The Texas Wildcatter's Baby. Cathy Thacker Gillen

      Love Isn’t Part of the Deal

      Ginger Rollins can’t believe she gave in to temptation—again! It’s time for her and Rand McCabe to face the consequences. Never mind that the geological engineer and sexy environmental cowboy are on opposite sides when it comes to the Texas land they both love. Now that she’s pregnant, they have one option.

      Rand isn’t used to being proposed to by a woman—especially one as gorgeous as Ginger—but he’s all for getting married. Too bad the independent wildcatter sees their union as a nonnegotiable deal. Doesn’t she know they share more than hot chemistry? How long can he keep his feelings—and their baby—a secret? Rand vowed to love and honor Ginger forever. And it’s a promise he intends to keep….

      Rand’s blue eyes gleamed. “So you’re proposing to me?”

      “I know that’s typically a man’s domain,” Ginger replied.

      He smiled. “You think I’d take my sweet time about it, is that it?”

      He certainly took his sweet time about a lot of things. In bed, anyway. Ginger flushed, disturbed that the only way they knew each other all that well was sensually.

      She waved off his assertion. “Don’t know. Don’t care.” She stuck her hat back on her head. “I just want a ring on my finger before any more time elapses. So that by the time I’m showing and we have to start telling people I’m pregnant, we’ll already be married, and it won’t be such a big deal.”

      His eyes never left hers as he stood there in that very still way that he had. “Oh, it’s a big deal, all right,” he said in a low, soft voice that sent ribbons of sensation coasting down her spine.

      Dear Reader,

      Life would be pretty boring if nothing ever changed. On the other hand, unexpected change often causes havoc in our personal and professional lives.

      Such is the case for environmental engineer Rand McCabe and wildcatter Ginger Rollins. Neither plan to marry anytime soon. Never mind live in a honeymoon cottage with each other for the rest of the year! Yet unexpected circumstances quickly force them to do both.

      And there the fun begins. Ginger vows sharing quarters with the sexy McCabe heartthrob will not alter her feelings or feisty, independent outlook in the slightest. For her, it’s business first, last and always. The family-oriented Rand wants their relationship to grow into something much more satisfying, but only if the maddeningly elusive Ginger will let down her guard, and open up her heart.

      Neither Ginger nor Rand understand that when life changes, they must change, too.

      For more information on this and other books, please visit me at www.cathygillenthacker.com, and on Facebook and Twitter.

      Best wishes, and happy reading!

      Cathy Gillen Thacker

      The Texas Wildcatter’s Baby

      Cathy Gillen Thacker

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      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, at www.cathygillenthacker.com, for more information on her upcoming and previously published books, recipes and a list of her favorite things.

      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

       Epilogue

       Excerpt

      Chapter One

      Whoever would have thought, Ginger Rollins wondered, that a tiny plus sign would have the power to forever change her life? But there it was. Bold as ever in the window of the testing device.

      She sighed and stood, her knees wobbling as she paced the length of the nondescript hotel room she currently called home. Barely able to wrap her mind around the stunning news—she thought back to the rowdy town hall meeting in Summit, Texas, just six weeks ago. Where she’d locked eyes—and disputed ideas—with one tall, sexy, indomitable Texan.

      If only her passionate arguing with Rand McCabe had ended there.

      But no, as per usual whenever they met up, the two of them hadn’t been able to call it quits when the meeting ended, and instead had taken their verbal clashing down the street to the establishment that stayed open the latest in that small mountain town. Equal parts pub, dance hall and pool parlor, the cavernous tavern was packed to the rafters with a singles-only event meant to take away the annual sting of Valentine’s Day for the romantically unattached.

      The band was loud, the company lively, the margaritas so strong you had to surrender your car keys and sign a pledge promising not to drink and drive to even get one.

      If only, Ginger thought, she had stopped there, said a cool but firm good-night to Rand, and stuck to her usual ginger ale. Instead she had risen to the challenge of the ruggedly handsome environmentalist, and taken a seat beside him at the bar, where their disagreement had turned to laughter, their animosity to shameless flirting. Along with a host of others, they had closed the place down and taken the party bus back to her room at the Summit Inn.

      The next thing Ginger knew sunlight had been streaming through the blinds. Her body still humming with the bone-deep satisfaction that was every bit as familiar to her as he was, she’d opened her eyes and groaned, aware it had happened. Again.

      Only this time she had a scarlet heart with a broken arrow tattooed just below her shoulder. Rand had an exploding heart inked on his upper arm. And both of them were as naked as the day they were born. Ginger had moaned in dismay, because once again she’d felt way too exposed and vulnerable. “I