Hero to Count On (Silhouette Romantic Suspense Series #1508)

"I still can't understand why you went to Scotland, of all places," Priscilla grumbled. "I know you wanted to get away from everything that reminded you of Nigel, but what's wrong with Nice?""France? Are you serious?"On the other end of the phone, Priscilla winced."Sorry. I wasn't thinking. Obviously, anything connected with France is out of the question. But there's always Monaco or Greece. Or Brazil. Now, there's a change of scene! You could find yourself one of those fantastically good-looking Brazilians and have a good time. Trust me, you'll forget all about Nigel. And who knows? The new guy might have a brother you can introduce me to. We could end up being sisters and sisters-in-law--""Will you stop? I'm not looking for a man and neither should you. They're nothing but bad news.""They're not all like Nigel," Priscilla said."Really?" Katherine scoffed. "You couldn't swear that by me. Remember Sam? And Thomas? And don't forget Lucas. He was worse than Nigel. He took me home to meet his parents and forgot to mention the little fact that he had another girlfriend. His parents were totally confused.""Jackass," her sister retorted. "If I could punch him and the others in the nose, you know I would. But it wouldn't change anything, and it certainly wouldn't make you feel better. The only thing that's going to do that is getting on with your life.""I'm not jumping back into dating, Cilla. Not this time.""Buck said the same thing, and so did Elizabeth, and look what happened. They both found love when they least expected it. You can, too.""No, thank you," Katherine said, shuddering. "Just the thought of putting myself through that again turns my blood cold.""You're cold because you're in Scotland," her sister said bluntly. "Has the sun even been out since you've been there? It hasn't, has it?""I didn't come for the sun," she reminded her. "I just wanted some time for myself.""Time for what? To mourn? To slip into depression? Being alone now is the worst thing you can do. You need family. Why don't you go to Colorado and see Elizabeth and Buck?"She had to admit, she'd thought about it. But then she remembered she wouldn't just be visiting her brother and sister. Buck had Rainey now, and Elizabeth was head-over-heels for John. Regretfully, she shook her head. "I can't. Everyone's in love there. I'd only bring them all down.""Hogwash! They love you. And none of us want you to go through this alone. We're all here for you if you'll just let us."Katherine knew she was right, but she didn't know if she was ready to face anyone. She felt like such an idiot for not seeing Nigel for the lying dog he really was. "I'll think about it," she promised. "Just give me some time."Time was something she had plenty of, and Katherine should have used it to her advantage. After all, she had plenty to do. She was an illustrator for one of the most well-known publishers of children's books in England, and she'd brought her latest project with her. It was due in a month, and she would need every second of the next thirty days to finish her illustrations on time.But three days after her telephone conversation with Priscilla, she still found it impossible to focus on her work. The silence of her own company was driving her mad, and just when she thought she was getting her emotions under control, images of Nigel would float through her head uninvited, and tears would once again flood her eyes. Scotland obviously wasn't working for her. She had to get out of there.For all of thirty seconds she considered going to a tropical island far, far away, somewhere where the language and food were so foreign that she wouldn't think twice about him. In the end, however, she knew there was only one place where she would find solace, and that was the Broken Arrow Ranch, near Willow Bend, Colorado.She hadn't spent much time at the ranch, and six months ago, when she and her sisters and brother had inherTurner, Linda is the author of 'Hero to Count On (Silhouette Romantic Suspense Series #1508)', published 2008 under ISBN 9780373275786 and ISBN 0373275781.