Not Your Average Cowboy

Christine Wenger

THE DESERT NEWSIs Rattlesnake Ranch ready for prime time?Stop the presses! Miss Hospitality herself, Meredith Bingham Turner, has been spotted bringing her unmistakable decorative flair–and delicious recipes–to Rattlesnake Ranch. Rumor has it she' s visiting her best friend, Karen, and helping to spruce up the Porter homestead. But I think there' s a reason she might be extending her stay: her best friend' s brother, the bona fide cowboy, Bucklin Porter.Single dad Buck can be as prickly as an Arizona cactus if he thinks that you' re messing with his home–or with the daughter he adores. But even he has to admit that ranching' s been a hard road recently. Domestic goddess Merry might be the solution to all of Buck' s prayers…in more ways than one!

“You’ll be perfect,” Merry said, turning in her chair to face Buck. “I thought that the second I saw you.”

He raised an eyebrow, obviously amused. “Oh, yeah?”

“Your blue eyes are killer. And a couple shots of you with your shirt off shoveling hay, well…” She suddenly realized that she’d said too much.

He smiled, knowingly. His blue eyes pinned her with a gaze so intense, she couldn’t breathe. “So, you’ve been watching me, Miss Turner?”

His voice was throaty. Sexy. A shiver went through her.

“Well, not exactly.” She tried to look anywhere but at him. “I was looking at you from a purely business standpoint.”

“But you liked what you saw? From a purely business standpoint, that is.”

“Yes. I mean no.”

How did she get into this?

“Chris Wenger writes stories that tug at your

heart and make you laugh out loud.”

—New York Times and USA TODAY

bestselling author Carla Neggers

Dear Reader,

I am a native central New Yorker who has never left the area, but my sister moved to Tucson after she graduated from college. After one visit, I fell in love with all things cowboy, cactus and coyotes. Then I discovered rodeo, specifically bull riding. Yee-haw! Now my husband and I follow the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) and the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association (PRCA). We’ve met many of the cowboys, bull fighters and stock contractors and have traveled to many events. These guys (and gals) are salt-of-the-earth types who come from hardworking ranch families. I’ve found that they are polite, honorable and truly good role models for their young fans.

That’s why I love to write about cowboys. There’s just something special about them.

So no matter where you live, get your favorite beverage, sit back, put your feet up and let me tell you about a cowboy who lives in Lizard Rock, Arizona, who meets his match in a TV star from Boston….

Cowboy up!

CHRIS WENGER

Not Your Average Cowboy

Christine Wenger

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

CHRISTINE WENGER

has worked in the criminal justice field for more years than she cares to remember. She has a master’s degree in probation and parole studies and sociology from Fordham University, but the knowledge gained from such studies certainly has not prepared her for what she loves to do most—write romance! A native central New Yorker, she enjoys watching professional bull riding and rodeo with her favorite cowboy, her husband, Jim.

Chris would love to hear from readers. She can be reached by mail at P.O. Box 1212, Cicero, NY 13039 or through her Web site at christinewenger.com.

To the memory of my sister, Sue. How I miss you.

To my cowboy brother-in-law, Rick. Hang in there.

To Alex and Katie. Your mother will always

be in your heart and mine.

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

Where on earth am I?

Meredith Bingham Turner pulled her generic gray rental car over to the side of the road—what little side there was. Rolling down the window, she peered down the drop-off to her right and frowned at the scruffy vegetation and huge prickly cacti that stood with their arms rai