A True-Blue Texas Twosome Read online

  Letter to Reader

  Title Page

  Letter to Reader

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Copyright

  “Kim McCade’s A TRUE-BLUE TEXAS TWOSOME is a compelling romance set against a charming backdrop of small-town life.”

  —Mary Lynn Baxter,

  bestselling and award-winning author

  “I’m not ready, Toby.”

  Corinne couldn’t meet his eyes.

  He stared at her for a long moment. “I’m willing to give up everything, Corinne. I’ll follow you, anywhere you want to go. I’m willing to do just about anything, except wait. Except listen to any more of your excuses. I’m offering you everything I have.”

  He lifted her chin with his thumb and forced her to meet his gaze. “But I won’t take one bit less from you.”

  Dear Reader,

  We’ve got a special lineup of books for you this month, starting with two from favorite authors Sharon Sala and Laurey Bright Sharon’s Royal’s Child finishes up her trilogy, THE JUSTICE WAY, about the three Justice brothers. This is a wonderful, suspenseful, romantic finale, and you won’t want to miss it. The Mother of His Child, Laurey’s newest, bears our CONVENIENTLY WED flash. There are layers of secrets and emotion in this one, so get ready to lose yourself in these compelling pages.

  And then ..MARCH MADNESS is back! Once again, we’re presenting four fabulous new authors for your reading pleasure. Rachel Lee, Justine Davis and many more of your favorite writers first appeared as MARCH MADNESS authors, and I think the four new writers this month are destined to become favorites, too Fiona Brand is a New Zealand sensation, and Cullen’s Bride combines suspense with a marriage-of-convenience plot that had me turning pages at a frantic pace. In A True-Blue Texas Twosome, Kim McKade brings an extra dollop of emotion to a reunion story to stay in your heart—and that Western setting doesn’t hurt! The Man Behind the Badge is the hero of Vickie Taylor’s debut novel, which gives new meaning to the phrase “fast-paced.” These two are on the run and heading straight for love. Finally, check out Dangerous Curves, by Kristina Wright, about a cop who finds himself breaking all the rules for one very special woman. Could he be guilty of love in the first degree?

  Enjoy them all! And then come back next month, when the romantic excitement will continue right here in Silhouette Intimate Moments

  Yours,

  Leslie Wainger

  Executive Senior Editor

  Please address questions and book requests to:

  Silhouette Reader Service

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

  Canadian: PO Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont L2A 5X3

  A TRUE-BLUE TEXAS TWOSOME

  KIM MCKADE

  Dear Reader,

  I’m thrilled beyond belief to have my first book published by Silhouette Intimate Moments, as part of MARCH MADNESS. Toby and Corinne’s story is set in a small Texas town because I grew up in a town much like it, and that was where I fell in love. Though I don’t live there anymore (there’s no mall, you know), I miss the warmth, simplicity and sense of community that come from living in a small town. I tried to capture those emotions in A True-Blue Texas Twosome.

  From my earliest memory, I knew I was a writer. It wasn’t until I fell in love myself, though, that I decided to write romance. I thought there couldn’t be anything more interesting, rewarding and just plain fun than writing about that moment when two people take that leap into love. And you know what? I was right!

  Enjoy!

  This book is for Darryl—

  for showing me what a hero should be.

  Chapter 1

  Aloma, Texas, hadn’t had this much gossip—not legitimate gossip anyway—since Barbara Massey got on “The Price Is Right” and won that trip to Hong Kong Of course, Corinne Maxwell was a bigger celebrity than Barbara would ever be. While Barbara had gotten to hug Bob Barker, Corinne Maxwell was actually shot on national television. An event like that was destined to be fuel for conversation over more than a few pots of coffee down at the Dairy Queen.

  Who would have ever thought she’d come back, even temporarily? She’d been itching to get out of this one-traffic-light town since the day she was born at the county hospital A cottonfarming town like Aloma didn’t have much to offer a girl who wanted to hobnob with politicians and break the lead stories on the evening news. Certainly being the substitute English teacher at Aloma High School was a step down for the woman who’d been on the verge of national stardom.

  Traffic bogged down the aisles of Aloma’s one grocery store, with people speculating how Corinne’s adventure in the big city had changed her. Was she still as pretty as she’d been? Did she still have that spark that kept her the center of attention, no matter who else was in the room? Phone lines were practically melting off the poles.

  The few who had seen her said she’d changed, that she’d mellowed out. Like a colt finally filled into a mare. They said she looked kind of sad now.

  Of course, they figured, getting shot would probably do that to a person.

  Toby Haskell had heard it all, and then some. Several times. In fact, it was becoming downright irritating. So she had come back. Big deal. Did it necessarily mean that people needed to line up on his doorstep to tell him about it?

  He watched her jog down the high school track now, all long legs and flowing hair. Even from forty yards away he could tell. That quality, the one that got her noticed no matter where she was, was still there. In abundance.

