The Cowboy Target
FRAMED!For years after the suspicious death of his wife, single dad Wyatt Monroe isolated himself on his Wyoming ranch…until he’s accused of murder. With a body at his doorstep, he's arrested and Wyatt has only one hope–a blue-eyed, blond-haired bodyguard.But it'll take more than skill for work-obsessed Jackie Blain to save her reluctant client, who just wants to be left alone. She’ll have to gain his trust by keeping him and his daughter safe. With their lives in her hands, Jackie is faced with her toughest assignment ever–saving the cowboy and guarding her heart. Protection Specialists: Guarding the innocent
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FRAMED!
For years after the suspicious death of his wife, single dad Wyatt Monroe isolates himself on his Wyoming ranch...until heâs accused of murder. With a body at his doorstep, heâs arrested and Wyatt has only one hopeâa blue-eyed, blond bodyguard. But itâll take more than skill for work-obsessed Jackie Blain to save her reluctant client, who just wants to be left alone. Sheâll have to gain his trust by keeping him and his daughter safe. With their lives in her hands, Jackie is faced with her toughest assignment everâsaving the cowboy and guarding her heart.
On the surface Jackie looked sweet, almost fragile....
But Wyatt had glimpsed the hard steel beneath that soft exterior. A bodyguard. Who wouldâve thought it?
âSo tell me about the dead man,â she said.
âI didnât kill him.â
âDidnât say you did.â
He pointed to a dirt road up ahead. âTake a left.â
Jackie turned, her gaze straying to the rearview. âWeâre being followed.â
He might think the woman was paranoid or crazy. But considering this morning heâd found a dead body on his porch and spent the past seven hours in jail, he wasnât going to doubt her. Sticking his head out the window, he strained to listen. âA motorcycle.â
âHang on!â She stomped on the brake and twisted the wheel, sending the truck into a spin and coming to a halt facing the way theyâd come. Their headlights swept over an oncoming motorcycle...moving at a good clip and heading straight for them.
TERRI REED
At an early age Terri Reed discovered the wonderful world of fiction and declared she would one day write a book. Now she is fulfilling that dream and enjoys writing for Love Inspired Books. Her second book, A Sheltering Love, was a 2006 RITA® Award finalist and a 2005 National Readersâ Choice Award finalist. Her book Strictly Confidential, book five in the Faith at the Crossroads continuity series, took third place in the 2007 American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year Award, and Her Christmas Protector took third place in 2008. She is an active member of both Romance Writers of America and American Christian Fiction Writers. She resides in the Pacific Northwest with her college-sweetheart husband, two wonderful children and an array of critters. When not writing, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, gardening and playing with her dogs.
You can write to Terri at P.O. Box 19555 Portland, OR 97280. Visit her on the web at www.loveinspiredauthors.com, leave comments on her blog, www.ladiesofsuspense.blogspot.com, or email her at [email protected].
But Jesus called the children to him and said,
âLet the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.â
âLuke 18:16,17
To my childrenâyou are the joys of my life.
Contents
ONE
There was a dead man on his porch.
Wyatt Monroe looked into the manâs beaten face. Dried blood covered his body in dark splotches. Purple bruises mottled his skin. Lifeless eyes stared back at Wyatt.
Recognition rocked him back on his heels.
He grabbed his cell from his back pocket and dialed 911. His gaze scanned the buildings of his ranchâhis foremanâs house, the hay barn and stables, the equipment shed, feed shedâand the Wyoming landscape beyond, searching for the threat. Snow swirled in the air and covered the pastureland spread out over the sixty-thousand-acre ranch.
All appeared quiet and undisturbed on this brisk March morning.
âLane County Emergency Department,â the female operator answered. âWhatâs your emergency?â
âEleanor, this is Wyatt Monroe.â
âHey, Wyatt. Whatâs wrong?â
He could picture the older woman whoâd been manning the townâs emergency line for longer than he could remember. But that was life in Lane County, Wyoming. Predictable and steady. The way he wanted his life to be. Sans dead bodies.
âIs Gabby okay?â
The concern in Eleanorâs voice wrapped around Wyatt and squeezed. Too many people in this town wondered if his little girl was safe with him. Three years after his wife, Dina, had died, he couldnât escape the speculation and suspicion. Even from her grave she was wreaking havoc with his life.
That was what women did. They wormed their way into a guyâs heart and then stomped all over it. His mother had done it to his father. Dina had done it to Wyatt.
Never again.
His gaze lifted to the second floor of his family home. The dormer window with the pink, frilly curtains was closed to protect his four-year-old from the winter weather.
But how protected could she be if someone had dumped a body on his front porch so callously?
