Home on the Ranch: The Montana Cowboy's Triplets Read online

  TRIPLE THREAT

  Stuntwoman Mackenzie Campbell is at the Sullivan Guest Ranch to film a movie, not swoon over smooth-talking rancher Hunter Sullivan. The rugged cowboy is everything her mother warned her about in a man. But when a mix-up leaves Mackenzie without a room, she finds herself bunking with Hunter and his rambunctious six-year-old triplet sons.

  Devoted single father is not a side of Hunter that Mackenzie expected—it’s completely at odds with his flirty, charming personality. Mackenzie has fallen for Hunter and his boys, but that doesn’t change the fact that once filming is over, she’s moving on to wherever her next job takes her. Although her heart may not be coming with her...

  “I struggle every damn day not knowing what to do, how to handle things for them. Worrying I’ll do something wrong and screw them up forever.”

  “Just keep loving them as you are.” She started to pull away, but he touched her cheek, held her in place.

  “You’re one hell of a woman, Mackenzie Campbell. I’m really glad you came to our ranch.”

  He drew back and she couldn’t look away. Pain, relief, maybe even desire flickered across his face.

  Closing the distance, keeping his eyes on hers, he finally touched his lips to hers. His mouth slid across hers in a joining so sweet she ached. His fingers slid down her cheek to her neck, and she wondered if he could feel her pulse galloping, wild and free.

  He stilled, just for a moment, and just as she started to pull back, he slanted his mouth over hers and took the kiss deep. So deep she didn’t think—no, she knew she’d never been kissed that way before.

  Dear Reader,

  Welcome to the third book in my Cowboys to Grooms series! Thank you for coming back to read Hunter’s story, and to see who he falls head over heels in love with. Hunter is a charmer, a flirt and a dedicated dad to his adorable triplet sons. Mackenzie is a stuntwoman from Scotland, and she has literally tumbled into Hunter’s heart. I had so much fun writing about her and coming up with the stories she tells Cody, Tripp and Eli. (And it’s made me want to go to Scotland even more now!) Mackenzie is the first woman who can see past his flirting to what matters the most to Hunter—he’s definitely met his match in her.

  All the characters in my Cowboys to Grooms series have become so alive to me over the course of the last two years. I’ve laughed, cried and had a wonderful time writing each of these books, and I hope you’re enjoying spending time with Nash, Wyatt, Hunter, Kade and Luke.

  I hope to finish out the series with Kade’s and Luke’s stories in the near future. Please visit me at allisonbcollins.com for updates. I’d love to hear from you! Drop me a line at [email protected] and let me know what you think of Hunter and Mackenzie’s story.

  Thank you, and happy reading!

  Allison

  HOME ON THE RANCH

  THE MONTANA

  COWBOY’S TRIPLETS

  Allison B. Collins

  Allison B. Collins is an award-winning author and a fifth-generation Texan, so it’s natural for her to love all things Western. It’s a tough job to spend evenings writing about cowboys, rodeos and precocious children, but Allison is willing to do it to bring them all to life. She lives in Dallas with her hero husband of thirty years, who takes great care of her and their four rambunctious cats.

  Books by Allison B. Collins

  Harlequin Western Romance

  Cowboys to Grooms

  A Family for the Rancher

  Falling for the Rebel Cowboy

  Visit the Author Profile page

  at Harlequin.com for more titles.

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  To Mother.

  I hope heaven has bookstores

  so you can keep reading my books.

  Acknowledgments

  First and foremost, thank you to my husband

  of thirty years. You’re the best man I know,

  and I’m so glad I said YES! Thanks for

  always taking care of me, and encouraging me

  to go on this journey to publication.

  I have the best friends and critique partners

  in the world. Thank you Angela Hicks,

  Sasha Summers and Suzanne Clark

  for reading and loving my Sullivan brothers!

  I truly can’t do this without you all.

  To Johanna Raisanen, editor extraordinaire.

  Thank you for believing in me and my cowboys.

  I love working with you and Harlequin Books!

  A deep thanks to all my friends who read my books

  and give me encouragement every single day.

  I love you all!

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Excerpt from Home on the Ranch: Montana Redemption by Amanda Renee

  Chapter 1

  Hunter Sullivan inhaled air so crisp and cold he could swear icicles were forming inside his nose. He raised the collar of his jacket, wishing now he’d worn a heavier coat. Might have been late March, but around here, folks still considered it winter. Clouds hung low over the snow-covered Montana mountains, and a layer of frost covered the valley floor like an ice-skating rink.

  Reining Becket to a stop on top of the small plateau, he looked out over the valley he loved. He and his older brothers had grown up here, running roughshod and free, and he couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. Forget cities, big or small. This was where he belonged, living and working on the family guest ranch. The buildings and cabins spread throughout the valley, surrounded by mountains and towering trees. Some days the lake was so still it mirrored the surrounding landscape and sky.

  Heaven on earth.

