Prologue
The Cowboy In Her Bed

Chase stopped for a moment to admire what he was soon going to uncover. January’s gaze was steady, her delicate skin already flushing, and, if he wasn’t mistaken, she was already aroused. He slowly inhaled and smiled.
“What?”
There was a note of uncertainty in her voice that made him want to put his arms around her and hold her close forever.
“I’m just appreciating you.”
“Then do it faster.”
“Nope.” He wrapped one hand around her neck and bent his head to brush his lips over hers. “I like to take my time over the important things in life—like spreadsheets, and profit projections, and making love.”
She went to reply, and he angled his mouth over hers, pushing between her lips and claiming her with a long, thorough, well-thought-out kiss. But she wasn’t a passive kind of woman, and he soon lost complete control as she enthusiastically kissed him back. Then he just hung on like a cowboy on a bronco, losing himself in her as he locked his mouth to hers and drew her hard against him . . .

Chapter 1
Northern California

“You have arrived at your destination.”
“I damn well have not,” Chase Morgan muttered as he checked his GPS again and frowned as the narrow blue line he’d been following just blinked on a whole lot of nothing.
Pulling over onto the side of what barely passed as a road, he got out of his rental car and surveyed the landscape. Scorched golden hills, scurries of dust, the occasional thirst-defying plant, and beyond that the brooding black presence of the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada mountain range still topped with snow in March. It was a torturous, slow journey from the Bay Area and one that he chose not to make too often.
He cleaned his sunglasses on the hem of his white polo shirt and peered ahead. Had it always been this bleak? Somewhere around here was a gate that marked the driveway of Morgan Ranch. As a kid he’d known exactly where it was, so what had changed? Maybe he should’ve gotten a truck. The drive would’ve been easier and the vantage point higher.
There wasn’t a lot else on the road, just the abandoned ghost town of Morgansville, which was on ranch property but still attracted those curious and stupid enough to try to get through the electric fence. Chase turned in a slow circle. He was so used to the noise of Silicon Valley that the silence hurt his head. Hearing his heart beating was downright unnerving….
A turkey vulture flew overhead squawking a warning, and he instinctively ducked. He was such a city boy now. His younger self who’d practically grown up on the ranch would have been disgusted by his wussiness. He got back in the car, relishing the cold blast of the AC, and moved forward at a snail’s pace.
There.
His faint smile faded. The overhead sign had fallen down, leaving just the gate, which appeared to have been propped open. Despite the relatively short distance from the Bay Area, he hadn’t been to the ranch for a couple of years, preferring to meet his grandmother in the city. Reaching inside his pocket he extracted the handwritten letter he’d received two weeks ago. She hated talking on the phone.
Darling boy, your grandma Ruth needs you. Come at once.
P.S. No, I’m not dying, but come anyway.
Short and sweet, just like his grandma. Well, maybe sweet was stretching it a bit. For a little bitty woman she sure packed a punch. He remembered how she used to wade in and separate him and his three brothers when the fighting got out of hand. She said she’d gotten strong wrangling calves and that small boys were much easier to deal with.
His grandma was a pill. It had taken him the whole two weeks to get organized enough to leave work. He had a feeling her problems wouldn’t go away, and a few days wouldn’t make much difference. He pushed the gate open wide enough to let his car through and closed it behind him.