The Double Heart Ranch

Elise stared at Cole for a long moment. It wasn’t the proposal she’d always imagined. No bended knee. No promised words of love.

She reminded herself that this was more of a business arrangement, and yet something inside her constricted.

Oh, come on, Elise! Here’s a strong, good-looking man who has a home and a family, asking to marry you. And he’s willing to offer it all to you! Just not love.

Cole grasped her hands in his much larger ones. Electricity skittered through her, making her feel as if every nerve was exposed. His eyes darkened, turned to a misty blue-gray “Are you having doubts now?”

“No, no second thoughts,” she said. “Yes, I’ll marry you, Cole.”

His features softened for a moment, and the baby inside her moved.

Elise felt as if she were hanging by her fingertips off a cliff. Was Cole the one pushing her over the edge? Or was he pulling her up to safety?

Dear Reader,

Not only is February the month for lovers, it is the second month for readers to enjoy exciting celebratory titles across all Silhouette series. Throughout 2000, Silhouette Books will be commemorating twenty years of publishing the best in contemporary category romance fiction. This month’s Silhouette Romance lineup continues our winning tradition.

Carla Cassidy offers an emotional VIRGIN BRIDES title, in which a baby on the doorstep sparks a second chance for a couple who’d once been Waiting for the Wedding—their own!—and might be again…. Susan Meier’s charming miniseries BREWSTER BABY BOOM continues with Bringing Up Babies, as black sheep brother Chas Brewster finds himself falling for the young nanny hired to tend his triplet half siblings.

A beautiful horse trainer’s quest for her roots leads her to two men in Moyra Tarling’s The Family Diamond. Simon Says…Marry Me! is the premiere of Myrna Mackenzie’s THE WEDDING AUCTION. Don’t miss a single story in this engaging three-book miniseries. A pregnant bride-for-hire dreams of making The Double Heart Ranch a real home, but first she must convince her husband in this heart-tugger by Leanna Wilson. And If the Ring Fits… some lucky woman gets to marry a prince! In this sparkling debut Romance from Melissa McClone, an accident-prone American heiress finds herself a royal bride-to-be!

In coming months, look for Diana Palmer, a Joan Hohl-Kasey Michaels duet and much more. It’s an exciting year for Silhouette Books, and we invite you to join the celebration!

Happy Reading!

Mary-Theresa Hussey

Senior Editor

The Double Heart Ranch

Leanna Wilson

To Melissa & Katy, I love you both!

Books by Leanna Wilson

Silhouette Romance

Strong, Silent Cowboy #1179

Christmas in July #1197

Lone Star Rancher #1231

His Tomboy Bride #1305

Are You My Daddy? #1331

Babies, Rattles and Cribs…Oh, My! #1378

The Double Heart Ranch #1430

LEANNA WILSON

believes nothing is better than dreaming up characters and stories and having readers enjoy them as much as she does. Leanna is the winner of the National Readers’ Choice Award and Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart Award. Married to her real-life hero, she lives outside Dallas with their active toddler. While playing and reading to her son, she is cherishing the wonder of her baby daughter. But all the diapers and lullabies haven’t kept her from writing. She’s busy working on her next book, be it a Silhouette Romance, Mills & Boon Temptation or Mills & Boon American Romance novel. She enjoys hearing from her readers, so you can write to her c/o Leanna Wilson, P.O. Box 294277, Lewisville, TX 75029-4277.

Contents

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Epilogue

Prologue

“And they lived happily ever after.” Cole Dalton closed the book and ignored the tightening around his chest. “Happily ever afters” didn’t happen so easily. Not at all in his life.

“Read another one, Daddy!”

“Not tonight, darlin’.” He patted his daughter’s leg which lay beneath the pale pink comforter. “You have school tomorrow.”

“But I’m not sleepy.” Haley stuck out her bottom lip.

“I am.” He faked a yawn, stretching his arms out wide and opening his mouth until the sound of a creak came from his throat.

“What if I have a bad dream?”

