The Soldier's Sweetheart. Сорейя Лейн

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       THE LARKVILLE LEGACY

      A secret letter … two families changed for ever

      Welcome to the small town of Larkville, Texas, where the Calhoun family has been ranching for generations.

      Meanwhile, in New York, the Patterson family rules America’s highest echelons of society.

      Both families are totally unprepared for the news that they are linked by a shocking secret.

      For hidden on the Calhoun ranch is a letter that’s been lying unopened and unread—until now!

      Meet the two families in all eight books of this brand-new series:

      THE COWBOY COMES HOME

      by Patricia Thayer

      SLOW DANCE WITH THE SHERIFF

      by Nikki Logan

      TAMING THE BROODING CATTLEMAN

      by Marion Lennox

      THE RANCHER’S UNEXPECTED FAMILY

      by Myrna Mackenzie

      HIS LARKVILLE CINDERELLA

      by Melissa McClone

      THE SECRET THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING

      by Lucy Gordon

      THE SOLDIER’S SWEETHEART

      by Soraya Lane

      THE BILLIONAIRE’S BABY SOS

      by Susan Meier

      About the Author

      Writing for Mills & Boon^® Cherish^™ is truly a dream come true for SORAYA LANE. An avid book reader and writer since her childhood, Soraya describes becoming a published author as “the best job in the world,” and hopes to be writing heartwarming, emotional romances for many years to come.

      Soraya lives with her own real-life hero on a small farm in New Zealand, surrounded by animals and with an office overlooking a field where their horses graze.

      For more information about Soraya and her upcoming releases, visit her at her website, www.sorayalane.com, her blog, www.sorayalane.blogspot.com, or follow her at www.facebook.com/SorayaLaneAuthor.

      The Soldier’s

      Sweetheart

      Soraya Lane

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      MILLS & BOON

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      CHAPTER ONE

      NATE CALHOUN held up one hand to shield his face from the sun. He’d forgotten what it was like to look out over the land, to see grass stretching so far into the distance that he couldn’t tell where their ranch ended and the next one began.

      Sand he was used to, but not grass.

      He pulled the door shut behind him and stretched out his right leg, trying not to grimace. His damn calf wouldn’t stop throbbing, and no matter how much he tried to ignore it, walking wasn’t as easy as it used to be.

      Nate glanced up at the main house, knew exactly what he’d find if he walked over. Nancy, their long-time housekeeper, would be clearing the breakfast dishes; there’d still be the smell of strong coffee lingering in the air, and there’d probably be some leftovers waiting to be eaten. But he wasn’t ready to be part of that life again, didn’t know when he’d be able to answer the questions his family seemed so intent on asking him whenever he spent time with them.

      It was why he’d walked away from them all on his first night back and taken over the unused guesthouse.

      Nate turned and walked a track that was still oddly familiar to him. As a boy, right up until he’d left the ranch to join the army, he’d wandered to a massive tree tucked far enough away from the house to be private. Where a weathered timber swing had tilted back and forth in the breeze. Somewhere that he’d never shared with anyone except for …

       Who the hell was that?

      Nate stopped and squinted. He was close enough to see the tree but not close enough to figure out who was sitting on a swing that he’d expected to be long gone by now.

      He straightened and tried his hardest not to limp, even though he knew that disguising his injury was impossible.

      Then the mystery figure on the swing turned his way.

      Nate gulped. Hard. Before grinding his teeth together and walking toward her.

      It was Sarah. After all these years, he’d managed to find Sarah Anderson under his tree.

      Some things would never change.

      She stood as he approached, a shy smile making her lips tilt ever so slightly in the corners, a faint blush creeping across her cheeks.

      “Hey, Nate.”

      He did his best to return the smile, but the truth was that simple things like grinning at a friend didn’t come so easy to him anymore. And besides, he didn’t even know if he could call Sarah a friend these days, not after what had happened between them.

      “Sarah,” he managed, stopping a few paces from her.

      She hesitated, flushed all over again, before leaning awkwardly into him and giving him a hug.