Going Home Shouldnât Be This Hardâ¦
Cassidy Lambert traded in Montanaâs big sky country for the big-city lightsâforever. Until a potentially devastating equine illness threatens her familyâs ranch, and Cassidy is needed at home to help. She thinks she knows what she wants from life, but the more sheâs around sexy veterinarian Dan Farley, the more confused she gets.
When Cassidy comes back to the open Western landscape Dan loves, sheâs nothing but a beautiful burr under his saddle. She stomped on his heart once before, and heâs not eager for another go-around. But he just canât keep himself away from those green eyes and sweet curves. Itâs a good thing sheâll soon be gone again. Because he canât trust herâor himselfâwhen sheâs around!
The one person Cassidy didnât expect to see in the barn examining the newest sick horse was Farley.
âSo how is Chickweed doing?â She patted the horse as she walked around him, doing a quick visual exam. âIs he running a fever?â
âAfraid so. And heâs definitely suffering some painâsee how swollen he is under his jaw?â Farley placed her hand over the enlarged lymph nodes, and she nodded.
Not only did she feel the evidence of strangles in the horse, but she also felt the rough calluses of Farleyâs hand. And the strength. And the warmth.
She remembered what his hands had felt like on her waist and on her shoulder, when theyâd danced together four years ago. Sheâd never forgotten and never would.
Did he ever think about the good part of that night?
Or just her inexcusable behavior afterward?
She glanced at his face, and saw that he was looking at her, his dark gaze intense as always, but inscrutable.
He blinked.
The moment between themâif indeed it had been a momentâwas over.
Dear Reader,
Welcome back to Coffee Creek, Montana, where the Lambertsâa family of ranchers and cowboysâown the largest spread in Bitterroot County, all controlled by matriarch Olive Lambert. This time Cassidy Lambert takes center stage. With her business degree finally completed, Cassidy plans to get a job in the city and finally win complete independence from her domineering family. But when one of the family horses comes down with an infectious case of strangles and vet Dan Farley puts the ranch in quarantine, Cassidy steps in to help.
The good-looking local vet is considered by many to be the countyâs most eligible bachelor. Too bad Cassidy burned her bridges with him four years ago. Itâll make working together all the more uncomfortable. What happens next seems to be part of Cassidyâs motherâs controlling plans. Or is it? Please read on, and decide for yourself.
One of the pleasures of writing a family saga is creating the setting for the stories. In this case I took a real town nameâCoffee Creek, Montanaânudged it a little in a southwesterly direction, made it the head of fictional Bitterroot County and decked it out with interesting establishments like the Cinnamon Stick Café and the Lonesome Spur Saloon. Thereâs a two-story brick courthouse in the center of town, next to the post office and library. If youâd like to see the pictures that inspired the setting and stories, please visit my storyboards on www.pinterest.com under CJ_Carmichael.
There are more stories coming, so please keep an eye out for A Promise from a Cowboy this August, with Cowboy Christmas following in October. And do visit my website, where I hold regular contests and chat about my writing process and new stories in the works.
Happy reading!
C.J. Carmichael
www.cjcarmichael.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hard to imagine a more glamorous life than being an accountant, isnât it? Still, C.J. Carmichael gave up the thrills of income tax forms and double-entry bookkeeping when she sold her first book in 1998. She has now written more than twenty-eight novels for Harlequin Books, and invites you to learn more about her books, see photos of her hiking exploits and enter her surprise contests at www.cjcarmichael.com.
This is for my Aunt Eleanor Schatz, who only this summer reminded me that she was the one who introduced me to Harlequin romances. Thanks for sharing your booksâhereâs one for you!
Prologue
It was strange to think of Brock getting married today. He was the youngest of her brothers and, Cassidy Lambert would have asserted, the least serious and least responsible of the bunch.
Yet falling in love with Winnie Hayes had changed himâin good ways. And at twenty-eight, he certainly wasnât too young for marriage. Not that his brothers had set good examples on that score.
B.J. at thirty-four and Corb, thirty-two, were both still single. Could it be theyâd talked Brock out of taking the plunge?
Or maybe heâd come up with cold feet all on his own.