Pamela Ingrahm - Wedding Planner Tames Rancher!

“I’m Not Wearing A Tuxedo.” “I’m Not Wearing A Tuxedo.” “I can understand how you feel, Wade, but it’s your only child’s wedding.” “I’ll give Myra Jo the full three-ring circus, but I won’t play the trained bear for anybody. I’m no weekend cowboy, Leah, thinking I’m a rancher because I own a few acres and run a few head. I work my land and my herds. My hands get dirty and my boots aren’t for show.” Wade suddenly looked weary, and Leah felt her heart pull. Whatever the reason, it was clear a battle would wage to put some shine on a man who wore his humble beginnings like a badge of honor. “So...have I scared you off?” “Nope.” She held out her hand. “You may have met your match....” Letter to Reader Dear Reader, THE BLACK WATCH returns! The men you found so intriguing are now joined by women who are also part of this secret organization created by BJ James. Look for them in Whispers in the Dark, this month’s MAN OF THE MONTH. Leanne Banks’s delightful miniseries HOW TO CATCH A PRINCESS—all about three childhood friends who kiss a lot of frogs before they each meet their handsome prince—continues with The You-Can’t-Make-Me Bride. And Elizabeth Bevarly’s series THE FAMILY McCORMICK concludes with Georgia Meets Her Groom. Romance blooms as the McCormick family is finally reunited. Peggy Moreland’s tantalizing miniseries TROUBLE IN TEXAS begins this month with Marry Me, Cowboy. When the men of Temptation, Texas, decide they want wives, they find them the newfangled way—they advertise! A Western from Jackie Merritt is always a treat, so I’m excited about this month’s Wind River Ranch—it’s ultrasensuous and totally compelling. And the month is completed with Wedding Planner Tames Rancher!, an engaging romp by Pamela Ingrahm. There’s nothing better than curling up with a Silhouette Desire book, so enjoy! Regards, Senior Editor Please address questions and book requests to: Silhouette Reader Service U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269 Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3 Title Page Wedding Planner Tames Rancher! Pamela Ingrahm www.millsandboon.co.uk About the Author PAMELA INGRAHM lives in Austin, Texas, with the man of her dreams and their two children. She’s added to the mix one dog that thinks the human race was put here to love her, and Pamela swears she’s not doing anything to foster that notion. She also tells all who will listen how wonderful it is to live your dream. Dedication In loving memory of my mother, Myra D‘Etcheverry. To my daddy, J. Romeo D’Etcheveny, and Judy—I wish you two lovebirds every happiness. To Adrienne—You are a friend beyond measure. Thanks for all your love and support. To “The Girls”—Pat, Cara, Janet and Adrienne—bar none, you are the best critique group in the world! Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Epilogue Copyright

“I’m Not Wearing A Tuxedo.”

“I can understand how you feel, Wade, but it’s your only child’s wedding.”

“I’ll give Myra Jo the full three-ring circus, but I won’t play the trained bear for anybody. I’m no weekend cowboy, Leah, thinking I’m a rancher because I own a few acres and run a few head. I work my land and my herds. My hands get dirty and my boots aren’t for show.”

Wade suddenly looked weary, and Leah felt her heart pull. Whatever the reason, it was clear a battle would wage to put some shine on a man who wore his humble beginnings like a badge of honor.

“So...have I scared you off?”

“Nope.” She held out her hand. “You may have met your match....”

Dear Reader,

THE BLACK WATCH returns! The men you found so intriguing are now joined by women who are also part of this secret organization created by BJ James. Look for them in Whispers in the Dark, this month’s MAN OF THE MONTH.

Leanne Banks’s delightful miniseries HOW TO CATCH A PRINCESS—all about three childhood friends who kiss a lot of frogs before they each meet their handsome prince—continues with The You-Can’t-Make-Me Bride. And Elizabeth Bevarly’s series THE FAMILY McCORMICK concludes with Georgia Meets Her Groom. Romance blooms as the McCormick family is finally reunited.

Peggy Moreland’s tantalizing miniseries TROUBLE IN TEXAS begins this month with Marry Me, Cowboy. When the men of Temptation, Texas, decide they want wives, they find them the newfangled way—they advertise!

A Western from Jackie Merritt is always a treat, so I’m excited about this month’s Wind River Ranch—it’s ultrasensuous and totally compelling. And the month is completed with Wedding Planner Tames Rancher!, an engaging romp by Pamela Ingrahm. There’s nothing better than curling up with a Silhouette Desire book, so enjoy!

Regards,

Senior Editor

Please address questions and book requests to:

Silhouette Reader Service

U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269

Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

Wedding Planner Tames Rancher!

Pamela Ingrahm

www.millsandboon.co.uk

PAMELA INGRAHM

lives in Austin, Texas, with the man of her dreams and their two children. She’s added to the mix one dog that thinks the human race was put here to love her, and Pamela swears she’s not doing anything to foster that notion. She also tells all who will listen how wonderful it is to live your dream.

In loving memory of my mother, Myra D‘Etcheverry.

To my daddy, J. Romeo D’Etcheveny, and Judy—I

wish you two lovebirds every happiness.

