LITMIR.BIZ

      To my sisters-in-law, Sondra Siegert, LaVal Siegert, Melinda Siegert, Sandra Lenz and Betty Patranella, who have supported me wholeheartedly from the start. Thanks, ladies.

      And thanks to Dr. Mark Fuller, DVM, and Randy Rychlik, paramedic, who shared their expert knowledge.

      Any errors are strictly mine.

      CONTENTS

      PROLOGUE

      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

      CHAPTER FIFTEEN

      CHAPTER SIXTEEN

      CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

      CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

      EPILOGUE

      PROLOGUE

      WHAT SHOULD SHE SAY TO HIM?

      Rebecca Talbert knew she had to say something, but when she looked at Cordell Prescott words eluded her. He sat on the sofa in a dark suit with his elbows on his knees and his hands clutching a glass of punch. That expression of loss and sadness twisted her stomach into a hard knot.

      She hated funerals, especially when the person was so young and had died so needlessly. Anette Prescott’s death from alcohol poisoning had left not only a grieving widower, but a motherless four-year-old girl. Becca had never met Anette; in fact, this was the first time she’d actually met Cord. She knew Clay and Colton, his brothers; they were business associates of her father. Her parents were in Europe and she’d attended the funeral in their place. But she would have come, anyway, because she and Colton were close friends. There’d been a time she’d thought their relationship would develop into more, but the passion just wasn’t there. And she wanted that passion, the kind of deep, lasting love her parents shared. Based on her relationships to date, she had a feeling she was going to grow old looking for it.

      Becca took a sip of her punch and glanced around. They were in the large family room of the Prescott ranch house, a room that was attractively rustic with wood beams on the ceiling, a stone fireplace and hardwood floors. Colton had told her the ranch-style two-story house had been built by his great-grandfather in the 1800s and there’d been Prescotts here ever since. Cord was the rancher in the family; he’d continued to run Triple Creek, while his brothers had opted for another way of life in the city.

      As the grandfather clock chimed, Becca realized she had to leave, and soon. She was on duty at the hospital in an hour, and it was a thirty-minute drive back to Houston. She set her glass on a table. It was now or never. She had to offer her condolences to Cord, then make her way out to where the cars were parked. A few family and friends had returned to the ranch after the funeral, and Colton had insisted she come, although Becca felt a bit out of place.

      She took a deep breath and walked over to the sofa. When she sat beside Cord, he didn’t move or acknowledge her presence.

      “I’m so sorry about your wife,” she said. It sounded lame even to her own ears. He’d probably heard those words a hundred times today.

      He still hadn’t responded, so she started to get up. She didn’t want to cause him any more stress than necessary.

      Then his voice came. “I just wish I understood. Why? Why did this happen? Anette never drank that much. I just don’t understand it. And Nicki…” As he said his daughter’s name, his voice cracked.

      Becca did what she would have done with anyone who was in that much pain. She put her arms around him. He murmured something she didn’t hear, and to her surprise, his arms locked tightly around her. She knew he had had a drink and she didn’t know what he’d done with it. Nor did she care. She only wanted to comfort him.

      As his arms tightened, she became aware of his strength and the tangy masculine scent that filled her nostrils. He was different from his brothers—in appearance, in manner, in aspiration. Clay and Colton had blond curly hair and blue eyes. Cord’s hair was a darker blond with a slight curl and his eyes were brown. He also had a stylish mustache. Colton said that Cord took after their father with his love of the land. His brothers were businessmen and had never returned to the ranch after leaving for college, whereas Cord didn’t want any other life. His manner, too, revealed a directness, a simple honesty that was quite removed from his brothers’ more polished charm.

      Becca didn’t know how long they sat there with Cord holding on to her like a lifeline. She didn’t mind. He needed to hold someone and he probably wasn’t even aware of who she was. How could Anette Prescott do this to him? she found herself wondering. Cord seemed so family-oriented, and he obviously worshiped his little girl. From what Colton had told her, she knew Anette had been in a state of depression. She’d always wanted a child

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