Category Archives: ROmance Gems

June 13, 2022 · 3:00 am

A visit from Kara O’Neal, author of the newly- released FELICITY’S FORTUNE

One of my Romance Gems sistahs, prolific and talented writer KARA O’NEAL, has a new book out, titled FELICITY’S FORTUNE for Magnolia Blossom Publishing and I asked her to give me a little info on it so I could share it with all of you. Here’s Kara….

I could hardly wait for the second book in my Gamblers and Gunslingers series – FELICITY’S FORTUNE – to release!

When we visited St. Joseph, Missouri, we had to stop at Jesse James’ house. While I was walking through those rooms, I wondered about his wife.

She’d set up a house, cooked meals, raised children…and her husband was an outlaw. She knew what he was, and that surprised me. Of course, who knew how she felt about his choices, and I’m sure it was hard to leave him since she loved him.

But I thought…what if she hadn’t known? What if a woman had married a man who was an outlaw, and she discovered it…

And turned him in.

So…FELICITY’S FORTUNE was born.

I had to give her a mighty hero, and so Butch Wilder grew in my mind’s eye. And he’s a good one. He had to be a little sinful, though, but he’s got a big, big, big heart!

I loved writing this story. Felicity’s daughters are the cutest little things.

I also enjoyed sending Felicity to Hell’s Half Acre, because God bless Texas, but that place was scary. It belonged in a book.

You know, that’s the best thing about being an author. You get to put cool places, events and people in your books.

I hope y’all enjoy Felicity and Butch’s story as much as I did! Happy reading!

ABOUT THE BOOK….

Felicity Capwell Archer had no idea she’d married a thief and a killer. And even though she’s the one who turns him in, people still think she helped her former husband steal and is now hiding the money. To protect herself from the repercussions and attacks, she hires Butch Wilder. Gambler. Gunslinger. And a giant who hides a heart of gold.

Butch Wilder grew up on the streets of New Orleans, learning how to fight, how to gamble and how to use a Colt .45 with deadly precision. When Felicity begs him to protect her family, she’s too damned pretty and too intriguing to turn down. Determined to avoid any emotional attachments and to keep it purely professional, Butch takes the job. But he finds himself sitting down to nice meals, walking her children to school and being part of a family for the first time.

Only by finding and returning the stolen loot can Felicity and her daughters ever truly be safe. Following clues she deciphers from her former husband’s letters, Felicity and Butch travel to the outlaw-infested Hell’s Half Acre. It’s madness, but Butch will do anything to protect Felicity. Even if it means his life.

A LITTLE EXCERPT…

When Butch reached Rickman’s office, he tried to see through the windows to the inside, but the grimy panes allowed for nothing. Cautious but unafraid, he walked in without hesitation.

But when he found who had come calling, he about swallowed his tongue. He stopped short, his hand on the knob, his mind devoid of all thought.

“Are you Mr. Wilder?”

Her honey voice poured through him, grabbing hold of his senses.

She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry to interrupt your work, sir, but I’m looking for Mr. Butch Wilder. Are you he?”

Snap out of it, man! Butch blinked then cleared his throat. “Uh, yeah. Yes. I’m Butch Wilder.” He shut the door.

She looked him over.

He steeled himself against the fear he might see in her eyes due to his size, but when her gaze touched his face, what he found was desperation. Confused and a little nervous, he wrapped his thumbs around his suspenders.

“Do you know who I am?”

Would it upset her if he did? But he couldn’t lie to her. Somehow she’d know if he did. “Yes.”

She twitched her lips as if frustrated by her infamy. He couldn’t blame her.

After letting out a slow exhale, she said, “My home, and by that I really refer to my children, my housekeeper and myself, has been under attack since my former husband was arrested and tried.”

So…she had gotten divorced. Or was it an annulment? He stayed quiet, not knowing what she wanted or if he was allowed to respond.

“We need constant protection until this is settled.” She waved a hand in the air. “Until either the…the hanging or…” She paused, and her gaze went distant.

He narrowed his eyes slightly. What bothered her? The event she hadn’t mentioned or the hanging?

