by Diana Palmer
Dear Reader:
It was a joy to be able to get some of the “backstory” on Maud and Steve Whitcomb. Kensington gave me a chance to do this and I leaped at it! And better? To do it with my sister writers, Diana Palmer and Kate Pearce.
Maud Whitcomb comes from a very rich family from the Hamptons of New York. She had everything a little girl could have growing up. Every opportunity because her parents had the money to get her into the best schools and excel. Beneath Maud’s exterior lurked a child who daydreamed of a day when she could live out in the wild, wonderful West. She yearned for wide-open spaces, the sky so large over her that it went on forever. She never liked the heavily populated New York City, with its type A energy that never slept and wore on her sensitive nerves.
Little did she know that she’d run into a REAL cowboy at college in New Jersey, where she was spending the next years of her life going after her degree and then an MBA. And she met the handsome wrangler who wore a black Stetson hat at a charity food kitchen nearby! The day they met, she started to fall in love with Steve Whitcomb, a confident eighteen-year-old who grew up in Wind River, Wyoming, and learned the family ranching trade.
The rest is magic! City girl meets country cowboy! Their lives were poles apart, yet their hearts beat in time to the same yearnings: love, wide-open country, and the wild, untamed West! Enjoy!
Warmly,
Lindsay McKenna
THE COWBOY LASSOES A BRIDE
Kate Pearce
Books by Kate Pearce
The House of Pleasure Series
SIMPLY SEXUAL
SIMPLY SINFUL
SIMPLY SHAMELESS
SIMPLY WICKED
SIMPLY INSATIABLE
SIMPLY FORBIDDEN
SIMPLY CARNAL
SIMPLY VORACIOUS
SIMPLY SCANDALOUS
SIMPLY PLEASURE (e-novella)
SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE (e-novella)
The Sinners Club Series
THE SINNERS CLUB
TEMPTING A SINNER
MASTERING A SINNER
THE FIRST SINNERS (e-novella)
Single Titles
RAW DESIRE
The Morgan Brothers Ranch
THE RELUCTANT COWBOY
THE MAVERICK COWBOY
THE LAST GOOD COWBOY
THE BAD BOY COWBOY
THE BILLIONAIRE BULL RIDER
THE RANCHER
Anthologies
SOME LIKE IT ROUGH
LORDS OF PASSION
HAPPY IS THE BRIDE
A SEASON TO CELEBRATE
Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation
To all the Morgan Ranch readers
who were worried about HW and Sam—
this one is for you.
Chapter One
Morgan Ranch, California
“Samantha Bernadette Kelly, you come right back here!” HW Morgan bellowed at her retreating form. “I’m talking to you!”
Sam took a quick look over her shoulder as she booked it to the barn. Her beloved blond cowboy was standing in the center of the drive in front of the ranch house, and he definitely wasn’t happy. If she could reach her horse, she could get away from him for a few hours and let him cool off.
Not that he’d do a thing to her, but she wasn’t ready to answer his question yet. She needed time to think. She hurried into the barn, where she’d already saddled Dollar, and went into the stall.
“Where exactly do you think you’re going, Sam?”
She almost squeaked as HW spoke from behind her. He must have moved really fast and was now regarding her over the half door of the stall. He wasn’t even breathing hard. She peered at him over Dollar’s back with renewed respect.
“I’m going for a ride.”
“Right now? When I just went down on one knee, and asked you to marry me?” HW asked.
“Yes.”
“But—”
She held up her hand. “I need to think about it, okay? I’m not saying no. I’m just . . . having a hard time getting my head around the idea.”
“Because last time you got engaged the marriage was called off?” HW was trying to be reasonable, and she loved him even more for the effort. “Okay, I get that.”
“I do love you, though.” Sam added reassuringly.
He stepped back, his hands held high. “Okay. I’ll get out of your hair then.”
He walked away leaving Sam clutching Dollar’s reins and staring after him. She’d expected him to talk her out of it and argue it through until they reached an agreement like they always did. But maybe she was asking too much this time?
