Rancher's Baby

Cover Page

Excerpt

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Copyright

to have it thrown in her face first thing in the morning was simply too much.

He was oblivious to her presence in the doorway. He was talking to her baby, and she didn’t miss the rapt look on Ryan’s face at the sound of his father’s voice.

Deep inside her, a feeling of helplessness rose. Ryan had been hers alone for almost a year. Now everything was going to have to change….

Tye wanted—no, expected—her to marry him. He had to be crazy! They barely knew each other.

But a vivid image of just how well they did know each other arose in her mind….

Dear Reader,

This month, we begin HOLIDAY HONEYMOONS, a wonderful new cross-line continuity series written by two of your favorites—Merline Lovelace and Carole Buck. The series begins in October with Merline’s Halloween Honeymoon. Then, once a month right through February, look for holiday love stories by Merline and Carole—in Desire for November, Intimate Moments for December. back to Desire in January and concluding in Intimate Moments for Valentine’s Day. Sound confusing? It’s not—we’ll keep you posted as the series continues.and I personally guarantee that these books are keepers!

And there are other goodies in store for you. Don’t miss the fun as Cathie Linz’s delightful series THREE WEDDINGS AND A GIFT continues with Seducing Hunter. And Lass Small’s MAN OF THE MONTH, The Texas Blue Norther, is simply scrumptious.

Those of you who want an ultrasensuous love story need look no further than The Sex Test by Patty Salier. She’s part of our WOMEN TO WATCH program highlighting brand-new writers. Warning: this book is HOT!

Readers who can’t get enough of cowboys shouldn’t miss Anne Marie Winston’s Rancher’s Baby. And if you’re partial to a classic amnesia story (as I certainly am!), be sure to read Barbara McCauley’s delectable Midnight Bride.

And, as always, I’m here to listen to you—so don’t be afraid to write and tell me your thoughts about Desire!

Until next month,

Senior Editor

Please address questions and book requests to:

Silhouette Reader Service

U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269

Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

A native Pennsylvanian and former educator, Anne Marie is a book lover, an animal lover and always a teacher at heart. She and her husband have two daughters and a menagerie of four-footed family members. When she’s not parenting, writing or reading, she devotes her time to a variety of educational efforts in her community. Readers can write to Anne Marie at P.O. Box 302, Zullinger, PA 17272.

For Elise—

With XOXO & lotsa love to my small but mighty Lisabetty belle

Tye Bradshaw squinted into the sun as the driver turned the four-wheel-drive pick-up truck off the highway. His head felt as if someone were playing a very large kettle drum just behind his eyes, and his broken finger throbbed.

The rancher who had offered to drop him off at the ranch maneuvered the truck between two stone pillars. They supported a black iron arch with a sign that proclaimed, Red Arrow Ranch, though for the life of him, Tye couldn’t see anything that looked vaguely like a house or a barn. As the truck followed an unpaved road that bisected a large, flat plain of scrub and dusty earth, all Tye could see were cattle in the distance, their outlines wavering in the heat of the day.

So this was the Kincaid spread. This was where he would find Dulcie.

Ever since the single night they’d shared, he’d been unable to forget her. His mood darkened as he recalled the way she’d skedaddled out of his apartment in the morning, mortified at herself and too embarrassed to look him in the eye. He’d intended to go after her, but then the phone rang…and here he was, almost a year later, hoping she would accept a belated apology.

His thoughts were shaken right out of his head when the truck lumbered over a particularly big rut and bounced up, down and up again with an agonizing jolt. He gritted his teeth against the pain and let the rancher’s off-key humming fill the silence until finally they crested a small rise. The Kincaid ranch buildings were spread out before them.

Despite his pain and discomfort, anticipation rose within him. Dulcie was here, probably in the big house that sat off to one side of the barns and corrals. The Good Samaritan drove right up to the yard that fronted the house. A black-and-white dog that looked like a cross between a border collie and a shepherd exploded from under the front porch, barking furiously just as the front door opened.

“Corky, go lie down!” A woman with long, loose dark hair streaming down her back came down the steps. The dog retreated to his hideout with a last snarl, but Tye hardly noticed.

Dulcie. His eyes took in every detail of her appearance. She looked the same, yet not the same. Something in him still responded to the mere sight of her…. Simple chemistry, he told himself. Her hair was longer and her eyes looked tired, strained. He thought she’d gained a little weight, too, though the few extra pounds didn’t look bad. When he’d known her in Albuquerque, she’d been almost too slender.