by Howe, Cheryl
He stared past her. “Braddock’s your family now.”
She stuck her hand over the fence and reached out to him. “No, not without your blessing.”
He didn’t take her hand. “After all I’ve done, after all I’ve put you both through, why would you care what I think?”
Lorelei kept her hand extended to him. “Because you’re my brother. You know what I’ve been through. We survived it together. You share my memories and keep them alive.”
He grabbed her hand. “I’m sorry for being so much trouble.”
Lorelei pulled him into a hug, heedless of the fence. “I wouldn’t know you if you weren’t.”
He eased out of her grasp, a mischievous grin on his face. “I haven’t given my approval yet. If I said no, would you not marry Braddock?”
She matched his grin with a wicked one of her own. “Let’s say I’d let him change your mind.”
“Does all this hugging mean we’re going to have a wedding today?” Christopher strode up behind her.
Corey glared at him, but his grin took away the bite. “You bet your ass, Braddock. And I say it’s overdue as it is.”
Christopher raised his hands in surrender. “You won’t get any argument from me.”
“So you won’t mind giving me away?” asked Lorelei. Corey nodded, the conspicuous jump of his Adam’s apple revealing what he didn’t say in words.
Christopher studied the pony dancing around the far perimeter of the corral. “I’m impressed with the way you handled that horse. Wade says you’re getting a reputation in the short time you’ve been here.”
Corey seemed eager to shift to a less emotional subject. “The cavalry needs as many horses as I can tame. There’s a whole mess of wild ones in a corral on the other side. If Wade hadn’t come up with this idea, I’d be working on the railroad with the other prisoners.”
“We’re keeping up your ranch for you. When you get out, you’ll be able to raise horses just like you planned,” said Lorelei.
Braddock wrapped his arm around her shoulder and gathered her against his side. “I hate to tell you, but she’s planted rosebushes and I’m afraid they’re actually going to bloom.”
Corey smiled. “I like roses. You two don’t have to worry. I’m going to be as straight as an arrow when I get out.”
Braddock slapped Corey on the shoulder and squeezed. “We’re not worried about that, brother. I bought a spread near yours, and I’ll be keeping a watchful eye.”
Corey shrugged off Braddock’s grip but didn’t lose his smile. “Doing what? Jay said you didn’t know one end of a plow from another. He said you tried to help him when he first moved west and about killed yourself and a good plow horse.”
“True. That’s why I’m going to stick with cattle and hire a foreman. That’ll give me time to get involved in the territorial government. Think I’d make a good sheriff, little brother?”
“I think I liked it better when you called me ‘kid.’”
Lorelei glanced between the two men, unable to contain the happiness that swelled in her heart and spilled over to dampen her eyes. Working with horses had always been Corey’s dream—hers had been having a family again. Of course, neither of them ever expected their dreams to come true like this. She studied the grinning face of her future husband and guessed that dreams had a mind of their own.
IMPROPER PLEASURES
By
Cheryl Howe
Lady Astra Keane ruins herself a second time by seducing her late husband’s younger American cousin when he arrives in England to inherit a title and the estate she loves. Discovering she has no funds to start a new life, Astra justifies her proposition to secretly become James’s mistress in bed, in addition to his estate, as the only hope of providing a stable environment for her daughter. Her arrangement with James Keane allows Astra to remain the mistress of her home while she explores her long denied passions with a man she finds irresistibly attractive . Though warned not to fall in love with her paramour, Astra soon discovers she’ll never make a proper mistress to James. Her heart has become involved but she refuses to give up the affair.
James Keane knows Astra is hiding secrets about her past, but he finds he can’t resist her offer to become his mistress. He makes it clear that he’ll be returning to America as soon as he turns around the bankrupt estate he’s inherited. Though he has no reason to trust her, James doesn’t believe Astra could be involved with the string of accidents that have befallen him since his arrival. Rumors of the Keane Curse leads James to believe his misfortune has a human source, one that he intends to uncover. He only hopes his investigation doesn’t reveal he has fallen in love with a woman who wants him dead.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cheryl Howe writes sexy historical romance novels with strong characters in sensual settings. She is an avid reader and would rather bury her head in a book than do just about anything else. She published her first novel in 2003. When she’s not reading or writing, she tries to balance her time between cooking healthy gluten-free meals, not ignoring her husband, and catering to her menagerie of house pets. She lives in Southern California with an understanding husband, two spoiled dogs, a demanding cat and a bright yellow parakeet.
To learn more about Cheryl and her books, visit her blog, Whole-Healthy-Writer, at http://cherylhowe.com/
You can email her at [email protected]
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