Cardwell Ranch Trespasser & Big Sky Standoff: An Anthology (Harlequin Intrigue) - Softcover

Daniels, B.J.

 
9780373837939: Cardwell Ranch Trespasser & Big Sky Standoff: An Anthology (Harlequin Intrigue)
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0373837933 ISBN 13: 9780373837939
Verlag: Harlequin, 2013

Inhaltsangabe

Cardwell Beware

The Cardwell clan has a new, mysterious member. Dana Cardwell warmly welcomed her Justice cousin into the family fold and to the ranch for a reunion. But this cunning kin has other plans for Dana…and designs on her husband, Hud.

Hilde Jacobson has known Dana too long to let her best friend get conned, or worse—killed. Unfortunately Hilde is no match for a skilled impostor who's duped everyone in the canyon. Only Deputy Marshal Colt Dawson believes Hilde's claims about the phony relation; only his strong arms have saved her from "accidents" intended to get her out of the way. Together can they convince the Cardwells a predator lurks in their happy home?

Big Sky Standoff also included in this book!

Die Inhaltsangabe kann sich auf eine andere Ausgabe dieses Titels beziehen.

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author B.J. Daniels lives in Montana with her husband, Parker, and one springer spaniel named Dot. When not writing, she quilts, boats and always has a book or two to read. Contact her at www.bjdaniels.com, on Facebook at B.J. Daniels or through her reader group the B.J. Daniels' Big Sky Darlings, and on twitter at bjdanielsauthor.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.



"You're never going to believe this."

Hilde Jacobson looked up from behind the counter at Needles and Pins, her sewing shop at Big Sky, Montana, and smiled as her best friend came rushing in, face flushed, dark eyes bright. Her dark hair was pulled back, and she even had on earrings and makeup.

"You escaped?" Hilde said. "I don't believe it." Dana didn't get out much since the birth of her twin boys last fall. Now she had her hands full with four children, all under the age of six.

Her friend dropped a packet of what appeared to be old letters on the counter. "I have family I didn't know I had," she said.

Hilde had to laugh. It wasn't that long ago that Dana was at odds with her siblings over the ranch. Family had been a word that had set her off in an entirely different direction than happy excitement.

Last year she'd reunited with her siblings. Her sister, Stacy, and baby daughter, Ella; and brother Jordan and his wife, Deputy Marshal Liza Turner Cardwell, were now all living here in Big Sky. Her other brother, Clay, was still in California helping make movies.

"A cousin is on her way to Montana," Dana announced. "We have to pick her up at the airport."

"We?" Hilde asked, looking out the window at the Suburban parked at the curb. Normally the car seats were full and either Dana's husband, Hud, or Stacy would now be wrestling a stroller from the back.

"Tell me you'll go with me. I can't do this alone."

"Because you're so shy," Hilde joked.

"I'm serious. I'm meeting a cousin who is a complete stranger. I need you there for moral support and to kick me if I say something stupid."

"Why would you say something stupid?"

Dana leaned in closer and, although there was just the two of them in the shop, whispered, "This branch of the family comes with quite the sordid story."

"How sordid?" Hilde asked, intrigued but at the same time worried. Who had Dana invited to the ranch?

"I was going through some of my mother's things when I found these," Dana said, picking up the letters she'd plunked down on the counter and turning them in her fingers.

"That sounds positive," Hilde said, "you going through your mother's things." Mary Justice Cardwell had died nearly six years ago. Because it had been so unexpected and because it had hit Dana so hard, she hadn't been able to go through her mother's things—let alone get rid of anything. Not to mention the fact that her siblings had tried to force her to sell the ranch after their mother's death because Mary's most recent will had gone missing for a while.

"About time I dealt with her things, wouldn't you say?" Dana asked with a sad smile.

"So you found something in one of these letters?" Hilde asked, getting her friend back on track.

Dana brightened. "A family secret!"

