Four half-sisters create the family they’ve always dreamed of in this enchanting quartet from bestselling authors Maisey Yates, Nicole Helm, Jackie Ashenden, and Caitlin Crews.
The Hathaway sisters might have grown up apart, but when they agree to move to Jasper Creek, Oregon, to revitalize their grandfather’s farm, it seems a straightforward decision. Until they meet their neighborhood cowboys…
Sweet-natured Teddy has never met a man worth taking a risk on, until now. Tomboy Joey has more affinity with farm equipment than men until a brooding cowboy changes her mind. Prickly baker Georgie can’t resist the temptation of the most forbidden cowboy of all, and sparks fly between ceramicist Elliot and the grumpy single-dad rancher next door.
The sisters’ feelings are anything but simple, but with the love and support of each other, they discover that a cowboy might be the sweetest thing of all about coming home.
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PROLOGUE
It was never comfortable for people when
four sets of violet eyes zeroed in on them with the level of intensity the
Hathaway sisters could manage.
A fact the half-sisters had learned when
they’d first met at summer camp, thanks to their families, who’d been careful
to give the girls the opportunity to meet each other, without the pressure of
having to become friends or even real sisters.
But sisters they had become that first day
at the age of thirteen. In each other, they’d found kindred spirits. Not just
in the unusual color of their eyes, but in the depths of their passions, and in
their driving need to forge family out of the fragments their father had left
behind when he’d impregnated all their mothers at different points in the same
year.
So that, as adults, though they lived in
different parts of the country, they were the best of friends. Sisters, through
and through, and when Georgie had informed them of Grandpa Jack’s heart attack
in Jasper Creek, the rest had rushed to the small Oregon town to see what they
could do.
Grandpa Jack looked at each of them with
his usual squinty-eyed suspicion. Though their father had never made any effort
to be a part of his daughters’ lives, Grandpa Jack had always made it clear
he’d be there if needed.
But not to expect him to be cheerful about
it.
“Didn’t all have to come,” he grumbled,
shifting in his hospital bed.
“Well, of course we did. And we’ll stay
until you’re on the mend,” Teddy said, patting his hand. The squinty-eyed
suspicion became a full-fledged scowl as he pulled his hand away.
While Teddy was all about gestures of
affection, Grandpa Jack was decidedly not.
Which made the fact Georgie was the only
local granddaughter a blessing as she shared the discomfort with such
goings-on. He turned his glare to her. “Didn’t have to call them.”
Georgie shrugged.
“She was right to,” Joey said firmly,
meeting Grandpa Jack’s scowl with her own. “We won’t hear another complaint
about it. A waste of time. You know how stubborn we are.”
Grandpa Jack grunted.
Elliot smirked. “Wonder where we got it.”
A nurse knocked on the door, then poked her
head in. “Sorry, girls, it’s time to head home. Visiting hours are over.”
“Girls,” Elliot muttered under her breath
with a considerable amount of disdain for the word.
But Teddy pressed a kiss to Grandpa Jack’s
wrinkled forehead, Elliot touched his shoulder, and Georgie and Joey hovered at
the door until they all left the room, chorusing goodbyes.
“I hate leaving him all alone,” Teddy said
as Elliot linked arms with her. Teddy reached out and took Joey’s arm.
“He’ll be home soon enough,” Joey reassured
her. She gave Georgie an apologetic shrug, then linked arms with her too, so
they were a unit as they walked out of the hospital into the cool spring
evening.
“He’s not going to let you fuss over him,
Teddy. It isn’t his way,” Georgie said pragmatically as they walked to her
truck.
Teddy frowned. “I think you misjudge my
tenacity.”
Elliot’s eyebrows winged up. “Do we?”
Teddy wrinkled her nose, but didn’t argue
with Elliot.
“I found an Airbnb closer to the hospital,”
Georgie said, sounding tired as she climbed into the driver’s seat. “I knew
this wouldn’t be a quick visit and we’d need more room than Felix and I have.”
Georgie had grown up with her half brother right here in Jasper Creek.
The four sisters climbed into Georgie’s
truck. Whatever belongings they’d packed were strapped into the bed of the
truck from when Georgie had picked Joey and Teddy up at the airport this
afternoon, after Elliot had driven down from Portland.