She shook her head. “I apologize. The last weeks have been rather harrowing.”

He could imagine. From the arrest, to the trial, to now…

A portion of what she’d said registered in his mind. “I’m sorry, ma’am. But why are you here? You mentioned…protection?” Hell. Was she going to ask him to…

“Yes. The sheriff’s office can’t provide anyone, so he suggested I hire you.”

Butch’s mind whirled with the implications.

“I will pay you well, plus meals, because I would prefer it if you moved into my home. People come at all times of the day and night. I’m fearful of what has occurred in my absence for the last few hours.” She pressed two fingers to her temple and rubbed. “Not that I can do anything about it,” she muttered. She let out a weary exhale.

While she struggled with exhaustion, he tried to make sense of what she was offering. It was ridiculous. Him? Butch Wilder? Protect her? And her family?

Hell. That was damned laughable.

Book Purchase Link:  https://amzn.to/3MXKUa9

ABOUT KARA O’NEAL…

Award-winning author, Kara O’Neal is a teacher and lives in Texas with her husband and three children She writes stories with strong family ties, lots of romance, and guaranteed happy endings! Please visit her at www.karaoneal.com.

Where to Find Kara

Website –  http://www.karaoneal.com

Bookbub –  https://www.bookbub.com/profile/kara-o-neal

Amazon –  http://www.amazon.com/Kara-ONeal/e/B00FL19TH8/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1465007993&sr=8-1

Barnes and Noble –  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/kara+o’neal?_requestid=845025

Facebook –  https://www.facebook.com/KaraONeal84/

Twitter –  https://twitter.com/KaraONealAuthor

Pinterest –  https://www.pinterest.com/karaoneal7/

Goodreads –  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7278350.Kara_O_Neal

Blog — http://www.karaoneal.com/blog

Blog – The Story Continues — http://www.karaoneal.com/the-story-continues

Advertisement

6 Comments

Filed under ROmance Gems

Tagged as , , , ,

May 27, 2022 · 7:31 am

Reinventing Riley, new from #LizFlaherty #secondchance #bookish #read

My dear writing friend, the amazing, talented, and prolific Liz Flaherty has a brand new book out, titled REINVENTING RILEY and I’m giving you all a sneak peek today!

Rye Winters grew up in Chicago, and she loves it there. After many years in a small-town subdivision, the forty-something widow is champing at the bit to go back. She’s sold her business and her house and made plans right down to the kind of apartment she wants to lease or buy—no more lawn-mowing or weed-eating for her! She’s not going to need a car—which is great because she hates to drive. She’d reinvented herself once—she could hardly wait to do it again.

But before making her final move, she goes to Fallen Soldier, Pennsylvania, population 2922, to be her best friend’s “widow of honor” in her wedding.

Where she meets the preacher, falls in love with a cottage on the lake, and can’t stop looking at a downtown building that has so many possibilities. Hmm…

He’s afraid a second time at love wouldn’t live up to his first. She’s afraid a second round would be exactly like her first.

Pastor Jake McAlister and businesswoman Riley Winters are in their forties and widowed. Neither is interested in a relationship. They both love Fallen Soldier, the small Pennsylvania town where they met, even though Rye plans to move to Chicago, and Jake sees a change in pastorates not too far down the road. Enjoying a few-weeks friendship is something they both look forward to.

However, there is an indisputable attraction between the green-eyed pastor and the woman with a shining sweep of chestnut hair. Then there’s the Culp, an old downtown building that calls unrelentingly to Rye’s entrepreneurial soul. And when a young man named Griff visits Jake, life changes in the blink of a dark green eye.

Buy link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B2FT1JLR

About the Author:

USA Today bestselling author Liz Flaherty started writing in the fourth grade when her Aunt Gladys allowed her to use her portable Royal typewriter. The truth was that her aunt would have let her do anything to get her out of her hair, but the typewriter and the stories it could produce caught on, and Liz never again had a day without a what if… in it.

She and Duane, her husband of at least forever, live in a farmhouse in central Indiana, sharing grown children, spoiled cats, and their grandkids, the Magnificent Seven. (Don’t get her started on them—you’ll be here all day.) To find out more about her, stop by http://lizflaherty.net/ or sign up for her newsletter at http://eepurl.com/df7dhP.

