Because of Gus McBride, he’d had nothing. No father, no grandparents on either side. No one to chase away the monsters in his closet, no dad to teach him to fish. No knowledge of where he came from or where he was going. His mother had tried to step up and fill the role of both parents, and she’d done a damn good job. But she’d needed a husband, and he’d needed a father. They’d had neither. Because Gus McBride had been halfway across the country, protecting his real family. And Taylor would bet that his legitimate children weren’t scared at night growing up. They didn’t worry about paying the bills or having enough money. Growing up, they’d had it all. Taylor wouldn’t have been surprised if they’d thought their daddy was a saint. He wasn’t. Unfortunately, they’d never know that. Unless he told them. Dear Reader, The days are hot and the reading is hotter here at Silhouette Intimate Moments. Linda Turner is back with the next of THOSE MARRYING M BRIDES! in Always a McBride. Taylor Bishop has only just found out about C his familial connection—and he has no idea it’s going to lead him straight to love. In Shooting Starr, Kathleen Creighton ratchets up both the suspense and the romance in a story of torn loyalties you’ll long remember. Carla Cassidy returns to CHEROKEE CORNERS in Last Seen…, a novel about two people whose circumstances ought to prevent them from falling in love but don’t. On Dean’s Watch is the latest from reader favorite Linda Winstead Jones, and it will keep you turning the pages as her federal marshal hero falls hard for the woman he’s supposed to be keeping an undercover watch over. Roses After Midnight, by Linda Randall Wisdom, is a suspenseful look at the hunt for a serial rapist—and the blossoming of an unexpected romance. Finally, take a look at Debra Cowan’s Burning Love and watch passion flare to life between a female arson investigator and the handsome cop who may be her prime suspect. Enjoy them all—and come back next month for more of the best and most exciting romance reading around. Yours, Leslie J. Wainger Executive Editor Always a McBride LINDA TURNER Books by Linda Turner Silhouette Intimate Moments The Echo of Thunder #238 Crosscurrents #263 An Unsuspecting Heart #298 Flirting with Danger #316 Moonlight and Lace #354 The Love of Dugan Magee #448 * Gable’s Lady #523 * Cooper #553 * Flynn #572 * Kat #590 Who’s the Boss? #649 The Loner #673 Maddy Lawrence’s Big Adventure #709 The Lady in Red #763 † I’m Having Your Baby?! #799 † A Marriage-Minded Man? #829 † The Proposal #847 † Christmas Lone-Star Style #895 ** The Lady’s Man #931 ** A Ranching Man #992 ** The Best Man #1010 ** Never Been Kissed #1051 The Enemy’s Daughter #1064 The Man Who Would Be King #1124 ** Always a McBride #1231 Silhouette Desire A Glimpse of Heaven #220 Wild Texas Rose #653 Philly and the Playboy #701 The Seducer #802 Heaven Can’t Wait #929 Silhouette Special Edition Shadows in the Night #350 Silhouette Books Silhouette Christmas Kisses 1996 “A Wild West Christmas” Fortune’s Children The Wolf and the Dove A Fortune’s Children Christmas 2002 “The Christmas Child” Crowned Hearts 2002 “Royally Pregnant” A Colton Family Christmas 2002 “Take No Prisoners” Under Western Skies 2002 “Marriage on the Menu” The Coltons The Virgin Mistress LINDA TURNER began reading romances in high school and began writing them one night when she had nothing else to read. She’s been writing ever since. Single, and living in Texas, she travels every chance she gets, scouting locales for her books. Contents Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Epilogue Prologue H e was a bastard. Even before he’d been old enough to understand the meaning of the word, Taylor Bishop had known what he was. There was, after all, no avoiding the truth in the poverty-ridden neighborhoods of San Diego where he’d grown up. Dozens of kids were running around the street without fathers, and like recognized like. Still, he hadn’t understood the implications of the label until he was six and one of his school friends told him his mother must be a slut—otherwise his father would have married her. Outraged, his six-year-old pride stung, he’d defended his mother’s virtue and his absent father’s honor by punching his friend in the nose. All his bravery earned him was a split lip. That was the day he’d begun to hate his father. Thirty-five years had passed since then, and nothing had changed. He still hated his father…and he didn’t even know his name. That, however, was about to change. Seated at his mother’s kitchen table, her personal effects spread out around him in the small home she’d finally managed to buy after scrimping and saving for years, Taylor stared down at the sealed letter she’d left for him in her safety deposit box and knew without even opening what it said. After all this time, when it was too late for him to ask her any questions, she was finally going to tell him about his father. “He’s a good man. That’s all you need to know.” Every time he’d asked his mother about the mysterious stranger who had sired him, the answer had always been the same. She’d promised to tell him the whole story one day, but she never had. Why? he wondered, scowling at the letter addressed to him in her neat handwriting. Had she thought that he would think less of her because he was obviously illegitimate? That he somehow blamed her for the fact that his father had been nonexistent in his life? Surely she had to know better. For a moment, pain squeezed his heart at the thought that she might not have known how much he loved and admired her, but with a muttered curse, he quickly shook off his doubts. What the hell was he doing? Of course she’d known how he felt about her. As far as he was concerned, she’d been the best mother in the world. She was the one who’d been there for him as a child, the one who’d worked two jobs so that he could have the things he needed when he was growing up. Yes, money had been tight, but she’d done the best that she could, and he couldn’t fault her for that. She’d been a single mother with no one to help her. When she lost her job at one of the local hotels because she refused to work nights and leave him home alone, she’d had to go on welfare for a while just so they could eat. Still, she’d held her head high and made sure he did, too. And as soon as she’d been able to find another job, she went off government assistance because, she’d claimed, there were poor people out there who needed it more than they did. How could anyone not love a mother like that? He’d adored her. She taught him to be proud of who he was, to work honestly for what he wanted, to believe in himself and the future. Those things would get him through life, she’d claimed, not his father’s name. So why was she telling him now? he wondered with a frown. When she’d died unexpectedly last week of an apparent heart attack, the last thing he’d been worried about was his father’s name. She was the one he loved, the one he cared about, and he would have gladly given up any chance of ever knowing anything about his father if he could have just had his mother back for five minutes. That, however, was impossible. All he had left of her were her things…and a letter that had the power to change his life. His square-cut face carved in grim lines, he was half tempted to trash the thing, but it was the last communication from his mother. For no other reason than that, he had to read it. Reaching for it, he tore it open and began to read. To my dear son, You’ll never know how much I love you. You’ve been the greatest joy of my life, a blessing I thanked God for every day. I know how difficult it was for you, growing up without your father, and I’m sorry for that. But your father wasn’t the unfeeling monster you think he was, dear. He was a good man who had no idea you even existed. His name is Gus McBride, and when we met, he lived in Liberty Hill, Colorado. We met in Cheyenne, Wyoming, when I was there one summer visiting my grandmother. I never believed in love at first sight until I met him. He was in town for a rodeo and we had one wonderful night together. That was all, dear. Just one night. I fell in love with him, but please don’t blame him because he didn’t return my