Charming a Texas Beast — Katie Lane

Once upon a time in Texas . . . there was a ranch with a castle. In this castle lived a beast, a sleeping beauty, a big bad wolf, a Cinderella, and a lost prince. But these are no fairytale characters. These wild cowboys and cowgirls are about to raise some Texas hell on the way to their happily ever afters. The Beauty: Growing up, Lily Daltry was the shy, introverted gardener's daughter who had nothing in common with the five siblings who lived in the fairytale castle on Kingman Ranch. Especially Stetson, a bullying tormenter in a cowboy hat who enjoyed making her life miserable. Her only reprieve was spending time in the garden with her beloved mother. After her mother passes away, Lily leaves for England where she becomes a children's book author and strives to get over her grief. But when her father gets injured, Lily must return to the Kingman Ranch and face the sad memories of her mother . . . and the bullying brute of her past. Stetson now runs the ranch and has no desire for Lily to be his guest. Can she tame the cowboy beast . . . or will she be devoured? The Beast: The last thing Stetson Kingman needs is to stumble upon a bookish beauty from his past wandering the halls of Buckinghorse Palace. He has enough to worry about with four younger siblings, running a huge horse and cattle spread, and trying to figure out who has it out for the Kingmans and is sabotaging the ranch. Lily should've stayed in England where she belonged instead of dredging up the secret Stetson has kept buried deep inside. Just seeing her floods him with dark memories . . . and dammit, desire. When his two randy younger brothers get all cow-eyed over Lily, there's nothing he can do but claim first dibs so they won't get tangled up with a Daltry woman like their daddy did. Unfortunately, Stetson is the one who gets all tangled up. The fake kisses don't feel so fake. The sweet caresses much more than a lie. When the dark secret is revealed, and the saboteur deals a deadly blow, can Stetson and Lily put the past behind them in time to make their fairytale dreams come true? Or is a storybook ending impossible on the wild Texas prairie?