  His lazy stance, leaning against his Jeep with one booted foot crossed over the other, did a good job of masking the queasiness in his stomach. He wasn’t wearing the trademark Haskell crooked grin, the one that had set the hearts of every girl within three states to fluttering at one time or another. In fact, his mouth was set in an uncharacteristically flat line. Damn, but she looked good.

  She finished her lap and those long legs crossed the patchy grass toward him.

  “Hello, Toby,” she said casually, as if she’d just seen him last week. Her voice was as throaty and rich as he remembered, and it still made his heart lurch. Hearing it every night on the news—along with a couple million other viewers—hadn’t made him immune. Dammit.

  “Hello, Corinne.” He took off his Stetson, then wondered why he’d done it. But he didn’t put it back on.

  He would not tell her how good she looked. He would not. She stuck her foot up on the bumper of the Jeep and stretched her hamstrings. God, her legs were a mile long.

  She did look good, even though she was hot and sweaty from her run. Her face was flushed, a golden glow to her apricot complexion A light sheen of perspiration showed on her arms and legs She’d had him drooling since the sixth grade, and damned if she didn’t have him drooling still. After a decade of not seeing her, he figured he’d be over it.

  He figured wrong. He remembered a skinny, long-legged girl with bony knees and big feet, her heart full of fire and passion, leaving this hick farming town and ready to take on the “real world.” Leaving him.

  Now those limbs were shapelier, a woman’s body in place of the girl’s he remembered. She was still long and slim, but there were more curves than the last time he’d seen her, face-to-face.

  “You’ll be back,” he said, with what he hoped
sounded like determination.

  “Of course. I’ll come visit every chance I get. ”

  “Not to visit. You’ll be back to stay.”

  “Toby,” she sighed, exasperated. “I’m not moving back to Aloma. Ever. I’m off to Dallas. Then maybe New York. Washington, D.C. I want to go everywhere. Aloma is nowhere. I don’t belong here, I never have. There’s nothing for me here.”

  The hurt must have been plain in his eyes then, because she ducked her head. “I mean, I can’t have a career here, Toby. I’m no one here. What would I do? Broadcast the farm report on AM radio?”

  He gripped her arms, bitterness dripping through him that what they had wasn’t enough for her. “Go ahead, then! Go off, go to school. Be a big-shot reporter, if it means so much to you. See the world. But you remember one thing.”

  Her eyes grew wide when he advanced on her; he knew he was frightening her. He couldn’t stop himself. “You remember one thing,” he said again, forcing his voice back down. “You belong with me. You’re mine, Corinne Maxwell. God put you on this earth to be with me. And when you get done, get all this out of your system, I’ll be here. Waiting. And we can get on with our lives. Together.”

  He groaned inwardly as he remembered all too clearly the rash confidence of an eighteen-year-old boy, sure that everything in his life would work out just as he thought it should.

  He ducked his head and chewed his lip. If he thought his life hadn’t turned out like it should, he wondered how Corinne must feel. She was back, all right. But it wasn’t for any of the reasons he would have liked.

  She straightened and brushed a strand of honey blond hair away from her face, meeting him eye to eye. Those who had seen her were right—her amber eyes were sad. No, not sad. Just kind of lifeless.

  He stared at the scar that ran along her jawline, then he glanced away self-consciously when she tucked her chin down. She’d been through a lot since they last met, more than he could ever know. There was a wariness about her now, too, and that bugged him. Before she left Aloma, she hadn’t worried about anything more than winning her mother’s approval. If she’d stayed here as he asked her—well, it was too late for that

  She smiled finally, wide moist lips, even white teeth, still breathing deep from her jog. She put long-fingered hands on her hips, as she squinted the sun out of her eyes. “It’s good to see you.”

  “Yeah.” Great. Impress her with your eloquence, Haskell.

  “I didn’t know if you knew I was back.”

  “Are you kidding? People were lining up at my door to tell me you were back. I probably knew before you did.”

  Corinne laughed, bent her knee and reached behind, pulling on her foot to stretch her thigh. “Some things never change.”

  “Yeah,” he said again. Brilliant.

  Actually, that was the reason he’d finally stopped. People had been telling him for a week that she was back. As if the first thing he was going to do was run right over to her house and start tagging around after her like a puppy. Just like the old days.

  Except it wasn’t like the old days. He’d spent enough of his life being led around by the nose by Corinne Maxwell. He wasn’t getting his heart tangled up with her again. She was only here for a few weeks, a few months at most.

  Hell, he didn’t have to see her. He’d lived the last ten years without seeing her. He figured he could go the rest of his life doing the same.

  Aloma, Texas, was a small town, though. And at least fifteen people made sure he knew she was staying at her mom’s house. It was getting a little awkward and pretty stupid besides, not seeing her. He felt as if he were avoiding her.

  And that was dumb. This was his town, the town she’d been too good for She was the one who went off and marned someone else. He wasn’t going to drive blocks out of his way to avoid her.

  Rounding the corner in the sheriff’s Jeep just a few minutes ago, he’d recognized Corinne in an instant, jogging down the deserted high school track.

