The Cowboy's Valentine. Donna Alward

      

      HEART OF A COWBOY

      Coming home is hard enough without ranch manager Quinn Solomon making Lacey Duggan feel like an unwanted guest. She’s only here until she figures out what to do with her one-third ownership of Crooked Valley. But Quinn’s irresistible daughter is giving Lacey ideas about being part of a family. And though they don’t even like each other, Lacey’s having crazier notions about the widowed single dad.

      Does Lacey think she can waltz in and turn Quinn’s life upside down...only to leave again? The pretty accountant knows nothing about running a ranch, yet she’s making the Montana homestead feel like a home. Quinn isn’t looking for love again. Until a woman who’s all heart and a determined little girl help one lovestruck cowboy see the light.

      Her breath came quick and shallow, and when she looked up and their eyes met...

      Let me go, Lacey thought. Let me go because we can’t do this.

      Quinn’s hand tightened until she was sure he had to feel her pulse hammering against his fingertips. “You’ve done nothing but help today. You even thought to pick up things for my daughter just in case, and you cooked for all of us, and I know you must hate having us intrude on your space...”

      “It’s fine—”

      “...and the first chance I get I’m snapping at you.”

      “It’s been a challenging day.”

      “And now you’re making excuses for me. When what I should be doing is saying thank you.”

      She was certain her heart was going to beat clear through her chest when he pulled her closer and folded her in a hug.

Dear Reader,

      When I was writing The Cowboy’s Christmas Gift, I had a really hard time making sure I didn’t give someone too much “screen time.” That someone was Amber Solomon, the sweet little daughter of ranch manager Quinn Solomon. I just had to remind myself that Amber and Quinn would be able to share their story in the next book—this one, The Cowboy’s Valentine.

      The scenes with Amber seemed to write themselves. In many ways, it took me back a few years to when my own girls were little, with big eyes and gorgeous curls and an innocence that is both beautiful and heartbreaking. You see, Quinn’s wife, Marie, died when Amber was very little, and it changed both of them forever.

      Lacey Duggan has some wounds of her own to overcome, and I realized as the story unfolded that Lacey and Quinn and Amber all had the power to help heal each other’s wounds. In the end, it was a really rewarding story to write, and one of my favorite happy-ever-afters.

      Happy reading,

      Donna

      The Cowboy’s

      Valentine

      Donna Alward

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      A busy wife and mother of three (two daughters and the family dog), DONNA ALWARD believes hers is the best job in the world: a combination of stay-at-home mom and romance novelist. An avid reader since childhood, Donna has always made up her own stories. She completed her arts degree in English literature in 1994, but it wasn’t until 2001 that she penned her first full-length novel and found herself hooked on writing romance. In 2006 she sold her first manuscript, and now writes warm, emotional stories for Mills & Boon.

      In her new home office in Nova Scotia, Donna loves being back on the east coast of Canada after nearly twelve years in Alberta, where her career began, writing about cowboys and the West. Donna’s debut romance, Hired by the Cowboy, was awarded a Booksellers’ Best Award in 2008 for Best Traditional Romance.

      With the Atlantic Ocean only minutes from her doorstep, Donna has found a fresh take on life and promises even more great romances in the near future!

      Donna loves to hear from readers. You can contact her through her website, donnaalward.com, or follow @DonnaAlward on Twitter.

      MILLS & BOON

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      Contents

       Cover

       Back Cover Text

       Introduction

Dear Reader

       Title Page

       About the Author

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

       Extract

       Copyright

Chapter One

      The last place in the world Lacey Duggan expected to find herself was back at Crooked Valley Ranch.

      It