Rodeo Bride

Rodeo Bride
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He can handle a battlefield – but not a baby!Injured out of the army, soldier Dillon Farraday is stunned to discover he’s a dad. He can fight for his country, but he doesn’t know the first thing about babies! Cowgirl Colleen Applegate’s maternal instincts kick in the second Dillon’s ex-wife leaves baby Toby on her porch.This rodeo queen is an unconventional teacher – but the only one who can show this hopeless daddy the ropes. Dillon’s got three weeks to pass daddy school with flying colours…

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Excerpt

Dillon Farraday was coming. “This morning,” Colleen Applegate whispered, staring out of the window at the long drive leading from her ranch to the rest of the world. And the reason he was coming was going to tear her heart apart, she thought, glancing down at the baby monitor, her lifeline to the child she’d grown to love as her own.

In a brief, terse telephone conversation yesterday he had introduced himself, said that he’d been released from the hospital and indicated one thing more: he was coming to Montana and he expected Colleen to docilely hand sweet little Toby over.

There was only one problem there. Dillon Farraday might have a legal claim, but Colleen had never been a docile woman.

Myrna Mackenzie grew up not having a clue what she wanted to be (she hadn’t been born a princess, the one job she thought she might like because of the steady flow of pretty dresses and crowns), but she knew that she loved stories and happy endings, so falling into life as a romance writer was pretty much inevitable. An award-winning author with over 35 novels written, Myrna was born in a small town in Dunklin County, Missouri, grew up just outside Chicago, and now divides her time between two lakes in Chicago and Wisconsin, both very different and both very beautiful. She adores the internet (which still seems magical after all these years), loves coffee, hiking, attempting gardening (without much success), cooking and knitting. Readers (and other potential gardeners, cooks, knitters, writers, etc.) can visit Myrna online at www.myrnamackenzie.com, or write to her at PO Box 225, La Grange, IL 60525, USA.

Rodeo Bride

By

Myrna Mackenzie

MILLS & BOON®

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Dear Reader

One of the greatest things about writing a story is meeting the characters and getting to know them. I start out with a vague idea of who they are, but by the end of the book they’ve become real, warm, caring human beings. Here are some things I learned about Colleen and Dillon as the story unfolded:

Colleen is a woman who:

Is a former champion barrel racer

Is a Montana rancher

Has to be tough and strong, and is willing to go to bat for those she loves

Loves the colour red and has a great pair of red cowgirl boots

Can’t have children, even though she was born to be a mother

Has been mistreated by those who should have loved and cared for her

Catches fire whenever Dillon is around, even though she knows she can’t have him

Dillon is a man who:

Is a millionaire who owns his own engineering firm in Chicago

Has returned from battle wounded

Is a protector of the weak

Never knew he wanted children, but will move heaven and earth to be with his son

Loves fast, sleek cars

Knows how to wield a hammer

Has some dark moments in his past that he would rather not remember

A tough lady rancher tied to the land, and a millionaire Chicago entrepreneur? I didn’t know how that would ever work out, but I knew that love would find a way!

Best wishes

Myrna Mackenzie

Chapter One

DILLON FARRADAY was coming. “This morning,” Colleen Applegate whispered, staring out the window at the long drive leading from her ranch to the rest of the world. And the reason he was coming was going to tear her heart apart, she thought, glancing down at the baby monitor, her lifeline to the child she’d grown to love as her own.

She’d never actually met the man, but what she knew worried her. He was drop-dead handsome, rich and, therefore, probably used to getting his way. He was from Chicago and might frown on Montana ranch life. Moreover, he was a soldier, used to harsh ways, and Colleen knew all about harsh men. This one had been injured in battle six months ago, so he might not be in the best of humor. All of that information was public, readily available on the Internet.

Beyond that, however, things got murkier. Dillon was recently divorced from Lisa, a former local who had gone to school with Colleen, and three months ago Lisa had shown up at Colleen’s door with her new baby. “I can’t do this,” she’d told Colleen, “but you’re perfect with babies, and you’ve always wanted one. Take care of him, please, for now.”

Colleen had wanted to say no, but a baby had been involved. She’d reluctantly agreed to keep Toby safe.

“By the way,” Lisa had said, before she left, “I sent a note to Dillon at the hospital where he’s laid up, so he knows about the baby’s existence. He might or might not want to see Toby someday, but…the baby might not be his. Biologically, that is.”

Then Lisa had run, so that small cryptic bit of information was almost all that Colleen knew. Except for one more thing. That question about whether or not Dillon might want to see the baby? It was no longer a question.

In a brief, terse telephone conversation yesterday he had introduced himself, said that he’d been released from the hospital and indicated one thing more: he was coming to Montana and he expected Colleen to docilely hand sweet little Toby over.

There was only one problem there. Dillon Farraday might have a legal claim, but Colleen had never been a docile woman.



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