She patted the horse and squeezed out of the stall behind his rump. “Don’t go anywhere, I’ll be back.”
Dollar snorted as if he didn’t believe her and whisked his tail. She carefully locked the door and went looking for HW. It didn’t take her long to find him. He’d gone up into the hayloft and was sitting on a bale of straw, blond head down, hands twisted in front of him staring out over the ranch his family had owned for 150 years.
Her heart actually hurt at the sight of his dejection. Sam bit her lip and approached him, taking the seat next to him on the prickly bale.
“I’m sorry.” Sam put her hand on his denim-clad thigh. “I panicked.”
He didn’t speak, but he managed a nod, so Sam pressed on. “I’m not afraid of loving you, I’m just scared that the moment I commit everything will go wrong. And I know you’re nothing like that jerk who two-timed me, and that your word means something, but I guess I’m gun-shy.”
“Please go on.” He waved a hand at her. “You’re winning my argument for me.”
Sam took a deep breath. “Okay, then.”
“Okay to what, exactly?” HW turned to face her, his expression wary. “Us being on the same page, or okay to marrying me?”
“Both.” Sam stared into his stunned hazel eyes and flapped a hand in front of her face. “Oh God. I think I might pass out.”
“Well, that’s hardly reassuring.” His smile warmed her heart as he dumped her in his lap and wrapped his arms around her. “I promise I won’t back out, let you down, or screw this up.”
“I’m the one most likely to do all of those things,” Sam protested as she kissed him. “But it’s going to have to be a quick, simple ceremony, and none of that fancy stuff, okay?”
“I’d marry you in a barn, you know that.” He hesitated. “Do you want to do it here at the ranch, or would you rather elope?”
“Here.” Sam kissed his nose. “And soon, before I lose my nerve.”
HW stood up, brought her to her feet, and with a whoop, swung her around in a circle, laughing like a fool.
“It’s a good job I love you so much, Sam Kelly, because your enthusiasm is killing me.”
She thumped his shoulder until he set her carefully back down on her feet. “Now what’s wrong?” HW sighed.
“Don’t say that.”
“Which part?” HW asked.
“The dying part.” Sam cupped his chin as his smile disappeared. “I can’t . . . deal with that again.” Her former fiancé had ditched her just before their wedding and been blown up in the same military convoy where she had lost her foot.
HW winced. “Sorry, I wasn’t thinking.” He kissed her very thoroughly and stared deeply into her eyes. “I’m not going to die on you. I promise.”
“You can’t promise that,” Sam whispered.
“Then I promise to do my best to stay alive until we’re celebrating fifty-plus years of marriage.”
“Okay. That sounds awesome.” Sam nodded. “I’ll hold you to that.”
HW took her hand. “Then let’s unsaddle Dollar and break the news to the family.”
* * *
“This is awesome!” Nancy, the bartender at the Red Dragon, thumped Sam on the back making her wheeze. Sam had gone to the only bar in Morgantown to celebrate the news of her upcoming wedding with a few of her girlfriends. “Leave all the details of your bachelorette n
ight to me, okay?”
Dubiously, Sam studied her purple-haired, pierced and tattooed companion. “You don’t have to do anything too radical, okay?”
“Don’t worry.” Actually, Nancy’s confidence was making Sam worry a lot. “I know all the best bars and places to take you. We’ll start in Bridgeport and work our way back here to Morgantown.”
“Sounds like fun,” January Morgan, Sam’s soon to be sister-in-law, chimed in. “But I don’t think I’ll be able to make it with the baby.”
“Leave the baby with Chase. He won’t mind,” Nancy encouraged her. “He dotes on that kid.”
“It’s his kid, of course he dotes on him.” January smiled. “He’s a fantastic father.”
“I know, and who would’ve thought that a few years ago? He was such a nerd at school.” She paused. “You could bring the baby with you? He might enjoy a night out.”
“I think I’ll leave him with Chase, actually,” January said firmly. “He’s a little too young to be out on the town.”
