The Littlest Cowgirls--A Clean Romance

by Melinda Curtis

  Ashley was working her way through her own epiphany...

  And looking for Wyatt to share it, if the warmth in her blue eyes was any indication.

  “I’m comforted by knowing my family and friends are there if needed,” she was saying. “But maybe...they don’t feel the same way?” Ashley glanced up at him, expecting an answer.

  “Maybe they feel they aren’t as important to you as they used to be.” And boy, didn’t that hit home!

  “Oh, my gosh. You get it.” Ashley laughed self-consciously, reining in that delicate laughter.

  The trees seemed to move closer. The wind seemed to pick up strength.

  But in the center of it all was Ashley. Bright red hair and sunny yellow dress a reassuring beacon that whatever had happened in the past...whatever was happening right now...nothing was as important as this woman in front of him and the soul-touching conversation they were having.

  Dear Reader,

  Do you like “twin switch” books? I do. How about hunky heroes? Yep, me, too. The Littlest Cowgirls deals with the fallout of a twin switch with a hunky hero.

  Actress Ashley Monroe has often had her identical twin, Laurel, take her place, but never with results like this. Ashley asked Laurel to fill in for her on a date with action film star Wyatt Halford. And now Laurel’s pregnant...and Ashley’s got some explaining to do with Wyatt, who believes he went on a date with Ashley. Boy, is he in for a surprise when he comes to Second Chance as Ashley’s wedding date and sees pregnant Laurel.

  You can’t have a romance with actors without a little Hollywood thrown into the mix. Ashley wants to produce and star in her own films, starting with The Ballad of Mike Moody, a project she’d like Wyatt to join her on.

  I had a lot of fun writing this small-town series, which began with Laurel’s story—Snowed in with the Single Dad. I hope you come to love the Mountain Monroes as much as I do. Each book is connected but also stands alone. Happy reading!

  Melinda

  The Littlest Cowgirls

  Melinda Curtis

  Melinda Curtis, prior to writing romance, was a junior manager for a Fortune 500 company, which meant when she flew on the private jet, she was relegated to the jump seat—otherwise known as the potty (seriously, the commode had a seat belt). After grabbing her pen (and a parachute), she made the jump to full-time writer. Melinda’s Harlequin Heartwarming book Dandelion Wishes is now a TV movie on the UPtv network! Look for it on DVD soon.

  Brenda Novak says Season of Change “found a place on my keeper shelf.”

  Jayne Ann Krentz says of Can’t Hurry Love, “Nobody does emotional, heartwarming small-town romance like Melinda Curtis.”

  Sheila Roberts says Can’t Hurry Love is “a page turner filled with wit and charm.”

  Books by Melinda Curtis

  Harlequin Heartwarming

  The Mountain Monroes

  Kissed by the Country Doc

  Snowed in with the Single Dad

  Rescued by the Perfect Cowboy

  Lassoed by the Would-Be Rancher

  Enchanted by the Rodeo Queen

  Charmed by the Cook’s Kids

  Return of the Blackwell Brothers

  The Rancher’s Redemption

  Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.

  Contents

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  EPILOGUE

  EXCERPT FROM A VALENTINE’S PROPOSAL BY KIM FINDLAY

  PROLOGUE

  SECRETS. GABBY KINCAID loved them. They made her feel like an adult.

  Gabby was twelve, a talker, and practically a Monroe. Yes, one of those Monroes. Her dad was marrying one. As such, she knew the Monroe history and a few important Monroe secrets.

  Gabby chewed on the rubber end of her pencil, reviewing the Monroes the way she carefully reviewed her homework for tests.

  She scribbled a word in her notebook. Money.

  The Monroes were wealthy. Or they used to be. Or maybe some of them still were. Laurel Monroe was pregnant and marrying Gabby’s dad this weekend, but she didn’t act stuck-up or bossy-up.

