Her luckâs changing for the betterâ¦right?
Making the tough decisions has always been easy for big-city human-resources specialist Ellison Hunterâ¦until a surprise pregnancy changes everything. Now itâs her life that needs major reorganization. Putting her personnel expertise to use on her familyâs Montana ranch is the perfect escapeâeven if it means contending with ace rancher Ryan Madison.
His stubborn pride and loyalty to the staff? Those she can handle. But his sexy grin, cowboy charm and instinct to protect her and her baby catch her off guard. As attraction spins into something more, Ellie finds herself even further out of her element. But maybe, with Ryan, sheâs exactly where she belongs.
He wanted to touch her
Ellie could sense it. And worse yet, she felt the same, as if a wall had fallen away and sheâd realized it was possible to touch.
Dear heaven, how she wanted to. She wanted to step closer, take Ryanâs face in her hands and kiss him. Softly the first time, hard and deep the second time. To find out what all those lean muscles felt like under her fingers. She wanted to wrap herself around him, experience what this cowboy had to offer and for one brief moment just feel and not think.
But it wasnât possible. That was what had gotten her into this situation, and sheâd been stupid to let herself meander along this path. She was pregnant. She was leaving. She couldnât toy around with this guyâit wasnât fair to either one of them.
Ellison stepped back.
Dear Reader,
Have you ever heard the saying that life is what happens while youâre making other plans? Well, life happens to Ellison Hunter in a big way when she discovers sheâs pregnant and that the father of her child is not the guy she thought he was. All of her carefully crafted plans disintegrate, and the next thing she knows, sheâs in Montana, on a ranch, dealing with cows and cowboys and a lifestyle thatâs utterly foreign to her. Ellie isnât wild about unfamiliar environments, but now that sheâs there, sheâs determined to make the best of it, for both herself and her baby.
Enter my cowboy hero whoâs too busy to make plans. He takes what life tosses him and deals with itâand he wants to help Ellie deal with her problems, too, but Ellieâs not ready to depend on anyone. Not nowâ¦maybe not ever.
Iâve made a few plans over the years that got knocked off track by life happeningâlike, say, the time I was supposed to go to Washington, D.C., as an intern and instead met and married my husband. I never saw that coming and Iâve never regretted the rapid career change that ensued. Funny how life works out.
I hope you enjoy reading about Ellie and Ryan as much as I enjoyed writing the story. Please visit my website at www.jeanniewatt.com, or contact me at [email protected]. You can also follow my adventures sewing vintage clothing at retrosewingromance.blogspot.com.
Happy reading,
Jeannie Watt
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jeannie Watt lives in the heart of rural Nevada in a historic ranching community. When sheâs not at the computer writing, she collects and sews vintage clothing patternsâher new obsessionâand makes mosaic mirrors. Every now and again she and her husband slip away to San Francisco to run a 10K and soak up the city, but for the most part she enjoys living in her quiet desert setting, thinking up new ways to torture her characters before they reach their happily ever after.
To Gail Thompson.
Thanks for all the great years working together.
CHAPTER ONE
SHE WOULDNâT NEED black pumps on a ranch...would she?
Ellison Hunter hesitated for only a moment before she tucked her trusty Christian Louboutin shoes, toes stuffed with the original tissue, into their usual spot in her travel bag. She had no idea what sheâd be facing in Montana, but would hate to need her pumps and be without. These particular heels, a splurge sheâd never regretted, gave her a sense of power and control, which was exactly what Ellie needed right now.
The phone rang for the third time in the past two hours as she reached for a stack of underwear to tuck into the spaces around the heels and Ellie considered ignoring itâexcept that an unanswered call would eventually be followed by a rapping on her door. So much for control and power.
âMontana?â Kate Warren asked without saying hello. Ellieâs closest friend was well aware that Ellie was holding out on her, that she hadnât divulged the true reason for her abrupt departure from her job and an impromptu trip across the country for an undetermined length of time. And Ellie wasnât going to spill her guts anytime soon because she was still coming to terms with the reason herself.