The Rancher's Runaway Princess

Brody leaned forward, the gleam in his eyes intense. “My grandparents used to come here. They’d build a fire and…

“You can guess,” he said. His voice was a sexy rumble that came from the center of his chest. His fingers plucked her hat from her head, dropping it onto the dry grass.

As his hands sank into her hair, her heart trembled. She could well imagine what his grandparents had done around a blazing campfire, with the wide open prairie spread out beneath them. Had he brought his wife here too? The thought slid away into oblivion as his dark gaze centered on her lips, clung there.

She took off his hat too, dropping it beside hers and running her fingers through the short black strands of his hair. His eyes closed briefly, and when they opened they stared right into her core. There was no point in denying the attraction now, or making excuses. It was all too clear to both of them: it was bigger than any of the secrets they’d been hiding.

Donna Alward can’t remember a time when she didn’t love books. When her mother would take her to town, her ‘treat’ was not clothes or candy but a trip to the bookstore. This followed through university, as she studied English Literature, writing short stories and poetry, but never attempting full-length fiction.

In 2001 her sister told her to just get out there and do it, and after completing her first manuscript she was hooked. She lives in Alberta, Canada, with her husband and children, and when not writing is involved in music and volunteering at her children’s school.

To find out more about Donna, visit her web-page at www.donnaalward.com, or her blog at www.donnaalward.blogspot.com, and sign up for her newsletter!

Recent titles by this author:

FALLING FOR MR DARK & DANGEROUS

THE SOLDIER’S HOMECOMING

MARRIAGE AT CIRCLE M

HIRED BY THE COWBOY

Dear Reader

As an author, I’m often asked, Where do you get your ideas? And the answer is as varied as a field full of wildflowers.

But I can tell you that with this book I got the idea from real life. But wait, you say. This is a book about a cowboy and a princess, isn’t it? That can’t be right.

But it is. For a few blissful days in the summer of 2007 this was absolutely correct. Our family went camping in southern Alberta, at a family-run place called the Great Canadian Barn Dance. The kids had a marvellous time, and my husband had a crash course in cowboy—namely learning to play an instrument called the ‘gutbucket’ and also learning to two-step. I felt like the luckiest woman in the world. The children were tuckered out and crashed in their sleeping bags, and we could still hear the music from the dance as we sat beneath the stars. We danced the last dance beneath them.

It was one of those perfect moments that happens so rarely it needs to be cherished.

There’s a part of me in every book I write. In this one, it’s that moment of pure and simple romance.

Love

Donna

THE RANCHER’S RUNAWAY PRINCESS

BY

DONNA ALWARD

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To Suzanne, who let me go first.

CHAPTER ONE

“IN TWO hundred meters, turn left.”

Lucy grinned lopsidedly in the direction of her GPS sitting on the dash. “Thank you, Bob,” she replied with mock seriousness, looking up the long stretch of road for the intersection her “companion” kept insisting was approaching. The freedom—this wide-open space—was a revelation compared to how claustrophobic she’d felt lately.

“In one hundred meters, turn left.”

She obeyed the monotone instruction and put on her turn signal. A small sign announced a numbered road. Thank goodness she’d been able to program in a waypoint for the Prairie Rose Ranch. Otherwise she would have kept driving the rented SUV through this fairly empty landscape for God knew how long. Not that she’d have minded; there was something comforting in the rolling green hills, their undulating curves broken only by random fences and trees.

She turned onto the road, only to discover after the first few seconds it had gravel instead of pavement. She rolled up the window against the dust curling up from her tires.

Prairie Rose Ranch was out in the middle of nowhere, just as Mr. Hamilton had said in his e-mail. All that isolation and space had sounded wonderful to her ears after the scrutiny she’d experienced the past few months. She couldn’t wait to get there, away from all the prying eyes and whispers from behind hands. In Canada there would be no expectations, even for a short time. At Prairie Rose she would just be Lucy Farnsworth.

Whoever that was.

