The Rancher’s Marriage Bargain

Leslie North, Mary Sue Jackson

Description

WANTED: Nanny for remote ranch…
After a horrible break-up, chef Jolie Hill wants nothing more than to lick her wounds and avoid men for a while. An ad for a cook and nanny at a remote ranch seems like the perfect opportunity to get away. She thought she’d learned her lesson about having a workplace romance—until she met Colson Westland, a hard, taciturn man who’s as hot as he is serious.
Working for Colson and caring for his young ward, Adam, is testing her resolve to stay uninvolved and it doesn’t take long before she not only loves the little boy, but she’s terrifyingly aware she’s falling for Colson. He may be a hard man, but Jolie recognizes a soft side, one that makes her heart melt.
Ever since Jolie came to work at the ranch, the place seems lighter. Happier. Caring for Adam has been a pleasure, but ever since his best friend left the little guy to Colson’s care, he’s felt a bit overwhelmed. Jolie, with her laughter and spirit, seem to be just the right touch his ranch needs.
But when Adam’s grandparents sue for custody of him, claiming a bachelor’s home is no place to raise a child, Colson immediately thinks of marrying Jolie. Not for himself, of course, but for Adam. He’d do anything for the kid. The problem with his plan, though, is that it didn’t include the matter of him falling in love…

Sujets

• Romance
• Fiction
• Western

Informations

• Publié par: Relay Publishing
• Date de parution: 30 août 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9798201817466
• Langue: English

Extrait

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales, is entirely coincidental.


RELAY PUBLISHING EDITION, SEPTEMBER 2020
Copyright © 2020 Relay Publishing Ltd.
All rights reserved. Published in the United Kingdom by Relay Publishing. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Mary Sue Jackson is a pen name created by Relay Publishing for co-authored Romance projects. Relay Publishing works with incredible teams of writers and editors to collaboratively create the very best stories for our readers.
Cover design by Mayhem Cover Creations.


www.relaypub.com

Blurb

After a horrible and humiliating break-up, chef Jolie Hill wants nothing more than to lick her wounds and avoid all involvement with men for a while. An ad for a cook and nanny at a remote ranch seems like the perfect opportunity to get away. She thought she’d learned her lesson about having a workplace romance—until she met Colson Westland, a hard, taciturn man who’s as hot as he is serious. Working for Colson and caring for his young ward, Adam, is testing her resolve to stay uninvolved and it doesn’t take long before she not only loves the little boy, but she’s terrifyingly aware she’s falling for Colson. He may be a hard man, but Jolie recognizes a soft side, one that makes her heart melt just a little too much.
Ever since Jolie came to work at the ranch, the place seems lighter. Happier. And Colson has felt lighter and happier too. Caring for Adam has been a pleasure, but ever since his best friend left the little guy to his care, he’s felt a bit overwhelmed. Jolie, with her laughter and spirit, seem to be just the right touch his ranch needs. But when Adam’s grandparents sue for custody of him, claiming a bachelor’s home is no place to raise a child, Colson immediately thinks of marrying Jolie. Not for himself, of course, but for Adam. He’d do anything for the kid. It’s a marriage of convenience, just until he wins the custody battle. The problem with his plan, though, is that it didn’t include the matter of him falling in love…
Contents



Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Epilogue


End of The Rancher’s Marriage Bargain

Thank You!

