The Cattleman And The Virgin Heiress. Jackie Merritt

      

       If the walls of Stockwell Mansion could talk…

      we’d welcome dear Madelyn and Brandon home at long last! To have the Stockwells’ mother and uncle back in the family fold after all these years of thinking them dead…well, we’re overwhelmed with happiness. Years ago, fueled by an unfounded inferno of jealousy, Caine Stockwell had cast out his own wife and brother—and falsely announced them drowned. Caine’s deception lasted for decades, and robbed the Stockwell siblings of their mother’s love—and a sister? It seems Madelyn had been pregnant at the time of her exile, and that child, Hope LeClaire, should have arrived in Texas to meet her clan days ago!

      What could have detained Hope? We have a very ominous feeling about this, for the newspapers were splashed with her picture and the two-inch headline, Stockwell Heiress Found, making her a target for trouble. We can only hope she’s not in harm’s way, but nestled in the arms of a strong Texan hero….

      Dear Reader,

      May marks the celebration of “Get Caught Reading,” a national campaign the Association of American Publishers created to promote the sheer joy of reading. “Get Caught Reading” may be a phrase that’s familiar to you, but if not, we hope you’ll familiarize yourself with it by picking up the wonderful selections that Silhouette Special Edition has to offer….

      Former NASA engineer Laurie Paige says that when she was young, she checked out The Little Engine That Could from the library fifty times. “I read it every week,” Laurie recalls. “I was so astounded that the library would lend books to me for free. I’ve been an avid reader ever since.” Though Laurie Paige hasn’t checked out her favorite childhood storybook for a while, she now participates in several local literacy fund-raisers and reads to young children in her community. Laurie is also a prolific writer, with nearly forty published Silhouette titles, including this month’s Something To Talk About.

      Don’t miss the fun when a once-burned rancher discovers that the vivacious amnesiac he’s helping turns out to be the missing Stockwell heiress in Jackie Merritt’s The Cattleman and the Virgin Heiress. And be sure to catch all of THE CALAMITY JANES, five friends sharing the struggles and celebrations of life, starting with Do You Take This Rebel? by Sherryl Woods. And what happens when Willa and Zach learn they both inherited the same ranch? Find out in The Ties That Bind by Ginna Gray. Be sure to see who will finish first in Patricia Hagan’s Race to the Altar. And Judith Lyons pens a highly emotional tale with Lt. Kent: Lone Wolf.

      So this May, make time for books. Remember how fun it is to browse a bookstore, hold a book in your hands and discover new worlds on the printed page.

      Best,

      Karen Taylor Richman

      Senior Editor

      The Cattleman and the Virgin Heiress

      Jackie Merritt

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

       JACKIE MERRITT

      is still writing, just not with the speed and constancy of years past. She and hubby are living in southern Nevada again, falling back on old habits of loving the long warm or slightly cool winters and trying almost desperately to head north for the months of July and August, when the fiery sun bakes people and cacti alike. Even Jackie’s cat, Tige, doesn’t go outside during the summer. Tige is Jackie’s pal, her friend, her pet. He’s an orange-striped tabby, neutered, of course, and too cute to accurately describe. She loves dogs, as well.

      Silhouette Special Edition is delighted to present

       Where family secrets, scandalous pasts and

       unexpected love wreak havoc on the lives of the

       infamous Stockwells of Texas!

      THE TYCOON’S INSTANT DAUGHTER

      Christine Rimmer

      (SE #1369)

      SEVEN MONTHS AND COUNTING…

      Myrna Temte

      (SE #1375)

      HER UNFORGETTABLE FIANCÉ

      Allison Leigh

      (SE #1381)

      THE MILLIONAIRE AND THE MOM

      Patricia Kay

      (SE #1387)

      THE CATTLEMAN AND THE VIRGIN HEIRESS

      Jackie Merritt

      (SE #1393)

      Available at your favorite retail outlet.

      Visit Silhouette at www.eHarlequin.com

      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

       S he was on a road, the only thing she knew for sure in the nearly blinding rainfall. On a road in the black, black night, drenched to the skin and running. Running as hard as she could and still managing to breathe. Her chest ached from the gasping for air she’d undergone for…oh, Lord, how long had she been running? How far away was she from that terrible place?

      And was he behind her in the dark? Fear made her take another look over her shoulder. She saw nothing but rain and darkness. Easily he could be toying with her, staying just beyond her scope of vision, knowing that he could reach her with a short sprint whenever he got over his perverted sense of fun.

      Panic seized her again, and she forced her exhausted legs to run faster. She needed desperately to stop and rest and catch her breath, but she didn’t dare, not for a minute. Would it help her plight if she knew precisely where she was? she wondered as her mind frantically sought salvation from the most horrifying experience of her life. She had a general idea of her location, but this whole area was frighteningly unfamiliar.

      If only someone would come along. A police car would be perfect but far too much to hope for when she hadn’t seen even one vehicle of any kind since her flight began.

      And then, so suddenly that it sent a shock wave of fortifying excitement through her system, she saw a light. It wasn’t close and it appeared to be wavering in the torrential rainfall that was nearly drowning her and blurring her eyesight, but she felt confident that it was a light. A yard light, perhaps. Indicating that someone lived out there, someone who might be kind enough to open his or her door to a soggy, scared-to-death stranger and let her warm up, dry off and calm her wildly beating heart.

      Without hesitation she headed for the light. In moments she realized that she was running in prickly brush that tore at her clothes and skin. Her chest felt as though it were on fire, her right side was aching badly, her legs screamed with pain and still she didn’t dare stop. Added to that list of miseries, she nearly fell down