Outlaw Marriage
What better way to conquer your opponent than to get extremely close to him?Hope Baxter had teethed on stories of Kincaid family corruption. So when her ruthless father demanded his lawyer daughter wrench prime land from the Kincaids' grasp…she went in for the kill. But Hope underestimated her opponent–a dust-on-his-leather-chaps cowboy, Collin Kincaid. His weapon was his searing kiss, and Hope was defenseless against it. Collin unearthed Hope's vulnerability–her secret desire for a family. But following her dream would mean the ultimate defection. Could they forget their families' feuds and love simply as man and woman…husband and wife?
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Stories of family and romance beneath the Big Sky!
âI like hearing your laughter. It opens up a whole new world.â
Startled, Hope stared at him, the amusement dying as she gazed into his eyes. Flames licked over her nerves at his intense perusal. Awareness flickered between them, as insistent as heat lightning in a summer storm.
With effort, she looked away.
âIt isnât going to disappear,â Collin said, his voice rich with nuances that hinted at future blissâ¦and reckless, impossible complications.
She thought of pretending not to know what he meant, but discarded the notion. âNothing is going to come of it,â she said instead.
âNothing?â
âNo. The Baxters and Kincaids will always be on opposite sides.â
A wry smile curved his expressive lips.
âYouâre wrong. And soon Iâll prove it.â
LAURIE PAIGE
âOne of the nicest things about writing romances is researching locales, careers and ideas. In the interest of authenticity, most writers will try anythingâ¦once.â Along with her writing adventures, Laurie has been a NASA engineer, a past president of the Romance Writers of America, a mother and a grandmother. She was twice a Romance Writers of America RITA>® Award finalist for Best Traditional Romance and has won awards from RT Book Reviews for Best Silhouette Special Edition and Best Silhouette Book in addition to appearing on the USA TODAY bestseller list.
Settled in Northern California, Laurie is looking forward to whatever experiences her next novel will bring.
To Sonja and her runaway groom
Best Wishes
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
One
H ope Baxter exhaled a pensive sigh, her gaze on the mountains to the west of Whitehorn. Today the lofty peaks didnât comfort her troubled spirit. Neither did they gain her any perspective on the problems confronting her.
Not that the problems were personal, she hastened to assure herself.
The elaborately hand-carved sign on the lawn that proclaimed the building to be the new headquarters of the Baxter Development Corporation reminded her of her duties. She squared her shoulders and glanced toward the neatly arranged papers on her desk.
As the chief attorney on the case of Baxter versus Kincaid et al, she had to be cool, decisive and firm in the meeting with Collin Kincaid. She wondered where he was. Punctual in their prior meetings, he was ten minutes late for this one and he was the one who had requested it.
A movement caught her eye. She paused, her attention on the street in front of the building, and watched as a tall, agile rancher climbed out of a battered pickup, the standard mode of transportation for about ninety percent of the rural residents of Montana. He walked up the sidewalk toward the entrance of the building.
Collin Kincaid. Handsome, as all the Kincaid men were. Eyes like blue sapphires. Dark, almost-black, hair. Half a foot taller than her own five-seven stature, giving him the height advantage even when she wore high heels. He was also muscular. His palm had been calloused when they had shaken hands at their first meeting. He was a working rancher, not an armchair cowboy.
Collin was also the only legitimate grandson of Garrett Kincaid. Garrett was trying to buy the old Kincaid spread from the trustees who managed the ranch for seven-year-old Jenny McCallum, the heir to the throne, so to speak. The grandfather wanted to provide a legacy for the other six grandsonsâa seventh hadnât been found yet but was thought to existâall of whom were the bastard offspring of Garrettâs deceased son, Larry Kincaid.
Oh, what tangled webs we weaveâ¦
Not just Larry with his profligate womanizing, she mused, but all humans. She gave a snort of amusement. My, but she was waxing philosophical today.
Because Collin Kincaid made her nervous? Because sheâd felt the unmistakable pull of male-female interest between them the first time theyâd met? Because they were enemies?
Impatient with her thoughts, she resumed her seat in the executive chair and pulled herself closer to the desk. It was an effective shield, sheâd found, for dealing with those who didnât take her seriously as an attorney.
The secretaryâanother indication, along with the sign and new building, of the corporationâs affluent image, one her father wanted to project these daysâbuzzed her on the intercom and announced Kincaidâs arrival.
âSend him in,â she requested. She didnât stand when the door opened. Keeping her seat kept her in the position of authority. In this office, she was the one in charge.
His eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled upon seeing her. Their startling blue depths held laughter as he advanced across the Oriental carpet, as if he knew more than he was telling. And saw more than she was willing to reveal.
He was dressed in a gray summer suit with a touch of blue in the weave. His shirt was white and immaculate, his tie a tasteful blend of blue and gray with a touch of red.
