UPDATE: The winners are…Laura, Mona Lisa Swarm, and Eileen Airey!
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For a chance to win your choice of one of these Cowboys
on the Edge stories, answer me this!
Do you love cowboys who are also firefighters and lawmen?
(Click on a cover if you’d like to learn more!)
Don’t know what you’re missing in this cowboy series? Read an excerpt…
Lawless
When a Texas deputy’s motorcycle club trashes a bar with him leading the brawl, the sheriff decides his punishment will be serving as the bouncer/enforcer for the pretty owner while she runs a booth serving bikers during a weekend-long motorcycle club convention.
Get your copy here!
Excerpt from Lawless…
Just look at what had happened last night at her bar. One minute she’d been giving the bikers her little speech about how to behave in her place, and the next, one of the town’s deputies was going toe-to-toe with a rival club’s knucklehead who’d gotten too handsy with one of her waitresses.
Not that Ruby was sweating the damages. The vets’ biker club had shown up as soon as she’d opened her doors earlier that day to help with the cleanup. And they’d all pitched in to cover the damages for the broken window and furniture.
As for the man who’d started the free-for-all, Sheriff Penske had assigned the deputy, as punishment, to hang around her booth all weekend to make sure more fights didn’t break out.
What the hell was she going to do with him constantly underfoot? He’d be a six-feet something, tattooed and heavily muscled, dark-haired, dark-eyed distraction.
And why she’d noticed all those qualities was a mystery. She liked her single life. Liked the occasional date with a man who knew her boundaries. Liked to bed one once in a while.
However, when she’d seen the deputy wade in with his fists curled and his eyebrows lowered, a shiver of pure lust had radiated down her spine and straight into her core. Just remembering had her clenching her thighs.
Dammit. Wasn’t she more evolved than to be attracted to a knuckle-dragging meathead? Okay, so maybe she was reaching for a description that would place him in the “Oh, hell no” category of men she met, but she needed to strengthen her backbone before he showed up.
No. She shouldn’t have it, no matter how kind Josh’s offer had been. She didn’t need a man hovering. She could take care of herself—Thank you very much, Sheriff Penske.
But she hadn’t said a word when he’d assigned the deputy his penance.
Ruby glanced at the oversized dial of her watch. It was nearly two. He’d be here any minute. Glancing around, she tried to think of some way to divert him. Too bad there weren’t any visitors who looked ready to let their fists fly. No, everyone was pretty mellow, gathering around unlit campfires near their pitched tents and campers, looking as laidback as any seniors in an RV club, gathering to chat and play some checkers with old friends.
“Miz Tackett?” came a low-pitched voice behind her.
Her heart fluttered, and she cursed silently. Ruby Tackett did not get giddy around any man. She turned slowly, and her heart stuttered at her first sight of him. His jaw was dark with a thickening shadow of whiskers. He wore a black T-shirt with “Ride Free – Respect Our Vets” across the front, his club’s leather jacket, and well-worn brown cowboy boots. A black cowboy hat was tilted low over one eye. His badge and a holster were attached to his leather belt. Oh boy, was she in trouble.
Straightening her spine, she gave Deputy Nolan a stern look. “You made a mess of my place last night.”
“I surely did, ma’am, and I’m sorry about that. I’m grateful you didn’t press charges.”
She drew a deep breath and forced her expression to remain as mean as she could manage. “The sheriff says you’re going to hang around my booth this weekend.”
He gave her a solid nod, his gaze never slipping downward.
Something she appreciated, since most men couldn’t control the urge to check out her boobs. They were out there, after all. Nothing she was ashamed of. God gave her big boobs, and she’d learned to use them to her advantage, not the other way around. So, maybe he wasn’t a boob man…? “There’s no room inside my booth for someone who’s not handing out drinks.”
He reached behind him and pulled out a small red book.
Her mouth twitched as she noted he had a vintage copy of Mr. Boston Official Bartenders Guide. “Jesus, where did you find that?”
He wrinkled his nose. “At Mary’s Used Books.”
“I’m shocked,” she said, giving him a little smile. “I didn’t think she carried anything her pastor would disapprove of. It’s damn hard to find a decent romance book in her store that doesn’t have some Amish woman on the cover.”
His mouth stretched. “She swore me to secrecy when she pulled it out from under the counter. Said she knew someday the right customer would come looking for it.”
Holy hell, I’m in trouble. His smile dug dimples into both of his cheeks, and the man had all his teeth.
“So where do you want me?” he asked, his eyelids narrowing just a bit.
Did he really just ask that? Was he flirting with her? Ruby drew a deep breath, which strained the buttons of her shirt.
His gaze slid slowly downward.
And there it was. Her superpower hadn’t failed her after all. She took a step past him and beckoned him with a curled finger held beside her shoulder. “Follow me.”