  Gabby glanced over to Laurel, who was sitting with her twin sister, Ashley, and their mother on the couch in the Lodgepole Inn. They were talking about the latest trend in fancy shoes as if something big and top secret wasn’t about to happen at any moment.

  But it was. Gabby gnawed on the pencil eraser again.

  “Gabby, don’t do that,” Laurel said in a kind way, which pretty much summed up her approach to life. That was no secret.

  “I need a distraction.” Gabby tapped her pencil on the check-in desk. Another word was added to the list in her notebook. History.

  Harlan Monroe had been a total success story, kind of like King Midas. Oil, finance, moviemaking, yacht building, hotels. You name it. Harlan had made money doing it. Harlan had also been born in Second Chance, Idaho, where Gabby lived with her dad and ran the Lodgepole Inn. Though it was cozy, the inn hosted a lot of the Monroes when they came to town, and they complained it wasn’t “The Ritz,” which was when Gabby had learned they didn’t mean the cracker. That still stung a little.

  But when it came to the Monroes, Gabby was willing to forgive, because of the next word in her notebook: Secrets.

  A long time ago, Harlan had bought the town of Second Chance. But he negotiated with folks living and working here, offering them the measly lease price of one dollar a year. Why would he do that?

  Harlan was dead now, so she couldn’t ask him. And he’d left Second Chance to his twelve adult grandchildren, also without a good reason. Didn’t he realize people would have questions? Gabby had questions. And people didn’t always answer them, which was why sometimes she had to just sit silently at the check-in desk, pretending to do homework while she listened.

  And when she listened, she learned a lot of things, including other Monroe secrets. Because, yes, there were more.

  Like the secret that Laurel’s twin, Ashley, who was a famous actress and often referred to as America’s Sweetheart, was going to make a western movie right here in Second Chance next year. Although...she’d recently told that to reporters. So, it was no longer a secret.

  Bummer. Gabby picked at the end of her pencil, plucking apart the chewed eraser. That had been a good secret, too.

  But an even better secret was that Ashley wanted Wyatt Halford, the hottest of hot action stars, in the western film with her. They were going to tell the legend of Merciless Mike Moody, who’d robbed stagecoaches in these parts, stabbed Jeb Clark, the blacksmith, and had been killed by a rock slide during one of his escapes. Ever since Gabby was a kid, people would talk about Merciless Mike and wonder what had happened to all his stolen gold. Well, a couple of months back, the Monroes had unraveled the truth behind the legend and found the bandit’s gold! Which was way cool, and kind of a secret, too, since they hadn’t officially announced it to the world.

  Gabby stopped destroying her pencil and stared out the wind
ow at the blue summer sky.

  Secrets. She loved them.

  But there was one Monroe secret that was bigger than them all. Wyatt Halford, dubbed this year’s sexiest man alive, was Laurel’s baby daddy. And he was coming here. To Second Chance. Today.

  Wyatt didn’t know a thing about the babies that were on the way.

  Dad should be pacing. He was marrying Laurel on Saturday, she was nearly thirty weeks pregnant and could deliver twins at any time, and Wyatt was coming to the wedding. But was he uneasy? No. He was in their apartment doing the books. And the Monroes on the lobby couch weren’t even fidgeting.

  Shouldn’t their stomachs feel like they ate too much popcorn at the movies? Gabby’s did.

  Wyatt Halford. Super Mega Crush!

  Was it possible Wyatt knew he was a baby daddy? Due to circumstances beyond Gabby’s control—stupid laptop—it had kind of been posted on the internet—totally not her fault. That bit of information was down now, and Dad always said you shouldn’t believe what was on the World Wide Web, so Gabby had been trying not to worry. But still... It also meant she had a secret of her own.

  Secrets were so hard to keep.

  The low sound of a large vehicle parking in front of the Lodgepole Inn made Gabby’s heart beat really, really fast. She ran from behind the check-in desk to a front window to witness the arrival of Wyatt, the sexiest man alive, greeted by Ashley, America’s Sweetheart.

