A Texan's Honor

 

 

CRITICS ARE RAVING ABOUT LEIGH GREENWOOD!

“Leigh Greenwood continues to be a shining star of the genre!”

—The Literary Times

“Leigh Greenwood remains one of the forces to be reckoned with in the Americana romance sub-genre.”

—Affaire de Coeur

“Greenwood's books are bound to become classics.”

—Rendezvous

“Leigh Greenwood NEVER disappoints. The characters are finely drawn . . . always, always, a guaranteed good read!”

—Heartland Critiques

THE MAVERICKS

“Fans of Greenwood's
Cowboys
series will be delighted with this latest installment. He delivers an action-packed story filled with tender moments.”

—Fresh Fiction

THE RELUCTANT BRIDE

“Leigh Greenwood always provides one of the year's best Western romances, but his latest tale may be the best in an illustrious career. . . . Once again Mr. Greenwood will have one of the sub-genre top guns of 2005.”

—Harriet Klausner

THE INDEPENDENT BRIDE

“Leigh Greenwood unfolds his Westerns like an artist. . . . Like his other books,
The Independent Bride
should be placed among the Western classics.”

—Rendezvous

BORN TO LOVE

“The characters are complex and add a rich element to this Western romance.”

—Romantic Times

 

 

RAVES FOR
THE COWBOYS
SERIES!

JAKE

“Only a master craftsman can create so many strong characters and keep them completely individualized.”

—Rendezvous

WARD

“Few authors write with the fervor of Leigh Greenwood. Once again [Greenwood] has created a tale well worth opening again and again!”

—Heartland Critiques

BUCK

“
Buck
is a wonderful Americana Romance!”

—Affaire de Coeur

CHET

“
Chet
has it all! Romance and rustlers, gunfighters and greed . . . romance doesn't get any better than this!”

—The Literary Times

SEAN

“This book rivals the best this author has written so far. . . . Western romance at its finest!”

—The Literary Times

PETE

“
Pete
is another stroke on Leigh Greenwood's colorful canvas of the Old West. The plotting is brilliant and the conflict strong.”

—Rendezvous

DREW

“Sexual tension and endless conflict make for a fast-paced adventure readers will long remember.”

—Rendezvous

LUKE

“Another winner by Leigh Greenwood!”

—Romantic Times

MATT

“
The Cowboys
are keepers, from the first book to the last!”

—The Literary Times

 

 

 

 

 

LOSING CONTROL

“I never said I didn't want to kiss you.” Damn! That was the last thing he should have said. Why was he losing control now?

“Then will you kiss me?”

The logical and safe answer was to go to bed and refuse even to talk about it any longer. Her father wouldn't like it if he knew. His uncle and cousin would run him out of Boston, and Lonnie would shoot him. He would be leaving before long, so a sensible person wouldn't do anything to cause trouble.

But he was tired of being sensible, of following the rules, and getting nowhere. He wanted to kiss her. He'd been thinking about it almost from the time he first saw her.

 

 

Other books by Leigh Greenwood:

THE RELUCTANT BRIDE
THE INDEPENDENT BRIDE
COLORADO BRIDE
REBEL ENCHANTRESS
SCARLET SUNSET, SILVER NIGHTS
THE CAPTAIN'S CARESS
ARIZONA EMBRACE
SEDUCTIVE WAGER
SWEET TEMPTATION
WICKED WYOMING NIGHTS
WYOMING WILDFIRE

The
Night Riders
series:

TEXAS HOMECOMING
TEXAS BRIDE
BORN TO LOVE

The Cowboys
series:

THE MAVERICKS
JAKE
WARD
BUCK
DREW
SEAN
CHET
MATT
PETE
LUKE

The
Seven Brides
series:

ROSE
FERN
IRIS
LAUREL
DAISY
VIOLET
LILY

LEIGH GREENWOOD

 

 

 

DORCHESTER PUBLISHING

Published by

Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc.
200 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10016

Copyright © 2006 by Leigh Greenwood

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, without the written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author's rights is appreciated.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Trade ISBN: 978-1-4285-1711-0

E-book ISBN: 978-1-4285-0447-9

First Dorchester Publishing, Co., Inc. edition: July 2006

The “DP” logo is the property of Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc.

Printed in the United States of America.

