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Bachelor Remedy
Carol Ross
She’s the most unconventional woman he’ll ever meet……and the cure for a perennial bachelor?Raised by her healer grandfather, former army medic Ally Mowak knows her alternative approach to traditional medicine puts her at odds with most of her Alaskan town. That includes Tag James, the rugged transport pilot with the sprawling family and political ambitions. Ally couldn’t be more wrong for the aspiring senator. Then why does everything feel so right when they’re together?
She’s the most unconventional woman he’ll ever meet...
and the cure for a perennial bachelor?
Raised by her healer grandfather, former army medic Ally Mowak knows her alternative approach to traditional medicine puts her at odds with most of her Alaskan town. That includes Tag James, the rugged transport pilot with the sprawling family and political ambitions. Ally couldn’t be more wrong for the aspiring senator. Then why does everything feel so right when they’re together?
CAROL ROSS lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two dogs. She is a graduate of Washington State University. When not writing, or thinking about writing, she enjoys reading, running, hiking, skiing, traveling and making plans for the next adventure to subject her sometimes-reluctant but always fun-loving family to. Carol can be contacted at carolrossauthor.com (http://www.carolrossauthor.com).
Also By Carol Ross
Summer at the ShoreChristmas at the Cove
Seasons of Alaska
A Family Like Hannah’s
If Not for a Bee
A Case for Forgiveness
Mountains Apart
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Bachelor Remedy
Carol Ross
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ISBN: 978-1-474-08494-9
BACHELOR REMEDY
© 2018 Carol Ross
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)
“Tell me how you really feel,” she asked.
It took a moment for Ally’s words to compute. Bees were swarming through his thoughts. Slowly, Tag tuned out the buzzing and focused on her lazy-lidded eyes and swollen lips.
Ally. So, so beautiful.
Wayward strands of her silky black hair stirred in the breeze. She looked thoroughly...kissed. What had he done? A sick feeling rushed in, dousing the heat that had been muddling his brain only seconds before.
“Ally, we...” We what? Not we, I. What had he done here? What could he do? Apologize? She’d kissed him, yes, but he’d let her. He’d more than let her; he’d kissed her back without even an ounce of restraint and precious little self-control. And that wasn’t like him. He’d never lost his mind quite like this before...
And she made him feel things he’d never felt before.
Dear Reader (#u0016d090-2868-56bb-81ea-65b2bb0d4795),
First of all, thank you for reading my books and reaching out in emails, on social media and through your reviews to let me know how much you enjoy them. I also love when you contact me asking if and when a certain character might be getting his or her own happy-ever-after.
I never imagined when I began this writing journey in Rankins, Alaska, that Tag James’s story would become the most requested. But with each book, I fell a little more in love with him right along with so many of you. So I knew when it was time to tell Tag’s story that he was going to have to fall for someone really special. I also knew that he was going to have to be knocked off his feet. Because he’s awesome, of course. But also because he’s a thirty-eight-year-old bachelor who’s a bit set in his ways. Bachelorhood is beginning to feel like an affliction for him. I think Ally Mowak is the perfect remedy. I hope you do, too.
You can reach me by visiting my website, carolrossauthor.com (http://www.carolrossauthor.com). Or email me at carol@carolrossauthor.com. Or find me on Facebook, Facebook.com/carolrossauthor (http://www.Facebook.com/carolrossauthor), Twitter, @_carolross (https://twitter.com/_CarolRoss), and Instagram, carolross_ (https://www.instagram.com/carolross__/).
Carol
For Janet.
Thank you. Without you, no one would even know it was me who’d written this book.
Contents
Cover (#u920770ff-37b4-50d9-b95f-2711c9f36856)
Back Cover Text (#u65da9a58-dc49-5831-ba0d-841053a2a6c4)
About the Author (#u981ea51d-333c-5eb3-b8ab-4503bc8ba910)
Booklist (#u77354484-72fe-548d-9ff6-ede93c74da32)
Title Page (#u67ddac80-7096-5428-8cbf-ed3ad2dd96d3)
Copyright (#uf60787bb-2cd7-5cef-8852-4f405455e918)
Introduction (#u1dd2116e-03e0-58e2-9114-b1eff047a8f3)
Dear Reader (#u27936d2d-0f2b-583f-9f50-f59598ecbfa6)
Dedication (#ufb88e489-578b-5753-a75c-7f4227ff02e7)
CHAPTER ONE (#ub80be3d7-69dc-5b25-bf45-ce08b19cd3fc)
CHAPTER TWO (#u6e41500d-e731-5aec-9853-adc054006ae8)
CHAPTER THREE (#ufcf841dc-1068-5cdb-ad6d-1b5df919bdaf)
CHAPTER FOUR (#uc84d6b36-ba8d-57cc-ab43-40fc9735f671)
CHAPTER FIVE (#ud47bc721-6e87-597d-bafe-8aee7034f4eb)
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)
CHAPTER TWENTY (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ONE (#u0016d090-2868-56bb-81ea-65b2bb0d4795)
“HOW DOES IT feel to be dirt free?”
