UPDATE: The winners are…Theresa Privette and Mary Preston!
*~*~*

2024 was such a big, eventful year for me, but we’re not going to dwell on the big, black cloud that descended at the very end of July. Instead, I want to remind you of the stories I put out into the world in 2024. Sixteen stories (with wonderful covers provided by my talented sister, Elle James!). Some of them were refurbished stories I republished. Some were brand-new stories I wrote. For the first half of the year, I chugged along, happy with the way the stories flowed from me. There were exciting new bounty hunter stories and fun adventures that featured my Dead Horse townspeople, even a sexy ex-military protector book. I persevered through my treatments to put together another Boys Behaving Badly anthology. So many words and adventures. I hope 2025 will be as filled with achievement.

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, let me know whether any of these stories interest you and what you might like to see more of in 2025!

January 2024

Unbound by the Amazon

A pair of Army soldiers travels back in time to retrieve a powerful ancient artifact of alien origin from the queen of the Amazons…

Army Lieutenant Farideh Kalani expected her time-traveling assignment to ancient Scythia to retrieve an ancient artifact would be difficult, but gaining the trust of Amazon warriors and their legendary ruler, Queen Hippolyta, is easy compared to being partnered with Sergeant First Class Caleb MacAvoy. The soldier is too smug and sexy for her peace of mind. Posing as a warrior seeking a place among the royal guard and her devoted personal servant, the pair succumb to their attraction just as they discover another seeks the treasure they’ve sworn to find.

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February 2024

Malcolm
Montana Bounty Hunters: Dead Horse, MT, Book 10

Two fiercely independent bounty hunters must fight their attraction while learning to trust each other as they work together to bring in a dangerous skip.

Former SEAL Malcolm Winslow was looking for a change. He’s been bounty hunting on his own since leaving the teams and has missed the camaraderie of fellow warriors, so he accepts a job with the Montana Bounty Hunters. His first hunt takes a turn when the MBH team discovers that another lone hunter has found their target first. Not wanting to infringe, they stand by just in case their competition needs help.

Darleen Crockett has things well in hand. Sure, she’s alone, without a weapon (because where would she hide it in her skimpy outfit?), and the skip she’s determined to take down is one mean MF, but Darleen likes to ride that dangerous edge between victory and disaster. She’s an admitted adrenaline junkie.

When her skip attacks, she has things well in hand but is suddenly rescued by a rugged, tattooed man who makes her heart pitter-patter. What’s up with that? She’s quickly recruited by Malcolm’s agency and finds herself on the biggest hunt of her career. Denying her attraction to her temporary new partner isn’t possible when they spend so many hours alone, but what she doesn’t expect is finding something more with the equally footloose and independent Malcolm. Things get thorny between them when Malcolm can’t seem to get past the fact she’s a woman to trust that she can handle herself.

When the agency prepares to track an old adversary preparing to flee justice, Malcolm and Darleen are quickly folded into the team heading to Lander, Wyoming, to find their dangerous skip.

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March 2024

What Happens in Bozeman
We Are Dead Horse, Book 3

What happens in Bozeman stays in Bozeman…unless it’s a cowboy!

Stranded in Bozeman, Montana, for the night while snowplows clear a mountain pass, Kelly Willis decides to throw caution to the wind. After being jilted by her college sweetheart, she’s determined to have one no-holds-barred night, her way of seeking revenge against a lifetime of conformity, before she settles down in a new town to live a very circumspect life as an elementary school teacher. She chooses another stranded motorist, propositioning him with the offer of a no-strings, no-names night of pleasure.

No one is more shocked than rancher Ryan Mobley when he appears at his daughter’s parent-teacher meeting to discover the angel he’d made love to is his daughter’s new teacher. Now that she’s here, he’s going to do everything he can to convince her they have a real connection, something they can build a lifetime on.

While she wrangles the class bully and he tries to figure out who’s rustling his cattle, the two of them grow closer with the help of a classroom full of mini matchmakers.

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April 2024

Tyson’s Mission
Brotherhood Protectors: Team Eagle

A former Navy SEAL is tapped to provide security for a team of archeologists working to uncover Mayan ruins deep in a Mexican jungle that a local drug cartel is targeting.