About Mary Sue Jackson

About Leslie

Sneak Peek: Cowboy’s Christmas Rodeo

Also by Mary Sue
One

“B reathe, Jolie. Just don’t forget to breathe, and the rest will wind up okay.”
Jolie Hill sat in her little VW bug, parked on the side of the road beside a tall, formidable gate, the sign atop it proclaiming “Westland Ranch.” It reminded her of a medieval fortress, almost impenetrable and impossible to escape without the consent of the master of the fortress.
“Stop it,” she admonished herself, glancing in her rearview mirror and adjusting the set of her thick, brown-black hair for what had to be the hundredth time that day. “You’re being a nincompoop.”
The word was one that had made her giggle ever since she was a little girl, much to her oh-so-serious parents’ chagrin, but at the moment it brought only a faint smile. Oh, but the nerves swarming in the pit of her stomach were threatening to get the best of her. If she hadn’t needed this new job so badly, she would have thrown her car into reverse, peeled out in a tire-smoking turn worthy of the movies, and have been on her way. As it was, she allowed herself one last, compulsive look in the mirror, and then put her trusted Beetle back into drive.
Fortunately for her, she was not heading into a medieval fortress, and would presumably be allowed to leave whenever she saw fit. Instead, she was in the Texas Hill Country, an area that she had not seen since she was a child, and which took her breath away now. Her grandmother, who had died when Jolie was a very little girl, had called the Hill Country God’s country. Looking at the rolling, rocky hills and gently waving grass beneath a sky so vast it took a person’s breath away, Jolie was heartily ready to agree. It was a far cry from the steel and chrome of Houston, the city in which she had grown up. So far, though, she was mildly surprised to find that it was a welcome one. It helped make her nerves over this unexpected new venture in her life just a bit more bearable.
She guided her little car up an impossibly long drive, really more of a small road than a driveway, wincing a little at the way the chunks of gravel pinged against the bottom of her car. Her Beetle was plenty good for city driving, but she wasn’t so sure about its effectiveness here. The most annoying part about it was that her father had made a comment along those lines before she’d left early that morning, one in a long line of negativity, the bulk of which Jolie had chosen to ignore. Now, it was starting to look like he’d been on to something.
“Which doesn’t mean that he’s right about everything,” she reminded herself stubbornly as she finally reached the expansive white ranch house where her new life awaited her.
She guided her car into what looked like an acceptable parking place and eased it into park, her mouth dropping open at the sight of her new home. To call it a house didn’t seem to do it justice, for it was unlike any picture of a ranch house she’d ever conjured up in her mind. It was a massive, two-and-a-half story construction that had clearly been standing there for generations, but that had been artfully tweaked to keep up with the times. There were plenty of windows, each of which was flanked by friendly blue shutters, and Jolie’s thoughts went immediately to how lovely the place must look during the Christmas season. It was the kind of place most people would only ever dream of living in, and yet, for the time being, it was to be her home.
Like a fairy tale, she thought absent mindedly, immediately followed by a silent but stern warning not to get too far ahead of herself. She understood all too well that things didn’t usually work out the way you hoped they would.
She might have sat in her car all day trying to predict her future, if for no other reason than to avoid actually meeting it head-on. Before she had time to contemplate much else, however, two kindly looking people spilled out onto the obscenely large front porch.
“Hello, there!” One of the people called out, waving enthusiastically. She then elbowed her companion, who rolled his eyes before raising his own hand in greeting.
“Hi!” Jolie called back in greeting, wincing a little at how loud her voice sounded and wondering if her greeters would recognize it as nerves. She was nervous, plenty so, but she didn’t necessarily want these people to see that just yet.
Leaving her car unlocked, she hurried forward, meeting the man and woman at the bottom of the porch steps and holding out a tentative hand. The man grasped it firmly in his own, shaking twice before letting it go. When she went to do the same with the woman, though, she was pulled in for a warm, familiar hug that for some reason made her feel like she might cry.
“Well, I just can’t tell you how excited we are to have you here,” the woman said happily when she had decided that the embrace had gone on long enough. “It feels like I’ve been waiting for Christmas morning!”
“Please, forgive my wife,” the man beside her interjected with a weary voice, although he looked upon the woman with clear affection. “She gets ahead of herself from time to time. Why don’t we start with introductions before we go any further? You’re Jolie Hill, I presume?”
“That’s right,” Jolie replied with a wide, albeit slightly uncertain smile. “I am indeed.”
“Good,” the man said with an answering smile and a nod of approval. “And I’m Denver Pratt, the ranch’s foreman. This eager one here is my wife, Miranda. I think it’s safe to say she’s been jonesing for a little bit of female company.”
“Not that you’ll be expected to entertain me,” Miranda said quickly, elbowing Denver in the ribs playfully. “He’s just trying to make up for my over-eager behavior. Or welcoming, which is what I prefer to call it. Think of us as your personal welcoming committee.”
Miranda’s words were so friendly that before Jolie could stop herself, she let a giggle escape her lips. She clapped a hand over her mouth almost as soon as the sound came out, but it was too late. She could see by the way Denver raised his eyebrows again that the reaction was noticeable. Jolie went from feeling pleasantly surprised to mortified in less time than it took to blink an eye. She had a habit of irreverent humor, and often found herself laughing at the wrong times. At twenty-nine, she was used to that part of herself. Even so, she had hoped to make it through the preliminary introductions to her future managers without doing anything foolish. Even the idea that she might start inappropriately laughing again when she met the owner of the ranch made her feel sick to her stomach, which was enough to wipe any lingering humor off of her face.
“Please, dear, don’t trouble yourself,” Miranda said kindly, clearly sensing Jolie’s discomfort. “You’ve got a lovely laugh, and you should use it as often as you can. Life’s too short not to giggle, don’t you think?”
“Yes,” Jolie said with an uncertain smile, so grateful for Miranda’s kindness that she wanted to cry. “Thank you.”
“And now, if you two are finished,” Denver said, clearing his throat disapprovingly, but with a twinkle in his eyes, “let’s head in