Gentleman Rancher (Harlequin American Romance Series #1201)

Trouble In Paradise?Newlyweds Zak and Zoe Townsend may act like love-birds on their reality TV show, detailing the most intimate moments of their first two years as husband and wife, but on the set of their first feature film, Sail Away, the mood has been anything but romantic. The pop/rock stars have been at each other's throats since filming began two months ago. Why, no one seems to know, least of all the legions of fans who have rooted for the Hollywood couple since their fairytale romance began...June 1 edition, Celebrities Weekly magazineAs the sun went down, bringing dusk to the West Texas sky, Taylor O'Quinn had been in her Jeep Liberty for seventeen hours and fifty-three minutes. By her calculations, she had about twenty more minutes to go before arriving at the Chamberlain ranch, outside of Laramie, Texas. She couldn't get there a moment too soon.Her air-conditioning had begun malfunctioning somewhere near the California-Arizona border. By the time she reached New Mexico, it had quit altogether. Driving with the windows down hadn't been so bad when she was up in the mountains, but when she had hit the flatlands of Texas, the heat had been brutal.One-hundred-and-ten degree summer heat--even when blowing over her body at sixty-five miles an hour, was still hotter than blazes. The only thing keeping her going was the thought of the swimming pool awaiting her. Well, that and the fact that she had a place to stay rent-free for the next few weeks. Another fringe benefit was no one would ever think to look for her at the family home of her best friend.Speaking of which... Taylor pulled over long enough to loop the hands-free receiver over her ear and dial her cell.Paige Chamberlain answered on the third ring. "Hey, girlfriend, where are you?"Her familiar voice brought a smile to Taylor's face. "About fifteen minutes away, I think.""Great!" Paige exuded her customary good cheer and stellar organizational skills. "I left a key for you in the planter next to the door. Help yourself to anything in the fridge. The yellow guest room in the main house is yours. Clean towels are in the linen closet across from the hall bath." After a brief interruption, she returned to the line. "I've got an appendectomy to do, so I'll be at the hospital a few more hours. Until then, make yourself at home.""I will. And thanks, Paige."The sound of an announcement over the hospital intercom system blared in the background. "No problem." Paige shouted to be heard above it. "See you soon!"Taylor said goodbye and concentrated on finding the un-assuming entrance to the ranch, a task that was not so easy as dusk covered the Texas countryside with a soft gray gloom. Luckily, the plain black wrought-iron archway, sans lettering of any kind, was just as Taylor remembered it. She turned fields of mesquite and scrub brush that remained wild until she was completely out of sight of the two-lane farm-to-market road. Then, the fence started, the grass grew more manicured, and the sprawling hacienda-style ranch house rose above the plain, glowing with welcoming lights. The personal retreat was an oasis of privacy and rustic comfort, the kind of home where legendary actor-film director Beau Chamberlain and his movie-critic wife, Dani, could live in relative anonymity. Taylor had stayed there many times when she and Paige had been college--and med school--roommates.Acutely aware of just how long ago that had been--a good seven plus years--Taylor parked in the empty driveway and got out. Leaving her belongings in the car, she passed the front of the house and followed the flagstone path to the backyard. The pool was designed to look like a hidden lagoon, complete with waterfall and tropical plants. The underwater lights weren't on, but there was enough illumination from the adjacent ranch house and the guesthouse on the opposite side to allow Taylor to take a swim.The shimmerThacker, Cathy Gillen is the author of 'Gentleman Rancher (Harlequin American Romance Series #1201)', published 2008 under ISBN 9780373752058 and ISBN 0373752059.