Her Colorado Man. Cheryl St.John

      Mr. Spangler,

      I do not know if you are going to understand what I am about to do. I do not know if I understand it myself, but I am leaving Juneau City at the end of the week and will be heading to Colorado. It makes no sense, but lately I have been homesick for a place I have never been and I have been missing a boy I have never seen. The yearning I read in John James’s letters is the yearning I have felt my whole life. It is a need to be important to someone. And I aim to be that to the boy if I am able.

      I want to make a difference in your great-grandson’s life. By the time you get this, you will not be able to reach me, and you could not have said anything that would have changed my mind anyhow. I am on my way to meet John James. This is something I need to do. I want your great-grandson to have what every boy deserves—a father who cares about him.

      Sincerely,

      Wesley M. Burrows

      

      Her Colorado Man

      Harlequin^®Historical

      Praise for

       Cheryl St.John

      “Ms. St.John knows what the readers want and keeps on giving it.”

      —Rendezvous

      “Ms. St.John holds a spot in my top five list of must-read Harlequin Historical authors. She is an amazingly gifted author.”

      —Writers Unlimited

      Her Montana Man

      “Emotional, realistic westerns are St.John’s forte, and her latest…is a satisfying, rough-and-tender novel brimming with true-to-life characters and an understanding of the era that fulfills western readers’ hankerings.”

      —RT Book Reviews

      His Secondhand Wife Nominated for a RITA^®Award

      “A beautifully crafted and involving story about the transforming power of love, this is recommended reading.”

      —RT Book Reviews

      Prairie Wife Nominated for an RT Book Reviews Reviewers’ Choice Award

      “A very special book, courageously executed by the author and her publisher. Her considerable skill brings the common theme of the romance novel—love conquers all—to the level of genuine catharsis.”

      —RT Book Reviews [4 ½ stars]

      CHERYL ST.JOHN

      HER COLORADO MAN

      Available from Harlequin^® Historical and CHERYL ST.JOHN

      Rain Shadow #212

      Heaven Can Wait #240

      Land of Dreams #265

      Saint or Sinner #288

      Badlands Bride #327

      The Mistaken Widow #429

      Joe’s Wife #451

      The Doctor’s Wife #481

      Sweet Annie #548

      The Gunslinger’s Bride #577

      Christmas Gold #627

      “Colorado Wife”

      The Tenderfoot Bride #679

      Prairie Wife #739

      His Secondhand Wife #760

      Wed Under Western Skies #799

      “Almost a Bride”

      The Lawman’s Bride #835

      The Preacher’s Daughter #851

      A Western Winter Wonderland #867

      “Christmas Day Family”

      The Magic of Christmas #915

      “A Baby Blue Christmas”

      Her Montana Man #923

      Her Colorado Man #971

      Other works include:

      Silhouette Special Edition

      Nick All Night #1475

      *Marry Me…Again #1558

      Charlie’s Angels #1630

      Million-Dollar Makeover #1688

      Montana Mavericks

      The Magnificent Seven

      The Bounty Hunter

      As most writers can attest, this rewarding job often takes a toll on hands, wrists, elbows, necks, shoulders and backs.

      I am deeply appreciative of Dr. Steven Shockley, who has adjusted my spine more times than I could say, and who instructs me in methods of exercise to attain optimal wellness. I’m not the only one who has a better quality of life because this dedicated chiropractor is concerned with helping patients achieve natural drug-free healing. Thank you, Dr. Steve, for your genuine compassion and for sharing your gifts and abilities.

      Contents

      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

      Chapter Eighteen

      Chapter Nineteen

      Chapter Twenty

      Chapter Twenty-One

      Chapter One

      Ruby Creek, Colorado

       May, 1882

      “Watch out!”

      Mariah Burrows ducked and ran a good six feet before turning back to look up at the crate teetering atop a stack of similar ones in the cavernous warehouse. Three agile young men scrambled from their positions on ladders and beside wagons to prevent it from falling. Two of them were her nephews, the other a distant cousin.

      “Don’t stack these crates over twelve high,” she called. “Better that we take up warehouse space than lose eighty-five dollars or someone’s head. We built this whole building just for storing the lager for the Exposition, so let’s use it.”

      Her nephew Roth gave her a mock salute and jumped down from the pile of wooden crates. “Grandpa would’ve had our hides if we’d let that one slip.”

      “I’d have told your mother not to serve that apfelstrudel you’re so fond of tonight.”

      He laughed and took his cap from his rear pocket to settle it on his head. “You’re a tyrannical boss, Aunt Mariah.”

      “Mariah!” A familiar male voice echoed through the high-ceilinged building. “Mariah Burrows!”

      “Over here, Wilhelm,” she called. At twenty-two, he was her younger brother by two years. He used her full name at every opportunity. Among