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      Stella Bagwell has written close to seventy novels. She credits her longevity in the business to her loyal readers and hopes her stories have brightened their lives in some small way.

      A cowgirl through and through, she loves to watch old westerns and has recently learned how to rope a steer by the horns and the feet. Her days begin and end helping her husband care for a beloved herd of horses on their little ranch located on the South Texas coast. When she’s not ropin’ and ridin’, you’ll find her at her desk, creating her next tale of love.

      The couple have a son, who is a high-school maths teacher and athletic coach.

      To Spider John,

      I love you, my boy.

      Chapter One

      The woman was definitely pregnant, Jonas Redman decided, and from the looks of her she could go into labor any day! Quint had told him that his sister, Alexa, was a young, single woman and that she was expecting. But the man hadn’t mentioned that the baby would be arriving so soon.

      Jonas’s initial reaction was to turn tail and head straight back to Texas. Unfortunately, he wasn’t in a position to leave the Chaparral. The desert mountain ranch was going to be his home for as long as it took to complete the job. A job that had nothing to do with raising cattle and horses.

      In a steady gait, he walked across the lawn to intercept her. “Ms. Cantrell?” he called out as she neared the front steps of the huge hacienda-style house. “Could I speak with you for a minute?”

      Pausing on the neatly clipped grass, Alexa Cantrell turned toward the voice and watched with faint surprise as a tall man, wearing faded denim and a black cowboy hat, approached her. Normally, the working hands on the Chaparral Ranch didn’t need to come by the house. But then, she’d not been living here for the past five years, so maybe things had changed.

      Or maybe this wasn’t an ordinary ranch hand, Alexa thought, as he came to a stop a few steps away. He certainly didn’t look ordinary. He was tall and lean, with sunbrowned skin, wide, strong shoulders and authority stamped all over his rugged features. The brim of his hat shaded his eyes, but she could see a pair of thick brown brows and sun lines fanning from the corners. Sandy-brown hair lay in unruly waves about his ears and the back of his neck.

      “Yes. May I help you with something?” she asked politely.

      Moving forward, he extended his hand to her. “I’m Jonas Redman, the ranch’s new general manager. I happened to see you waving your mother off a moment ago and thought I’d take the opportunity to introduce myself.”

      So this was the man taking her brother’s place, Alexa thought. She clasped her hand around his and was instantly aware of rough, callused skin and warmth that radiated right through her palm.

      “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Redman. Quint has spoken of you. He warned me that you’d be coming around if you ran into trouble.”

      His eyes, which she could now see were a hazel green, narrowed a fraction more.

      “Warned you? Sounds like he’s already expecting me to fall short.”

      Alexa laughed softly. “I’m sorry. I guess I chose the wrong word. He only told me that you’d be coming to me if there was a decision you weren’t comfortable making on your own. Does that sound better?”

      A corner of his chiseled mouth turned slightly upward, and Alexa was shocked to find herself mesmerized by his features. Somewhere between thirty-five and forty, he was not a pretty boy. In fact, his appearance couldn’t have been more opposite to that of the father of the baby growing inside her. Jonas Redman was the epitome of toughness. A man with muscles honed from working with his back and hands, a man who often lifted his face to the sun and wiped sweat from his brow.

      Her comment eased the tense lines on his face. “Yes. That’ll do fine, ma’am.”

      His voice was low and raspy, with a twang that told Alexa he wasn’t a New Mexican native. Interest about the man sparked within, shocking her with its appearance. She hadn’t looked twice at a man since—well, since Barry had charmed his way into her life.

      Gesturing toward the porch, she said, “Would you like to have a cup of coffee or a glass of lemonade? Mother and I just had something before she left.”

      He glanced over his shoulder, toward a portion of the working ranch yard. Even though the nearest barn was more than a hundred yards away, the few trees scattered between didn’t block the view.

      “I suppose I could take five minutes,” he said. “It doesn’t appear the men have arrived back from the west pasture yet.”

      Nodding, she started toward the house, and he fell into step beside her.

      “You’re not from around here, are you?” she questioned as they climbed the two wide steps to the porch.

      “Texas, ma’am. I used to live near San Antonio. But I decided to migrate west.”

      “Oh? You didn’t like it there?”

      “I must have liked it,” he answered. “Up until three weeks ago I’d always lived in Texas. But I guess I got the itch to see something new.”

      By now they were on the long, concrete porch connected to a huge, cream-colored stucco house trimmed with dark wooden shutters and doors. Above their heads, a balcony served as a roof for the porch and a sunning spot for the rooms on the second floor of the structure.

      Three weeks ago, when Jonas had first arrived, Quint had given him a brief tour of the house. The structure was big enough for a simple man like him to get lost in. Which was probably good, since it looked as though he was going to have to spend time in it with this woman.

      “Well,