Social media links:

http://lizflaherty.net/

http://www.facebook.com/lizkflaherty

http://wordwranglers.blogspot.com/

http://windowoverthesink.blogspot.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3336348.Liz_Flaherty

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/liz-flaherty

https://www.instagram.com/lizkflaherty/?hl=en

7 Comments

Filed under ROmance Gems

Tagged as , , , , ,

August 18, 2021 · 12:01 am

Lucinda Race releases 3rd addition to the Crescent Lake Winery series : BLUSH

My lovely writing friend, Lucinda Race, has just published ( TODAY!) the third installment in her Crescent Lake Winery series, BLUSH.

Friends to lovers to friends…to lovers?

For Peyton Brien, working as the manager of the tasting room at Crescent Lake Winery is more than a job. It’s her passion. The single mother’s other passion is her seven-year-old son. Years before, she’d had those same feelings for the winery owner’s son, Jack. She’d thought they had a forever kind of love—until he moved away and broke her heart. But now he’s back. Friends to lovers to friends again. They’ve agreed the past is the past. But is it?

Jack Price ran to California to escape from the future his father saw for him. His passion isn’t business; it’s working about the grape vines. The years away didn’t change that, and they didn’t change Jack’s love for Peyton. And now her hero-worshipping son is wrapping himself around Jack’s heart as well. But just as Peyton and Jack’s relationship begins to sprout new tendrils of hope, a secret from Jack’s past threatens to destroy his dreams.

They’re long past the sweet blush of first love. But just as red and white wines blend to form a blush wine, can Peyton and Jack find a way to blend their pasts and their present to create a rosy new future?

And if you haven’t read books 1 and 2, don’t worry. Here they are:

Breathe

Romance and fine wine both need time to breathe…

Her family’s successful winery business in the Finger Lakes region of New York should have gone to Tessa Price. She’d always dreamed of running the winery, but when her brother, the prodigal son returns to take up the reins, she boldly strikes out on her own, purchasing Sand Creek Winery—a cash-strapped competitor—right out from under her family. She can forge her own destiny, using her marketing skills and big plans to bring new life to the small winery. But first she has a proposition for the sexy previous owner. And he’s likely to hate it.

Kevin “Max” Maxwell would never have willingly sold his winery to anyone named Price. Family always comes first, and if paying for his sister’s cancer treatment cost him his business, it was worth it. But when the new owner offers him a one-year contract to stay on as general manager, with a possible bonus, he really can’t afford to turn it down. He can ignore the effect her deep brown eyes and heart-shaped face have on his senses for a year, can’t he?

Relationships, like slowly ripening vineyards, take time. But Max has been keeping a secret from Tessa, one that could destroy her hopes for their future. Will a terrible accident force Tessa and Max to face how much they have to lose, or tear apart their budding relationship forever? Sometimes a romance is like a fine wine. To be its best, it just needs time to breathe.

Crush

He’s just the spark she needs…

Anna Price is an enologist, a world-renowned expert in anything having to do with wine. Her work at her family’s Crescent Lake Winery in the Finger Lakes region of New York has her feeling as if she’s treading water. There has to be more to life than just wine. Has she lost her spark? She’s jolted when her father suffers a heart attack, then gets a jolt of a different kind from the man taking care of him.

Colin Grant is a nurse practitioner specializing in the care of cardiac patients. He’d met Anna once before, but had just ended a long-distance relationship and wasn’t ready for someone new. But this time, it’s different. There’s no denying his attraction to the curvy girl who has no idea how beautiful she is.

When Anna is offered a job in France, they may find their growing relationship crushed. How can she say no to the offer of a lifetime? Colin’s job is caring for other people’s hearts; he’s determined not to have his own broken again. Absence doesn’t always make the heart grow fonder. But is it worth the risk for a lifetime of love?

ABout Lucinda Race:

Award winning author Lucinda Race writes about family, love and happily ever afters.

