Twins for the Rancher

by Trish Milburn

  MIXING BUSINESS WITH PLEASURE

  Rancher Adam Hartley knows that big rewards mean big risks. His plan to expand the family business in Blue Falls, Texas, is a good one. Unfortunately, someone else beat him to it—and bought the old abandoned restaurant he’d been eyeing. Yep, a beautiful newcomer just stole his dream...and his heart, too.

  Except single mom Lauren Shayne knows that love is dangerous. Love almost destroyed her business and her reputation, and she won’t ever make that mistake again. So why is she so attracted to Adam? The drop-dead-sexy cowboy seems determined to win over Lauren and her adorable twin babies...but how can she be with him if she’s not sure she can trust him?

  “How about some help? What do you need?”

  “Adam, you’ve already helped me more than anybody in town.”

  Lauren hadn’t consciously realized just how much until she said it out loud. “I’m sure you have your own work to do.”

  “Not so much that I can’t spare a few hours.”

  “I wouldn’t feel right—”

  He held up a hand. “You’re not going to win this argument, so you might as well put me to work.”

  She lifted an eyebrow. “And here everyone has been telling me you’re a nice guy, but you’ve got a bossy streak.”

  He smiled, and she tried to pretend she hadn’t felt a flutter in her middle.

  Lauren gave up.

  And if she admitted the truth, she liked having him around. With each interaction, she was beginning to believe more and more that everyone who said he was a genuinely nice guy was telling the truth.

  As long as she didn’t allow herself to admire him too much...

  Dear Reader,

  One of the many cool things about being a writer is that I get to live vicariously through my characters. I can experience the time-honored task of rounding up cattle on a ranch, the thrill of riding in a rodeo under the arena lights or, in the case of Lauren Shayne, the heroine of Twins for the Rancher, being an awesome cook and TV personality. (FYI, in real life I’m not either of those things.)

  My hope is that when you read about the residents of Blue Falls, you not only feel as if you’re experiencing their lives, but also find yourself rooting for them to find their happily-ever-after.

  Thanks for all your support of and love for Blue Falls, Texas.

  Trish Milburn

  TWINS FOR THE RANCHER

  Trish Milburn

  Trish Milburn writes contemporary romance for the Harlequin Western Romance line. She’s a two-time Golden Heart® Award winner, a fan of walks in the woods and road trips, and a big geek girl, including being a dedicated Whovian and Browncoat. And from her earliest memories, she’s been a fan of Westerns, be they historical or contemporary. There’s nothing quite like a cowboy hero.

  Books by Trish Milburn

  Harlequin Western Romance

  Blue Falls, Texas

  Her Perfect Cowboy

  Having the Cowboy’s Baby

  Marrying the Cowboy

  The Doctor’s Cowboy

  Her Cowboy Groom

  The Heart of a Cowboy

  Home on the Ranch

  A Rancher to Love

  The Cowboy Takes a Wife

  In the Rancher’s Arms

  The Rancher’s Surprise Baby

  Her Texas Rodeo Cowboy

  Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.

  Join Harlequin My Rewards today and earn a FREE ebook!

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  Thanks to Beth Pattillo for helping me brainstorm Lauren’s character and for being a friend from back when I was taking my first fledgling steps into the world of romance writing.

  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

  Excerpt from The Right Cowboy by Rebecca Winters

  Chapter One

  The floorboards creaked as Lauren Shayne took her first steps into the building that she’d become the owner of only minutes before. Her hands shook from the enormity of what she’d done. The mortgage on what had been a German restaurant called Otto’s years ago wasn’t small, but neither was her dream for the place.

  A dream that she would have never guessed would take her so far from home.

  Despite her initial “this is perfect” reaction to seeing the inside, the fact it was four hours from her home in North Texas gave her significant pause. Taking the leap had required a week of denial, then pondering and number-crunching after every adult member of her family had told her to go for it. She’d finally reasoned she could get the place opened and leave the day-to-day running to a manager who lived in Blue Falls or nearby. If it did well enough for her to expand in the future, then maybe she could finally find a space closer to home.

  But she couldn’t let her imagination run wild. Not when there was still a lot of work and a ton of luck standing between her and making even one restaurant a success. Loyal watchers of The Brazos Baker cooking show, or fans of her cookbooks and magazine alone, weren’t going to be enough to keep the place afloat. And she needed to get the bulk of the work done before her TV show resumed production after the current hiatus—that would require her to be back in her kitchen on a regular basis.

  She attempted a deep breath, but it was a bit shaky. She hoped she hadn’t just gambled her daughters’ future security away with a bad business decision.

  As her steps echoed in the rafters, where forgotten cloth banners decorated with German coats of arms hung, Lauren saw beyond the dust and detritus to a restaurant filled with people enjoying her grandfather’s prize-winning barbecue, and baked goods made with her recipes, while they took in an unbeatable view of Blue Falls Lake.

