Tough To Tame: Tough to Tame / Passion Flower
A spellbinding new instalment in the Long, Tall Texans seriesIn Tough to Tame New York Times bestselling author Diana Palmer welcomes you back to Jacobsville to become reacciuainted with Bentley Rydel. He lives hard and loves fiercely–but sometimes it takes the right woman to make a man a hero. This rugged Texan is going to be Tough to Tame!In Passion Flower successful New York interior designer, Jennifer King led a hectic, fast-paced life. So when a sudden illness cost her her job, she jumped at the chance of a working vacation at a Texas ranch.But life with Everett Culhane, the brooding, dark-eyed owner of the Circle C Ranch, was not easy. According to him, their lives were two worlds apart. But when he took her in his arms and branded her lips with his, Jennifer knew that she must make this headstrong cowboy her own.
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Diana Palmer’s heroes are compelling, vibrant and utterly impossible to resist, just like her novels!
DIANA PALMER
“Ms. Palmer masterfully weaves a tale that entices on many levels, blending adventure and strong human emotion into a great read.”
—RT Book Reviews
“Nobody tops Diana Palmer when it comes to delivering pure, undiluted romance. I love her stories.”
—New York Times bestselling author Jayne Ann Krentz
“Palmer knows how to make the sparks fly…heartwarming.”
—Publishers Weekly on Renegade
“A compelling tale… [that packs] an emotional wallop.”
—Booklist on Lawman
Bonus Book!
For your enjoyment, we’ve added in this volume Passion Flower, a classic, bestselling book by Diana Palmer!
Diana Palmer has a gift for telling the most sensual tales with charm and humor. With over forty million copies of her books in print, Diana Palmer is one of North America’s most beloved authors and is considered one of the top ten romance authors in the U.S.
Diana’s hobbies include gardening, archaeology, anthropology, iguanas, astronomy and music. She has been married to James Kyle for more than twenty-five years, and they have one son.
For news about Diana Palmer’s latest releases please visit www.dianapalmer.com or www.eHarlequin.com.
Dear Reader,
Dr. Bentley Rydel has had a special place in my heart ever since he showed up, surly and difficult, in Heart of Stone. I thought he deserved a book of his own, and here is the result.
Over the years, veterinarians have been my best friends. They’ve taken care of my sick pets, comforted me when I lost them, and generally made my life richer and happier. We take them for granted, and we shouldn’t. I thank God for them every day of my life.
I am also a fan of veterinarian technicians—of which my niece, Amanda, is one—and groomers, who do a wonderful job of not only keeping our pets looking nice, but often finding conditions that we might miss, to the detriment of our furry friends.
I hope you enjoy Bentley’s story.
As always, I am your fan,
Diana Palmer
CONTENTS
I dedicate this book to all the fine veterinarians, technicians, groomers and office workers who do so much every day to keep our furry friends healthy.
Thanks!
CHAPTER ONE
CAPPIE DRAKE peered around a corner inside the veterinary practice where she worked, her soft gray eyes wide with apprehension. She was looking for the boss, Dr. Bentley Rydel. Just lately, he’d been on the warpath, and she’d been the target for most of the sarcasm and harassment. She was the newest employee in the practice. Her predecessor, Antonia, had resigned and run for the hills last month.
“He’s gone to lunch,” came an amused whisper from behind her.
Cappie jumped. Her colleague, Keely Welsh Sinclair, was grinning at her. The younger woman, nineteen to Cappie’s twenty-three, was only recently married to dishy Boone Sinclair, but she’d kept her job at the veterinary clinic despite her lavish new lifestyle. She loved animals.
So did Cappie. But she’d been wondering if love of animals was enough to put up with Bentley Rydel.
“I lost the packing slip for the heartworm medicine,” Cappie said with a grimace. “I know it’s here somewhere, but he was yelling and I got flustered and couldn’t find it. He said terrible things to me.”
“It’s autumn,” Keely said.
Cappie frowned. “Excuse me?”
“It’s autumn,” she repeated.
The older woman was staring blankly at her.
Keely shrugged. “Every autumn, Dr. Rydel gets even more short-tempered than usual and he goes missing for a week. He doesn’t leave a telephone number in case of emergencies, he doesn’t call here and nobody knows where he is. When he comes back, he never says where he’s been.”
“He’s been like this since I was hired,” Cappie pointed out. “And I’m the fifth new vet tech this year, Dr. King said so. Dr. Rydel ran the others off.”
“You have to yell back, or just smile when he gets wound up,” Keely said in a kindly tone.
Cappie grimaced. “I never yell at anybody.”
“This is a good time to learn. In fact…”
“Where the hell is my damned raincoat?!”
Cappie’s face was a study in horror. “You said he went to lunch!”
“Obviously he came back,” Keely replied, wincing, as the boss stormed into the waiting room where two shocked old ladies were sitting beside cat carriers.
Dr. Bentley Rydel was tall, over six feet, with pale blue eyes that took on the gleam of steel when he was angry. He had jet-black hair, thick and usually untidy because he ran his fingers through it in times of frustration. His feet were large, like his hands. His nose had been broken at some point, which only gave his angular face more character. He wasn’t conventionally handsome, but women found him very attractive. He didn’t find them attractive. If there was a more notorious woman hater than Bentley Rydel in all of Jacobs County, Texas, it would be hard to find him.
