To Court A Cowgirl

Nothing can make her stay—not even Jason

Allie Brody decided long ago to leave the Lightning Creek Ranch in the past. She’s lost too much there to want to call it home again. And coming back to help while her sister’s away won’t change her mind, either. Even if Jason Hudson makes her temporary visit more…palatable. As long as she sticks to short-term with the former pro-football player, what’s the harm in their attraction?

It turns out everything is wrong with it. Helping each other only fogs Allie’s plans for a no-strings fling. Sure, Jason signed up to help Allie rebuild her broken ranch—but he’s determined to repair her heart, too. That’s not on her agenda.

Welcome to Lightning Creek Ranch, nestled in the foothills of Montana’s majestic Bitterroot Mountains, home to the strong-willed Brody family. Life isn’t always easy on the Lightning Creek, but challenges are nothing new to the men and women who live and work here.

And there’s something about the ranch, something in the beauty and solitude that works a kind of magic on those in need of a second shot at life...

Dear Reader,

When I wrote The Brodys of Lightning Creek miniseries, I saved the eldest sister’s story for last because, unlike her siblings, Allie Brody has no great love for the family ranch. She lost her father on the Lightning Creek and her marriage imploded there. She’d have been quite happy to never set foot on the property again, but, of course, she doesn’t get her wish. I sent her home to make peace with the ranch and face her problems—one of which turns out to be her former high school nemesis, a recently retired professional football player who doesn’t put up with Allie’s prickly ways.

After retiring from professional sports, local football legend Jason Hudson quickly realizes that his athletic career has in no way prepared him for the next phase of his life. Despite this obstacle, he knows what he wants to do and he’ll find a way to do it—just as soon as his difficult father convalesces from a heart attack and he’s free to leave the Eagle Valley.

Allie and Jason had me going in circles for a time. They were two of the most stubborn characters I’ve ever created and it wasn’t easy making them realize that their carved-in-stone attitudes and plans were not the best attitudes and plans. Now that I’m done, I love their story and their happily-ever-after, and I hope you enjoy it, too.

Best wishes,

Jeannie Watt

JEANNIE WATT lives in Montana’s beautiful Madison Valley, where she and her husband help manage the family cattle ranch. When she’s not writing, Jeannie enjoys sewing, shopping for vintage patterns, reading and making mosaic mirrors. To find out more about Jeannie and her books, please visit her website at jeanniewatt.com.

Contents

COVER

BACK COVER TEXT

INTRODUCTION

Dear Reader

TITLE PAGE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

EXTRACT

COPYRIGHT

CHAPTER ONE

“DAD, I’M NOT going to work for Uncle Jim.” Jason Hudson didn’t have all the answers regarding his immediate future, but he had not quit football to become a salesman. End of story.

“But Jimmy’s your biggest fan,” Max Hudson protested.

“I thought you were my biggest fan,” Jason replied dryly.

“Immediate family notwithstanding.” Max leaned forward in his chair, the Dobermans sleeping on either side of him each opening a sleepy eye as the recliner squeaked. “You haven’t even talked to him. You wouldn’t be selling,” his father assured him. “You’d be managing.”

Because he had so much experience in that. No, he’d be smiling and glad-handing the people that came in to see the curiosity. Him.

“My degree is in physical therapy.”

“You have no experience with that, either.” Jason cocked an eyebrow and his dad’s mouth shifted sideways. “On the giving end, I mean. Let’s visit this later, okay?”

“I’m not a sales guy.” He was a former professional athlete heading into a new phase of his life earlier than expected. His original plan, subject to the whims of team management and performance stats, had been to play until he was up for free agency, but an injury-plagued season followed by his father’s massive heart attack had changed that plan, and now here he was. Sitting in his dad’s living room, being counseled on his future—which was not going to be in sales.

“You’re staying in the area, though, right?”

“For now.” He didn’t want to stress his dad and trigger another heart attack, but he wanted to be as honest as he could. Max wanted him nearby—perhaps so that he had someone besides his daughter, and Jason’s sister, Kate, to boss around, and in the long run that wasn’t going to work out. Jason and his dad had a relationship that at times bordered on adversarial, but he couldn’t imagine life without the old man, so he’d come home to help his sister care for him while plotting a course for the next phase of his life.