After surviving a catastrophic helicopter accident, former Navy SEAL Tyson Quigley is taking well to his new life with the Brotherhood Protectors in the Yellowstone, Montana, office. Life’s looking up. He’s working with old teammates and feeling stronger and more himself every day.

Then he gets a call from his university professor brother, who is worried about a colleague working on an archeological dig in southern Mexico. The team has had problems with thefts of equipment and supplies. Now, one of the dig team members has been kidnapped and held for ransom, but they quickly figure out the finger they were sent in the package demanding payment is from an already dead person. Now, they have no idea whether their team member is alive or dead and worry that the attacks on the site aren’t over. After a quick conference with his Brotherhood Protector teammates, Ty heads down to Mexico to pose as his brother’s friend’s boyfriend to provide her protection for the remainder of the dig.

Cara Woodward doesn’t need a babysitter. Sure, things have gotten scary since a team member was abducted, but she thinks having a bodyguard is overkill. Their sponsors are pulling the plug on the excavation due to the kidnapping, so they’re working furiously to close the site for the season. Tyson’s everywhere she is, and it’s getting on her nerves. His looming presence is distracting, to say the least. He’s too handsome, too intense.

As the dig team continues documenting their work before they pack up and leave, they suffer a series of attacks—this time, too close to Cara for Ty’s comfort. He’s locking her down, with no daylight between them for the duration.

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May 2024

Five Ways ‘Til Sunday
Delta Heat, Book 1

A Memphis cop bent on marrying an unconventional woman turns to his friends to tick every sexy item off her bucket list to get her to “yes”…

The more Marti Kowalski tries to convince Memphis PD Officer Jackson Teague she’s not the right woman for him, the more he wants to marry her. It’s crazy, and he won’t listen to reason. Of course, she’s tempted, but there are things she wants to experience before she ties the knot. All sorts of kinky things that involve knots—just not the marital kind. And she’s written them down.

When Jackson finds out what’s on Marti’s mind, he knows just what to do. He calls on his brothers in blue, four men he trusts with his life. Between the five of them, he’s sure they can check off each and every item on Marti’s bucket list in one wild, wicked weekend.

Of course, Marti has to agree to follow through, and he has to decide if he can bear to share her.

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Fournicopia
Delta Heat, Book 2

Forget the sugar. Send her the spice.

Gus Taggert knows a setup when he sees one. The doughnut shop his police officer buddies have sent him to, Cornucopia, is too frilly, too pink. Then the woman behind the counter serves up a mini-lesson in submission that leaves him ready and willing to obey her order to see her tonight at La Forge BDSM club.

The large, burly cop is exactly the kind of alpha guy that newly minted Domme Aislinn Darby has been dying to tie up and spank. Yet after she puts him through his paces, she finds herself eager to let him take control—something she’s never before enjoyed with a man.

Determined to find out once and for all if she has what it takes to control a scene, she orders him up for one more go. Only this time, she intends to ensure he remembers who’s in charge. She’s even willing to offer a little bribe: accept her dictates, and his reward is her—any way he wants her.

Except when it’s time for payback, it comes with several twists she never sees coming.

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A Perfect Trifecta
Delta Heat, Book 3

When Craig Eason plays switch in front of an audience at La Forge BDSM club as a favor for a friend, it’s supposed to be a one-time thing. But the cop catches the attention of an enigmatic, powerful Dom watching from across the room—a man who may be the one to help Craig test the boundaries of his own sexuality.

Firefighter Aiden Byrne has strong S&M desires he keeps firmly in check. His sub, Jennifer, thinks she likes it rough, but he’s never been able to let go the way he longs to with her. When a defiant stare from a handsome man on the La Forge stage causes Aiden’s most dangerous need to ignite, he wonders if he’s found someone he can truly let go with.

Jennifer is on board, as long as she can be an active participant—but none of them is prepared for the scene that will shake them all to the core and change everything.

