Just Kate: His Only Wife (Bestselling Author Collection)
Read Just Kate: His Only Wife (Bestselling Author Collection) Online
Authors: Linda Lael Miller,Cathy McDavid
Tags: #PURCHASED
The Only One
Ever since Kate Blake’s sister died in a car accident, it’s been just her. Just Kate to keep her family together. Just Kate to live up to her senator father’s expectations and her mother’s idea of perfection. But now, after a painful betrayal by those she loves, she decides it’s time to live for herself and claim what she wants. And what she wants is Sean Harris. The only man she’s ever loved. And her late sister’s husband.
But years have passed since Abby’s accident, and both Sean and Kate feel it’s time to move on. Still, when Kate meets the rugged Australian on his home turf, she is surprised by what she finds with Sean—a sense of home and belonging that she’s never known. And the one person who loves her for nothing else except being…just Kate.
BONUS BOOK INCLUDED IN THIS VOLUME!
His Only Wife
by Cathy McDavid
Aubrey Stuart returns home to Blue Ridge, Arizona, only to discover that the boy she’d eloped with and hastily divorced ten years ago has matured. And now Gage Raintree is a man a thousand times more tempting….
Praise for #1
New York Times
bestselling author
Linda Lael Miller
“Miller is one of the finest American writers in the genre.”
—RT Book Reviews
“Only Linda Lael Miller can write the kind of romance that melts your heart and makes you want to shout Yippee ki-yay!”
—Single Titles on Creed’s Honor
“Miller tugs at the heartstrings as few authors can.”
—Publishers Weekly
Praise for bestselling author
Cathy McDavid
“Here is a story that has not only a happy ending, but also has entertaining characters, an engaging plot and a romance that makes one smile.”
—The Romance Reader on His Only Wife
“The spiritual and emotional healing that evolves naturally from McDavid’s beautifully written story touches on the fears and realities of homecoming veterans and the families they leave behind, as it neatly dovetails with a charming romance.”
—RT Book Reviews on Her Cowboy’s Christmas Wish
LINDA LAEL MILLER
The daughter of a town marshal, Linda Lael Miller is a #1
New York Times
and
USA TODAY
bestselling author of more than one hundred historical and contemporary novels, most of which reflect her love of the West. Raised in Northport, Washington, the self-confessed barn goddess now lives in Spokane, Washington. Linda recently hit a career high at #1 on the
New York Times
bestseller list with all three of her
Creed Cowboys
books,
A Creed in Stone Creek, Creed’s Honor
and
The Creed Legacy.
Linda has come a long way since leaving Washington to experience the world. “But growing up in that time and place has served me well,” she allows. “And I’m happy to be back home.” Dedicated to helping others, Linda personally finances her Linda Lael Miller Scholarships for Women, which she awards to those seeking to improve their lot in life through education. More information about Linda and her novels is available at
www.lindalaelmiller.com
. She also loves to hear from readers by mail at P.O. Box 19461, Spokane, WA 99219.
CATHY McDAVID
Cathy makes her home in Scottsdale, Arizona, near the breathtaking McDowell Mountains, where hawks fly overhead, javelina traipse across her front yard and mountain lions occasionally come calling. She embraced the country life at an early age, acquiring her first horse in eighth grade. Dozens of horses followed through the years, along with mules, an obscenely fat donkey, chickens, ducks, goats and a potbellied pig who had her own swimming pool. Nowadays, two spoiled dogs and two spoiled-er cats round out the McDavid pets. Cathy loves contemporary and historical ranch stories and often incorporates her own experiences into her books.
When not writing, Cathy and her family and friends spend as much time as they can at her cabin in the small town of Young. Of course, she takes her laptop with her on the chance inspiration strikes.
#1
New York Times
Bestselling Author
JUST KATE
Table of Contents
JUST KATE
#1
New York Times
Bestselling Author
Linda Lael Miller
Dear Friends,
It’s wonderful to see the classic stories in these collections coming back to be enjoyed by new readers, as well as some who remember the book fondly and wish to revisit the characters and the setting.
Just Kate
was inspired by a number of things—a trip to New Zealand and Australia, the movie
Crocodile Dundee,
and a particularly chunky metal purse I’d purchased somewhere. I kept thinking that purse could be used as a weapon of defense and—sure enough—Kate used it in the story to clock a presumed mugger on a dark Seattle street. The beyond-sexy Australian hero, Sean Harris—how I love that accent—will have to do a lot of convincing to get back on Kate’s good side, after all that’s happened.
So, if you’ve never read
Just Kate,
welcome. If you
have
read the story and want an encore, welcome back.
