Theres No Place Like Texas
Sam Travis doesnt like to be tied down. Hes used to picking up work all around the Hill Country, including odd jobs for Wanda Keller, an older woman who treats him as a son. When Wanda suddenly dies, her estranged daughter shows upand Lorelei Keller turns out to be more than he bargained for.
Polishedsome might say uptightLorelei left Fredericksburg in the dust years ago. Coming home for her moms funeral sends her into a tailspin of regrets. But thats nothing compared to the shock of learning that Sam has inherited her mothers B and B. Did the sexy cowboy manipulate his way into her mothers heart? Lorelei is determined to clean up this mess, and then get the heck out of Texas. For good this time.
Because theres nothing to keep her there nowexcept maybe Sam?
Im about to pour a glass of milk and cut into the German chocolate cake. You want a piece?
Finding herself temporarily mute, Lorelei shook her head. At her silence, Sam turned around. Their eyes locked, and she was glad she stood in the shadows. Maybe he couldnt see the blush heating her cheeks. Although shed been infuriated by the hateful way hed spoken to her earlier, the anger didnt stop her instinctive female appreciation of his broad shoulders and bare chest. Knowing hed defined those arms and abs working hard under the Texas sun somehow made them even more appealing than muscles honed through an expensive gym membership. It was a damn shame the man ever wore a shirt. Her gaze slid involuntarily down his body toward the denim waistband of his jeans.
The corner of his mouth kicked up. You stare any harder, youre going to bore holes in me.
The warmth in her face ignited to full-on flames. She opened her mouth to snap that she hadnt been staring, but the lie stuck in her throat. She settled for, Dont be conceited. Havent you displayed enough character flaws for one day?
Dear Reader,
Texas is a huge state, made up of many regions that are each special in its own way. In my new Hill Country Heroes miniseries, I get to share some of my favorite aspects of the Texas Hill Countryfrom outdoor recreation to generations of history and folklore to the award-winning vineyards. (The Frederick-Fest event mentioned in all three books is fictional, but its based on the many real festivals that take place throughout the year in Fredericksburg.)
My first Hill Country Hero is cowboy Sam Travis, who was raised on a ranch by his bachelor uncle and has never truly felt like he fit in anywhere. The closest thing Sam has to family these days is his sometimes landlady at a Fredericksburg bed-and-breakfast. When she dies unexpectedly (and leaves Sam the B and B) its difficult to say whos more shocked, Sam or the womans estranged daughter, Lorelei Keller. Knowing how much Mrs. Keller had missed her daughter and had wanted her to come home, Sam talks Lorelei into staying for an annual festival, as a way of honoring her mothers last wishes. When Lorelei agrees, two people whove always felt like outsiders might finally find the place where they fitwith each other.
If you get a chance, I highly recommend you visit the Texas Hill Country. In the meantime, I hope the stories make you feel like youre there!
Best wishes,
Tanya Michaels
Claimed by the Cowboy
Tanya Michaels
www.millsandboon.co.uk
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Three-time RITA® Award nominee Tanya Michaels writes about what she knowscommunity, family and lasting love! Her books, praised for their poignancy and humor, have received honors such as the Booksellers Best Bet Award, the Maggie Award of Excellence and multiple readers choice awards. She was also a 2010 RT Book Reviews nominee for Career Achievement in Category Romance. Tanya is an active member of Romance Writers of America and a frequent public speaker, presenting workshops to educate and encourage aspiring writers. She lives outside Atlanta with her very supportive husband, two highly imaginative children and a household of quirky pets, including a cat who thinks shes a dog and a bichon frise who thinks shes the center of the universe. You can visit her at www.TanyaMichaels.net.
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This book is dedicated to Jane Mims (what would I do without you?) who graciously chauffeured me around the hill country in spite of the worlds most diabolically uncooperative GPS.
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 One
The fifth floor of the insurance company was impressively quiet. Nothing so crass as noise leaked from the opulent and distinguished conference rooms at the end of the long corridorwhich made junior actuary Lorelei Keller want to cringe at the staccato echo of her navy pumps against the marble tile. She preferred to stand out in meetings because she possessed a lightning-quick mind, not because everyone could hear her coming from a mile away.
As if her footfalls werent making her self-conscious enough, the cell phone in her jacket pocket suddenly buzzed. Even with the ringer turned off, the vibration seemed loud in the empty hall. She fished the phone out to check the display screen and scowled. Though no name showed, the 830 area code meant Fredericksburg, Texas. More specifically, her mother. Again.
Exhaling an impatient breath, Lorelei turned the phone off completely and repocketed it. Wanda Keller was her only immediate family and Lorelei loved the woman. But mother and daughter were painfully dissimilar. Graduating from an Ivy League university had been easier for Lorelei than getting through to her mom. Not that Im deliberately avoiding her. She fully intended to call Wanda back later, after business hours. Headed into a meeting with one of the companys top executives was not the time to rehash their argument about Loreleis refusal to visit at the end of the month.
You loved Frederick-Fest as a child, Wanda had burbled just two days ago, sounding as enthusiastic as a child herself. She claimed the timing of the weeklong March event would be extra festive this year, since its dates fell over St. Patricks Daynever mind that their ancestry was German, not Irishand the spring equinox.
But Im not a kid anymore, Lorelei had pointed out as gently as possible. I have adult responsibilities, like a job I worked hard to get.
