a cognizant v5 release august 27 2010
“You have a thing for cranky, ill-tempered men?”
“Apparently so,” she said with a deliberate air of resignation.
Ryan’s lips curved into a full-fledged grin then. “Lucky me.”
She grinned back at him. “Try to remember that.”
“Oh, I imagine you’re going to give me plenty of occasions to question it,” he said.
She nodded. “It is my mission, remember?”
“Maggie—”
She touched a finger to his lips to silence him. “Just accept it. I’m here to stay.”
“But why?” he asked, obviously bewildered.
“It’s that cranky, ill-tempered man thing,” she reminded him. “I’m a sucker for a challenge.” She hooked her hand around his neck and drew his head down till she could kiss him. “And it doesn’t hurt that you’re a great kisser!”
SHERRYL WOODS
RYAN’S PLACE
Books by Sherryl Woods
Silhouette Special Edition
Safe Harbor #425
Never Let Go #446
Edge of Forever #484
In Too Deep #522
Miss Liz’s Passion #573
Tea and Destiny #595
My Dearest Cal #669
Joshua and the Cowgirl #713
*Love #769
*Honor #775
*Cherish #781
*Kate’s Vow #823
*A Daring Vow #855
*A Vow To Love #885
The Parson’s Waiting #907
One Step Away #927
Riley’s Sleeping Beauty #961
Finally a Bride #987
‡A Christmas Blessing #1001
‡Natural Born Daddy #1007
‡The Cowboy and His Baby #1009
‡The Rancher and His Unexpected Daughter #1016
**A Ranch for Sara #1083
**Ashley’s Rebel #1087
**Danielle’s Daddy Factor #1094
††The Littlest Angel #1142
††Natural Born Trouble #1156
††Unexpected Mommy #1171
††The Cowgirl and the Unexpected Wedding #1208
††Natural Born Lawman #1216
††The Cowboy and His Wayward Bride #1234
††Suddenly, Annie’s Father #1268
◊The Cowboy and the New Year’s Baby #1291
◊Dylan and the Baby Doctor #1309
◊The Pint-Sized Secret #1333
◊Marrying a Delacourt #1352
◊The Delacourt Scandal #1363
A Love Beyond Words #1382
§Do You Take This Rebel? #1394
§Courting the Enemy #1411
§To Catch a Thief #1418
§Wrangling the Redhead #1429
‡‡Ryan’s Place #1489
Silhouette Desire
Not at Eight, Darling #309
Yesterday’s Love #329
Come Fly with Me #345
A Gift of Love #375
Can’t Say No #431
Heartland #472
One Touch of Moondust #521
Next Time…Forever #601
Fever Pitch #620
Dream Mender #708
Silhouette Books
Silhouette Summer Sizzlers 1990
“A Bridge to Dreams”
Maternity Leave 1998
“The Paternity Test”
††The Unclaimed Baby
§The Calamity Janes
SHERRYL WOODS
has written more than seventy-five novels. She also operates her own bookstore, Potomac Sunrise, in Colonial Beach, Virginia. If you can’t visit Sherryl at her store, then be sure to drop her a note at P.O. Box 490326, Key Biscayne, FL 33149 or check out her Web site at www.sherrylwoods.com.
Dear Reader,
I can’t tell you how thrilled I am that Ryan’s Place is the launch book for the Readers’ Ring, Silhouette Special Edition’s book club. Part of my excitement is that I think the book is rich with topics for discussion, some of which you’ll find in the suggested questions at the back of the book. In addition, I absolutely LOVE anything that encourages people to talk about the books they’re reading and perhaps encourages others to pick up an author they haven’t yet tried.
As many of you know, for more than six years now I’ve owned my own bookstore in a little beachfront community in Virginia. One of the joys of having the store has been the opportunity to talk to people about the books and authors they love and to share with them authors I’ve particularly enjoyed. We ventured into hosting a book discussion group for a few years. I’m afraid we were sadly lacking in discipline and wildly varied in taste, but I think all of us enjoyed the chance to talk about books with others who felt the same way.
I hope this new Silhouette Special Edition program will add new depth to your enjoyment of the books that I and other authors in the line write. Those of us who love romance novels have always known that there’s far more to the stories than boy-meets-girl. Here’s a way to take a fresh look at the books and spark some lively discussions with your friends. Enjoy!
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 Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Epilogue
Discussion Questions
Chapter One
Ryan Devaney hated holidays. Not only were they lousy for business, but the few people who did walk into his Boston pub were usually just about as depressed as he was. The jukebox tended to blast out its most soulful tunes, which might have reduced him to tears if he hadn’t given up shedding them a long time ago. Thanksgiving, with its bittersweet memories, had always been worst of all. And this year promised to be no different.
Outside there was the scent of snow in the crisp air, and back in Ryan’s kitchen, his cook was already baking the dozens of pumpkin pies Ryan would be taking to the homeless shelter and also serving to the handful of people who showed up at the pub for a lonely meal tomorrow. Ryan had a very dim recollection of a time when both aromas would have stirred happy memories, but those days were long gone. It had been more than twenty years since he’d had anything at all for which to be thankful.
Even as the thought crossed his mind, he brought himself up short. Father Francis—the priest who evidently considered saving Ryan’s soul his personal mission—would blister him with a disapproving lecture if he ever heard him say such a thing aloud. The priest, whose church was just down the block and whose parish benefitted from Ryan’s generosity, had a very low opinion of Ryan’s tendency to wallow in self-pity around holidays.
“You have a roof over your head. You have money in your pocket and warm food in your belly,” Father Francis had chided on more than one occasion, disappointment clouding his gaze. “You have a business that prospers and customers who rely on you. You have countless others who depend on you for food and shelter, though they don’t know it. How can you say there are no blessings in your life? I’m ashamed of you, Ryan Devaney. Truly ashamed.”
As if Ryan had conjured him up just then,
