The Lawman Said "I Do": The Frasers - Softcover

Leigh, Ana

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1416540881 ISBN 13: 9781416540885

Publisher: Pocket Star, 2006

Synopsis

Bestselling author Ana Leigh continues her exciting series featuring the sexy Fraser men and the love they discover in the heart of the Wild West.

The Lawman Said "I Do"

When outlaws attack Cassie Braden's stagecoach, she's grateful to Colt Fraser for saving her. But she's certainly not attracted to the rugged, handsome stranger -- after all, he's just passing through, and she's turned down plenty of traveling cowboys before. So why do sparks fly every time they're together?

Colt is on his way to California to seek his fortune, but his bravery wins him the post of deputy sheriff in Cassie's sleepy town. Though he's not interested in settling down, he needs the cash -- and why not indulge a harmless flirtation with the sheriff's firecracker of a daughter before continuing westward?

Yet when new dangers threaten, the forces keeping Cassie and Colt apart begin to lose their battle against desire too powerful to resist...and a love too big to ignore.

About this title

About the Author:

Ana Leigh has received a Romantic Times Award for Historical
Storyteller of the Year and a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award
for Western Romance. She is the author of many successful Western romances,
including His Boots Under Her Bed, The Lawman Said "I Do," and
The Frasers: Clay. She and her husband live in Grafton, Wisconsin.

"Writing romances is one of my greatest joys. To me, success is spending time
with my family and being able to write the books I love -- historical romances
with larger-than-life men who helped settle the West and the strong women who
stood right by their sides. I hope you love my Frasers as much as I do!"

Visit Ana Leigh's website at www.eclectics.com/analeigh.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

Chapter 1

Colt Fraser had been raised to appreciate God's gifts, and he was gazing appreciatively at one of them right now -- the curvaceous backside of the passenger climbing into the stagecoach ahead of him. The sweet hips and long legs encased in those pants clearly belonged to a woman.

When the couple had arrived at the stagecoach relay station in New Mexico, Colt had assumed they were both men.

Now he realized that this one was definitely a woman, even though she was dressed in a shirt, vest, jeans, boots, and hat.

They were the only passengers who boarded the stage, and he sat down in the seat opposite them and offered his hand to the man.

"How do you do? I'm Colt Fraser. Looks like we'll be traveling together."

"Jeff Braden," the man said and shook his hand. "This is my sister, Cassie."

Colt tipped his hat. "Miss Braden." He had already noticed she wasn't wearing a wedding band.

She nodded and asked, "You a drummer, Mr. Fraser?"

"No. I'm California bound."

"That accent sounds southern," Jeff Braden said.

"I'm from Virginia, sir."

The "sir" was from habit; Braden looked like he wasn't dry behind the ears yet.

"Most folks heading west stay on the Oregon Trail," the woman said. "It's unusual to cut off onto the Santa Fe Trail. You picked a good time for your sight-seeing; right now the Apaches are quiet. Of course, that can change from day to day."

"I managed to dodge Yankee bullets all through the war. I figure I can do the same with Indian arrows," Colt said confidently.

"You'd find it more difficult than you think. The Apaches are skilled warriors and you'd be fighting them on their ground. I imagine you were in the Confederate army, Mr. Fraser."

"Yes, ma'am, the cavalry. I had the privilege of serving under the command of General J.E.B. Stuart until he was killed."

"Sorry, I never heard of him."

"No other cavalry officer can compare to his skill and courage in battle. Confederate or Yankee."

"However, I have heard of that illustrious Confederate officer William Quantrill and the merciless raid he led on Lawrence, Kansas." Her tone was bitter. "It must have taken a great deal of skill and courage to order the slaughter of innocent women and children, along with the men."

"That raid was not sanctioned by any officer in the regular Confederate army, Miss Braden. and those were not regular Confederate soldiers in his command, but renegades and drifters. Neither I, nor any of my fellow officers, held any respect for the man. He was a mad killer in the guise of an officer, and a blight on the Confederacy and the brave and honorable men who have served it."

"My apologies, Mr. Fraser." She turned her head and stared out of the window.

He couldn't blame her for what she said. Others had said the same. Seemed like since that incident, every soldier or civilian south of the Mason-Dixon Line had borne the scorn for that son of a bitch's actions.

Colt studied her. Cassie Braden was intriguing. Despite her masculine clothing, she had an attitude that made him think of finishing schools and liveried servants.

She certainly was as pretty as any woman he'd ever met, even without all the powder and stuff some women put on their faces to beautify them. Her eyes were the blue of a summer sky against the smooth, sun-deepened bronze of a face shaped with high cheekbones, a straight nose, and a wide mouth with full, kissable lips.

These features, combined with a curve of determination to her chin, gave her face both delicacy and strength. The same characteristics he had noted in her bearing -- a vulnerability when she asked about the war, along with a rebellious boldness.

And the way those pants hugged her hips and long legs didn't hurt, either.

Back home in Virginia, females didn't dress in pants that clearly outlined their hips and legs. And those legs of hers were long, all right; she was easily eight inches above five feet.

From the time he'd crossed the Mississippi and headed west, he'd noticed a lot that was different from the rolling green countryside of Virginia. And the sight of her in those pants had certainly improved the view.

