The Cowboy's Christmas Baby. Carolyne Aarsen

      

      A Family For Christmas

      No one expected Erin McCauley to arrive in Saddlebank, Montana, with a baby…and no wedding ring. Especially not Dean Moore, who cared for Erin but knew the by-the-book girl would never go for a hard-living cowboy like him. While helping renovate Erin’s new home, Dean realizes he’s still in love with her—and with her beautiful daughter. As far as he’s concerned, past mistakes don’t have to define them—but guilt is holding Erin back from seeing that Dean is offering exactly what she’s longing for. Because if she lets him, he’ll give her the home—and the family—she’s always wanted.

      “It was a long trip.”

      Dean heard a note of sorrow in Erin’s voice, and wondered precisely what had caused it.

      “You drove all the way up from San Francisco?” he asked.

      She nodded, shooting him a quick glance.

      “So what were you doing there?” As if he didn’t know exactly what had kept her occupied all these years. Because somehow, in spite of all the girls between then and now, Erin had always hung, like a painting, in the back of his mind. Elusive and mysterious.

      “Working as a graphic designer.”

      He wanted to ask her more and fill in the gaps between the last time he saw her and now. Wanted to know what had put those shadows under the eyes of the sweet, innocent girl who had turned him down with a sad smile. A girl who’d told him he had to turn his life around.

      Well, he had. Just too late for her, he guessed.

      CAROLYNE AARSEN and her husband, Richard, live on a small ranch in northern Alberta, where they have raised four children and numerous foster children and are still raising cattle. Carolyne crafts her stories in an office with a large west-facing window, through which she can watch the changing seasons while struggling to make her words obey. Visit her website at carolyneaarsen.com.

      The Cowboy’s Christmas Baby

      Carolyne Aarsen

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      In repentance and rest is your salvation.

      In quietness and trust is your strength.

      —Isaiah 30:15

      To my sisters, Yolanda and Laverne.

      Thanks for keeping me grounded.

      And to my brother-in-law Jan, who bid on

      the opportunity to be a part of this book.

      Contents

       Cover

       Back Cover Text

       Introduction

       About the Author

       Title Page

       Bible Verse

       Dedication

       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 Sixteen

       Epilogue

       Dear Reader

       Extract

       Copyright

       Chapter One

      It looked comfortably the same.

      Erin McCauley parked her car in front of the Grill and Chill on the main street of the town of Saddlebank and turned off her car, her ears ringing in the sudden silence.

      Though she had arranged to meet her sisters, Lauren and Jodie, at the ranch, she’d thought of stopping at the café to grab a soda because she was parched.

      Her thirst was only part of her reason for her detour.

      The other was that each mile she clocked northward from California to Montana increased the shame of the last ten months digging its unwelcome claws deeper with every roll of her car’s tires. Now that she was so close she had to fight the urge to turn her car around and drive back south.

      So she used the excuse of a pit stop to delay the inevitable surprise and questions.

      I should have told them, she thought, her mind ticking back to a time when she was a more innocent girl walking down these very streets. I should have told Lauren and Jodie everything that was happening in my life.

      They would know soon enough, she reflected, stretching her hands out, making a face at her chipped