Dear Reader,
Welcome to the first of three books starring a new trio of Creed menâSteven and his cousins, twins Conner and Brody! These relatives of the Montana Creeds and the McKettricks were raised as brothers in the ranching community of Lonesome Bend, Colorado. Now, after years as a hotshot Denver lawyer, Steven has suddenly become the adoptive father of his best friendâs five-year-old son and wants a new lifestyle. He buys a ranch in Stone Creek, Arizona, home of some of his McKettrick kin, and sets up a law practice. When he encounters Melissa OâBallivan, the local prosecutor and a McKettrick in-law, watch the sparks fly!
I also wanted to write today to tell you about a special group of people with whom Iâve become involved in the past couple years. It is The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), specifically their Pets for Life program.
The Pets for Life program is one of the best ways to help your local shelter: that is to help keep animals out of shelters in the first place. Something as basic as keeping a collar and tag on your pet all the time, so if he gets out and gets lost, he can be returned home. Being a responsible pet owner. Spaying or neutering your pet. And not giving up when things donât go perfectly. If your dog digs in the yard, or your cat scratches the furniture, know that these are problems that can be addressed. You can find all the information about theseâand many other common problemsâat www.petsforlife.org. This campaign is focused on keeping pets and their people together for a lifetime.
As many of you know, my own household includes two dogs, two cats and six horses, so this is a cause that is near and dear to my heart. I hope youâll get involved along with me.
With love,
Praise for the novels of Linda Lael Miller
âCompletely wonderful. Austinâs interactions with Paige are fun and lively and the mystery⦠adds quite a suspenseful punch.â
âRT Book Reviews on McKettricks of Texas: Austin
âMiller is the queen when it comes to creating sympathetic, endearing and lifelike characters. She paints each scene so perfectly readers hover on the edge of delicious voyeurism.â
âRT Book Reviews on McKettricks of Texas: Garrett
âA passionate love too long denied drives the action in this multifaceted, emotionally rich reunion story that overflows with breathtaking sexual chemistry.â
âLibrary Journal on McKettricks of Texas: Tate
âThis story creates lasting memories of soul-searing redemption and the belief in goodness and hope.â
âRT Book Reviews on The Rustler
âLoaded with hot lead, steamy sex and surprising plot twists.â
âPublishers Weekly on A Wanted Man
âMillerâs prose is smart, and her tough Eastwoodian cowboy cuts a sharp, unexpectedly funny figure in a classroom full of rambunctious frontier kids.â
âPublishers Weekly on The Man from Stone Creek
â[Miller] paints a brilliant portrait of the good, the bad and the ugly, the lost and the lonely, and the power of love to bring light into the darkest of souls. This is western romance at its finest.â
âRT Book Reviews on The Man from Stone Creek
âAn engrossing, contemporary western romance.â
âPublishers Weekly on McKettrickâs Pride (starred review)
âLinda Lael Miller creates vibrant characters and stories I defy you to forget.â
â#1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber
Linda Lael Miller
A Creed in Stone Creek
For Sheri and Kat
Youâre brave and youâre funny and I love you both.
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
EPILOGUE
SOME INSTINCTâor maybe just a stir of a breezeâawakened Steven Creed; he sat up in bed, took a fraction of a moment to orient himself to unfamiliar surroundings. One by one, the mental tumblers clicked into place:
Room 6. Happy Wanderer Motel and Campground. Stone Creek, Arizona.
The door stood open to the fresh high-country air, which was crisply cool on this early June night, but not cold, and the little boyâStevenâs newly adopted sonâsat on the cement step outside. A bundleâprobably his favorite toy, a plush skunk named Fred, rolled up in his blanketârested beside him, and the boyâs tiny frame was rimmed in an aura of silvery-gold moonlight.
Something tightened in Stevenâs throat at the poignancy of the sight.
Poor kid. It wasnât hard to guess who he was waiting for. Matt was small, with his dadâs dark hair and his motherâs violet eyes, and he was exceptionally intelligentâmaybe even giftedâbut he was still only five years old.
How could he be expected to comprehend that his folks, Zack and Jillie St. John, were gone for good? That they wouldnât be coming to pick him up, no matter how hard he hoped or how many stars he wished on, that night or any other.
Stevenâs eyes burned, and he had to swallow the hard ache that rose in his throat.