About the Book:
Micah Prescott will do anything to save his family's sheep ranch, even if it kills him. With a city-based firm pressuring him to sell and the bank threatening to call in his loan, he has less than a month to figure out a solution to keep the property his father strove so hard to protect. But when a storm rolls in, washing out the only bridge to town and bringing with it an unwanted visitor, he finds his options quickly dwindling.
Sales associate Francis Grace Riley will do anything to prove that she belongs. Convinced she can secure a deal where others had only failed, she takes to the mountains in search of one stubborn rancher, only to realize there is much more riding on the outcome of this trip than her job.
From the moment Micah rescues Grace on the side of the road, sparks fly—that is until he learns who she really is. Stuck together until the bridge is repaired, the two of them must learn to work as a team if they have any hopes of achieving their goals. But when things start to go wrong on the ranch, and sheep begin to disappear, they're left questioning who they can trust ... and what they're willing to sacrifice for those they care for.
Excerpt (end of Chapter Two)
Grace glanced up from her steering wheel, half expecting to see a monster lurking in the shadows with her luck, and gasped as the glow of another car appeared beyond the trees.
Twin headlights glared in the rearview mirror. She watched with mixed emotions as a truck crept to a stop behind her. Grace held her breath and waited, heart pounding rapidly against her chest. She’d seen this movie—the girl stranded on the side of the road only for an ax-murderer to find her. Grace didn’t want to end up on the front-page news. At least, not for something like that.
An excruciating minute went by without any movement from the mystery driver. Perhaps he had chosen to wait out the storm like her.
Grace scanned the inside of her car for anything that could be used for self-defense if necessary. Too bad she’d packed her curling iron away in the trunk. With few options, she settled on the compact umbrella tucked behind her seat, locked the doors, and waited.
A door opened behind her, and a giant shadow of a man stepped out. With the headlights behind him, Grace couldn’t make out his features beyond a set of wide shoulders that would have dwarfed her five-foot-six stature. In his left hand, he carried something with a long handle that may or may not have been a dangerous weapon. A crowbar? Maybe a bat?
She looked down at her hands, and suddenly her collapsible umbrella seemed like a not-so-perfect form of defense.
Holding her breath, she imagined every crunch of his boots against the gravel until his large shadow fell across her window. He rapped on the glass twice, but the pounding rain distorted whatever he said.
The man jiggled the locked door handle and then pounded his fist harder against the drenched window.
Please, God.
Grace’s heart was in her throat. She knew she shouldn’t have come out here on her own. It had been a foolhardy idea to make a name for herself. And she most definitely shouldn’t have skipped that last oil change. But she couldn’t change the past. God help her, if she survived this, she’d do whatever He asked—go back to church, volunteer more, donate half her shoe collection…
In an act of uncharacteristic courage, she pushed the door open and jumped out, swinging the umbrella in a wild arc at the stranger.
The man raised his hands to block the unexpected blow, grunting at the dull impact, and dropped what was in his hand. The object clattered onto the pavement. Grace shifted and took aim before the man could charge. Brandishing the umbrella like a baseball bat, she stepped forward and her shoe collided with something heavy. She gasped at the sharp pain in her toes and watched as the object skidded across the ground and stopped beneath the sole of a leather cowboy boot. The stranger lowered his hands with caution and bent to pick up what appeared to be a heavy-duty flashlight.
Time seemed to slow as he stepped back into the light, the truck’s headlamps illuminating his features with long shadows. Despite the water clumping on her eyelashes, her gaze traveled the length of the man’s flannel-cased arms to his broad shoulders and up his shadowed face. His gaze locked with hers for a moment before a dog’s excited yip broke the tension.
Grace’s mind fought to catch up with reality. The animal leaped from the man’s truck and trotted in her direction as the rain soaked into her shirt and shoes. The man made no move to intervene as his dog shoved a wet nose against her knee.
Grace shivered. She relaxed her grip a fraction on the umbrella and, with caution, reached down to stroke the animal’s damp fur. The man remained at a respectable distance, for which she was grateful. When the dog seemed satisfied with her greeting, he turned and trotted back toward his owner.
The stranger didn’t speak, but the dog seemed to calm down the moment his free hand lowered toward its upturned head. He made no attempt to approach her again, but a series of silent questions seemed to radiate from him.
She looked down at the umbrella still clenched in her fist. Grace’s face and ears grew impossibly warm despite the cold rain soaking her to the skin. Dozens of reprimands flooded through her mind for her hasty overreaction, but none of them assuaged the embarrassment that threatened to overwhelm her.
She dropped the umbrella like it was a snake and looked once more into the face of a man who was decidedly not an ax-wielding murderer.
About the Author:
Alyssa is a Colorado native who attended the Colorado School of Mines, got her masters in Geological Engineering, and promptly became a watercolor artist and author (as one does). She loves writing heartfelt romances with happy endings, a bit of mystery, faith, humor, and second chances. Receive a free short story when you sign up for her newsletter at: https://www.authoralyssaschwarz.com/
Beautiful cover
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a good book deff gonna check it out!
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