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Skylar's Outlaw
Linda Warren
Skylar, the youngest Belle daughter, is known as the rebellious sister. But her days of sowing wild oats are over–now her life's about running the family ranch and keeping her four-year-old daughter safe. And Skylar doesn't feel very safe around Cooper Yates, High Five's foreman…and a former criminal.Cooper can't shake his reputation as an outlaw. Being framed for a crime he didn't commit is one thing. A stubborn boss lady making him feel he doesn't belong on the ranch–the only home he's known in years–is another.But when danger threatens her child, Cooper has a chance to show Skylar what really separates the good guys from the bad.
Cradling Kira in one arm, Skylar stood on tiptoe and reached up and circled his neck with her hand
Cooper tensed, but it didn’t stop her. She stroked his roughened skin and felt the texture of his thick hair curling into his collar.
At her touch, his eyes darkened and she pulled him toward her, meeting the firm line of his lips gently, softly. One touch and emotions exploded around them. He cupped her face and took over the kiss with a deep, yearning intensity. He tasted of sunshine and the outdoors. As he caressed her lips, a sensual heat built in her and mingled with the wildness in both of them. His callused hands held her face, but all she felt was his power—in her and all around her. A gentle power that was riveting. Evocative. Real.
The kiss went on and on, bonding them together in a new way—as a man and as a woman fully aware of the differences.
Dear Reader,
Welcome to the last book in THE BELLES OF TEXAS trilogy. This one is close to my heart, and I’ll tell you why. The heroine’s four-year-old daughter, Kira, has juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, a disease I’m familiar with. When I was planning this book, I knew Skylar’s child had something wrong with her, but I didn’t know what. One day I went for a checkup, and the nurse suggested I give her juvenile arthritis. I should probably tell you I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis when I was eighteen.
I hesitated. I deal with the disease daily and I didn’t want to give it to a little girl, even if she was fictional. The nurse said I was well acquainted with how rheumatoid arthritis affects a person so the story should be easy to write. It wasn’t. Every pain Kira Belle suffered, I felt, too. But I made sure she had loving people all around her, just like I have in my life. I was pleased with the way the story turned out, even though I cringed a lot while writing it.
Some scenes in the book were taken from my childhood and I admit I used artistic license with the well scene. Enjoy Skylar’s story. I promise it will keep you on the edge of your seat.
With love and thanks,
Linda Warren
Skylar’s Outlaw
Linda Warren
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Award-winning, bestselling author Linda Warren has written twenty-three books for the Harlequin Superromance and Harlequin American Romance lines. She grew up in the farming and ranching community of Smetana, Texas, the only girl in a family of boys. She loves to write about Texas, and from time to time scenes and characters from her childhood show up in her books. Linda lives in College Station, Texas, not far from her birthplace, with her husband, Billy, and a menagerie of wild animals, from Canada geese to bobcats. Visit her Web site at www.lindawarren.net.
I dedicate this book to the millions of people
who suffer with arthritis.
May they soon find a cure.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A special thanks to:
J.O. Siegert for answering my many questions about water wells and ranching.
Mark Fuller, DVM, for always coming to the rescue for all my animal problems.
Micki Gutierrez, RN, for offering a great suggestion.
And, Lara Chapman for kindly sharing information on Giddings, Texas.
All errors are strictly mine.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
EPILOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
SKYLAR BELLE HATED BEING ignored, especially by a man.
Especially by him.
The padded chair squeaked against the hardwood floor as she moved uneasily due to her infuriated thoughts. But she wasn’t going to put up with his blatant rudeness one more day.
“The ex-con has to go.” She said the words loudly and clearly, with an angry undertone, determined to snare her sister’s attention. What she got was silence.
Damn freakin’ silence.
Her oldest sister, Caitlyn, sat transfixed with her hand on her stomach, a goofy expression Sky had never seen before plastered on her face. The look seemed out of place on her responsible, bossy sister. Finding out you’re pregnant could do that to a woman, though. Skylar knew that.
Her other sister, Madison, held her four-month-old daughter on her shoulder, burping her and occasionally kissing the baby’s cheek. Maddie was enraptured and totally oblivious to everyone else in the room.
Neither sister had heard a word she’d said.
She might need a cannon or a bomb to break into their thoughts.
“She’s asleep,” Maddie whispered, gingerly getting to her feet. “I’ll put her down and then we can talk. I know you said something, Sky.”
“Yes, and I’d appreciate it if you two could focus.” They were in the study, having their monthly meeting to discuss the High Five ranch. Or trying to have the meeting, was more accurate.
As Maddie left, Cait rubbed her flat belly. “I can hardly believe a little person is growing in here.”
Sky leaned back, studying her sister with the black hair and Belle blue eyes. The ranch had always been Cait’s top priority, but now Sky couldn’t even get her attention to discuss it. “I never thought you’d be this sappy.”
Cait looked up, her eyes as bright as the May sun peeping through the study windows. “Judd and I are so happy.”
“And I’m happy for you, but could we please talk about High Five?”