She frowned as Bob announced he’d lost the satellite signal, grateful he’d got her this far. She was here to buy horses, to look into Hamilton’s breeding program and negotiate stud fees. It was her first real responsibility and one she was more than equipped for. Granted, she couldn’t shake the feeling that King Alexander was placating her, but it didn’t matter. For the first time in a long time she felt in control of something. No one to tell her who she was or how to act.

And no one at the ranch need know who she really was. The last thing she needed—or wanted for that matter—was for everyone to look at her as if she had some invisible tiara perched on her head.

No, this was her chance to get away from all of the curiosity and assessments and do what she knew how to do. Nothing made sense to her anymore, but at least this trip, short as it was, might offer her a bit of a reprieve. Might offer her a chance to shake off the pervading sadness. She’d been thrown from one unimaginable situation into another without time to catch her breath. When Alexander had suggested this trip, she’d left a vapor trail that rivaled the one from the 777 she’d flown in.

On the left up ahead she caught sight of a group of buildings…big buildings. With a rumble of tires, the SUV ran over a Texas gate, leading her up to a graveled drive. A wood and iron arch embraced the entrance, and she knew she was in the right place when she looked up and saw a uniquely shaped iron rose in the centre. Bob came back to life and announced she was arriving at her destination, but she reached over blindly and shut the unit off.

Her eyes assessed the ranch as she drove slowly up the long, straight lane. It was neat, well kept, with a rambling two-story farmhouse hidden behind a long barn and corral. The immediate fences were in good repair and freshly painted; nothing seemed out of place. So far so good.

The land here was different from where she’d grown up, yet somewhat the same, and very different from the sun-baked countryside in Marazur. The sky here was broad and robin’s-egg blue, in contrast to the piercing blue of the Mediterranean sky. Horses dotted the landscape, up a hill and beyond, grazing on rich grass, reminding her of her childhood home in Virginia. It was comforting and unsettling at the same time. It was what she knew. Yet everything she thought she knew about herself had been a lie, and she wanted to run away even as the ranch beckoned to her. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.

Nothing made sense, and that was the only consistent thing these days.

She pulled in next to a white truck with the same Prairie Rose brand painted on the side, got out and shut the door. The polite thing to do would be to introduce herself at the house, she supposed. But then what? The west wind buffeted her curls about her face and she pushed them aside. The wind carried with it the sound of voices, coming from the open sliding door of the barn. Thankful she’d changed clothing before the drive, she straightened her T-shirt. At least someone in the barn could point her in the right direction.

Lucy heard the man before she saw him, his voice a low, warm rumble as he spoke. Her sneakers made soft padding noises on the concrete floor; for a moment she stopped and closed her eyes, drinking in the mellow smell of hay and straw and the warm pungency of horse, the one true thing that she associated with home. Perhaps that was what kept her going during all the dark days and uncertainty. The one constant she’d always had. The one place where she’d always belonged, no matter where she was. In a barn with the horses.

She knew it, and resented it. Resented that it was the only thing she seemed to have left. The male voice said something else, punctuated like a question. He was answered by a distinctly female voice, who laughed a little, though Lucy couldn’t make out what they were saying. She paused, wondering again if she should have made herself known at the house first. She didn’t want to intrude. But she turned a corner and suddenly two pairs of legs were before her and she couldn’t pretend now that she hadn’t come in.

He…the owner of the voice…stood upright, his weight planted squarely over his booted feet. One hand was resting on the withers of a splendid-looking chestnut mare. Lucy was first aware of his considerable height. Which made her realize how long his legs were in his faded jeans. Which led to his T-shirt. And how the worn cotton emphasized an impressively broad chest.

Color flooded her cheeks. Her assessment had taken all of two seconds, but it was complete, right down to the hot rush of appreciation.

“Can I help you?”

Lucy swallowed against the spit pooling in her mouth. She shot out her hand. “Lucy Farnsworth.” Please, please let him not be Brody Hamilton, she prayed silently, with her hand suspended in midair. It wasn’t possible that the man she’d just been caught blatantly staring at was the man she’d been sent here to broker deals with.

At her revelation he removed his hat, revealing a dark head and even darker eyes that crinkled at the corners with good humor. Her heart thumped at the courtesy…it was natural, not a put-on gesture, she was sure. He smiled as he stepped forward and took her small hand in his large one. “I beg your pardon, Miss Farnsworth. I’m Brody Hamilton. You made good time.”

