You Can Go Home Again
A stint as ranch manager on the Circle P may be the perfect way for Hank Judd to reconnect with his ten-year-old daughter. And selling his former girlfriend’s family ranch will provide the cash he needs to restart his failed real-estate business. He just has to resist falling for the girl next door all over again.
Kelly Tompkins needs to sell her grandfather’s ranch quickly to pay for his medical expenses and get back to Texas before she loses her chance at a promotion. Hank is the last person she wants to see, but she can’t deny she needs his help. But spending time with the boy who let her down twelve years ago may unearth a heartache that has never truly healed….
One second, Kelly was hurtling toward the hayloft door and certain injury. The next, her body slammed into a wall of solid muscle.
Hank snugged her against his broad chest. His strong arms wrapped around her waist.
Memories from the distant past crowded forward. They’d been teens then. Inexperienced. Awkward. Easily swayed by raging hormones.
But there was nothing awkward about the man who held her now. Nothing inexperienced, either.
His grip on her tightened until she tilted her head, and when his lips came crashing down on hers, it felt like the most natural thing in the world to open to him. For a long minute, she gave herself to the touch, the taste, the feel of him. “Hank, I…”
“Shh, baby. For a moment there, I thought I’d lost you.”
But he had lost her. Long ago. And giving in to whatever was going on between them now couldn’t happen.
The Circle P Ranch is home to a thousand head of cattle whose bloodlines trace back to the days of the conquistadores. It’s a land where tall green grass stretches unbroken to the horizon. A place where brilliant pinks, purples and golds color the clouds at sunrise and sunset. I’m thrilled for the chance to take you back to the Circle P in His Favorite Cowgirl, my second book in the Glades County Cowboys series.
I’m glad, too, for the opportunity to share Hank and Kelly’s story with you. For a dozen years, these high school sweethearts have done their best to forget the one they left behind. They’ve even convinced themselves that they’ve moved on, that they no longer want or need each other. But His Favorite Cowgirl is all about second chances. After a dozen years away, Kelly comes home, hoping to heal the rift with her grandfather. Meanwhile, Hank sees his daughter Noelle’s visit to the Circle P as his final chance to prove he’s a good dad. When circumstances force Hank and Kelly to work together, they give love a second chance.
I hope you enjoy reading His Favorite Cowgirl as much as I enjoyed writing Hank and Kelly’s story. Many, many thanks to my cousin Paula Crews, whose love for her South Florida ranch inspired these stories about the Glades County Cowboys. Thanks, too, for the support of my Writers Camp pals—Roxanne St. Claire, Kristen Painter and Lara Santiago.
Leigh
His Favorite Cowgirl
Leigh Duncan
Bestselling author LEIGH DUNCAN writes the kind of books she loves to read—ones where home, family and community are key to the happy endings we all deserve. Married to the love of her life and mother of two wonderful young adults, Leigh lives on central Florida’s east coast.
When she isn’t busy working on her next story for the Harlequin American Romance line, Leigh loves nothing better than to curl up in her favorite chair with a cup of hot coffee and a great book. She’d love to hear from you and invites readers to follow @leighrduncan on Twitter, visit her Facebook page at LeighDuncanBooks or contact her through her website: www.leighduncan.com.
For Reese Noelle
You make my heart sing.
Contents
Hank Judd urged Star forward until palmetto fronds no longer rustled against the big gelding’s front legs. He spotted a grey Brahman in a patch of scrub brush and slapped a lariat against his thigh. “Get on, gal. Get on now.”
Her calf at her side, the cow broke from her hiding place. As the newcomers trotted into the open, cow dogs worked them toward the other intruders Ty and Hank had culled from the herd of prized Andalusians.
“I think that’s the last of ’em.” Hank moved into place beside his friend and owner of the Circle P Ranch. Slowly they drove the Brahmans away from the main herd, while the dogs kept strays from