Marrying the Cowboy (Blue Falls, Texas, 3)($11.95Value)

Description

Friends To Roommates…To Lovers? Living with the Cupid of Blue Falls, Texas—her aunt Verona—Elissa Mason should be married by now. Or so her friends tease. But Elissa is wedded to the family nursery she's turned into a success. Following a devastating tornado, she has to rebuild and nothing's going to distract her. Not even her new feelings for neighbor-turned-roommate Pete Kayne. Deputy Sheriff Pete Kayne understands having a dream and doesn't want to get in Elissa's way. Especially after the tornado has taken his house, his truck, everything but his horse and his friends. All he's got left to share is his heart. He has his own ambition: a chance to join the ultimate in law enforcement—the Texas Rangers. Elissa was his friend. That would have to be enough…. Trish Milburn is a freelance journalist, lives in the South, and is a big fan of the outdoors and U.S. National Parks. When not writing, she enjoys hiking, nature photography, reading, traveling, watching TV or movies, and surfing the Web. She's also a big geek girl, including being a Browncoat and a Whovian, and has been known to cosplay at Dragon*Con. Ominous. That's the word that came to mind as Elissa Mason stared at the western horizon from the front porch of the house she shared with her aunt. Angry, dark clouds were doing their best to snuff out the last sliver of daylight hanging at the edge of the world. A gust of wind pushed the wisps of hair that had escaped her ponytail into her eye and sent a soda can careening end over end down the street. Verona, her mother's older sister, came out of the house behind her. "Looks like we might finally get an end to this drought." "It's what is coming along with the rain that I'm concerned about." Already they were under severe thunderstorm and tornado watches for the remainder of the night. As thunder rumbled in the distance, Elissa couldn't kick the bad feeling she had. "Yeah, might be a doozy, but beggars can't be choosers," Verona said. There was no denying that this part of central Texas was in dire need of rain. The ground was so dry throughout the Hill Country that it was cracking, and already ranchers were having to sell off stock because they didn't have adequate grazing. Not to mention the fact that even native Texans were getting tired of baking every time they stepped foot outside, no matter the time of day. It was almost autumn, and there still hadn't been any relief from the heat. The only ones who were likely seeing any benefit from this Hades-like weather were the electric utilities fueling all the air conditioners running nonstop. As she watched the sky darken, she noticed Pete Kayne turning onto the street in his sheriff's department cruiser. She waved as he pulled into his driveway next door. When he shut off the engine and got out of the car, he glanced back to the west, as well. Another gust of wind had him grabbing his Stetson to keep it from taking flight. "Looks like you might have a busy night," she said. He took off his hat and ran his fingers through his dark hair. "That's what I'm afraid of. Going to try to catch a nap in case I end up having to go back in." She smiled. "Good luck with that." While she was a morning person, Pete Kayne definitely wasn't. Sometimes she gave him extra-bubbly greetings in the mornings when he had to work first shift just to see the annoyed look on his face. He gave her one of those looks now, the type shared by people who'd been close friends for a long time. She laughed as he headed into his little house. After watching the sky darken more, Elissa headed inside. She checked the weather coverage on TV until it started getting repetitive. "We better go ahead and eat in case we lose power," Verona said as she headed toward the kitchen. "Not a bad idea." As they ate several minutes later, Elissa flipped through some nursery supply catalogs she'd brought home from work. "Are they still planning to start on the addition Monday?" Verona asked. A zing of excitement shot through Elissa as she envisioned the pottery studio in its completed form, a place where locals and tourists alike could come and learn to make their own pottery. And the new florist shop she was adding to her already thriving nursery and landscape décor business would boost sales during the parts of the year when people weren't landscaping. "Yeah. I'm having to rein myself in when I look at these catalogs. I could spend myself into bankruptcy with all the neat stuff in here." Verona smiled. "Like taking a sugar addict into a candy store." Even with the newly minted loan she'd received for the expansion, Elissa couldn't afford everything she wanted for the nursery. Like her best friends, India and Skyler, she had big dreams for her business, ones that often outpaced what she could bring to fruition. Verona patted her hand. "You'll get there, honey. Just look at everything you've done in a few short years. Paradise Garden is a destination now, not just a place where loca