  It was all heady, complicated stuff to lay on the shoulders of a twelve-year-old.

  Especially one who had access to the internet and wasn’t good at keeping secrets.

  CHAPTER ONE

  ASHLEY MONROE STOOD on the porch of the Lodgepole Inn with her best smile planted firmly on her face as she watched Wyatt Halford’s assistant park their SUV in front of her.

  This meeting in Second Chance, Idaho, had been five months in the making.

  Her sister’s future happiness hinged on this meeting. She tried to squelch the fluttery feeling in her chest that thought caused.

  Wyatt stepped out of the back seat of the SUV like the Hollywood royal he was—tall, proud and with a casual appearance that was anything but casual. More like practiced and perfected. Apart from that cowlick that looked like it couldn’t be tamed. There was the tan skin. Those scuffed black cowboy boots. He carried a black cowboy hat. All time-consuming prep and props to create the impression that Wyatt was a genuine rough-and-tumble cowboy who’d become a genuine rough-and-tumble action film star.

  She’d bet he’d never shot a real gun in his life. Or learned how to make little sports cars drift in circles, stopping on a movie mark. Or...

  Wyatt removed his sunglasses and glared at Ashley.

  Cue dramatic music.

  This man wasn’t happy. And he wasn’t trying to hide it.

  Ashley’s feet suddenly felt as if they were slipping on a steep slope. She curled her toes in her black suede booties and glanced behind her.

  Three females crowded the inn’s front window—her mother, Laurel and Gabby. Gabby was wide-eyed, cell phone in hand. Laurel looked worried, a crease in her brow. And Ashley’s mother? Her disapproval was evident without so much as a downward turn of her mouth. As Ashley’s agent, Mom felt there was more on the line for Ashley than for Laurel, and that Ashley’s public image must be protected at any cost.

  And that was just it. For too long, Ashley had been the daughter the Monroes protected, the one everyone considered too fragile to safely navigate a Hollywood career alone. No more. She’d stand on her own now and face the fallout from her mistakes head-on.

  She turned toward Wyatt.

  He won’t break me.

  Wyatt walked up the inn’s steps, sunglasses held on top of his head by that artfully created cowlick. He still carried that cowboy hat.

  I will not back down.

  Not when Ashley knew her course to conquer Hollywood as a producer-director could only be charted with smarts, professionalism and a whole lot of luck. No way was she going to let the highest-grossing actor of last year see her sweat.

  Begin as you mean to go on.

  “Thanks for coming.” Ashley stepped forward to greet Wyatt, rising on her toes to kiss each of his cheeks.

  And...yikes. Wyatt did the whole celebrity bit well. He even smelled good, like the scent of a lush green forest.

  Wyatt held on to Ashley’s elbow with a light but firm touch. The look in his dark brown eyes... It hid nothing. Backed down from nothing. “How could I refuse the request to be your wedding date?”

  Oh, that voice. So deep. So smooth. So dangerous. He was quite the package.

  No wonder Laurel fell under his spell. Even if it would only last twenty-four hours.

  Ashley was falling now. Standing too close, staring into his eyes too long. She could feel his magnetism.

  But she could pretend his charisma was a facade—a role he was playing—and resist. After all, Wyatt had been summoned here.

  Playing the part of the summoner, Ashley brushed a thumb over the summonee’s cheek. His lightly stubbled cheek. Goodness. “You look like you’re waiting for me to feed you your next line,” she said, without so much as a tremble in her voice. And then she stepped back, grabbed his hand and led him toward the door.

  Anyone who saw them would think they were friends, maybe even dating. Through the window, Gabby held up her phone as if taking a picture. And Ashley, who was as camera-shy as Wyatt was rumored to be, had to work hard not to turn away.

  “Hang on.” Wyatt planted those boots. “We need to talk about...” He gestured toward Ashley’s midsection.

  He knows something.

