Chase The Clouds
RANCHER TO THE RESCUESam Reese always got his way. When time came to collect on a debt, he didn't care whose toes were stepped on. He might be as stubborn as one of his own untested stallions, but he knew the value of a man's promise.One glance at Dany Daguerre told Sam she had no intention of honoring her ex-husband's contract. Especially if it involved riding a spitfire horse in a proper competition. Yet Sam offered her the chance to save her ranch–if she'd share his impetuous dream of winning. A dream Sam unexpectedly found included a faithful promise of love.…
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Dear Reader,
Most folks outside the Sierra Mountains where I was born, raised and now own a horse ranch, would think I’m a hard-nosed, crusty son of a gun. I’m sure Danielle Daguerre, who had to honor a contract her ex-husband signed with me to tame my rogue stallion, Altair, would agree.
In fact, I’m like Altair in many ways: rough around the edges and stubborn. I need Dany to fulfill the obligations of that contract—whether she wants to or not. My ranch, the Cross Bar U, sits up high in the Sierra Mountains, near where part of the California gold rush took place. I know Dany, an Eastern-bred woman, didn’t want to come out west to my ranch to work with that hardheaded stud of mine and get him ready for the Grand Prix circuit of show jumping.
She felt the stud and I were a complete loss and neither one of us could be tamed.
I knew Altair needed a softer touch—a woman’s touch. I knew Dany was the woman to tame that red-devil stallion. What I didn’t realize was she was going to tame me, too!
Sam Reese
Ranch Rogues
1. Betrayed by Love
Diana Palmer
2. Blue Sage
Anne Stuart
3. Chase the Clouds
Lindsay McKenna
4. Mustang Man
Lee Magner
5. Painted Sunsets
Rebecca Flanders
6. Carved in Stone
Kathleen Eagle
Hitched in Haste
7. A Marriage of Convenience
Doreen Owens Malek
8. Where Angels Fear
Ginna Gray
9. Inheritance
Joleen Daniels
10. The Hawk and the Honey
Dixie Browning
11. Wild Horse Canyon
Elizabeth August
12. Someone Waiting
Joan Hohl
Ranchin’ Dads
13. Rancher’s Wife
Anne Marie Winston
14. His and Hers
Pamela Bauer
15. The Best Things in Life
Rita Clay Estrada
16. All That Matters
Judith Duncan
17. One Man’s Folly
Cathy Gillen Thacker
18. Sagebrush and Sunshine
Margot Dalton
Denim & Diamonds
19. Moonbeams Aplenty
Mary Lynn Baxter
20. A Home on the Range
Judith Bowen
21. The Fairy Tale Girl
Ann Major
22. Snow Bird
Lass Small
23. The Countess and the Cowboy
Linda Randall Wisdom
24. Heart of Ice
Diana Palmer
Kids & Kin
25. Fools Rush In
Ginna Gray
26. Wellspring
Curtiss Ann Matlock
27. Live-In Mom
Laurie Paige
28. Kids, Critters and Cupid
Ruth Jean Dale
29. With No Regrets
Lisa Jackson
30. Family Affair
Cathy Gillen Thacker
Reunited Hearts
31. Yesterday’s Lies
Lisa Jackson
32. The Texas Way
Jan Freed
33. Wild Lady
Ann Major
34. Cody Daniels’ Return
Marilyn Pappano
35. All Things Considered
Debbie Macomber
36. Return to Yesterday
Annette Broadrick
Reckless Renegades
37. Ambushed
Patricia Rosemoor
38. West of the Sun
Lynn Erickson
39. Bittersweet
DeLoras Scott
40. A Deadly Breed
Caroline Burnes
41. Desperado
Helen Conrad
42. Heart of the Eagle
Lindsay McKenna
Once A Cowboy…
43. Rancho Diablo
Anne Stuart
44. Big Sky Country
Jackie Merritt
45. A Family to Cherish
Cathy Gillen Thacker
46. Texas Wildcat
Lindsay McKenna
47. Not Part of the Bargain
Susan Fox
48. Destiny’s Child
Ann Major
Chase the Clouds
To Nancy Csonka and Joan Schwartz, fellow horsewomen, who share my love of a good horse, the outdoors and our friendship
Contents
One
“Mrs. Daguerre, I can assure you I’m not used to having people fall short of their obligations to me. Especially ones where a legal contract is signed and services are promised.”
Danielle stiffened in her chair and stared across the small office that was located within the main stabling barn. She was tall for a horse trainer, almost five foot nine, but she felt diminutive against the man who stood in the doorway blocking the afternoon April sun that slanted across his broad shoulders. Easing out of the black leather desk chair, she folded her arms against her small breasts, feeling positively threatened by his detached coolness. His eyes, the shade of pewter gray, assessed her with mild interest.
“Mr. Reese,” she began, taking a firm tone that she would normally use with misbehaving horses, “my ex-husband signed that document over a year ago to ride your three-day-event thoroughbred, I didn’t.”
He gave her a thin, cutting smile, one corner of his generous mouth pulling upward. Removing the Stetson from his rich, dark hair, he let the hat dangle in his right hand. “Right now I don’t care who signed it. I’m sorry that your marriage was broken up, but an agreement is an agreement.”
“Your stallion, Altair, has a nasty name on the show circuit,” she reminded him stubbornly. As much as she hated to use her ex-husband’s name, she went on, “Jean’s notes tell me that he’s shy of water jumps, headstrong and impulsive and won’t listen to his rider.”
His cool, twisted smile remained as he studied her across the distance. “Yes, I’m afraid he’s a bit like me in some respects—hard to handle.”
Dany’s nostrils flared with a show of contempt. Pointing at the fact sheets compiled on the jumper, she said, “You can’t take a range horse and make him a Grand Prix jumper, Mr. Reese. It just can’t be done. Your stallion has been mishandled too long, and I don’t have the time or inclination to try and retrain him for you, contract or no contract.”
