Heâs Just The Hired Helpâ¦
What kind of cockeyed Pollyanna is Colin Cade working for? Her porch is rotting, her âguest cabinâ is cheerless and her land and livestock have only a geriatric cowboy to care for them. Yet Hannah Shaw is positive she can turn her ranch into a successful B and Bâand that Colinâs the man to make it happen.
But Colin canât stick around. He lives with the loss of his family by avoiding the memories, and the way he feels around Hannah and her young son is like a knife to the heart. Trouble is, heâs better at ignoring his own pain than someone elseâs, and bright, cheerful Hannah has a heart as haunted as his own. She deserves to be happyâbut could she really be with him?
Hannah wasnât surprised when Colin turned in early for the night.
With his brother sleeping in the room next to him, there had been no chance heâd invite Hannah into his bed. Still, logic didnât stop her from lying awake long past midnight on the slim hope that he might knock against her bedroom door. His scent lingered on her sheets and the memories of what theyâd done in this very bed earlier in the day tormented her.
It would be easy to blame Justin for his inconvenient timing, but with or without his showing up, the end result was going to be the same. She would lose Colin. Heâd never made any secret that he wasnât the kind of guy to stick around in one place. Heâd always planned to leave for his brotherâs wedding and that job afterward on a cattle drive. Although sheâd enjoyed hearing Justinâs anecdotes about wedding plans, each one reminded her that the big day was rapidly approaching.
Her time with Colin was almost at an end.
She blinked rapidly, trying to catch her tears on her lashes. It didnât count as crying over the cowboy if the tears didnât actually make it to her cheeks.
Find a bright side, her inner voice urged. Likeâ¦the ranch was in far better shape than it had been before Colin had come.
But what about me? What shape would her heart be in once heâd gone?.
Dear Reader,
Isnât it frustratingâeven heartbreakingâwhen bad things happen to good people? Over the years, Iâve witnessed a few friends stagger through hard times, seemingly plagued by one tragedy after another. But theyâve inspired me with their resilience and spirit, weathering numerous difficulties and rediscovering joy.
Colin Cade is a man who has experienced a great deal of difficulty and lossâhis parentsâ deaths when he was young and, more recently, the deaths of his wife and child in a car accident. For months afterward, all that held him together was the support of his two siblings. But his sister is now busy with her newborn daughter, and his brother is engaged and neck-deep in wedding plans. Theyâre moving forward with their lives, and Colin decides to move on, too. He does odd jobs on ranches, never staying in one place for long, never getting attached.
Until he meets young widow Hannah Shaw and her four-year-old son. Working alongside Hannah at the Silver Linings Ranch changes Colinâs perspective, reminding him that loss doesnât have to define a person. But even as he heals, he questions whether heâs brave enough to love again.
Colin and Hannah were one of my favorite couples to write, and I hope that you find their story as poignant and uplifting as I do. Please drop by on Facebook (AuthorTanyaMichaels) or Twitter (@TanyaMichaels) and let me know!
Best wishes,
Tanya
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
New York Times bestselling author and three-time RITA® Award nominee Tanya Michaels writes about what she knowsâcommunity, family and lasting love! Her books, praised for their poignancy and humor, have received honors such as a Booksellersâ Best Bet Award, a Maggie Award of Excellence and multiple readersâ choice awards. She was also a 2010 RT Book Reviews nominee for Career Achievement in Category Romance. Tanya is an active member of Romance Writers of America and a frequent public speaker, presenting workshops to educate and encourage aspiring writers. She lives outside Atlanta with her very supportive husband, two highly imaginative children and a household of quirky pets, including a cat who thinks sheâs a dog and a bichon frise who thinks sheâs the center of the universe.
This is dedicated to everyone who emailed and posted online after reading the first Colorado Cades book to say they couldnât wait for Colinâs story!
Chapter One
For Colin Cade, one of the chief selling points of his motorcycle had been solitude. He preferred being alone, making it a conscious choice rather than a tragic circumstance, but that meant a lot of time in his own head. Unfortunately, not even the Harley could outrun his thoughts. Or his anger.
How the hell had heâa man whoâd lived like a monk for the better part of two yearsâbeen fired for âsexual misconductâ?