The Sheriff

The Sheriff
Nan Ryan

There are no laws when it comes to love.Kate Quinn arrives in Fortune, California, with little but a deed to a run-down Victorian mansion and a claim to an abandoned gold mine. But a beautiful woman on her own in a town of lonely, lusty miners also brings trouble.Sheriff Travis McLoud has enough to handle in Fortune, where fast fists and faster guns keep the peace, without the stubbornly independent Miss Kate to look after. But when a dapper, sweet-talking stranger shows a suspicious interest in Kate, Travis feels it's his duty to protect her.With her days spent searching for the glimmer of gold, Kate has no interest in the sheriff and his unnecessary warnings. But she can't prevent him from invading her dreams and showing her that a rough-around-the-edges lawman just might have more to offer than a well-heeled gentleman–including a heart of gold.

“You know how to use that thing?”

Kate VanNam swallowed hard as she raised the revolver. “Certainly,” she lied. “I’m an excellent—”

Before Kate could finish her sentence, Sheriff Travis McCloud had taken the gun away from her and then pulled her up against him. “Never aim a weapon unless you mean to fire it. You hear me?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Damn it to hell, I knew it.”

“Knew what?” she asked, intensely aware that his slim hips and long legs were pressed flush against hers. She could feel the heat radiating from him, making her own body warm.

“That you’d be trouble. You are trouble. You’ll cause trouble. For yourself. For me.”

“That’s a lot of trouble, Sheriff.”

“Too much trouble,” he said, releasing her before he placed the revolver on the sofa bed. “Why don’t you pack up and leave before somebody gets hurt?”

“I am staying in Fortune, and if you don’t like it I’d suggest you stay out of my sight.”

Both annoyed and amused by Kate’s determination, Travis raised his hands in surrender. “Fine, Miss VanNam, but if I catch you anywhere near a saloon or out on the streets after dark, you’re going to jail.”

“Fair enough, Sheriff,” Kate said. “And if I catch you anywhere near this house after dark, I’ll be forced to shoot you.”

Also by NAN RYAN

DUCHESS FOR A DAY

CHIEFTAIN

NAUGHTY MARIETTA

THE SCANDALOUS MISS HOWARD

THE SEDUCTION OF ELLEN

THE COUNTESS MISBEHAVES

WANTING YOU

The Sheriff

Nan Ryan

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

For my fellow classmates with whom I graduated dear old Bryson High on that warm Texas night all those summers ago.

Fannie Ainsworth

Rollins Bilby

Vernon Crager

John Denning

Joe Gillespie

Jerry Graybill

Shirley Harrison

Joyce King

LaRue Matlock

Imogene McNear

Bobby Mitchell

Glenda Odom

Delores Shook

Dorothy Sims

Malvin Teague

Betty Lou Wells

Colleen Wolfe

Contents

Chapter One (#u493222ac-c889-592e-9659-8754ea9292aa)

Chapter Two (#u35a8e476-11a9-571f-b178-32cee753b1a3)

Chapter Three (#u21f34a45-69f0-5c30-86e2-a44735b4d0c4)

Chapter Four (#u8ebd2c41-08f4-5e3d-9578-a5f2ad8edb4f)

Chapter Five (#u26a54035-1168-5d2d-a185-5cf8bd0c00ef)

Chapter Six (#uab6c994d-b141-5234-b121-5c1bebd84402)