LITMIR.BIZ

      He was a lawman.

      He faced dangerous people with guns and knives and every sort of weapon they could get their hands on. But none of them had shaken him the way that this woman did…. He desperately wanted to put his hands on her arms or shoulders—anywhere, so long as he was touching her.

      “What are you thinking?” he asked quietly.

      The nearness of his voice surprised her….

      She whirled around and backed her hands behind her on the edge of the sink. She wanted, no, needed, for the meal to be over and for Deputy Daniel Redwing to be gone. Otherwise she would be unable to keep her eyes from straying to his lips, her senses from remembering every reckless second she’d spent in his arms…and her heart from wishing that things could be different.

      Dear Reader,

      It’s hot and sunny in my neck of the woods—in other words, perfect beach reading weather! And we at Silhouette Special Edition are thrilled to start off your month with the long-awaited new book in New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber’s Navy series, Navy Husband. It features a single widowed mother; her naval-phobic sister, assigned to care for her niece while her sister is in the service; and a handsome lieutenant commander who won’t take no for an answer! In this case, I definitely think you’ll find this book worth the wait….

      Next, we begin our new inline series, MOST LIKELY TO…, the story of a college reunion and the about-to-be-revealed secret that is going to change everyone’s lives. In The Homecoming Hero Returns by Joan Elliott Pickart, a young man once poised for athletic stardom who chose marriage and fatherhood instead finds himself face-to-face with the road not taken. In Stella Bagwell’s next book in her MEN OF THE WEST series, Redwing’s Lady, a Native American deputy sheriff and a single mother learn they have more in common than they thought. The Father Factor by Lilian Darcy tells the story of the reunion between a hotshot big-city corporate lawyer who’s about to discover the truth about his father—and a woman with a secret of her own. If you’ve ever bought a lottery ticket, wondering, if just once, it could be possible…be sure to grab Ticket to Love by Jen Safrey, in which a pizza waitress from Long Island is sure that if she isn’t the lucky winner, it must be the handsome stranger in town. Last, new-to-Silhouette author Jessica Bird begins THE MOOREHOUSE LEGACY, a miniseries based on three siblings who own an upstate New York inn, with Beauty and the Black Sheep. In it, responsible sister Frankie Moorehouse wonders if just this once she could think of herself first as soon as she lays eyes on her temporary new chef.

      So keep reading! And think of us as the dog days of August begin to set in….

      Toodles,

      Gail Chasan

      Senior Editor

      Redwing’s Lady

      Stella Bagwell

      To my dear sister-in-law, Dorothy Sutmiller.

       Love you!

      STELLA BAGWELL

      sold her first book to Silhouette in November 1985. More than fifty novels later, she still loves her job and says she isn’t completely content unless she’s writing. Recently, she and her husband of thirty years moved from the hills of Oklahoma to Seadrift, Texas, a sleepy little fishing town located on the coastal bend. Stella says the water, the tropical climate and the seabirds make it a lovely place to let her imagination soar and to put the stories in her head down on paper.

      She and her husband have one son, Jason, who lives and teaches high school math in nearby Port Lavaca.

      UTE LEGEND OF THE BEAR DANCE

      The origin of the Bear Dance can be traced back to the fifteenth century, when the Spaniards first came upon the Utes in springtime. As the Ute legend goes, two brothers were out hunting. When they became tired and lay down to rest, one of the men noticed a bear standing upright and facing a tree. The animal was dancing and making a noise while clawing the tree. The one brother ignored the animal and went on hunting, while the other brother continued to be mesmerized by the bear. The bear taught the young man the song he was singing and the dance that went with it. He told the young man to return to his people and teach them the dance and the songs of the bear. The songs would show respect for the spirit of the bear and that respect would make his people strong.

      Each spring, the Bear Dance allowed the Ute people to release their tensions. After the fourth day of great celebrating, the men and women would leave a plume on a cedar tree, which meant they could leave their troubles behind and start life anew.

      Contents

      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 One

      Deputy Daniel Redwing skidded to a stop in front of the rambling log ranch house and jumped from the pickup truck. Red dust continued to boil up from the tires, settling on his black Stetson and the khaki shirt stretched across his broad shoulders. It was late spring in northern New Mexico and already the high desert was thirsting for rain.

      Maggie Ketchum was fumbling wildly with the latch of her yard gate. As he strode quickly in her direction, he noticed how the hot afternoon breeze was blowing bright red strands of her hair into her face.

      He was halfway there when she finally managed to fling open the gate and rush toward him. She looked terror stricken as she exclaimed, “Deputy Redwing! What are you doing here?”

      Daniel stopped short. Maybe the call had been a hoax, he thought hopefully. This was one time he wished like hell it had been. “Didn’t you telephone the sheriff’s office for help?”

      Swiping a hand at her tangled hair, she nodded vigorously. “Yes! But I thought Jess was coming. I specifically asked for him!”

      Daniel flared his nostrils slightly, but that was the only outward emotion he displayed at her comment. Jess Hastings was Maggie’s brother-in-law and a damn good undersheriff for San Juan County. But Daniel wasn’t inept. Or maybe she hadn’t meant to imply that at all. He tried to be fair. The woman was obviously stressed to the point of breaking. Having her brother-in-law with her at a time like this would be more of a comfort than the chief deputy of the San Juan County Sheriff’s Department.

      “Sorry,” he told her. “I figured you knew Jess was out of town. He and Sheriff Perez are down in Santa Fe at an emergency management meeting.” He stepped closer. “The dispatcher said your call had something to do with Aaron missing. Have you found him yet?”

      Aaron was Maggie’s nine-year-old son and the only child she’d had with Hugh Ketchum before he’d been killed in a ranching accident with a bull. This woman had already been through one tragedy in her young life. Daniel couldn’t imagine her going through two.

      “No!” she wailed, then lowering her head, she pressed a hand over her eyes and muttered, “Oh God, Daniel, I don’t know what to do! I’ve looked everywhere—the ranch hands are scouring the mesa, but they haven’t found him!”

      A sob stuck in her throat, but she choked it back and lifted her head to look

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