“Then you can sleep with me.” He gave her a light kiss on the top of her curly blond hair. Crossing the five year old’s frilly room, he then turned off the lamp. Automatically the night light clicked on, glowing yellow in the corner, illuminating his daughter’s upturned face. “Now be a good girl and go to sleep.”

“Okay.” Haley snuggled down into her covers and her hair splayed out across the pillow. “G’night, Daddy.”

He could hear the chirp of crickets and croak of bullfrogs outside her window. He wondered why his ex-wife Paula had hated those sounds so much. To him, the comforting chatter seemed to embrace the ranch house. But it had never seemed serene when his wife had lived here, not with her complaining about the heat in the summer, the cold in the winter and the isolation year round.

Relieved that the nights were now peaceful and calming here on his ranch alone with his daughter, he whispered into the gray darkness, “G’night, sweetheart.”

Before he could close the door all the way, he heard her soft voice ask, “Will they really?”

He paused, confused. “Will who what, darlin’?”

“Live happily ever after?”

In the dim light, Haley stared at him with those big, solemn brown eyes. His throat closed as if a fist had cut off his airway. Haley’s constant barrage of questions always made him nervous. He never knew if he was answering the right way or about to scar his daughter for life. He knew firsthand that storybook endings didn’t happen. But should he shatter that fairy tale for his daughter now? Or let her learn it the hard way, like everyone else?

“I guess so. That’s what the book said.” He leaned against the doorframe and felt a throbbing pain resonate in his chest. It was hard being a parent. More so, a single father. He didn’t have anyone to consult with or confide in. But then he’d never had that with his ex-wife, either. “Now go to sleep, Haley.”

“But, Daddy…”

He drew a shaky breath, not sure he wanted the answer to his next question. “What is it, baby?”

“How come we don’t have a happy ever after?” Her squeaky voice could have punctured a hole right through his heart.

His hand folded around the doorknob and squeezed until he could draw a full breath into his tight lungs. Slowly, he pushed the door open wider and reentered her room. The thick, pink carpet softened the clomping sound of his boot heels. His heart pulsed with self-doubts and recriminations. He carefully sat on the edge of his daughter’s bed and tried to find the words to answer her woeful question. “Aren’t you happy here with me, sweetheart?”

“Yes, but—” She stopped herself and shut her brown eyes.

He couldn’t miss the quiver in her chin.

A cold clamp locked around his spine. Hadn’t he tried to give her everything a little girl needed—cute clothes, nourishing food on the table, a happy home and all the attention a five year old could stand?

“But what?” he prodded, needing to know her answer even if he knew it might rip him to shreds.

“We don’t have a mommy.”

No they didn’t. His ex-wife had lived as long as she could in the dust bowl of west Texas. She’d left, emotionally ripping out his heart and unbalancing their family. He’d tried to be both mother and father to Haley. Eventually, he’d admitted his deficiencies and hired a succession of nannies. None of them had stayed. They’d each found a lonesome cowboy, gotten hitched and moved on, leaving Haley and Cole once more on their own.

Maybe a little girl needed more than he could offer. Maybe Haley needed a mother more than she needed him. That drove a dull-edged blade through his heart.

His gaze shifted past the pink-curtained window to the darkness beyond. His great-great-grandfather had built the Double Heart Ranch with blood and sweat. But not alone. His mail-order bride had stood by him through tornadoes and dust storms, droughts and epidemics. They’d built a life together and made their own “happily ever after.”

Why couldn’t he do the same? He’d tried love, but Paula had hated the ranch. Worse, she’d hated motherhood even more. Maybe he could advertise for a wife, find one without the usual dating frenzy and marry for convenience. This time, for a lifetime…for his daughter’s sake. But could he trust a woman not to abandon them again?

Chapter One

“Having trouble with a Dear Jane letter?” Elise Mc-Connell asked the studious cowboy sitting at one of her tables. She balanced a tray of food between one hand and her shoulder, and tried not to inhale the greasy odor of bacon.

The cowboy glanced up. His startling blue eyes narrowed into tiny slits of wariness that pierced right through her defenses. Deep crevices outlined his firm mouth, reminding her of the caverns in the nearby Palo Duro Canyon, hard and intriguing. He had dark brown hair that some barber had cut almost too short, leaving only a trace of a wave. He’d scattered several wadded up pieces of paper across the table and had scratched through his latest attempt with a stubby pencil.

