“Good morning, Kristin.”

Claire Ford greeted the high school secretary and signed the visitors’ register. Claire and the guidance counselor Betty Haynes had held their weekly meeting yesterday to discuss the upcoming summer ranch camp for troubled kids, but she’d gotten a call early this morning to come in at ten. Micah must have gotten in trouble—again.

“Go right in,” Kristin said. “Miss Haynes is expecting you.”

Claire’s stomach churned. One more strike and Micah was not only out of her camp, but out of chances—at least at Little Lobo High School. Of the two boys and two girls registered in the summer camp, Micah Abbott, a tough seventeen-year-old only one strike away from reform school, was the kid who would benefit most.

She thought back to the preadmission interview she’d held with Micah and his mother—Micah’s sullenness and his mother’s assurances he would not only attend camp, but also do the mandatory follow-up assignments. Since then, Micah had been in trouble again, and now if he wanted to stay in school he had to finish the camp.

The counselor’s door was open a few inches and Claire could hear the sound of conversation. She recognized the voice of Barry Nestor and smiled. The assistant principal, he had agreed to work for Claire over the summer as camp leader.
It was only days before her dream would be realized, the goal she’d struggled toward for several long years achieved. Finally she’d be able to try to help these kids get their lives back on track.

She tapped on the frosted glass of the door before opening it wide. Betty Haynes sat behind her desk, a venerable teacher and advisor with a reputation for dishing out fair but firm discipline. Dressed in a prim navy-blue suit, she had pulled her silver hair into a bun. The students loved her, with the exception of those like Micah who spent far too much time in her office.

Barry was dressed more casually, in khaki pants and a light blue knit shirt. Heavy, dark-framed glasses gave him a bookish air that had the odd effect of softening his angular features.

Both looked glum, and Claire braced herself. “What’s Micah done?” she asked, taking the seat Betty indicated.

The advisor made a wry face. “He and some others got drunk last night and decided to set off cherry bombs in rural mailboxes. They made the mistake of returning to gloat over their handiwork, and somebody got the license number off the truck.”

Way to go, Micah.

“I hope this won’t interfere with his coming to the camp. I’m sure Barry and I can help him,” Claire said. She saw the look the other two exchanged and didn’t like it. “What?”

Barry cleared his throat, obviously uncomfortable.

“What?” Claire repeated.

“I don’t quite know how to tell you this…” He hesitated. “So I’m just going to say it. I’m not going to be able to work for you this summer.”

“You’re… you’re kidding, right?” She shifted in her seat, leaning toward him. “Barry, camp starts in a little over a week! We have to move the horses to the ranch and get the bunkhouse ready. And—”

“Listen, I’m sorry about this, but I got a job offer last night that I couldn’t refuse. I’ll be joining a group of psychologists in Phoenix. I’ve been trying to land a position like this for years. It’s in my field of study, pays triple what I make here and, frankly, I’d be a fool to pass it up.”

“But you made a commitment to these kids. They need you. I need you.”

Barry lifted his hands in a hopeless gesture. “I’m sorry, Claire. I’ll try to help you find a replacement, but I fly to Phoenix at the end of the week, as soon as school’s out.”

“I can’t believe this. What about Micah?”

“I wish I could help you. I really do.” Barry used a finger to push his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose. “I can’t afford to turn down this offer. If I can’t start right away, they’ll find someone else.”

Fighting back panic, Claire moaned. “This can’t be happening.” Where would she find a replacement for Barry?

“Claire,” Betty said, “I have great respect for what you’re doing with your camp. But, this is Micah’s ‘third strike’ and the principal intends to expel him.”

“Summer break starts next week. And Micah will be coming to camp the following weekend,” Claire pleaded. “Just this once, couldn’t you ask for leniency?”

Betty smiled sadly. “I am sorry. I was hoping Micah would stay out of trouble until summer. But I’m afraid with this last incident, and without Barry there…”

“In other words, you think I can’t handle Micah,” Claire said with a frown. “It’s not fair to punish him because of Barry’s decision.”

“I know you’re very capable, but Micah needs a strong male presence. Even if I could convince the principal to make an exception, I can’t support his participation at this point, especially since we have another boy attending.”

“We’ll be on the ranch, surrounded by men. My father, Jon Rider—both are excellent role models. We’ll be fine.”

