Trusting The Cowboy

Trusting The Cowboy
Carolyne Aarsen

Falling For the RancherWhen Lauren McCauley returns to the Circle M Ranch after her father’s death, she’s focused on selling the spread and getting a fresh start somewhere else. But she’s unprepared for the jolt her heart feels when she meets Vic Moore. The handsome, broad-shouldered cowboy may have a legitimate claim to the Circle M, and he makes it clear he’d like to lasso Lauren as well. Terrified of another heartbreak, Lauren vows to cash in and ship out. But the strong and steady rancher is not about to give up on his dreams of a home…and a family to go with it.Big Sky Cowboys: Where open hearts find home and family

Falling for the Rancher

When Lauren McCauley returns to the Circle M Ranch after her father’s death, she’s focused on selling the spread and getting a fresh start somewhere else. But she’s unprepared for the jolt her heart feels when she meets Vic Moore. The handsome, broad-shouldered cowboy may have a legitimate claim to the Circle M, and he makes it clear he’d like to lasso Lauren, as well. Terrified of another heartbreak, Lauren vows to cash in and ship out. But the strong and steady rancher is not about to give up on his dreams of a home...and a family to go with it.

“I think that you’re starting to like it here,” Vic said.

She swallowed as their eyes held.

“I am. It’s peaceful,” she said finally, fully aware of the calloused warmth of his hand.

“It can be,” he said. “Winter can be harsh and wild, though. When the wind whips up snow and piles it into snowbanks, blocks off roads.”

“I’ve never been here in the winter, except when I was a little girl,” she said.

“It has its own beauty,” Vic continued. “Its own moments when the sun comes out and the world looks like an endless blanket of white.”

His voice and the pictures he sketched with it were beguiling, and Lauren imagined herself tucked away in her father’s ranch house, looking out over blinding fields of white, a fire blazing in the hearth, a book on her lap.

It’s a dream, her practical self told her. A foolish dream.

She tugged her hand free and pulled herself away from Vic and the web he was weaving.

CAROLYNE AARSEN and her husband, Richard, live on a small ranch in northern Alberta, where they have raised four children and numerous foster children and are still raising cattle. Carolyne crafts her stories in an office with a large west-facing window, through which she can watch the changing seasons while struggling to make her words obey. Visit her website at carolyneaarsen.com (http://www.carolyneaarsen.com).

Trusting the Cowboy

Carolyne Aarsen

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways submit to Him,

and He will make your paths straight.

—Proverbs 3:5–6

To my husband, Richard,

who has shown me the meaning of trust.

Contents

Cover (#u5391dd97-d257-54d8-b81f-d12b723539ba)

Back Cover Text (#u73261243-164e-5eff-9587-840276cb6c01)

Introduction (#u5a00daef-0320-50a3-b2bf-8bda62eed618)

About the Author (#u193c4ec9-f17b-57f0-93fe-42dbd6e10a72)

Title Page (#u3364dfc4-6b89-56eb-94ac-ef5d39884199)

Bible Verse (#u41f180a7-cb74-54d3-be09-8ddeab271303)

Dedication (#u4890a010-0b81-54da-b038-130367e83cc9)

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

Dear Reader

Extract (#litres_trial_promo)

Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter One (#u06280ab8-0cb3-5d43-b7bd-db2988c85b54)