Hilde laughed. "It must be on the Cardwell side of the family. Do tell."

"Actually, that is what's so shocking. It's on the Justice side." Climbing up on a stool at the counter, her friend pulled out one of the letters. "My mother had a brother named Walter who I knew nothing about. Apparently he left home at seventeen and married some woman of ill repute, and my grandparents disinherited him and refused to have his name spoken again."

"Seriously? That is so medieval," she said, stepping around the counter so she could read over Dana's shoulder.

"This is a letter from him asking for their forgiveness."

"Did they forgive him?"

"Apparently not. Otherwise, wouldn't I have known about him?"

"So you tracked him down on the internet and found out you have a cousin and now she is on her way to Montana."

"Walter died, but he left behind a family. I found one cousin, but there are apparently several others on that side of the family. Isn't that amazing?"

"Amazing that you were able to find this cousin you know nothing about." Hilde couldn't imagine doing such a thing—let alone inviting this stranger to come visit—and said as much.

"It's not like she's a complete stranger. She's my cousin. You know, since I had my own children, I realize how important family is. I want my kids to know all of their family."

"Right," Hilde said, thinking of the six years Dana had been at odds with her siblings. She'd missed them a lot more than she suspected they'd missed her. "I'm sure it will be fine."

Dana laughed. "If you're so worried, then you absolutely must come to the airport with me to pick her up."

"How did you get out alone?" Hilde asked, glancing toward the street and the empty Suburban again.

"Stacy is babysitting the twins, and Hud has Mary and Hank," Dana said, still sounding breathless. It was great to see her so happy.

"How are you holding up?" Hilde asked. "You must be worn out."

Hilde babysat occasionally, but with Stacy, Jordan and Liza around, and Hud with a flexible schedule, Dana had been able to recruit help—until lately. Jordan and Liza were building their house on the ranch and Stacy had a part-time job at Needles and Pins and another one working as a part-time nanny in Bozeman. Mary was almost five and Hank nearly six. The twins were seven months.

"I'm fine, but I am looking forward to some adult conversation," Dana admitted. "With Stacy spending more time in Bozeman, I hardly ever see her. Jordan and Liza are almost finished with their house, but Jordan has also been busy with the ranch, and Liza is still working as a deputy."

"And I haven't been around much," Hilde added, seeing where this was going. "I'm sorry."

"We knew expanding the shop was going to be time-consuming," Dana said. "I'm not blaming you. But it is one reason I'm so excited my cousin is coming. Her name is Dee Anna Justice. She's just a little younger than me—and guess what?" Dana didn't give Hilde a chance to guess. "She didn't know about us, either.

I can't wait to find out what my uncle Walter and the woman he married were like. You know there is more to the story."

"I'm sure there is, but let's not ask her as she gets off the plane, all right?"

Dana laughed. "You know me so well. That's why you have to come along. Dee Anna is in between jobs, so that's good. There was no reason she couldn't come and stay for a while. I offered to help pay her way since she is out of work. I couldn't ask her to come all the way from New York City to the wilds of Montana without helping her."

"Of course not," Hilde said, trying to tamp down her concern. She was a natural worrier, though—unlike Dana. It was amazing that they'd become such close friends. Hilde thought things out before she acted. Dana, who wasn't afraid of anything, jumped right in feetfirst without a second thought. Not to mention her insatiable curiosity. Both her impulsiveness and her curiosity had gotten Dana into trouble, so it was good her husband was the local marshal.

For so long Dana had had the entire responsibility of running Cardwell Ranch on her shoulders. Not that she couldn't handle it and two kids. But now with the twins, it was good that Jordan was taking over more of the actual day-to-day operations. Dana could really start to enjoy her family.

"I'll get...

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Verlag
Harlequin
Erscheinungsdatum
2013
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
0373837933
ISBN 13 
9780373837939
Einband
Taschenbuch
Anzahl der Seiten
448
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