The Granger siblings thought theyâd left their ranching days behind, until fate sends them home to Wranglerâs Creek, Texasâand into the passionate arms of those theyâd least expect...
Itâs some run of bad luck when Sophie Granger loses her business and gets left at the altar all in one day. Desperate to not appear jilted, Sophie begs Clay McKinnon, Wranglerâs Creekâs smoking-hot police chief, to pretend theyâre having an affair. But Clay refuses, leaving Sophie to retreat to the family ranch to lick her wounds.
Hoping to leave his disreputable past behind, Clay moved to Wranglerâs Creek for a fresh start. But that looks unlikely when Sophieâs ex-fiancé shows up married to Clayâs impulsive kid sister. Overcome, Sophie resuggests the affairâbut this time for real. Clay is hesitant. City-girl Sophie isnât usually his type. But he canât deny the desire she elicitsâor his yearning to have her plant her cowboy roots for good.
Praise for Delores Fossen
âClear off space on your keeper shelf, Fossen has arrived.â
âNew York Times bestselling author Lori Wilde
âDelores Fossen takes you on a wild Texas ride with a hot cowboy.â
âNew York Times bestselling author B.J. Daniels
âIn the first McCord Brothers contemporary, bestseller Fossen strikes a patriotic chord that makes this story stand out.â
âPublishers Weekly on Texas on My Mind
âFossen delivers an entertaining romance between two people with real-life issues.â
âRT Book Reviews on Texas on My Mind
âThis is a thrilling and twist-filled read that will keep you guessing till the end.â
âRT Book Reviews on Lone Wolf Lawman
CHAPTER ONE
SOPHIE GRANGER WIPED her eyes with the back of her hand and squeezed her mud-splattered Elie Saab wedding dress into the Wranglerâs Creek Police Department.
It wasnât easy getting ten yards of ivory tulle through the doorway, especially while crying and being light-headed. Sophie had to gather up the sides of the dress into puffy balls and turn sideways to manage it. Even then she stumbled, and her big toe got caught in the netting so she stumbled again. With all the mumbled cursing that accompanied the stumbling, it was no surprise that she got everyoneâs attention in the squad room.
Everyone in this case was Ellie Stoddermeyer, the weekend dispatcher/receptionist, and the two deputiesâRowdy Culpepper and his sister, Reena. What she got from them was silence.
And stares.
âI need to see Chief McKinnon,â Sophie said with as much dignity as she could muster. Which wasnât very much.
Reena had her mouth open so wide that Sophie could see the quarter-sized wad of pink chewing gum on her tongue, but she hitched her thumb in the direction of the office all the way at the back of the squad room.
âHeâs in there,â Ellie added once she got her mouth working. âBut heâs not officially the chief until his trial period is up and Lordie knows when thatâll be. Right now, heâs just the interim âcause the mayor and city council havenât given him a permanent contract yet. Is, uh, there anything I can do for you?â
Since Ellie was one of the biggest gossips in town, Sophie considered asking the woman to refrain from mentioning this visit, but Ellie had already gotten herself unfrozen from the shock and was taking out her phone. No doubt to text every single human being she knew to let them know that Sophie Granger was having a breakdown along with looking like something the cat had dragged in.
That meant Sophie didnât have much time.
Her family would find her.
Sophie declined Ellieâs offer of help, and she made her way through the squad room. Again, not easily. Like a white fluffy plow going through a farmerâs field, Sophie cleared the edges of desks and toppled over trash cans. Ink pens pinged to the floor, rolled. So did a plastic bottle of Diet Coke, and the cap gave way to the pressure of the fall and started spewing.
She tried to do a cleanup, but there was no way she could fully bend down in the dress, not with the overly cinched corset bodice vising her ribs and stomach. However, she did grab a Kleenex from one of the desks, and she put it to good use wiping away a fresh round of tears.