In a small town in North Dakota there resides a family of misfits on the Crawley Creek Ranch. Brought together by hardship, and heartache they’ve bonded without blood ties, and seek to help others. Four brothers who’ve walked both sides of the line, and come out stronger for it, but will they survive love, loss, and the law?
Lacy Denvers has lost her job, and lost her way. All she wants to do now is get her career back on track and find some stability again, but first, she wants to mark something off her bucket list: She wants to learn to ride a horse. Her dream vacation to the Crawley Creek Cattle Ranch turns into a lesson in patience when the North Dakota winter proves unpredictable as ever. Wrapped in a cocoon of snow, Lacy finds the ranch to be a hidden treasure trove of cowboy eye candy, and her mouth is watering even as her brain is telling her to run.
After a devastating tragedy, a young Drannon Russo ended up fostering with the Crawley family, and found a home. He’s only moved away once and had to lean on family for support when his dreams were shattered. Being a cowboy on a ranch is a pretty lonely existence. When a beautiful redhead shows up looking for a fresh start he’s determined to give them both what they want.
Will this vacation into the heart of cattle country turn out to be a mistake, or will Lacy and Drannon find their future in each other?
WARNING: Explicit romance
There was a
couple of inches of snow drift across the front lawn, but when she turned the
corner and faced west, brown grass poked through just a dusting of snow, and
the wind stole her breath from her lungs. Grey clouds filled the sky and
the scent of snow was on the air. Tipping her head down, she hurried across the
yard to the massive barn doors, pausing only long enough to tug one open and squeeze
through it.
Compared to
the cold outside, the warmth of the barn was intoxicating. The smell of animals
and hay filled her nose and she sneezed loudly.
“Bless you.”
The deep voice
was followed by a masculine chuckle, and she jerked in surprise looking for its
owner. When she didn’t immediately spot anyone she frowned.
“Thank you,
um, whoever you are?”
A black cowboy
hat appeared over the top of a stall next to a brown horses head. Under the hat
was a strong face, with a sharp jaw and a meticulously trimmed goatee and
mustache. His nose was a little large, and as she stepped closer she could see
that it was also slightly crooked with a telling bump in the middle. The smile
on his face was amused as he allowed her to look her fill. But his dark black eyebrow
rose when she remained quietly standing several feet away from him.
Concern filled
his brown eyes and he reached one long arm over the stall door opening the
latch. Her vision suddenly filled with the huge sexy body of a real life cowboy
and she felt her chest tighten. He was beautiful. Black curly hair peeked out
from under the brim of his hat, barely curling over his ears and the collar of
his heavy brown coat. His wide shoulders filled out every spare millimeter of
the material, and a powerfully built chest drew her gaze further down until her
eyes struck gold. Framed by perfectly cut chaps was a thick looking bulge of
blue denim and zipper, and Lacy nearly groaned out loud at the many wicked
images running through her brain.
“Are you all
right?”
She jumped in
surprise at his question and felt a hot blush creep up her cheeks. “Yes, I’m
sorry. That was ridiculously rude, please excuse me.” She stepped forward with
her hand out, “I’m Lacy Denvers.”
“Ah, Denvers,
yes Marilyn said we were going to have a guest for a couple of weeks.” The hand
that took hers was enormous, and it engulfed her grip until she could barely
see her own skin. She could feel calluses on his palm and a shiver went up her
spine at the touch. What would that feel like on other more sensitive parts of
her body? “Pretty unusual for someone to book a vacation in North Dakota in the
winter.”
She was taken
aback by the comment, and frowned up at him. At five foot eight, Lacy wasn’t a
short girl, but the cowboy was at least eight or nine inches taller than she
was, so her head had to tip back to see his eyes. “I booked the trip last
summer. I wanted to get away from the city and I wanted to learn how to ride.
Is that a problem?”
“Want to learn
how to ride, huh?” The teasing flirtation in his voice made her pussy clench
and her breasts swell. This time it was his eyes that slowly wandered down her
body taking in every bit of her before coming back up to meet her pointed gaze.
“I have no doubt that you can learn how to ride like a pro here at Crawley
Creek.”
She nodded
sharply refusing to acknowledge the innuendo. His eyes had turned a darker
color, and his pupils had grown along with the bulge behind his zipper. The
attraction was clearly mutual. Her heart was racing in her chest, and she turned
back to the horse he had been working with in order to give herself some
breathing room.
“She’s pretty,
does she have a name?”
The cowboy
stepped closer to the stall. Suddenly her palms were sweating too, and she was
glad she had on so many layers so that he wouldn’t be able to see the hard nubs
of her nipples poking through her shirt.
“She is a he,
and his name is Toto.”
Lacy snorted
and then covered her mouth in embarrassment. “Sorry, you don’t mean, Toto like
the dog in Oz do you?”
“Is there
another Toto?”
