Lone Star Rancher. Laurie Paige

      Praise for Laurie Paige:

      “Laurie Paige doesn’t miss…”

      —New York Times bestselling author Catherine Coulter

      “Fan-favorite Laurie Paige has created her strongest and most engaging work to date.”

      —Affaire de Coeur on Father Found

      “It is always a joy to savor the consistent excellence of this outstanding author.”

      —Romantic Times

      “A dazzling display of creativity. The variation on a standard plot is extremely fresh, with superb characterization to carry it off. Readers will hang on the edge wondering how the situation can be resolved, but Ms. Paige comes up trumps with a thoroughly satisfying resolution.”

      —Romantic Times on Nothing Lost

      “Laurie Paige weaves engaging characters and tender emotions into interesting situations and comes up with a good, solid love story every time. Enjoy the magic of Laurie Paige!”

      —Kathleen Eagle, Romance Writers of America RITA^® Award Winner

      Lone Star Rancher

      Laurie Paige

      

www.millsandboon.co.uk

      Dear Reader,

      Part of the fun of making up stories is imagining yourself in the environment. Having lived in Austin, it was easy to imagine the ranching country and sweeping vistas of Texas for the Flying Aces ranch. When Jessica hiked along the creek, I walked with her. When she checked the eggs for twin yolks, I remembered being six again and visiting my uncle’s egg barn. I also recall quite clearly being pecked by an irritated hen when I ruffled her feathers.

      Writing Jessica and Clyde’s story took me back to Ryan Fortune and his family. I was delighted to find that his twin daughter, Vanessa, was happy in her marriage, and that all had worked out well with the missing baby. (Did I mention that I get really involved in my characters’ lives?) Sometimes readers ask what happened to so-and-so in one of our fictional families. I enjoy exploring the possibilities with them. Life is full of twists and turns, and that’s the joy of writing: one gets a chance to explore the “road less traveled.”

      For Grandpa, Ryan and Kevin—

      It was fun camping with you guys!

      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

      Bonus Features

      One

      Jessica Miller sighed in relief as she entered the dim coolness of the restaurant. Outside the temperature was in the nineties, not unusual for early August in New York City.

      She was aware of the glances and outright stares when she followed the restaurant hostess to the table where her best friend waited for her. At five-ten and wearing sandals with two-inch heels, Jessica was tall enough to be a high-fashion model and, in fact, that was how she made her living.

      With wide, bright blue eyes and light brown hair that needed little enhancement to make her look like a summer blonde, she had a face well known to the public.

      “Jessica, I’m so glad you’re here,” her friend Violet Fortune said. “I was afraid the photo shoot wouldn’t be finished.”

      “I told the director it had to be because I was leaving at noon.” She wrinkled her nose, then smiled at her old chum from long-ago summer vacations and college days.

      Violet and her family were from New York but they had visited their Fortune cousins in Texas each summer at the Double Crown Ranch outside Red Rock, which was near San Antonio. Jessica’s father had managed the local hardware store in Red Rock, and Jessica had been born and raised in the small town. The girls had met as youngsters and formed a solid friendship.

      They’d shared a room at college the first year, then Jessica had been discovered by the owner of a top New York modeling agency. The woman had attended a college function with her niece, spotted Jessica and demanded to represent her in a modeling career. Since the hardware store was going out of business and Jessica knew her parents and younger sister would need income, she’d taken the offer, given up her scholarship and moved to the city.

      But only after the agency owner had promised Jessica’s father she would guard his daughter from the predatory worms in the Big Apple who would devour fresh-faced country girls for a snack.

      For the first two years of her new life in the city Jessica had actually lived in Sondra’s home—with Sondra’s son, five-year-old Bertram, whose father was a diplomat stationed in France; Mutley, the dog who’d followed Bertie home from the park; and four assorted cats.

      At twenty-one, she’d decided she was old enough to be on her own and had bought her first New York apartment, which was where she’d lived for the past twelve years.

      The other condos she owned were rented, as were the parking spaces she’d bought on the second floor of the parking garage next to her place. All in all, the country gal had done well. She was one of the three top-paid models in the world, according to Forbes magazine.

      “What are you snickering about?” Violet demanded as Jessica took a seat opposite her friend.

      “Life,” Jessica said.

      Violet gave an exaggerated shrug. “Oh, that.”

      The two friends laughed merrily. However, there were undertones of sadness in Violet’s eyes.

      Jessica refrained from questioning her friend, but she knew the sadness had to do with work. After Violet had finished medical school and residency requirements, she’d taken advanced training in neurology and settled in the city, too. She’d stayed with Jessica for a few months before finding her own place. Brilliant at diagnosing brain disorders, she was well known for her pioneering studies.

      Recently Violet had been the chief physician or consulting expert on several very difficult cases. While Jessica hadn’t understood the intricacy of the diseases when they had discussed the problems, she’d recognized her friend’s sense of failure whenever a patient didn’t make it.

      Jessica thought this was taking a serious toll on the skillful, sensitive doctor, but it did no good to tell Violet the tragedies weren’t her fault. She knew that, and that she had to find her own emotional balance—

      “Uh, excuse me, Ms. Miller, but, uh, could I have your autograph?” a young, feminine voice interrupted.

      Jessica held her smile in place. Although she wished people would leave her in peace when she was about her private business, her career precluded that possibility.

      Sondra had explained all that before letting her sign a contract with the agency. Her agent was a stickler for being polite to the public, who, after all, contributed to the success of her career.

      “Of course,” Jessica said. “What’s your name? Are you visiting the city or do you live here?”

      The