by Sharon Sala
She sighed. In a few minutes she’d know whether she would spend her wedding night alone or not.
They walked onto the porch.
“Chance,” she said, “I should probably warn you…”
He saw worry clouding her eyes. What had she been up to now?
The door swung open, and Henry beamed, waving them inside as he called aloud to everyone assembled, “They’re here!”
His family was the first group Jenny saw. She held her breath, turned a warning look toward Chance. and waited.
Chance felt the porch tilt. His grip tightened on Jenny’s hand. He felt her return the gesture with a sharp tug of her own. He looked down.
“Jenny…what have you done?” His voice was stiff with disbelief.
Logan Henry was here!
“I know you don’t like him,” Jenny whispered. “I’m not asking you to. I don’t care if you never resolve your differences. But you’re going to have to learn to get along. I won’t have the grandfather of our children be nothing but a faceless name for them…do you hear me?” Her vehemence was mixed with panic.
It was the word “children” that did it. He saw the small, dark-haired girl-child with scruffy boots, dirty jeans, and a torn shirt who’d wrapped herself around his heart and never let go.
“I hear you, Jennifer Ann,” he said softly. “And you’d better hear me. You’ll pay for this. Later tonight…you’re going to pay dearly.”
She turned and smiled. “I certainly hope so.”
He caught his breath at the promise in her eyes and then swept her into his arms.
“Come on, darlin’.” He laughed. “Let’s cut that cake, greet the guests, and leave the rest of the partying to the family. I’ve got a lifetime of loving for you.”
She leaned back in his arms, blessed him with a smile that nearly made him miss a step, and whispered in his ear, “I can hardly wait.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Special thanks to the wonderful people of Odessa, Texas, who opened their hearts to a stranger asking questons.
And to the Odessa Chamber of Commerce who treated me like a member of their family: to Linda Sweatt, Stacey Burkhart, Chrissy Roehrman, Pat Owlfley, Molly Reid, and Frances Durham.
To Glen Atkins, Lynn Riggs, Joe Johnson, and John Middleton, of The Chuck Wagon Gang for sharing the organization’s fascinating history. Keep up the great work!
To Pearl Collins of Henderson’s Drug.
To Bonnie Ruth Brannigan at The White-Pool House for helping me remember my own roots…and for laughing with me.
To the people at the Barn Door for their hospitality.
To the waitress at The New Brewery, thanks for sharing the hospitality of your city.
And a special thanks to my aunt, Grace Ryan, a long-time resident of Odessa, who shared her home with me while I searched her city for its flavor.
About the Author
With forty-five books in print, award-winning author SHARON SALA, who also writes as Dinah McCall, still has to remind herself from time to time that this isn’t a dream.
She learned to read at the age of four and has had her nose in a book ever since. Her introduction into romance came at an early age through the stories of Zane Gray, Grace Livingston Hill and Emily Loring. Her pride in contributing to the genre is echoed by the letters of her fans.
She’s a four-time RITA finalist, Winner of the Janet Dailey Award, three-time Career Achievement winner from Romantic Times magazine, four-time winner of the National Reader’s Choice Award and five-time winner of the Colorado Romance Writer’s Award of Excellence, as well as numerous other industry awards.
Her books are regularly on bestseller lists, such as the New York Times extended list, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, Waldenbooks mass market, and many others.
She claims that, for her, learning to read was a matter of evolution, but learning to write and then being published was a revolution. It changed her life, her world and her fate.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.
By Sharon Sala
CHANCE MCCALL
CHASE THE MOON
DEEP IN THE HEART
DIAMOND
DREAMCATCHER
FINDERS KEEPERS
JACKSON RULE
LEGEND
LUCKY
QUEEN
SECOND CHANCES
TALLCHIEF
TOUCHSTONE
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
CHANCE McCALL. Copyright © 1993 by Sharon Sala. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, 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 HarperCollins e-books.
ePub edition March 2007 ISBN 9780061740374
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