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Ah, love. A romance writer's favorite subject. It’s why I write romance—so I can get two hearts together and make a happy-ever-after for them.
Ah, love. A romance writer's favorite subject. It’s why I write romance—so I can get two hearts together and make a happy-ever-after for them.
In my recent release, WILD TEXAS HEARTS, we meet Lizzie
Sutton, a less-than-feminine woman who finds her way to a deserted cabin seemingly
in the middle of nowhere. Except the cabin belongs to Cain "Wolf" Richards (the good
man working for the outlaws in TEXAS GOLD) and he’s not interested in
sharing. That is, until he gets to know
the strong, intelligent woman beneath the rough language and dirty buckskins.
The oil-and-water mix of two strong willed survivors was a
lot of fun to write. But they couldn’t stay apart for long. And while Wolf is
figuring out he doesn’t want revenge, he wants a future with Lizzie, she’s
trying to change herself into the ideal woman in order to attract his
attention. All in the name of a marriage proposal.
After
holstering his revolver, Wolf snagged Lizzie’s hands.
“Why, Lizzie?”
“You didn’t
need to bring Black Jack to justice. It was time to let the sheriff do his
job.”
Wolf tugged
her closer, smoothed a hand the length of her braid. “I don’t care about that.
Why would you offer to change for me?”
She looked
away, studied the floor. “I…” She leaned into his touch for a moment before
putting a little more space between them. “You want a perfect woman for your
wife. I know I can never be as good as Emily, but I’ll try…”
“No.” He
turned Lizzie to face him, framing her face with his hands. “I’m not looking
for another Emily. I loved her and I suppose a part of me always will. She gave
me my son. But she’s gone. And there’s this other woman I know.” He kissed the
tip of her nose. “She dresses like a man, shoots better than I do, and her
language would make a sailor blush. And she’s perfect for me, just the way she
is.” He brushed a kiss on Lizzie’s forehead, her eyelids, her lips. “In fact,
there’s only one thing I would change.”
Lizzie’s eyes
drifted open, her gaze suspicious. “What would that be?”
“Your last
name.” Wolf eased away to look her in the eyes so she never doubted that she
was exactly who he wanted. “Will you marry me, Elizabeth Ann Sutter? Make us a
family again. Build your tomorrows here, with me.”
Her eyes
reflected her shock. “Did Millicent tell you my full name?”
Wolf’s shout
of laughter echoed through the store. Lizzie didn’t join in.
“You really
want to marry me?”
She sounded so
unsure, he couldn’t tease her anymore. “I really do.” Wolf kissed her, a gentle
caress.
“No more
bird’s nest hats and fancy hair,” she warned.
He kissed her again,
harder. “Agreed. Now and then, though, would you wear a corset under your union
suit?” Wolf brushed a fingertip along her jaw and down her throat to where her
buttons began and leaned close to her ear. “Just so I can take it off you?”
Lizzie grabbed
a handful of his hair and tugged his lips to hers. “You’ve got yourself a
bargain, Richards.”
The bell over
the door tinkled cheerfully as some fool started inside. With a snarl, Lizzie
drew Wolf’s revolver and shot the bell clean off the doorframe, without looking
around. Carruthers’ scream of terror could be heard before the door slammed
shut.
Wolf broke
their kiss, laughing. “One thing’s for certain, life with you will never be
boring.”
“Count on it,”
she agreed, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders to pick up where they
left off.
I love that proposal! My own was nowhere near as exciting,
but it got the job done nearly 37 years ago.
HOW ABOUT YOUR PROPOSAL? DO YOU HAVE A PROPOSAL STORY TO
TELL? PLEASE SHARE!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Tracy
www.tracygarrett.com
Facebook: TracyGarrett.author
Twitter: @TGarrett_Author
www.tracygarrett.com
Facebook: TracyGarrett.author
Twitter: @TGarrett_Author
UNDER A WESTERN SKY Boxed Set
– includes my story, TEXAS
GOLD & 5 other novels
Oh, Tracy, I just loved this pair. They really kept things exciting! LOL Hmm, a proposal story. Well, I don't really have a good proposal story, but I have the story of the minute I knew I was going to marry my hubby.
