The Hard-To-Tame Texan Read online

  Letter to Reader

  Title Page

  Books by Lass Small

  LASS SMALL

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Copyright

  You won’t want to miss any of the memorable

  characters in this newest series by bestselling

  author Lass Small. While each of

  THE KEEPERS OF TEXAS books stands

  on its own, the continuing saga of the

  Keeper family and ranch will surely keep you

  coming back for more!

  You met Rip and Lu in Taken by a Texan (Desire #1137). And they are back again, and prepared to stir up some trouble for Lu’s brother...

  ANDREW PARSONS: He was the houseguest from hell! The arrogant, rugged Texan just wouldn’t leave the Keeper ranch, nor would he learn any manners. As a last resort, Mrs. Keeper called in some favors and asked for the much-needed help of family friend...

  JOANN MURRAY: It was said she could tame any man, though she hadn’t yet let one into her bed. Until she met a certain cantankerous cowboy. Was that love in the air...or just frustration, say for another Texan bachelor....

  TOM KEEPER: The heir to the Keeper ranch just seemed to meet woman after woman that he couldn’t have. Well, he was bound and determined not to fall in love again. But it wouldn’t be that way for long, not if a certain set of parents have anything to say about it....

  The Keeper family saga will continue in September with The Lone Texan, Lass Small’s fiftieth book for Silhouette! Don’t miss any of the fun and romance you’re sure to find with THE KEEPERS OF TEXAS.

  Dear Reader,

  This month, Silhouette Desire celebrates sensuality. All six steamy novels perfectly describe those unique pleasures that gratify our senses, like seeing the lean body of a cowboy at work, smelling his earthy scent, tasting his kiss...and hearing him say, “I love you.”

  Feast your eyes on June’s MAN OF THE MONTH, the tall, dark and incredibly handsome single father of four in beloved author Barbara Roswell’s That Marriageable Man! In bestselling author Lass Small’s continuing series, THE KEEPERS OF TEXAS, a feisty lady does her best to tame a reckless cowboy and he winds up unleashing her wild side in The Hard-To-Tame Texan. And a dating service guarantees delivery of a husband-to-be in Non-Refundable Groom by ultrasexy writer Patty Salier.

  Plus, Modean Moon unfolds the rags-to-riches story of an honorable lawman who fulfills a sudden socialite’s deepest secret desire in Overnight Heiress. In Catherine Lanigan’s Montana Bride, a bachelor hero introduces love and passion to a beautiful virgin. And a rugged cowboy saves a jilted lady in The Cowboy Who Came in From the Cold by Pamela Macaluso.

  These six passionate stories are sure to leave you tingling... and anticipating next month’s sensuous selections. Enjoy!

  Regards,

  Melissa Senate

  Senior Editor

  Silhouette Books

  Please address questions and book requests to:

  Silhouette Reader Service

  U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269

  Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

  LASS SMALL

  THE HARD-TO-TAME TEXAN

  Books by Lass Small

  Silhouette Desire

  Tangled Web #241

  To Meet Again #322

  Stolen Day #341

  Possibles #356

  Intrusive Man #373

  To Love Again #397

  Blindman’s Bluff #413

  *Goldilocks and the Behr #437

  *Hide and Seek #453

  *Red Rover #491

  *Odd Man Out #505

  *Tagged #534

  Contact #548

  Wrong Address, Right Place #569

  Not Easy #578

  The Loner #594

  Four Dollars and Fifty-One Cents #613

  *No Trespassing Allowed #638

  The Molly Q #655

  †Twas the Night #684

  *Dominic #697

  †A Restless Man #731

  †Two Halves #743

  †Beware of Widows #755

  A Disruptive Influence #775

  †Balanced #800

  †Tweed #817

  ††A New Year #830

  †I’m Gonna Get You #848

  Salty and Felicia #860

  †Lemon #879

  †An Obsolete Man #895

  A Nuisance #901

  Impulse #926

  Whatever Comes #963

  My House or Yours? #974

  A Stranger in Texas #994

  The Texas Blue Norther #1027

  The Coffeepot Inn #1045

  Chancy’s Cowboy #1064

  How To Win (Back) a Wife #1107

  ‡Taken by a Texan #1137

  ‡The Hard-To-Tame Texan #1148

  Silhouette Romance

  An Irritating Man #444

  Snow Bird #521

  Silhouette Yours Truly

  Not Looking for a Texas Man

  The Case of the Lady in

  Apartment 308

  Silhouette Books

  Silhouette Christmas Stories 1989

  Voice of the Turtles”

  Silhouette Spring Fancy 1993

  “Chance Encounter”

  *Lambert Series

  †Fabulous Brown Brothers

  ‡ The Keepers of Texas

  LASS SMALL

  finds living on this planet at this time a fascinating experience. People are amazing. She thinks that to be a teller of tales of people, places and things is absolutely marvelous.

