Guess what’s in the bookstores today?!!
If the excerpts haven’t been enough to convince you, if the scenery doesn’t tempt you, then I’ll have to keep trying. Enjoy meeting Adam Youngblood!
Oh! And you’ll have to read to the end to find today’s winner!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Cass sat at her desk finishing up reports left from the previous day—or rather, trying to. She clicked on save, closed her computer, and then tilted her coffee cup, noting its half-empty state. She shoved away from her desk with a deep sigh. Truthfully, she’d have used any excuse not to sit there another minute.
She’d been unbearably “itchy”—so restless she’d started planning a new bouldering excursion for her next day off. Physical exhaustion seemed the only relief from what really bothered her.
Adam hadn’t relented. Not once. He hadn’t called. He hadn’t even used one of his flimsy “complaint session” excuses to stop by the headquarters. Apparently, he didn’t intend to collect his “pound of flesh.”
She sighed, acknowledging she was one pathetic creature when she’d settle for a man taking his revenge for the simple joy of seeing him.
Cass refilled her cup at the community pot and headed to the information desk and Mavis.
The lobby was empty except for the elderly, gray-haired woman who was busy stocking the brochure rack with a fresh batch of trail maps.
“Things always slow this time of day?” Cass asked, making conversation.
Mavis continued sliding the pamphlets in their slots. “Most folks settle in the shade about this time. Days are gettin’ hotter.”
“Gonna be a long summer,” Cass murmured.
The older woman shot her a wry glance. “We gonna talk about the weather or what’s really on your mind? You haven’t said a word about what happened the other day on the cliff.”
Cass grimaced. “Nothing happened. He tossed me a rope and took me home.”
Mavis set the brochures on the counter. Her soft blue gaze studied Cass’s face. “Haven’t seen him around here since. Something happened.”
Cass released her breath, deciding to confide because she needed someone to talk to. “I think I blew it, Mavis,” she said softly. “The night before the storm Adam caught me in the parking lot at The Stone Pony…kissing Johnny.” At Mavis’s sigh, Cass’s cheeks heated. “I know. Not smart. But it happened, and now he won’t talk to me.”
Mavis’s soft, dewy fingers pressed against Cass’s as she stood stock-still clutching her coffee cup. “I don’t know if there’s any way to fix that, hon. Adam doesn’t give his trust easy, and he and Johnny are so competitive…have been since they were boys.”
Which only confirmed Cass’s assessment of the situation. Deflated, she forced a smile. “At least he won’t be coming around every other day to complain about hikers crossing his fence.” She dragged in a fortifying breath and reached for a stack of trail maps. “I’ll take some of these with me to hand out. Better head out on patrol and make sure things stay quiet.”
Mavis gave her a pinched smile and circled the counter of the information desk. Cass strode slowly back to her desk to retrieve her radio and clipped it to her belt.
As she walked back toward Mavis to say goodbye the glass doors at the entrance swooshed open behind her.
Mavis’s eyes widened slightly, and she whispered, “Brace yourself.”
Cass lifted both brows in question, but noted the smile Mavis quickly flashed and the two bright spots of color that filled the older woman’s cheeks.
Cass glanced over her shoulder then stiffened at the sight of the tall glass of firewater that sauntered into the building.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tough and rough, tall and dark, these are men a woman never forgets. Experience pleasure like no other in the arms of a cowboy…
