His Unexpected Return. Jessica Keller

      

      He knew he’d have to make amends...

      But never expected he had a daughter at Red Dog Ranch

      Five years after being declared dead, Wade Jarrett steps onto his family’s Texas ranch looking for forgiveness. Instead he finds the woman he can’t forget—and the daughter he never knew. But with a secret of his own looming, can the former bad boy convince Cassidy Danvers he’s ready for the new roles of daddy and husband?

      Avid reader, coffee drinker and chocolate aficionado JESSICA KELLER has degrees in communications and biblical studies and spends too much time on Instagram and Pinterest. Jessica calls the Midwest home. She lives for fall, farmers’ markets and driving with the windows down. To learn more, visit Jessica at www.jessicakellerbooks.com.

       Also By Jessica Keller

      Red Dog Ranch

      The Rancher’s Legacy

      His Unexpected Return

      Goose Harbor

      The Widower’s Second Chance

      The Fireman’s Secret

      The Single Dad Next Door

      Small-Town Girl

      Apple Orchard Bride

      The Single Mom’s Second Chance

      Lone Star Cowboy League: Boys Ranch

      The Ranger’s Texas Proposal

      Home for Good

      Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

      His Unexpected Return

      Jessica Keller

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      ISBN: 978-1-474-09752-9

      HIS UNEXPECTED RETURN

      © 2019 Jessica Koschnitzky

      Published in Great Bri tain 2019

      by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

      All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

      This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

      By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

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       www.millsandboon.co.uk

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       Text to speech

      “I have something to say—”

      Jace started to explain, but Mackenzie whirled around to face him.

      “Don’t.” She bristled, and her finger jabbed in his direction. “Just don’t.”

      “You don’t even know what it is!”

      “Is it about Wilder Ranch?” Her tone snapped as fast and furious as a snake’s strike.

      “Nope.”

      “Then I don’t want to hear it.” She mounted up—the equivalent of a kid placing their hands over their ears. “We should get back.”

      He didn’t move.

      “I’ve got things to do, Hawke.” The reins twitched in her hands. He’d made her uncomfortable. He wasn’t sure why that ignited a flicker of happy in his gut. Probably because it meant he still affected her.

      “You know your way from here.” She turned her horse. “I’ll see you when you get back.”

      And then she left him. Sitting in her dust, her canteen still in his hands, words dying on his tongue that had needed to be said for seven years.

      Huh. So that was what that felt like.

      Dear Reader,

      Since the first time I envisioned this series, Wade has held a special place in my heart. He had tried to do what he thought was right and it ended up costing him and everyone around him so much. He makes me want to walk around hugging everyone in my life. Maybe I should!

      Wade also said my favorite line in the book: Trying to outrun the hard times ends up costing us more than submission ever will.

      I know I’ve been guilty of trying to outrun the hard times. The last year or two of my personal life has felt like one blow after another and sometimes you just want to say “Enough already.” But during the hard times is when God shapes us. We need the hard times in order to grow. And like Wade learned, it’s also when we need our friends the most.

      I hope you enjoyed reading Wade and Cassidy’s story as much as I loved writing it. If you liked this visit to Red Dog Ranch, make sure to pick up the other books in the series—there’s one for each of the siblings.

      Thanks for reading!

       Jess

      And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten.

      —Joel 2:25

      For anyone who has ever wanted a second chance.

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