  She smiled as she imagined the look on Papa Ed’s face when she finally revealed the finished product to match the images that had been in her head for a couple of years. At times, those images and the support of her family had been the only things that got her through one of the toughest periods of her life.

  “Now, that looks like the smile of a woman about to do great things.”

  Lauren startled at the sound of a guy’s voice and grabbed the back of a dust-covered chair at the sight of a tall man standing between her and the front door. He held up his hands, palms out.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  “Can I help you?” Miraculously, her voice didn’t reveal the runaway beating of her heart.

  “Actually, I’m hoping I can help you.” He didn’t advance any closer, giving Lauren a few moments to take in his appearance, looking for clues to his meaning. Dressed in dark slacks, pressed white shirt and pale blue tie, he didn’t come across as a laborer looking for a job. She guessed he stood a bit over six feet, had sandy brown hair and was attractive in that clean-cut “businessman who used to be the high-school quarterback” sort of way.

  “Tim Wainwright with Carrington Beef. We provide top-quality beef products to restaurants all over Texas. And it’s an educated guess that a barbecue restaurant is going to need a lot of ribs and brisket.”

  Lauren tilted her he
ad slightly. “How could you possibly know I’d be here or that I planned to open a restaurant? I literally signed the papers fifteen minutes ago.”

  Tim smiled. “I’m just that good.”

  Lauren made a sound of disbelief. This guy was full of himself.

  Tim motioned, as if waving off his previous words. “It’s my job to know when potential new customers come on the scene. I heard from a friend on the local city council about your plans and that you were closing on the property this morning. Took a chance we’d cross paths.”

  “You must really need the business if you’re here now.” She indicated their surroundings, covered with enough dust they could probably make dust castles. “As you can see, I’m a long way from opening my doors for business.”

  “It’s never too early to make a good decision.”

  She lifted an eyebrow. Did he brainstorm these business pickup lines? Her thoughts must have shown on her face because the teasing look on his disappeared. He reached into his pocket and retrieved a business card, which he extended as he walked closer.

  “I’d like to sit down with you when it’s convenient and discuss what we can offer you. Dinner tonight, perhaps?”

  There was something in the way he looked at her that made her wonder if his invitation was just about business. Or did he use his good looks to his professional advantage? That thought did not sit well with her. And with good reason.

  “I’m afraid I won’t have time tonight.” Or any night, she thought as she accepted his card. “But when I’m ready to make those kinds of decisions, I’ll know how to reach you.”

  She thought for a moment he might press for the “hard sell” approach, but thankfully he just nodded.

  “The dinner invitation is a standing one. I’m through this area quite often.”

  She simply nodded and offered a polite smile. No need to reveal that when she wasn’t working on Brazos Baker–related business, she was doing her best to not suck at being a mom. She’d save that tidbit in reserve in case he attempted to get personal. Nothing like the responsibility of twins in diapers to scare off unwanted advances.

  Evidently getting the message that he wasn’t going to make any more progress today—professionally or otherwise—Tim gave a nod of his own and headed for the exit. Halfway there, he turned and took a few steps backward as he scanned what would become the dining room.

  “Can’t wait to see what you do with the place.”

  After he left, she was hit with just how much work she faced before decisions such as which food vendors to use made any sense. And none of that work was going to move to the “completed” column if she didn’t get to it. She rolled up her sleeves and took another step toward her dream.

  * * *

  IT WAS TIME for Adam Hartley to stop stewing over the potential customer he’d lost and forge ahead. His family had been understanding of the time and funds he’d put in to the branded-beef operation so far, but each day he wondered when that understanding would disappear. Everything his siblings did in addition to their regular ranch duties added to the Rocking Horse Ranch’s bottom line. Sure, Sloane’s camps for underprivileged kids cost money, but those funds were now coming from the product endorsements her new husband, Jason, had signed after winning the national title in steer wrestling the previous winter.

  Adam kept reminding himself that big rewards required big risks. He just hoped his risks ended in the types of rewards he envisioned.

  At the sound of the front door opening, followed by fast-approaching footsteps, he looked up from the list of possible customers throughout the Hill Country and into Austin.

  “I have great news,” Angel said as she darn near slid into the dining room like Tom Cruise in Risky Business.

  “You sold some photos?” His sister was slowly gaining recognition for her beautiful photos of ranch and rodeo life.

  “No, great news for you.”

  He leaned back in his chair. “I could use some of that.”

  “I just heard from Justine Ware that the Brazos Baker is opening a restaurant here in town.”

  “Who?”

  “The Brazos Baker, Lauren Shayne.” At what must be a confused look on his face, she continued, “She has a cooking show on TV. Mom watches it all the time. She has a magazine, too. Some cookbooks. And now she’s planning to open a barbecue restaurant in what used to be Otto’s.”

