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  CRITICS ARE RAVING ABOUT LEIGH GREENWOOD!

  “Leigh Greenwood continues to be a shining star of the genre!”

  —The Literary Times

  “Leigh Greenwood remains one of the forces to be reckoned with in the Americana romance sub-genre.”

  —Affaire de Coeur

  “Greenwood’s books are bound to become classics.”

  —Rendezvous

  “Leigh Greenwood NEVER disappoints. The characters are finely drawn . . . always, always, a guaranteed good read!”

  —Heartland Critiques

  THE MAVERICKS

  “Fans of Greenwood’s Cowboys series will be delighted with this latest installment. He delivers an action-packed story filled with tender moments.”

  —Fresh Fiction

  THE RELUCTANT BRIDE

  “Leigh Greenwood always provides one of the year’s best Western romances, but his latest tale may be the best in an illustrious career. . . . Once again Mr. Greenwood will have one of the sub-genre top guns of 2005.”

  —Harriet Klausner

  THE INDEPENDENT BRIDE

  “Leigh Greenwood unfolds his Westerns like an artist. . . . Like his other books, The Independent Bride should be placed among the Western classics.”

  —Rendezvous

  BORN TO LOVE

  “The characters are complex and add a rich element to this Western romance.”

  —Romantic Times

  RAVES FOR THE COWBOYS SERIES!

  JAKE

  “Only a master craftsman can create so many strong characters and keep them completely individualized.”

  —Rendezvous

  WARD

  “Few authors write with the fervor of Leigh Greenwood. Once again [Greenwood] has created a tale well worth opening again and again!”

  —Heartland Critiques

  BUCK

  “Buck is a wonderful Americana Romance!”

  —Affaire de Coeur

  CHET

  “Chet has it all! Romance and rustlers, gunfighters and greed . . . romance doesn’t get any better than this!”

  —The Literary Times

  SEAN

  “This book rivals the best this author has written so far. . . . Western romance at its finest!”

  —The Literary Times

  PETE

  “Pete is another stroke on Leigh Greenwood’s colorful canvas of the Old West. The plotting is brilliant and the conflict strong.”

  —Rendezvous

  DREW

  “Sexual tension and endless conflict make for a fast-paced adventure readers will long remember.”

  —Rendezvous

  LUKE

  “Another winner by Leigh Greenwood!”

  —Romantic Times

  MATT

  “The Cowboys are keepers, from the first book to the last!”

  —The Literary Times

  LOSING CONTROL

  “I never said I didn’t want to kiss you.” Damn! That was the last thing he should have said. Why was he losing control now?

  “Then will you kiss me?”

  The logical and safe answer was to go to bed and refuse even to talk about it any longer. Her father wouldn’t like it if he knew. His uncle and cousin would run him out of Boston, and Lonnie would shoot him. He would be leaving before long, so a sensible person wouldn’t do anything to cause trouble.

  But he was tired of being sensible, of following the rules, and getting nowhere. He wanted to kiss her. He’d been thinking about it almost from the time he first saw her.

  Other books by Leigh Greenwood:

  THE RELUCTANT BRIDE

  THE INDEPENDENT BRIDE

  COLORADO BRIDE

  REBEL ENCHANTRESS

  SCARLET SUNSET, SILVER NIGHTS

  THE CAPTAIN’S CARESS

  ARIZONA EMBRACE

  SEDUCTIVE WAGER

  SWEET TEMPTATION

  WICKED WYOMING NIGHTS

  WYOMING WILDFIRE

  The Night Riders series:

  TEXAS HOMECOMING

  TEXAS BRIDE

  BORN TO LOVE

  The Cowboys series:

  THE MAVERICKS

  JAKE

  WARD

  BUCK

  DREW

  SEAN

  CHET

  MATT

  PETE

  LUKE

  The Seven Brides series:

  ROSE

  FERN

  IRIS

  LAUREL

  DAISY

  VIOLET

  LILY

  A Texan’s Honor

  LEIGH GREENWOOD

  DORCHESTER PUBLISHING

  Published by

  Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc.

  200 Madison Avenue

  New York, NY 10016

  Copyright © 2006 by Leigh Greenwood

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, without the written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Trade ISBN: 978-1-4285-1711-0

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-4285-0447-9

  First Dorchester Publishing, Co., Inc. edition: July 2006

  The “DP” logo is the property of Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc.

  Printed in the United States of America.

  Visit us online at www.dorchesterpub.com.