Betty propped her fingertips together and shook her head. “I’m sorry, Claire. They’re not camp employees and will have other things to worry about. If you can’t find a suitable replacement for Barry by early next week, I’ll have to recommend that neither of the boys attend the camp.”

Claire had dealt with Betty before and knew that the guidance counselor wielded enough influence to keep the students away from camp. Determined that Micah was not going to slip between the cracks, Claire stood, clenching her fists at her sides and forcing herself to remain calm.

“Barry, I hope the job works out.” Then to Betty, she said, “I’ll find somebody. Please convince the principal to give him one more chance. I intend to have Micah Abbott at camp.”

Staring out the window during math class, Micah saw Claire Ford leave the school building. Nosy bitch. No doubt she’d been talking to Miss Haynes. And no doubt when class was over he’d get a summons to the guidance counselor’s office because Claire’d been meddling in his business again.

Like his life was any of Miss Haynes’s concern. Or Claire Ford’s concern, or anybody else’s, for that matter. They all wanted to horn in where they had no business.

Wanted to fix him.

Well, he couldn’t be fixed. His dad was in jail, his mother was a junkie who didn’t particularly care what he did, and they lived in a crappy trailer on the wrong side of Little Lobo—hard to do, given the size of this Podunk Montana town. His parents were trash, his life was trash. He was trash.

Micah watched Claire detour to the playground where the elementary students were at recess. Miss Morgan, the third-grade teacher, met her at the fence that enclosed the play area, and they began to talk. Claire was hot, with a great butt—must be from riding horses all the time. If he thought there was any chance of tapping that, he’d be happy to play camp. But that jerk Nestor was going to be a counselor. Micah figured he might as well be in prison like his dad as go to that camp.

Micah’s attention wandered to the front row of the classroom where Annie Whitman took notes on the lecture, her blond hair falling in silky waves over her shoulders. He’d heard she’d made it with every player on the football team.
She denied it, of course. But everybody knew it was true.

As if she could feel him staring, she turned her head and met his gaze. He winked. She straightened and jerked her head back around. She hadn’t lost her high-and-mighty attitude, that was for sure. Micah pressed his lips together.

Just wait, babe. You’ll change your mind yet.

An announcement crackled over the classroom intercom. “Micah Abbott, please come to Miss Haynes’s office after class.”

Micah rolled his eyes and stuffed his math book into his bag as the bell rang.

Right on time.

****

Seth yawned and opened his eyes to narrow slits. Mid-morning light filtered into the room around fluttering curtains. He breathed in the smell of sweet grass and fresh air wafting through the partially open window.

Still sleepy, he closed his eyes again, drifting aimlessly in murky half dreams to a bright, sunny day more than three months ago. Victory within reach. A rank bull named Rotten. Riding on top of the world—then plummeting into oblivion.

Fighting the sensation of falling, Seth jerked violently awake. He wrenched upward, triggering a shaft of pain in his left hip and leg, which were held together with a rod and screws.

He let out a yelp and collapsed onto the bed, snatching fast, shallow breaths, squeezing his eyes shut until the pain began to ebb. Meanwhile, he pulled a pillow over his head and tried to shut out the awful memory.

When he could breathe normally again, he shoved the pillow aside and looked toward the nightstand, which was lined with medicine bottles. The clock there showed it was almost 11:00 a.m. Another day in hell.

Publisher: Harlequin Superromance

Buy It Link: amzn.com/0373715730

Release Month&Year: July 2009

Add an excerpt to CataRomance.com:

This post was submitted by Elaine Grant.

We’re happy to introduce this month’s featured author, Stacey Kayne.

Stacey brings her love of American history to vivid life with stories set in the wild west, featuring heroic women and the men strong enough to love them. Stacey’s pre-published works garnered four Golden Heart finals and over sixty regional contest wins. Her debut novels MUSTANG WILD and BRIDE OF SHADOW CANYON kicked off her Wild and Bride series in 2007.  The second book in her Wild Series, MAVERICK WILD is a 2009 Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award nominee for Best Historical KISS Hero.

Stacey lives on a ranch near the Sierra Nevada Mountains with her high school sweetheart turned husband of twenty years years and their two sons. Currently working on a new western series, she strives to weave fact and fiction into a wild ride that can capture the heart.

Visit her website at www.staceykayne.com.

