To Love And Protect. Muriel Jensen

      

      She’ll make Christmas magic...in spite of him!

      In all his years as a cop, Ben Palmer had seen some hard cases. But Corie Ochoa took the cake. There was more hostility in her gorgeous five-foot-one frame than he’d seen in hardened criminals. Not to mention her uncanny knack for getting herself in trouble. But she was his adopted brother’s sister, and he was going to help her whether she liked it or not. And clearly, she didn’t.

      Too bad. He hadn’t come all the way to Texas to let this infuriating woman off the hook. Every instinct told him there was more to this story...and to her.

      Ben Palmer? It couldn’t be.

      In complete disbelief, she saw him coming toward her, picking up speed as the tree she was hoisting began to fall. Six feet and a couple of inches of darkly gorgeous but self-righteous, self-satisfied male who despised and distrusted her... What was he doing here? As though her life wasn’t already fraught with more problems than she could deal with. He—

      She lost her balance completely as he tried but failed to help.

      “Corie?” he asked.

      She wanted to say something clever, sound flippant, as though it didn’t matter that he was the man she hated and he considered her an incorrigible criminal. “No, I’m the Druid that came with the tree. Of course, it’s me.”

      She felt his sigh against her forehead. “I know it’s you. I want to know if you’re okay.”

      “No, I’m not okay. I have twelve feet of tree on me and six feet of hateful man.”

      Dear Reader,

      I love November. It’s a time for giving thanks, a preparation for the holiday season, a time for family. And that’s what Manning Family Reunion is all about. Jack, from In My Dreams, is determined to put his family back together after most of a lifetime of separation.

      To Love and Protect is Corie’s story. She was four years old when the Manning kids were separated, and her life took a much different path from Jack’s. She’s small in stature but big in courage and resourcefulness—with an interesting tendency toward flaunting the rules when necessary.

      Ben, Jack’s adopted brother, is all heart. But as a police officer, he has great respect for the rules and serious concerns about Jack’s devotion to his newly discovered sister. Particularly when she presents a threat to their family, and Jack is away on his honeymoon. It’s Ben to the rescue—or is it?

      Happy holiday season!

      Muriel

      HEARTWARMING

      To Love and Protect

      Muriel Jensen

      

www.millsandboon.co.uk

      MURIEL JENSEN lives with her husband, Ron, in a simple old Victorian looking down on the Columbia River in Astoria, Oregon. They share the space with a loudmouthed husky mix and two eccentric tabbies. They have three children, eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Their neighborhood is charmed, populated with the kindest and most fun-to-be-around people.

      In loving memory of Wayne McVey, who was a wonderful friend to Ron and me, who loved Starbucks, and onion rings, casinos and dinner at Dooger’s. And to Diane McVey, who soldiers on without him. Love you both!

      Contents

       Cover

       Back Cover Text

       Introduction

      Dear Reader

       Title Page

       About the Author

       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

       CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

       CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

       CHAPTER NINETEEN

       CHAPTER TWENTY

       EPILOGUE

       Copyright

       CHAPTER ONE

      “I’M GOING TO wring her pretty ballerina neck,” Ben Palmer told himself as he drove from the airport in McAllen, Texas, to Querida, where his quarry lived. He studied the side of the road for the break in the dry brush he remembered from a couple of weeks ago when he and his brother, Jack, had been here together in search of Jack’s sister. He was glad Elizabeth Corazon Manning Ochoa wasn’t his sister—the little thief! As if her full name wasn’t enough to deal with, her given name was the Spanish word for heart. It should have been whatever the Spanish word was for trouble. “There it is.”

      He turned right onto the narrow, bumpy lane, watching for the Rio Road sign. High weeds lined the path that led to the impoverished little two-block-long downtown. The side with city hall, the post office and the library, all built in traditional Spanish style with arches and red-tiled roofs, looked tidy and well-kept in contrast to the stores and services opposite them and the run-down bed-and-breakfast at the very end. Fall flowers lined the street on the city hall side but the commercial businesses looked as though they struggled to stay alive.

      He slowed as he passed the Grill, the café where Corie waitressed. It was the only structure on the block that looked even mildly prosperous. He noticed that her black Ford truck was not in the parking lot. She must have the day off.

      Remembering the directions to her home from the last visit, he turned onto Hidalgo Road just beyond downtown.

      Two minutes later he pulled the SUV to a stop across from the little house she rented and saw immediately that her truck wasn’t there, either. Maybe she was at Teresa McGinnis’s foster home.

      He drove to the property and pulled up to the chain-link fence. A crowd of children played in the front yard. Behind them stood the large hacienda-style home, its faded pink stone a picture of Old West glory.