  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 Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  FAMILY GENEALOGY

  Jake Maxwell m. Isabelle Davenport 1866

  Eden Maxwell b. 1868

  Ward Dillon m. Marina Scott 1861

  Tanner b. 1862

  Mason b. 1869

  Lee b. 1872

  Conway b. 1874

  Webb b. 1875

  Buck Hobson (Maxwell) m. Hannah Grossek 1872

  Wesley b. 1874

  Elsa b. 1877

  Drew Townsend m. Cole Benton 1874

  Celeste b. 1879

  Christine b. 1881

  Clair b. 1884

  Sean O'Ryan m. Pearl Belladonna (Agnes Satterwaite) 1876

  Elise b. 1866 (Pearl’s daughter by previous marriage)

  Kevin b. 1877

  Flint b. 1878

  Jason b. 1880

  Chet Attmore (Maxwell) m. Melody Jordan 1880

  Jake Maxwell II (Max) b. 1882

  Nick b. 1884

  Bret Nolan m. Emily Abercrombie 1881

  Sam b. 1882

  Joseph b. 1884

  Elizabeth b. 1885

  Matt Haskins m. Ellen Donovan
1883

  Toby b. 1868 (adopted)

  Hank Hollender b. 1870 (adopted)

  Orin b. 1872 (adopted)

  Noah b. 1878 (adopted)

  Tess b. 1881 (adopted)

  Matthew b. 1885

  Brodie b. 1886

  Pete Jernigan m. Anne Thompson 1886

  Mary Anne b. 1888

  Kane b. 1889

  Kent b. 1889

  Will Haskins m. Idalou Ellsworth 1886

  Luke Attmore m. Valeria Badenburg 1887

  Lucas b. 1888

  Valentine b. 1889

  Hawk Maxwell m. Suzette Chatingy 1888

  Zeke Maxwell m. Josie Morgan 1888

  A Texan’s Honor

  Chapter One

  Boston, 1881

  Bret Nolan approached his uncle Silas Abbott’s office with barely concealed anticipation, a smile threatening to banish his habitual frown. He was certain he was being called in for the long-promised but often postponed meeting about the changes Bret had proposed for the company.

  He had worked in his mother’s family’s shipping company, Abbott & Abercrombie, ever since leaving Texas six years ago. During that time he’d carefully studied the inner workings of the transportation industry as the last of the great clipper ships gave way to steam power. He had spent more than a year developing a detailed plan of changes the company needed to make to remain competitive into the twentieth century.

  He was doubly excited because the changes would mean bigger roles for him and for his cousin Rupert, who supported him. He wished Rupert were here today, but he was in Providence, Rhode Island, inventorying the contents of Abbott & Abercrombie’s warehouses. It was the kind of job that reminded the two men they were poor relations.

  “Your uncle said you were to go right in,” Silas Abbott’s secretary said with a broad smile when Bret entered her office. “He’s anxious to see you.”

  Bret’s steps grew lighter. His uncle was never anxious to see him. In fact, seeing Bret usually gave him gas. He must have grasped the value of Bret’s plan. Finally, he would begin to see his nephew as a valued member of the company, not merely the son of a disinherited sister and her rabble-rousing husband who was thoughtless enough to get himself killed in circumstances that brought unwelcome publicity to the family.

  Bret knocked on the door of his uncle’s office. The words Come in sounded so welcoming, he smiled.

  “You wanted to see me, sir.”

  “Come in and have a seat,” his uncle said.

  Silas was in such a sunny mood, Bret began to feel uneasy. He felt certain his recommendations were sound, but he’d expected his uncle to argue every point. Silas Abbott liked to think all good ideas were his own. When they weren’t, he’d talk in circles, making and discarding suggestions, until he arrived back at the starting point, convinced he had come up with the solution himself.

  “How have you been keeping yourself?” Silas asked. “We haven’t had a chance to see much of each other lately.”

  Bret grew even more apprehensive. His uncle never wanted anything to do with him, had only hired him because Bret’s grandmother had insisted he give Bret a job. Uncle Silas paid Bret barely enough to live on, a measure of his displeasure at having his hand forced.

  “I have nothing to complain about,” Bret lied. “Working ten hours a day six days a week doesn’t leave much time for me to find trouble . . . or it to find me.” He could tell from the twitch of his uncle’s eyebrows that the remark had angered him, but Bret was tired of seeing his uncle and his son, Joseph, leave the office while he and Rupert still had several hours of work to do. Even the regular staff went home before they did.

  “Honest work never hurt anyone,” his uncle said. “It’s how you get ahead.”

