From Texas, With Love. Cathy Thacker Gillen

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      “You’re cute when you smile,” Will told Samantha

      You’re dangerous when you make me laugh, she thought. Samantha drew in a breath. “I hope you’re not hitting on me again.”

      “Me? Wouldn’t think of it.” Will aimed a thumb at the center of his chest. “I know the rules.” He nudged her lightly. “Not that there are any rules about you hitting on me.”

      “We’re not going to need any.”

      His fingers stroked the inside of her wrist. “Want to bet?”

      Figuring it would be a sign of weakness to pull away, she stated firmly, “I don’t gamble on love—er, sex. And you’re not going to change my mind,” she insisted.

      “I know you think that.”

      “Being in Laramie is not going to change my mind.”

      Serious now, he said quietly, “I know you think that, too.”

      Samantha swallowed around the parched feeling in her throat. “Yet you’re convinced otherwise.”

      Will lightly took her chin between his fingers and kissed her mouth, confidence radiating from him. “Some things I just know.”

      Dear Reader,

      A while back, someone asked me if I had ever seen a bumper sticker that summed up my philosophy on life. I hadn’t, but if I were going to design one, I think it would read "Life is messy. Don't be afraid of the mess."

      That advice is especially on point for Will McCabe and Samantha Holmes. Will suffered through a divorce that left him feeling he wasn’t cut out for marriage after all. Samantha had given up on ever living happily-ever-after when tragedy tore her family apart. Both figured as long as they kept all their defenses up, they wouldn’t ever be unhappy again. That was, until they met each other.

      Will, Samantha and her brother Howard are three people working at cross-purposes. Three people who ended up loving—and helping—each other despite all the odds. Three people who just might become family in the end, along with Howard’s bride, Molly, and all of Will’s family, and the friends and neighbors from Laramie, Texas, they meet along the way.

      I hope you enjoy this latest visit to the fictional town of Laramie, Texas, as much as I did. For information on this and other books, please visit me on the Web at www.cathygillenthacker.com.

      Happy reading!

      From Texas, With Love

      Cathy Gillen Thacker

      ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      Cathy Gillen Thacker married her high school sweetheart and hasn’t had a dull moment since. Why? you ask. Well, there were three kids, various pets, any number of automobiles, several moves across the country, his and her careers and sundry other experiences (some of which were exciting and some of which weren’t). But mostly, there was love and friendship and laughter, and lots of experiences she wouldn’t trade for the world.

      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 One

      Will McCabe had known retrieving Samantha Holmes by “whatever means necessary” was not going to be easy. He had been forewarned about the twenty-nine-year-old woman’s stubbornness and feisty nature. However, he hadn’t expected to have to pull her out of a war zone. But as he left the limo idling at the curb in one of New York City’s more questionable neighborhoods, and found his way up the steep wooden steps to apartment 5E, a pitched battle was exactly what it sounded like.

      “Okay, that’s it!” a female voice shrieked from the other side of the door. The words were followed by heavy footsteps and a karate-style yell. “You ugly looking son of a rodent! I’ve had it with you making my life so darn miserable!” she shouted over a loud crash and resounding whack that even had Will jumping. “If you won’t get out on your own volition, then I’m just going to have to kill you myself!”

      Will’s eyes widened at the blatant threat.

      Howard Holmes had said his baby sister had bad taste in men, but letting a domestic dispute deteriorate to this level of violence was downright foolish. Determined to get her out of there before any more harm was done, Will pounded on the door with his fist. “Samantha! Open up!”

      “I can’t,” she shouted back over the sound of glass shattering.

      “Seriously…” He tried the door handle and to his frustration found the latch locked. “We need to talk!” He pounded on the door again.

      “I don’t think so,” she retorted.

      Will winced when he heard another loud crash. A neighbor from down below quickly opened his door, peered out, then slammed it shut.

      “Samantha!” Will ordered. “Open up now!”

      The woman inside muttered something he couldn’t quite catch. Then she screamed in terror. To heck with waiting, Will thought, as he muttered an oath and kicked the door in. It swung open to reveal a studio apartment that had definitely seen better days.

      Samantha Holmes whirled, looking every bit as beautiful in person as in the photos Will had seen. Her delicate face was dominated by long-lashed, dark brown eyes, a straight nose and luscious lips. Thick glossy hair, the color of dark cherrywood, tumbled in loose waves past her shoulders. She came nearly to his chin—which made her about five foot eight—and every inch of her was feminine, from her silky skin to her full breasts, trim hips and long, sexy legs. Eyes flashing, she brandished a broom, while the biggest mouse Will had ever seen raced across the floor.

      “Don’t just stand there gawking,” she commanded, stepping over a pile of broken glass as the skinny gray tail disappeared beneath the sofa. “Shut the darn door and help me catch him!”

      Relieved that it hadn’t been a man Samantha Holmes was fighting with, Will complied. “You know, they have exterminators for jobs like this,” he drawled, trying not to notice how great she looked in the cotton sleep jersey that fell halfway to her knees.

      Another resentful glare came his way. “An exterminator would kill him,” Samantha protested.

      “Not necessarily.” Will spied a flashlight on the coffee table. Glad this was one problem he could easily solve, he picked the light up and got down on his knees. He turned it on, illuminating the area beneath the sofa, and quickly located the quivering creature. Figuring “Mickey” wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon now that it had found a place to hide, Will sat back on his haunches and looked up at Samantha. He was close enough to inhale the alluring fragrance of lavender clinging to her skin. “Besides,” he teased, “you just threatened to do that yourself.”

      Flashing an apologetic smile, Samantha gestured to a metal cage on the floor of the kitchen. “I didn’t mean it.” She brought the contraption over to Will and set it down between him and the sofa. Hunkering down beside him, she bent to get a look at the frightened mouse, then gave a little shiver. “I just want him out.”