ReplyDeleteGary and I were in college together, but he was going on the GI Bill since he'd already been to Vietnam and then spent 4 years in Japan. He was "worldly" and a rebel, 6 years older than I was, had just gotten divorced...well, you get the picture. I was 19, a transplanted "Okie" in West Virginia--like a fish out of water. So Gary and I had a couple of classes together and then another one in the summer, and he asked me to go to the stock car races with him. I had never been to anything like that before! Long story short, while we were there, one of the guys (a friend of G's brother) got into a fight. And I mean a real fight--right next to where we were sitting. The next thing I knew, this guy had pulled a razor out of his boot and was going after the other guy.
Gary looked at me and said, "I'll be right back. Just stay put." Military training came in handy. Gary got the razor away from him and sat down again next to me. He said, "Well...so much for a first date."
I knew right then, I was going to marry him. Not too romantic on the surface, but he was trying to keep me safe. I loved that about him. Still do. We've been married as of this past Saturday for 39 years.
Cheryl, I love it! Gary sounds like a keeper to me. Happy #39!
DeleteGreat excerpt, Tracy. After reading Texas Gold, I had a feeling Wolf had his own story. I'm so glad he got to have a happily ever after when he'd suffered so much loss!
ReplyDeleteWhen I met my husband he was ten years older than I, had a small son, and was still married! (they were in the middle of divorce and custody proceedings, which took years as it turned out.). For a romance writer, I don't have much of a romantic proposal tale to tell. We'd been together for years and bought a fixer upper together. Somewhere along the way we decided to get married, but I don't remember how it all transpired. And when Bob asked if I wanted an engagement ring, I said "no, we just bought a house." But he encouraged me to go the the jewelry store anyway. I didn't see one ring I liked and was ready to leave when the owner asked if I wanted to see some estate jewelry. I fell in love with a ring right away. It was still engraved with the initials of the first couple to buy it and the date 1888, which coincidentally was the year our house was built. But still I was being practical, thinking how else we could use that money, so I left. What I didn't know was that Bob went in after I left and asked which ring I liked. He bought it for me and I still love it! We've been happily together for almost 30 years, have two children of our own, and thanks to my stepson, we're grandparents twice over.
Another keeper! And I'll bet that ring is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteAh, love! I do enjoy these characters and the excerpt. She's my kind of female. Don't really have a proposal story, the marriage didn't take. (But we are still friends, and better that way.) Doris
ReplyDeleteThank you, Doris! Lizzie has a place near and dear to my heart. I love a woman who knows herself but is strong enough to show her vulnerabilities.
DeleteAt one point in my life, I decided my relationships were 'teflon'... they didn't stick. Marriage 1, marriage 2, and a broken engagement left me committment-shy, but I did manage to eventually marry a 'keeper', and we'll have 26 years together on March 20th. (I know, TMI.) lol - As for proposals... Nope. No interesting stories. But I've written a couple of proposal scenes. Your proposal excerpt is great. I love a feisty heroine.
ReplyDeleteI laughed when Lizzie shot the doorbell. I think I'd really enjoy this story. My proposal story happened on May 15th. It was my very first payday. Doug picked me up to take me to lunch, but I wanted to get my pay first. Stood in line, only to find out I was at the wrong branch, so we walked a couple of blocks and stood in line again. As a result, instead of going to a restaurant, we only had time for a quick burger at an A&W drive in (you know the kind, where they roller-skated up to the car and delivered your order). Doug gave me a yellow umbrella and a sparkly topaz bracelet I had admired in a store. That night we double-dated at the drive-in and that's where Doug proposed and put the ring on my finger. And it was almost the shortest engagement in history. At the intermission, the four of us went inside to get snacks and I ran into a friend from home and showed him my ring. Alice nudged me, pointing. I looked over to see Doug absolutely glaring at us. Well, some fast talking back to the car and make-up was successful. We married a year later on that same day and it's been a wonderful, happy marriage of 52 years and four wonderful sons. BTW, I strongly believe in love at first sight. And for the life of me I don't remember the name of that movie. :)
ReplyDelete