A giggle
slipped out, and then turned into a full on loud laugh. Toto snuffed in his
stall and looked at her with large brown eyes. The cowboy seemed amused at her
enjoyment. He stepped closer and reached his hand up to run it over Toto’s
forehead. The horse nuzzled him, and bobbed its head asking for more affection.
“Here, reach
up and touch him. He’s like any other male, if you stroke him right he’ll be
yours.” His voice was low and deep, and his eyes were locked on Lacy while she
reached up to run her hand over the soft white spot on Toto’s forehead.
Toto truly did seem to appreciate the gesture, and he tipped his nose to sniff
at her arm.
“He’s
beautiful. This is the closest I’ve ever been to a real horse.”
“Toto is
honored to be your first.”
Lacy’s eyes
darted over to look at the cowboy. His flirtations weren’t subtle, and his eyes
blatantly said that he would be up for a hot sweaty fling. She pondered for
less than a breath before she turned to face him.
“Are all
cowboys this forward?” She cocked her head to one side watching him. His eyes
shuttered and the heat seemed to seep out of them instantly.
“I apologize.
It’s not often a beautiful woman appears in the barn out of nowhere. I have
some more work to do, but you’re welcome to look around, just make sure to stay
out of the stalls without someone with you. All of the horses are gentle most
of the time, but accidents happen. You’re such a wisp, one kick and you’d be
done for.” While he spoke, he reached back over the wall of the stall and pulled
up a bucket that must have been on a hook inside. There was a collection of
unusual tools inside the bucket, but she didn’t have a chance to ask him what
they were before he was headed down the walkway and out the doors.
Cowboys don’t cry, but Roman “Romeo” Freemont certainly has enough tragic history to spend his days teary-eyed. Instead he’s turned to women and liquor in an effort to soothe his aches and pains, but when a petite brunette with a feisty temper comes crashing into his world, he realizes what he’s been missing.
Francesca “Franki” Scott has walked through fire herself. Nowadays she just isn’t a people person, and she’s definitely not interested in a wannabe playboy ranch owner either. She has a mission and it could mean life or death for someone close to her if she gets distracted.
Closing the gap between these two wounded souls could mean surviving yet another tragedy. Will their determination to hide their pain from themselves be their downfall, or will they come through this rough ride together?
Warning: Explicit Romance
Roman was
concerned for Franki’s well-being. Or at least that’s what he kept repeating in
his head as he climbed the stairs and walked directly to the door marked
Sunflower Room. She’d looked pale when she skipped out of dinner early, and he
just wanted to check on her.
Rolling his
eyes as he stared at the wooden door, he scoffed silently at his own thoughts.
The truth was that he wanted to see her again, and perhaps question her about
what’d happened between them earlier. It was clear there was attraction on both
their parts, but she didn’t seem happy about it.
Lifting his
hand, he knocked softly and held his breath until the door opened. The lamp was
on behind her, and it gave her a soft glow as she frowned up at him. Her
beautiful hair was down again, and it curly wildly around her face and
shoulders. Bare shoulders. She wore some sort of stretchy material over her
breasts that left her shoulders and soft belly bare down to her hips where a
pair of low rise shorts clung to her curvy hips. Seeing all that bare skin made
his knees weak, and he leaned heavily against the door jamb.
“Roman?” she
crossed her arms over her bare midriff and took a step backwards. “I thought
you were Marilyn, is everything okay?”
When he tried
to speak his voice came out as croak and he had to clear his throat, and start
again. “No. I mean, yes, I mean, everything is fine. I just wanted to check on
you. You ran out of dinner so quickly, and you looked a little…I’m sorry. I
didn’t meant to wake you again.”
He wanted to
kick his own ass for his rambling. Never in his life had a woman made him this
off balance. Charm was his game, and he played it well, so why was he suddenly
unsure of himself?
“I’m okay,
just really tired. The road trip version of jet lag I guess. Thank you, for
checking on me.” She said, giving him a small smile. She reached for the door,
but then hesitated and glanced over her shoulder at the interior of the bedroom
as if unsure of her next move too. The light washed over her face and he
noticed the tear tracks on her cheeks and a slight puffiness to her eyes. His
stomach clenched and before he could stop himself, he tugged her into his arms,
delighting in the softness of her curves against him.
** FREE **
** Pre-order Claiming His Cowgirl (Crawley Creek, Book 3) : Releasing August 25 **
Best-selling author, Lori King, is also a full-time wife and mother of three boys. Although she rarely has time to just enjoy feminine pursuits; at heart she is a hopeless romantic. She spends her days dreaming up Alpha men, and her nights telling their stories. An admitted TV and book junkie, she can be found relaxing with a steamy story, or binging in an entire season of some show online. She gives her parents all the credit for her unique sense of humor and acceptance of all forms of love. There are no two loves alike, but you can love more than one with your whole heart. With the motto: Live, Laugh, and Love like today is your only chance, she will continue to write as long as you continue to read. Thank you for taking the time to indulge in a good Happily Ever After with her.
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