The Single Dad's Redemption. Roxanne Rustand
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The Cowboy’s Second Chance
With the town’s busiest sales weekend on the horizon, store owner Keeley North is desperate to find help. So when Connor Rafferty walks through her door, he’s an unlikely answer to her prayers. The former rodeo star may be a fish out of water in her shop, but he can rise to any challenge. And right now he’s set his sights on finding the son he hasn’t seen in five years. Keeley can’t risk her heart on a scarred cowboy who’s searching for something more. But if she can convince him to look beyond the mistakes of his past, Connor may get a second chance to have it all.
“My time is all yours, until my truck is fixed,” Connor said.
“Better be careful,” she said. “I’ll have you so busy that you’ll forget about leaving.” She grinned, then handed him the cabin key.
“Thank you,” he said quietly.
The gratitude in his eyes took her aback, so Keeley gave him a breezy smile to lighten the moment. “No problem at all.”
“No—I really mean it.”
He rested a hand on her shoulder as he spoke, and she stilled, unable to take another step as a gentle warmth seemed to travel straight to her heart.
“It seems like a lifetime ago when I was around anyone as thoughtful and caring as you are, and I don’t think anyone around here even realizes how special you are.”
Flustered, she didn’t know what to say. He was so tall and utterly handsome, though it was the man inside who drew her.
“Thank you. For everything you’ve done for me.” Their gazes locked. “I’ve spent a lot of years being angry that my prayers went unanswered. But now I realize they have been all along… They’ve brought me to you.”
A USA TODAY bestselling and award-winning author of over thirty-five novels, ROXANNE RUSTAND lives in the country with her husband and a menagerie of pets, including three horses, rescue dogs and cats. She has a master’s in nutrition and is a clinical dietitian. RT Book Reviews nominated her for a Career Achievement Award, two of her books won their annual Reviewers’ Choice Award and two others were nominees.
The Single Dad’s Redemption
Roxanne Rustand
Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.
—Proverbs 19:20–21
With many thanks to author Lyn Cote,
my “sister of the heart,” who has been
such a wonderful friend from the day
I began my writing journey many years ago.
And many thanks to editor Melissa Endlich,
for her astute and invaluable guidance.
I appreciate you more than words can say!
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
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Epilogue
Looking up at the roiling black clouds, Connor Rafferty turned up the collar of his denim jacket and lengthened his stride.
Aspen Creek was definitely a tourist town. The far southern edge held a scattering of truck stops, bars and shabby houses, but the original part of town was more upscale with six blocks of stately old Victorian homes and brick mansions. At least ten of them had been converted to elegant B and Bs with small, discreet signs on the sidewalk offering off-season rates.
Rates that would be far beyond his very limited means.
He strode on, over an arched stone bridge spanning a wide creek and through the six-block-long downtown area, feeling as if he’d stepped back in time.
The town was all about historical flavor. High on their fancy elevated facades, the quaint stone-and-brick, two-story buildings all proclaimed dates in the mid-1800s; the street signs were lettered in antique script.
What had probably once been a main street filled with empty storefronts and other evidence of a dying town was now brimming with stores geared toward the yuppie tourist trade. Gift shops, pretty little tea shops, restaurants, fancy women’s clothing boutiques and a bookstore. For the outdoor sports enthusiasts, a variety of stores offered gear from fishing, kayaking and canoeing to skiing, backpacking and biking.
A single, massive bank on Main, with a plaque embossed with the year 1864 on the cornerstone facing the sidewalk, looked as if it could withstand World War III.
Somewhere on the north edge of town he’d find a cheap strip motel and, a mile farther, a campground with modern facilities, according to the tow-truck driver who had dropped Connor’s pickup at Red’s Mechanic Shop & Wrecker Service south of town.
Connor hadn’t intended to make this stop in eastern Wisconsin on his way from Montana to Detroit, but major engine