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June 2024

Twice the Bang
Delta Heat, Book 4

Beau wants Pansy for his own. After a BDSM party thrown by his friends to celebrate their new throuple status, Beau decides it’s time to stake his claim. He’s been taking it slow with the sexy sub, but when he sees he’s not the only one vying for her attention, he realizes a long seduction was a mistake. A handsome fireman has caught his woman’s eye.

Billy may be new to the lifestyle, and a submissive like Pansy is probably out of his league, but he’ll do whatever it takes to have her, even if he has to share her with a cop whose confidence contrasts with Billy’s inexperience.

Pansy’s stuck between a rock and a hard place—or rather, stuck between a smoking-hot firefighter with ice-blue eyes and a dark, mysterious cop who can give her goose bumps with just a look.

Of course, she could refuse to decide between them and let both pursue her and, perhaps, if she’s very lucky, they’ll play dirty.

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Once is Never Enough
Delta Heat, Book 5

Mondo Acevedo is a legendary Dom and Master at the La Forge club. He’s helped his Memphis PD friends navigate the BDSM world and find the women of their dreams. Now, the vice cop and Dom is the last single man standing. But Mondo’s waiting for the right woman, one strong enough to match his dark passions, and he’s sure a timid grade school teacher definitely won’t make the shortlist.

Sunny Boudreau is content with her somewhat vanilla life, But when a trio of lovers moves in next door, she’s drawn to them and their group of friends, especially a certain tall, dark, and dangerous Dom.

Mondo tries to warn Sonny off, but her first taste of the club only whets her appetite and ignites her desire to prove she’s exactly the woman Mondo needs.

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July 2024

Burning Up Memphis
Delta Fire, Book 1

When firefighter John Cooper accepts an invitation to go to Club LaForge with his friends, he didn’t expect the sights and sounds of the BDSM club to have such an effect on him. Far from being turned off, he’s surprised to find himself thinking this lifestyle might just be what he needs—especially if Moira, his luscious guide for the evening, is willing to teach him everything he wants to know.

Moira Blessing is an experienced BDSM trainer, and she senses that Coop is not only a Dom in the making, but he could also be the man she’s looking for—someone to be her lover and her Dom. But Coop’s best friend just died on the job, and he’s not interested in anything serious right now. Good thing Moira thinks going slow can be sexy when done right…

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Hotter With a Pole
Delta Fire, Book 2

Noah Turner hopes buying the classic ’68 Camaro from a fellow firefighter’s widow will ease some of the grief weighing down his heart. When a noise under the hood sends him looking for a mechanic, he finds so much more. Big and burly Hoyt grabs Noah’s attention right off, and not just because of his bad-boy biker looks and ice-blue eyes. The fact Hoyt is a Dom and a member of Club LaForge certainly interests Noah.

Hoyt Freeman never thought he’d feel that rush with a man again after his partner died, but his body certainly reacts to meeting Noah. LaForge seems like the perfect place to meet and work off some energy and explore this sudden flood of desire. The heat between them starts to burn through their emotional barriers, whether the men are ready to make a deeper connection or not.

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Cyrus
Montana Bounty Hunters: West Yellowstone, MT, Book 1

The first new hire of the Montana Bounty Hunters: West Yellowstone, MT, isn’t much of a team player and isn’t sure he’s ready to stick around until he meets a pretty park ranger as independent and stubborn as he is.

Former Army Ranger Cyrus Walsh signs on with the competition when he sees the handwriting on the wall. The Montana Bounty Hunters are moving into his territory, and he can either join them or move on. So, he’ll give them a try but soon discovers he doesn’t mind so much riding with a new partner or working within the confines of an agency that respects their hunters’ strengths.

While chasing a skip in the nearby national park, he and his new partner encounter the skip and a park ranger, facing down a grizzly bear. The park ranger’s actions save the day, and he finds himself intrigued by the woman, who under normal circumstances, he’d never give a second glance. It’s not like he’s looking for a relationship; he’s not an easy man to be around. But her understated beauty and fiercely independent nature draw him closer, and he finds himself, reluctantly, asking her out.

Milly Bauer knows she’s not in the same league as the burly, handsome bounty hunter, but she’s eager to let things play out between them. There’s something she wants from him, experiences she’s denied herself. Something tells her Cyrus is just the man to provide what’s been lacking in her life, if only for a while.