And while you’re out there surfing, stop by Stacey’s blog as well: staceykayne.blogspot.com/index.html

And when you’re out an about, try to stop by one of Stacey’s booksignings:

• July 9th - Merced, Barnes & Noble - 5:00 pm - 7:00pm
• July 11th - Fresno, Barnes & Noble - 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Complete the Wild Trilogy!

She saved his life, he awakened her passion…

In the midst of a range war, Garret Daines is dead-set on keeping his ranch from greedy local cattle barons. An attempt on his life during a winter storm lands him in the healing hands of a mountain recluse. He can hardly believe the youthful beauty he discovers hidden beneath her mountain woman attire or the passion unleashed by her tender touch.

When “Mad Mag” pulls the handsome rancher from the snow she has no idea he’ll be the man to thaw her wounded heart. But Maggie is hiding a mess of secrets in her mountain sanctuary, none of which she’s willing to share. Murderous cattlemen threaten their fragile bond and Maggie has to face the fears of her past or risk losing her hope for the future. Garret will defend his wild woman at any cost, but can he convince her their love is worth the risk?

Buy Mountain Wild

REVIEWS:

“Stacey Kayne has written a sizzling western romance with a cowboy hero that will make any woman’s heart flutter and a heroine whose inner strength will have readers rooting for her. Against the backdrop of unfolding love, this novel is an examination of the bonds of family, love, trust and loyalty that bind us to one another, the devastation that happens when those bonds are broken, and the monumental struggle it takes to rebuild them. Memorable characters, an adventure-filled plot, authentic dialog and emotional punches combine to make this western romance a super read.” 5 spurs! ~Love Western Romances.com

Excerpt

Chapter One

Central Wyoming Territory ~ Fall, 1889

She moved with the caution of a doe caught grazing in an open meadow. Her dirt-stained fingers quickly secured a rope behind her saddle, binding her supplies as she discretely watched the men filing out of the newly constructed town hall.

Following a roomful of grumbling cattlemen out onto the boardwalk, Garret Daines spotted the woman called Mad Mag the moment he stepped into the crisp evening air. Her mangy bearskin coat and battered brown hat was hard to miss in the fading light of an otherwise deserted street. Murmurs of recognition and surprise rumbled through the crowd of men.

Garret had seen the mountain recluse in a town only one other time in the eight years he’d lived in these Wyoming hills, some years back in a settlement further north. The bushel of tangled black hair beneath her hat suggested she could still benefit from a lesson or two in hygiene. Known for having a temperament on the far side of crazy, Mad Mag tended to avoid folks all together. She obviously hadn’t expected all the cattlemen within fifty miles to spill out onto the streets of Bitterroot Springs at five o’clock in the evening. He glanced around at the men watching her with an equal measure of curiosity and caution.

“What’s the plan?” Duce asked, clapping a hand on Garret’s shoulder as he stepped beside him.

Garret glanced over at his business partner, the man’s wide grin striking him as a pure wonder. The past two hours of heated debates and near brawls, two of which had included Garret, left an ache in his shoulders, the frustration winding inside him still burning for release. In the fourteen years he’d been riding with Duce the wiry cowpuncher had never known a sour mood.

He doesn’t handle the account books, he silently retorted. Duce had signed on as his partner in name only, refusing to take a cut or responsibility for a business he hadn’t funded. At the age of forty-two, Duce still lived for Saturday nights and blowing his paycheck on weekend benders. In the past six years of running his cattle ranch, Garret had come to envy Duce’s carefree attitude and figured the past few winters had closed the wide gap in their ages.

God, but he felt old. Nothing like a failed marriage and Old Man Winter cramming his boot up your ass to age a man.

He glanced out at a pink-streaked sky. “Sun’s about down. Might as well spend the night.”

Duce gave a nod. He raked his fingers through his bushy red hair glowing bright beneath a streetlamp then tugged on his hat.

Think I’ll head over to the Gilded Lady. Winter snow will be piling up soon and my girls are bound to miss me. Care to come along?”

“Not in the mood.” He shook his head, a weary sigh breaking from his chest. “I feel like I’ve just been raped by seven cattle barrens.”

Duce chuckled.

