Blurb:
Anxious
for adventure and the chance to prove she’s not the spoiled socialite her
friends and family believe her to be, Victoria Marana buys The Circle Cat ranch,
rolls up her sleeves, and begins the repairs that will turn the ramshackle
place into the best dude ranch in Arizona. One thing she didn’t plan on was a
dark, down-on-his-luck cowboy smashing into her barn. But when he does, she
turns the problem into an opportunity. Armed with limited experience, but a lot
of determination, Victoria sets out to get what she wants from the wandering
cowboy.
The last thing Lang Thompson wants is to get tangled up with a woman.
Especially one who’s used to getting what she wants when she wants it. He knows
what rich girls like her expect and he isn’t interested in playing games. But
he’s no match for Victoria’s hardworking determination and sexy brand of
innocence.
Excerpt:
Lang
Thompson eased his foot off the worthless brake pedal and waited for the red
Arizona dust to clear. A board swung above the cab of his truck, once, twice,
three times. The rusty nail holding it gave up the fight and the weathered
two-by-four smacked across the hood with a weary thump.
One
more dent wasn’t going to matter.
He
pushed back his beat-up Stetson, mumbling a string of words that in his
childhood would’ve earned him an afternoon in the milk house. He didn’t need
this.
Outside
his window a hairy, black Australian shepherd barked and waved its tail.
“You
don’t need to tell me, I see the mess.”
For
a split second he considered backing out and leaving. The way the place looked,
the owner probably wouldn’t even notice the new gaping hole.
No,
he didn’t want any unfinished business hanging over his head when he hit the
highway again to head south, away from the miserable memories he’d left behind.
There was that and the fact that his conscience had an unfortunate way of
popping up at the worst times.
He
glanced down at the animal now sitting among the rubble that used to be the
side of a barn. A tired, seen-better-days barn but a barn nonetheless.
For
the sake of his furry witness, he held back another string of words unfit for
delicate ears as he shoved the door open and stepped out. He leaned against the
truck and yanked his hat down to block out the afternoon sun. The owner had to
be around somewhere.
“I
guess I should’ve hung a no parking sign there.”
Lang
turned to the shapely outline in the shadows. His bad luck kept getting worse.
A woman. He didn’t want to shoot the breeze with a bored rancher’s wife.
“If
you’ll tell me where to find your husband, I’ll straighten this out with him.”
As
she moved into the sunshine Lang tried to convince himself he didn’t see her
thick blonde hair or clear, blue eyes. He didn’t notice the way the way her
breasts strained against that plain white t-shirt tucked neatly into her faded
jeans, either. And that bolt of physical awareness that shot straight to his
cock? It didn’t exist.
A
blindingly bright smile spilt across her sun-kissed face. “I can’t do that.”
No,
those sweet lips didn’t really have an effect on him either. But just to be
sure, he stepped away as she came closer. “Do what?”
Raising
her hand to shield her eyes from the desert sun, she glanced over her shoulder
toward the mess. “Did you plow into my barn because you suffer from memory
loss?”
Lang
turned toward his truck. He had indeed plowed into the barn. Her barn.
“Your barn?”
She
nodded, then reached down to rub the dog’s ears, giving him the perfect
opportunity to look down her shirt. Was that a white bra with pink lace trim?
Damn
he loved lace.
Forcing
his gaze back to her face, he asked, “You don’t have a husband I can talk
things over with?”
Sunlight
blinked off the golden strands of her hair as she shook her head and scratched
under the animal’s chin. Her silence didn’t make sense. Why wasn’t she pissed?
“Look, ma’am, I’m really sorry—”
While
waving her hands to cut him off, she moved closer, her sexy, long legs making
short work of the distance. “You don’t need to explain right now.”
Judging
from the tilt of her head and the welcome in her eyes, he was missing some
piece of a puzzle.
But
what?
He
stamped out his curiosity. He only wanted to take care of business, then get
back on the road and find that ranch for sale his cousin Cole had badgered him
into looking over. With that out of the way, he’d get back to his real goal,
which was putting as much distance between the remnants of his old life and
himself as possible. He tugged his gaze away from her all-too-easy-on-the-eyes
face, glanced around but soon found himself looking her way again. “Where am I
anyway?”
Her
delicate eyebrows knotted together and her shoulders dropped. “You didn’t come
about the ad for work?”
“Work?”
He shook his head. “No. I was trying to turn around, get back on the freeway.”
Her
kissable pink lips curved weakly, the glimmer in her eyes faded but didn’t go
out completely.
“You’re at The Circle Cat Ranch.”
“And
where is that?”
“Cactus
Junction.” She dipped her head the other way and a few tempting strands of
silken hair slipped over her shoulder. “You do know what state you’re in?”
Arizona.
Only a couple of hours from the Mexican border.
Her
gaze circled his face, considering, then dropped lower, assessing. He
straightened, planting his legs wide enough to place the bulge in his pants
front and center. If she insisted on getting a good look at him, he might as well
give her a view worth the effort.
As
though she realized she was rudely looking him over like he was a colt on the
auction block, she brought her attention back to his face and tried to cover
her actions with a smile as she spoke. “You look like you could use a drink. I
know I could.” She brushed past him without waiting for a reply.
“Come on up to
the house and have some lemonade.”
That
place his cousin was so hot for them to buy was in Cactus Junction. At least he
didn’t have much farther to go.
Not
that he wanted to buy a place and start all over but Cole had cajoled
him until he’d agreed to at least look it over. A promise is a promise. Even to
a cousin like Cole.
The
woman’s hips swayed invitingly as she strode toward the house. Each determined
stride called to some better left unspoken part of him.
He
grumbled and tore his gaze away. He’d written complicated entanglements with
women off. For good.
The
screen door smacked shut after she disappeared inside.
Why
did it seem like the last shred of control he had over his life was slipping
away? The hot wave of lust pooling in his gut shouted a warning, telling him to
forget his so-called integrity and take the chance that once he got on the road
he wouldn’t need brakes any time soon. He could always coast to a stop.
He groaned. All those hours in the milk house taught him
more than to mind his tongue. He had to stick around and settle the issue at
hand. That ranch for sale wasn’t going anywhere. With a quick glance down to be
sure he wasn’t wearing any of his fast food breakfast on his shirt, Lang
headed after the woman and the dog.
~~~
