Honor-Bound Lawman Read online

  Her Rancher Bodyguard

  When Laura Booth’s dangerous ex-husband escapes from prison, she turns to the one man who can protect her: Owen Hamilton. Living with the widowed former lawman—who once helped put her ex in jail—and his adorable twin daughters on their Colorado ranch is a welcome respite. For the first time, Laura feels safe—but after her troubled past, she’ll never trust her heart again.

  Owen would like to say only obligation draws him to Laura’s side. But in his gut he knows his feelings for the gentle beauty run deeper than duty—and it stops him cold. After guarding their wary hearts for years, can Owen and Laura give love a second chance?

  “Come on, Laura. I’m going to help you today.”

  Little Anna grabbed the reins and pulled Rascal in the direction of the barn.

  Once again, Laura’s heart was warmed by the sweet child. What a shame this little girl didn’t have a mother.

  Laura turned and saw Owen standing in the doorway, light filtering around him so that he was merely a shadow. How she longed to run to him and thank him for giving her one more piece of her dignity back. But to him, teaching her to ride was just one more practical part of life on the ranch. Just another part of his job.

  “Thank you again for letting me ride Rascal. I truly enjoyed it,” Laura said.

  Owen gave a jerky nod. “I’m glad. It’s a skill everyone should have, and it’s good you’re finally learning.”

  His words confirmed Laura’s previous thoughts. No matter how close she felt to him, or how much she wished for them to be friends, he was just doing his job.

  Danica Favorite loves the adventure of living a creative life. She loves to explore the depths of human nature and follow people on the journey to happily-ever-after. Though the journey is often bumpy, those bumps refine imperfect characters as they live the life God created them for. Oops, that just spoiled the ending of Danica’s stories. Then again, getting there is all the fun. Find her at danicafavorite.com.

  Books by Danica Favorite

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  Mistletoe Mommy

  Honor-Bound Lawman

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  DANICA FAVORITE

  Honor-Bound Lawman

  Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.

  —Proverbs 3:5–6

  To Princess and the roosters she’s loved: Mat, Myron, Tristan and Char.

  Thank you for the inspiration behind Henry the rooster. All rooster events in this story are based on real events, and while they were exasperating at the time, they’re kind of funny now. Here’s to the challenges of having an accidental rooster.

  And to Cowgirl: thank you for all your horse knowledge and making sure my horse details are right. I guess all these years of taking you to the arena and watching you ride through freezing winters, scorching summers and all the days in between have paid off.

  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

  Epilogue

  Dear Reader

  Excerpt from An Inconvenient Marriage by Christina Miller

  Chapter One

  Leadville, Colorado

  1884

  Owen Hamilton shielded his eyes against the sun as he tried to make out the rider coming toward him. His small ranch outside of Leadville, Colorado, was too far from town to get many visitors.

  His sister, Lena, stepped out of the house. “Were you expecting company?”

  “No. Get inside and bar the door. Keep the girls close. You know what to do.”

  Lena hesitated. “Should I get your shotgun?”

  “I’ve got my belt,” Owen said, patting his hip. “No sense in drawing trouble if there is none.”

  They’d had this conversation enough times that Lena gave a nod. “We’ll be inside. I’ll wait for the signal.”

  Owen walked off the porch and headed down the path toward the oncoming horse. Now that the rider was closer, Owen recognized him.

  He called over his shoulder at the house. “It’s just Will. Put on some coffee and see what you can round up for refreshment. I’m sure he’s tired after his long ride.”

  Though he sounded cheerful, his stomach filled with dread. The only reason Will would come to see Owen unannounced was if it was about a case. When Owen had turned in his badge several months ago, he’d made it clear he wasn’t available to help his friend. Both Will and the sheriff had tried talking him into at least remaining a consultant. But after Owen’s last mistake, he couldn’t bring himself to potentially endanger anyone else. True, on that last case, no one had died. But Owen had gotten distracted, and because of it, a woman and her children nearly died. Though everything turned out all right in the end, he still couldn’t forget how easily things could have gone bad.

  As Will dismounted, Owen walked over to greet him. “Go ahead and put your horse by the barn. There’s plenty of hay, and I’ll get some water for him.”

  “Thanks,” Will said, sounding out of breath. He must have been riding hard. And from the horse’s sweaty flanks, Owen could tell that his initial instinct that this wasn’t a social call was correct.

  “Lena is fixing some refreshments. Then you can be on your way.”

  “You haven’t even heard what I have to say.”

  “I figure I already know what you’ve got to say. When I turned in my badge, it was for good.”

  Before Will could respond, Owen’s six-year-old twin daughters, Anna and Emma, came running out the door. “Uncle Will!”