Figuring he wasn’t going to answer her, she placed his order of scrambled eggs, waffles and bacon in front of him and tried not to notice his wide shoulders and stern, uncompromising jaw. She’d made one mistake with a cowboy. She wouldn’t make another.

Wishing she’d kept her big mouth shut, she asked, “More coffee?”

He nodded and pushed his mug toward the edge of the red-and-white-checked tablecloth. “Are you new here in Desert Springs?”

His deep rumbling voice made her abdomen tighten. Must be the pungent smell of grease, she assured herself. She hadn’t had time to eat breakfast before she’d reported for work at a quarter to six and she was beginning to feel weak-kneed.

“Yes.” She set the empty tray across a nearby table and reached for the carafe behind the cowboy’s booth. Refilling his mug, she added, “I’ve been here almost a month. It’s a nice town. Quiet.”

She didn’t tell him that she’d been dumped here, without transportation or money. It wasn’t important. She was used to fending for herself. After leaving the orphanage at seventeen, she’d traveled from town to town, working odd jobs, attending a few college courses that interested her, but mostly looking for a place to call home. She’d thought she’d found a family with a cowboy. But she’d been wrong.

She’d actually started to like this little west Texas town and was considering taking up permanent residence. Besides, she didn’t have any other place to go.

A hint of a smile curled the corner of the cowboy’s mouth, denting his firm cheek with what she imagined must be a dimple if she ever witnessed a full-fledged smile. “It’s quiet all right. The streets roll up at nine o’clock.”

She gave a soft laugh. “That’s okay with me. I’m usually soaking my feet by then anyway.” Or asleep by nine these days. Being signaled by another patron of Chuck’s Diner, she said, “Enjoy your breakfast. If you need anything else, let me know. I’m Elise.”

Immediately she put the sexy cowboy and his worried frown out of her mind. She had enough troubles of her own. She’d do well to remember to keep her nose out of others’ business.

Cole watched the talkative waitress walk toward another table and pour a cup of coffee for one of his neighbors. He couldn’t help but notice the saucy swing in her step, the enticing sway of her apron ties along the narrow part of her lower back. A long auburn ponytail bounced between her shoulder blades. She wouldn’t be here long, he figured. She’d grow bored with this one-horse town, especially when she realized there weren’t many eligible men to flirt with and wrangle into the bonds of matrimony.

Turning his attention to his breakfast, he took a few bites of peppered scrambled eggs and then glanced back at the crossed-out words on the piece of paper beside his plate. He shook his head and fingered another wadded up sheet, one of many he’d attempted in his search to find the right words. Maybe this was a crazy notion. He hadn’t told anyone about his plan. Would anyone understand? Hell, he wasn’t sure he did. His friends would probably laugh until they turned blue.

Over the next hour, his gaze kept sliding away from the task at hand toward the new waitress. She had a quick, eager smile and bright discerning hazel eyes that were fringed with long, swooping lashes. Shaking his head at his own foolishness, he visited with several neighbors, folks he’d grown up with. They were ranchers and farmers, all about to head home to finish their chores, which was where he should go before picking up Haley from kindergarten. But he stayed on.

Four cups of coffee later, he shoved his fingers through his hair in frustration. He felt as jittery as a bull on the auction block. Maybe it was the caffeine. Or maybe it was that pretty waitress fluttering by his table and watching him so intently. This time, when she started to pour him another cup of coffee, he held up his hand. He’d had enough. Of the stout brew and his own stupidity.

“Are you a student?” she asked, propping a hand on her slim hip. “Trying to write an English paper or something?”

His frown deepened as he wadded up another page. “Working on an ad for the paper, but not having much luck.”

“Yeah?” As quick as the weather could change in Texas, she slid into the opposite side of his booth. “It’s slow, and you’re my only customer left. Maybe I can help you out. I took an advertising class once when I lived in Dallas. What are you selling? Cattle, horses, an old truck?”