“Well, I’ll definitely come,” Yvonne from the coffee shop piped up. “Rio’s in Vegas, so I’m all alone. If you make it a Friday or Saturday, I won’t have to get up too early in the morning to start baking.”
“I know Marley and Jenna would love a night out,” January added enthusiastically, “And Sonali, Lizzie, and Daisy—”
Nancy nudged January. “You’re making Sam nervous. How about we talk about this when she’s not around? We don’t want her changing her mind or anything.”
“Sure!” January agreed. “We’re having the wedding the week after next at the ranch. We had a cancellation on the Sunday, so the timing was perfect, wasn’t it, Sam?”
Sam nodded, her mind still wrestling with the speed at which everything was coming together. She’d told HW she wanted to get married quickly, but hadn’t counted on the entire Morgan family mobilizing into action, and actually making it happen within two weeks. She focused on HW, her demanding, gorgeous man, and her heart rate slowed down again. He was worth it. She knew he was.
Avery, who was engaged to HW’s identical twin brother, Ry, touched Sam’s sleeve. “It’s all going to be okay. I’ll make sure nothing gets out of hand, and we get you back safely for the wedding.”
“Thanks, Avery.” Sam smiled at her friend. “You’re probably the most sensible person I know around here.”
“Sensible?” Nancy said, one eyebrow raised. “You do know Avery was once a competitive barrel racer?”
“Of course I do.” Sam grinned at her friends. “Which says a lot about the rest of you, doesn’t it?”
No one disputed her assumption, and they went back to toasting her health, and whispering to one another when they thought she wasn’t listening. At nine o’clock, Sam rose to her feet.
“I’m going to bed. See you all later.”
“Already?” Nancy looked pained. “It’s still early.”
“I got up at five this morning to help Roy with the pigs,” Sam said. “He says I’m the only person on the ranch apart from Jenna who understands them.”
“I’ve got some theories about that, but I’m not going to share them right now.” Nancy blew her a kiss. “Off you go, bride-to-be, and I’ll speak to you tomorrow.”
Sam walked back through the quiet streets of the small town to her apartment above the health center. HW hadn’t liked it when she’d moved out of the ranch guest cabin, but had eventually conceded that he had to do a lot less creeping around avoiding his grandma Ruth. Sam enjoyed the drive up to the ranch every morning where she oversaw the equine therapy program with HW, but she also appreciated being able to come home by herself occasionally.
She and HW had what some might call a tempestuous relationship. They were both outspoken, stubborn, and liked to get their point across. After almost two years of dating and working together, Sam was ready to concede that they got along well enough to make things permanent.
She checked the parking lot behind her building just to make sure HW hadn’t decided on a nocturnal visit. He usually sent her a text if he was planning on turning up, but occasionally when he got stuck in town, he’d just appear, sweep her off her feet, and make wild, passionate love to her all night.
After she got inside her apartment and put all the lights on, she made herself some cocoa and sent a text to her best friend, Cam, in Sacramento.
Hey, are you around?
Yeah Just finishing my shift. What’s up?
Sam smiled as she texted back. Nothing much. I’m just getting married. Can you get time off in two weeks?
Her phone rang, and she winced as Cam screamed in her ear.
“Yay! Go you! That’s awesome!”
Sam held the phone away and shouted back. “Thanks! I’m terrified!”
“I bet you are,” Cam said. “But I really think this is a good thing, and I’m definitely going to come out there and support you through it.”
Sam let out a relieved breath as she eased off her cowboy boots, socks, and then her prosthetic left foot. “That would be so nice of you. And by the way, they are looking for a pediatrician for the new health center if you want a job.”
Cam laughed. “I’ll think about it. Can you put me up if I come to the wedding?”
Sam gulped and considered the chaotic state of her spare room.
“Sure!”
She’d get that sorted in the next week or so. HW loved showing off his muscles lifting heavy things.
“Then I look forward to it,” Cam said. “In fact, I can’t wait!”