Georgie drove onto the highway, and it was
only about fifteen minutes later she parked in front of a pretty little
farmhouse just outside of Jasper Creek.
“This place is amazing,” Teddy said.
“Much better taken care of than the main
house at Grandpa Jack’s property,” Georgie returned.
The women got out, grabbed what they’d need
for the night, then headed inside.
“I’ll make us some dinner,” Teddy said,
already moving for the kitchen.
“The host said she left some things for us
to eat when we arrived,” Georgie replied, dropping her stuff in the front room.
They all descended on the kitchen, which
was quaint and old-fashioned—something that suited all four women to the bone.
On the table were a variety of baked goods.
“I found a teapot and some tea,” Teddy
said.
“Scones and sweet rolls for dinner sounds
good to me,” Joey said, already unwrapping the plate of baked goods and digging
in.
Elliot found plates and set the table,
shoving one at Joey as she’d already plowed through three-fourths of a scone.
“Do you think Grandpa Jack is stressed
about the ranch? And that’s what caused this?” Teddy asked, fiddling with the
stove.
“I think he’s an old man who eats poorly
and smokes cigars regularly. But…” Georgie sighed.
“He’s been talking about selling off the
last piece of land to Colt West next door. He’d keep the
cabin and about an acre around it, but the
rest would go to Colt.”
“Even the main house?” Joey asked, as she
licked crumbs from her fingers.
“You could hardly call it that these days.
It’s falling apart at the seams.”
Teddy frowned. “That’s just not right.”
Georgie shrugged. “He hasn’t lived in that
house in decades. He’s a single, old, grumpy man. He’s finally accepting he
can’t really take care of the ranch. Why not sell?”
“It’s our legacy,” Joey said. Then she
looked around the table. “Isn’t it?”
“It’s our absent father’s legacy,” Elliot
returned. “Assuming he’s still alive.”
All eyes turned to Georgie, who was the
only one who’d ever had any contact with Mickey Hathaway. She lifted her
shoulders. “Far as I know.”
Silence filled the room until Teddy’s
teakettle began to whistle. She poured tea for everyone, then took a seat at
the kitchen table. As far as she was concerned, this was all fate. The timing,
the chance of all four of them coming here at a point in their lives where
they got to decide what came next.
“We’ve always talked about how much we
wanted to live there, so why don’t we?”
“Why don’t we what?” Joey replied, mouth
full with her last bite of scone.
“Live there. Do what we all love to do. Put
together some kind of…business. Honey, eggs,” Teddy said, pointing to herself.
“Produce,” she said, pointing to Joey. “Ceramics.” Elliot’s specialty. “Our
sweet Georgie’s baked goods,” she said, grinning at Georgie’s negative reaction
to being called sweet.
“Most of us are already selling our wares
anyway. Why don’t we do it here? The four of us.”
It would be more than the year her mother
wanted, more than just learning some independence. It would be actually,
hopefully permanently, forging that independence. Well, with her sisters. Which
suited Teddy better. She didn’t want to be alone. She wanted to be a part of a
family. Her family.
“You’d move here all the way from Maine?”
Joey asked dubiously. “Leave your mother?”
Teddy sniffed. “I can leave my mother.”
Then she wrinkled her nose. Subterfuge wasn’t her
strong suit.
“She wants me to move out anyway.”
“Why?” her sisters demanded, offended on
her behalf.
“She thinks I need a year of independence.
To find my own way. Apparently twenty-five is too old to have always lived with
your mother, according to her.”
When none of her sisters argued, she glared
at them. “You agree with her?”
Elliot shrugged. “I don’t disagree with
her.”
“Well, anyway, this would solve that,
wouldn’t it? We can fix up the house. I’m sure some people need bee removal
around here, so I’ll start a new hive. Buy new chickens. Elliot can drive her
ceramics van down here. Joey, you could start the farm of your dreams with
local produce and flowers—a brand-new challenge, all yours. Georgie, you can
design the baking kitchen you’ve been planning since childhood. And we’ll be
close enough to Grandpa to help him—and far enough away he won’t beat us away
with sticks.”
They looked at Teddy, varying looks of
consideration and concern on their faces. But as the idea took shape in Teddy’s
mind, she knew it was exactly right. This wasn’t some new dream out of left
field; it was an old dream.