His throat dried up like Cactus Creek had last summer. The woman had soft expectant eyes that seemed to peer right into his soul. She looked as if she’d seen a lot in her young years and might not be shocked by the truth. Like others in this town. But his suddenly thick tongue stumbled over the words like a teenage boy talking to a pretty new girl at school.

“Is it a secret?” she asked, leaning forward.

In a way. But not for long. If anyone discovered his plan, gossip would spread like wildfire during a drought. That’s what had him stumped. How would it affect Haley? He toyed with his coffee spoon, turning it over and over. Finally he found his voice and answered “Me.”

Frowning, she dipped her chin. “Me what?”

“Me.” He thumped his chest. “I’m for sale.”

Her eyes widened. For a moment she only blinked. Then her jaw snapped shut. “Well, that’s a new one.” She pushed against the table to make her escape. “Pardon me for intruding.”

He stopped her with a hand on her arm, stunning himself with a sudden need to unload his troubles. But why to this stranger? Maybe it was the sweetness of her smile, the knowing glimmer in her eyes or maybe it was the fact that she didn’t know him. Whatever it was, he figured she might understand. And he desperately needed to bounce his crazy idea off someone. “That didn’t come out right. It’s not what you think. Let me explain.”

She hesitated. Her eyes darkened, like oak leaves in late summer.

When he felt the muscles in her arm relax, he released his grip. His fingers burned where they’d touched her smooth bare skin. “Sorry.”

She didn’t answer, just stared at him with those perceptive eyes and waited. Waited for him to continue.

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, settled his hand on his Stetson which lay on the seat beside him. He wished he’d kept silent. And kept his damn hands to himself. But he hadn’t. Ever since Haley had broken his heart three weeks ago with her innocent questions, he hadn’t been himself. He ran the palm of his hand down the top of his jeans-covered thigh. Now he owed this woman an explanation for his odd behavior.

What had the waitress said her name was? “Elise?”

She nodded.

“I’m Cole. Cole Dalton. I own a spread just on the outskirts of town.” He wanted her to know he wasn’t loco. He was local. He had roots here that went back four generations. She didn’t have to fear him. But he saw only wariness and a thin slice of interest in her eyes.

She nodded again, still waiting for his explanation.

“Hell, maybe I am crazy.” He thrust his fingers through his already rumpled hair. “I’m really not trying to sell myself.” But it felt like it.

He glanced around the inside of the diner. It was empty, except for the clattering in the back as Chuck, the owner, banged pots and pans in the kitchen, getting ready for the lunch crowd which would descend on the diner in about thirty minutes.

“You don’t have to worry,” she said, giving him a sympathetic smile. “I can keep things to myself.”

He took a deep breath and then plunged in feet first. “I’m trying to find a mail-order bride.”

Elise was sure she hadn’t heard him right. Was this sexy cowboy with the dark-brown hair and sky-blue eyes trying to tell her he couldn’t find a wife on his own? What kind of a town was this if a handsome man had to advertise for a wife?

Then she stopped herself. She’d fallen for a pair of friendly eyes and a dimpled smile before. Maybe this cowboy was simply feeding her a line, like Rusty had. Or maybe the women in town knew him better than she did…and there was a good reason why no one wanted to marry him. Still, the red hue brightening the tips of his ears told her he wasn’t proud of the fact that he was taking out an ad for a wife.

Wary, yet even more curious by the minute, she asked, “Women that scarce around here?”

He shrugged. “Most are married, sixty-five and widowed, or young enough for me to risk a jail sentence.”

“I see.” But she didn’t. It made about as much sense as her following Rusty to this desolate area of Texas where tumbleweeds outnumbered the cattle. She knew folks did odd things for strange, sometimes inexplicable, reasons. She admitted Cole had piqued her curiosity. She rested her elbows on the edge of the table and clasped her hands. “Amarillo’s only an hour or so drive from here. You don’t think you can find a wife the conventional way?”

“Tried that once. Failed.”

