“I like being married to you. It’s convenient.”
Eva lifted her chin rebelliously.
Raven barked a laugh. “Not as convenient as you might think if we continue to ride the stage. We’d have to sleep together to keep up appearances, sweetheart.”
Damn, she hadn’t thought that far ahead. Eva drew herself up to full stature. She couldn’t resist a challenge.
“I can endure sleeping together if you can, sweetheart,” she countered defiantly. “Turn around, please.”
“What for?”
“So I can retrieve the money I stuffed down my dress.”
Raven grinned scampishly and shook his head. “Being married and all, there’s no reason for me not to watch….”
The Bounty Hunter and the Heiress
Harlequin® Historical
Praise for Carol Finch
“Carol Finch is known for her lightning-fast, roller-coaster-ride adventure romances that are brimming over with a large cast of characters and dozens of perilous escapades.”
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews
McCavett’s Bride
“For wild adventures, humor and Western atmosphere, Finch can’t be beat. She fires off her quick-paced novels with the crack of a rifle and creates the atmosphere of the Wild West through laugh-out-loud dialogue and escapades that keep you smiling.”
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews
The Ranger’s Woman
“Finch delivers her signature humor, along with a big dose of colorful Texas history, in a love and laughter romp.”
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews
Lone Wolf’s Woman
“As always, Finch provides frying-pan-into-the-fire action that keeps the pages flying, then spices up her story with not one, but two romances, sensuality and strong emotions.”
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews
The Bounty Hunter and the Heiress
CAROL FINCH
TORONTO • NEW YORK • LONDON
AMSTERDAM • PARIS • SYDNEY • HAMBURG
STOCKHOLM • ATHENS • TOKYO • MILAN • MADRID
PRAGUE • WARSAW • BUDAPEST • AUCKLAND
This book is dedicated to my husband Ed and our children,
Christie, Durk, Jill, Jon, Shawnna and Kurt. And to our
grandchildren, Brooklynn, Kennedy, Blake, Livia, Dillon
and Harleigh. Hugs and kisses!
Available from Harlequin® Historical and CAROL FINCH
Call of the White Wolf #592
Bounty Hunter’s Bride #635
Oklahoma Bride # 686
Texas Bride #711
The Last Honest Outlaw #732
The Ranger’s Woman #748
Lone Wolf’s Woman #778
*The Ranger #805
*Fletcher’s Woman #832
McCavett’s Bride #852
Cooper’s Woman #897
The Bounty Hunter and the Heiress #909
Other works include
Silhouette Special Edition
Not Just Another Cowboy #1242
Soul Mates #1320
Harlequin American Romance
Cupid and the Cowboy #1055
Harlequin Duets
Fit To Be Tied #36
A Regular Joe #45
Mr. Predictable #62
The Family Feud #72
Lonesome Ryder? #81
Restaurant Romeo #81
*Fit To Be Frisked #105
*Mr. Cool Under Fire #105
DON’T MISS THESE OTHER
NOVELS AVAILABLE NOW:
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Her unhappy marriage over, Lady Belinda Felsham plans to enjoy herself. An outrageous affair with breathtakingly handsome Major Ashe Reynard is exactly what she needs! Follow Those Scandalous Ravenhursts in the second book of Louise Allen’s sensual miniseries.
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A Frenchwoman in London, Juliette Bergerine is unexpectedly thrown together in hiding with Sir Douglas Drury after they are mysteriously attacked. As desire gives way to a deeper emotion, what will become of Juliette’s reputation?
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Peacemaker for the MacLerie clan, Duncan is manipulated into marrying the exiled “Robertson Harlot.” Despite shadows lurking over their union, Duncan discovers a love for Marian, and will stop at nothing to protect her…. The third in Terri Brisbin’s Highlander miniseries. Honor, promises and dark secrets fuel this medieval tale of clan romance.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter One
Denver, Colorado
1880s
Dressed in her breeches and shirt, Evangeline Hallowell paced back and forth across the Aubusson rug in the spacious study of her home. At irregular intervals, she paused to glance anxiously toward the hallway, then at the window. Muttering a curse, she wheeled around to wear another rut in the imported carpet.
Her younger sister, Lydia, had left earlier that afternoon and she hadn’t said where she was going or when she’d be back. Now it was dark and Evangeline was worried. She had the uneasy feeling that something was amiss.
A loud wail erupted near the front door. The sound echoed through the tiled foyer and bounced off the walls. Evangeline whirled around to race to the study door.
She stared incredulously at Lydia’s disheveled coiffure, tear-stained eyes and puffy face. “Dear God, what happened to you?”
Dirt soiled Lydia’s expensive pink gown. The pristine lace—that was now a dingy shade of brown—was snagged with leaves and twigs and drooped noticeably over the torn ruffles.
“Oh, Eva, I’m such a fool!” Lydia burst out as she flung herself into Eva’s arms.
The sobs and howls commenced in earnest—the outpouring of emotion that had apparently sustained Lydia until she reached the safe haven of their lavish mansion. She clung to Eva as if she was a lifeline and she proceeded to bawl her head off.
Eva let her sister vent her anguish for several minutes before guiding her to the sofa that sat perpendicular to the bookshelves that stretched from floor to ceiling of the north wall. Although Lydia refused to release her hand—and nearly squeezed off the blood flow to her fingers—Eva didn’t complain. She had spent years nursing Lydia through one melodramatic, emotional ordeal after another because she had assumed the role of mother, father and older sister.
This high drama, however, seemed to be more serious than usual for Lydia.
“You were right about him,” Lydia blubbered, then dragged in a shuddering breath. “I was an imbecile to believe him.”
Him, Eva presumed, was the suave, smooth-talking gentleman who had been courting Lydia and escorting her to Denver’s elite social functions for the past three months.
Eva tensed as she reassessed her sister’s tattered gown. “If Gordon Carter forced himself on you—”
Lydia flung up a trembling hand that sported three broken fingernails. “Worse!”
Eva’s dark brows elevated. “Worse than ravishing you?”
Lydia bobbed her head, sending shiny waves of auburn hair tumbling from her lopsided coiffure to cascade haphazardly over her shoulders. “He broke my heart, stole my buggy and my favorite horse and he swiped my money!” she cried in distress.
