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Texas Rebels: Falcon
Linda Warren
A Secret Shared… Falcon Rebel has been a single dad ever since his ex walked out seventeen years ago. Now Leah’s back to see their daughter, Eden – just once, she says. She’s made another life and wants them all to move on. But Falcon’s suspicious. Why won’t Leah keep the door open between them, if only for Eden’s sake?Leah won’t burden her family with the truth. But coming home has reignited the incredible bond she and Falcon once shared. And soon Leah is facing an impossible choice: share her devastating secret, or walk away… and leave her heart behind.
Cast of Characters
Kate Rebel: Matriarch of the Rebel family.
Falcon: The oldest son—the strong one. Abandoned by his wife, Leah, following the birth of their daughter, Eden.
Egan: The loner. Married to Rachel Hollister, daughter of the man who put him in jail.
Quincy: The peacemaker. In love with Jenny Walker, his brother’s girlfriend.
Elias: The fighter. Falls in love with the daughter of their archenemy.
Paxton: The lover. Never met a woman he couldn’t have, but the woman he wants doesn’t want him.
Jude: The serious, responsible one. Raising his small son alone.
Phoenix: The wild one and the youngest. He’s independent and free until Child Protective Services says he’s the father of a small boy.
Abraham (Abe) Rebel: Paternal grandfather.
Jericho Johnson: Egan’s friend from prison.
Texas Rebels: Falcon
Linda Warren
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
Two-time RITA® Award-nominated and award-winning author LINDA WARREN loves her job, writing happily-ever-after books for Mills & Boon. Drawing upon her years of growing up on a farm/ranch in Texas, she writes about sexy heroes, feisty heroines and broken families with an emotional punch, all set against the backdrop of Texas. Her favorite pastime is sitting on her patio with her husband watching the wildlife, especially the injured ones that are coming in pairs these days: two Canada geese with broken wings, two does with broken legs and a bobcat ready to pounce on anything tasty. Learn more about Linda and her books at her website, www.lindawarren.net (http://www.lindawarren.net), or on Facebook, LindaWarrenAuthor, or follow @Texauthor (https://twitter.com/texauthor) on Twitter.
Acknowledgements (#ulink_e0712a83-76bf-5dfe-8acb-b4864a2f0629)
The internet is an invaluable source and I used it extensively to research brain tumors. Some of the personal stories tugged at my heart. A big thanks to the women who were willing to share their ordeal.
A special thanks to Phyllis Phucas, RN, for graciously sharing her knowledge and answering my many questions about preemies.
All errors are strictly mine.
Dedication (#ulink_06d14e82-85cc-5af6-af56-90ca0b02baad)
I dedicate this book to Elaine Weldon, a faithful reader. She loved my books and would tell anyone who would listen about them. I will miss her shining face at book signings. Soar with the angels, Elaine.
Contents
Cover (#u64c8e2ce-acbb-5bd0-bbfa-3327a03946d5)
Introduction (#u657eae3b-c1e6-59a0-85e4-7133ea215ae1)
Title Page (#u35be18ef-3270-5c6e-a5e4-44029b8d495d)
About the Author (#ud1c29196-43af-57ec-aee6-2d9fb5911a90)
Acknowledgments (#uf672f812-d9ee-5503-9ec0-043ac8dd97b1)
Dedication (#ud091efc9-f6d0-57ac-9610-da0461f43806)
Prologue (#u7d5be725-0b3b-5b13-a72d-95557e3d64f2)
Chapter One (#uf235f24a-97ab-5f79-be55-984975ee8916)
Chapter Two (#u0304ab28-77c5-5cd8-a7d6-91c93dcafa3d)
Chapter Three (#uac5ba52f-a3e5-5069-8781-932ebb5cb9fe)
Chapter Four (#uaf6ea9b7-3625-521f-9829-8e02d1c721a4)
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)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
Prologue (#ulink_15ba96c1-5196-597a-84ab-ee128b3121a0)
My name is Kate Rebel. I married John Rebel when I was eighteen years old and then bore him seven sons. We worked the family ranch, which John later inherited. We put everything we had into buying more land so our sons would have a legacy. We didn’t have much, but we had love.
The McCray Ranch borders Rebel Ranch on the east and the McCrays have forever been a thorn in my family’s side. They’ve cut our fences, dammed up creeks to limit our water supply and shot one of our prize bulls. Ezra McCray threatened to shoot our sons if he caught them jumping his fences again. We tried to keep our boys away, but they are boys—young and wild.
One day Jude and Phoenix, two of our youngest, were out riding together. When John heard shots, he immediately went to find his boys. They lay on the ground, blood oozing from their heads. Ezra McCray was astride a horse twenty yards away with a rifle in his hand. John drew his gun and fired, killing Ezra instantly. Both boys survived with only minor wounds. Since my husband was protecting his children, he didn’t spend even one night in jail. This escalated the feud that still goes on today.
The man I knew as my husband died that day. He couldn’t live with what he’d done, and started to drink heavily. I had to take over the ranch and the raising of our boys. John died ten years later. We’ve all been affected by the tragedy, especially my sons.
They are grown men now and deal in different ways with the pain of losing their father. One day I pray my boys will be able to put this behind them and live healthy, normal lives with women who will love them the way I loved their father.
Chapter One (#ulink_7c5b5bfb-f02d-55d8-b60f-61205ccccd25)
Falcon: the oldest son—the strong one.
A time to forget...
Eighteen years was long enough to wait for his wife to come home. Today Falcon Rebel would stop waiting.
