Colorado Cowboy. C.C. Coburn

      

      Cody sauntered back into the room

      He returned after a good two minutes of making them all sit and wait on the edges of their seats. This kid really needed straightening out, Luke thought. He only hoped he was as up to the challenge as he claimed to be.

      When Judge Benson explained to Cody what the adults had decided, he leaped to his feet and let loose with a string of colorful adjectives that had Megan blushing and begging him to stop. The judge sat there sagely, waiting for the tirade to end.

      It eventually did and Cody threw himself into his chair. The room fell silent. “I’m not goin’ anywhere,” he snarled.

      The judge sighed. “Then I’m afraid you give me no other choice, Cody.” She picked up her phone and said, “I’ll have to send you to juve—”

      “I’ll do it on one condition,” he interrupted. Obviously there was room for negotiation where juvenile detention was concerned.

      “And what might that be?”

      “That he—” he pointed at Luke “—marries my mom.”

      It was hard to tell who gasped more loudly, Megan or Luke.

      Dear Reader,

      It is my pleasure to bring you the third installment of The O’Malley Men series.

      You’ve met the oldest brother, Luke, in Colorado Christmas and The Sheriff and the Baby and I’m sure you’ve wondered just why Luke is so ornery. You’ll find out in Colorado Cowboy.

      Luke’s world is turned upside down when he’s summoned to New York to meet the teenage son he didn’t know he had. A son in trouble with the law. Already the father of three adorable daughters, Luke can’t get his son away from the mean streets of the big city and back to Colorado fast enough. There’s just one little problem: Cody refuses to budge until Luke marries his mom!

      I loved throwing challenges at Luke. The guy’s virutally indestructible. He’s the rock of his family and has suffered along the way, but will this final challenge break him?

      I hope you enjoy reading Luke’s story of how he adapts to life with yet another child, and how he and Megan fall in love. It’s a bit of a back-to-front story in that Luke and Megan have a baby, get married and then fall in love.

      I love hearing from readers. You can email me at [email protected]. On my website, www.cccoburn.com, you’ll also find photos of the Santa Maria ranch that helped inspire this story.

      And please watch for firefighting brother Adam’s story, coming soon.

      Happy reading and healthy lives!

      C.C. Coburn

      Colorado Cowboy

      C.C. Coburn

      ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      C.C. Coburn married the first man who asked her and hasn’t regretted a day since—well, not many of them. She grew up in Australia’s Outback, moved to its sun-drenched Pacific coast, then traveled the world. A keen skier, she discovered Colorado’s majestic Rocky Mountains and now divides her time between Australia and Colorado. Home will always be Australia, where she lives with her husband and two of her three grown children (the third having recently moved to England), as well as a Labrador retriever and three cats. But her heart and soul are firmly planted in Colorado, too. Her first book, Colorado Christmas, received glowing reviews and a number of awards. She loves hearing from readers; you can visit her at www.cccoburn.com.

      Acknowledgments

      Many thanks to:

      My fellow Harlequin American Romance author Cathy McDavid for her invaluable assistance in all matters to do with accounting.

      Authors Karen Templeton and Katharine Swartz for their help with New York City.

      Rancher Phil Craven of Texas. And George Meyers of the spectacular Santa Maria Ranch in Colorado—a true romantic, working hard to preserve the traditions of the West. Theoretical mathematician and sometime ranch hand and burro racer Daniel McCarl, for introducing me to George and showing me around the Santa Maria.

      Sergeant Cale Osborn of Summit County Search and Rescue for his help with mountain rescue procedures.

      And my dear friends equine veterinarian Dr. Holly Wendell and horse rescuer Helen Lacey for patiently educating me about horses.

      Any errors or discrepancies in this story are the fault of the author and in no way reflect the expertise of the aforementioned.

      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

      Epilogue

      Chapter One

      Luke O’Malley didn’t like the look of New York City one little bit. And he didn’t like the look of his son any better.

      The young street tough lounged in the judge’s chambers, chewing gum and wearing an insolent expression. His contempt for everyone in the room extended to his unlaced sneakers braced against the judge’s desk as he leaned back on the legs of his chair.

      Last night, after receiving the call from the judge summoning him to New York to meet the son he’d fathered by Megan Montgomery, Luke couldn’t help wondering: Is this some sort of scam?

      Now a successful rancher, Luke employed innovative techniques at Two Elk, his ranch in the Colorado Rockies, which had ensured that his herds were among the best in the state, if not the West. And the horses he bred were of superior quality and in demand by ranchers and riders alike.

      Had Megan seen the article about him in Cowboys and Indians a couple of months ago? He’d been swamped with letters from women looking for a rich husband, and he’d tossed them all in the trash. He wasn’t interested in marrying a gold digger. He’d already been there, done that. Had no desire to repeat the experience.

      For fifteen years, Luke had wondered about Megan, where she was, who she was with. Was she married? When he’d gotten the call from Judge Benson summoning him to New York, he’d gone. Even if the kid proved not to be his, he’d wanted to see Megan again with a need he couldn’t explain. Ask her why she’d left so suddenly. Why she’d never answered the letter he’d sent to Wellesley.

      Now she was back, and he wanted to touch her, kiss her, hold her. Make up for fifteen years without her. Fifteen years of trying not to long for her.

      If there was any doubt in Luke’s mind as to whether he had a son before he and his brother Matt walked into the judge’s chambers this morning, they’d been dispelled the moment he laid eyes on Cody Montgomery. The kid was the spitting image of him and his brothers at the same age. Only the O’Malley boys hadn’t dared wear their hair so long on one side that it covered their eyes. And on the other side…what the heck was with that buzz cut and the lightning strike shaved into it?

      The O’Malley boys sure wouldn’t have sported a thing like that miniature dumbbell stuck through their lip, chewed gum or peppered their conversation liberally with four-letter words, either. Their pop, Mac, had seen to that.

      Nope. He didn’t much like the look of Cody Montgomery, fourteen-year-old runaway and criminal-in-the-making. How had Megan let it come to this?