The Pirate & The Adventurer & The Cowboy

including a couple of cats. Wedding set for one month from today. Will need lots of help as Gideon insists on the works. Will return to Seattle on Monday to start interviewing caterers and shop for gown. Wait until you see the earrings I'm going to wear.

    Love,

    Sarah

    ^

v2.0

    July 2006

The Cowboy

Ladies and Legends 3

Jayne Ann Krentz

    "Tell me you missed me, Maggie. Just a little."

    She shook her head mutely.

    "Admit it," Rafe urged, moving a little closer in the water. "Give me that much, honey."

    "No." The single word was a soft gasp of dismay. He was only inches from her now. His hands were on either side of her, trapping her.

    "You remember how good it was, don't you, love?" He kissed her fleetingly again, closing the distance between them until there wasn't any at all. "I didn't go looking for anyone else because I knew it would be useless. You knew there wasn't anyone else for you, either, didn't you?"

    "Oh, Rafe." She muttered his name in a soft cry that was part protest, part acceptance of a truth that could not be denied.

    "Yeah, Maggie, love. You do remember, don't you?"

    Rafe was the only man who had ever been able to do this to her. Nothing had changed.

    CONTENTS

    Prologue

    1

    2

    3

    4

    5

    6

    7

    8

    9

    10

    11

ISBN 1-55166-494-1

THE COWBOY

Copyright © 1990 by Jayne Ann Krentz.

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, MIRA Books, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

MIRA and the Star Colophon are trademarks used under license and registered in Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, United States Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries.

Prologue

    ^ »

    "M argaret, promise me you'll be careful." Sarah Fleetwood Trace, struggling to get out of her frothy wedding gown with the help of her two best friends, paused and frowned. For an instant the joyous glow that had infused her all day vanished. She looked at Margaret Lark, her fey hazel eyes clouded with sudden concern.

    Margaret smiled reassuringly as she carefully lifted Sarah's veil and set it aside. "Don't worry about me, Sarah, I'll be fine. I promise to look both ways before crossing the street, count calories and not talk to strange men."

    Katherine Inskip Hawthorne, concentrating on the row of tiny buttons that followed Sarah's spine, flashed a brief grin. "Don't get carried away, Margaret. You're allowed to talk to a few strange men. Just exercise some discretion."

    Sarah groaned, her golden-brown hair moving in a heavy wave. Diamonds set in an old-fashioned gold design glittered in her ears. "This isn't a joke, you two. Margaret, I have a feeling…" She nibbled her lip in concentration. "I just want you to be careful for a while, all right?"

    "Careful?" Margaret arched her brows in amusement. "Sarah, you know I'm always careful. What could possibly happen to me while you're on your honeymoon?"

    "I don't know, that's the whole problem," Sarah said in exasperation. "I told you, I just have this feeling."

    "Forget your feeling. This is your wedding day." Kate undid the last of the buttons, green eyes sparkling with laughter. "Your famous intuition probably isn't functioning normally at the moment. All the excitement, champagne and rampaging hormones have undoubtedly gotten it temporarily off track."

    Margaret grinned as she hung up the wedding gown. "I don't know about Sarah's hormones, but I think it's a good bet Gideon's are rampaging. The last time I saw him, he was looking very impatient. We'd better get you changed and on your way, Sarah, before your husband comes looking for you. He's very good at finding things."

    Sarah hesitated, her worried gaze still on Margaret, and then she relaxed back into the glorious smile she had worn for the past few hours. "Having a big wedding was Gideon's idea. He'll just have to put up with the necessary delays."

    "Gideon doesn't strike me