They have to give you vacation time, dont they? Wanda had persisted.
Lorelei had bit her tongue to keep from saying anything cruel. Like, Im not about to use up vacation to come help sell crystals and hand out bookmarks on the protocol for What to Do if You Encounter a Hill Country Ghost. Ive got a really busy month ahead of me, Mom.
Wandas voice, which had been by turns cheerfully cajoling and stubbornly challenging, fell to a barely audible level. You havent been home in over a year.
Home. How could Lorelei explain that Texas hadnt felt like home since her father had died twenty years ago? Her freshman year of college, Lorelei had joked with her roommate about Philadelphia freedom because moving to Pennsylvania truly had liberated her. Shed been free of living in a house that was a shrine to her dad, free of her mothers increasingly bizarre beliefs. Lorelei had soothed her frazzled nerves with the orderly logic of numbers and let her first snowy Pennsylvania winter numb a decade of tangled emotions.
You know I had to cancel at Christmas because I had the flu, Lorelei had defended herself. Ill come down for a visit this year. I promise.
When?
I dont know, Mom. Soon. Soonish, anyway. But not this month, okay? Ill look at my calendar, talk to my boss and get back to you.
Her mother had sighed, clearly skeptical. Sure. Ill be here.
Reaching for the door to the conference room, Lorelei gave a quick shake of her head, her long dark hair swirling about her shoulders, and banished the memory of her impulsive promise. Now was the time to focus on the more pressing topic of risk management. One of the few women in her department, she was determined to distinguish herself among her colleagues. She straightened her spine and stepped into the office, her footsteps now swallowed by the plush carpet. But a last lingering stab of guilt pierced her. Ill talk to my supervisor tomorrow about vacation time. Conscience appeased, Lorelei lost herself in the two-hour meeting, all thoughts of Texas and her mother pushed aside.
LORELEI WAS SEATED AT her desk, immersed in notes for a liability audit, when a male voice said, Knock knock, from the doorway. She glanced up to see Rick Caulden.
He flashed a knowing smile. You forget about me again? Reservations? Tuesday night? Any of this ringing a bell?
Of course I remember. Ive been looking forward to our dinner. I just thought you were going to call when you got here. She enjoyed her periodic dates with the handsome attorney.
Employed by a law firm several blocks away, Rick worked as hard as she did. He was charming but refreshingly unsentimental. They shared the same pragmatic streak and career drive.
Tried calling, he said. Kept going straight to voice mail, so I decided I should come up, find out if your meeting ran long and if I was on my own for dinner.
Oh, rightI turned my phone off before the meeting and totally forgot to turn it back on. A mistake, or a Freudian slip? Had she deliberately left it off because she suspected Wanda would call back? Maybe Lorelei had been trying to avoid the guilt trip of feeling like an ungrateful daughter yet again.
As soon as Lorelei repowered the phone, a message bubble appeared. She frowned. Wow, thats a lot of missed calls.
At least three of them are me, Rick said.
And the other six? Hang on a sec. She stood, gathering her purse and coat. I just want to check voice mail before we go.
Sure. He smirked. I always make our reservations for fifteen minutes later than I tell you. I know how difficult it is to drag you out of the office.
Under different circumstances, she might have pointed out that she spent an equal amount of time waiting on him or assuring him she didnt mind canceling because he needed the extra time to prepare a motion or speak with a client. Right now, she was more concerned with her messages than Ricks unexpected double standard.
Because of the 830 area code on the missed calls, Lorelei assumed her mother was phoning from one of the hotel lines instead of her private number. But it wasnt Wandas voice that greeted her.
Lorelei? I dont know if you remember me, but this is Ava Hirsch.
As if Lorelei had been gone so long she wouldnt recall her moms best friend? Though Avas husband was of the vocal opinion that Wanda was a gallon shy of a keg, the two women had always been inseparable.
Im calling Ava stopped, sniffed and tried again. Im calling about your mother, dear.
At the end of the sentence, Avas voice broke and the world tilted beneath Loreleis feet. She groped blindly for her chair.
Lorelei? What is it? Ricks concern sounded miles away; Avas condolences were even more distant, fading beneath the pounding in Loreleis ears.
But Lorelei didnt need to hear the rest of the message to know. She was going home to Fredericksburg, after all.
Chapter Two
Sam Travis was well-versed in the ghosts of Texas lorehed shared many a local legend with tourists around the campfirebut hed never felt haunted until now.
No matter which room he moved to in the bed-and-breakfast, he still saw his landlady, eccentric Wanda Keller, who had been mothering him on and off for the past three years. Maybe I should have left with the others. As of this morning, there had been two other guests staying at the inn. Another proprietor in town had promptly offered them free rooms in light of the tragedy. Wanda had been well-liked in town, even by loners like Sam.
Sam worked multiple seasonal jobs that kept him in motion, but he always circled back to Wandas, helping her with minor repairs and enjoying her cooking for a week or so before leaving again. It had taken him over a year of just being able to show up, his usual room always vacant, before hed realized that she held it perpetually open for him. When hed insisted she shouldnt do that, shed called him dummkopf and responded that it was her inn and shed do whatever she liked. This B and B, now painfully devoid of her presence, was the closest thing hed had to a home since the dusty bunkhouse where his uncle had raised him.
But not close enough that he wanted to own the place. He recalled the shock on Ava Hirschs tear-streaked face that afternoonit had mirrored his own.