Lone Star Blessings. Bonnie K. Winn

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      “We got off to a pretty bad start, didn’t we?” Kate asked.

      Tucker smiled. “I imagine you had a life back in the city. Gave it up to come take care of your father. Couldn’t have been easy.”

      Kate lifted her gaze and he saw her eyes deepen. He also saw a fleeting vulnerability along with pain. “My family’s everything to me—small as it is. When you shake that down, it wasn’t hard to know what I had to do…what I wanted to do. I suppose I didn’t think anything else was important.”

      “Not even a ticket from a small-town sheriff?” he teased gently.

      Her laugh was soft. “I’m not going to live that one down, am I?”

      “Doubtful.”

      She looked up at the star-filled sky. “Never realized how inspiring small towns can be.”

      He looked at the slim column of her neck, the curve of her throat as it arched. Inspiring. It had been a lifetime since he’d stood in the moonlight next to a woman. A lifetime forever unwound.

      MILLS & BOON

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      BONNIE K. WINN

      is a hopeless romantic who has written incessantly since the third grade. So it seemed only natural that she turned to romance writing. A seasoned author of historical and contemporary romance, Bonnie has won numerous awards for her bestselling books. Affaire de Coeur chose her as one of the Top Ten Romance Writers in America.

      Bonnie loves writing contemporary romance because she can set her stories in the modern cities close to her heart and explore the endlessly fascinating strengths of today’s women.

      Living in the foothills of the Rockies gives her plenty of inspiration and a touch of whimsy, as well. She shares her life with her husband, son and a spunky Norwich terrier who lends his characteristics to many pets in her stories. Bonnie’s keeping mum about anyone else’s characteristics she may have borrowed.

      Lone Star Blessings

      Bonnie K. Winn

      Why art thou cast down, O my soul?

       And why art thou disquieted within me?

       Hope in God: for I shall yet praise him who is

       the health of my countenance, and my God.

      —Psalms 43:5

      In memory of my parents.

      Always loved.

      Forever missed.

      Deepest thanks to my agent, Danielle Egan-Miller,

       for your unwavering support, understanding,

       belief, encouragement and friendship.

      And, to Melissa Endlich,

       for making my return so good.

      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

      Questions for Discussion

      Chapter One

      One mile to Rosewood. Kaitlyn would have done a somersault if she weren’t crammed into her small VW Jetta with all her clothes, the entire contents of her bathroom, books, laptop, work supplies and her cat, Noodle, who had been screeching nonstop for the last thirty minutes. Leaving the highway, she pulled on to Main Street. Usually, when she visited her father, she took time to dally down the Victorian, tree-lined avenue. Now, feeling as though she were covered in road film, all she could think of was getting to her father’s house, then out of the car.

      And she was more tired than she could ever remember being. The exhaustion was both physical and emotional. A few weeks earlier, when Kate had received the news about her father’s fall, she’d been concerned, but she hadn’t expected anything quite so serious. He’d broken his hip, then as a result, suffered an embolism that could have been fatal. That ruled out staying home on his own. Knowing he didn’t want to go to a long-term recovery facility, she’d offered to stay until he could live by himself again. And that would be quite a while. If he had another fall, a second embolism might not be detected until it was too late.

      So in the last few days, she’d listed her condo with a Realtor, emptied what mattered into her car, arranged to have the rest moved to storage, and broken her engagement.

      She hadn’t expected Derek to be wild about her decision to remain with her father until he could live on his own again. But she hadn’t anticipated his total lack of understanding. She’d always known his career was terribly important to him, that he had never shown any interest in her family, but…He’d always had an excuse when she invited him to visit her father. And she rationalized his absences to herself. Too much so, she now realized.

      She lifted her left hand, now absent her large diamond engagement ring. Derek had been shocked when she returned it. Almost more shocked than hearing she was breaking their engagement.

      Kate returned her grip on the steering wheel. Taking pity on Noodle, who was still screeching, she reached over to his crate and unfastened the latch. Poor baby, he hated driving as far as the vet’s when they were home in Houston. Three hours on the road had been torture. Smiling, she pulled open the door of his crate.

      White fur erupted. Claws extended, Noodle flipped back on to the top of his crate, bolted up on the car seat and landed on Kaitlyn’s shoulders. Hair standing on end, he dug in his claws. She swerved over the white stripe in the middle of the road, trying to pull him off. Noodle just dug in deeper. Jerking the wheel in the opposite direction, she tried to reach her terrified pet. A few swerves later, she peeled his paws from her shoulders and he clutched on to the headrest.

      She exhaled, then sucked in her breath when a siren suddenly shrilled behind her. Noodle screeched as well, jumping on top of her head.

      Kate came to a stop somewhere near the side of the road. It was hard to tell, with Noodle obscuring her vision. Sweaty, exhausted and frustrated, she tried to unfasten his claws, but Noodle was having none of it.

      Someone knocked on