So this was Hamilton. So much for answered prayer. His fingers wrapped around hers and her tummy turned over.

Prairie Rose was a reputable operation. She’d expected the owner to be older. Certainly more plain looking, like most of the ranchers she’d grown up knowing. She hadn’t expected him to be tall and sexy and all of what, thirty? Thirty-five? She kept the polite smile glued to her face, but inside she was growling to herself. Acting like a blushing schoolgirl. She was beyond that, wasn’t she? And she was here to do a job, for Pete’s sake!

“My flight was a little early.”

She withdrew her hand, giving it a small tug. His fingers were warm and callused and had covered hers completely. She’d enjoyed the sensation, too much. Knowing it made her uncomfortable. There was no reason on earth why a single handshake should cause all this commotion within her.

It’s just a physical reaction, she told herself. He was a fine-looking man, there was no sense denying it. She’d always admired that rugged, large, capable type, and he certainly fit that category. Any woman would have reacted the same way.

“This is my farrier, Martha,” he introduced the woman holding the halter of the mare. Martha was taller than Lucy, sturdy, with slightly graying hair and was at least forty-five.

“You’re from Marazur,” Martha announced, releasing the halter and shaking Lucy’s hand. “The Navarro family is renowned for their royal stables. It’s a pleasure.”

Why Lucy felt a tiny shaft of pride at that statement she had no idea. She’d been in Marazur all of two months and certainly couldn’t take any credit for the stock owned by His Highness. It wasn’t as if she belonged there or anything. Alexander had merely indulged her by letting her potter around; she’d heard him telling his eldest son that very thing. He’d let her come on this trip just for appearances. He hadn’t known what to do with her and this was easy. But that didn’t matter. She was here now, and she would surprise them all by making the visit a success. Hamilton didn’t know who she was. He wouldn’t suspect her credibility, and she’d make sure it stayed that way.

“Brody’s been telling me about you coming,” Martha continued.

“It’s not every day we get to do business with a royal family,” Brody admitted, smiling down at her. It was slightly crooked, and her heart gave another traitorous thump.

Brody Hamilton was a charmer. With the realization of it, Lucy immediately felt better. Charm she could deal with. Charm only went so far, like good looks. It was blood that would tell. And unlike her mother, she wasn’t going to fall for a wink and a smile. His would be wiped off his face soon enough, when he realized she actually knew what she was doing.

“Yes, well, I’m far more interested in the stock.” She moved ahead and rubbed her hand on the hide just above the mare’s nose. She closed her eyes briefly, smiling at the way the mare rubbed into her hand, enjoying the attention. “What’s up with you, lovely? Hmm?”

“A bruise, nothing more. She stumbled during a trail ride yesterday.”

“Trail ride?”

“We do give them now and then, a couple of hours and most people have had their fill of horseback. It keeps some of the older stock exercised. Besides…it’s fun. Martha assures me a day or so in her box and this girl’ll be right as rain.” He rubbed the mare’s neck as he said it.

There was that crooked grin again, accompanied by the crinkled corners of his eyes that seemed to be teasing. She turned away from him.

“And this beautiful girl is what—” she made a cursory examination “—sixteen? Seventeen?”

“Sixteen.” Brody’s smile had faded slightly.

Lucy ran her hand down the gleaming neck, her gaze taking in the shape of the ears, the forehead, the wide-set eyes. There was no doubt about it. She’d know that head anywhere. A smile flirted with her lips. What a pleasant surprise.

“Which would make her…one of Pretty Colleen’s,” she announced triumphantly. His flirtatious grin wouldn’t get far with her, and she would make sure he knew it. She knew her business, and he needed to know that. She wasn’t just an emissary sent to broker a deal.

Brody’s smile disappeared completely. He stared at Miss Farnsworth, trying to puzzle her out. How on earth could she tell that? He’d bought Pretty Piece from a farm in Tennessee when she was eight…one of his first purchases on his own. This little moppet with the red curls, Lucy, she would have been a child when Pretty foaled. And she was from Marazur. The Mediterranean was a long way from backroads Alberta. Yet her accent didn’t bear it out. She wasn’t native to Marazur. He was as certain of that as he was that Pretty Piece was indeed of Pretty Colleen. A fact she couldn’t have known before today, not unless she’d had a look at his records.

