#blogabookscene TEXAS ROSE

TEXAS ROSE has several scenes that qualify for this month’s #blogabookscene theme:  Mayday! Mayday! I chose to go with the first one, in the first chapter, so you can meet the hero, Jaret Walker.

EXCERPT:

Sierra Madre Mountains, Mexico, February 1847 

   The closer they got to the river, the faster they rode.  “Come on, Walker, pick it up.” Nick laughed as he urged his horse to a gallop. “Last one to get wet buys the whiskey.”
   They thundered over the slight rise in the land and straight into a trap. Gunfire erupted from both sides, separating them. Bennett dove from his horse and rolled under some scrub bushes. Jaret managed to find a pile of rocks that offered a little better protection.
   From his vantage, he picked off two of the bandits. Bennett took out a third when the man presented his back while changing positions to get a better angle to shoot Jaret.
   Everything fell silent. “Bennett?”
   “Still in one piece. You?”
   “Yeah.” Jaret shifted, trying to draw any remaining fire. When nothing moved, he worked his way to where Nick lay sprawled in the dirt, careful to stay out of sight.
   “Is it over?
   Jaret studied the land, checking out every shadow. “I’m not sure. Stay put.”
   He balanced on the balls of his feet, ready to make a run for another spot of cover.
   “Look out!”
   Nick dove at Jaret, hitting him in the back. Jaret felt the bullet slam into Nick as they fell. Jaret rolled away and came up firing. The bandit was dead before he hit the ground. In the silence, Jaret heard the sound of a single horse, galloping away toward Texas. At least one man had escaped to carry the tale.
   “Bennett?” Blood was everywhere, running from the gaping wound in Nick’s shoulder.
   “How bad?” Bennett was conscious, but just barely.
   Jaret did what he could to stop the flow of blood. “Pretty bad. You need doctoring that I can’t do. Let me make sure we’re done here, then I’ll get you across the river.”
   “Don’t take too long.” Bennett took a shallow breath and closed his eyes.
   Cursing at the delay, Jaret searched out every bandit to be certain they were dead. He removed guns, ammunition, anything that might be used to shoot them in the back. As he rolled over the last attacker, a chill ran down his spine. He recognized the man. He’d been in the room when Jaret was hired to kidnap Bennett and deliver him to that hell on earth. Jaret glanced around, studying the setup.
   This trap had been laid for him, to eliminate the only witness to Bennett’s disappearance. Jaret blistered the air with curses. He’d been set up and Bennett paid the price.
   Again.

Texas, 1847~

A PROMISE MADE…

A loner with a heart of ice and nerves of steel. A dangerous, fast gun for hire. Jaret Walker has only his honor and the reputation he’s built for himself to call his own. When a promise sends him to isolated Two Roses Ranch and Isabel Bennett, the woman he’s come to protect, all he can think of is making her his—in every way. But she’s the kind of woman a man like him can never have—for he’s a man with a past that haunts him, and with no future to share.

A SCORCHING DESIRE…

The moment Isabel Bennett lays eyes on Jaret Walker, the dreams she’s pushed aside for so long suddenly seem possible. She’s sworn never to marry and give a man control over her ranch. But when Jaret rides into her life, she’s tempted to taste what she’s sworn to give up—a passion that burns out of control with each kiss…desire that consumes them both…and a bold challenge from the future that neither of them believed in…until now…

TEXAS ROSE!
See you next month! for #blogabookscene!Tracy