Apache Fire
A dangerous man lay near death at Rose Colby's feet - and though logic told her to flee from the unpredictable half-breed, instinct whispered a different tale. Latigo was a worthy man who desperately needed her help - and her heart… ! The brave young woman made Latigo yearn for what he knew he could never have - acceptance, family… and love. Such things were not for the likes of him. For he was a renegade Apache, the white man's posse claimed, and could only bring the widowed Rose Colby more grief… .
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Table of Contents
This was a man who trusted no one. A man alone, his spirit raw with unhealed wounds.
Had he known many women? Surely he had. Latigo’s rugged features and dark, feral grace would be enough to draw the gaze of any female he passed. But love? Rose mentally shook her head. Loving a man like Latigo would be like loving the wind.
His knuckles brushed her leg as he reached for the wrappings again. The unexpected touch sparked a ripple of awareness through Rose’s body. She turned to find him looking up at her, his eyes intent but guarded.
“Who are you?” she whispered again, quivering as his gaze pierced her defenses like a stone-tipped arrow.
“To you—no one and nothing,” he murmured. “A passing ghost with the first light of sunrise.”
“So when will you go?” Rose heard herself asking…
Dear Reader,
This month we’ve covered all the bases. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll find romance. We are thrilled to bring you Apache Fire by longtime historical and contemporary romance author Elizabeth Lane. As with all of her books, this Western sizzles with emotion and romantic tension. It’s the story of a beautiful young widow with a newborn son, who finds love and hope in the arms of the Native American army scout she’s hiding on her. ranch.
In Lost Acres Bride by rising talent Lynna Banning, a rugged, by-the-book cattleman must contend with the female spitfire who inherits a piece of his land—and gets a piece of his heart! And Tori Phillips returns with another of her CAVENDISH CHRONICLES, Three Dog Knight, about a shy earl and an illegitimate noblewoman who forge a marriage of convenience based on trust, and later love, despite the machinations of an evil sister-in-law.
Rounding out this month is Blackthorne, Ruth Langan’s first medieval novel in nearly four years! Packed with intrigue and emotion, this is the tale of a haunted widower, the lord of Blackthorne, whose child’s governess teaches him how to love again.
Whatever your tastes in reading, you’ll be sure to find a romantic journey back to the past between the covers of a Harlequin Historicals® novel.
Sincerely,
Tracy Farrell, Senior Editor
Please address questions and book requests to:
Harlequin Reader Service
U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269
Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3
ELIZABETH LANE
has traveled extensively in Latin America, Europe and China, and enjoys bringing these exotic locales to life on the printed page, but she also finds her home state of Utah and other areas of the American West to be fascinating sources for historical romance. Elizabeth loves such diverse activities as hiking and playing the piano, not to mention her latest hobby—belly dancing.
For Alec
September 23, 1997
Arizona Territory
April 7, 1876
Latigo’s vision was a red blaze of pain. He sagged over the neck of his spent mustang, teeth clenched as he battled to stay conscious. He had been riding most of the night, every lurch of the horse like a lance thrust into his bleeding shoulder. The Colby Ranch couldn’t be much farther unless, in this cursed stupor, he had somehow become lost.
The ghost face of the waning moon hung low in the western sky. Startled by hoofbeats, a miniature owl exploded out of its burrow and flapped screeching into the darkness.
Latigo cursed, fighting pain as he struggled to calm his spooked mount. He had lived all his life in the desert, and he was as much at home here as the sharp-nosed coyotes that ranged along the lonely arroyos. But tonight he was no coyote. He was wounded prey, and in the danger of darkness even the wind’s familiar voice was an alien moan.
With excruciating effort, he focused his eyes on the notched peak that was his beacon point. He could feel his life oozing through the makeshift bandage that covered the bullet wound in his shoulder. In the seven hours since the ambush, he had lost a dizzying amount of blood. If John Colby refused him shelter…
But how could Colby refuse, when his very honor was at stake? Ten years ago, during the bloody Apache wars, Latigo had saved Colby’s life, and the rancher—more out of pride, to be sure, than gratitude—had vowed to repay him one day. Now it was time to call in the old debt.
Under any other circumstances, Latigo would just as soon have let the matter go. He was a man who asked little of others, especially where whites were concerned. But now he had no choice. Not if he wanted to live.
As he clung to the horse, he fueled his strength with his own anger at what had happened. Hours earlier, on the San Carlos Reservation, he had been guiding two U.S. government agents on an inspection tour. As their mounts passed through a narrow ravine, a hail of rifle fire had erupted from the rocks above and behind them. The two federal men had died at once, but the bullet meant for Latigo’s heart had struck a handbreadth too high and to the left. Reeling with shock, he had managed to spur his horse and gain some distance before the four attackers had time to mount up and come after him. He had barely glimpsed their faces, but he had seen enough to know they were not Apaches.