  Ashley’s smile became strained. She could feel a break in character coming, barreling toward her like an avalanche. And then her acting training kicked in, upholding that fourth wall between herself and her audience. Breathe. Relax. Focus on the emotion you’re trying to project. Calm. Ashley was calmer than a shallow pool on a hot summer day. No ripple of panic. No wave of guilt.

  “I saw something on the internet,” Wyatt said in that hard, angry voice. “A post on an encyclopedia website about your sister and me.”

  He knows everything.

  “Ashley, I’ve never met your sister.” His brow furrowed, making him almost human. “It had to be a typo, your sister’s name instead of yours.”

  He thinks I’m pregnant? He knows nothing!

  To her credit, Ashley kept on smiling. She shifted her head, as if trying to get a handle on the meaning of his words. “Is there a question in there somewhere?”

  The door behind her opened. Laurel’s cheeks may have filled out during the pregnancy, but her features were still nearly identical to Ashley’s. Laurel patted her very round stomach and arched her very slim brows. “It’d be easier on everyone if we were more direct.”

  So much for breaking the news to him gently. Ashley sighed and faced Wyatt. “That was no typo. You’ve met my sister. And surprise.” Those two words fell flat, just not as flat as the ones that followed. “You’re going to be a father.”

  * * *

  IT WAS HARD for anyone to throw Wyatt Halford off-kilter.

  Mostly because, growing up, his father had excelled at shaking him to his core. Often people, especially those who knew who he was and recognized how powerful he was in the film industry, didn’t make a run at him.

  You’re going to be a father.

  Wyatt was off-kilter. Truth be told, he was so off-kilter he didn’t know where kilter was anymore.

  He allowed Ashley to lead him into the Lodgepole Inn, a two-story structure built from rustic round logs. The least she could have done was invite him to a swanky hotel before springing this news on him. That, in itself, was suspicious.

  You’re going to be a father.

  News flash: This was a hoax.

  Wyatt clung to that thought the way
he’d clung to a fake ledge on a soundstage during a scene a few weeks ago. He was being punked. Nobody punked Wyatt Halford. He glanced around, looking for cameras. Bingo. A cell phone in the hands of a girl with strawberry blond hair and worship in her eyes.

  Wyatt assembled his defenses in what he hoped was an intense scowl, the likes of which he used when the villain in a film had taken his love interest hostage.

  The pregnant version of Ashley came to stand in front of him. She wore a fashionable gray dress that clung to her curves. It was hard not to look at the woman’s stomach. It was sizable.

  “I don’t believe we’ve met,” Wyatt said to all that roundness, channeling the stern, cocky tones of Ian Bradford, the top spy he’d played in three films.

  “We’ve never been formally introduced.” The pregnant woman hesitated. “I’m Laurel. And I... Sometimes I take Ashley’s place in public.”

  You’re going to be a father.

  News flash: Cracks discovered in Wyatt Halford’s hoax theory.

  Wyatt resisted washing a hand over his face and tried to keep his gaze on Laurel’s, tried to keep his spinning brain on the task at hand—damage control. He’d been in that mode since someone had posted the Wyatt Halford–Laurel Monroe baby news online. It had taken him days to get the post removed. And against his agent’s advice, he’d decided he needed to accept Ashley’s invitation to be her date at her sister Laurel’s wedding. Why? Because he had to squash the rumor at its source.

  It can’t be true.

  Ashley guided him to the lumpy couch and sat next to him, laying a hand on his arm. Her touch was a cool contradiction to her redheaded beauty. “That date you thought you took me on...”

  “That was me,” Laurel said bluntly. She placed her palms on either side of her belly. “And the twin girls here are the result.”

  Twins?

  Wyatt’s mouth went dry and his concrete belief that this was a baseless rumor continued to fracture.

  A middle-aged, redheaded woman wearing a dress and heels more suited to Bel Air than a mountain hotel stepped in front of him. “Our team has given this situation a lot of thought, and in terms of a strategy, we’ve decided—”