The Mayor's Secret Fortune/Her Cowboy Daddy

Description

The Mayor's Secret Fortune - Judy Duarte He asked a simple question. But will she answer yes...or no? It's too much, too soon. When wealthy contractor Steven Fortune proposes to Ellie Hernandez, the beautiful and principled mayor of Rambling Rose, Texas, no one is more surprised than Ellie herself. Until recently, Steven was practically her enemy! But his offer of a marriage of convenience arrives when the secretly pregnant mayor is at her weakest moment. They can pull off a united front for a short time, can't they? Surely she won't fall for another man who insists he isn't interested in the long haul... Her Cowboy Daddy - Cathy Gillen Thacker This cowboy's off-limits... Jeb McCabe gave Laramie, Texas, the scandal of the century when he left his bride at the altar. He also garnered the reputation of the most notorious bachelor in town. So why's the handsome heartbreaker playing nanny to Cady Keilor's young nephews? Cady desperately wants a baby of her own. But before she adopts, she's practicing for motherhood by babysitting her sister's rambunctious brood for two weeks. The cowboy she's always been sweet on is just along for the ride - after Cady bets him he can't last a week! Turns out Jeb's a natural at parenting. The question is: does playing house with Cady make Jeb yearn for the real thing?

Judy always loved reading romances, but never thought of herself as a writer."English was my least favorite subject in school, but I was always a storyteller," she admits. "Growing up, I was the kid in the neighborhood who decided what roles we would play and the pretend situation were in."As a single mom with four children, Judy returned to school and graduated from the University of California at Irvine with a degree in social ecology. The new direction helped her confidence grow, and when a hero she could believe in came into her real life, she was even more inspired. Determined to do something about her love of writing, Judy joined Romance Writers of America and met her two critique partners. The trio have worked together and encouraged each other ever since.Judy likes to take ordinary characters and put them in emotionally compelling situations that make them grow. "It takes some of the stubborn and hurting characters a while to learn there is always a way out," Judy maintains, "but when they realize their options, there's no stopping them."Her unpublished stories won not only the coveted Emily and Orange Rose Awards, but also earned her the status of a double Golden Heart finalist in 2001. Her first book, Cowboy Courage, sold to the Silhouette Special Edition line, where she seems to have found her niche. "I credit a large part of my success to my critique partners, Crystal Green and Sheri WhiteFeather, who also write for Silhouette," she says.On those days when a stubborn hero and a headstrong heroine claim her undivided attention, she and her family are thankful for fast food, pizza delivery, and video games. When she's not at the keyboard or in a Walter-Mitty-type world, she enjoys traveling, romantic evenings with her personal hero, and playing board games with her kids.Write to Judy at P.O. Box 498, San Luis Rey, CA 92068.