Christmas With The Cowboy

Home for the holidays

A second chance at love on Big Heart Ranch

Former navy SEAL Zach Norman has been avoiding his ranching roots—and the woman he couldn’t have. Back to visit his brother’s widow, Emma Maxwell Norman, and her adorable toddler twins, the bah-humbug cowboy is roped into helping prepare the ranch for the holidays. Working side by side, can Emma and Zach overcome their troubled past…and receive the greatest Christmas gift of all—love?

TINA RADCLIFFE has been dreaming and scribbling for years. Originally from Western New York, she left home for a tour of duty with the Army Security Agency stationed in Augsburg, Germany, and ended up in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her past careers include certified oncology RN and library cataloger. She recently moved from Denver, Colorado, to the Phoenix, Arizona, area, where she writes heartwarming and fun inspirational romance.

Also By Tina Radcliffe

Big Heart Ranch

Claiming Her Cowboy

Falling for the Cowgirl

Christmas with the Cowboy

The Rancher’s Reunion

Oklahoma Reunion

Mending the Doctor’s Heart

Stranded with the Rancher

Safe in the Fireman’s Arms

Rocky Mountain Reunion

Rocky Mountain Cowboy

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Christmas with the Cowboy

Tina Radcliffe

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-08621-9

CHRISTMAS WITH THE COWBOY

© 2018 Tina M. Radcliffe

Published in Great Britain 2018

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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“How could you leave all this?”

Emma wiped her face again. Despite her disheveled appearance, there was a wide grin on her face.

“I know you don’t understand, but it wasn’t easy. Toughest decision of my life.”

Their gazes connected and Zach swallowed hard.

“Then why did you?” she asked softly. “We’d been friends since I was seven years old, and suddenly you left without a backward glance.”

He kept his mouth shut, unwilling to open that particular can of worms here and now.

“I guess there’s no point asking why you’ve stayed away for three years, either,” she continued.

When another heifer released a loud, mournful wail, Zach turned his horse around. “Saved by the heifer.”

“You can run…” Emma murmured. “But it seems to me that you and I have a lot to talk about.”

Yeah, she was right; eventually he and Emma were going to have to talk.

Why was it that although he’d never given a second thought to heading into danger as a navy SEAL, the thought of going toe-to-toe with his brother’s widow terrified him?

Dear Reader,

I’m so delighted to return to Big Heart Ranch in Timber, Oklahoma. What a treat it was to weave a story of faith and love at the most wondrous time of the year, Christmas. A time when we celebrate the birth of our Lord.

This third installment introduces you to the third and youngest Maxwell, Emma Maxwell Norman. Along with her siblings, Lucy and Travis, Emma manages Big Heart Ranch for orphaned, abused and neglected children, where unconditional love and the good Lord reign. Widowed Emma carries the additional challenge of being a single mother to twin daughters.

A former navy SEAL with a troubled past, Zach Norman returns to Timber and lands right in Emma’s path. He’s the only man who can possibly win the heart of the fiercely independent whirlwind of a cowgirl. Zach and Emma must learn to trust and set aside their fears in order to find their happy ending. And isn’t that the way it always works? We must let go of the past to grab the future the Lord has for us.