Joan Hohl
A Man Apart
The third book in the Grainger series, 2005
Dear Reader,
Welcome to another scintillating month of passionate reads. Silhouette Desire has a fabulous lineup of books, beginning with Society-Page Seduction by Maureen Child, the newest title in DYNASTIES: THE ASHTONS. You’ll love the surprises this dynamic family has in store for you…and each other. And welcome back New York Times bestselling author Joan Hohl, who returns to Desire with the long-awaited A Man Apart, the story of Mitch Grainger-a man we guarantee won’t be alone for long!
The wonderful Dixie Browning concludes her DIVAS WHO DISH series with the highly provocative Her Fifth Husband? (Don’t you want to know what happened to grooms one through four?) Cait London is back with another title in her HEARTBREAKERS series, with Total Package. The wonderful Anna DePalo gives us an alpha male to die for, in Under the Tycoon’s Protection. And finally, we’re proud to introduce author Juliet Burns as she makes her publishing debut with High-Stakes Passion.
Here’s hoping you enjoy all that Silhouette Desire has to offer you…this month and all the months to come!
Best,
Melissa Jeglinski
Senior Editor
Silhouette Desire
Melissa & Tara
Gee, it’s good to be back home again.
One
Justin Grainger was a man apart-and he liked it that way. He was content with his life. Possessing a nearly uncanny affinity for horses, he was satisfied with his work of running his isolated horse ranch in Montana.
But Justin was not a hermit or even a true loner. He enjoyed the easy camaraderie shared with his ranch hands and his foreman, Ben Daniels. And though Justin had never again wanted a woman on the property, since his failed marriage five years before, he had accepted the presence of Ben’s new young wife, Karla. She had been the former personal assistant to Justin’s brother, Mitch, who managed the family-owned gambling casino in Deadwood, South Dakota.
Justin had other family members he occasionally visited. His parents, retired now in Sedona, Arizona, were both still healthy and socially active. His sister, Beth, as yet unmarried, was off doing her fashion thing in San Francisco. And his eldest brother, Adam, headed up various family businesses from their corporate offices in Casper, Wyoming.
Adam was married to a lovely woman named Sunny, whom Justin had set out to tolerate in the name of family unity and had quickly come to admire, respect and love almost as much as his own sister. Adam and Sunny had a baby daughter, Becky, whom Justin quite simply adored.
On occasion Justin even spent recreational time with an accommodating woman-no strings attached. And that suited him fine. He claimed that horses were much easier to deal with, less contentious and argumentative, thus easier to talk to and get along with.
Although, these days, after a long, hot work-filled summer, a busy autumn, and winter just settling in, Justin was a bit restless and didn’t grumble too much when he received an urgent and demanding phone call from Mitch the week before Christmas.
“I need you to come to Deadwood,” Mitch said, in his usual straightforward way.
“Yeah? Why?” Justin replied, in his usual dry, less-than-impressed manner.
“I’m getting married, and I want you to be my best man,” Mitch shot back. “That’s why.”
As an attention getter, his brother’s explanation was a winner, Justin conceded…to himself. He never had conceded much of anything-except absolute loyalty and devotion-to any one of his siblings.
“When did you lose it, Mitch?” he asked in soft tones of commiseration.
“Lose what?” Mitch sounded slightly baffled.
Justin grinned. “Your mind, old son. You must have lost it if you’re going to take the marital plunge.”
“I haven’t lost my mind…old son,” Mitch retorted, a trace of amusement undermining his rough voice. “Trite as it might sound, it’s my heart I’ve lost.”
There was no way Justin could let his brother’s remark pass without comment. “No ‘might’ about it,” he drawled, enjoying himself. “That is trite. Sappy, too.”
Mitch laughed. “I don’t know what to tell you, bro,” he said, suddenly dead serious. “I’m way deep in love with her.”
Oh, yeah, Justin thought, hearing the heartfelt note in his brother’s voice. Mitch was seriously serious. “It’s Maggie Reynolds. Right?”
“Yes…of course.”
Of course. Justin wasn’t surprised, not really. A faint smile tugged at his lips. In fact, after all the rave reviews he’d heard from Mitch about Ms. Reynolds ever since she’d replaced Karla as his personal assistant, Justin should have been expecting the marriage announcement.
“Well?”
Mitch’s impatient voice sliced across Justin’s thoughts. “Well what?” he asked.
Mitch sighed loudly, and Justin managed to contain a burst of laughter.
“Will you be best man at my wedding?”
“Might as well,” Justin drawled. “Why change the status quo now…as I always was the best man, anyway.”
“In your dreams, maybe,” Mitch said amiably going along with the old joke. “Because you’re never gonna live long enough to see that day while you’re awake.”
“Ha! Don’t bet the casino on it.”
“As if…” Mitch made a snorting sound; he never gambled on anything, never mind the family owned casino. “You know damn well I never…”
“Yeah, yeah. I do know, so spare me the drill. When do you want me in Deadwood?”
“We’ve set the date for the first Saturday in the new year. But you could come for Christmas,” Mitch suggested, cautiously hopeful.
“I don’t think so.” Justin slanted a wry look at the tall, glittery tree placed in front of the wide living room window. The tree-along with other assorted holiday decorations-was a concession to Ben’s new bride. “You know I’m not-”
“Into Christmas,” Mitch finished for him. “Yes, I know.” He heaved a tired-sounding sigh. “This Christmas it’ll be five years since Angie took off with that sales rep. Don’t you think it’s time to put it behind you, Justin, find a nice, decent woman and-”
“Back off, Mitch,” he growled in warning, closing his mind to the memory of that bitter winter. “The only woman I’ll be looking to find won’t be either too nice or too decent, just ready and willing.”
“Tsk, tsk,” Mitch said, clicking his tongue in disapproval. “I do hope that if you’re thinking of looking while you’re here in Deadwood, you’ll be discreet about it.”
“Don’t want me to shock the sensibilities of the future missus, hmm?” Justine taunted.
“My future missus and Ben’s missus and Adam’s missus,” Mitch taunted right back. “Not to mention the sensibilities of our mother and sister.”
“Ouch.” Justin laughed. “Okay. I’ll be extra discreet…even circumspect.”
Mitch chuckled. “Whatever.”
“By the way, is Karla going to be matron of honor?”
“Well…yes, but there’ll be two of them.”
“Two what?”
“Well, two attendants,” Mitch said. “Maggie’s best friend will be coming from Philadelphia via Nebraska to be Maggie’s maid of honor.”
“Philadelphia via Nebraska?”
“She lives in Philadelphia,” Mitch explained. “That’s where Maggie’s from, you know.”
“Yeah, I know, but…where does Nebraska come in?”
“Hannah’s originally from Nebraska, and she’ll be visiting her family before coming on to Deadwood.”
“Hannah, huh?” Justin had an immediate image of an old-fashioned female to fit the old-fashioned name-prim, proper, virginal and probably plain.