The Way To A Rancher's Heart
For a hard-edged cowboy, sweet young virgins were trouble. So Jase vowed to steer clear of his children' s new nanny, Annie Baxter. But it wasn' t easy for the single father to deny his attraction to the sassy beauty. With warmth and laughter she filled his home…and the lonely corners of his heart. Her innocent yet sensual kisses were almost enough to make a man wonder if sometimes rules were made to be broken….
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Would Annie Come To Him?
Though Jaseâs body thrummed with need and had since leaving her, he hoped she wouldnât. He feared he wouldnât be able to resist her.
With those laughing green eyes and that sassy mouth, sheâd teased him into remembering the pleasures a man could share with a woman. Bewitched him into forgetting the hurt that was inevitable if he allowed anyone to get too close. For the length of an afternoon heâd let go of the memories, the fears.
He heard the door open softly and tensed, knowing it was Annie. Her scent reached him first, that subtle, feminine fragrance that teased his senses.
âJase?â
He prayed for the strength to send her back to her room. But when he looked at her, he knew the prayer was wasted.
There was no way in hell he could send her away. Not now.
Dear Reader,
Welcome to Silhouette Desire, the ultimate treat for Valentineâs Dayâwe promise you will find six passionate, powerful and provocative romances every month! And hereâs what you can indulge yourself with this Februaryâ¦.
The fabulous Peggy Moreland brings you Februaryâs MAN OF THE MONTH, The Way to a Rancherâs Heart. Youâll be enticed by this gruff widowed rancher who must let down his guard for the sake of a younger woman.
The exciting Desire miniseries TEXAS CATTLEMANâS CLUB: LONE STAR JEWELS continues with Worldâs Most Eligible Texan by Sara Orwig. A world-weary diplomat finds loveâand fatherhoodâafter making a Plain Jane schoolteacher pregnant with his child.
Kathryn Jensenâs The American Earl is an office romance featuring the son of a British earl who falls for his American employee. In Overnight Cinderella by Katherine Garbera, an ugly-duckling heroine transforms herself into a swan to win the love of an alpha male. Kate Little tells the story of a wealthy bachelor captivated by the woman he was trying to protect his younger brother from in The Millionaire Takes a Bride. And Kristi Gold offers His Sheltering Arms, in which a macho ex-cop finds love with the woman he protects.
Make this Valentineâs Day extra-special by spoiling yourself with all six of these alluring Desire titles!
Enjoy!
Joan Marlow Golan
Senior Editor, Silhouette Desire
PEGGY MORELAND
published her first romance with Silhouette in 1989 and continues to delight readers with stories set in her home state of Texas. Winner of the National Readersâ Choice Award, the Golden Quill, the Texas Gold and a finalist for the prestigious RITA Award, Peggyâs books frequently appear on the USA Today and Waldenbooks bestseller lists. When not writing, she enjoys spending time at the farm riding her quarter horse, Lo-Jump. She, her husband and three children make their home in Florence, Texas. You may write to Peggy at P.O. Box 1099, Florence, TX 76257-1099.
This book is dedicated to my editor, Lynda Curnyn,
with heartfelt thanks for all the guidance and support offered to meâ¦and my apologies for forcing her to learn a new language, Texas-ese. Thanks, Lynda!
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
One
There was tired, then there was tired, the boot-shuffling, butt-dragging, bleary-eyed kind of exhaustion that followed too many nights without enough sleep and too many days filled with nonstop activity. Jase Rawleyâs current physical state fell into that latter category.
After parking his semi-rig and trailer filled with stocker calves heâd hauled from Kansas to Texas beside the loading chute attached to his corral, he trudged wearily through the inky darkness to his equally dark house in the distance. Once inside, he toed off his cowboy boots by the kitchen door, left them there for easy access the next morning, then tugged his shirttail from the waist of his jeans and headed down the hall to the master bedroom, unbuttoning his shirt along the way. At the side of his bed, he stripped off the shirt, leaned to set the alarm on the bedside table for 6:00 a.m., then, all but limp with exhaustion, fell face-first across the king-size bed. He was instantly asleep.
Three hours later he awakened to the irritating electronic beep of his alarm clock. Groaning, he made a fist, whacked it against the alarm, then buried his face against the mattress again. He inhaled deeply, wearily, weighing the pros and cons of putting off unloading the calves for a few more hours. But the rich, nutty smell of coffee brewing had him slowly lifting his head again.
Bracing his palms against the mattress, he lifted himself higher, sniffing the air. âSis,â he murmured almost reverently as he heaved himself from the bed and to his feet, âyouâre a saint.â
With his nose lifted high like a radar device, guiding him to the coffeepot, he padded his way down the hallway, still dressed in the jeans and socks heâd slept in. A yawn took him as he stepped into the kitchen, and he closed his eyes, giving in to it, as he passed by the island, rubbing a wide hand over his burly chest. âMorninâ,â he grumbled as he drew a bead on the coffeemaker and headed for it.
