Tammy and the Doctor. Judy Duarte

       Tammy tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Is something wrong, Doc?”

      “Wrong? No.” Hell no. It’s just that he…Damn. “I didn’t recognize you at first, and it kind of…threw me for a loop, I guess.”

      “It’s the dress.”

      No, it was more than the dress—although the style and fabric certainly spotlighted the woman he’d failed to see before.

      He probably ought to say something else, to comment about the new Tammy. But Mike was…dumbstruck. Awestruck. Maybe even a bit moonstruck.

      Damn. He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off little Tammy Byrd, who didn’t seem so little anymore—in spite of her short stature. She couldn’t be much taller than five foot one. Still Mother Nature had packed a whole lot of woman in her.

      He couldn’t seem to do anything but gawk at her and stumble along in his thoughts. Of course, it was just the metamorphosis that had him amazed.

      Wasn’t it?

      Dear Reader,

      Ever since my first Mills & Boon^® Cherish^™ title hit the shelves in 2004, I dreamed of creating a series with my best friends and critique partners, Crystal Green and Sheri WhiteFeather. Crystal and Sheri had the same dream, and after a weekend retreat spent at Crystal’s house, we came up with the idea for BYRDS OF A FEATHER.

      We set the stories on a cattle ranch in Buckshot Hills, Texas. Then we threw in a family feud, as well as an antique feather bed. According to family legend, the dreams had while sleeping in the antique bed are said to come true. Add a little romance to that intriguing mix, and you have all the makings for a great read.

      I am so glad you chose tammy and the doctor, the first book in the series. As you turn the pages, you’ll meet Tammy Byrd, who was raised on a ranch by her single dad and two rough and tough older brothers.

      When Tammy and her family are called to her dying grandfather’s bedside, she meets Dr Mike Sanchez, who turns the cowgirl’s heart every which way but loose. And while “Doc” hardly notices Tammy at first, she sets out to shake her tomboy image and become the woman of his dreams.

      Happy reading!

       Judy

      About the Author

      JUDY DUARTE always knew there was a book inside her, but since English was her least favorite subject in school, she never considered herself a writer. An avid reader who enjoys a happy ending, Judy couldn’t shake the dream of creating a book of her own.

      Her dream became a reality in April 2004, when Mills & released her first book, Cowboy Courage. Boon^® Cherish^™ Since then she has published more than twenty novels. Her stories have touched the hearts of readers around the world. And in July 2005 Judy won a prestigious Readers’ Choice Award for The Rich Man’s Son.

      Judy makes her home near the beach in Southern California. When she’s not cooped up in her writing cave, she’s spending time with her somewhat enormous but delightfully close family.

      Tammy and

      the Doctor

      Judy Duarte

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      To the best friends and critique partners ever:

      Crystal Green and Sheri WhiteFeather.

      Where would I be without you?

       Chapter One

      There were a lot of things Tammy Byrd would rather be doing on a Saturday afternoon than driving five hours to meet a bunch of relatives she’d never met, but there was no way around it.

      Her paternal grandfather was dying, and he’d called his estranged family home.

      She supposed she ought to feel something after hearing of the poor man’s plight, like sadness, grief or compassion, but any kind of relationship with him had been lost to her, thanks to a falling-out he’d had with her father years ago.

      Apparently, now that Jasper J. “Tex” Byrd was about to face his maker, he was going to try and make things right. At least, that’s how Tammy had it figured.

      When she’d first heard of the old man’s request, she’d assumed her stubborn, my-way-or-the-highway daddy would have dug in his boot heels and refused to go. She’d also wondered what her dad would say when he learned that she was going to make the trek on her own.

      But he’d blown her away by announcing he was going to make the trip and insisting that she and her brothers join him.

      Whatever his reason, be it guilt, love or a need to set things to right, her father, who never took orders from anyone, had caved to the old man’s request.

      Tammy’s brothers had been summoned, too, but they were fishing in a remote area of Montana and couldn’t be easily reached for at least several days, maybe a week. Still, she knew they’d be on the first flight they could find back to Texas. Family had always been important to them. Well, at least, their immediate family was.

      Her father would be coming later, too. She supposed she could have waited until after he’d had his appointment for his annual physical and rode with him, but she’d wanted to have her own vehicle handy. Besides, she was intrigued by the whole idea of family feuds and secrets. So she’d packed her bag this morning, prepared to meet the rest of her family—a dying grandfather, an uncle and two cousins she’d never met. Then she’d slid behind the wheel of her little pickup and left her daddy’s ranch.

      Five hours later, with the satellite radio tuned to a classic country-western station, an empty diet soda can in her cup holder and the printout of the directions on the seat beside her, she neared her final destination in Buckshot Hills.

      She slowed as she reached a cluster of oak trees, which her father had told her to watch for, then searched for the sign that indicated she’d reached Flying B Road.

      There it was, a bold wrought-iron-and-metallic creation that was as big as day—and as ornate as all getout.

      Before she could turn off one road and onto the other, a black Dodge Ram pickup with mud flaps roared around her. As it passed, the left rear tire hit a mud puddle and shot a big splash of dirty water at her little white truck.

      The jerk.

      She was about to lay on the horn, but held back. After all, it might be one of the relatives, and there was no need to get off on a bad foot before they’d had a chance to meet face-to-face.

      Realizing she’d have to wash the truck to get the bug spatters off the windshield, anyway, she shrugged off her annoyance and turned right onto the road that led to the ranch house.

      As she drove, she scanned the rolling hills and the lush pastures dotted with grazing cattle. It was a beautiful piece of property, and she wondered what it would have been like growing up on a place like this, instead of back in Grass Valley, on the much smaller spread her daddy had inherited from her maternal grandfather.

      When she neared the big, sprawling house, with a wraparound porch, she looked for a place to park her truck. Then she chose a spot next to the Dodge Ram.

      A dark-haired man who appeared to be in his early thirties still sat in the driver’s seat, talking on his cell phone.

      He was too young to be her uncle. Was he one of the cousins?

      She pulled in beside him and shut off her ignition, just as he opened the driver’s door and climbed from the cab.