Award-winning author Lucinda Race is a lifelong fan of romantic fiction. As a young girl, she spent hours reading romance novels and getting lost in the hope they represent. While her friends dreamed of becoming doctors and engineers, her dreams were to become a writer—a romance novelist.

As life twisted and turned, she found herself writing nonfiction but longed to turn to her true passion. After developing the storyline for The Loudon Series, it was time to start living her dream. Her fingers practically fly over computer keys as she weaves stories about strong women and the men who love them.

Lucinda lives with her husband and their two little dogs, a miniature long hair dachshund and a shitzu mix rescue, in the rolling hills of western Massachusetts. When she’s not at her day job, she’s immersed in her fictional worlds. And if she’s not writing romance novels, she’s reading everything she can get her hands on. It’s too bad her husband doesn’t cook, but a very good thing he loves takeout.

Please visit her website lucindarace.com and sign up for her newsletter and don’t forget to follow her on social media.

Leave a comment

Filed under ROmance Gems

Tagged as , , , ,

August 17, 2021 · 12:00 am

Bonnie Edwards has a new addition to the Last Chance Beach series : FAKE ME

One of my favorite Romance Gems sistahs, Bonnie Edwards, has an addition to the great LAST CHANCE BEACH series, out now. FAKE ME.

Here’s a little about it and a few words from Bonnie, herself:

Is the setting for Fake Me real or fictitious?

Last Chance Beach is only real in the mind of our readers. I say “our” because several authors have got together to create wonderful romances set on this island. Our stories are eclectic, and there’s something for everyone’s preference. Fake Me is fun and light and starts a trilogy I have planned for Last Chance Beach firmly rooted in Farren’s “Singles Fest.” If you read these Last Chance Beach romances, you’ll see cameos from other characters, familiar locations and all the charm of a small beach town.

Blurb:

International real estate broker Grady O’Hara, unkempt, miserable, and nursing his battered heart, is holed up in the Landseer Motel in Last Chance Beach. A first-class grump, Grady’s appalled that enthusiastic sprite, Farren Parks wants him to open his motel to single parents looking for love. He suspects his sister has sent Farren to lure him into a romance. Again. The last one ended in disaster.

Farren expects him to tolerate children laughing. No! Crowds of happy families? No!

He does not want a second chance at life. Or love.

Unless Farren agrees to fake date him to fake out his matchmaking sister…

Grady soon plays handyman, painter, and business advisor to Farren’s fledgling business, Singles Fest. The happy squeals of children in the pool doesn’t grate on his nerves as he expected. He sees parents making romantic connections that stir his heart.

But an old flame of Farren’s has arrived and Grady wakes up to another looming loss if Farren gives her first love a second chance. The rival has brought his adorable kids to the motel. A rival who’s clearly looking for a new wife…

Excerpt:

“So long for now. Farren, call me later, okay?”

“Okay,” she promised with a roll of her eyes. She went pink in the cheeks as if there were a hidden female message in the simple request.

As Eva picked her way through the tables away from them, Grady pounced. “Why the eye-roll?”

“She assumes we’re here on a date.” She lifted one smooth shoulder and dropped it.

“That’s a good thing. It’s what we want.”

She brightened. “That’s right. It’s exactly what we want. Except Eva doesn’t gossip.”

“When you talk to her later, confirm that we’re seeing each other.” He reconsidered. “Or, that lunch was more than work. That might be the better way to go.”

“So, you’re giving me lessons in fake dating now?”

“Fake me, baby,” he blurted, to get a laugh.

The server set their frosted glasses of beer on the table and raised her eyebrows at his comment. He glared at her. “I said ‘fake me,’ not the word you think you heard.”

Farren burst out laughing.

The server grinned. “Whatever. It’s pretty clear what you meant.” She pivoted and tossed Farren a saucy smile before stepping away.

“Now, that, will get us noticed,” Farren said as her shoulders rolled through her full-throated bout of laughter. “Good job, Grady.” She leaned low across the table toward him deepening the shadow between her breasts. “For sure Delphine will hear about this. ‘Fake me, baby.’ Too funny.”

