Reunited with the Rancher Read online

  Will secrets tear this rancher’s marriage apart—or lead to a reunion? Only from USA TODAY bestselling author Sara Orwig!

  For estranged husband and wife Tom and Emily Knox, a heartbreaking loss in their past is keeping them apart in the present. They still share a ranch, but not a bed. And when the blackmailer terrorizing Royal, Texas, accuses Tom of keeping a secret family behind Emily’s back, they’re thrown into an even deeper tailspin. But could the darkest misunderstanding contain the seeds of a second chance, as Tom and Emily come together to dispel false accusations and face their past?

  “Remember our first kiss? I do.”

  Looking into his sexy hazel eyes with sinfully long lashes, she drew a deep breath because it felt as if all the air in the diner had suddenly vanished. She couldn’t keep from glancing at Tom’s mouth, thinking about his kisses, remembering them in exacting detail and wanting to kiss him now.

  “Of course I do, but I’m surprised you do.”

  “I do. Why do you think I asked you out again?” he said, those hazel eyes twinkling, and she felt a tug on her heartstrings because she remembered again what fun she’d had with him.

  “It was all exciting, Tom,” she said with regret.

  “Then don’t cry about it now. Happy memories. Take the ones that were special and exciting and concentrate on them.”

  “Thank you,” she said, smiling at him as he released her.

  Right away, she missed his strong arms around her.

  * * *

  Reunited with the Rancher is part of the series Texas Cattleman’s Club: Blackmail—

  No secret—or heart—is safe in Royal, Texas...

  Dear Reader,

  In this story, meet Emily and Tom Knox, two more members of the Texas Cattleman’s Club from Royal, Texas. Deeply in love, Emily and Tom were torn apart by the accidental death of their first child—little four-year-old Ryan—an incredibly devastating loss that never stops hurting. Tom and Emily share a Texas ranch and Tom moved to the guesthouse, leaving Emily alone in their palatial ranch home.

  At the opening of the story, they have been estranged over a year when Emily is stunned to open a letter with a hateful message from a troll. The message with an attached picture is another knife to her heart from a blackmailer who has been hurting members of the Texas Cattleman’s Club. Because of the secrets in that message, Tom comes back into Emily’s life and gradually they each discover their love may still be alive.

  They have to work through their loss, their love, the mistakes they’ve made in dealing with this tragedy and with each other. They realize the attraction they felt has grown, yet neither one knows whether their love is sufficient enough to forge a new life together.

  Thank you for your interest in this book and best wishes to you,

  Sara Orwig

  SARA ORWIG

  Reunited with the Rancher

  Sara Orwig is an Oklahoman whose life revolves around family, flowers, dogs and books. Books are like her children: she usually knows where they are, they delight her and she doesn’t want to be without them. With a master’s degree in English, Sara has written mainstream fiction, and historical and contemporary romance. She has one hundred published novels translated in over twenty-six languages. You can visit her website at saraorwig.com.

  Books by Sara Orwig

  Harlequin Desire

  Lone Star Legends

  The Texan’s Forbidden Fiancée

  A Texan in Her Bed

  At the Rancher’s Request

  Kissed by a Rancher

  The Rancher’s Secret Son

  That Night with the Rich Rancher

  Callahan’s Clan

  Expecting the Rancher’s Child

  The Rancher’s Nanny Bargain

  Texas Cattleman’s Club: Blackmail

  Reunited with the Rancher

  Visit her Author Profile page at Harlequin.com, or saraorwig.com, for more titles.

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  With many thanks to Stacy Boyd and Charles Griemsman for working with me on this. Thank you to Tahra Seplowin. Also, thank you to Maureen Walters.

  With love to my family—you are so special to me.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Excerpt from Billionaire's Baby Promise by Sarah M. Anderson

  One

  Tom Knox hurried down the hall of the Texas Cattleman’s Club, his footsteps muffled by the thick carpet. The dark wood-paneled walls held oil paintings and two tall mirrors in wide ornate frames. There were potted palms and chairs covered in antique satin. Tom was so accustomed to his surroundings he paid no attention until a woman rounded the corner at the end of the long hall.

  Tom’s insides clutched and heat filled him as he looked at his estranged wife, Emily Archer Knox. Physical attraction, definitely lust, hit him as his gaze swept over her.

  Wavy honey-brown hair framed her face. Her hair was always soft to touch. There was no way to shut off the memories, no matter how much they hurt or stirred him. A red linen suit with a matching linen blouse and red high heels added to her attractiveness. The red skirt ended above her knees, leaving her shapely legs bare to her ankles. His imagination filled in how she would look without the red linen. While desire ran rampant, at the same time, a shroud of guilt enveloped him. He had failed her in the worst way possible.

  Each time he saw Emily, guilt gnawed at him for failing to save the life of their four-year-old son, Ryan, after a tour bus accident on a family ski vacation in Colorado. It had been five long, guilt-ridden years since then, and a chilly bitterness had settled in between them. His life had improved only slightly last year when he’d moved out of the house to the guesthouse on their ranch. They could go for weeks without crossing paths.

