Trust A Cowboy

“You do want children, don’t you?”

“Oh, yes, I do,” Mary Jo said with enough conviction to satisfy Pete’s granddad. “When…when the time is right, that is.”

Pete took her in his arms. “Don’t worry, Granddad. I intend to have a talk with my fiancée about things like that.”

“Good. I think you should have a child right away. We need to start on the next generation on this ranch.”

“I don’t know,” Pete said, turning his eyes to Mary Jo. “Maybe this time next year.”

Pregnant by Christmas? Mary Jo felt herself stiffen like a frozen turkey. She didn’t even move when Pete pulled her closer and kissed her. Only when he leaned in for another toe-curling, all-too-real kiss did she sidestep him.

When had she ever been able to say no to Pete Ledbetter?

Judy Christenberry has been writing romances for more than nineteen years because she loves happy endings as much as her readers do. A former French teacher, Judy now devotes herself to writing full-time. She hopes readers have as much fun with her stories as she does. She spends her spare time reading, watching her favourite sports teams and keeping track of her two daughters. Judy lives in Texas. You can find out more about Judy and her books at www.judychristenberry.com.

Judy Christenberry

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Chapter One

Pete Ledbetter watched his grandfather lift his glass of champagne to the employees of the Lazy L Ranch, near Steamboat Springs, Colorado. They were celebrating the end of their first season as both a working cattle operation and a dude ranch.

It had been a long summer, and now Pete looked forward to eight weeks of vacation, except for taking care of the cattle, of course. At least he’d have his brother’s help with that.

But what was he going to do about Mary Jo?

He’d apologized, of course, but didn’t think she’d accepted it. What worried him was that he believed she was leaving the ranch at the end of the month.

He couldn’t blame her. All the blame rested on him. Last summer, he’d had the greatest night of his life with Mary Jo, but two days later he’d made a colossal mistake by sleeping with a guest. He’d let himself be taken in by the city girl’s sweet talkin’ flattery and come-hither smile. He hadn’t thought about the ramifications of his action. But Mary Jo had. And quickly.

She’d given notice.

As the ranch chef, she played a big role in keeping their guests happy. Not only did Pete need to make amends for himself, he had to for the sake of the dude ranch, as well.

“Aren’t you glad the first season is over?” Cliff Ledbetter asked him, a big grin on his face.

“Sure, Granddad.” Pete mustered up a smile. He’d been against the idea of turning the Lazy L into a dude ranch after his parents’ death, but Granddad and Jessie, his sister, had decided to go ahead. Their plan had worked out because Granddad had brought in Jim Bradford as manager.

Jim had gotten the job done, in spite of Pete’s lack of cooperation, and he’d married Jessica to boot. All Pete had gotten last summer was a broken leg, thanks to his own stupidity.

“Granddad, what are Mary Jo’s plans?”

Cliff stared at him. “She said she’d cook for the month of October, while Jessie and Jim are on their honeymoon, didn’t she?”

“Yeah, I know, but what about…afterward?”

“We haven’t asked her to sign a contract for the winter season yet. I can take care of that in a couple of weeks.”

Pete didn’t want to say too much. Not today. And not when Mary Jo could overhear on her trips in and out of the kitchen.

She had to be tired, he thought. After all, she’d prepared breakfast for everyone that morning, and then put together their lunch celebration.

Without another thought, he got to his feet, picked up one of the plastic tubs and started gathering up dirty dishes. When it was full he followed Mary Jo into the kitchen.

“You don’t need to do that, Pete. It’s my job.” She kept her face averted as she worked.

“You’ve done more than your share, Mary Jo. It doesn’t hurt me to help a little.”

Edith, Mary Jo’s second-in-command, came in with another tub of dirty dishes. “Because of Pete, there wasn’t much left for me to clean up.”

“That was nice of him, wasn’t it?” Mary Jo said, still not looking at him.

Pete wasn’t fooled by her praise. He knew he needed to talk to her again, but this wasn’t the time. Stoically, he began to rinse plates and glasses, stacking them in the dishwasher.

Half an hour later, when he finally left the kitchen, he ran into his brother, who was three years younger than him.

“Hey, Pete, how’d you get stuck doing the dishes today?” Hank asked.

“Mary Jo shouldn’t have to do all that alone. Wouldn’t kill you to help out this month, either.”

Hank gave him a strange look. “Are you feeling all right?”

He shook his head. “What do you have planned for this afternoon?”

“Putting my feet up,” his brother exclaimed with a grin.

“Want to go for a ride?”