High-Caliber Cowboy
LAND. MONEY. WOMEN AND CATTLE. ALL PART AND PARCEL OF BIG SKY BUSINESS.The McCalls had been sworn enemies of the VanHorns for generations. And nothing had changed….Until now. As the black sheep of the family, Brandon McCall had zero to lose by crossing the property line. His own father couldn't fault hard work–no matter the employer. But fraternizing with a female VanHorn was out of the question. Except this woman was in a heap of trouble.Anna Austin was determined to find out what had happened to her past, her parents…. Only, someone else wanted those secrets to remain buried. With Brandon by her side, only certain death would stop her pursuit.
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âDonât cry.â
âIâm not crying!â Anna sniffed.
Oh, hell. Being raised with three brothers by his dad, Brandon didnât have a clue what to do when it came to women. Well, at least not the crying part.
He put a tentative hand on Annaâs shoulder. âItâs going to be all right.â
She shot him a look that told him that was an obvious lie.
âOkay, itâs not going to be all right.â He put his arm all the way around her. âBut it could be worse. We could have been shot.â
Still crying but laughing, too, she leaned back to look at him. âYou always see the silver lining in every cloud, donât you?â
Not always, but definitely right now with her in his arms.
He hated how good it felt to hold her. Just his luck that the first woman who made him feel like this was not only wanted by the law, but was also his familyâs sworn enemy.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A former award-winning journalist, B.J. had thirty-six short stories published before her first romantic suspense, Odd Man Out, came out in 1995. Her book Premeditated Marriage won Romantic Times Best Intrigue award for 2002 and she received a Career Achievement Award for Romantic Suspense. B.J. lives in Montana with her husband, Parker, three springer spaniels, Zoey, Scout and Spot, and a temperamental tomcat named Jeff. She is a member of Kiss of Death, the Bozeman Writerâs Group and Romance Writers of America. When she isnât writing, she snowboards in the winters and camps, water-skis and plays tennis in the summers. To contact her, write: P.O. Box 183, Bozeman, MT 59771 or look for her online at www.bjdaniels.com.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Anna AustinâShe came to Montana determined not to let anyone keep her from the truthâincluding the cowboy sheâd dreamed of for years.
Brandon McCallâThe cowboy was just trying to escape his legacyâuntil he met his destiny one dark night.
Emma InglesâShe had the perfect job, except for the occasional cries she heard coming from the locked wing.
Mason VanHornâFor years heâd hidden the truth about the past. Now someone is digging up those painful memoriesâ¦.
Dr. Niles FrenchâHe sold his soul years ago. Now he is old and tired of doing Mason VanHornâs dirty work. But what price will he have to pay to get out from the manâs death grip?
Josh DavidsonâHe would do anything for his boss the docâ¦even kill.
Lenore JohnsonâThe private investigator took on the case knowing it might be dangerous. She just didnât realize how dangerous.
Dr. Porter IversâAll he wanted was to comfort his sick wife in her final days. After giving his life to the Antelope Flats Clinic, was a little peace too much to ask?
Dr. Taylor IversâAn overachiever, sheâd followed in her fatherâs footsteps and became the daughter heâd always dreamed of. Or had she?
Sheriff Cash McCallâHe had one too many murders on his hands and everywhere he turned, he found his brother in the thick of it.
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 One
Saturday night
Emma Ingles loved the night shift. Tonight, sheâd fallen asleep watching an old Western on the little TV in the office, her feet up on the desk, her mouth open.
She was a bulky woman, with bad feet and little ambition, who looked much tougher than she was. But sheâd found the perfect job for a woman in her late fifties. Well, almost the perfect job.
She woke in midsnore. Startled, she sat up, her feet hitting the floor with a slap as she looked around. She muted the movie and glanced at the clock. Just a little after 3:00 a.m.
Listening, she was relieved to hear nothing, which was exactly what she should have heard since she was completely alone in the huge old building. At least, she was supposed to be.
Warily, she glanced through the glass-and-mesh window that looked out on the worn linoleum-tile hallway. In the dim light, her gaze wandered down to the chained, locked double doors to the wing that had housed the violent patients, the criminally insane.
Please, not tonight. There were times she swore she heard cries coming from that wing. Thatâs why she kept the TV cranked up loud enough to drown out any noises, real or imagined. The wing had been empty for twenty years nowâand locked up tight. If thatâs where the sound had come from no way was she going down there to investigateâeven if sheâd had a key.
The backdoor buzzer went off, making her jump. That must be what had awakened her. But who would be ringing the buzzer at this hour? Her boss, Realtor Frank Yarrow, was in charge of selling the building and would have called or maybe come to the front door if there were an emergency of some kind.
But she couldnât even see him driving up here at three in the morning. The former Brookside Mental Institution was at the end of a winding dirt road, the monstrous three-story brick building perched like a vulture on the mountainside, ten miles from town. Isolated, hidden, forgotten. For sale.