While they get to know each other and find themselves inextricably drawn closer, their dangerous jobs make them wonder whether they can share a future together.

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Secret Identities
Boys Behaving Badly, Book 8

Inside Secret Identities: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology, you’ll find stories by some of the hottest romance writers out there for readers who crave mysterious, enigmatic men and women who may not be who they claim to be. Perhaps they’re the new next-door neighbor with a secret mission, an alien from a far-away galaxy looking for his fated mate, or a spy trying to catch a foreign agent. Whatever their secrets, intrigue and passion follow…

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August 2024

Rapid Entry
Delta Fire, Book 3

Firefighter Gage Eastwood doesn’t hesitate to race into his neighbor’s apartment to put out the fire there. Of course, some hesitation might have given him the time to realize he was buck naked. He’s a professional, so he can overlook the fact she’s in her underwear, but after a nosy neighbor snaps some pictures of them, the fire and his naked heroics go viral.

Shy Viviana Moore is a bestselling romance author. She might write about kink, but she’s never done anything kinky. So when her hotter-than-hot savior invites her out to his sex club, La Forge, she doesn’t admit at first to her lack of actual kinky experience. Soon, she has more than enough material for a whole new series as well as some hands-on experience of her own, and Gage is wondering if she’d let him be her muse…permanently.

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September 2024

Once Upon a Legend

When budding dime novelist Prudence Vogel travels west to meet legendary lawman Jake White Eagle, she discovers he really is the tall, handsome hero of her novel. Flustered and out of her element, Prudence is determined to shadow the handsome sheriff to lend authenticity to her next story.

While Jake certainly finds Prudence attractive, her constant presence is distracting. When things she has written seem to be coming true, he decides to get closer to see whether she’s part of a criminal enterprise he’s been trying to uncover.

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November 2024

The Demon Lord’s Cloak

After awakening in a castle, bound and at the mercy of her captor, Voletta has every reason to fear the mysterious man holding her in his arms. Instead, his brooding presence intrigues her, and his hard body excites her. However attracted she is, she must escape before he discovers her dark secret…but then she learns he has one of his own.

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‘Tis the season and all!

It’s just 7 days until Christmas, so I thought I’d give you an early gift. This story is yours! All you have to do is follow the link below. This offer won’t last long! Enjoy!

An ex-SEAL sniper, who has spent his life experiencing everything from a distance, finds his self-imposed solitude challenged by the one woman in the world who might have been made just for him.

Eli Pope left the SEALs when he feared that he was losing his humanity. Now, he’s the latest new hire at the Dead Horse branch of the Montana Bounty Hunters. However, working with the tight-knit hunters hasn’t broken through his reserve. He’s still the man on the outside looking in.

Then a chance meeting with Sheriff’s Deputy Kira Ennis sets him on a new path, leaving him hopeful for a brighter future. She’s unlike any woman he’s ever met—independent, smart, brave, and strong in her own right. He begins to believe that she’s the one person in the world meant to end his loneliness, but he hesitates, wondering if it’s right to pursue her when she’s so much younger than he is.

Get your FREE copy here!

UPDATE: The winner is…Sandra Marlowe!
*~*~*

I decided to do a different kind of puzzle for a change. Hope you enjoy it!

For a chance to win a download from among the stories hidden in this puzzle, tell me which cover appeals most to you!

UPDATE: The winners are…Kerry Jo, Misty Dawn, and Sandy Kelly!
*~*~*

I love my Montana Bounty Hunters. I’ve said it before, but I try hard to make each of them individual rather than cookie-cutter characters with different names. I also love to dream up unique takedowns for your reading pleasure and to showcase who these men are. One of my favorite characters is Brian, an amputee who has fought back from feeling useless at the beginning of the series to being an integral part of the bounty hunters’ team and a warrior again. I did a ton of research to get him right. Hope you’ve enjoyed his story.