And if she had to be independent, why not
make that old dream a reality?
“We always wanted to live in one place.
Like a real family,” Teddy said. She would have reached out and grabbed all
their hands if she had three herself. As it was, she only looked at them
imploringly. “Sisters. Live together. Work together. It’s the dream. Maybe
something good can come out of Grandpa’s health scare. If Grandpa lets us live
in the house, and we pool whatever our savings are together, it’s not a
financial stretch. Elliot and I can keep our independent businesses running
while we get our joint business set up. Then we split the farm profit four
ways.”
“Profit. That is optimistic at best,”
Georgie said.
“You know I am all about optimism,” Teddy
returned.
A wind chime tinkled from the front room,
which was odd considering there shouldn’t be enough wind to make it move here
inside.
“Did someone leave the door open?” Joey
asked, pushing back from the table. The girls got up and walked toward the
door, which was indeed open.
“Look at that,” Elliot said.
They stepped out onto the porch together.
Beyond the dogwood in the front just beginning to bloom, the sun was setting in
a riot of colors—bright magentas, deep oranges, fading into lavenders and
lighter pinks.
“It’s the most beautiful sunset I’ve ever
seen.”
“That’s a tad dramatic, Teddy,” Georgie
said gently, though her voice held all the awe of someone who agreed, but would
never admit it.
“We have to do it,” Teddy said, her voice almost
a whisper. “This is a sign. Don’t you believe in fate?”
Elliot nodded. “Yeah. I’m mobile. I go
where I please. Why not right here?”
Georgie shrugged. “Don’t know about fate,
but it wouldn’t change much for me, except you guys would be close. I’d like
that. Felix is talking about leaving Jasper Creek.”
Teddy reached out, but Georgie stopped her
with a quelling look. “It’s fine.” She offered a smile, or Georgie’s version
of a smile anyway. “Especially if you guys are here.”
All eyes turned to Joey.
“I have to talk timing over with my mom. I
don’t want to leave her short-staffed,” Joey said, her eyes still on the
sunset. Then she pushed out a breath and looked at her sisters and grinned.
“But why the hell not?”
Teddy smiled at the sunset, feeling a bit
teary over the whole thing. But it was meant to be, she was sure of it. “Four
Sisters Farm.” She looked at each of her sisters. “That’s what we can call it.
Because it’ll be ours. Always.”
Excerpted from Sweet Home Cowboy by Nicole
Helm, Maisey Yates, Jackie Ashenden, Caitlin Crews. Copyright © 2022 by Nicole
Helm, Maisey Yates, Jackie Ashenden, Caitlin Crews. Published by arrangement
with Harlequin Books S.A.
About Maisey Yates
Maisey Yates is a New York Times bestselling author of over one hundred romance novels. Whether she's writing strong, hard working cowboys, dissolute princes or multigenerational family stories, she loves getting lost in fictional worlds. An avid knitter with a dangerous yarn addiction and an aversion to housework, Maisey lives with her husband and three kids in rural Oregon. Check out her website, maiseyyates.com or find her on Facebook.
USA Today bestselling, RITA-nominated, and critically-acclaimed author Caitlin Crews has written more than 100 books and counting. She has a Master's and Ph.D. in English Literature thinks everyone should read more category romance and is always available to discuss her beloved alpha heroes. Just ask. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her comic book artist husband, is always planning her next trip, and will never, ever, read all the books in her to-be-read pile. Thank goodness.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads
About Nicole Helm
Nicole Helm is the national bestselling author of fast-paced romantic suspense for Harlequin Intrigue and down-to-earth contemporary romance. Her Intrigues routinely land on the Publishers Weekly Bestseller list, and she’s received starred PW reviews for her contemporary romances. She’s written over 50 books, known for their emotional depth and happily ever afters.
Nicole also writes with Megan Crane/Caitlin Crews as Hazel Beck. Look for their upmarket paranormal fiction series, WITCHLORE, beginning Fall 2022.
In her spare time, Nicole loves losing herself in genealogy research, watching Cardinals baseball, and hiking with her family. She lives in Missouri with her husband and two sons.
You can contact her via email: Nicole@nicolehelm.com
You can sign up for Nicole’s monthly newsletter at http://eepurl.com/V973n
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