A Texas Soldier's Family. Cathy Thacker Gillen

      

       “Dream on, Alpha Man.”

      His eyes crinkled mischievously at the corners. “Alpha Man?”

      Had she really said that? She must be punchier than she thought.

      “It was an insult. A friendly one.” Hope bit down on an oath. She was just making it worse.

      He laughed, his husky baritone like music to her ears. Continued giving her the long, sexy onceover. “Sounded more like a compliment to me.”

      He was twisting everything around, embarrassing her and putting her off her game. Indignant, she trod closer. “Of course you would think that.”

      He held his ground, arms folded in front of him. Again, that long, steady appraisal. “Because I’m alpha?”

      He definitely was not a beta man.

      “Can we end this repartee?”

      He gathered her in his arms. “With pleasure.”

      “What are you doing?”

      “What any alpha male would do in this situation.” Grinning, he lowered his face to hers.

      A Texas Soldier’s Family

      Cathy Gillen Thacker

      

www.millsandboon.co.uk

      CATHY GILLEN THACKER is married and a mother of three. She and her husband spent eighteen years in Texas and now reside in North Carolina. Her mysteries, romantic comedies and heartwarming family stories have made numerous appearances on bestseller lists, but her best reward, she says, is knowing one of her books made someone’s day a little brighter. A popular Mills & Boon author for many years, she loves telling passionate stories with happy endings and thinks nothing beats a good romance and a hot cup of tea! You can visit Cathy’s website, www.cathygillenthacker.com, for more information on her upcoming and previously published books, recipes and a list of her favorite things.

      Contents

       Cover

       Introduction

       Title Page

       About the Author

      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

       Epilogue

       Extract

       Copyright

       Chapter One

      “Welcome aboard!” The flight attendant smiled. “Going home to Texas...?”

      “Not voluntarily,” Garrett Lockhart muttered under his breath as he made his way through the aircraft to his seat in the fourth row.

      It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate spending time with his family, he acknowledged, stowing his bag in the bulkhead and stuffing his six-foot-five-inch body into the first-class seat next to the window. He did.

      It’s just that he didn’t want them weighing in on what his next step should be. Or what he should do with his inheritance. The decision was hard enough. Should he sell out or stay and build a life in Laramie, as his late father had wanted?

      Reenlist and take the considerable promotion being offered?

      Or take a civilian post that would allow him to pursue his dreams?

      He had twenty-nine days to decide.

      And an unspecified but pressing family crisis to handle in the meantime.

      And an expensive-looking blonde in a white power suit who’d been sizing him up from a distance, ever since he arrived at the gate...

      He’d noticed her, too. Hard not to with that delicately gorgeous face, a mane of long, silky hair brushing against her shoulders, and a smoking-hot body that just wouldn’t quit.

      Two years ago...before Leanne...he might have taken her up on her invitation...

      But his failed engagement had taught him too well. He wasn’t interested in any woman hell-bent on climbing her way to the top.

      He wanted a partner who understood what was important in life. Not a woman who couldn’t stop doing business even long enough to board a plane. She’d been talking on her cell phone nonstop and was still on it as she stepped into the cabin. With a thousand-watt smile aimed his way, oblivious to the three backpack-clad college boys queued up like dominoes behind her, she continued on down the aisle, checking her ticket for her seat assignment as she walked.

      Phone to her ear, one hand trying to retract the telescoping handle of her suitcase while still managing the equally roomy carryall over her shoulder, she said, “...have to go...yes, yes. I’ll call you as soon as I land in Dallas. Not to worry.” She laughed softly, charmingly, while shooting him another glance and lifting her suitcase with one hand into the overhead compartment. “I always do...”

      Annoyed, he turned his attention to the tarmac and was watching bags being loaded into the cargo hold when, in the aisle behind him, commotion suddenly erupted.

      “If you-all will just wait until I can—ouch!” He heard the pretty blonde stumble toward him, yelping as her expensive leather carryall tumbled off her shoulder and crashed onto his lap. Her elbow landed hard against his skull, just above his ear, while a pair of sumptuous breasts burrowed into his face. Only the quick defensive movement of his right arm kept the lady exec’s head from smashing into the wall above the airplane window.

      However, nothing could be done to stop the off-kilter weight of her from sprawling inelegantly across his thighs, while the trio of impatient college kids responsible for her abrupt exit from the aisle continued unapologetically toward the rear of the plane.

      She lifted her head, regarding him with a stunned expression as their eyes met. Heat swept her pretty face. He inhaled a whiff of vanilla and—lavender, maybe? All he knew for sure, he thought, as he heard her moan softly in dismay and felt his own body harden in response, was that everything about this woman was incredibly sexy.

      Too sexy...

      Too tall...

      Too everything...

      “Ma’am?” he rasped, trying not to think what it would be like