Something in his voice hinted at deep-seated pain. Boy, could she relate. She hadn’t fared so well in the love arena, either. She’d thought she’d been in love. Thought it had been mutual. But she realized now, she’d been looking for a home, a family, and she’d wanted—needed—more than that restless cowboy had to give.

“It happens,” she said, recognizing the pain in her chest was not agony but embarrassment over her own foolhardiness. She had her own reasons for giving up on love, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t a romantic at heart or that she believed this good-looking rancher should. Surely he could find himself a woman who’d love him. “One failed marriage doesn’t mean you can’t find someone else.”

“I’m not looking for love.” His voice was deep and flat, almost devoid of emotion, and sent a scintillating shiver down her spine. “I simply want a wife.”

“Why?” She cleared her throat. “I mean, excuse me, it’s probably not my business, but couldn’t you just hire a maid or something? For whatever it is you’re looking for?”

Her face flamed. Maybe he wanted sex. And she’d just suggested he hire out…Oh, heavens!

His grip on the coffee mug turned his knuckles white. He had hard, calloused hands, accustomed to hard labor. She wondered if his heart was as battered as his hands. “I want a mother for my daughter.”

His answer stunned her, knocking her back against the seat. Suddenly she saw this man in a whole new light. He was a single father, probably frustrated with his role, irritated with the stranglehold of family obligations. He probably wanted to dump the burden on some unsuspecting female. Rankled, she said, “Then hire a nanny.”

“Been there already. I need someone more permanent than a hired hand who can up and leave at the drop of a hat.”

Maybe he was thinking about his kid more than himself. Maybe. Then again, more than a wife he might need a whack on the head for a good attitude adjustment. “How old is your kid?”

His eyes brightened, the deep blue turning the color of a radiant summer sky, at the mention of his daughter. Then he smiled. Really smiled. Elise felt her heart lurch. She’d been right—he did have dimples. Which made her stomach flutter.

“Haley’s five going on sixteen,” he said.

As suddenly as her animosity had risen like a churning river, emotions dammed her throat. Her own father had never shown such pride in speaking about her. In fact, he’d never done anything for her but dump her at an orphanage when she was twelve days old and make darn sure she could never find him or her mother again.

But this man Cole…this rancher…smiled when he talked about his daughter.

She cleared her throat, trying to dull the dazzling effect of his smile. But she couldn’t forget the shimmer of joy in his eyes or the vibration of pride in his voice when he spoke of his precocious child.

Remembering the way she’d given the nuns fits with her own antics, she gave a soft chuckle and fingered the apron around her waist. She could tell that Cole’s daughter had wrapped her father around her little finger. It made Elise long for what she’d never had—would never have. “I was described the same way when I was a kid.”

Cole’s smile faded into a worried frown. He tapped his fingers anxiously on the table. “She needs a mother. Not a nanny. Not a maid.” He paused, and the sparkle in his eyes dimmed. “She needs more than I can give her.”

The raw pain in his voice sounded like disappointment and made Elise’s insides clench with understanding. She resisted the urge to reach out and touch this stranger, to reassure him, to soothe his troubled brow. This wasn’t any of her business. Why did she always get too involved?

“Don’t get me wrong,” he said. “Haley’s the best. She never gives me any trouble. But I know she’s not happy.” He ducked his head, as if ashamed of his confession.

Elise recognized despair when she saw it. She’d lived with it as a child. She’d learned to cope and face each day with a bright outlook, because she only had herself to rely on. To survive she had had to ignore the weak emotions of disappointment and overcome rejection and pain. If she hadn’t thought something better was always around the corner, then she never would have survived puberty. “How do you know she’s unhappy?”

“She told me.” He gave a slight shrug, making his chambray shirt pull tight across his well-muscled chest. “Not in so many words. But well…she wants a ‘happily ever after.”’ He looked at her then, the blue of his eyes darkening with sorrow and regret. “You know, like in fairy tales. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that doesn’t happen in real life.”

Elise understood Cole then—the hope he’d once had and the heartbreaking reality he’d experienced. Much like her own. She suspected he had a soft, compassionate heart beating beneath that rock-hard exterior. At least where his daughter was concerned. “So, you’re going to give her as close a version as you can?”