Hiding The Truth
Coming home might be the worst decision Carly Baron has ever made. Each minute on her familyâs busy ranch is one minute closer to seeing himâher first loveâthe man who broke her heart seven years ago. While coming face-to-face with Luke Nobel again brings back painful memories, Carly quickly realizes there are other strong feelings just under the surfaceâ¦.
Luke would be a lot better off if Carly had stayed away. Being a single dad to an adorable two-year-old girl and managing the Roughneck is tough enough, but resisting the sparks that fly whenever he and Carly are together is near impossible. But first she must tell him her secret. The truth could heal their pastâ¦or forever destroy their chances of becoming a family.
âOkay, what body part do you rely on most when youâre riding a bull?â
Carly braced her hands on either side of her, just inches below her belt. âRight here. Itâs all in the hip action.â
Smiling, Luke leaned forward, till their lips almost met. âWell, now,â he breathed, âyou areâ¦absolutelyâ¦wrong.â
âWhat?â She recoiled in astonishment and almost toppled off the fence.
He grabbed her around the waist to brace her, then took her hands and placed them on her thighs. He pressed his hands flat atop hers, his warm palms covering her fingers.
âNot the hips, Carly. A little lower. Here.â
He rested his hands on her knees. Then he slid his palms upward again. A bolt of heat shot through her.
When heâd reached the midpoint of her thighs, he paused. âThis is whatâll keep you hanging on tight.â
âThanks for the tip.â Her voice sounded too shaky.
Now she was sure he would make his move. Instead, he simply stepped back, leaving her to stand, stunned, on legs shakier than her voice.
Dear Reader,
One of my favorite story lines is a second chance at love, in which a hero and heroineâoften with a troubled history togetherâsplit up but meet again years later. They long to triumph over whatever drove them apart, yet their conflict hasnât resolved itself. In fact, things have gotten worse.
That story line definitely fits Luke Nobel and Carly Baron. An argument and mutual pride once forced them to go their separate ways. Now Carly has come back home to find Luke managing her familyâs ranch. Instantly, their old attraction sparks to life. But Carlyâs hiding a secret she can never tell Lukeâ¦.
Iâm proud to have this book be part of a Mills & Boon American Romance continuity, in the lineup between such wonderful authors as Trish Milburn (The Texanâs Cowgirl Bride, July 2014) and Pamela Britton (The Texanâs Twins, September 2014). It has been a great pleasure to work with all the authors and editors involved in the series.
I hope you enjoy The Texanâs Little Secret. Iâd love to hear what you think about the story and to stay in touch. You can reach me at: P.O. Box 504 Gilbert, AZ 85299 or through my website: www.barbarawhitedaille.com. You can also find me on Facebook, www.facebook.com/barbarawhitedaille, and Twitter, twitter.com/barbarawdaille.
All my best to you.
Until we meet again,
Barbara White Daille
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
BARBARA WHITE DAILLE lives with her husband in the sunny Southwest, where they donât mind the lizards in their front yard but could do without the scorpions in the bathroom.
A writer from the age of nine and a novelist since eighth grade, Barbara is now an award-winning author with a number of novels to her credit.
When she was very young, Barbara learned from her mom about the storytelling magic in booksâand sheâs been hooked ever since. She hopes you will enjoy reading her books and will find your own magic in them!
Sheâd also love to have you drop by and visit with her at her website, www.barbarawhitedaille.com.
To Kathleen Scheibling and Johanna Raisanen
Thank you for your support of my writing and for always helping to bring out the best in my books. And, as always and for everything, to Rich.
Chapter One
It didnât take Carly Baron long to figure out coming home to the Roughneck just might have been the worst decision she had ever made.
Every minute she stayed on the ranch, every second spent in her familyâs farm store, every moment anywhere near her dad pushed her closer to a confrontation with his ranch manager, the one man she never wanted to see again.
At the worktable in the back room of the Peach Pit, her thoughts shifted from the images sheâd rather forget to the cartons she was filling with jars of preserves. Sheâd spent days out here at the store helping with new orders and most of this afternoon lending a hand to package them up. Finished with the final carton, she slapped the top of the box. âThat ought to get these to their destination in good shape.â