Back In Texas. Roxanne Rustand

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      Clint climbed stiffly out of the car

      The tense silence on the way to town had proved that nothing in the rocky relationship between Ryan and his father had changed over the passing years…and it never would.

      “Doc Grady died five years ago, and there hasn’t been a doctor here since. What the hell does that tell you?” Clint glared at Ryan. “This guy probably couldn’t get a job in a real town—or got chased out of the one he was at. If he’s any good, why in God’s name would he come to a town like this?”

      Excellent point. Ryan looked down the deserted sidewalk, taking in the boarded-up storefronts and empty parking spaces. The Homestead, Texas, city limits sign still claimed a population of 2,504, but he’d bet a thousand of those people had long since left for better jobs and a brighter future.

      “You’re not having heart surgery here—just a quick checkup and some lab work.” Ryan opened the door of the clinic. “I’m sure the guy can handle that much.”

      Clint brushed past Ryan as he went inside. He thrust an impatient hand toward the empty receptionist’s desk. “See? No one’s here.”

      The decor was nearly the same as it had been back when Ryan was growing up. Curling brown linoleum. Faded Western prints on the walls. He eyed the same hard wooden chairs he’d sat on as a kid, knowing that after a few minutes on one of them he’d have trouble walking.

      “Can I help you two?”

      The woman’s quiet voice slid through him like a bayonet, and as if from miles away he heard his father swear under his breath.

      Dear Reader,

      Welcome to the beautiful Texas Hill Country. In Back in Texas, a wounded ex-army Ranger returns to his family’s troubled ranch. Though he’s long been estranged from his father, state senator Clint Gallagher, Ryan is determined to save his brothers’ legacy from financial ruin. He knows the job won’t be easy, but he doesn’t expect to find that someone is very concerned about him uncovering old secrets. And he certainly doesn’t expect to run into the only woman he ever loved—a woman who walked out on him years ago. I hope you’ll enjoy the story of Ryan Gallagher and Kristin Cantrell as much as I enjoyed writing it.

      Back in Texas is the first book in the five-author HOME TO LOVELESS COUNTY miniseries. The stories all center on a dying town and the people who move there as part of a modern-day homesteading program. They’re each in search of new beginnings, but some of them find far more than they expected.

      I love hearing from readers. There are contests, articles, photos, a free downloadable cookbook and previews of upcoming books at www.roxannerustand.com and www.booksbyrustand.com. You can write me at [email protected] or P.O. Box 2550, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52406-2550. If you send a business-size SASE, I’ll send you bookmarks and other goodies!

      Wishing you peace, prosperity and love,

      Roxanne Rustand

      Back in Texas

      Roxanne Rustand

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      To K.N. Casper, Linda Warren, Roz Denny Fox and

       Lynnette Kent, who are the authors of the upcoming books in this series. Your professionalism, dedication and warmth made this project an absolute joy.

      And, as always, to my family with deepest appreciation for

       your patience and support. And especially to my teenage daughter Emily, who is a fabulous cook and makes us wonderful dinners when I’m on deadline. I feel so blessed— even when she makes me gain ten pounds in the process!

      ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

      Many thanks to the generous people who provided so

       much research material for this book: Cindi Myers and Texan James Marshall for detailed information on the Texas Hill Country. Heartfelt thanks to author Kylie Brant for her invaluable advice, and lawyers Mary Strand and Tom Fraser for their assistance regarding the law and their profession. Any mistakes are mine alone.

      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

      CHAPTER NINETEEN

      CHAPTER TWENTY

      CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

      CHAPTER ONE

      THE ONLY WAY Ryan Gallagher had figured he’d ever come back to Four Aces Ranch was if he arrived in a government-issue casket.

      Returning home on his own power had never been part of his plans.

      Now, standing at the entryway of the main house, he glanced over his shoulder at the deeply rolling land stretching to the horizon. Every gnarled cedar, every rocky outcropping stirred a flood of memories he couldn’t hold at bay.

      He’d been gone fifteen years, barring two brief trips home to see his brother married and his grandfather buried. It hadn’t been long enough.

      Ryan shook off his reservations. Just a few months, maybe less. How could this be any harder than Ward 57 back at Walter Reed?

      Turning back to the ornately carved oak door with Four Aces Ranch written in sweeping script between images of champion quarter horses and prize cattle, Ryan knocked before letting himself in.

      Nothing but the best, his father had always said. From the livestock and land acquisitions, to every ostentatious detail of his massive brick house, Clint Gallagher still wasn’t finished trying to impress the world.

      His decades as a Texas State Senator had never been enough for him.

      “I don’t believe it.” Adelfa stood transfixed in the middle of the foyer on her way to answer his knock. The elderly housekeeper’s dark eyes filled with tears as she drank in the sight of him from head to toe. “Madre de dios! I never thought I’d find you at this door!”

      Steeling himself against the pain radiating through his shoulder, Ryan enveloped the stocky Hispanic woman in a hug. “And nothing could be better than finding you’re still here.”

      He released her, surprised by his reluctance to step away from Adelfa’s familiar scent—cinnamon and the Chanel he always sent her for Christmas and birthdays. “You still make this place home,” he added, brushing a kiss on her wrinkled brow. “Only you.”

      “Your father could not always be here when you boys were young.” She frowned, as quick to defend her employer of forty-some years as she’d always been to stand up to him. “He is a busy man…an importante senador.”

      And to her, that made everything right. She was, Ryan realized with chagrin, every bit as loyal as his fellow Rangers, even if her loyalty was misplaced. “So, is Clint here?”

      “Si.” Adelfa cast a glance over her