  “Pipsqueaks!” Will gathered the girls in his arms and gave them a big hug. Though Owen had no regrets in moving out to the ranch, sometimes he thought about how isolated they were out here. Living in Leadville, Owen’s children had the chance to socialize with a number of families, including Will’s. Though Will wasn’t their real uncle, their families were close enough that it felt like it at times. Leaving behind their social connections had been a small price to pay for his privacy. If he wasn’t living in town, no one could ask him to help on a case.

  Maybe it sounded selfish, but Owen knew that if his fellow lawmen could just run down the street to ask for his help, keeping his badge hung up would be near impossible. Besides, he and Lena had grown up here. Lena hated the city, and they’d both agreed that they wanted the same kind of childhood for Owen’s daughters that they’d had.

  Lena had given up so much for Owen, quitting her job as a teacher to move in with him and help take care of his daughters when his late wife left him nearly six years ago. It seemed only fair that Owen look toward Lena’s comfort. Lena had no intention of ever marrying, and after Owen’s disastrous marriage, he wasn’t too interested in finding a wife either. Which made being out
here, several miles from town, perfect for both of them.

  But as Owen watched Will laughing with his daughters, he couldn’t help but wonder if the best thing for him and Lena was not the best thing for his girls. Even though they had each other, the twins missed their friends in Leadville.

  “Are you going to spend the night?” Emma asked.

  “Why didn’t you bring Mary and Rosabelle?” Anna added. The girls loved spending time with Will’s wife, Mary, and doting on baby Rosabelle.

  Will laughed and gave the girls another squeeze. “I’m afraid I’m here on business. I can’t stay long because I need to get back. But hopefully, you can come to town soon and stay with us.”

  “Then you’d best come in and have some coffee, so you can be on your way.” Owen gave his friend a firm look. “Any business you have for me is no business I want. I told you, I’ve put that life behind me.”

  “You haven’t even heard what I have to say.”

  Will’s stubborn expression matched Owen’s. They’d been friends long enough that they could spend hours staring each other down in this manner. They’d done so often enough in the past, with each of them having their share of wins and losses. But this time, Owen wasn’t going to lose.

  “Don’t need to. I won’t turn a friend away without refreshment, but you might as well get back on that horse and go home. Nothing you have to say is of interest to me.”

  Lena stepped out of the farmhouse, wiping her hands on her apron. “Now, Owen, that’s no way to treat a friend. After all he’s done for us, you at least need to hear him out. Will, nice to see you again.”

  Growing up, Owen used to tease Lena that being a schoolteacher was her destiny because of the way she always bossed everyone around. Even having quit her job, she was still good at giving orders. Lena was also his elder by a couple of years, which meant Owen got more than his share of Lena’s commands.

  “Good to see you, too, Lena. Mary sends her regards. Even though this is a quick trip on business, there are some cookies in my saddlebags that she insisted I bring.”

  “Cookies!” The girls spoke and jumped up and down in unison. “Please, Papa, may we go and get them?”

  Owen sighed. Getting rid of Will wasn’t going to be so easy. Not that Owen wanted to get rid of his friend because entertaining guests was always a pleasurable endeavor. But business, that was another story.

  “Let’s go get Will’s horse settled in the barn. Then we can get the cookies and bring them in the house. It’ll be a nice treat for all of us.”

  His daughters didn’t need further encouragement. Laughing, they ran to the barn.

  Owen looked at his friend. “I guess that settles that, then. Go tie up your horse, and I’ll get a bucket of water.”

  Before Owen could head over to the water pump, Lena stopped him. “I don’t know why you’re being so prickly with him. You don’t even know what he wants.”

  “Doesn’t matter. He’s wearing his badge, which means it’s official business. This isn’t the first time he’s tried to drag me in on another case. I can’t do it anymore, Lena, I just can’t.”

  His sister looked at him sympathetically. “I know it’s hard. Don’t you think he knows that, too? If anyone understands the difficulties you have with going back, it would be Will.”

  “Then why is he here?” Owen shook his head as he looked at the ground. “All these years Will has been telling everyone that I’m the finest lawman he knows. But I’m not. Will has more faith in me than he should. He’s better off without me.”

  The crunch of boots on gravel made Owen turn. “I stand by my assessment of your abilities. That’s why I’m here.”

  Owen stared at his friend. “You’re wasting your time. Our friendship has blinded you to my faults.”

  “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t important.”

  Lena stepped in beside Owen. “That’s what I was just telling Owen.”

  He’d been prepared to fight Will. But with Lena on Will’s side, it seemed almost impossible to consider doing battle.

  “Fine. What do you want?”

  Will shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned back on his heels. His face squeezed tightly into an expression of a man bearing the worst kind of news. Owen had seen that expression on his friend’s face often enough, probably too often, that had Will opened with this expression, Owen wouldn’t have had to debate with himself. The words that were to come out of his mouth were irrelevant. No matter what they were, Owen would help his friend.