He frowned. It was the wrong impression for his sister. He wanted to show her that he’d woken from his recent stasis, not that he was ready to ravish unsuspecting innocents, like Farren.

He took a sip of beer to wet his dry throat and tried not to think about that other F word.

Fake Me Universal Link

Amazon

About the Author:

Bonnie Edwards has been writing all her life, starting with a poem about Santa suffering with gout. She was seven, Santa was a thousandteen years old. Delighted with writing, she went on to write family sagas, humorous contemporary romance, romantic suspense, erotic paranormal ghost romances and more.

She may jump around within romance, but all her stories come with a tear, a laugh, and a happy ending. Published by Kensington Books, Harlequin Books, Carina Press, and Robinson (UK) Bonnie’s stories stretch from short stories to novellas and novels. Now, she’s happy to be publishing her work herself.

With over 35 titles to her credit, she has been translated into several languages and sold books worldwide. Aside from standalone romances, she has 4 ongoing romance series, Tales of Perdition, The Brantons, and Love at Christmas. Contemporary family sagas find a home in Return to Welcome. She’s hard at work on a new series releasing in August 2021. Learn about more exciting releases and get a free romance by subscribing to her newsletter, Bonnie’s Newsy Bits

Follow Bonnie here:

https://www.bonnieedwards.com/ ~ BookBub ~ Twitter ~ Facebook

2 Comments

Filed under ROmance Gems

Tagged as , , , ,

July 27, 2021 · 4:18 am

Take a good book to the beach with you by Peggy Jaeger

“Hot time, summer in the city. Back of my neck getting burnt and pretty.“

Any body else remember that old Lovin’ Spoonful song?? Hee hee. I’m showing my age, I know.

When I was younger and a sun worshiper, I lived for the summer days I could take a few hours at my local beach, soak up some rays, and read without any interruptions or worries. Back then, my beach reads were mostly comprised of the newest Jackie Collins, Kathleen Woodiwiss, or Nora Roberts book that happened to release in the summer season.

The hours of escapism while sitting in the sun were marvelous and made me truly know the definition of BEACH READ; fabulous heroines meeting hunky heroes and engaging in adult behavior ( read :SEX) while escaping from danger, or trying to solve the world’s problems.

Hey, it’s not called escapist fiction for nothing.😉

Nowadays I shun the sun like Lestat because…wrinkles.

But I still enjoy a great book that can be classified as a beach read. And hey – I even write them now. LOL.

One of my favorites that I’ve penned has just gone on sale for only 99cents. 

IT’S A TRUST THING tells the tale of Nell Newbury, one time Park Avenue darling, whose father – a Madoff devotee – bilked people out of billions. The notoriety almost killed Nell’s mother and made the young girl grow up fast. Nell runs her own company now, keeps out of the public eye, and isn’t looking for love.

And then she meets a handsome economics professor who knows nothing about her and who makes her toes go numb with just a glance.

Do you like to read at the beach? Or on a boat? Or sitting in the park on a lovely summer day?

Take IT’S A TRUST THING with you the next time you go. You’ll have a fun time reading it. One of my reviewers called it a “RomCom with angst, a klutzy heroine you can’t help rooting for, and redemption.”

That about says it all. Hee Hee

Looking for me? Here I am: 

Blog me // Tweet me // Buy my books // Friend me // Pin me // read me //picture me // watch me // review me

and don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter here : Newsletter

Leave a comment

Filed under ROmance Gems

Tagged as , , , , ,

June 27, 2021 · 4:56 am

It’s my turn over on the Romance Gems….

and I’m seeing Brides everywhere!

Come check out the post, here: RG

Leave a comment

Filed under ROmance Gems

Tagged as , , ,

May 27, 2021 · 3:57 am

She did the best she could…

It’s my turn over on the ROMANCE GEMS blog and this month’s theme is mom, roses, and romance. Check out this tribute to my mom, a woman I’ve never given enough credit to before for being the ultimate survivor…

RGBLOG

Leave a comment

Filed under ROmance Gems

Tagged as , ,

May 20, 2021 · 1:28 am

FREE from Jan Scarbrough, May 19-22

My fellow Romance Gems sistah, Jan Scarbrough is giving her readers a real gift for a limited time. Her DAWSONS OF MONTANA series edition BRODY is free from May 19-22. Here’s a little about the book and series….

