Give me your hand.
Taking a deep breath, Reggie reached out to take Anguss hand.
I need you to turn and wrap your legs around me.
Nope. Not happening, she said, holding on to the tree with one arm, while squeezing his hand, his grip reassuring.
Come on, I know youre tougher than that. Youre a one-woman ranch owner, determined to make this ranch work.
Im tired. I cant do this anymore.
Sure you can. You have a terrific kid who needs you. Angus tugged her hand, gently guiding her to him. All you have to do is wrap your arms around me and hold on. Think of it as a great big hug. Come on. I know youve been wanting to.
Despite the desperate fear of falling to her death, Reggie couldnt resist the warmth of Anguss voice. God, she wanted to hug him right then and hold on to him for dear life.
High Country
Hideout
Elle James
www.millsandboon.co.uk
ELLE JAMES, a New York Times bestselling author, started writing when her sister challenged her to write a romance novel. She has managed a full-time job and raised three wonderful children and she and her husband even tried ranching exotic birds (ostriches, emus and rheas). Ask her and shell tell you what its like to go toe-to-toe with an angry three-hundred-and-fifty-pound bird! Elle loves to hear from fans at ellejames@earthlink.net or www.ellejames.com.
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This book is dedicated to all the Army Special Forces soldiers whove dedicated their lives and sacrificed so much to protecting our freedom.
Contents
Cover
Introduction
Title Page
About the Author
Dedication
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
Extract
Copyright
Chapter One
Almost there, Ranger. Angus Ketchum shifted the truck into low gear and glanced across the seat at the German shepherd.
The animal sat patiently in the passenger seat as they bumped across the curving gravel road. Ranger stared out the window, taking it all in without comment. Angus envied the animals calm. The fresh air and wide-open spaces would be good for the dog and hopefully for a washed-up soldier.
Before his last deployment hed dreamed of owning or working on a place just like this. Hed loved fishing, hunting and working in the outdoors. Having grown up as a foremans son, ranching was part of the cowboy he used to be.
Hard work, sweat, cattle and horses were what made his heart sing. He couldnt think of anything he liked better than riding the range; the quiet sounds of nature were all the music he needed.
When his father had retired from ranching at the ripe old age of fifty-five, Angus had been eighteen and on his way to Texas A&M University on a football scholarship. In the back of his mind, he knew hed eventually come back to ranching when he could afford to buy his own spread.
His lips twisted as he applied the brake with his left foot. Hed joined the Corps of Cadets at A&M, graduated with a degree in engineering and joined the army as a brand-new second lieutenant.
Eight years and four tours to the Middle East later, his world had changed.
Gone was his goal of making a career out of the military and retiring to his own ranch. Gone was the dream of holding a decent job where he could pit his strength and intelligence against any challenge.
When hed been discharged from the army, he had no idea what he would do, where he would go or how he would survive. Six months of surgery and rehab and he was out on his own.
If not for an old army buddy hed met on his fourth tour to Afghanistan, he probably would have ended up drowning in a bottle of booze. He didnt feel as if he fit in the real world anymore. Things had changed. He had changed.
Chuck Bolton had given Anguss name to his boss with a recommendation to hire him.