Outlaw Lawman (19 page)

He pulled back, gathered his breath so he could say what he needed to say.

“I’m in love with you.”

Except he wasn’t the one to say it. Caitlyn did. She took the words right out of his mouth.

“Run for cover if you feel the need,” she continued. “But I’ve been in love with you since I was sixteen. And though I’m sure you’d like me to feel differently, I’m still in love with you.”

He smiled. Winced. Smiled again. “I want you in love with me because I’m in love with you.”

Now she smiled. Slow and easy. She grabbed a handful of his shirt and snapped him to her. Yeah, they both winced, but Harlan was sure the heat and love overpowered the pain.

“Marry me,” he said. Harlan made sure it wasn’t exactly a question. Because he couldn’t take no for an answer.

Caitlyn had been in his life for a long time, and now he wanted her in his heart for even longer.

For a lifetime.

She nodded. “Yes, and if I could say it any faster, I would, because I don’t want you to change your mind.”

He had no intention of changing his mind and showed her with another kiss.

“Caitlyn, you’ll always be my first,” he said with his lips touching hers. “And my last.”

She smiled. “Even better.” Caitlyn kissed him to show him how much she meant it.

* * * * *

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Cardwell Ranch Tresspasser
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Chapter One

J
UST
INSIDE
THE
door, she stopped to
take a look around the apartment to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything.
This place, like all the others she’d lived in, held no special sentimental
value for her. Neither would the next one, she thought. She’d learned a long
time ago not to get too attached to anything.

The knock on the other side of the door startled her. She
froze, careful not to make a sound. The building super, Mr. McNally, again,
wanting the back rent? She should have left earlier.

Another knock. She thought about waiting him out, but her taxi
was already downstairs. She would have to talk her way out of the building. It
wasn’t as if this was the first time she’d found herself in a spot like
this.

She opened the door, ready to do whatever it took to reach her
taxi.

It wasn’t Mr. McNally.

A courier stood holding a manila envelope, a clipboard and a
pen.

“Dee Anna Justice?” he asked.

She looked from him to the envelope in his hand. It looked
legal. Maybe some rich uncle had died and left Dee Anna a fortune.

“Yes?”

He glanced past her into the empty apartment. She’d sold all
the furniture and anything else that wasn’t nailed down. Seeing him judging her
living conditions, she pulled the door closed behind her. He didn’t know her.
How dare he? He had no idea what kind of woman she was, and he certainly wasn’t
going to judge her by the mess she’d left in the apartment.

She cocked a brow at him, waiting.

“I need to see some identification,” he said.

Of course he did. It was all she could do not to smile. Well,
sneer, as she produced a driver’s license in the name of Dee Anna Justice. She’d
known where to get a fake ID since she was fourteen.

He shifted on his feet and finally held the pen out to her and
showed her where to sign.

She wrote
Dee Anna Justice
the way
she’d seen her former roommate do it dozens of times, and held out her hand
impatiently for the envelope, hoping there was money inside. She was due for
some good news. Otherwise the envelope and its contents would end up with the
rest of the trash inside the apartment.

“Thanks a lot,” she said sarcastically, as the courier finally
handed it over. She was anxious to rip into it right there, but she really
needed to get out of here.

It wasn’t until she was in the backseat of the cab, headed for
the train, that she finally tore open the envelope and pulled out the contents.
At first she was a little disappointed. There was only a single one-page letter
inside.

As she read the letter through, though, she began to laugh. No
rich uncle had died. But it was almost as good. Apparently Dee Anna had a cousin
who lived on a ranch in Montana. She ran her finger over the telephone number.
According to the letter, all she had to do was call and she would be on her way
to Montana. With a sob story, she figured she could get her “cousin” to foot
most if not all of her expenses.

She had the cabdriver stop so she could buy a cell phone in the
name of Dee Anna Justice. After she made her purchase she instructed the driver
to take her to the airport, where she bought a first-class ticket. She couldn’t
wait to get to Montana and meet her cousin Dana Cardwell.

ISBN: 9781460315828

Copyright © 2013 by Delores Fossen

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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.

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