  One

  Prologue

  Back, some time ago, Andrew Parsons had intruded onto the TEXAS tableland of the Keepers. He just clipped the herd-restraining fence and entered where he chose. He didn’t mend the rip he’d caused in the barbwire.

  As Andrew had ridden along, his horse had been silently shot from some awesome, silent distance. At the time, Andrew didn’t even know the horse had been shot. He thought it had a heart attack or something similar.

  After Andrew’s leg had been hopelessly trapped under his dead horse for just past two days, it was Andrew’s dog who searched for help. The lost dog had eventually been seen by Tom Keeper.

  Tom had used his cell phone to contact the pilots to see where the earnest dog wanted to go and why. And the pilots did find the trapped Andrew.

  Rescued, Andrew was in the hospital for some time. One of the ranch pilots, Rip, had taken care of Andrew’s dog. And Rip had taken the dog to see his master. That was how Rip had met Andrew’s logical, normal, alluring sister, Lu Parsons.

  Now Andrew was to be released from the area hospital, out there on the TEXAS tableland. However, Andrew—the obsolete man—was perfectly comfortable, in hospital, living as he chose, being cared for by others.

  He slept in the daytime and visited with the nurses and watched TV in the night. His time was askew; the hospital was tolerant. People are people. Some are strange.

  The time came when Andrew was able to walk. He could eat by himself and he could shower alone. He was capable of sharing his time with other people. The doctors scolded the staff. Andrew was not to be pampered, the room in the hospital was needed for other patients.

  That was said sternly. It was all vocally underlined. No one mentioned the night nurses had spoiled him.

  Andrew did not want to leave the hospital. It was a haven. When told he should go, he’d said, “Not yet.”

  The staff was adamant, “The
re are others who need the space in the hospital.” They told Andrew he could use his leg, which was healing. “It is time for you to leave us,” they told him.

  Andrew was irritated and turned stubborn. He repeated, “Not yet.”

  So what was to be done with him? He was alone. There was no place for him to go. His father refused him.

  Having been unable to reach any agreement with Andrew’s family in Houston, the staff at the hospital contacted those who had brought the pilgrim to them. They talked to the Keepers who lived out and beyond. Their land seemed endless.

  The Keepers recommended the hospital contact the Parsons family again and gave them another phone number. Unfortunately the hospital person contacted Mr. Parsons who was very odd. And, with hostility, he declined sharing stress with his son.

  The hospital crew became terse.

  Eventually, it was the Keepers who accepted the burden of the pilgrim.

  Andrew paid none of his hospital bills.

  His sister, Lu, who was by then living with the Keepers’ pilot Rip Morris, insisted that the Parsons were responsible and must take the bill. And before that was done, she did some telephone talking with her father in Houston. The father was a man very similar to his son.

  His father did pay the bill. Mr. Parsons was not gracious. He simply sent the check to the hospital. Then his daughter let go of his throat. Holding a throat with dug-in fingernails, over a long-distance phone, is not easy.

  So with the reluctantly courteous invitation of the Keepers, Andrew Parsons was taken from the hospital and moved into the big house at the Keepers’ place. That place was where Keepers had been for something like five centuries. It hadn’t been easy.

  As the Keepers had gone along through time, they had coped with many problem people. That’s why their house was so large. The family had secret access to stairs and corridors. They could avoid just about anyone. With that security, they offered an interim shelter to Andrew Parsons.

  Andrew kindly accepted that he was a guest of the Keepers’. He had no concern at all. He knew his acceptance was a gift to the Keepers.

  So the Keepers again were reminded of their name, and it was they who finally, reluctantly volunteered to become the keepers of Andrew. And Andrew very easily accepted the care as due him.

  He allowed the staff to clean his room and to bring him meals and care for him. He expected such conduct, all for him. He did not hesitate to ring the bell for attention.

  As Andrew healed, more fully, the staff became restless. They had other things to do and other people for whom to care. The crew began to revolt.

  It was Tom Keeper’s mother who went to see Andrew in his room. He was reading, sitting with his back to the window. With the knock, he said, “Come in.” And as Mrs. Keeper entered, he smiled and falsely pretended to move to stand.

  Mrs. Keeper stood just inside the room and smiled. “You’re much better. Tonight you may come down for dinner.” She ignored his protest and continued, “Tom and his brother Sam will come by for you and guide you down.”

  “I’m really not yet—”

  But Mrs. Keeper was leaving the room as she said, “Dinner is at six.” And she was...gone.

  That was blunt enough.

  Andrew phoned the doctor. It was a house phone and he called long distance. He gave the phone number. The Keepers would pay.

  The nurse said, “The doctor is with a patient. How can we help?”

  Identifying himself, Andrew said, “They’re trying to get me to walk downstairs to dinner!”

  The nurse flipped through Andrew’s medical records. Then she said, “You’re capable. Do it.” And she hung up.