  In many ways it was better to be apart, because then he could let go of the burden of guilt. That’s why he had joined the Army Rangers for three years after the accident. After the death of his close friend, Jeremy, he wanted out of the Rangers. He couldn’t be with Emily without thinking about how he had failed her and how unhappy she had been with him.

  At the moment when they approached each other, Emily looked up and her green eyes widened. They avoided each other most of the time but couldn’t today. He kept walking, his heart drumming while desire and guilt continued to war within him. Would he ever be able to face her without an internal emotional upheaval? Her smile was polite, the kind of smile usually reserved for strangers. When she came closer, her smile vanished before she greeted him with a quiet, “Hi, Tom.”

  “Good morning. You look great,” he couldn’t keep from saying.

  Her gaze shifted to the briefcase in his hand. “Are you at the club for a meeting?”

  “Yes. The finance committee. How about you?”

  “I’m having lunch with a friend,” she answered. How polite they were, yet a storm was going on within him. Guilt, hurt, too much loss plagued him each time he saw Emily or talked to her.

  “Have a good time,” he said as he passed her.

  Her perfume stirred memories of
holding her in his arms while he kissed her. Longing tore at him along with anger at himself. Why couldn’t he let go completely? He and Emily didn’t have anything together any longer. Only he knew that wasn’t true. There was one thing they still had that hadn’t vanished—a physical attraction that he felt each time she came into his sight. It was something he couldn’t understand and didn’t want to think about.

  On a physical level, he knew she felt that chemistry as much as he did. She couldn’t hide her reactions completely, and neither could he. But each time he encountered her, he was reminded that they both needed a chance for a fresh start, and that maybe the best thing he could do would be to give her a divorce and get out of her life completely.

  * * *

  After lunch at the Texas Cattleman’s Club and an afternoon at her photography studio in downtown Royal, Emily drove home to Knox Acres, the cattle ranch she shared with Tom. She still couldn’t stop replaying their brief encounter at the Texas Cattleman’s Club. Since she first met him, she’d had a strong physical reaction to Tom. She still got tingles from just seeing him. Through good times, through the worst of times, Tom had dazzled her since they had fallen in love at sixteen. She had no comparison, but she didn’t think that mattered. Tom was the best-looking, most appealing guy she had ever known.

  Even so, other aspects of their marriage outweighed sheer lust. And they had lost what was essential in a marriage—that union of hearts, that joy in each other.

  Their happiness had shattered the night their tour bus had skidded on an icy Colorado highway, going into a frozen pond. Tom had almost died pulling Ryan from the frigid water. Tom had ended up with pneumonia, a deep cut on his knee and a broken collarbone, broken ribs and a ruptured spleen. But in the end, he hadn’t been able to save their son’s life. After three days Tom could travel and they flew Tom, Emily and Ryan to a big hospital in Denver. They couldn’t help Ryan, either. In eight more days, Ryan succumbed to his injuries. Somehow, amid all the grief, she and Tom composed themselves long enough to donate Ryan’s organs to spare other parents the agony of losing a child.

  The vacation had been Tom’s family reunion, and twenty-three members of his family were on the bus. Besides Ryan, Tom’s aunt died from drowning. Three other people, including two children, died in the accident, but they weren’t in the Knox party.

  Weeks turned into months and months into years, and her memories became more precious. In an effort to strengthen their marriage, they had tried to conceive again, but a new baby—a new start—never happened for them. Emily felt she had failed Tom in this; it was another blow to their marriage. They’d lost their son, and eventually their love, and their relationship became more strained until Tom moved out and they hardly saw each other any longer. It was general knowledge with most people they knew that they were estranged. Sometimes that still shocked her as much as everything else that had happened to them. She had been so in love with Tom when they married, she never would have believed the day would come when they barely spoke and hardly saw each other.

  Hoping to put Tom out of her thoughts, she talked to her big white cat that had been a kitten given to Ryan when he was four. After feeding Snowball, she turned on her computer to read her email, and in seconds, a message caught her attention.

  It was harsh, simple: Guess you weren’t woman enough to hold his interest. Here’s his real family, his secret family—until now. Frowning and puzzled, Emily scanned the subject: Today—for your eyes only. Tomorrow—for all of Royal to see.

  She froze when she read the sender’s name: Maverick. She had no idea who Maverick was. No one in Royal knew the identity of the hateful troll who’d been threatening and blackmailing people in town for the past few months. There were rumors Maverick might be the work of the three snooty stepsisters—that’s how she pictured the clique of women, Cecelia Morgan, Simone Parker and Naomi Price, who seemed to think they owned the Texas Cattleman’s Club and everything else in Royal these days. They always made Emily feel that she wasn’t good enough to be included in their company.

