A Christmas kiss from a cowboyâ¦
Ben Radcliffe reckons itâll be a cold day in hell before he considers a serious relationship or family of his ownâwith good reason. When he delivers a âsecretâ present to the Last Chance Ranch, however, Ben catches a glimpse of what family could be. And suddenly this lone cowboy finds himself under the mistletoeâ¦planting one heck of a kiss on a stunning woman!
Genealogist and academic Molly Gallagher is all about family. And even if Benâs secrets make him as skittish as a wild mustang, thereâs nothing Molly loves more than an enigma. Especially a ridiculously sexy one! But the magic of Christmasâand the Last Chance Ranchâmight not be enough to wrangle a cowboy who canât trust himselfâ¦
Praise for Vicki Lewis Thompsonâs Sons of Chance
âCowboy Up is a sexy joy ride, balanced with good-natured humor and Thompsonâs keen eye for detail. Another sizzling romance from the RT Reviewersâ Choice award winner for best Blaze.â
âRT Book Reviews on Cowboy Up
âVicki Lewis Thompson has compiled a tale of this terrific family, along with their friends and employees, to keep you glued to the page and ending with that warm and loving feeling.â
âFresh Fiction on Cowboys and Angels
âIntensely romantic and hot enough to singeâ¦her Sons of Chance series never fails to leave me worked up from all the heat, and then sighing with pleasure at the happy endings!â
âWe Read Romance on Riding High
âIf I had to use one word to describe Ambushed! it would be charming.⦠Where the story shines and how it is elevated above others is the humor that is woven throughout.â
âDear Author on Ambushed!
âTop Pick! Thompson continues to do a great job with her popular Sons of Chance series by bringing the entire town of Shoshone and the Last Chance Ranch environment alive in this wonderfully engaging installment.â
âRT Book Reviews on Wild at Heart
Dear Reader,
With a mixture of nostalgia and anticipation I give you the final Sons of Chance book as my Christmas present to the Chance-savvy readers and the newcomers whoâve just discovered the series. To those whoâve been with me all the way, weâve had a great time, havenât we? To those just joining us, you have some catching up to do!
This moment is nostalgic because I love the Last Chance Ranch. Iâve mentally lived here for several years, and if the ranch suddenly appeared in 3-D, Iâd know exactly where everything is and recognize all the folks. I know many of you feel the same!
But Iâm also filled with anticipation, because next summer weâll venture to a cozy ranch outside Sheridan, Wyoming. Donât worry, I wonât abandon the Chance brothers! Theyâll show up occasionally in the new seriesâThunder Mountain Brotherhoodâdebuting in June 2015. Youâll also see more of Ben Radcliffe, this bookâs hero, who lives in Sheridan.
I predict youâll love Thunder Mountain Ranch, which for many years housed foster boys and now needs some help from those guys. But this holiday season, letâs focus on the Last Chance! The entire family invites you to a big holiday celebration that includes Sarahâs seventieth birthday. You donât want to miss that!
So stay, enjoy and reminisce. Next summer, I invite you to take the half-day drive over to Thunder Mountain Ranch and meet the new gang. In the meantime, letâs all raise a glass to a Last Chance Christmas!
Nostalgically yours,
Vicki
VICKI LEWIS THOMPSONâs passion for travel has taken the New York Times bestselling author to Europe, Great Britain, the Greek Isles, Australia and New Zealand. Sheâs visited most of North America and has her eye on South Americaâs rainforests. Africa, India and China beckon. But her first love is her home state of Arizona, with its deserts, mountains, sunsets andâlast but not leastâcowboys! The wide-open spaces and heroes on horseback influence everything she writes. Connect with her at vickilewisthompson.com, facebook.com/vickilewisthompson and twitter.com/vickilthompson.
To the Lone Ranger, my first crush.
A white horse, a deep voice and a mask. What more could a girl want?
Prologue
Christmas Night, 1990 From the diary of Eleanor Chance
MY BROTHER SETH called tonight from Arizona, and we spent a good amount of time bragging about our grandchildren. Seth and Joyce ended up with four kidsâthree sons and a daughterâwhile Archie and I only had Jonathan. So itâs not surprising that Seth has ten grandchildren to my three.
Not that Iâm comparing or complaining. In fact, ten grandchildren on Christmas Day had worn Seth to a frazzle, even though heâd never admit it. I can only imagine.
We had enough ruckus with Jack, Nicky and Gabe trying out their new games. And donât get me started on the subject of NERF footballs. Yes, theyâre soft and supposedly can be played with in the house, but they inspire all manner of tackling and running and throwing. Archie bought them each one without consulting me.