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Back The Last Goodnight Save as PDF
Chapters (50)
  1. Also by
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. CHAPTER ONE
  5. CHAPTER TWO
  6. CHAPTER THREE
  7. CHAPTER FOUR
  8. CHAPTER FIVE
  9. CHAPTER SIX
  10. CHAPTER SEVEN
  11. CHAPTER EIGHT
  12. CHAPTER NINE
  13. CHAPTER TEN
  14. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  15. CHAPTER TWELVE
  16. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  17. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  18. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  19. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  20. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  21. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  22. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  23. CHAPTER TWENTY
  24. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  25. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  33. CHAPTER THIRTY
  34. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  35. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  43. CHAPTER FORTY
  44. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  45. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  46. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  47. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  49. EPILOGUE
  50. Teaser Chapter

“Ellie,” she said in a voice that made him think of clean sheets and his big, four-poster bed.

That was the moment Kade knew he was in trouble.

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER THREE

ELLIE DROVE THROUGH THE BIG TIMBER GATE THAT MARKED THE entrance to Kade Logan’s property. The sign at the top, between two racks of sun-bleached elk antlers, read DIAMOND BAR RANCH.

After she’d met Logan yesterday, Ellie had done some research. The man owned over 19,000 deeded acres plus 18,000 grazing acres near the tiny town of Coffee Springs. The ranch house and pastures sat in a valley surrounded by forested mountains that rose up from the valley floor.

As she drove the last few miles down a well-maintained gravel road, Ellie looked up at the swath of pine trees stretching all the way up to snow-capped peaks. The grass in the valley had turned golden brown, and the leaves on the aspen trees shimmered in red and orange on the sides of the hills.

Fenced pastures ran along both sides of the road, and as she neared the house, she saw wooden corrals, a few log cabins, and several barns clustered around a newer structure fashioned of stone and chinked square timbers under a dark brown metal roof.

The ranch was beautiful, like something out of the old West. Except for the house, which, with its huge, plate-glass windows, tall stone chimneys, and inviting covered porches, appeared to be no more than twenty years old.

Ellie pulled her rented white Jeep Cherokee around to the back of the house, figuring the temporary cook she was pretending to be wouldn’t likely arrive at the front door. She made her way up onto the back porch and knocked, stepping back when a slender young woman with glossy hair in a loose black braid opened the door.

“You must be Ms. Bowman,” the young woman said.

“I’m Ellie Bowman, the new cook.” She smiled. “At least until Mabel gets back. You must be Maria.”

“Sí, I’m Maria.” She pulled the door open wider. “Please come in. It’s good to meet you.”

“Good to meet you, as well, and please just call me Ellie.” As she stepped into the steamy interior, delicious aromas drifted toward her. “Something sure smells good.”

“That’s the meat and onions I fried for the casserole. It’s all finished, in the pan and ready to go into the oven. The men will be in before dark for supper.”

“What can I do to help?”

“I think Señor Kade expected you to come in through the front,” Maria said. She was in her early twenties, a Latina or perhaps part Native American. “He wanted to see you in his study before you settled in, but something came up, and he was called away. He said to tell you he’d be back soon.”

“Is that what I should call him? Señor Kade?”