FIND YOUR SISTER
Three words scrawled on a piece of paper just upended Abby Winchester’s world. She’d never known she even had a sister. Abby’s sure she’ll learn the truth after traveling to the sleepy Texas town where she was born. And tall, brooding Clay Tanner may find the answers she needs, even if he does look more like a cowboy than a PI.
The petite blonde who just hired him is tempting Clay to break his rule not to get involved with a client. But the former ATF agent isn’t ready for a relationship—not after what once happened on his watch. Still, helping Abby uncover family secrets makes him wonder if it’s time to put his own past to rest. Is Abby willing to face an uncertain future—together?
“Have some fun and loosen up a little.”
Abby shimmied her shoulders side to side for emphasis.
“I’m loose.” Clay shook his own shoulders.
“Prove it!” she yelled above the music.
She threw herself into Clay’s arms, and he spun her around on stage feeling freer than he had in years. Her face was inches from his and her lips parted when their eyes met. He closed his for a moment and that was all it took for Clay to forget where they were...
His lips crashed down on hers, pent-up frustration colliding with his desire for the one woman who had turned his head for the first time in years.
When he finally heard the whoops and howls from the crowd, he released her. Abby stared up at him for a moment before hopping off the stage, leaving Clay to stand in the spotlight alone.
Sometimes ideas for books come from the craziest of places. A Texan for Hire came about when I was flipping through a Yankee Candle catalog. One of the scented pages instantly transported me to Ramblewood, Texas, and there stood Clay Tanner and Abby Winchester. I saw them so vividly that I stayed up all night outlining the first draft of this book. Subsequently, when I purchased my Mini Cooper shortly thereafter, I named it Abby—and when you read this book, you’ll understand why. While Clay and Abby weren’t originally part of the Ramblewood series, Clay’s story was too important not to have a book of his own, and Abby’s arrival in town will uncover almost three decades of secrets. Ramblewood will never be the same.
I’d like to thank David Canton from My Texas P.I. for his willingness to educate me on the ins and outs of private investigating. His advice was invaluable.
Feel free to stop in and visit me at amandarenee.com. I’d love to hear from you. Happy reading!
Amanda Renee
A Texan for Hire
Amanda Renee
AMANDA RENEE was raised in the northeast and now wriggles her toes in the warm sand of coastal South Carolina. She was discovered through Mills & Boon’s So You Think You Can Write contest and began writing for the American Romance line. When not creating stories about love, laughter and things that go bump in the night, she enjoys the company of her schnoodle, Duffy, photography, playing guitar and anything involving horses. You can visit her at amandarenee.com.
For Duffy...you define unconditional love.
Contents
Dear Reader
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
Abby Winchester wasn’t used to waking up in a strange bed, let alone one in a strange town, thirteen hundred miles from home. Mazie’s Bed & Biscuit in Ramblewood, Texas, was a far cry from her early nineteenth-century row house in Charleston, South Carolina.
She sat up and yawned, replaying the events of the past month in her head. Abby’s world had been turned upside down. It had begun with the death of Walter Davidson, her biological father, and had ended with the hospital board once again turning down her animal-assisted therapy proposal. As a physical therapist, Abby was determined to increase her patients’ rehabilitation options, and despite the hospital’s latest rejection, she vowed to continue fighting for the program she so passionately believed in.
And she would have focused on a new course of action if it weren’t for one thing...the note the nurse had given her after Walter died. Scrawled in his handwriting on a piece of scrap paper were three words:
FIND YOUR SISTER.
Only one problem...Abby didn’t have a sister. Well, not one she knew of.
Even though Abby doubted the rationality of Walter’s dying words, they
