Caitlyn's Prize
Caitlyn Belle will die before she'll let Judd Calhoun take her Texas ranch!Her arrogant and wealthy neighbor has been waiting to get back at her for jilting him years ago. But she wasn't about to be roped and steered into wedlock–even if her feelings for Judd went far beyond a business arrangement between their two families.Judd will never forgive Cait for walking out on him. Now that her late father's gambling debts have her backed into a corner, Judd's ready to take his sweet revenge. But first he has to forget the yearning in Cait's forget-me-not blue eyes.Just when Judd thinks he's over her, trust the fearless, stubborn woman to tempt him once again….
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âLet me go.â
Caitlyn flailed her arms and Judd pulled up and released her. She fell to the ground, her eyes firing blue flames at him. âYou bastard.â
He rested back in the saddle, staring down at her. âIs that any way to talk to a man who just saved your life?â
She stood and dusted off the back of her jeans. âYouâre trespassing, Judd. Get off my property.â She swung her cute butt around and headed back to the hive of cattle.
She stepped in the mud without hesitation and bent to a pipe that was gushing water.
He slid from the saddle and went to help her. His head told him to ride away. This woman had hurt him more than anyone in his life.
But his heart was the traitor, urging him forward.
Dear Reader,
Iâm excited about the start of a new trilogy, THE BELLES OF TEXAS. The stories involve three sisters with the same father but different mothers. Iâve written a lot of cowboy books and I wanted to change the scenario and write about feisty, strong cowgirls.
I grew up on a farm/ranch and my mother knew more about the cattle than my dad. She knew when to sell calves, when to cull the herd and when to change pastures. My dad always went with her judgment. So I drew upon my years as a child watching my mother as I planned these books.
The sisters are independent, stubborn and know what they want. Theyâre willing to put their hearts on the line to protect family and each other. Maybe thereâs a little bit of a cowgirl in all of us.
I hope you enjoy the Belle sisters as much as I enjoyed creating them.
From Texas with love,
Linda Warren
P.S. Itâs always a pleasure to hear from readers.
You can e-mail me at [email protected] or write me at P.O. Box 5182, Bryan, TX 77805 or visit my Web site at www.lindawarren.net or www.myspace.com/authorlindawarren. Your letters will be answered.
CAITLYNâS PRIZE
Linda Warren
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Award-winning, bestselling author Linda Warren has written twenty-three books for Harlequin Superromance and Harlequin American Romance. 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.
Books by Linda Warren
HARLEQUIN SUPERROMANCE
1049âON THE TEXAS BORDER
1075âCOWBOY AT THE CROSSROADS
1125âTHE WRONG WOMAN
1167âA BABY BY CHRISTMAS
1221âTHE RIGHT WOMAN
1250âFORGOTTEN SON
1314âALL ROADS LEAD TO TEXAS
1354âSON OF TEXAS
1375âTHE BAD SON
1440âADOPTED SON
1470âTEXAS BLUFF
1499âALWAYS A MOTHER
HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE
1042âTHE CHRISTMAS CRADLE
1089âCHRISTMAS, TEXAS STYLE
âMerry Texmasâ
1102âTHE COWBOYâS RETURN
1151âONCE A COWBOY
1226âTEXAS HEIR
1249âTHE SHERIFF OF HORSESHOE, TEXAS
A special thanks to my editor, Kathleen Scheibling, and to Wanda Ottewell for making this series possible.
Thanks to J.O., Bobby and Chris Siegert for refreshing my memory and answering my pesky questions about ranching, cattle, windmills, oil wells and the sand and gravel business.
All errors are strictly mine.
DEDICATION
This past year has been especially difficult for me.
I dedicate this book to my husband, Billy, my Sonny, who was always there to help me through it.
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
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
EPILOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
IT WAS RECKONING DAY.
Caitlyn Belle knew that with every beat of her racing heart.
She stopped at the entrance to the Southern Cross ranch and shoved the stick shift of her old Chevy truck into first. The gears protested with a grinding noise, which she ignored. Her brain cells could process only so much, and right now her full attention was on the ranchâs owner, not a faulty transmission.
Once she crossed the cattle guard, there was a whole lot of reckoning waiting for her. Judd Calhoun, the man sheâd jilted fourteen years ago, had requested a meeting with her. The question why kept jangling in her head like loose change.
Time to find out.
Reckoning or not.
She drove between the huge stone pillars that supported the decorative, arched wrought-iron sign that bore the name Southern Cross. White board fences flanked both sides of the graveled road, curling toward a massive ranch-style house with a red tile roof.
A circular drive with a magnificent horse-sculpture fountain made of limestone graced the front of the house. The place looked like something out of a magazine. The only things that signaled this was a working ranch were the corrals and barns in the distance and the white Brahman cattle that dotted the horizon.
High Five had once been like this, but not anymore. Cait felt a moment of sadness. She couldnât change the past. The future was her main concern.