Brian

MONTANA BOUNTY HUNTERS: Authentic Men… Real Adventures…

The haunted gaze of one wounded warrior sparks a challenge in a physical therapist who’s determined to help him regain what he’s lost whether he wants her help or not…

Physical Therapist, Raydeen Pickering, has seen her fill of stubborn veterans, some too angry to get on with their lives, some still living in hell in their minds, and then some unwilling to let their broken bodies hold them back. She hasn’t figured out which Brian Cobb is yet. The first time she met the handsome, wounded warrior, he was wary and defensive, his gaze always sliding toward the door, looking for as a quick escape from the Soldiers’ Sanctuary meetings.

Even now, there’s something about the ex-Army MP, now bounty hunter wrangler, that sets him apart from the other men she’s helped mend. There’s something more–not just the haunted look in his eyes or the stubborn set of his chin. The way he looks at her when he thinks her attention is elsewhere gives her hope that she’ll reach him, and that he’ll let her help him regain more of what he’s lost.

First though, he has to figure out he’s in love with the wrong woman. The one he needs is right here, and if she has to do the chasing, so be it, because those looks he gives her have rekindled a fire she thought was lost forever…

Contest

Are you all caught up reading the original Montana Bounty Hunters series?

For a chance to win a download of one of the stories you may have missed
(I’ll pick three winners!), tell me this:
What profession other than bounty hunters would you like to see my heroines involved with in my Montana Bounty Hunters—Yellowstone branch stories?

Here are all the Bear Lodge Montana Bounty Hunters! Yes, it’s an old meme, but do you really care?

MONTANA BOUNTY HUNTERS: Bear Lodge, MT
Authentic Men… Real Adventures…
Reaper: https://amzn.to/2NztLpv
Dagger: https://amzn.to/2zo6Dav
Reaper’s Ride: https://amzn.to/2KKkisI
Cochise: https://amzn.to/2zq4avV
Hook: https://amzn.to/2UrpyYh
Wolf: https://amzn.to/2yUTjr5
Animal: https://amzn.to/2H4Roob
Big Sky Wedding: https://amzn.to/33GprwK
Quincy: https://amzn.to/2QlleM8
Brian: https://amzn.to/2ZV8m2G

Excerpt from Brian:

Sweat trickled down the sides of Brian Cobb’s face. His helmet felt heavy on his head, his pack dragged on his shoulders, and his boots were so hot he was walking in pools of water. The transport vehicles his squad had been promised hadn’t arrived, so they were hoofing it back to camp with half a dozen prisoners chained in a line. Still, their plight was better than the infantry platoon’s they’d left a click back. Once they’d given the ISIS fighters into Military Police custody, they’d headed back to continue their sweep for insurgents hiding inside the village with the unpronounceable name.

“Hey, Corncob,” Private First Class Benny Sanders said as he walked beside him.

“You know I hate that nickname, Sanders,” Brian muttered.

“Yeah, I do,” he said, his smile stretching across his dark face. Benny jerked his chin toward the slender figure striding ahead of the chained prisoners, her dog Tessa walking, unleashed by her side. “I see how you look at her. Are you and she…?” Read the rest of this entry »

UPDATE: The winner is…Roxie A Jones!
*~*~*

I just began my third Montana Bounty Hunter series, this time set in West Yellowstone, Montana. When I started I had no idea how much fun they would be to write. But I’ve already filled up two offices in Bear Lodge and Dead Horse, so, I either needed to move out of state or find another Montana town I wanted to “visit.”

Thank you, by the way, to everyone who picked up their copy of Cyrus!

I have a process I go through before I start a book. First, I need a name. Then, I need a picture to go with that name. The name and the picture inform me about who the person I’m about to write is. The name, Cyrus Walsh, seemed a little old-fashioned like he could’ve been a gunslinger in the Wild, Wild West, and the photo I found with his narrow-eyed squint told me that was how he looked out at the world, with a hint of suspicion and need to figure out who he was facing. If you’ve read the story, you know how much Milly, the woman who captures him, loves that narrow-eyed glare.

Now, the problem is finding more hunters to people the office in West Yellowstone. Take a look at the previous two series cast of characters…

Bear Lodge, MT

Dead Horse, MT

Contest

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, suggest some names for bounty hunters so I can begin my process of figuring out will fill my cast of characters in West Yellowstone!