All best,
Linda Lael Miller
For Lisa Jackson and Nancy Bush, sisters in crime.
Remember the four-to-a-room trip to RWA?
Contents
Chapter 1
T
he exchange was so blatant, so audacious that Kate Blake couldn’t believe she’d seen it. It was intermission and the lobby was crowded. People swirled past her, laughing and talking as they waited for the opera to resume. Kate stood frozen in their midst, fingers curved around her glass of orange juice, her indigo eyes wide, afraid even to blink.
She hadn’t imagined it. Brad had handed another man a packet of white powder and taken money in return, right there in front of half the population of Seattle.
Perhaps, she thought desperately, it was all a mistake. Perhaps she had only imagined that the packet contained cocaine, and that Brad, the man she’d meant to marry in less than a month, had just accepted money for it.
In the next instant, Brad turned, tucking a folded bill into the pocket of his coat as he moved. His eyes met Kate’s, and it was clear that he knew she’d seen. There was no apology in his gaze, however, only defiance. Then he was looking at his companion again, and Kate might not have existed at all.
She felt dizzy, and then claustrophobic, and she knew she had to get out into the fresh air fast. She set her cup aside and hurried toward the main door.
Outside, Kate gripped the stair railings in both hands and dragged in deep, clean breaths until the choking sensation passed. A glance back over one elegantly bared shoulder told her that Brad hadn’t followed. He probably hadn’t even noticed she was gone.
She looked up at the dark, star-speckled sky aglow with city lights, and her vision blurred as tears filled her eyes. She was torn. One part of her wanted to go back inside, grip Brad by the lapels and demand to know why he’d thrown everything away; another preferred to pretend that nothing had changed.
Kate inched down the stairs, still grasping the railing with both hands. Brad was the man she’d planned to marry. He was her father’s campaign manager. And she’d just seen him break the law in the most brazen of ways.
A thousand thoughts whirled through her head. This wasn’t new behavior for Brad; she was certain of that. And yet she hadn’t known. She’d been engaged to him and
she hadn’t known
what kind of man he was! How could that be?
There were no cabs lined up in front of the theater, since the opera would run another full hour. Kate looked back again, knowing she should go inside, call for a taxi and wait in the lobby until it arrived. But something within her demanded action. She needed to walk, hard and fast, with the cool, clean night wind blowing against her face. She started out in the general direction of her downtown condominium, chin held high, her grandmother’s antique brass evening bag swinging at her side.
Hard-eyed street people watched her pass, but there was none of the usual panhandling. Kate supposed that in her present mood she didn’t look approachable.
Moments later, as she passed a popular department store, her pace slackened. The breeze had dried her tears. Kate’s reflection in the windows regarded her forlornly as she took in her own tall, slender body, the sleek designer gown that had cost the earth, the soft and loose arrangement of her dark hair.
“So who wanted to marry Bradley Wilshire anyway?” she demanded aloud. As she rounded the corner, Kate was careful not to look at her image in the glass, fearing it might answer,
You did.
Kate pulled her silk shawl around her bare shoulders and shivered. In just a few minutes, she reminded herself, she would be home in her small, elegant condominium overlooking the harbor. She would turn on some classical music, pour herself a glass of low-cal Chablis and spend the rest of the evening soaking in a bubble bath.
Was it possible that Brad was a pusher?
Trying to forget what she’d seen would be useless, she knew, but the ramifications were more than she could deal with, too big to take in all at once.
She was nearly home when she noticed two men standing in front of the cash machine. Kate considered crossing to the other side of the street, but they seemed so engrossed in conversation that they probably wouldn’t notice her, anyway.
The man facing Kate was tall and well built, familiar in a disturbing sort of way. In the dim light of the cash machine, she could see he was wearing a tuxedo, and his mouth was curved into an ingenuous smile. She sensed he was aware of her presence, though he gave no sign of it.
“Take it easy now, mate,” he said in a thick Australian accent. “If it’s money you want, you’ll have it, but the machine will only give me so much in a twenty-four hour period.”
An almost dizzying sensation of mingled despair and excitement filled Kate. The voice, the accent—it couldn’t be!
It was then that Kate spotted the glint of a switchblade in the second man’s hand.
She was filled with instant ire. Thanks to Brad, she’d seen her share of crime for the day, and she was fed up. Without considering possible results, she spun her grandmother’s purse on its chain and threw it. When it struck the mugger in the side of the head, he dropped the knife. In the same instant, his knees folded and he sank to the sidewalk in an unlikely position of prayer.