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Song of Her Heart

Harlequin Enterprises Ltd.

Chapter One

Blocking the roadway was the most intimidating animal she'd ever seen in her life - an enormous white-faced red bull with white patches on his chest, flanks and lower legs. Curled forward around his face were two ominous-looking horns. To Norah, the animal appeared to be gigantic as an elephant, although when she recovered from her initial shock, she realized he wasn't really that big.

Her brother's accusation flashed through Norah's mind. When Sam had learned that she'd put the family home in Springfield, Missouri, on the market and was going to take a job on a ranch in northern Nebraska, he'd said, with biting sarcasm, "You're nothing but a foolish old maid, searching for a dream that vanished twenty-five years ago."

Norah wasn't sure she'd ever forgive Sam for that remark, nor did she remind him that he was one of the reasons she'd lost her dream. But now, stranded in the middle of a sea of grassland, her way obstructed by a Hereford bull, she conceded that Sam's assessment might very well describe her situation.

After leisurely driving for two hours through Nebraska's Sand Hills, enjoying the spring flowers that dotted the fields of waving grass, pausing often to watch white-tailed deer bounding across the prairie, Norah had become a bit concerned when she realized that darkness was approaching. She'd started wondering how long it had been since she'd seen another car or even a driveway into a ranch. She'd noticed several towns of black-tailed prairie dogs, hundreds of birds on the roadside lakes and herds of white-faced cattle, but no signs of human habitation. This rangeland was overwhelming to a woman who'd lived all of her forty-two years in a city.

Her concern had lightened when she'd seen a mailbox beside the road and a sign indicating that the Flying K ranch, her destination, was three miles away. But right now she was stranded in the middle of nowhere because of this bull.

Knowing she couldn't spend the night in a standoff with the animal, she blew the horn. He shook his head, bellowed and moved forward menacingly, shoving his huge head and shoulders over the hood of her small car. Eyeball to eyeball with the beast, she raced the engine, backed up quickly and started to pass on the right side. But instead of going forward, the car slid sideways into a deep ditch, startling a grouse from her nest in a clump of grass.

The bull ambled to the side of the road and peered down at her. Norah cowered, body trembling, expecting him to attack the car at any moment. If he did, her ten-year-old compact vehicle wouldn't provide much protection. She closed her eyes and leaned her head on the steering wheel.

"God," Norah prayed aloud, "what am I going to do? In spite of my family's displeasure with me, I'm convinced it's Your will for me to take this job. I need help."

The car was slanted at a forty-five-degree angle, and the left wheels of the vehicle were suspended several inches above the ground. She shut off the car's engine, resigned to spend the night in this position if she had to.

Opening the window a sliver, Norah detected the sound of an approaching vehicle, and saw dual headlights bounding up and down across the prairie. A red pickup ground to a halt, and a large, blackwhiskered man, garbed in jeans, brown jacket, boots and a wide-brimmed hat, jumped from the truck and swatted the bull across the rear. The bull ambled to one side as the man slid down the incline toward her.

An honest-to-goodness cowboy had come to the rescue!

He bent over and peered in the window. "Ma'am, are you hurt?" he asked in a deep voice that sounded as if it came from the bottom of a well.

Relieved to know that help had come, laughing and crying at the same time, Norah gulped. "I don't think so."

When he stood, he towered over the car, and all Norah could see of her rescuer was a broad chest encased in a vivid blue shirt. The stranger quickly surveyed the situation and asked, "What happened?"

"That bull was in the middle of the road, and when I tried to drive around him, my car slid into the ditch."

"I'll have you out of there in a few minutes."

His deep, matter-of-fact voice encouraged Norah. She knew she was in safe hands, but she still didn't trust the bull.

"I'm not getting out of this car as long as that animal is here. I'm afraid of him."

The man peered in the window again, and his eyes widened in surprise. Although it was dusky, Norah could see that his eyes were almost as dark as his whiskers. "Afraid of Buster? He's gentle as a lamb."

"Ha!" she said derisively. "He shook his head and glowered at me through the windshield."

"Just Buster's way of welcoming you to the Flying K ranch. If you'd waited a few minutes, he'd have moved aside."

The stranger pulled the door open and gave Norah a strong hand to hold as she unsteadily climbed out of the car and up the steep, slippery bank.

"Then I have arrived at the Flying K ranch?"

He leaned forward and peered at Norah's face.

"You headin' for the Flying K? I supposed you'd taken a wrong turn. What'd you say your name was?"

"I didn't say, but it's Norah Williamson."

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from Song of Her Heart by Irene Brand Copyright © 2003 by Irene Brand
Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

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