Word Seach Puzzle

And I added a puzzle because we need one of those right about now, right? Enjoy!

If you’ve enjoyed my bounty hunters in the past, I can guarantee you’ll love Cyrus. It is action-packed and features two characters you will fall in love with. You can “meet” Cyrus in the opening scene of the book here: Cyrus Excerpt. He’s grumpy, likes his space, and thinks he doesn’t really need anybody—until he meets Milly. He thinks she’s not his type but is quickly intrigued because she surprises him at every turn. All I can say is they were fun to write, and I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Anyway, the book is out! I hope you get your copy! This is the start of a new series! — Oh! And it’s currently FREE in Kindle Unlimited!

Cyrus

The first new hire of the Montana Bounty Hunters: West Yellowstone, MT, isn’t much of a team player and isn’t sure he’s ready to stick around until he meets a pretty park ranger as independent and stubborn as he is.

Former Army Ranger Cyrus Walsh signs on with the competition when he sees the handwriting on the wall. The Montana Bounty Hunters are moving into his territory, and he can either join them or move on. So, he’ll give them a try but soon discovers he doesn’t mind so much riding with a new partner or working within the confines of an agency that respects their hunters’ strengths.

While chasing a skip in the nearby national park, he and his new partner encounter the skip and a park ranger, facing down a grizzly bear. The park ranger’s actions save the day, and he finds himself intrigued by the woman, who under normal circumstances, he’d never give a second glance. It’s not like he’s looking for a relationship; he’s not an easy man to be around. But her understated beauty and fiercely independent nature draw him closer, and he finds himself, reluctantly, asking her out.

Milly Bauer knows she’s not in the same league as the burly, handsome bounty hunter, but she’s eager to let things play out between them. There’s something she wants from him, experiences she’s denied herself. Something tells her Cyrus is just the man to provide what’s been lacking in her life, if only for a while.

While they get to know each other and find themselves inextricably drawn closer, their dangerous jobs make them wonder whether they can share a future together.

Order your copy here!

Meet Milly…

The hunters have apprehended their skip, but he suffered some injuries while running away from them in the woods in Yellowstone park where our heroine is a park ranger. I just love her. She’s not your usual heroine and because she’s unexpected the hero can’t help but notice her…

Milly Bauer followed the two burly bounty hunters back to the trailhead as they carried Tate Smith between them. They made it look easy, although both men were coated in sweat by the time they arrived back at their vehicle. When she mentioned loading Tate into her Tahoe, she’d gotten another of the bigger guy’s scowls. He acted like she was trying to horn in on his takedown. She didn’t give a rat’s ass who got the credit. However, they were operating inside the park, so it was her duty to make sure rules were followed.

Once at the clinic, the nicer one followed Tate Smith to the imaging center to get X-rays of his right foot and shoulder. It looked like he had indeed broken his ankle and several smaller bones in his foot, as well as dislocated his shoulder.

“They’ll be a while,” she warned the bigger guy. “I’m Milly Bauer, by the way,” she said, holding out her hand and hoping he’d give her a name because “nicer guy” and “bigger guy” would likely blurt from her mouth if she didn’t have a proper name to assign the two hunters.

She guessed his eyes remained permanently narrowed—maybe it was genetic—because his eyes didn’t widen when he reached slowly to shake her hand.

“Cyrus Walsh.”

“And your friend?”

“Mike Meakin. He’s a police officer with the West Yellowstone PD.”

“So, he’s got a real job when he’s not hanging with bounty hunters?” She meant it as a joke, but the chilly look he gave her said he didn’t appreciate her humor. She held up her hands. “Didn’t mean to offend.”

He grunted and turned in his seat to stare down the hallway where his friend had disappeared. “You don’t have to wait around with us. We’ve got this handled.”

“My boss wants me to stick with you and escort you out of the park after your prisoner is fixed up. He really doesn’t like bounty hunters.”

Again, he grunted, and she found she rather liked the rude sound. Most men weren’t as honest about their disinterest in her.

“So, have you ever faced a grizzly before?” she asked.

