bax held her eyes with his, and even if Carly had wanted to break away she didn’t think she could have. Something about the depth of his gaze kept her hypnotized, enthralled, enchanted.
Why did he have to be so great looking? she wondered. So great smelling? So great all around…?
He reached one hand around to the back of her neck to guide her forward, nearer to him, as he leaned to the side to meet her.
There was no question that he was going to kiss her, and Carly’s pulse went into overdrive, beating hard and fast with anticipation. With excitement. With wanting…
Dear Reader,
With spring just around the corner, Silhouette’s yearlong 20th Anniversary celebration marches on as we continue to bring you the best and brightest stars and the most compelling stories ever in Special Edition!
Top author Sherryl Woods kicks off the month with Dylan and the Baby Doctor, a riveting secret baby story in the next installment of AND BABY MAKES THREE: THE DELACOURTS OF TEXAS.
From beloved author Marie Ferrarella, you’ll love Found: His Perfect Wife, an emotional story in which a man loses his memory and gains a temporary spouse…. And reader favorite Victoria Pade continues her popular cowboy series A RANCHING FAMILY with Cowboy’s Caress, a heartwarming story about a woman who’s ready to travel the world—until love comes to town!
Millionaire’s Instant Baby is rising star Allison Leigh’s must-read contribution to the series SO MANY BABIES. In this provocative story, a dashing tycoon gets more than he bargained for when he hires a single mom as his pretend wife in order to close a business deal.
THE BLACKWELL BROTHERS continue to capture hearts in the next book of Sharon De Vita’s cross-line series. In The Marriage Promise, a Blackwell brother is determined to woo and win the forbidden love of a beautiful Amish virgin. And you won’t want to miss Good Morning, Stranger, Laurie Campbell’s dramatically poignant story about a woman, a child and a handsome, mysterious stranger who uncover secrets that bring together a meant-to-be family.
It’s a month chock-full of great reading and terrific variety, and we hope you enjoy all the stories!
All the best,
Karen Taylor Richman
Senior Editor
Cowboy’s Caress
Victoria Pade
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Books by Victoria Pade
Silhouette Special Edition
Breaking Every Rule #402
Divine Decadence #473
Shades and Shadows #502
Shelter from the Storm #527
Twice Shy #558
Something Special #600
Out on a Limb #629
The Right Time #689
Over Easy #710
Amazing Gracie #752
Hello Again #778
Unmarried with Children #852
* (#litres_trial_promo)Cowboy’s Kin #923
* (#litres_trial_promo)Baby My Baby #946
* (#litres_trial_promo)Cowboy’s Kiss #970
Mom for Hire #1057
* (#litres_trial_promo)Cowboy’s Lady #1106
* (#litres_trial_promo)Cowboy’s Love #1159
* (#litres_trial_promo)The Cowboy’s Ideal Wife #1185
* (#litres_trial_promo)Baby Love #1249
* (#litres_trial_promo)Cowboy’s Caress #1311
Silhouette Books
World’s Most Eligible Bachelors
Wyoming Wrangler
VICTORIA PADE
is a bestselling author of both historical and contemporary romance fiction, and mother of two energetic daughters, Cori and Erin. Although she enjoys her chosen career as a novelist, she occasionally laments that she has never traveled farther from her Colorado home than Disneyland, instead spending all her spare time plugging away at her computer. She takes breaks from writing by indulging in her favorite hobby—eating chocolate.
Contents
Chapter One (#u710a3a98-d085-57d4-b840-80aaf091c453)
Chapter Two (#u90f15778-22d5-5ba0-b523-2c0f5058e2d5)
Chapter Three (#u73fda047-ca3a-5594-9e6b-d82c8cdc9361)
Chapter Four (#uec740dc2-9947-55ca-a57f-236ad0436c80)
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 One
“What’s that saying? Life is what happens when you have other plans? I guess that applies to you, Carly.”
“No doubt about it,” Carly Winters agreed from the back seat of her best friend’s car where she sat sideways so her foot could be elevated.
But Deana’s comment from behind the wheel was a whole lot more lighthearted than Carly’s dejected confirmation. Deana had never been happy about Carly’s plans to travel so any interference was welcome to her.
“This hasn’t canceled my trip, though. It’s just postponed it a little,” Carly felt inclined to clarify so her friend didn’t think otherwise. “The doctors at the emergency room said I’d be as good as new in a few weeks. And then I’m off like a rocket.”
Deana didn’t say anything to that. She just turned up the radio and made it seem as if she were paying attention to her driving, as if she had confidence in more of life happening to thwart Carly’s plans.
Carly sighed away the feeling of frustration that those thwarted plans left her with—a feeling she was more familiar with than she wanted to be—and laid her head against the seat.
The sun was just rising on the June day she’d been certain would finally be her swan song to Elk Creek, the small Wyoming town where she’d been born, raised and lived almost all of her thirty-two years. Most of which she’d spent thinking—dreaming—about being somewhere else.
