A Match Made In Texas
To escape a scandal in England, Violet Brookfield is sent to her brotherâs ranch in Texas. Soon she discovers that the vibrant new world and rugged trail boss Raleigh Masterson are perfect material for the Western sheâs writing. And when her time is up, sheâll return to the nobleman she left behind.
Violet is the most elegant female ever to set foot in Simpson Creek, and Raleigh is sure sheâll never stay. He has no business falling for the beautiful aristocrat. But soon Violet makes a place for herself in the Hill Countryâand in his heart. Now if only he can convince her that she belongs there foreverâ¦.
âIâve never met a writer before.â He let his admiration show in his voice.
Violet turned back to him, surprised. âYouâre
the first person whoâs ever called me a writer, Raleigh Masterson. Even Gerald doesnâtââ She stopped suddenly, as if sheâd said too much.
âWhoâs Gerald?â he asked.
âGerald is the man Iâm in love with. Heâs the Earl of Lullington.â She spoke so softly that he had to strain to hear, but when he made sense of her words, his heart sank. Of course sheâd found someone to love, someone who was titled and wealthy, as she was. Heâd been a fool to think otherwise.
âIâm surprised you could leave him for so long,â he said.
âI didnât have a choice. My brother thinks if he separates us for a time, Iâll forget about Gerald. But I wonât, of course.â
There was an uncertain look in her eyes, as if she couldnât speak with confidence about her beauâs feelings for her.
âIâm sure no man in his right mind could forget about you, Miss Violet.â
LAURIE KINGERY
makes her home in central Ohio, where she is a âTexan-in-exile.â Formerly writing as Laurie Grant for the Harlequin Historical line and other publishers, she is the author of eighteen previous books and the 1994 winner of a Readersâ Choice Award in the Short Historical category. She has also been nominated for Best First Medieval and Career Achievement in Western Historical Romance by RT Book Reviews. When not writing her historicals, she loves to travel, read, participate on Facebook and Shoutlife and write her blog on
www.lauriekingery.com.
Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which
so easily doth beset us, And let us run with patience the race that is set before us.
âHebrews 12:1
To my âadopted sistersâ
Carole Tyson and âTudieâ Metzer. Thanks for being part of my family! And as always, to Tom.
Chapter One
Simpson Creek, TexasâJuly 7, 1868
âSimpson Creek!â the driver called out as the coach rolled onto the bridge over the creek that had given the town its name.
âThank goodness,â grumbled Violetâs brother Edward, Viscount Greyshaw, rubbing his back and glancing resentfully at the top of the coach after the driver hit yet another rut. He grabbed for the overhead strap to steady himself. âHe does that on purpose,â he muttered, then added, for the hundredth time, âI donât know why Nick chose to live so far from the coast. Barbaric place, Texas. Too big by half.â
Normally, her elder brother was the kindest of men, but the two of them had been on the road for several days now, first on the stage line that ran from Indianola, on the Gulf coast, to Austin. Theyâd had to cool their heels in the Texas capital for several days until Friday, when the stage to Lampasas ran again. Once in Lampasas, however, they had learned there was no regular stage that ran the final thirty miles to Simpson Creek. It had taken a sizable bribe at the stagecoach station to convince an off-duty driver to take them the rest of the way. They had not gone a mile when Edward had voiced his suspicion that the coach had been retired due to its lack of springs and threadbare cushions.
Violet ignored his complaining as she stared raptly out of the window on her side of the coach. âI think itâs a darling little townâso quaint and picturesque. So very Old West.â She could already imagine penning a letter in which she described it to Geraldâassuming there was a place to post a letter to her beau back in England. And she could use Simpson Creek as the basis for the fictional town in the novel she was writing. âOh, lookâis that the church where Nick and Milly were married?â
âThe very one,â her brother murmured, his tone softening somewhat. âItâs the only church in town, so everyone attends it.â
They rolled past a row of storefronts on either side and finally pulled up in front of a hotel.
âDriver, will there be time for us to have luncheon before we go on to the Brookfield ranch while you obtain a fresh team?â Edward inquired as he descended the coach.