Courting Callie

The Lost Springs Ranch for troubled boys is at stake, and it’s a man’s duty to give back…

…So there’s going to be an auction!

Bachelor #2

Name: Mase LeBow, 34 Occupation: Homicide detective, Denver Biggest Achievement: Living to adulthood after a too-wild adolescence

Widower Mase LeBow figures Callie Thorne’s remote equine therapy ranch is the best place to protect his son. So he’s determined to charm her after she “buys’’ him for a date at the Lost Springs Bachelor Auction. But her insistence on helping his withdrawn boy gets past his defenses…and that can’t happen. Falling in love with Callie when he’s the star witness in a murder trial would be a huge mistake.

Sugar Spinelli’s

Little Instruction Book

Now, there’s a book I wouldn’t want to judge by the cover. What that Mase Lebow is doing at this bachelor auction I couldn’t tell you. First of all, the man looks plain dangerous. Attractive, but dangerous. And the brochure says he’s a cop, for heaven’s sake. I wouldn’t feel safe with him.

And then, he’s got a child with him. And that little boy looks as uncomfortable as his father. They’re going to lose money on this contender, I’m sure. Who would bid on him? Someone looking for trouble?

Dear Reader,

We just knew you wouldn’t want to miss the news event that has all of Wyoming abuzz! There’s a herd of eligible bachelors on their way to Lightning Creek—and they’re all for sale!

Cowboy, park ranger, rancher, P.I.—they all grew up at Lost Springs Ranch, and every one of these mavericks has his price, so long as the money’s going to help keep Lost Springs afloat.

The auction is about to begin! Young and old, every woman in the state wants in on the action, so pony up some cash and join the fun. The man of your dreams might just be up for grabs.…

Marsha Zinberg

Editorial Coordinator, Heart of the West

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Author’s Note

When we were asked to write a book for the Heart of the West series, we jumped at the chance. The setting was right in our backyard—Wyoming is next door to Colorado—and we love to share the vistas of the New West with our readers.

But even more compelling was the chance to demonstrate equine therapy’s large and small miracles. Carla attended the therapy sessions of a local group, and each one of the Someday Ranch’s “guests” inspired our story. The horses, of course, play themselves.

We hope you enjoy the story and all the rest of the books to follow in the series.

Sincerely,

Carla and Molly The Lynn Erickson team

This book is dedicated to all the equine therapists who perform their miracles with compassion and patience every day of the year.

Contents

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

Excerpt

CHAPTER ONE

CALLIE THORNE HAD no idea she was muttering aloud to herself until her friend strolled up.

“Hey, Callie,” Lindsay said, “it can’t be that bad. Look around you. Everyone’s having a ball.”

Callie let out a whistling breath. It was true. Everyone at the Lost Springs Ranch for Boys was having a rousing good time. There must have been a hundred people—men, women and children—gathered around the showring where the much-anticipated bachelor auction was soon to get under way. Dogs were running loose, and boys from the ranch raced around, creating chaos. Their counselors were trying to keep them in some kind of order, but it was a weekend, the atmosphere festive, and their efforts proved futile.

The crowd wasn’t all from nearby Lightning Creek, Wyoming. People had come from as far away as New York and Los Angeles for the auction. There was a bevy of handsome men to bid on—a whole catalog full of them. Each one had his picture in the glossy brochure, along with a brief profile listing likes and dislikes, favorite song, most embarrassing moment.... One photo showed a good-looking guy in a tuxedo with a rose in his hand, another in a chef’s hat and apron.

Most of the bachelors were success stories, graduates of this very ranch, where troubled boys often found a new path in life. Callie had read all about them. The brochure was still in her back pocket. The auction was a worthy event, designed to raise money for the ranch, which was facing financial difficulties. Callie couldn’t have been happier about the super turnout. Her friend Lindsay Duncan’s family had owned and operated the place for many years, and now Lindsay owned it. Proceeds from the auction would help put the ranch back on its feet.

Callie only wished she hadn’t agreed to participate. Suddenly, a fantasy image popped into her head. She was used to these dreamscapes by now, though she never confided about them to anyone. They came to her at the strangest times, often right in the middle of a totally unrelated situation, and while she watched the scene play out in her mind, she knew she must look unfocused, as if she were daydreaming. Probably that was why people thought of her as a bit of a…crackpot. In this fantasy, she bid on a great-looking bachelor—actually won him for a weekend date. He was everything a woman could dream of: handsome, intelligent, kind and sympathetic, with a smile that made her legs go all watery. He was rich. They were camping out. Sure, Callie thought, why not? Camping beneath a heavenly black velvet sky right on her own ranch. A big steak sizzling in an iron frying pan, and propped up against a rock was an opened bottle of wine. Firelight danced in the man’s eyes, and he was leaning close to Callie, telling her this bachelor date was the best thing that had ever happened to him. His lips—the most sensual lips she’d ever seen on a man—parted to kiss her. Her heart sang.... And then he confessed there was this one little thing he had to tell her. He was, uh, married, but it was a bad marriage, and he was miserable....