The Reluctant Rancher
She can't stay for long…She just needs a place to hide. Now. Pregnant and on the run, Blossom Kennedy jumps at the opportunity to work as a caregiver to an injured, elderly rancher. While she tends to the man, his handsome grandson takes over at the Circle H. Logan Hunter is tough, loyal and a wonderful father to his young son. But Blossom needs a port in a storm more than she needs love, and soon enough she'll be moving on. Unless she's somehow stumbled into the exact place she and her unborn child are supposed to be…by Logan's side.
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She canât stay for long
She just needs a place to hide. Now. Pregnant and on the run, Blossom Kennedy jumps at the opportunity to work as a caregiver to an injured, elderly rancher. While she tends to the man, his handsome grandson takes over at the Circle H. Logan Hunter is tough, loyal and a wonderful father to his young son. But Blossom needs a port in a storm more than she needs love, and soon enough sheâll be moving on. Unless sheâs somehow stumbled into the exact place she and her unborn child are supposed to be...by Loganâs side.
âThe farther west I travel, the more...open I feel. Less closed in.â
Logan couldnât help but smile. âThatâs how I feel when Iâm flying.â
âYouâre a pilot?â
âPrivate jets. Experimental sometimesâbut mostly redesigns.â Until he got his promotion. Then his assignments would become way more interesting.
âA test pilot,â Blossom said. âNo wonder you donât seem that happy to be here.â
He looked outside the barn at that big blue sky. âGot me,â he said.
âI think I know how you feel. Flying high must seem like being a bird. I suppose if I reached California, Iâd feel positively free.â She didnât sound that convinced. âOr maybe,â she added with that look again, âIâll just run out of road.â
He didnât want to care, but still he had to ask.
âBlossom, what are you running from?â
How much fun can a writer have? I loved fitting all the pieces together for The Reluctant Rancher. As a bonus, I got to write about cowboysâalways a favorite!
In his âreal life,â Logan Hunter is a test pilot who needs an upcoming promotion with higher pay so he can fight for custody of his young son. But when the grandfather who raised Logan gets hurt on the family ranch, Logan becomes a temporary cowboy again.
Heâs not looking for love. And Blossom Kennedy, the caregiver he hires to help out, is clearly on the run. She wonât stay long and neither will he. But, of course, love has its own plans for these two.
I hope youâll enjoy this ride on the Circle H ranch, where the buffalo still roam. And thereâs more good news: The Reluctant Rancher is the first book in my new miniseries, Kansas Cowboys.
Happy reading!
Leigh
LEIGH RIKER, like many dedicated readers, grew up with her nose in a book. This award-winning, USA TODAY bestselling author still canât imagine a better way to spend her time than to curl up with a good romance novelâunless it is to write one! Sheâs a member of the Authors Guild, Novelists, Inc. and Romance Writers of America. When not writing, sheâs either in the garden, watching movies funny and sad, or traveling (for research purposes, of course). With added âhelpâ from her mischievous Maine coon cat, sheâs now at home working on a new novel. She loves to hear from readers. You can find Leigh on her website, leighriker.com, on Facebook at leighrikerauthor and on Twitter, @lbrwriter.
To
Aidan, Kaitlyn, Jackson and Lily, my youngest loves...
Contents
âTHIS ONE HAD better be good,â he said.
Because being a cowboyâor a nursemaidâwasnât in Logan Hunterâs plan.
His black Stetson cocked at an angle, he narrowed his eyes at the distant plume of dust rising off the dirt access lane to the ranch. The Circle H was cut offâliterally, in bad weatherâfrom the road by half a mile. One reason he didnât want to be here, especially in spring when he knew the rains would come. Staring across the wide expanse of land, which looked as flat as an old mareâs shank, he studied the fast-approaching car.
Logan wished he were in a car and headed the other way. Three years after the nasty divorce that had turned him into a hard man, he was still dealing with the fallout when his grandfather got hurt. He was more than willing to come back here and help Samâheâd raised Logan and his brother after allâbut April was the busy season. He couldnât run the ranch and care for Sam at the same time. He needed more help. Fast.
Certainly his brother hadnât stepped up to the plate. Sawyer hadnât even answered his calls. Everything was up to Logan, at least for now.
Still watching the lane, he scooped up the tortoiseshell kitten that had kept twining around his feet. Cradling the little cat, Logan propped a shoulder against the front porch post and listened to her purr. He was a sucker for animals, with one exception.
Bison.
Why couldnât his granddad run cattle like everybody else?
The car barreled into focus, gathering speed the closer it came, as if someone was chasing the driver. The broken-down sedan crunched to a stop in the gravel by the front steps, and Logan envisioned another frustrating go-round with the Mother Comfort Home Health Care Agencyâs latest candidate. The male caregiver heâd asked for was a rare commodity in the middle of Kansas, so heâd been told.