  Another chill slithered down Emily’s spine when she opened the email attachment. It was a photograph. She stared at Tom in the picture, and shock hit her. As a professional photographer, Emily knew at a glance this picture was real. A smiling, earthy redhead with her hair fastened up in a ponytail posed with Tom, who stood close and had his arm draped around her shoulders. In front of them were two adorable children. The boy she guessed to be around four—the same age their Ryan had been when they had lost him. The little red-haired girl was pretty. In the background was a gingerbread dream house and beside the boy was a show-worthy golden retriever. They looked like the perfect family.

  So this was Tom’s preferred family. That made her the world’s biggest fool. She and her husband had been growing apart for the past five years, and now she could see an additional reason why. Fury made her hot. There was a whole different side to Tom she had never seen—a deceitful side. She had trusted him completely. She stared at the picture, which was absolute evidence that their marriage was built on lies. Tom had another family. He was leading a double life. The realization was almost a physical blow.

  If she wanted proof that their marriage was irrevocably broken, she had it now. Fresh out of excuses to delay the inevitable, heartsick and furious with Tom for his deception, she could see no other option: she planned to file for divorce. She would give him his official freedom to stop being secretive about the family he loved.

  Shaking with anger, she leaned in closer to the computer screen to study the photo intently. The woman looked familiar, but Emily didn’t know who she was. Were she and her kids in Royal?

  And was the message on target—was Emily not woman enough to hold Tom? She shivered as she admitted to herself that the message was accurate, dead-on accurate. She couldn’t give Tom the family he wanted.

  It had been Tom’s idea to move out to the guesthouse. He’d said separating would give them a chance to think clearly about their futures. He was the one who’d said they needed to get the physical attraction out of the way so they could straighten out their emotions and feelings for each other.

  Knowing the real reason Tom wanted to move out of the house, away from her, hurt Emily badly.

  She looked again at the sender’s email signature. She had no idea who Maverick was. Could the rumors be right, that Cecelia Morgan, Simone Parker and Naomi Price were behind the nasty emails and the blackmail? Those three were successful businesswomen, so it didn’t seem likely in a lot of ways. They might be snooty, but that didn’t mean they were this evil.

  Someone intended to make Tom’s secret public to people in Royal. When that happened, Emily knew she would be viewed with pity and there would be laughter behind her back. That was insignificant next to the pain that consumed her over Tom’s deception. How could he have been so duplicitous? It seemed totally unlike the man she knew and loved.

  Would Maverick write Tom and threaten to go public? Had he—or she—already tried to extort money from Tom for silence? Emily could easily imagine Tom telling Maverick to go to hell first.

  Emily couldn’t stop her tears as her growing fury overwhelmed her. All this time, Tom had had a wife to love, to love him in return, precious children and a home. No wonder she couldn’t get back together with him.

  She intended to confront Tom with the truth. Their marriage was over. Completely finished. She needed a divorce to go on with her life. She had lost their son, and evidently, she’d lost Tom long ago, too. He was a lying, two-faced man she hadn’t ever really known. She had never suspected that side of Tom. She had never even had a hint of it before now. Tom had seemed totally honest, kind—how he had fooled her! She wanted to scream at him and tell him how deceitful and hurtful he was. She wanted him out of her life, and this would ensure that happened.

  She spent a sleepless night and drove into Royal the next day. Angry and hurt,
she filed for divorce. Tom was now home from the military after his tour of duty with the Rangers, and he had taken over running the ranch. She had her photography studio and had just inherited her uncle Woody’s old home in Royal. She and Tom could go their separate ways.

  After work later that day, she went by the three-story house she had inherited from her uncle, the man who had raised her. The house was all she had left of family, so she intended to hang on to it and restore it so she could live there. She would be close to her photography studio and off the ranch, away from Tom. She didn’t want to live in the palatial house on the ranch that they had built before Ryan was born anymore.

  * * *

  Tom drove back to the guesthouse after working outside all day on first one job and then another. Hard physical labor was the best way to drive the hurtful memories away, at least temporarily. It was early March, and the days were growing longer and warmer. It was spring—a time that used to be exciting and filled with promise. Now one day was like another and he spent time thinking over how he should plan his future.

  At the present moment he wanted a shower and a beer and wished he had someone, a friend, to spend the evening with. Nights were long and lonely, and weekends were the worst.

  As he pulled up, he saw a car parked in front of his house. It surprised him even more when he realized it was Emily’s.

  Why was she here? She never came to see him. Worried something might have happened to a friend, he frowned. Emily really had no family—only older cousins she didn’t see. He parked and stepped out, slamming the pickup door behind him. He watched her open her car door to get out. She wore stiletto heels with black straps on her shapely feet. Her jeans fit her tiny waist snugly and were tight enough to emphasize her long, long legs. She wore a pale blue short-sleeved sweater that hugged her lush curves. In jeans, high heels and the sweater, she looked stunning. Her hair fell loosely around her face—the way he liked it best.