Outlaw's Honor
She never expected this Cahill to be her hero—or the only man she'd needIt’s hard to forget a beautiful woman who picks your pocket the first time you meet. Darby Cahill recognizes Mariah Ayres the moment she walks into his bar looking for a job. He shouldn’t hire her…or crave more after one impulsive kiss. But what starts as curiosity about her motives turns to concern when he senses how much danger she’s in.Mariah has been running ever since she left her fiancé at the altar. Now she’s playing the part of the perfect employee, terrified that her past will catch up with her. But Darby has already seen through her act. He’s the kind of guy who saves people. And even if Mariah’s given him no reason to trust her, he’s determined to protect her—and he’ll risk his life to do it…
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She never expected this Cahill to be her heroâor the only man sheâd need
Itâs hard to forget a beautiful woman who picks your pocket the first time you meet. Darby Cahill recognizes Mariah Ayres the moment she walks into his bar looking for a job. He shouldnât hire her...or crave more after one impulsive kiss. But what starts as curiosity about her motives turns to concern when he senses how much danger sheâs in.
Mariah has been running ever since she left her fiancé at the altar. Now sheâs playing the part of the perfect employee, terrified that her past will catch up with her. But Darby has already seen through her act. Heâs the kind of guy who saves people. And even if Mariahâs given him no reason to trust her, heâs determined to protect herâand heâll risk his life to do it...
Praise for New York Times bestselling author B.J. Daniels
âCrossing multiple genres, Daniels successfully combines Western romance, suspense and political intrigue with ease.â
âRT Book Reviews on Hard Rain
âThe heartwarming romance gets wrapped up here, but the book ends with a cliffhanger that is sure to have fans anxious for the next title in the series.â
âLibrary Journal on Lucky Shot
âForget slow-simmering romance: the multiple story lines weaving in and out of Big Timber, Montana, mean the second Montana Hamiltons contemporary...is always at a rolling boil.â
âPublishers Weekly on Lone Rider
â[The Montana Hamiltons] should definitely be on the must read list... A great introduction for new readers to this amazing author.â
âFresh Fiction on Wild Horses
âTruly amazing crime story for every amateur sleuth.â
âFresh Fiction on Mercy
âDaniels is truly an expert at Western romantic suspense.â
âRT Book Reviews on Atonement
âWill keep readers on the edge of their chairs from beginning to end.â
âBooklist on Forsaken
âAction-packed and chock-full of suspense.â
âUnder the Covers on Redemption
âFans of Western romantic suspense will relish Danielsâ tale of clandestine love played out in a small town on the Great Plains.â
âBooklist on Unforgiven
Contents
DARBY CAHILL ADJUSTED his Stetson as he moved toward the bandstand. The streets of Gilt Edge, Montana, were filled with revelers whoâd come to celebrate the yearly chokecherry harvest on this beautiful day. The main street had been blocked off for all the events. People had come from miles around for the celebration of a cherry that was so tart it made your mouth pucker.
As he climbed the steps, Darby figured it just proved that people would celebrate anything. Normally, his twin sister, Lillie, attended, but this year she was determined that he should do more of their promotion at these events.
âI hate it as much as you do,â sheâd assured him. âBut believe me. Youâll get more attention up there on the stage than me. Just say a few words, throw T-shirts into the crowd, have some fry bread and come home. You can do this.â Clearly, she knew his weakness for fry bread as well as his dislike of being the center of attention.
The T-shirts were from the Stagecoach Saloon, the bar and café the two of them owned and operated outside of town. Since it had opened, the bar had helped sponsor the Chokecherry Festival each year.
He heard his name being announced and sighed as he made his way up the rest of the steps to the microphone to deafening applause. He tipped his hat to the crowd, swallowed the lump in his throat and said, âItâs an honor to be here and be part of such a wonderful celebration.â
âAre you taking part in the pit-spitting competition?â someone yelled from the crowd, and others joined in. Along with being bitter, chokecherries were mostly pit.
âIâm going to leave that to the professionals,â he said, reaching for the box of T-shirts, wanting this over with as quickly as possible. He didnât like being in the spotlight any longer than he had to. Also he hoped that once he started throwing the shirts, everyone would forget about the pit-spitting contest later.
He was midthrow when he spotted a woman in the crowd. What had caught his eye was the brightly colored scarf around her dark hair. It fluttered in the breeze, giving him only glimpses of her face.
He let go and the T-shirt sailed through the air as if caught on the breeze. He saw with a curse that it was headed right for the woman. Grimacing, he watched the rolled-up T-shirt clip the womanâs shoulder.
She looked up, clearly startled. He had the impression of serious dark eyes, full lips. Their gazes locked for an instant and he felt something like lightning pierce his heart. For a moment, he couldnât breathe. Rooted to the spot, all he could hear was the drumming of his heart, the roaring crowd a dull hum in the background.
