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They have a chance to build something special…
Christa Montgomery has faced many changes recently, but she draws the line at an overhaul of her hometown, Cedar Grove, Texas. When the community’s livelihood is threatened by a new highway, she’s determined to stop the project and its chief engineer, Ryder Oakes.
Ryder almost swept Christa off her feet before she recognized who he was, and now she must struggle to resist his warmth and compassion. Torn between two loyalties, she can’t support the new highway, even if his career is at stake. As his project runs into trouble, though, she’s determined to come up with a way to have her town…and Ryder, too.
Christa didn’t want to feel for Ryder...
She didn’t want to empathize with a man who was turning her world upside down. But she was drawn to him in spite of trying to hold back. “We should talk about the project after I’ve asked my father a few things,” she said. “Though he probably won’t change my mind about this new highway. Or keep me from fighting it.”
“I’m happy to discuss it with you anytime.” His eyes met hers, and she read a kaleidoscope of emotions in their depths—determination, sympathy and maybe even affection. She had to look away. She was afraid of what he might read in her eyes.
“Just remember, Christa. I’m not out to hurt you, or your family, or anyone in this town. I really do want to make this work for everyone’s benefit.”
His words sent a shiver of apprehension up her spine. Wasn’t there a saying about guilty people who protested too much?
My family moved around fairly often when I was a child, which is maybe why I’m drawn to stories of families who have deep roots in a place. How wonderful to know that, no matter how far afield you roamed, you could always come back to a place where almost everything you looked at reminded you of beloved family members and family history. When everything else in life is in upheaval, that kind of home is one thing you can depend on.
But of course, things change, and home doesn’t always stay the same. My heroine, Christa, has to cope with some big changes in this story. To me, big changes can be the perfect catalyst for romance. The right person comes along and helps you to be a stronger, better person. Ryder helps Christa, but she teaches him a lot, too, about taking risks and holding on to the things that really matter. Together, they’re going to write their own definition of the perfect home.
I hope you enjoy Ryder and Christa’s story. I’d love to hear your own stories of home. You can contact me online at www.cindimyers.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/authorcindimyers or on Twitter @CMyersTex. Or write to me in care of MILLS & BOON Books.
All the best,
Cindi Myers
What She’d Do for Love
Cindi Myers
CINDI MYERS
is an author of more than fifty novels. When she’s not crafting new romance plots, she enjoys skiing, gardening, cooking, crafting and daydreaming. A lover of small-town life, she lives with her husband and two spoiled dogs in the Colorado mountains.
For Katie
Contents
CHAPTER ONE
THE CLOSER SHE drove to her hometown of Cedar Grove, Texas, the more anxious Christa Montgomery was to be home. She’d fought the idea of moving back to the family ranch, even temporarily, but losing a job she’d loved hadn’t left her with many options. With only a few more miles to go, she had a hard time keeping to the speed limit. All she wanted was a hug from her father, homemade cookies from her mother, and the comfort of her parents’ love and faith in her. With all the upheaval in her life of late, she needed the stability of home. Surrounded by their love and a familiar landscape, she’d regroup and find her feet again.
Her heartbeat sped up as she approached the sign for Cedar Grove town limits. She gripped the steering wheel more tightly and leaned forward, anxious for the first glimpse of the place where she’d grown up. The demands of working at one of the top marketing firms in Houston had kept her away except for brief holiday visits, which she mostly spent at the family ranch.
Elation turned to dismay, however, as she guided her car down the town’s main street. What had once been a lively hub of activity was now almost deserted. She counted three For Sale signs in the first block. The grocery store was empty, as was the office supply store, Mavis Butler’s dress shop, and the bookstore.
She knew, of course, that the economic recession and continued drought had hit the area hard, but she’d never expected this. The town where she’d gone to school, sat through movies with her friends and whiled away hours at the diner was practically a ghost town. The businesses that were left looked forlorn, windows dusty, the signs faded.
She drove on, out of town and onto the farm-to-market road that led to her family’s ranch, the Rocking M. She relaxed when she spotted the white fencing that marked the beginning of her father’s property, the paint fresh and crisp. A row of survey stakes topped with orange plastic streamers that snapped in the warm spring wind traced a line just inside the fence. Was her father planning to move the fence line?
A few minutes later she turned the car into the gravel drive beneath the welded iron archway with the Rocking M brand at its center. In the pasture beside the drive a few Black Angus cattle crowded around a metal stock tank