Does he have the courage to trust his heart?
He just wanted her to go...
now he’ll do anything to make her stay.
Ranch attorney Ty Warner isn’t buying Rachel Henderson’s story. He’s sure the pretty single mom is after his boss’s fortune, but Rachel claims she’s just looking for family who might donate the kidney she needs to survive. As Ty grows closer to Rachel and her little girl, he discovers the raw truth—he’ll do whatever it takes to help Rachel live.
“Come meet Ricky. I told him to expect us.”
Ty smiled and gestured Rachel and her daughter toward the porch.
Instead of looking excited, she looked scared. Worried. Good. It would be easier on all of them if she decided not to go through with whatever she was planning.
“What’s your name?” Ricky asked the little girl.
Rachel patted her daughter’s back and said, “This is Katie. It takes her a while to warm up to new people. Give her time to figure you out, and then you’ll be sorry you befriended her. She’s usually quite the chatterbox.”
Ricky smiled as he shook his head. “I would never regret befriending a child.”
Rachel’s smile made Ty’s heart skip a beat. Even though Ty didn’t believe Rachel’s motives in being here were pure, he did know that smile was genuine. And it took his breath away.
Maybe the real threat she posed wasn’t to Ricky, but to Ty...
Danica Favorite loves the adventure of living a creative life. She loves to explore the depths of human nature and follow people on the journey to happily-ever-after. Though the journey is often bumpy, those bumps refine imperfect characters as they live the life God created them for. Oops, that just spoiled the ending of Danica’s stories. Then again, getting there is all the fun. Find her at danicafavorite.com.
Books by Danica Favorite
Love Inspired
Double R Legacy
The Cowboy’s Sacrifice
Three Sisters Ranch
Her Cowboy Inheritance
The Cowboy’s Faith
His Christmas Redemption
Love Inspired Historical
Rocky Mountain Dreams
The Lawman’s Redemption
Shotgun Marriage
The Nanny’s Little Matchmakers
For the Sake of the Children
An Unlikely Mother
Mistletoe Mommy
Honor-Bound Lawman
Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.
THE COWBOY’S SACRIFICE
Danica Favorite
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
—John 15:13
For Ed, Brenda and Jelana. Thank you for letting us be part of your journey. Your family means the world to us in so many ways. We’re so excited to see what this next chapter holds for all of us.
For Tara. Your giving heart inspires me every day. Not just in the big things, but also in all the little ways you go out of your way to make every kid feel special. Thank you for always looking out for others, and especially for the ways you’ve loved my girls.
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
Epilogue
Dear Reader
Excerpt from A Mother’s Homecoming by Lisa Carter
Chapter One
Bridge out.
The two simple words were one more wrench in Rachel Henderson’s plans. She should have known better than to trust anything would be so easy for her. The DNA website had listed Ricardo Ruiz the Fourth as a potential relative match. Her only relative match. Based on what they had in common, she assumed he was her grandfather. A quick search on the internet revealed that Ricky, as he was called, was the owner of the Double R Ranch, a guest ranch in the central mountains of Colorado that promised to teach a new generation of cowboys about the cowboy way of life.
It seemed almost too easy, taking the weekend off and driving two hours from Denver to the sleepy little town of Columbine Springs to introduce herself to Ricky and explain her very important reason for tracking him down. She hadn’t been able to find any hotels, but given that the Double R billed itself as a guest ranch, surely they would have rooms for rent.
She’d brought her four-year-old daughter, Katie, figuring that even if she struck out with her request to Ricky, they could at least have a nice weekend.
Except they’d gotten less than ten miles from their destination only to find the bridge was out, and GPS gave no alternate routes.
So here they were. In front of a café in Columbine Springs, hoping someone could help them find a way to get to the ranch.
Though the buildings in the town looked old and worn, the café was painted a bright cheerful blue and it looked inviting, a place that welcomed weary travelers and seasoned locals alike.
When they entered the café, Rachel glanced around. A couple of old cowboys sat by the window, poring over a newspaper. The place was dominated by a large coffee bar with a pastry counter. Behind it was a large blackboard displaying the menu items. As they approached the counter, an older woman wearing a name tag that said Della greeted them warmly.
“Welcome. What can I get for you today?”
Even though Della probably said those words to a hundred people a day, something about the woman made Rachel feel almost as if she’d found a new friend. Which was ridiculous, because Rachel didn’t have friends. Didn’t need them. Didn’t see the point. She’d learned the hard way that relationships didn’t last.
The door jangled, and Rachel turned to see what had to be an advertisement for a cowboy magazine walking through the door. She hated to use stereotypes, but this man completely fit the bill of the tall, dark and handsome cowboy.
Rachel shook her head. What was she doing, thinking about such nonsense? She was a single mom and had way too many other things going on in her life to be admiring a man.
“Hey, Della,” the cowboy said. “Jake. Steve.”
In this place, the locals seemed to know everyone. Rachel had always wanted to be part of something like that, but she’d always figured that such communities only existed on television.
She turned her attention back to the menu. “I’d like a vanilla latte. I’ll also have your turkey sandwich kid’s meal with chocolate