  No, anywhere but there.

  Part of him was excited to have such a high-profile prospective customer, but he’d had his eye on that building for a while. His imagination had seen it as a mercantile filled with Rocking Horse Ranch–branded products—prime steaks from their herd, Ben’s hand-tooled saddles and leatherwork, Angel’s photographs, his mom’s chocolate cake. He’d seen it all so clearly—except for the money to make it possible. The branded-beef operation was supposed to fund those big ideas, but he needed time for it to grow. Time he evidently no longer had.

  He had to stop investing so much time and energy in the cart before he could even afford the horse. But maybe, despite the disappointment, this opportunity would help him take a leap forward toward the eventual goal. A goal that would now have to reside somewhere else, though at the moment he couldn’t imagine where.

  Still, the prospect of supplying not only a restaurant of that size, but also one operated by someone famous felt like Christmas presents for the next decade dropped into his lap.

  Angel motioned for him to stand. “You need to go shower and put on clean clothes.”

  “Um, why?”

  “Because when I came through town just now, I saw vehicles at the restaurant. She’s probably there right now, just waiting to hear all about awesome locally grown beef.”

  A shot of adrenaline raced through him. When he started to gather the papers strewn across the table, Angel waved him away.

  “I’ll take care of this. Go on.” As he headed toward the bathroom, Angel called out, “Oh, and tell her Mom loves her show. Maybe that will win you brownie points.”

  Adam raced through his shower and getting dressed. Before hurtling out the door, however, he decided he should learn a little bit more about this famous cook before showing up to meet her unprepared. He couldn’t blow his only shot to make a positive first impression. He opened his laptop, which Angel had deposited in his room, and did a search for the Brazos Baker.

  A quick web search brought up her page. He wasn’t prepared for the beautiful, smiling face that greeted him. With that long, straight blond hair and those pretty blue eyes, she looked one part model and one part girl-next-door. He wasn’t a viewer of cooking shows, but he had to admit the deep-dish apple pie in her hands made his mouth water.

  He forced himself to navigate away from her photo and read about how she got her start—learning from her grandmother, entering 4-H baking competitions, publishing her first cookbook when she was only twenty. Lauren Shayne appeared to be a lot more than just a pretty face.

  Nowhere on her site was there any mention of plans for a restaurant, but perhaps that was under wraps. Well, it would be until the Blue Falls gossips got hold of the news, which they probably had ten seconds before she’d even rolled into town. The fact his sister had already found out and blown in like a storm to tell him was proof enough of that.

  Not wanting to delay contacting her any longer, he shut down his computer and headed out the door. As he drove toward town, he couldn’t keep his imagination from wondering what it would mean to have his family’s beef used by a celebrity. Would she mention it on her national television program? The possibilities began to supplant some of the disappointment over her choice of building.

  His mind skipped ahead to Rocking Horse Ranch beef appearing on the menus of fancy hotels and the catered events of the increasing number of actors and musicians calling the Austin area home. A flash of brown on the side of the road intruded on his daydream a moment befo
re a deer jumped in front of his truck.

  He hit the brakes and tensed less than a breath before the unavoidable thunk and jolt as he hit the deer dead-center. His heart was still racing when the hiss of steam rose from his radiator. There were times when Adam thought his family’s motto should be One Step Forward, Two Steps Back. Why did that deer decide today was the day he couldn’t handle the pressures of life anymore and taken a flying leap in front of a pickup truck? A truck Adam had bought used and finally managed to pay off exactly one week ago, just in time for its tenth birthday. And as a bonus, it appeared his air bags were not operational.

  After turning on his hazard flashers, he stepped out onto the pavement to verify the deer that had gotten knocked into the ditch was indeed dead. One look was all the confirmation he needed. Same with the front grille of his truck. With a sigh, he pulled out his phone and dialed Greg Bozeman and his always-busy tow truck.

  Half an hour later, instead of introducing himself to Lauren Shayne and singing the praises of his family’s locally raised beef, he was at Greg’s garage, waiting for the man to tell him how much the tow and repairs were going to cost him.

  He considered buying a bag of chips from the wire rack to calm his growling stomach, but he figured that was a buck he should save.

  Greg stepped through the doorway between the repair bays and the small office of the garage, which had been in his family for as long as Adam could remember.

  “I think your family could keep me in business just replacing radiators and front grilles.”

  Adam knew Greg was referring to when Adam’s brother Ben had accidentally run into Mandy Richardson’s car the previous year thanks to a pigeon flying through his truck’s window and hitting him in the side of the head. He’d had to repair Mandy’s car, but it hadn’t turned out so badly in the end. Ben and Mandy were now happily married with an adorable little girl. Adam was pretty sure his encounter wasn’t going to turn out with that sort of happily-ever-after ending. The best he could hope for was the lowest possible repair bill Greg could manage.