  “James Booth has escaped from prison.”

  The words were as shocking as if Will had pulled the gun out of his belt and shot Owen.

  “How can that be? They had him in maximum security.”

  Will’s brow furrowed. “Apparently not maximum enough. Two guards are dead, and they aren’t sure the third will last the night. When they catch him, he’ll hang for sure.”

  “When did this happen?”

  “A few hours ago. The prison sent a telegram right away. They think he’s headed to Leadville.”

  Owen’s heart sank to the pit of his stomach. This wasn’t supposed to happen. He’d promised Laura Booth, James’s ex-wife, that this wouldn’t happen. Every day, when he’d escorted her to the courthouse for James’s trial, Owen promised her that James would go to prison for the rest of his life and never bother Laura again. One more promise Owen had broken as a lawman.

  “Does she know?”

  Will nodded. “Laura’s scared, but she thinks he’ll head to Mexico, where he has connections, something he’s always talked about doing. Laura believes that James will value his freedom more than anything else. She doesn’t think he’ll risk getting caught again.”

  Unfortunately, Owen knew better. The man thought he was invincible, which meant he wouldn’t consider it a risk to come after Laura.

  “Has she forgotten how many times he’s threatened her? At the trial, at his sentencing and even when I went with her to give him divorce papers. The last time she saw him, he was like a madman, giving in graphic detail a list of all the horrible things he would do to her before he killed her in revenge for testifying against him.”

  When Owen had met Laura, she was terrified of her husband. James Booth was a womanizing charlatan, hurting everyone in his path who did not give him his way. He’d beaten Laura into submission, making her one more of his victims. But Owen, along with Will and several of their friends in Leadville, had convinced Laura to testify against James in a case where he had been accused of murdering his mistress. At the time, Laura had been hesitant to speak out against him. He had many friends and associates, and she feared that they would help him avoid the consequences of his actions.

  Owen had been the one to convince her otherwise.

  And now James had done the very thing Laura was afraid of. He’d gotten out of jail, and he was coming after her.

  Will had been right to ask Owen to come out of retirement for this. He’d made a woman a promise—that he would keep her safe.

  Hopefully, Owen would be able to keep that promise.

  * * *

  Laura Booth smoothed out the sheets on a recently vacated bed in the boardinghouse she owned, trying to eliminate every last wrinkle despite her shaking hands. A menial task, and folks often chastised her for taking on those jobs when someone else could easily do it for her. However, in the past year and a half since her husband—no, ex-husband—had gone to jail, Laura had found a new strength in life. Before James’s downfall, she’d been helpless. A spoiled heiress who had servants for everything. And now she could do it all herself.

  She ordinarily wasn’t so jittery, but the sheriff had stopped by to let her know that James had escaped from prison this morning. The news wasn’t entirely a surprise—she’d known that James had many associates, and though Laura’s purse was now completely off-limits to James, they probabl
y still felt a certain loyalty to him. Plus, who knows how much of her money he’d taken and stashed away before he’d gotten caught. Getting out of jail would be no problem for a man like James.

  None of that mattered. She was fine. Everything would be fine. She had a new routine, a new life, and it would be fine. She just had to stop thinking about James and the potential threat he posed. And get her hands to stop shaking.

  Though the sheriff had told Laura to be prepared because they thought James would be coming after her, she was trying not to worry. Many of his associates had gone to Mexico, and James would be safe from the law there. He wouldn’t risk getting caught with freedom so close at hand. Surely he wasn’t that stupid.

  Yes. She was safe. Of course, she would be safe. She had no reason to worry, no matter what the sheriff said. He didn’t know James the way she did. James was a coward, who would run rather than risk getting caught. Hopefully soon she would get her nerves to calm down. She wasn’t the woman who jumped at her own shadow anymore.

  Gathering the dirty sheets to take downstairs, Laura couldn’t help but smile at how different her life was now. While everyone in Denver had thought Laura had the perfect life back then, it had been the most miserable existence she’d ever known. She’d had money and servants, yes, but she’d also been married to a man who’d only wanted her for access to the wealth and power of her family’s fortune. When James didn’t get his way, he abused her in so many ways that Laura had quickly learned that it was easiest just to give him whatever he wanted.

  However during James’s trial, when Laura was sequestered in a hotel where only the law could reach her, she’d been forced to do most things for herself. The more she did for herself, the more she found strength in knowing that she wasn’t as helpless as James had always told her. She wasn’t stupid, incompetent, worthless or any of the other horrible names James had called her.

  One lawman in particular, Owen Hamilton, had given her the courage to do a lot of things for herself that she would have never imagined doing. Including divorcing James. Owen had even gone with her to present James with the divorce papers. A formality—however, it made Laura feel good to know that she could stand up to James once and for all.