Deb Kastner - Her Forgotten Cowboy

She cant remember the past
He cant imagine a future without her in Cowboy Country

Suffering amnesia after a car accident, Rebecca Hamilton arrives back in Serendipity, Texas, pregnant and seeking the babys fatherher estranged husband, Tanner. Returning to the ranch house they once shared is her best chance at regaining her memories. But will recalling the tragic reason they separated only drive a bigger wedge between Rebecca and the man shes falling for all over again?

That was why shed returned to Serendipity. To find this man.

Rebecca stared silently into the cowboys sad yet angry blue eyes.

He was definitely flummoxed by her question.

Who am I? Tanner repeated her question incredulously. Rebecca, what are you talking about?

I feel like I should recognize you, she admitted, feeling the heat rising to her cheeks. No. I know I should. But I...Im sorry. My mind isnt cooperating. Id hoped Well, if anything would give my memory the jolt it needed to return, this would have been it. And yet I dont know who you are, other than your name. Tanner Hamilton?

His expression clouded with confusion.

Of course, Im He paused. Wait. Are you trying to say you really dont know your own husband? He removed his hat by the crown and threaded his fingers through his thick blond hair.

He needed a haircut, Rebecca thought, but then realized what an odd observation that was for her to make. It was somehow... personal .

A Publishers Weekly bestselling and award-winning author with over 1.5 million books in print, Deb Kastner writes stories of faith, family and community in a small-town Western setting. She lives in Colorado with her husband and a pack of miscreant mutts, and is blessed with three daughters and two grandchildren. She enjoys spoiling her grandkids, movies, music (The Texas Tenors!), singing in the church choir and exploring Colorado on horseback.

Books by Deb Kastner

Love Inspired

Cowboy Country

Yuletide Baby

The Cowboys Forever Family

The Cowboys Surprise Baby

The Cowboys Twins

Mistletoe Daddy

The Cowboys Baby Blessing

And Cowboy Makes Three

A Christmas Baby for the Cowboy

Her Forgotten Cowboy

Christmas Twins

Texas Christmas Twins

Email Order Brides

Phoebes Groom

The Doctors Secret Son

The Nannys Twin Blessings

Meeting Mr. Right

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HER FORGOTTEN COWBOY

Deb Kastner

If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.

2 Timothy 2:13

To my husband, Joe.
I almost lost you to a double stroke.
I praise God every day that Hes given us a second chance.
You are my love and my best friend forever.

Contents

E verybody knew.

Tanner Hamilton stood stiff-spined, arms crossed and his knees locked tight, front and center on the makeshift auction block located on the community green at Serendipity, Texass First Annual Bachelors and Baskets Auction, and scanned the entirely too enthusiastic audience. Sweat beaded his brow and made his black T-shirt stick to his skin.

It was ripping him up inside to be standing out here at the center of a public venue with everyones eyes upon him. If they werent judging him, then at the very least he spotted pity in some of their eyes. It was a small town. His friends and neighborseveryone in his acquaintance and probably some who werent, had heard about poor Tanner Hamilton.

It wasnt like he was the only man in the world whose wife had ever left him, but he might as well have been, for the way he was feeling.

His heart was in shreds and there was nothing he could do to hide it.

He clenched his fists against his biceps as he forced a breath into his burning lungs. Tension rolled off his shoulders, leaving his neck stiff and unmovable.

He hated when people stared at him. This whole experience made him feel more like he was on a chopping block than the auction block. He wasnt much in the mood for community events these days, especially because he was pretty sure he could guess what was going through the crowds minds right about now.

Poor Tanner. His wife went and left him without a word about where shes gone. Whyd she do it? It is always hard to tell in cases like these. It could be she was at fault. Then again, maybe Tanner had somehow run her off.

Run her off?

No.

He gritted his teeth even harder to keep from shouting that one single, defensive word out loud.

No.

He might be guilty of a thousand things in his relationship with his wifemany thousands of things, if he were being honestbut not that. He hadnt told her to leave.

He hadnt told her anything.

Most of these folks from around here knew who the true injured party in his relationship with his wife wasand it wasnt him. Maybe it was his pride talkin. Maybe not. Hed had plenty of time to mull over what had gone on between them during the rough times, and even though he knew they had more than their fair share of problems and trials for a young couple, he still couldnt imagine what could have suddenly set Rebecca off to the point where she would purposefully choose to ignore the wedding vows shed made to him to love him for better or for worse.

Where were those vows now?

He couldnt say. He didnt even know where she was.

He would admit, but only to himself, that maybe what theyd been facing at the time had been worse for both of them, especially Rebecca, but he wouldnt have run away from their problems, no matter what. When hed said, To have and to hold, from this day forward until death do us part, hed meant every single solitary word.

Rebecca, on the other hand? Not so much.

So theyd drifted apart in those last few months before shed left him. That happened at some point in every marriage, right? It wasnt all roses and sunshine all the time.

He was a simple rancher with an equally simple philosophy about how to love his God and live his life. A man dealt with whatever circumstances God gave him without complaining. Sometimes it was good, sometimes not so much. Some things a man could plan for, see the storms coming so he could batten down the hatches. Other times things came unexpectedly, or didnt come at all. Sometimes life swung a fisted punch in a gut which was hard to recover from, and no doubt about it. But a real man had to pick himself up, dust himself off and keep on keeping on. Thats how he ran his ranch, and up until a short while ago, thats how hed believed hed kept his marriage alive and stable.

Maybe not, though. If hed paid more attention, maybe

But a dozen maybes wouldnt bring Rebecca back to him.

Even with all the problems between them, most especially the heartbreaking pain of them suffering through the seven months stillbirth of their firstborn daughter, whom theyd named Faith before they buried her in the ground, he never would have imagined Rebecca would out-and-out abandon him.

But six months ago, she had.

After theyd buried their daughter, Rebecca had spent weeks in bed, not even allowing him to open the curtains to let some sunshine in or turn on the lights. She didnt want to have anything to do with her life anymoreor with him. Hed taken to sleeping on the couch so as not to disturb her. She took pills for anxiety and insomnia, but they didnt really help her.