  Well, heaven until a few days ago, when a caravan of trucks and trailers and Tinseltown trespassers invaded their ranch.

  Becket snorted and stamped his hooves, ready to gallop across frozen fields. “Okay, bud, I know you want to run.” Hunter patted Becket’s neck.

  His horse whinnied, and Hunter glanced over his shoulder just as two of his brothers joined him on the rise.

  Hunter shot a look at Wyatt. “Why aren’t you at home with your bride?”

  “Frankie’s on a video call with her dad’s office. You shoulda seen her—face made up, wearing a silk blouse on top, Scooby Doo pajama bottoms and SpongeBob slippers.”

  “Dude, SpongeBob? Were they a wedding gift from you?” Luke teased.

  “Johnny picked them out for her. When you take a four-year-old shopping, you get the cool clothes.” Wyatt gave a sheepish grin, but parental pride colored the words.

  “You’re technically still honeymooners, right? You should go home and coax her out of the pj’s.” Hunter jerked his thumb back toward the family cabins.


  “I would, but I gotta head out to the south fence and fix the gate.”

  “Dad was right to make you foreman.” Luke rested his hands on the pommel and rocked back.

  Wyatt did a double take. “Where’d that come from?”

  “Just sayin’. You slid right in when Shorty retired, and you’ve kept things running great.” Luke stretched his arm out and gave Wyatt a fist bump.

  “Thanks,” Wyatt said, a note of surprise in his voice. He’d had a lot of rough years, and rarely heard praise from anyone.

  “Where you headed to?” Hunter glanced at Luke.

  “I wanted a few minutes of quiet before I start making rounds. Wellness checks for the animals the movie crew brought in.”

  “They got you doing double duty with their livestock? Hope we’re charging ’em for your vet services,” Wyatt said.

  “Part of the contract, and yeah, we’re charging—” Movement to the left caught Hunter’s eye, and he saw a black horse racing at a full gallop across the frosty valley.

  But the horse wasn’t on its own.

  There was a woman in the saddle.

  He squinted. The woman’s body was tilting to the side. It looked like she was hanging on tight. At that speed, if she fell off or got thrown, she’d be seriously hurt. Maybe even killed.

  “Hey. You see that?” Luke leaned forward.

  “I got this.” Hunter squeezed his knees against Becket’s sides. “Hiyah.” Becket leaped forward and stretched his neck, galloping toward the woman.

  Hunter gripped the reins so tight his fingers went numb. Memories of the last runaway horse flashed through his head like a rapid-fire slideshow. His vision wavered, then tunneled, and his pulse kept time with the pounding of Becket’s hooves.

  He drew closer, and Hunter saw long red curls streaming behind the woman like dragon fire. Carley? A celebrity, Carley Williams was the lead actress filming the modern-day Western on the ranch, and in the short time he’d spent flirting with her, he’d gotten the feeling she wasn’t much of a horsewoman.

  “Hang on! I’m coming.”

  “Back off. I don’t need anyone.” Carley pulled herself back up into the saddle.

  Becket eased up next to them and kept pace with the other horse, and Hunter reached for the reins.

  She knocked his hand away.

  He reached out and latched onto the reins, and it became a tug of war. What was with her? “Whoa, there, whoa. Easy.” Both horses slowed to a canter, then a complete stop, and he could finally breathe again. “You okay? What spooked your horse?”

  The woman punched his arm. “You blooming idiot! Why’d ye stop me? You could have died, and taken me to hell with ye!”

  This wasn’t the woman he’d been flirting with since the movie people arrived. She had the same hair as Carley and kinda looked like her. But the accent...and that punch... He rubbed his arm. She definitely had some muscles. “Your horse was out of control. Are you okay?”

  “We weren’t out of control, you bampot.”

  He didn’t know what bampot meant, but he figured it wasn’t studly hero. “Your horse was galloping at breakneck speed, and you were damn near close to breaking your own neck.”

  “I’m rehearsing. I know what I’m doing.” Red spots of color made her cheeks glow, and her eyes flashed emerald fire.

  “Rehearsing?”

  She huffed, and whipped her cowboy hat off to shove her hair out of her eyes. “I’m a stunt double.”

  He tipped his head as her words sank in. “You’re what?”

  “A stuntwoman.”

  “So your horse wasn’t out of control?”

  “Are ye daft? I already said no. Rory and I have made several movies together—we know what we’re doing. We’re a team.” She scrubbed a hand over the horse’s neck, and it seemed to preen with her attention.

  “Sorry.” He took his hat off, then reset it on his head. How was he to have known who she was? “But racing your horse like that is dangerous. You don’t know this terrain, which puts you both at risk. I’ve seen what happens when a horse is out of control—you can’t blame me for worrying you were in trouble.” He tugged his hat lower.

  “I’ve already ridden the valley twice. We’re fine. Go on about yer business.” She gathered up the reins. “Go ruin someone else’s day.”