But she wasn’t headed away from Elk Creek. She was headed back to it after spending the night in a Cheyenne hospital emergency room, having her ankle X-rayed.
Luckily she hadn’t broken any bones. That could have cost her six weeks in a cast. As it was, her ankle was sprained, the tendons and ligaments were torn, but it was wrapped in an Ace bandage and she’d be able to get around on crutches. And even though it hurt like crazy, she was sure it would heal quicker than a broken ankle would have. Which meant all the sooner that she’d be able to go off on her grand adventure.
Better late than never.
She still couldn’t believe it had happened, though. At her going-away party, no less.
The whole thing had been a comedy of errors. There she was, saying goodbye to friends, neighbors and relatives, ready to go home to bed for the last time in Elk Creek, when her sister, Hope, had gone into sudden, hard labor. Their mother had gotten so flustered that in her hurry to reach Hope she’d caught her heel in the hem of her dress. Carly had seen her mother’s predicament, dived to catch her and fallen herself, twisting her own ankle to an unhealthy angle while her mother had barely stumbled.
The end result was that Hope had been taken to the medical facility where Tallie Shanahan—the town nurse and midwife—had delivered a healthy baby boy to go with Hope’s other three sons, and Deana had taken Carly to the hospital in Cheyenne. Not only had Tallie had her hands full, but she’d been afraid the ankle was broken, requiring the care of a physician—a commodity Elk Creek had been without for some time.
“Maybe this is a sign that you shouldn’t go,” Deana said from the front seat over the music, letting Carly know her friend was still thinking about her leaving even if Deana tried not to show it.
“It’s just a minor setback,” Carly countered.
And she meant it, too.
Because nothing—nothing—was going to keep her from doing what she’d wanted to do her whole life. Well, since she was seven anyway and her great-aunt Laddy had paid her family a visit and brought photographs of Laddy’s travels all over the world.
Carly had studied those pictures until they were burned into her brain, daydreaming over them, wishing she was seeing the sights in person. Somehow, from that day on, Elk Creek had seemed like small potatoes on the banquet table of the world. And she’d made it her goal to get out into that world and feast on it all herself.
Not that that goal had been easy to reach or it wouldn’t have taken her so long to get to it.
First, there had been getting her teaching degree in the nearest college where she and Deana could attend economically by staying with Deana’s aunt during the process. Once that was accomplished, Carly had returned to Elk Creek to work and save her traveling money. And then, of course, there had been her involvement with Jeremy and the wrench he’d thrown into the works the past few years.
But now all of that was behind her. She’d saved enough money to last a year or maybe more if she was careful. She’d taken a leave of absence from her job. And if she could ever actually manage to get out of Elk Creek, she was going to see everything she’d ever wanted to see and then pick her favorite city to live in. Maybe not forever, but for long enough to give herself a taste of life outside the confines of her small hometown.
She was going to be a cosmopolitan woman.
By hook or by crook.
Even if it killed her.
“It’s not as if I’m moving away permanently,” she said with a low concentration of conviction, but wanting to console Deana nonetheless. “I just want to see some things. Do some things. Meet some new people. Live outside the fishbowl for a while. Who knows? A little time away and I’ll probably get homesick and come back. That’s why I only leased my house and why I didn’t out-and-out quit my job.”
“You won’t be back if the grass is as green as you think it is on the other side of the fence.”
“Well, even if it is—and it probably isn’t—you know it won’t make any difference between you and me. We’ll still talk all the time, and we can write letters and E-mails and there’s nothing in Elk Creek to stop you from coming to wherever I am.”
“It won’t be the same as living next door the way we always have.”
Carly knew that was true. She also knew she was going to miss Deana and the way things had been since Deana’s family had moved into the house right beside her own when they were both four years old. They’d been together through everything from first kisses to burying their fathers within three months of each other.
Carly’s leaving would mean no more seeing each other every day, sharing every detail of their lives. No more late-night binges on ice cream when one or the other of them couldn’t sleep and they padded across the lawn in pajamas and bare feet. No more consoling each other at the end of a bad date. No more double dates—good or bad. No more filling each other’s lonely hours with company. No more shared bowls of popcorn over tear-jerker movies on videotape to occupy empty Saturday nights. No more impromptu shopping trips or makeover sessions. No more battening down the hatches together in snowstorms. No more working together. No more just being there for each other when either of them needed it for any reason.
But Carly didn’t want to think about the downside of leaving town. Instead, she did what she’d been doing to keep herself from dwelling on it since she’d finally decided to do this two months ago: she thought about San Francisco and New York. About seeing Vermont in autumn splendor. About the Alaskan wilderness. About Hawaiian beaches. About London and Paris and Rome and Brussels and Athens and Vienna and Madrid.
About how much she’d always wanted to see it all for herself…
“I still wish you’d come with me,” Carly said because that was true, too. She’d tried as long as she’d known Deana to infuse her friend with her own enthusiasm for seeing the world. Short of meeting the man of her dreams on the Orient Express in the middle of her travels, the only other thing that would make the trip perfect would be if Deana had the same wanderlust and they could do it together.