Chapter Two
“Sam, stop arguing with me, and go and try it on,” Yvonne said patiently. “Trust me.”
They were currently sitting in what Sam might once have called her worst nightmare—an exclusive bridal boutique in San Francisco. Chase Morgan had let her and Yvonne hitch a ride on his private jet to the big city, and here they were—trying on bridal gowns. Well, she was trying them on, and Yvonne, who had the best taste ever, was advising her. Sam had looked online and in the more local stores, found nothing she liked, and was still not feeling hopeful.
Sam went into the fitting room with Janet, the lovely woman assigned to help her get fitted out, and reluctantly shed her clothes. While she was changing, Yvonne added a few more dresses to the rack.
“Put your arms up, dearie,” Janet advised her. “And I’ll slip this over your head.”
The fabric rustled and whished over Sam’s face, and settled around her like the lightest froth on coffee.
“Wow.” Sam breathed out hard. “I look . . . okay.”
“You look lovely, like a flower.” Janet smiled at her in the mirror as she buttoned up the back of the fitted bodice. “Come and show your friend.”
Sam gathered up the skirt and stomped back into the main shop where Yvonne was fussing around with tiaras and veils.
“Oh, Sam . . .” Yvonne gasped, “You look beautiful!” She dropped the tiara and rushed over to Sam, taking the delicate, many-layered skirt out of her hands, and displaying it properly with Janet’s help. “Come and see yourself in the big mirror.”
Sam studied herself before turning a slow circle. “It’s really pretty, but with my dodgy foot, I don’t want to trip up and embarrass myself. I’m thinking that maybe I should choose something ankle length?”
“What are you going to wear on your feet?” Janet asked.
“Cowboy boots. Fancy ones,” Sam said. “I’m getting married on a ranch.”
“She might need them.” Yvonne sighed. “Goodness knows what she could step in.”
“And no veil or tiara,” Sam said firmly. “I’m wearing a cowboy hat. I don’t want Nolly chewing my ear off.”
“Is Nolly the bridegroom?” Janet asked, uncertainly.
“No, he’s one of the horses up at the ranch, and he likes to get involved in all the weddings, and eats anything he can get in his mouth,” Sam replied, and paused. “Rather like my bridegroom, actually, but not exactly the same.”
Yvonne sti
fled a laugh. “Okay, try on the second one. It’s much shorter.”
Sam picked up her skirts, hung them over her arm rather like Doris Day tromping through the creek in the old western musical, and went back to the fitting room. HW wouldn’t recognize her without her jeans and cowboy boots on, so she’d better keep the boots.
She didn’t like the second or third dresses, and neither did Yvonne or Janet, so her hopes rested on dress number four, or some drastic alterations to the first one, which she secretly loved.
The last dress had a boat-shape neckline very similar to the first one, with the addition of embroidered flowers on the bodice and a simple handkerchief skirt that didn’t quite reach the floor. Sam took an experimental twirl as she exited the fitting room, and nothing caught under her heels.
“This is also beautiful,” Yvonne said. “It shows off your figure, and has that lovely green and yellow embroidery. What do you think?”
Sam smoothed her hands over the skirt. “I like it a lot.” She twisted herself in a knot and attempted to find the price tag. “How much is it compared to the other one?”
“Chase said not to worry about that,” Yvonne reminded her. “He’s worked out some deal with HW.”
“But I’m paying for my dress,” Sam said. “It’s very kind of Chase but I don’t expect the Morgans to pay for everything. It’s not fair.”
Janet stepped forward and checked the price tag. “This one is about five hundred dollars less than the first one you tried on.”
Sam gazed longingly at the pile of fluffy goodness, aka the first dress, and tried to be practical. “This will work much better with my boots and cowboy hat, and won’t trip me up.” She nodded. “I’ll go with this one.”
“Are you sure?” Yvonne asked. “They are both lovely, but—”
“It’s all good.” Sam smiled at her, and then at Janet. “You know I’m getting married in less than two weeks, right? Will that give you enough time to get the dress altered and sent on to me?”