Garret didn’t share his humor. To secure his place in the stockyards come spring he’d signed over a small fortune to the wealthy bandits of the newly appointed Cattlemen Association. They’d seemed rather disappointed in his ability to meet their demands. He wasn’t about to be pushed off his land. He’d faired better than many of his colleagues, men who’d lost all their stock in the freeze a couple of winters back, a blizzard that had damn near wiped out the cattle trade across the state. Now the railroad and invading cattle barrens circled like vultures, ready to pick off the smaller ranches struggling to make ends meet.

“I’ll settle for a pint of whiskey and passing out in a hotel room.”

“You can do that over at the Gilded Lady,” Duce persisted. “What you need is a night in the saddle with some wild women. Ain’t no reason for you not to.” He moved close as they stepped into the street. “Amanda’s not coming back, you know?”

Garret rolled his shoulders against the surge of anger and resentment tightening his muscles. “I sure as hell hope not.” Staring at that outrageous cattlemen contract reminded him of the divorce papers he’d finally signed last spring—cutting his marital ties to a woman he’d not seen in nearly three years. A wife walking out on a marriage left a man with no small amount of humiliation. He didn’t see the need to announce his divorce.

Life sure hadn’t gone the way he’d planned. Having acquired his ranch at the age of sixteen and marrying at nineteen, he truly thought he’d be settled in with his own family by now, not contemplating a night at a brothel. Damned if he could figure out what he’d done wrong. One thing he did know, he was through chasing women. If he was to have another wife, she’d have to run him to ground first.

“You can slug me for saying so,” said Duce, “but you’re lucky to be shuck of that one. All that pretty was wasted on a woman who don’t do nothin’ but sniffle and pout ‘cause you were too busy to sit and stare at her all damn day.”

The truth didn’t keep Garret’s chest from burning at the thought of Amanda Billings standing on his sister’s front porch bound and bustled in the fanciest gear he’d ever seen. The daughter of a southern banker, she was a true belle, her soft-spoken voice never reaching much above a whisper, her long, lithe body and graceful movements mesmerizing. The fact that she’d looked twice at his weather-beaten hide had lit his fire, and he’d sure as hell lit hers.

Passion hadn’t been enough to hold her. After eight months of marriage Amanda had her fill of him and Wyoming winters—a winter like nothing he’d ever seen. He wasn’t new to tragedy or hardship. Raised on cattle trails by his older sister, he’d survived raids, floods, droughts and damn near being washed out of a Colorado Canyon—none of it had prepared him for watching his livelihood go to hell in a frozen handcart.

Murmurs buzzed from the men around him as Mad Mag guided her horse along the main strip. The top of her hat was barely visible beyond her large bay she led by the reins. A fine horse. Its golden coat gleamed in the low light. His gaze stopped on the Morgan brand singed into the animal’s haunch–the brand of his sister’s ranch. He glanced again at the horse’s golden coat, black socks, the burst of white on the horse’s dark frock–Star. A favorite mare of Chance, his sister’s brother-in-law.

“Is that Star?” he said to Duce as they stopped beside their own mounts.

“Yep,” he answered, not bothering to shift his gaze toward the woman and her horse. “Chance sold his mare to the trapper just before you bought your ranch and we moved onto the Lazy J.”

That was six years back and he and Chance Morgan hadn’t been on good speaking terms. Still, he found it hard to believe Chance would sell his prized mare to someone like Ira Danvers. Garret had never actually met the mountain man, but had heard he was far less sociable than his woman.

“How can filth like that own a Morgan horse?”

Garret glanced back at the newest member of the Cattle Association standing on the landing of the town hall, his expression filled with disgust. Strafford, the newly elected Mayor of Bitterroot Springs, gripped the sides of his shiny blue jacket and stepped onto the walk, his group of ranch hands moving with him like a clutch of chickens scurrying after a peacock.

“Folks call her Mad Mag,” said one of his men. “Ain’t ever seen her in town before.”

“Mad Mag?” Strafford’s gaze narrowed. He stepped off the boardwalk into the dusty road. “You there? Come back here.”

The woman increased her strides and urged the mare to move faster.

“Uh…Boss?” his man called after him. “I wouldn’t–”

“Hey!” Strafford shouted. “I’m talking to you!”

“He’s barkin’ up the wrong tree with that one,” Duce murmured.

Mad Mag turned into the alley beside the mercantile. Strafford hurried after her.

