One Hot Forty-Five Read online

Page 17


  He carefully opened the envelope and slipped out the single sheet of paper.

  To my dearest Lantry,

  And suddenly he could hear her sweet voice, feel the brush of her fingers across his cheek, the memory coming alive again as his heart swelled and his eyes filled with tears.

  For a few minutes he had his mother back.

  He just wished she’d lived long enough to see this day. Her wish had come true. All five of her sons were happily married to cowgirls—or at least women who were fast becoming Montana cowgirls.

  Carefully, he put the letter back in the envelope and went to find his wife. His wife. He smiled at the memory of Dede in her wedding dress standing next to him before the altar. Some day she would sing to their babies.

  He headed out the door of the main ranchhouse. He knew he’d find her down at the corrals with the new mare. What she didn’t know was that the horse was her wedding present, and one day she would ride again.

  When he saw her leaning on the corral fence, his heart filled with so much joy and love he thought he might explode. A man didn’t deserve to be this happy.

  As he watched her, the sun in her hair, lighting her blue eyes, he remembered something his father had once told him. A horse always knows its way home. So does a cowboy.

  This one is for Danni Hill and her wonderful bookstore,

  Promises. Thanks for letting me be a part of it.

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-4135-4

  ONE HOT FORTY-FIVE

  Copyright © 2009 by Barbara Heinlein

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

  ® and TM are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.

  www.eHarlequin.com

  †Whitehorse, Montana

  †Whitehorse, Montana

  †Whitehorse, Montana

  †Whitehorse, Montana

  †Whitehorse, Montana

  †Whitehorse, Montana

  †Whitehorse, Montana

  *Whitehorse, Montana: The Corbetts

  *Whitehorse, Montana: The Corbetts

  *Whitehorse, Montana: The Corbetts

  *Whitehorse, Montana: The Corbetts

  *Whitehorse, Montana: The Corbetts

 

 

 


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