The Rancher's Secret Wife. Brenda Minton

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      He Said “I Do” to a Stranger

      After knowing the woman for all of three hours, soldier Reese Cooper married waitress Cheyenne Jones. She was pregnant and scared, alone in Las Vegas—and he was about to ship out on a dangerous tour of duty. But months later, Reese comes home to Dawson, Oklahoma, no longer the strong cowboy who vowed to help Cheyenne. Shrapnel and a guarded heart changed everything. But with a wife and baby counting on him, Reese is about to learn what real courage is all about.

      “Do you think I came here to trap you?” Cheyenne asked.

      “No, I think you wanted to know if I was safe,” Reese said. “You wanted a safe place to raise your baby. That’s something we’ll work out. But for now you’re still my wife, and I’m going to help you.”

      She rested her hand on his shoulder. “You have to take care of yourself, not me.”

      “I have to take care of us both, or I might not make it through the next few months. Let me help you. You’re about the only person in my life right now who makes me feel normal.”

      She placed his hand on her arm, and he couldn’t think of anything better than that moment with Cheyenne. For now helping her took his mind off his own problems. He didn’t for a minute think he was home free.

      For the moment, though, he could still rescue a beautiful woman. A woman who happened to be his wife.

      BRENDA MINTON

      started creating stories to entertain herself during hour-long rides on the school bus. In high school, she wrote romance novels to entertain her friends. The dream grew and so did her aspirations to become an author. She started with notebooks, handwritten manuscripts and characters that refused to go away until their stories were told. Eventually she put away the pen and paper and got down to business with the computer. The journey took a few years, with some encouragement and rejection along the way—as well as a lot of stubbornness on her part. In 2006, her dream to write for Love Inspired Books came true. Brenda lives in the rural Ozarks with her husband, three kids and an abundance of cats and dogs. She enjoys a chaotic life that she wouldn’t trade for anything—except, on occasion, a beach house in Texas. You can stop by and visit at her website, www.brendaminton.net.

       The Rancher’s Secret Wife

      Brenda Minton

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      Consider the ravens:

      for they neither sow nor reap; which

      neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?

      —Luke 12:24

      This book is dedicated to my dad, Don Cousins, a Korean War veteran. March 1933–September 2011. And to all of the other brave men and women in our armed forces. Thank you.

      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

       Epilogue

       Dear Reader

       Questions for Discussion

      Chapter One

      The big white house with the pillars, the multipaned windows, immaculate flower gardens and stone walkway were something out of Cheyenne’s dreams. Who didn’t dream of a house like this one?

      Cheyenne Jones had a lot of dreams. Not many of them had come true. And instead of getting easier, things were getting harder. Maybe God meant to keep her holding on to Him by keeping her on her knees praying to get through each day? She didn’t have much else to hold on to.

      The only thing Cheyenne had was the 1982 piece of junk car sitting in front of this house and the memory of a man she’d met one time six months ago: Reese Cooper.

      Weeks ago she’d gotten notice that he’d been injured in the line of duty. Now she stood on the stone path leading up to the big house belonging to the Coopers of Dawson, Oklahoma.

      She guessed this was what true desperation felt like, standing in front of this home with her final paycheck in her purse and not much else. She’d felt all sorts of pressure in the past seven months or so. The first wave had led her to the altar. The second had led her here. In between, there had been small waves that beat her back, the way the ocean beat against the sand, a relentless pounding.

      The door of the house opened. A woman stepped out, smiling. She looked to be about sixty, with light colored hair, a warm smile, a welcoming look. Cheyenne wondered how long she’d wear that look. Once she knew the truth, would she still smile? Cheyenne didn’t know much about this family, the Coopers of Cooper Creek Ranch, but she knew that they were close. She knew that they were loyal.

      They were everything she’d never had.

      “Can I help you?” The woman walked to the edge of the porch.

      “I’m...” Cheyenne breathed deep, past the tightness in her throat. The world swam a little, and she closed her eyes. When she opened them, the woman had moved down the steps and was walking toward her. “I’m here to see Reese Cooper.”

      “Oh.” The woman stopped and held out a beautiful hand. “I’m his mother, Angie Cooper.”

      “I’m here to see...”

      “I think you’ve already said that.” Angie’s smile faded, and her gaze lowered.

      Cheyenne put a protective hand on her belly, and she bit down on her lip. “I’m Cheyenne.”

      It didn’t register. Of course he hadn’t told them. Why would he? Mrs. Cooper stared at her with a blank look, which meant Cheyenne didn’t rate very high on Reese Cooper’s list of priorities. Hadn’t her mother always called her a silly girl? Silly because she’d always loved fairy tales, the kind where the handsome prince rides in on a big horse and sweeps the woman off her feet. Or kisses her and wakes her from a long and deadly sleep.

      In her mind, Reese had become that prince—mainly because