Every time the phone rang he tensed. Every time the news came on and someone’s body had been found he could barely breathe until he heard the person’s identity. Every time his daughter mentioned her name he searched his mind for reasons why Leah would leave him and their three-month-old baby.
What could possibly justify her actions? It had been a long labor and a difficult birth, and Leah was different afterward. He’d tried talking to her, but nothing worked. She had wanted to be left alone, and then one day he came home to find a note on the bed. It was simple: “I need time. Leah.” No love. Nothing. Just like that, she was gone from their lives.
Standing on his balcony looking out over Rebel Ranch, his eyes strayed to the tall oaks in the distance shading Yaupon Creek. They’d made love there for the first time. She was a virgin and scared, and he had wanted to make it special for her. It had been, but they were just teenagers playing adults. Getting pregnant in high school wasn’t in their plans. They’d gotten married, though, because it was the right thing to do. Leah moved into his room on the ranch and he was sure they could make it. They loved each other.
He sighed and ran his hands through his hair. Love didn’t last long when the responsibilities of life took over, and living with family didn’t help. They had no time alone except in his room. The harsh realities of life had hit them hard, but still he was sure they could make their marriage work until he saw the note. Everything ended that day and he grew up faster than he had ever imagined he would.
Raising their daughter without a mother had been the biggest challenge of his life, and then his dad had died and his world had come crashing down around him. By then he wasn’t sure of anything. All he knew was he had to survive for his daughter. And he had to be strong for his mother and his brothers. The responsibility of the ranch weighed heavily upon his shoulders. He’d donned the mantle of head of the family and had never looked back.
With his eyes fixed on the tall oaks, he had to admit forgetting Leah wasn’t ever going to happen. Not until he knew if she was dead or alive.
“Dad!” his daughter, Eden, shouted.
“I’m here.” He stepped back into his room and closed the French doors. His beautiful seventeen-year-old, dark-haired, green-eyed daughter stood in his room with her hand over her eyes.
“Are you decent?”
“Yeah.”
Eden had a habit of running in and out of his room whenever she wanted. About two months ago she caught him shaving in his underwear and it had embarrassed her. He was happy to know she had some boundaries. Leah had been a shy, timid girl, but their daughter was just the opposite.
Feisty and outgoing, Eden never met a stranger. And she had a temper that could peel the paint off the walls. Her teenage years had given him more gray hair than he had really wanted, but she was the light of his life and he couldn’t imagine a day without her. Soon she would go off to college and he would have to let go. He was still grappling with that.
“Grandma wants to know why you’re not down for breakfast. You’re always the first one to get a cup of coffee. Are you feeling okay?” She laughed that funny little laugh of hers. “What am I asking? You’re healthy as a horse.” Then her eyes narrowed as if something could be wrong and she had missed it. “Aren’t you?”
He put an arm around her waist. “You bet, baby girl. Let’s go.”
They walked down the stairs arm in arm. At the bottom Eden said, “Dad.”
“No.”
She stomped her foot and they came to a stop. “Why do you always do that? You don’t give me a chance to say what I want to say.”
He kissed the tip of her nose. “I know that tone. You want something that I’m not going to like and you make your voice all sweet and sugary.”
“Can you read my mind, too?”
“Yes,” he replied and walked into the kitchen. “Morning, Mom.”
“Morning.” Kate Rebel handed him a cup of coffee. Dressed in old jeans, boots and a long-sleeved Western shirt, she was ready for a day on the ranch.
“Mom, I can get my own coffee.”
“Who said you couldn’t? There’s scrambled eggs, bacon and biscuits on the stove. We have a full day ahead of us.”
His mom worked as hard as anyone on the ranch. Just once he would like for her to take it easy, but he knew that was out of the question. The ranch and her sons were her life.
He filled his plate and sat at the table. Eden sat across from him, munching on a biscuit.
“Dad, I want to talk to you.”
He took a sip of coffee. “Okay, what is it?”
Eden scooted forward in her chair, her eyes eager. At times when he looked at her, he saw Leah. His daughter definitely favored her mother, but her personality was more like his and that’s what worried him.
“I’ve been thinking. And don’t get all frowny face until I finish.”
“I don’t get frowny face.”
Eden rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I know you want me to go to Baylor. We visited the university and all, but I’d rather help Uncle Quincy with the paint horses. I love working with them, and why can’t I work on the ranch like everyone else? Why do I have to leave?”
Because I want you to have the best of everything.
Instead of saying that, he took a moment and tried to see this from her point of view. But he hit a brick wall.
“You keep telling me how you’ll be eighteen soon and an adult, free to do what you want, go out with your friends and basically have the freedom that you keep saying I deny you. Well, if you stay here on the ranch, guess who’s going to be watching over you and dictating what you do and where you go?”
“Ah, Dad.”
“You’re going to college, Eden. That’s my bottom line.”
She scooted even closer, her green eyes gleaming. “But listen to what I want to do. Uncle Quincy has this amazing paint. Her name is Dancing Cloud but we call her Dancer. She’s fast, Dad. Really fast. Uncle Quincy put some barrels up and I’ve been barrel racing her. Uncle Quincy says I’m good and that’s what I want to do. I want to stay on the ranch and rodeo like Uncle Paxton and Uncle Phoenix.”
Falcon took a deep breath to keep words from spewing out. He counted to ten before he spoke. “You want to rodeo?”
“Yeah, Dad. I can do it. I’m really good.”