  But Bret hadn’t gotten ahead. Everybody in the office knew he and Rupert could work circles around Joseph, yet Joseph continued to get promoted, with commensurate raises in salary, while Rupert remained a glorified errand boy and Bret an equally exalted clerk. Bret had tried very hard to control the bitterness that burned in his stomach like an acid, but it had become increasingly difficult in the face of Joseph’s unwarranted promotions.

  “I don’t mind. I like the work.” Okay, he was lying, but telling the truth wouldn’t get him anywhere. This was his chance for a real future. It was worth a little white lie.

  “Shepherd tells me you’ve done a very good job,” his uncle said. “In fact, he can’t seem to stop talking about you.”

  Unlike Silas, Shepherd wasn’t one to withhold praise where it was due.

  “I’m glad he thinks I’ve been helpful.”

  When he first came from Texas, Bret had had difficulty making meaningless conversation. There was no such thing in the Maxwell household where he’d been raised. Jake was brusque, Isabelle direct, and the other orphans were just waiting for a chance to put somebody down. As long as what they said was fair, Jake and Isabelle let them say pretty much what they thought. They believed all the boys had a right to be heard, that their feelings should be respected as far as possible, and that treatment should be fair. But most of all, they’d loved every one of their eleven adopted kids. The orphans had worked hard, played hard, and occasionally fought hard, but each was a loved and valued part of the family. They knew they belonged.

  Bret hadn’t expected his mother’s family to feel the same way about him, but reality had been a brutal shock. His father’s sister had welcomed him back, but she was involved in her causes and was seldom around. Only his grandmother’s attention enabled him to keep his tongue between his teeth. She had encouraged him to be patient, said that his hard work and intelligence would pay off someday. Today, he hoped was that day.

  “I called you in because I have a very special assignment for you,” his uncle said.

  “I was hoping we could discuss the suggestions I gave you. It wouldn’t take more than a few minutes to—”

  “I’m still studying them.” Silas tried unsuccessfully to hide his irritation at Bret’s interruption.

  “I doubt you’re aware of it,” his uncle went on, “but Ezra Abercrombie had a brother who went West. Samuel was something of an embarrassment to the family, so Ezra was relieved to be rid of him. But apparently their father had a change of heart before he died.”

  Amos Abercrombie, the ninety-three-year-old only son of one of the founders of Abbott & Abercrombie, had died the previous year and had been buried with all the pomp and recognition the city fathers of Boston could give him.

  “It came as quite a surprise to Ezra to learn his father had left a quarter interest in the firm to Samuel in his will.”

  Bret could see how that would upset his uncle, but he didn’t see what it could have to do with him. The Abercrombies were a proud family who didn’t waste time on poor relations. He doubted they’d let him in the door.

  “It seems the old renegade has managed to make a fortune in cows somewhere in that godforsaken state of Texas,” Silas grumbled. “You ought to know all about that sort of thing.”

  Bret did know all about that sort of thing, and his family never let him forget it. Whenever one of them made any slur about the South or the West, they always turned to him as though he’d been personally responsible for the Civil War as well as anyone wanting to settle west of the Mississippi River. The fact that he would not back down in his admiration for Jake and Isabelle was held to be proof that he was not yet rehabilitated.

  “How does that affect me?” Bret asked.

  “You can keep twenty-five percent of our company stock from ending up in the hands of some ignorant cowpoke.”

  Bret had to force down a spurt of anger before he could reply. “How am I supposed to do that?”

  “Samuel is dying. He wants this daughter—his only child—to move to Boston. The only problem is the old turncoat has given the girl such a poor image of the Abercrombies, she refuses to budge. The only person she remembers favorably is Joseph, so Samuel wants us to take her in. I want you to bring her to Boston be
fore she gets any foolish ideas about marrying a cowpoke.”

  Bret wasn’t the least bit flattered by this very special assignment. His uncle had chosen him to go to Texas because he thought everybody else was too good to be subjected to the rigors of entering a state he was convinced was populated almost entirely by thieves and murderers.

  “It’s your job to make sure she gets here in an unmarried state. Until she’s safely settled in Boston, it’s your only job.”

  “I can’t force her against her will.”

  “Who said anything about forcing her?” his uncle asked. “You lived among those people for years. You understand them. If you want me to believe you’re smart enough to figure out a better way to run my business, you can begin by delivering that girl without a husband in tow.”

  “Sons and daughters of those people don’t always do what their parents want.”

  “That would serve Samuel right,” Silas said with a nasty smile. “He never did what anybody wanted, but we can’t afford to let those shares go out of the family. You get her here, and I’ll find somebody to marry her.”

  “Who?” She might be heir to a quarter of the company, but Bret couldn’t see one of the Abbotts or Abercrombies marrying anybody who hadn’t been born into Boston society.