“Have you?” he asked, his head swiveling toward her.

She unclipped her can of bear spray from her utility belt. “Nope, but I did come prepared.” She sniffed the fingers that had held down the nozzle when she’d sprayed. “Can’t believe soap and water worked so well.”

“I was curious why you didn’t go straight for your gun,” he said.

“I didn’t want to kill the bear if I didn’t need to.”

“He was charging you and Tate.”

“I was in his territory.”

He rolled his eyes.

“I’d have pulled my Sig,” she said, patting the weapon in her holster, “but that was a grizzly, and if I’d shot him, I might have only pissed him off. Who says I’d have had a chance to take a second shot.”

His jaw rotated, and then he clamped it tight.

“Seeing as you’re so gun-ho,” she said, wincing at her own pun, “why’d you decide to make noise and charge the bear instead of shooting?”

“I wasn’t close enough to be in any danger.” His mouth curved into a slight smirking smile.

She narrowed her eyes. “But I was.”

He shrugged. “You looked like you had things handled with your can of bear piss.”

Was he trying to piss her off? “It’s not bear piss; bear repellent is made of hot peppers, capsaicin to be specific.” She laughed and shook her head. “Are you always such an asshole?”

He sighed and wiped a hand over his face. “I’m not good with people.”

“No kidding.” Still, she grinned—and noted that his gaze dropped to her mouth before darting back up to her eyes.

His scowl deepened, his eyebrows drawing together.

Milly rather liked earning those frowny faces. At least he wasn’t ignoring her.

He cleared his throat. “Seeing as how Mike’s going to be a bit, you want to get some coffee?”

She hid her surprise and shrugged. “We can get fast food, or there’s Wylie’s Canteen in Lake Lodge. We can get coffee and some sandwiches there if you like. Maybe bring something back for your friend and Tate, too…?”

Cyrus rose to his feet. “I’ll text him and see if he needs to visit the facilities before I leave.”

He pulled his phone from his pocket and quickly typed a message. “He says he’s good. He’ll eat anything but hates mayo.”

“I’ll drive since I know where we’re going. The canteen, right?” At his nod, she pulled her keys from her pocket. “It’s not far.”

The short drive was made in silence. The cafeteria wasn’t too busy, so they quickly queued up their trays and pushed them along the rail. Such a domestic thing to do, and she knew they looked absurd—her in her uniform, standing beside a big brute of a handsome man. Everyone was craning their necks to watch as they plucked pre-made sandwiches from refrigerated displays, adding chips and drinks before sliding their stacked trays toward the register.

“I got this,” Cyrus said.

“I’ll get my own food.”

“Already have my wallet out.”

She raised both eyebrows and slowly nodded because she figured he was determined to win. “I appreciate it. Thank you. Do you want to eat here or back at the clinic waiting room?”

He glanced at his phone. “They’re still waiting on imaging. Let’s eat here.”

They took seats at a small table overlooking the parking lot and began unwrapping and opening their food and drinks.

“You live in the park?” he asked.

She was surprised he was making an effort at polite conversation. She lifted a crisp potato chip. “I don’t. Actually, I live in West Yellowstone. I was born and raised there.” She chomped on the chip while he gave her another hard-to-read frown.

“Well, hell,” he said under his breath.

She laughed, although she knew she should’ve felt insulted by his lack of enthusiasm for what she’d shared. “Thought you’d never bump into me again, didn’t you?”

UPDATE: The winner is…Debra Guyette!
*~*~*

If you’ve visited this blog lately, you know that there’s something fun happening over at another website I run, Delilah’s Collections. It only gets active for a few months a year, but when it does, it’s very, very busy! We’re running a campaign now through the release of our latest collection, Secret Identities: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology on July 30th. It’s a fun way to get to know the authors who’ve written stories for the anthology—maybe you already know them, maybe you don’t! But did I mention there will be multiple opportunities to win prizes or pick up some freebies?

Now back to those images… They represent the current posts from the authors who are eager to meet you!

For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, let me know whether you’ve been over to the Collections website to “meet” our new authors!

A reminder about what’s releasing tomorrow!!

Pre-order your copy now!