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Rachel placed her hand on Egan’s forearm.
His eyes met hers. “It’s time to shelve the guilty feelings. Time to move on and accept that we did our best.”
She leaned over. “You smell good,” she whispered.
“Irish Spring soap.”
“Why are you not pushing me away?”
“I’m too tired.”
“Good. Don’t think. Just feel all the good things that we know about each other.”
“Rachel …”
She placed her forefinger over his lips. “You’re thinking.”
“Nothing can change my past.”
She curled into his side. “I’m not thinking about your past. I’m thinking about now. Here. You and me. We’re two consenting adults and can handle whatever happens.”
“What do you want to happen?”
She raised her head and stared into his gorgeous eyes. “Call me ma’am.”
His lips curved into a smile. “What do you want to happen, ma’am?”
Texas Rebels: Egan
Linda Warren
Two-time RITA® Award-nominated and award-winning author LINDA WARREN loves her job, writing happily-ever-after books for Mills & Boon. Drawing upon her years of growing up on a farm/ranch in Texas, she writes about sexy heroes, feisty heroines and broken families with an emotional punch, all set against the backdrop of Texas. Her favorite pastime is sitting on her patio with her husband watching the wildlife, especially the injured ones that are coming in pairs these days: two Canada geese with broken wings, two does with broken legs and a bobcat ready to pounce on anything tasty. Learn more about Linda and her books at her website, lindawarren.net, or on Facebook, LindaWarrenAuthor, or follow @ Texauthor on Twitter.
I dedicate this book to Helen Sheffield, friend, author, teacher and supporter of anyone who was interested in writing. She encouraged and supported me over the years and I’m grateful for having known her. She was an amazing, loving, giving person who never met a stranger. Rest in peace, my friend.
A big thank-you to the internet. The research for this book was done solely online: weeks of researching and double-checking and chatting to people who were nice enough to share their knowledge, especially about dog bites, prison and court proceedings.
Contents
My name is Kate Rebel. I married John Rebel when I was eighteen years old and then bore him seven sons. We worked the family ranch, which John later inherited. We put everything we had into buying more land so our sons would have a legacy. We didn’t have much, but we had love.
The McCray Ranch borders Rebel Ranch on the east and the McCrays have forever been a thorn in my family’s side. They’ve cut our fences, dammed up creeks to limit our water supply and shot one of our prize bulls. Ezra McCray threatened to shoot our sons if he caught them jumping his fences again. We tried to keep our boys away, but they are boys—young and wild.
One day Jude and Phoenix, two of our youngest, were out riding together. When John heard shots, he immediately went to find his boys. They lay on the ground, blood oozing from their heads. Ezra McCray was astride a horse twenty yards away with a rifle in his hand. John drew his gun and fired, killing Ezra instantly. Both boys survived with only minor wounds. Since my husband was protecting his children, he didn’t spend even one night in jail. This escalated the feud that still goes on today.
The man I knew as my husband died that day. He couldn’t live with what he’d done, and started to drink heavily. I had to take over the ranch and the raising of our boys. John died ten years later. We’ve all been affected by the tragedy, especially my sons.
They are grown men now and deal in different ways with the pain of losing their father. One day I pray my boys will be able to put this behind them and live healthy, normal lives with women who will love them the way