  Andrew was furious. He paced and gestured and breathed and was livid! He didn’t want to be sucked in by others’ rules. He had his own. It was to allow himself to do as he chose.

  So Andrew didn’t go down to dinner with Tom and his brother Sam. Andrew had locked the door. When someone knocked at five ’til six, Andrew said through the door, “I’m not well enough to go down yet.”

  Tom said, “Okay.”

  Andrew said through the door, “Send my supper up to me.”

  There was no reply.

  No one came.

  Andrew went without dinner. He was furious.

  About ten that night there was another knock at his door. With the sound, Andrew was in a fury. He snarled, “The door is not locked.” He’d assumed he’d finally be getting his dinner. And he turned deadly eyes on the door.

  His sister, Lu, came inside with a smile. “You’re still up?”

  “I’ve not yet had dinner...not even supper.”

  “Oh.”

  “Go down to the kitchen and get me something to eat.” It was not a request. It was an order.

  Lu watched her brother thoughtfully. She understood exactly why Mrs. Keeper was doing as she was. Lu said kindly, “The kitchen is closed.” She patted her pockets and said, “I do have a caramel.” She held it out to her brother.

  He snatched it with steely fury and threw it against the wall as he retorted, “That isn’t enough.”

  She considered him. “Well, then, drink a whole lot of water and fool your stomach.” She turned and opened the door. Over her shoulder she advised, “Practice walking and come down for breakfast in the morning.”

  As he drew in an indignant breath, she went out and closed the door behind her.

  Andrew was infuriated. No one was doing as he said. He was abandoned. He tore the bed apart and shoved furniture around. He was not quiet. With all the chaos finished, he sat in one chair and panted with anger and exhaustion.

  Finally, he phoned down to the servants to ask for someone to come straighten his room and bring him some food. No one replied to the ring. He let it ring a hundred times. He could be dying. Who cared?

  He considered that. Who would care? His father? He was too concerned with himself. His mother? She never took her amused eyes from his father. His siblings? All were self-centered. None cared two hoots in hell about him. They were just like his sister, Lu.

  He looked at his silent dog who watched him thoughtfully.

  His Buddy.

  Would Buddy abandon him, too?

  So Andrew made up his bed. It wasn’t because he regretted tearing it apart, it was because he had to sleep in it, and no one had come to tidy his room. He was bitter. He sat sourly.

  The dog sighed rather obviously. Rather enduringly.

  He said to the dog, “When I’m stronger, we’ll leave and go our own way by ourselves.”

  The dog watched him and did not respond or wag his tail or anything. It was as if Buddy understood every word said and was opposed to such nonsense.

  With that intrusive awareness, Andrew remembered how the dog had looked around and moved his head when they were out on the tableland. And belatedly, Andrew realized that Buddy had never been sure out there. He’d been watchful and careful and listening. Hmmm.

  It was interesting that Andrew had known, all through that time, that the dog was uneasy, and he had ignored the animal’s alertness. He’d thought it’d been rabbits.

  If it had been rabbits, the dog would have investigated it. Whatever had rattled the dog, out on the tableland, it hadn’t been anything close. The long, silent path of that great bullet that had killed the horse had been proof of the distance.

  So Andrew went to bed that night without any supper. Neither had the dog been fed. Andrew forgot that part. He hadn’t taken the dog down to where the dogs were fed. Since he hadn’t eaten any supper, it didn’t occur to him to see to it that the dog did.

  Buddy went into the bathroom and drank a lot of water. That was, of course, out of the toilet. Then the dog came back into the bedroom, curled down in a corner and slept. He was used to such times. Most of those times, he had been hungry because Andrew had forgotten to feed him.

  When the man had remembered, the dog was eager and the man only chided the dog for being rude. Just the fact that Andrew had more dog food than was ne
eded ought to have been some clue. Actually, Andrew only thought about himself.

  So the man and dog slept that night with rumbling, complaining stomachs. It was especially strange that Andrew endured the hunger. He could have gone downstairs anytime in the night and found something in the kitchen. He was just mind-bogglingly stubborn.

  So that hungry morning, Buddy considered the man more closely. He didn’t sneak looks, he observed.

  Finally, the man said to the dog, “You can go out by yourself. I’ll open the door. You can leave.”

  To Andrew’s surprise, the dog got up and went to the door and stood there waiting for it to be opened. The knob was high, he could not reach it. He looked at the man.

  Andrew’s temper flared. He went to the door and snatched it open...and the dog was gone! Just like that.

  Such an “escape” made Andrew blink. He found he was still holding the door open. He closed it gently, firmly. The dog would not get back inside unless he scratched on the panel.

  Andrew smiled. If the dog scratched to get inside, the door would be marked. Okay. He’d just wait to go down to the second breakfast. He’d just see who had control of the door.

  Buddy was not back by the time Andrew heard the subtle, ringing sound for the second breakfast. And it was obvious to Andrew that if he wanted anything to eat, he would have to go downstairs, right then.