Territorial Bride. Linda Castle

      Table of Contents

       Cover Page

       Praise

       Excerpt

       Dear Reader

       Title Page

       About the Author

       Dedication

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 Twenty-Two

       Chapter Twenty-Three

       Chapter Twenty-Four

       Chapter Twenty-Five

       Epilogue

       Author’s Note

       Copyright

      Critical acclaim for Linda Castle’s previous titles

       Temple’s Prize

      “Delightful, funny…poignant and intriguing…a winner.”

      —Romantic Times

       The Return of Chase Cordell

      “A balance of marvelous characters and an outstanding plot.”

      —Rendezvous

       Abbie’s Child

      “Fresh and compelling, a wonderful read.”

      —Author Patricia Potter

       Fearless Hearts

      “A very different love story guaranteed to tug on your heartstrings.”

      —Author Marilyn Campbell

      Any minute now she would start to cuss and bluster…

      But to his shock and dismay, she only smiled and allowed those remarkably thick dark lashes to sweep over her chestnut eyes once again.

      

      “As you say, Brooks,” she agreed demurely. “I do stick out like a sore thumb here in New York, part Irish and part Indian—a cat’s whisker from being a barbarian, wouldn’t you say?”

      

       Missy—brave, blunt, wonderful Missy was still beneath the lonely veneer.

      “No, I wouldn’t call you a barbarian and neither would anyone else within my hearing, I assure you—Marisa.” A sudden burst of possessiveness flared inside him. All he wanted to do was enjoy her company alone and keep other men from looking at her with hungry eyes.

      Their gazes locked. Heat rose between them like fog on a warm April morning.

      

      Breathe, you idiot, a voice inside his head screamed…

      Dear Reader,

      

      This holiday season, we’ve selected books that are sure to warm your heart—all with heroes who redefine the phrase “the gift of giving.” Since Linda Castle’s first book, Fearless Hearts, appeared in our 1995 March Madness Promotion, she has been inundated with letters from fans asking for more. Territorial Bride is that long-awaited sequel. Now cowgirl Missy O’Bannion is all grown-up—and she’s bound and determined to become a lady to impress Eastern rogue Brooks James, who’s already shown her he can be a real cowboy. In this darling “opposites attract” romance, their love is tested on many levels, especially when Missy is seriously injured.

      Rising talent Sharon Schulze returns this month with The Shielded Heart, a stirring tale set in eighteenth-century England about a warrior who learns to accept his special psychic gift as he teaches an enamel artisan about life and love. And award-winning Cheryl Reavis is back with another of her sensational Civil War stories. Harrigan’s Bride features a soldier who chivalrously marries the bedridden daughter of his late godmother. Don’t miss it!

      Rounding out the month is A Warrior’s Passion, the ninth book in the medieval WARRIOR SERIES by the gifted Margaret Moore. Here, a young woman is forced into an unwanted betrothal before the man she truly loves—and whose child she carries—can claim her as his wife!