 

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

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-one

Chapter Twenty-two

Chapter Twenty-three

 

 

FAMILY GENEALOGY

Jake Maxwell m. Isabelle Davenport 1866

Eden Maxwell b. 1868

Ward Dillon m. Marina Scott 1861

Tanner b. 1862

Mason b. 1869

Lee b. 1872

Conway b. 1874

Webb b. 1875

Buck Hobson (Maxwell) m. Hannah Grossek 1872

Wesley b. 1874

Elsa b. 1877

Drew Townsend m. Cole Benton 1874

Celeste b. 1879

Christine b. 1881

Clair b. 1884

Sean O'Ryan m. Pearl Belladonna (Agnes Satterwaite) 1876

Elise b. 1866 (Pearl's daughter by previous marriage)

Kevin b. 1877

Flint b. 1878

Jason b. 1880

Chet Attmore (Maxwell) m. Melody Jordan 1880

Jake Maxwell II (Max) b. 1882

Nick b. 1884

Bret Nolan m. Emily Abercrombie 1881

Sam b. 1882

Joseph b. 1884

Elizabeth b. 1885

Matt Haskins m. Ellen Donovan 1883

Toby b. 1868 (adopted)

Hank Hollender b. 1870 (adopted)

Orin b. 1872 (adopted)

Noah b. 1878 (adopted)

Tess b. 1881 (adopted)

Matthew b. 1885

Brodie b. 1886

Pete Jernigan m. Anne Thompson 1886

Mary Anne b. 1888

Kane b. 1889

Kent b. 1889

Will Haskins m. Idalou Ellsworth 1886

Luke Attmore m. Valeria Badenburg 1887

Lucas b. 1888

Valentine b. 1889

Hawk Maxwell m. Suzette Chatingy 1888

Zeke Maxwell m. Josie Morgan 1888

A Texan's Honor

Boston, 1881

Bret Nolan approached his uncle Silas Abbott's office with barely concealed anticipation, a smile threatening to banish his habitual frown. He was certain he was being called in for the long-promised but often postponed meeting about the changes Bret had proposed for the company.

He had worked in his mother's family's shipping company, Abbott & Abercrombie, ever since leaving Texas six years ago. During that time he'd carefully studied the inner workings of the transportation industry as the last of the great clipper ships gave way to steam power. He had spent more than a year developing a detailed plan of changes the company needed to make to remain competitive into the twentieth century.

He was doubly excited because the changes would mean bigger roles for him and for his cousin Rupert, who supported him. He wished Rupert were here today, but he was in Providence, Rhode Island, inventorying
the contents of Abbott & Abercrombie's warehouses. It was the kind of job that reminded the two men they were poor relations.

“Your uncle said you were to go right in,” Silas Abbott's secretary said with a broad smile when Bret entered her office. “He's anxious to see you.”

Bret's steps grew lighter. His uncle was
never
anxious to see him. In fact, seeing Bret usually gave him gas. He must have grasped the value of Bret's plan. Finally, he would begin to see his nephew as a valued member of the company, not merely the son of a disinherited sister and her rabble-rousing husband who was thoughtless enough to get himself killed in circumstances that brought unwelcome publicity to the family.

Bret knocked on the door of his uncle's office. The words
Come in
sounded so welcoming, he smiled.

“You wanted to see me, sir.”

“Come in and have a seat,” his uncle said.

Silas was in such a sunny mood, Bret began to feel uneasy. He felt certain his recommendations were sound, but he'd expected his uncle to argue every point. Silas Abbott liked to think all good ideas were his own. When they weren't, he'd talk in circles, making and discarding suggestions, until he arrived back at the starting point, convinced he had come up with the solution himself.

“How have you been keeping yourself?” Silas asked. “We haven't had a chance to see much of each other lately.”

Bret grew even more apprehensive. His uncle
never
wanted anything to do with him, had only hired him because Bret's grandmother had insisted he give Bret a job. Uncle Silas paid Bret barely enough to live on, a measure of his displeasure at having his hand forced.

“I have nothing to complain about,” Bret lied. “Working ten hours a day six days a week doesn't leave
much time for me to find trouble . . . or it to find me.” He could tell from the twitch of his uncle's eyebrows that the remark had angered him, but Bret was tired of seeing his uncle and his son, Joseph, leave the office while he and Rupert still had several hours of work to do. Even the regular staff went home before they did.

“Honest work never hurt anyone,” his uncle said. “It's how you get ahead.”

But Bret hadn't gotten ahead. Everybody in the office knew he and Rupert could work circles around Joseph, yet Joseph continued to get promoted, with commensurate raises in salary, while Rupert remained a glorified errand boy and Bret an equally exalted clerk. Bret had tried very hard to control the bitterness that burned in his stomach like an acid, but it had become increasingly difficult in the face of Joseph's unwarranted promotions.