Million-Dollar Maverick. Christine Rimmer

      

       “I shouldn’t have been kissing you,” he muttered darkly, as a warning.

      “I’m not a good bet. There’s something … broken in me, you know? I haven’t been such a good man in the years since I moved back home. I’ve been a Crawford through and through, you might say—too proud and too sure I knew every damn thing. You are a quality woman. You deserve a better man than me.”

      She only looked at him, eyes wide, bright with the sheen of unshed tears. He wanted to grab her and start kissing her all over again.

      And that couldn’t happen. He made himself clearer. “The last eight years, since I’ve been back in town, I’ve gone out with several women. But it never ends well.”

      Callie kept her gaze level. He couldn’t tell what she might be thinking. “I understand,” she said.

      He leaned a little closer. “Do you really?”

      “I do, Nate. Although I happen to think you’re a much better man than you’re giving yourself credit for.”

      “You’re just softhearted.”

      She gave a tiny shrug. “Maybe I am.”

      Dear Reader,

      Welcome back to Rust Creek Falls, Montana—and the twenty-year anniversary of Mills & Boon’s fabulous Montana Mavericks series. Last year, the Fourth of July Flood of the Century almost washed Rust Creek Falls away.

      But the small, close-knit community pulled together and survived. Now Rust Creek Falls is coming back better than ever. There’s a lot of rebuilding going on and several interesting newcomers to town—including a few memorable characters from the past two decades of Montana Mavericks stories.

      Yep. Things have changed a lot since last year. Especially for Nathan Crawford. You may remember Nate. A community leader, he made some bad choices and did a few good people wrong. You could say he was the villain of last year’s series.

      Not this year. Nate’s come into some serious money and he’s out to make up for the bad things he’s done. It’s a tough job to right all those old wrongs. But his heroine, intrepid, bighearted nurse Callie Kennedy, is just the woman to help him with that.

      I hope you enjoy this Montana Mavericks story—and all those to come.

      Yours always,

       Christine Rimmer

      Million-Dollar Maverick

      Christine Rimmer

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      CHRISTINE RIMMER came to her profession the long way around. Before settling down to write about the magic of romance, she’d been everything from an actress to a salesclerk to a waitress. Now that she’s finally found work that suits her perfectly, she insists she never had a problem keeping a job—she was merely gaining “life experience” for her future as a novelist. Christine is grateful not only for the joy she finds in writing, but for what waits when the day’s work is through: a man she loves who loves her right back, and the privilege of watching their children grow and change day to day. She lives with her family in Oregon. Visit Christine at www.christinerimmer.com.

      MILLS & BOON

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      For my mom.

       I love you, Mom,

       and I’m so grateful

       for every moment we had together.

      Contents

       Cover

       Introduction

       Dear Reader

       Title Page

       About the Author

       Dedication

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

       Chapter Three

       Chapter Four

       Chapter Five

       Chapter Six

       Chapter Seven

       Chapter Eight

       Chapter Nine

       Chapter Ten

       Chapter Eleven

       Chapter Twelve

       Extract

       Copyright

Prologue

      January 15

      On the ten-year anniversary of the day he lost everything, Nate Crawford got out of bed at 3:15 a.m. He grabbed a quick shower and filled a big thermos with fresh-brewed coffee.

      Outside in the yard, his boots crunched on the frozen ground and the predawn air was so cold it seared his lungs when he sucked it in. He had to scrape the rime of ice off his pickup’s windshield, but the stars were bright in the wide Montana sky and the cloudless night cheered him a little. Clear weather meant he should make good time this year. He climbed in behind the wheel and cranked the heater up high.

      He left the ranch at a quarter of four. With any luck at all, he would reach his destination before night fell again.

      But then, five miles north of Kalispell, he spotted a woman on the far side of the road. She wore a moss-green, quilted coat and skinny jeans tucked into lace-up boots. And she stood by a mud-spattered