Who was Lucy Farnsworth? His brows snapped together. There was more to her than first appeared. He wondered how much more.

“How did you know?”

“It’s her head. Looks just like her mum.”

Brody shook his head while Martha laughed. “Congratulations, Miss Farnsworth. I think you’ve rendered him speechless. Quite a feat, because most of the time he has something to say.”

“Martha!” Brody frowned. Never mind that at one point, Martha had been his babysitter and had changed his diapers.

Martha reached down for her bag. “Oh, pipe down, Junior. The girl knows her stuff, that’s all. I’ll be back in a few days to check on the mare.”

She blustered out leaving Brody and Lucy in the gap, each with a hand on Pretty.

Somewhere outside a soft whicker echoed.

“I’ll admit, Miss Farnsworth, you surprised me just now.” He put his hat back on his head.

“I have that effect on people.”

“Maybe sometime you’d care to explain that.” He let a little humor sneak into his voice; she piqued his curiosity plain and simple. She’d clearly been around the industry a long time. Despite her youth, she seemed knowledgeable. And her accent was State-side. Southeast somewhere, he gathered. “Where are you from, anyway?”

For a moment their eyes clashed and he sensed she was deciding how to answer what should have been a simple question. He tried a smile, inviting her to speak. To his surprise her eyes immediately cooled and her lips thinned.

“You must have work to do,” she offered stiffly.

“There’s always work, but I expect you know that.” She didn’t want to answer. He wondered why, but there’d be time to get that information. She was supposed to stay several days.

“I’ll just—” She swallowed, let the sentence hang.

“You’ve had a long flight and drive. You probably want to rest. I’ll take you up to the house.”

“You said you had work.”

He angled his head slightly. He couldn’t quite figure out Lucy Farnsworth. She was younger than he’d expected, especially to be so involved with such a renowned stable. It was clear she’d been sent because she could do the job. He wasn’t sure why, but he’d expected someone taller, with dark hair and a remote manner.

The only thing that bore out his expectations was the manner. There could be no mistaking the coolness, the only warmth she’d shown was in the caresses she’d spared Pretty. But tall and elegant she was not. She was barely up to his shoulder, and her hair was a tangle of gingery ringlets that flirted with her cheekbones until she tucked them behind her ears.

“I do, but that doesn’t mean I can’t get you settled in the house first.”

Lucy looked away from him, as if what she was going to say next was so uncomfortable she couldn’t meet his eyes. She instead looked Pretty in the eyes and scratched between the mare’s ears. “I assumed I’d be in a guest house.”

“We don’t have a guest house, but then there’s no need. There’s more than enough room.” He had a fleeting thought of running into her in the hall at sunrise, her curls in disarray and her cheeks still pink from the warmth of her bed….

Where the hell had that come from?

“I don’t mean to impose on you, Mr. Hamilton. I can stay at the hotel in the town I drove through. What was it called… Larch something or other?”

“Larch Valley, and it’s a twenty-minute drive.” Perhaps not a bad idea, come to think of it, but the agreement had been made that he’d provide accommodation. He didn’t want it said that he didn’t provide proper hospitality. This was an important deal. And part of that was providing all that the ranch had to offer.

“That’s a short commute in most places.” Her voice interrupted him again.

Brody walked to a nearby hook and grabbed a lead, snapping it on to the mare’s halter. “If you’re more comfortable there, I understand. I’m sorry the arrangements weren’t made clear. But why drive it if you don’t have to?”

“I don’t know…”

He sensed her hesitation and pressed on. “At least stay for dinner. If Mrs. Polcyk can’t convince you with her roast chicken…”

He let the thought trail off. Why was he insisting, anyway? The hotel back in town wasn’t that bad. It had its good points—it was clean.

But he’d given his word to King Alexander. That his representative would be shown every hospitality. That whoever was sent would be received as an honored guest. He just hadn’t expected it to be a sharp-tongued slip of a girl.