To Adrienne—You are a friend beyond measure.

Thanks for all your love and support.

To “The Girls”—Pat, Cara, Janet and Adrienne—bar

none, you are the best critique group in the world!

One

“Has he been by yet?”

“Nope,” Leah Houston answered her partner, hoping Rhonda missed the nervous jump the mere mention of him evoked. She kept her eyes on the new publicity photo for Brides and Babies, her business and her pride and joy.

“What’s that?” Rhonda set down the soft drinks she’d just purchased and straightened the curtains separating the little storage area where they sat from the display area. The strips of satin hid the paraphernalia they had transported from the boutique to the convention center for the bridal fair.

Leah took a grateful sip of cola and dabbed a bead of perspiration from her forehead. Although the convention center was air-conditioned—something of a necessity for Austin in June—she was still feeling the effects of the heat.

She handed over the photo to Rhonda and waited. Brides and Babies was her brainchild, and she had nurtured it from a one-person operation to its present staff of nine. Rhonda had been with her the longest—six years now—and covered the “and Babies” side of things.

“This will look wonderful on the new brochures,” Rhonda said as she cocked her head sideways, making the long, silky blond hair Leah would have given her eyeteeth to have cascade off one shoulder. “Your dad would be so proud.”

Leah managed a smile. Her father had died when she was twelve, but even at that young age he had instilled in her the need to “be” someone someday.

“I hope so. He wanted so much more for himself, but with my mom having kids every eighteen months, or thereabouts, he had to work two jobs to keep a roof over our heads. I think he had dreams and passed the torch to me.”

“You certainly ran with it. Of course, when you came up with the cockamamy idea of putting a baby boutique around the corner from the bridal shop, I thought you were a certifiable lunatic.”

“Thanks for the rousing vote of confidence.”

“I hate to admit it,” Rhonda confessed, “but it was a good thing you didn’t listen to me.”

“I listened,” Leah protested innocently. “I just didn’t pay attention.”

Rhonda rolled her eyes and shook her head despairingly, but in the next moment all teasing was gone.

“You are going to take the Mackey wedding, though, aren’t you? I mean, you’ve worked with Myra Jo before, so you know she’ll be fun. And you have to admit, being around her sexy, single daddy would have some...interesting... advantages.”

Leah grimaced. “I don’t have to admit any such thing, and Wade Mackey’s sexiness is irrelevant. I have to weigh whether this wedding is going to repair my reputation or damage it further.”

“Oh, come on! You’ve only lost three weddings since the Robertson fiasco. And, I might add, you didn’t make Penelope Robertson walk out of her own wedding.”

“No, but her mama sure let everyone think I’d upset Penelope-poo so much she had to leave the church.”

“So she made you a scapegoat. The weddings that went south were worth losing, if the people believed those stupid rumors. Besides, you haven’t exactly had to declare bankruptcy. ‘Babies’ is doing a great turn this quarter, so quit worrying.”

“I can’t be as casual about this as you are, Rhonda. This business is my life, and I take those lost contracts personally. The money isn’t the issue. My reputation is.”

Rhonda put a perfectly manicured hand on Leah’s shoulder. “Forgive me for being flippant. No one knows more than I do how hard you work. I guess that’s why I don’t understand your reluctance about the Mackey wedding.”

Leah gave her friend an incredulous look. “You’re kidding, right? The bride’s daddy is a well-known rancher who hates politicians, and the groom’s daddy is the most well-known senator in Texas. If those two men go after each other, it’ll make the Robertson affair look like a cakewalk.”

Rhonda tried to be positive. “Surely they wouldn’t do anything foolish at a big wedding.”

Leah shook her head. “Experience has taught me that the bigger the opportunity for disaster, the greater the chance for abominable behavior.”

Leah took another sip of cola and listened as the vendors around them dismantled their stalls. The noise distracted her, making her think about the job ahead of her. She’d hired a textiles major from the university to arrange her booth, but she’d decided to save money by taking the stall down herself. Even with Rhonda’s help, she wasn’t looking forward to the next few hours.

Voices from beyond the curtain caught her attention. Leah felt sure the deep one belonged to Wade Mackey, and was irritated by her pulse’s response.

She never allowed anyone to interfere with her business, and she was frustrated by Wade Mackey’s failure to follow the rules. She’d only met the man once, but she’d had to remind herself constantly since the Griffen wedding that she was not interested in lean, dark cowboys with disconcerting gray eyes. The lean and dark were fine, even the gray eyes were fine, but she had no interest in a swaggering, overbearing cattle baron.

Her conscience scolded her. Nothing about Wade Mackey supported her choice of adjectives. Confident, maybe, but hardly swaggering. Assertive, maybe, but hardly overbearing. He was the kind of man a woman could depend on, snuggle close to and feel, just for a moment, as if she wasn’t alone.

Quieting her conscience, she checked to be sure no hair had escaped her sleek chignon. She most assuredly didn’t need a man’s protection. She’d been dating Brandt off and on for almost three years now, hadn’t she? And she certainly didn’t feel protected when she was with him. She’d made it to the advanced age of thirty-five on her own, thank you very much, and if she needed security, she’d buy a guard dog.