Texas Witness

Six foot two of raw masculinity is her best witness protection

Face-to-face with the woman who jilted him, Colin O’Brien tells himself he’s over her. What the charming rancher doesn’t know is that the man Melissa Roark Rancic married has forced her—and her infant daughter—to live a charade of love. And now, about to testify to his criminal deeds, she’s shaken by rekindled feelings for Colin and scared that he’ll discover her child is his.

Though angry, Colin vows to protect Melissa from her vengeful ex...while safeguarding his own heart. But once he steps up, he can’t step away. No danger can keep Colin from the woman he never stopped loving.

He was close enough to see the tears streaming down her cheeks.

Ah, hell. He hadn’t meant to cause that.

“You want to know what my life was like?” she pushed.

“Imagine the worst day you’ve ever had…” Her eyes were wild; he’d never seen her like this before. “And then imagine people were getting hurt all around you and you had no power to stop it.”

“Tell me what he did to you, Melissa,” he said. He needed to hear the words.

“Right now all I can think about is staying alive so that I can take care of my little girl. I get that you hate me. I hurt you and I probably deserve whatever anger you hurl at me. But my life has been hell and I just want this nightmare to end. Nothing else matters until it does.”

Colin couldn’t think of one positive thing to say to calm her down so he threw all caution to the wind, pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

Texas Witness

Barb Han

www.millsandboon.co.uk

USA TODAY bestselling author BARB HAN lives in north Texas with her very own hero-worthy husband, three beautiful children, a spunky golden retriever/standard poodle mix and too many books in her to-read pile. In her downtime, she plays video games and spends much of her time on or around a basketball court. She loves interacting with readers and is grateful for their support. You can reach her at www.barbhan.com.

Many thanks go to Allison Lyons, who makes every book better! A deep well of gratitude goes to Jill Marsal, who really is the best of the best and a dream to work with.

Brandon, Jacob and Tori, the three of you light up my life in so many bright and colorful ways. I love each of you even more with every passing year, and it is my greatest pleasure to see the beautiful people you’ve become.

Babe, we’re watching another one of our babies test his wings. We get to enjoy a few more years with our youngest before she does the same. Then it’ll be the two of us again, just like in the beginning... And a whole new set of adventures await. I love you!

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

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 Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

“I didn’t approve her. I would never do that. She shouldn’t be here.” Cynthia Stoker, the Cattlemen Crime Club’s event coordinator, paced in the kitchen. Her fingers were a braided knot. She was responsible for the guest list at the Spring Fling, the annual end-of-spring fund-raiser hosted by the O’Brien family.

“I know.” Colin O’Brien folded his arms, hiding just how much the thought of seeing Melissa Roark—correction, Melissa Rancic—again twisted his gut. Being the fourth son of the wealthy O’Brien family and with good looks and charm to spare, he hadn’t seen a lot of rejection in his life. Until her. And she’d ripped his heart out. “How’d her name get past security?”

“She asked to come as Carolina Jordan’s plus-one, and since she wasn’t listed as a threat they approved her,” Cynthia said, throwing her hands in the air, worry lines bracketing her mouth. She’d worked at the ranch for a little more than five years. She’d become close with his family and knew that the subject of Melissa was off-limits. “Honest. I thought she moved away a year ago. I had no idea she’d resurface.”

“She did.” The thought that she’d returned to Bluff, Texas, let alone be bold enough to show up at his family’s fund-raiser riding on someone else’s invitation, sat hot and heavy. The heels of his boots clicked on the tile floor as he paced. The last time he’d seen her had been when she’d handed him the engagement ring she’d been wearing—the one he’d given her—and then married one of the biggest jerks to ever blow through town, Richard Rancic. The guy was all flash and no substance, splashing local businesses with his money before taking what he wanted—Melissa—and breezing out of town. The newlyweds had disappeared after the quickie wedding. Apparently, Melissa couldn’t get away from Colin fast enough.

He’d moved on, dated plenty of interesting women since then. The thought of seeing her again shouldn’t hurt this much. And just to prove to himself that it didn’t, he planned to march right into the ballroom and show her just how freakin’ fantastic he was doing since she’d told him that she didn’t love him the same anymore and then walked out of his life.