The thought of how they'd feel wrapped around his legs in bed invaded his thoughts, and he couldn't help grinning. His brothers would agree, especially Garth.

Lord, how he missed Garth and Clay. They'd rarely seen one another during the war, and they had no sooner gotten home then Clay and Garth headed west to California.

As if reading his mind, Cassie Braden suddenly asked, "Do you have family in California, Mr. Fraser?"

"Two brothers and a sister."

"So they were in California during the war?"

"No, they came West right after it ended. Our sister Lissy eloped with a Yankee soldier, and Clay and Garth headed West to find her."

Her mouth twitched in amusement. "Imagine that! Eloped with a Yankee!"

He didn't miss the sarcasm; so she was more cat than kitten. "Truth is, Miss Braden, at the time, I couldn't understand how a born-and-bred Virginian like my sister could run off with a Yankee."

"Does seem outrageous, doesn't it?"

"But, since she's happily married with a baby and all, seems it all ended well, and I'm happy for her."

"Even though she married a Yankee. You have a tender heart, Mr. Fraser. So, unable to bear the shame of failure, your brothers remained in California, too."

Colt raised his open palms. "Okay, so this is all amusing to you. I'll shut up." He nodded toward Jeff Braden, slumped and asleep. "Your brother didn't find it entertaining, though."

"You mean you're going to stop without telling me what happened with Clay and Garth. Why did they remain in California?"

"I really don't think you want to hear more."

"Why not? It helps to pass the time."

"My folks had six sons and one daughter," Colt continued, "but my youngest brother perished during Pickett's charge at Gettysburg. Other than our older brother Will, Clay had always been the most level-headed among us. That's why it was so perplexing when he up and married a Yankee woman the same day he met her. And now they have a baby boy, too."

"He didn't!" she exclaimed. "And a Yankee, too! Tell me, Mr. Fraser, is marrying a Yankee a hanging offense in Virginia?"

"Forget it. You've had your laugh."

"What do you expect! You talk as if marrying a Yankee is a disgrace. I happen to be a Yankee, Mr. Fraser, and I resent the implication."

"I can assure you, Miss Braden, that unlike my siblings, I have no inclination to wed -- so your spinsterhood is not at risk with me. And I recommend that instead of sarcasm, you begin using that kissable mouth of yours for just that -- or it's unlikely your spinsterhood will ever be in jeopardy, even with a damn Yankee."

Colt opened his newspaper with a snap. As always, the news was bad. People dying from cholera in the East, and an Apache Indian chief by the name of Cochise was conducting murderous raids on settlers and the cavalry in Arizona.

He glanced over the top of the paper at the couple. Jeff had awakened and was sitting in a stupor staring into space. The flame in the firecracker had gone out, and she was gazing out the window.

They bore a deep resemblance to one another. The woman appeared to be in her early twenties, a few years older than the man. Besides having auburn hair and blue eyes in common, their facial features were similar -- but looked a damn sight better on her than they did on her brother.

As Colt studied him, Braden took a silver flask out of his pocket and took a long draught from it.

"Jeff, please stop drinking," Cassie Braden said. "You've had too much already."

"Hush up, Cassie. I don't need you for a mother." He took another drink and returned the flask to his pocket.

Braden's speech was slurred, and Colt had to agree: the man had had enough to drink already.

He resumed reading an article about the rise of outlaw gangs. Since the war's end their number had increased dramatically, and they were as much a menace as the Indians, who were resisting the influx of settlers on their hunting grounds.

Of special note was the James Gang, led by Jesse and Frank James, two brothers from Missouri. Another gang gaining national attention was the Younger Gang, four brothers named Cole, Jim, Bob and John.

According to the newspaper, these two gangs had joined together and were now robbing trains and banks in Missouri, across the Kansas plains, and as far west as Colorado. God help the poor people in their path.

Apparently there was even a female outlaw named Belle, riding with a gang led by an outlaw named Tom Starr.

Female outlaws, bank robbers, wild Indians, and long-legged, slim-hipped women dressed in men's pants -- the West truly was wild.

Colt put the paper aside and stared out the window. The countryside was as wild and startling as the people who rode it. Erosion and extinct lava flows had carved out shallow canyons and craters around the narrow, mountainous trails, with stretches of colorful mesas abundant with forests, white-blossomed yucca, and deep-colored wildflowers. Trout streams, rivers, and cold-water lakes were everywhere.

Restless, he leaned back and reached for the newspaper again. The coach jostled and rocked like a cradle in a windstorm, which soon made reading too much of a challenge. Braden must have had a cast-iron stomach to keep that liquor down, with all the rocking going on.

As the hours wore on, Jeff Braden drank himself into a stupor. His sister had closed her eyes, but Colt could tell she wasn't sleeping.

Suddenly the blast of a gunshot broke the silence, and the driver pulled up sharply on the reins, sending a cloud of dust into the air. The woman was thrown forward and ended up in Colt's lap.

"I'm sorry," she gasped, her blue eyes wide with embarrassment. She quickly shifted over to her seat.

"No problem, Miss Braden. The pleasure was all mine."

Jostled awake, Jeff slurred, "What's going on?"

Five...

About this edition

• Publisher: Pocket Star
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1416540881
• ISBN 13: 9781416540885
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 384