Brody: Dawsons of Montana

Blurb

When champion bull rider Brody Caldera learns his stepfather has suffered a serious accident, he heads home to the ranch he’d left behind years before. Maybe the clean Montana air of the Six Buckles Ranch, near Yellowstone Park, will help him forget his cheating ex-girlfriend. But returning will also force him to confront another woman, the one he deserted when she needed him most.

Ten years ago, Brody had chosen bucking bulls over booties and bottles, leaving ranch worker Stef Chambers to raise their daughter alone. She’s done her best to cowboy up for the sake of her daughter and build a good life for them. She can’t let Brody’s return change that. Damn the man for breaking her heart once. It won’t happen again. But Stef’s hero-worshipping ten-year-old is enamored by the famous cowboy, and Stef’s best intentions are side-tracked from day one.

Is Brody ready to be the man Stef needs, or is he just taking her for a ride? Brody has troubles of his own, dealing with his injured stepfather and a stepbrother enraged that the family cattle ranch is now a dude ranch. Is he ready to settle down and trade bull riding for a bride?

Excerpt:

Two o’clock a.m.

May 2017

Chicago, Illinois

He was home.

Brody Caldera’s heart quickened as he turned the key to the door of his high-rise apartment on North Sheridan Road. When his girlfriend Lori Ann helped him pick it out soon after they met two years ago, she’d loved the apartment’s million-dollar view of Lake Michigan. The location was trendy and close to downtown and her job at an up-and-coming ad agency. The apartment was to-die-for, and she said she’d be very happy living there alone between Brody’s business trips.

Yeah, Lori Ann was spoiled, all right. He gave her anything and everything she wanted. But why not? He could afford it. What else did he have to spend his money on but the woman he loved? Since the day he met her at a promotional event for his professional bull riders’ organization, he’d been head-over-heels in love with her. And she with him. They were a perfect match for each other. He was athletic, craved excitement, and took chances. She was sweet and calm, a great grounding rock for him. There was just something right about them together. And one day they’d get married and make beautiful blond babies together. Maybe sooner than she thought.

Even after all this time, he adored her. Still bought her clothes and jewelry. Still had hot sex with her. That’s why he’d caught an early plane home. He wanted to surprise her this morning and kiss her awake. And give her the ring he carried in his pocket.

His adrenalin surged just like it did when he was about to climb down on the back of a seventeen-hundred-pound bull. Brody slowly turned the doorknob, so he wouldn’t make noise and wake Lori Ann. She wasn’t expecting him.

What the hell?

Dawsons of Montana Series are available in KU https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08ZM6V8H8

Brody: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016XI57SW

Mercer: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016EMSSDI

Liz: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08ZM6V8H8

A little about Jan…

Whether it is the Bluegrass of Kentucky, the mountains of Montana, or Medieval England, Jan Scarbrough brings you home with romances from the heart.

Jan is the author of two popular Bluegrass series, writing heartwarming contemporary romances about home and family, single moms and children, and if the plot allows, about another passion–horses. Living in the horse country of Kentucky makes it easy for Jan to add small town, Southern charm to her books and the excitement of a Bluegrass horse race or a competitive horse show.

The Ghost Mountain Ranch series contains a trilogy of three contemporary western books with a good blend of mystery and happily-ever-after romance.

Jan leaves her contemporary voice behind with two paranormal gothic romances, Timeless and Tangled Memories, a Romance Writers of America (RWA) Golden Heart finalist. Her historical romance, My Lord Raven, is a medieval story of honor and betrayal.

A member of Novelist, Inc., Jan self-publishes her books with her husband’s help. She has published 25 romances.

Join Jan’s mailing list at http://www.janscarbrough.com/ for news about new books.