“Honestly?” Tag James gave his cousin Bering a sober look and whooshed out a breath. “I totally lucked out. Can’t believe that private investigator didn’t find out about the insider trading or the body buried in my backyard. What an amateur.”
Bering laughed. “I know. The background check seems a little over the top to me, too, but you know Jack.”
“Jack” was United States Senator Marsh, longtime client and friend of Bering’s, who was helping them prepare for Tag’s future political run.
“Yes, I do. ‘Find the dirt and clean it up before your opponent finds it first and smears it all over you.’ I believe that’s the quote?”
“That’s it,” Bering agreed. “Senator James...” the snap of the metal tape measure retracting in his hand was like a loud punctuation mark “...has such a nice ring to it.” Wielding a pencil in his other hand, he drew a tiny line on the freshly painted lavender-colored wall in his daughter’s bedroom.
“It certainly does,” Tag agreed. Despite his outward nonchalance, the topic always caused a twinge of nerves. Plenty of time, he reminded himself, before he needed to start worrying about it. Lots of time to prepare.
Wordlessly, they each took an end of a bookcase and adjusted it to line up with the pencil marks and the units they’d already installed. Tag wound the screws through the brackets, securing the shelving against the wall. Neither earthquake nor climbing toddler would bring it down now. “Violet proofing,” Bering’s wife, Emily, called it, although with baby Brady walking now, Tag figured she would soon have to broaden the term.
He stepped back and eyed his cousin. “And you’re sure you don’t want that senator title for yourself?”
“Ha. Positive. We’ve had this conversation, my friend, and you and I both know I’d be no good as a politician.”
Tag couldn’t dispute that fact. His cousin and best friend wasn’t exactly the most diplomatic person in the world. Besides, it was Tag’s turn. Bering had saved the town of Rankins once from a proposed massive oil-development project. He’d formed and led the coalition against Cam-Field Oil & Mineral, and with the backing of Senator Marsh, they’d prevailed.
Bering had scored the bonus of a lifetime by meeting his now-wife, Emily, during the antidevelopment campaign. As relieved as they’d all been at the project’s outcome, the experience had shown just how vulnerable Rankins was. Tag, Bering, their family and friends, virtually the entire area relied on the pristine natural beauty of the Opal River Valley in some respect for their livelihoods. His winning a seat in the state senate would provide long-term security for them all. And they’d agreed, Tag was more suited to political life.
“Anyway,” Bering said, bracing his big hands on a shelf to test its sturdiness. “Jack says you’re on the right track, doing everything you need to be doing. Just stay the course, keep your nose clean and we’ll be ready.”
“Got it. Stay out of the dirt.”
“Although he did mention one small thing.”
“What’s that?”
Bering let out a chuckle and began stacking kids’ books on the bottom shelf. “He said it could be helpful if Rankins’s most eligible bachelor was to find a wife and maybe start a family.”
Tag felt a familiar invisible hand reach inside his rib cage and give his heart a painful squeeze. This chest pinch had been happening more and more lately when the subject of parenthood came up, which was all too frequently now that Shay and Hannah, two of his four sisters, were married, as were his two closest cousins, Bering and his sister Janie. There were eight cousins in his generation on the James side of the family, and at thirty-eight, he was the oldest of them all.
The family bachelor. Everybody’s cool and fun uncle, cousin, brother, friend. The childless bachelor. The one everyone could count on. And, somehow, somewhere along the way, he’d earned the moniker of the town’s most eligible bachelor. Lately this unintentional status had begun to bother him. Tag loved kids. He’d always wanted a family, had just assumed it would happen one day. He’d meet someone and settle down and have kids. That’s the way it was done.
He’d met plenty of someones, all right. Problem was, either they weren’t quite right, or he wasn’t, or logistics like work schedules and geography made a relationship too difficult. Or a combination of these resulted in the woman cheating on him. Okay, maybe that one was just Kendall, his last girlfriend.
“I’ll get right on that,” he replied drily.
Bering shot him a hopeful glance. “If you mean it, Jack has someone he’d like to fix you up with.”
“No, thanks. No way.”
“Why not?”
“Seriously? You have no recollection of life pre-Emily, do you? Dating is bad enough. Blind dating is...brutal. I try not to be offended by the matches you people think will work out for me. Being single should not be the only criterion involved. A couple of weeks ago, Shay set me up with this uptight mortgage broker from Glacier City who hates sports and is afraid to fly.”
Bering grimaced. “I see your point. But until you start blind dating in the women’s professional basketball league you aren’t going to find a woman who can beat you at basketball. You do know that, right? You might need to cross that off your list.”