  And just to prove to himself that he was okay with this, that he was completely over her and there was no reason why she should mean any more or less to him than any other female on the planet, he’d pulled the Jeep over.

  He was ten kinds of a fool, too.

  “You look good,” he said, then looked around for something to bash himself in the head with.

  “You, too,” she said. “Protecting your town from the criminal elements, I see.” She reached out a manicured nail and lightly flipped the star on his chest.

  He looked down at it, experiencing the flash of embarrassed pride he felt when anyone pointed it out. Her smile was a little teasing He remembered her reaction when they were sixteen, when he first told her he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and someday run for sheriff.

  “In Aloma? What a cushy job. The only crime here is when someone gets drunk and runs over someone else’s mailbox.”

  “I do my best,” he said, setting his lips in a firm line. He would not let her make him feel like a bumpkin, the modern-day version of Sheriff Andy Taylor from Mayberry. He had followed in the footsteps of one of the greatest men he’d ever known. She could think he was small-town and quaint if she wanted; he was proud.

  “I’m sure you do. And I’m sure it’s a challenging and rewarding position.”

  He grinned. He remembered Corinne enough to know that the more uncomfortable she got, the more piercing her comments became. It was her defense mechanism. Make them feel stupid. He’d seen her use the tactic many times when she was interviewing a particularly slippery subject for the news. It usually worked, too. She’d cock that eyebrow and have them babbling defensively be fore the first commercial break.

  But not this time.

  He winked and deliberately exaggerated his drawl. “That it is. It’s a twenty-four-hour-a-day job, running this town. And I rule it with an iron fist. Just ask anyone.”

  “Of course you do. And of course, you’re an upstanding pillar of the community, too, aren’t you?”

  He hadn’t realized how much he missed their verbal sparring. A simple conversation with Corinne had never been simple. “You can bet on it.”

  “Like you bet on it, Sheriff? In that friendly, albeit illegal poker game, held weekly in the back of the feed store?” She grinned saucily at him and did that little eyebrow hft she used to do, the one that had him torn between shaking her senseless and kissing her into submission.

  He nodded his admiration. “Just a few days back in town, Corinne, and already you’ve nosed out corruption in high-ranking local officials. Good work. I guess we’ll be seeing a late-breaking public defender segment in the Aloma Sentinel this week. Don’t be starting any riots out here, now.”

  She lowered her gaze, and her face grew shuttered. Again he felt like looking for something to hit himself with. Way to go, Haskell.

  “Touché,” she murmured. She turned her face away and ran a hand through her shoulder-length swing of hair.

  “I’m—ah, hell.” Toby took a deep breath and blew it out in a gust. “That was uncalled-for. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay,” she murmured. He knew it wasn’t.

  They stood awkwardly in silence. He tried to think of something to say to steer the conversation back to safe ground.

  “We’re off to a great start, aren’t we?” Her lips pressed together tightly.

  He attempted to tease her. “I don’t know. We probably went a full five minutes before we got each other mad. That might be a record for us.”

  Her mouth tipped up crookedly, but the gesture was devoid of humor.

  “It might be. I guess we haven’t changed that much. Maybe we shouldn’t be talking to each other. The last conversation we had wasn’t exactly pleasant.”

  He rubbed his chin and looked at the ground. “No. No, it wasn’t.”

  He hadn’t been sure if he should bring up their last conversation. He’d hoped, actually, that it wouldn’t be necessary. But the intervening years only seemed to magnify the hurt fe
elings. It was between them now, as big and solid as the Jeep against his back.

  “I’m only here for a few months, anyway. We could probably avoid each other for that long, even in Aloma,” she said, idly toeing a line in the dirt.

  “Maybe,” he said, though that was the last thing he wanted. Why was it that with any other female in the world, he knew just the right words to say, and around Corinne he couldn’t open his mouth without tripping over his tongue?

  “Or maybe—” her voice was a little shaky, and he cut his eyes and saw her lick her lips, biting the bottom one softly “—maybe we should start over.”

  He raised his chin and looked at her, and just for a second—less than a second—he thought he saw a little fear in her eyes. Fear mixed with hope.

  And it was all he needed. “That’s a better idea.”

  They stood looking at each other, the tension shimmering between them like a fine thread. How to go about starting over, with all that lay between them, both good and bad? Suddenly the selfassured glamour girl was gone, and she looked a little like she did when she was a bony thirteen-year-old, getting all worked up over an algebra test or something.

  He did what he’d done then. He reached out, took her hand in his, and smiled.

  She smiled back, though hers was a little wobbly. She took a deep steadying breath, and he did the same.

  “So,” he said.

  “So,” she echoed.

  “You really do look good.”

  “And you’ve still got the most wicked smile of any man within a hundred miles,” she said. Warmth crept into her eyes, making his heart squeeze painfully in his chest.

  “I like this conversation better than the other one.” He flashed his dimples at her, casually leaning one elbow on the hood of the Jeep. “Let’s talk some more about how good you look.”