Never Marry a Cowboy (30 page)

Authors: Lorraine Heath

Author's Note

S
everal years ago as I was browsing through a bookstore, a book caught my attention. I long ago stopped questioning why certain books stood out on the shelf and simply got into the habit of purchasing them when they did, certain there would come a time when I was glad that I had.

Doc Susie
, written by Virginia Cornell, is the biography of a physician diagnosed with consumption who traveled west to die at the age of thirty-seven. Incredibly weak and occasionally coughing up blood, she had to be carried to the train. When she arrived at her destination and word spread that she was a physician, she found herself called upon to walk to the homes of people in poor health to offer what medical assistance she could. No one knows if it was the air, an improved diet, her brisk walks, or simply a determination not to die, but Susan Anderson, M.D., soon discovered that her health was improving, and in time, no signs of consumption remained. She lived another fifty-three years.

Her story served as the inspiration for my character,
Ashton. Although Ashton is not a physician, she does eventually recover from her illness. As the author, I should know if the air, the improved diet, or the brisk daily walks improved her health. As a romantic, however, I have to believe it was the very special love of Christian Montgomery.

I hope you enjoyed Kit and Ashton's story and find it possible to accept that sometimes miracles do happen.

About the Author

LORRAINE HEATH always dreamed of being a writer. After graduating from the University of Texas, she wrote training manuals, press releases, and articles, but something was always missing. In 1990, she read a romance novel and became not only hooked on the genre, but quickly realized what her own writing lacked: rebels, scoundrels, and rogues. She's been writing about them ever since, for both adult and young adult readers. Her work has been recognized with numerous industry awards, including RWA's RITAÂ®, a HOLT medallion, a
Romantic Times
Career Achievement Award, and several Texas Gold Awards.

Lorraine loves hearing from readers. You can write her at
[email protected]
or visit her website at www.lorraineheath.com.

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

NEVER MARRY A COWBOY
. Copyright Â© 2001 by Jan Nowasky. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

EPub Â© Edition JULY 2006 ISBN: 9780061760945

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