Brody didn’t do well with girls. At least not beyond sharing a dance on a Saturday night. Especially one he tried to charm with a smile and who saw clear through it.

“I don’t want to be in your way.”

“The day starts early here, and sometimes finishes late. It’s much more convenient, but of course, it’s whatever makes you most comfortable. You are our guest, Miss Farnsworth. I’ll leave it up to you.”

Brody tried very hard not to wrinkle his brow. He’d seen her eyes when she’d first stepped into the corridor. He and Martha had taken her by surprise, and for a tiny moment Miss Farnsworth had looked small and vulnerable. Her eyes had gone a little wide and then darkened with a whole lot of assessment. She probably didn’t even realize it but she’d bitten down on her lip and he’d been tempted to laugh. A cute little thing, he’d thought. A little out of her element, pretty and fresh, and he’d wanted to make her blush.

But then he’d realized who she was. A representative sent to assess his stock. A woman who knew horses, supposedly better than most men he knew. His Highness had said so when he called. Brody couldn’t dispute that fact…it took a keen eye to identify an offspring by its parent, and the way she touched Pretty was confident and kind. For some reason Lucy Farnsworth was willing to sacrifice comfort for isolation. Why?

Lucy stepped away from the horse and backed up a few steps. Hamilton was right. She’d known the agreement included accommodation, and to drive to and from town when she didn’t have to didn’t make sense. The only reason not to stay here—the only one—was that she already felt awkward around Brody. Which was foolish.

Here she was representing the royal family of Marazur and she was astute enough to know that staying in town would be a deliberate snub against her host. And in the days ahead she might want Brody in good humor during negotiations.

“Of course the house will be lovely. I just don’t want to be an inconvenience to you.”

“You won’t be, I assure you. The house was built for a large family and is a little lonely with only two in it.

“Two?” She had a fleeting thought of a wife and, for one ridiculous moment, felt more awkward than ever.

“Me, and Mrs. Polcyk. She’s the housekeeper and cook. She’s been looking forward to having someone else to do for, other than grumpy old me.”

She looked up into his eyes—dark like the warm molasses her mother used to put on her bread. Right now he didn’t look grumpy or old. The tummy-turning deliciousness was back, helped along by a breathlessness so foreign to her she didn’t recognize it at first.

Brody Hamilton was sex on a stick, from his delicious eyes to his long legs to his manner that somehow managed to convey energy and a lazy ease. There was no escaping the facts; the only thing she could control was her reaction.

She took a deep breath and pasted on her polite-yet-distant royal smile…the one and only aspect of her new life she’d mastered. She remembered how big the house was and nodded. She probably wouldn’t even run into Brody most of the time. “I appreciate it.”

“Let me finish up with Pretty and I’ll take you up. You can have a look around if you want.”

“I’ll do that.”

He led the horse away, and Lucy watched them depart down the corridor, boots and hooves echoing through the quiet space. His faded jeans fit him as if they were made for him, the dark T-shirt emphasizing his broad shoulders. The black brim of his cowboy hat shaded his neck.

She squared her shoulders and set her jaw. Life had been full of enough complications lately. And she’d be damned if she’d let Brody Hamilton be another one.

CHAPTER TWO

LUCY perched on a wooden stool, sipped on a cup of strong, rich coffee and came to two important conclusions.

Number one, Brody Hamilton ran a good ship. Everything was kept in tip-top shape, and from what she’d seen, that extended to his horses. This was a good thing. You could tell a lot about a man’s stock by the state of the rest of the farm. Prairie Rose was neat, tidy and organized. Brody Hamilton paid attention.

And number two, Mrs. Polcyk ran the house. Full stop.

Lucy smiled into her mug, remembering how the housekeeper had put Brody firmly into his place. Brody had introduced her to the round, apple-cheeked woman who had instantly bustled her inside. Mrs. Polcyk had then ordered Brody to bring up Lucy’s things, and he’d obeyed without batting a single one of his obscenely long eyelashes. He’d done it without a grimace or an eye roll but with an innate respect and acceptance of her, and Lucy liked that about him as well.