“Of course, but we have to wait for Maddie. She’s busy with the baby.” Cait crossed her legs, that goofy expression still intact. “We thought Maddie would never have children, and now she has three. That’s so wonderful. No one deserves it more than our sister.”
“Yes.” Sky picked up a crystal paperweight and the scent of vanilla drifted to her from the candle sitting beside it—one of Maddie’s touches to the study.
Her sweet, loving sister had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer when she was twenty-eight, and was unable to have children. But then she’d met Walker, a man with three kids who needed a woman in his life. They fell deeply in love. Maddie deserved her happily-ever-after, but Sky knew that type of relationship wasn’t for her.
Cait was the responsible one, Maddie the sweet one and Sky was known as the wild one. Their three different mothers had all been married at one time to Dane Belle. Sky’s mother had married five times, so Sky never had a stable environment, except when she visited her father, grandmother and sisters on the High Five ranch in Texas. Now her dad was gone and the ranch he loved had been left to his daughters. Their goal was to keep it going.
Since Cait’s mother had died in childbirth, she’d been raised on the ranch. Sky had thought her sister would never leave the place of her birth. Then a neighboring rancher, Judd Calhoun, had wooed her away. Now the responsibility for High Five was on Sky’s shoulders, and she didn’t take that lightly. She had to make her sisters understand her point of view.
Clearing her throat, she said, “We’re all dealing with motherhood, but we still have to run this ranch.”
Cait lifted an eyebrow. “Is bitchy getting responsible?”
Sky groaned at the nickname, but she had to admit she could be a bitch if the occasion arose.
“I’ve always been responsible.” She tried to keep a straight face.
“Yeah…”
Maddie slipped back into the room. “Sorry that took so long, but Georgie had the baby’s blanket tied around his neck, preparing to jump off the back of the sofa as Spider-Man. Kira was right behind him.”
Sky was immediately on her feet. Her child was her life. “Is she—”
“She’s fine.” Maddie motioned for her to sit down. “I had a talk with Georgie, and he won’t do it again.”
“Your talks are not exactly stern. I’d better—”
“Georgie won’t disobey,” Maddie said on a firm note. “Gran and Etta are watching them. So what do you want to talk about?”
This was it. She had their attention.
“Oh, darn.” Maddie glanced sideways at her shoulder. “I have milk all over me.”
Sky felt like bumping her head against the desk in frustration. Instead, she opened a drawer and threw her a box of tissues. “You smell great, too.”
Maddie made a face and caught the box. “Sour milk is my perfume these days. Walker loves it, so we’re both happy.”
Losing patience, Sky clapped her hands. “Listen up. We need to talk about High Five.”
“I’ve been here thirty minutes and nothing’s been said.”
“Because you’re not listening,” Sky shouted at Cait. “You’re in la-la land.”
Both sisters stared at her, and she leaped right in with what she had to say. “After the destruction of the hurricane and the fire, High Five is finally making a turn for the better. I think that’s what Dad wanted for us—to realize the importance of our heritage and to work together to secure it. That’s why he put that ridiculous clause in his will that the ranch had to be sold to Judd if it wasn’t showing a profit in six months.”
“Dad knew I’d fight that like a hellcat and call y’all home to help, especially since I’d jilted Judd fourteen years before and considered him my archenemy.” Cait’s voice softened. “He also knew that if he pitted Judd and me against each other, we’d fall in love all over again.”
“He had a plan and it worked,” Maddie said, wiping at her blouse. “Even though he’d left the ranch in dire straits because of his gambling debts, he knew we’d pull together to save High Five. He wanted us to feel the same pride he had in home and family.”
Cait’s eyes grew wistful. “It’s ironic that Dad, who was the king of spoiling and pampering and who repeatedly told us we needed husbands to take care of us, took the biggest gamble of his life when he bet those same daughters would rescue High Five.”
There was silence for a moment as they each thought about their father. Sky knew they were getting sidetracked, and she had to bring the discussion back to her problem.
“As I said, the ranch is finally showing a profit and I want to keep it that way.” She gripped the paperweight. “I can’t do that with Cooper Yates as foreman. He has to go. I’ve put up with his insolent attitude long enough.”
Maddie’s head shot up. “I don’t understand why you can’t get along with Cooper.”
“Why do I have to? I own this ranch.”
“You’re a part owner,” Cait reminded her.
She gritted her teeth. “When Maddie got married, I agreed to take over running the place, but I can’t do that with someone who ignores me and my orders.”
Maddie and Cait shared a glance, and it irritated Sky when they did that. She was always the odd one out.
Cait got to her feet. “Bottom line, Sky, this ranch won’t survive without Cooper’s expertise. He puts in fourteen- to sixteen-hour days without any overtime pay. He’s dedicated to High Five, so I suggest you learn to get along, because Cooper stays.”
Sky rose to her feet, ready for battle. “You don’t get to make that decision alone.”
“I vote with Cait.” Maddie placed the tissues on the desk. “Cooper stays.”
Sky tucked her naturally curly red hair behind her ears. “I have a child and I thought you’d be more considerate of Kira. I don’t want her around an ex-con.”