  “Fine. Later.” This time he did gallop off, but he glanced back to see her watching him. Stubborn, ornery female. So not his type of woman. He really hoped he wouldn’t run into her too often. He’d be sure to stay away from her in the future. He didn’t date a lot, but he liked feminine flowers, not tumbleweed tomboys.

  He wheeled his horse around and saw Luke and Wyatt watching him, laughing their stupid heads off. “Dammit.” Hunter winced. Might as well get it over with.

  “Did you rescue the fair maiden, bro?” Luke smirked.

  “Shaddup.” He knew his ears had to be red. “You were thinking the same thing. I was just faster at being the hero. Gotta get back.”

  He split off from them to return to the lodge and start the day. On the way to the barn, he saw the movie crew working around their set. Carley Williams sat in a director’s chair with her name on it, reading a thick stack of paper. Her long red hair hung loose, but it didn’t shine as much as he’d thought it had the other day.

  Carley looked up and saw him. She waved, and he noticed her thin red gloves. They looked more like a fashion accessory than something that would keep her hands warm in the cold snap.

  He dismounted and tied the reins to a fence post, then walked over to her. Small heaters were spaced around her chair, going full blast. Taking his hat off, he grinned at her. “Mornin’.”

  “Hi, Hunter. I was just thinking about you.” She smiled up at him, all Scarlett O’Hara–like. It still knocked him back that a big-time celebrity had started flirting with him when she’d arrived at the ranch.

  “Are you filming today?”

  “I am.” She held up a script. “I’m going over lines one more time.”

  The director, Tom something or other, joined them. “Hunter, right?”

  “Yep.”

  “Great ranch you have here. Although you’d do well to have better cell reception. Had a helluva time getting through to the producer last night.”

  “Sorry, sir. That’s what we get for living out here. Away from crowds, cars and congestion.” Hunter watched the man’s eyes constantly moving over the ranch, the set, his team, and doubted any of the sarcasm had gotten through to him.

  Hoofbeats echoed across the way, and he saw the stuntwoman back from her ride. She dismounted and started to walk her horse into the barn, her long brown coat flapping around her legs.

  “Mackenzie! Come on over here,” the director shouted to her.

  She glanced toward them, then handed the reins to someone, patted her horse’s neck and started walking their way. Hunter could have sworn her steps faltered when she saw him standing with Carley and Tom.

  “Yes?”

  “How’d it go? Did you get the runaway horse scene blocked out?”

  “Aye. There was one bloody idiotic problem, but I took care of it.” She glanced again at Hunter, her eyes speaking volumes—probably curse words.

  “Good, good. Hunter, have you met Mackenzie yet? She’s Carley’s stunt double. Mackenzie Campbell, meet Hunter Sullivan.”

  Hunter shook her hand, not too surprised by her firm grip. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.” He tipped his hat at her.

  Her eyebrows crinkled just a bit, then smoothed out. “I need to take care of Rory, if you’ll excuse me.”

  “Mackenzie, check in with the stunt coordinator. Hunter, you’re welcome to stay and watch, as long as you’re out of the way.” The director walked off toward a tent.

  “Oh, stay, honey. You can see me in action.” Carley ran her hand
down his arm.

  He glanced up to see Mackenzie roll her eyes and turn away, taking off her coat as she walked and shaking it out.

  “Honestly, that girl is always a mess. She’s such a tomboy.” Carley flipped her long curls over her shoulder and batted her eyes at him.

  He backed up a step. “I should let you get to work. Got things to do at the barn.”

  “I finish early. Maybe we can get together.” She ran a fingernail down the buttons on his jacket.

  Carley was beautiful and flirtatious. The perfect woman for him to spend time with—so why did her flirting leave him cold now?

  She leaned up and kissed his cheek, then turned away and walked toward the director.

  He went back to Becket and led him the rest of the way to the barn. As they entered, he heard a soft voice speaking a language he’d never heard. Mackenzie stood at the other end of the barn, brushing her horse down.

  She glanced up at him just as he slowed his steps. Her lips compressed into a flat line, and he could almost see her fighting to keep words from escaping.

  He led Becket to his stall opposite her horse and went about the unsaddling process, then grabbed a currycomb. The last thing he needed to do was have an argument with her, so he decided to play nice. “Where are you from? Ireland?”

  “Och, don’t be daft. The Highlands of Scotland.”

  “You’re a long way from home. What brought you to America?”

  She shrugged but didn’t pause the brushstrokes. “I followed the work.”

  “Where’d you learn to ride like that?”

  “You mean like I’m falling off?” She continued brushing her horse, not looking up.

  “Yeah.”

  “Horses on the farm, and brothers who one-upped each other with dares and insults.”

  “How many brothers?”

  “Four.” She walked around to the other side of Rory, and continued brushing.

  “I’ve got four older brothers, so I guess we have something in common.”

  She finally looked up at him, irritation oozing from her expression. “Tom said your last name is Sullivan. As in the name on the sign over the main entrance?”