Website http://janscarbrough.com/

Blog http://janscarbrough.com/blog/

Newsletter http://janscarbrough.com/contact/

Amazon Author URL https://www.amazon.com/Jan-Scarbrough/e/B001K8768A

Bookbub Author URL https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jan-scarbrough

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Romancerider/

Twitter https://twitter.com/romancerider

AllAuthor https://allauthor.com/profile/romancerider/

2 Comments

Filed under ROmance Gems

Tagged as , , , , ,

April 9, 2021 · 2:00 am

BRODY’S BRIDE by Kathleen Lawless is #onsale for #99cents

One of my fabulous Romance Gems sistahs, Kathleen Lawless is having a sale on the first book in her Seven Brides for Seven Brothers series, BRODY’S BRIDE. Check this out:

BRODY’S BRIDE

99cents all of April 2021

Blurb:

Brody has his hands full with a murderer next door trying to take over his ranch.  Laura broke his heart ten years earlier.  Now she’s back, and right in the crosshairs of his sworn enemy.

Laura never stopped loving Brody.  And when she learns of his unscrupulous rival’s plan to take his home, she can’t stay away.  Even though he rebuffs her help, she is determined to make amends for the past.

Can Brody save the ranch, keep its secrets, extract vengeance and protect Laura?  All without losing his heart to her all over again? 

Excerpt:

  A week passed during which Brody never left the ranch, using a multitude of excuses to himself to stick close.  Never far from mind was the ridiculous task he’d been set.  What did he know about wooing a woman?  Unsuccessfully, he tried to stop his mind from going down that dark pathway to the last time he saw Laura. 

Or the first. 

He’d known right from the get-go that she was above his station, but his ego got the better of him.  Made sure she was intrigued by his eighteen-year-old swagger and confidence.      

He heaved a sigh.  Maybe this little exercise, to woo the schoolmarm, would shake off those cobwebbed memories once and for all. 

Brody took his time getting ready.  Shaved, slicked down his hair, put on his best shirt and polished his boots.  Without a word to anyone he saddled up Phoenix and made his way to Bullet.

The schoolhouse stood off to one side, next to a field where the kids could run around and play, shiny as a new pin.  He tilted back his head and studied the exterior of the building.  It looked nicer than the one in Yuma.  Cleaner too.  Red brick must have cost Hawkes a fortune, but the man surely did like to flaunt his wealth.    

 Slowly Brody dismounted and tied Phoenix to the hitching post out front.  Feeling like he was facing his executioner, he made his way up two steps to the front door, only to find it locked tight.  

 His heart lightened, feeling a reprieve.  His steps were lighter, too, as he made his way back to his horse.  He’d barely touched the reins, when he heard a female voice behind him. 

 “Brody.  Brody is that you?”

 Slowly he turned.  Laura stood before him like a vision from the past, one he wasn’t sure was real or imagined.  All the pain and confusion from ten years ago rushed through him, filling his head with so much chatter he couldn’t hear a thing.

Don’t miss the great First-in-a-series sale!

About Kathleen Lawless:

Kathleen blames a misspent youth watching Rawhide, Maverick and Bonanza for her fascination with cowboys. Historical or contemporary, cowboys continue to resonate with her today.

One of her heroes, Steele, is a modern-day cowboy, so when she was dating on-line and met a man called Steel– Well, he’s not a cowboy but his is an alpha male and her forever hero. Which is why all of her stories end Happily Ever After.

Not that she can ever stick to just one genre. So many stories to tell–never enough time.
With close to 30 published novels to her credit, she enjoys pushing the boundaries of traditional romance into historical romance, erotic romance, romantic suspense, women’s fiction and stories for young adults.

Sign up for Kathleen’s VIP reader newsletter for your free copy of BEFORE THE BRIDES. http://eepurl.com/bV0sb1

6 Comments

Filed under ROmance Gems

Tagged as , , , ,

March 27, 2021 · 4:43 am

Lucky in Love is this month’s theme on The Romance Gems…

It’s my turn to blog over on the Romance Gems blog today and out topic is LUCKY IN LOVE. Stop by and read about some of the ways my Irish roots have shaped my writing.

Here’s the link: ROMANCE GEMS

Happy reading! ~ peg

Leave a comment

Filed under ROmance Gems

Tagged as , , , , ,