“Someone might ought to fetch the sheriff,” suggested one of the men.

“Who wants to bet Mayor Strafford just got a new mare?”

The large group erupted with laughter.

Anger snapped at Garret’s nerves. He’d disliked the over-dressed rancher the moment he met the man. Nathan Strafford had moved into these hills with the greasy finesse of a snake oil salesman, forcing out the smaller ranchers while pouring his money into this town. He’d funded a new school and the first courthouse in Bitterroot Springs, which had gotten him elected as the new mayor.

Garret started across the road, damned if he’d stand by while that arrogant jackass took advantage of some poor deranged woman.

“Garret?”

Leaving Duce to chase after him, he rounded the building. Mag was near the far end of the alley, Strafford closing in on her.

“We got new laws in this town,” Strafford announced, his long arm reaching for her. He grabbed a fistful of fur.

Mag spun to face him, the rifle in her hands forcing him to take a backward step.

“Back off,” she growled.

Strafford’s six-plus frame towered over the small woman. “What business do you have in my town?” he demanded. “Aside from reeking up the streets and stealing our horses?”

The woman’s cold, throaty laughter echoed through the hallow shadows of the narrow alley. “Oh, that’s rich. You calling me a thief.”

Strafford leaned closer to her. “Mag–?”

The butt of her rifle connected with Strafford’s gut, ending his words in a hard cough. He doubled over. She swung again, her rifle cracking against his skull, sending him staggering back. Another swift blow to the brow, and Strafford hit the ground like a fallen timber.

Damn. Her reputation wasn’t just rumors. She stood over Strafford, the barrel of her rifle pressed to his chest. She trembled.

Jagged puffs of breath lifted the tangled black hair covering most of her face. Her finger flexed over the trigger.

If she shot Strafford, provoked or not, she’d hang before sundown.

“He’s not worth it,” Garret whispered, slowly moving in beside her while keeping an eye on that rifle.

Rage shaking her, Maggie couldn’t think of a single reason why she shouldn’t put a hole through Nathan’s black heart. He had no right to touch her–no right to be in this part of Wyoming!

His town? Her gaze raked over his fancy suit. Bile burned in her throat. Did this town know the vile measures he used to acquire his wealth? It was past time for Nathan Strafford to be stomped back down to the devil.

She startled at a light pressure on her shoulder. Her gaze snapped to the long fingers touching her fur coat. She glanced up at wide shoulders creating a clear line on the pink horizon.

“Careful,” he said. “Sheriff’s coming.”

Pale blond hair glowed white against the sunset, instantly identifying the man beside her.

Garret Daines. Recognition broke across her senses like a crack of lightening, shattering her tattered nerves. She’d spotted Daines and his cow dog often enough in the hills around her mountain, but never so close. He appeared rather like the Vikings she’d learned about during her studies as a young girl, his pale hair wavering in the cool breeze, the span of his chest blocking out the world. A colorful sky outlined his profile, defining the sharp lines and intriguing contours of his face.

“Ma’am, you’d better git.” The hand on her shoulder urged her aside, jarring her from a mental stupor. Not that he noticed. His hard gaze never strayed from the murmur of voices growing louder by the second. He glanced to his right and his friend moved in beside him, completely blocking her from view of the approaching mob.

“What’s going on?” a man shouted.

“What happened to Mayor Strafford?” called another.

“Not much that I could see,” said Daines. “Ol’ Strafford didn’t mind his footing. Tripped over his own boots and bumped his head.”

Maggie stared up at Daines’s broad shoulders, staggered by his outright lie, his offer of protection. Seizing the opportunity, she grabbed Star by the reins and stepped around the corner of the building. She wouldn’t be back to this town.

Garret glanced over his shoulder as the crowd descended on Strafford, and was relieved to find the woman had fled. He looked at Duce and nodded in the direction she’d gone. They prudently made a swift exit. Garret scanned the surrounding hills and tall grasses spotted by patches of trees and scrub. Mad Mag was nowhere in sight.

“You got some kind of death wish I should know about?” asked Duce.

“Why would you think–?”

“You’re lucky that woman didn’t fill you full of buckshot. Or didn’t you see the way she laid out Strafford?”

“She had a rifle, not a shotgun. And he likely frightened her, grabbing her the way he did.”

“Frightened her? That’s it,” Duce said, shoving him across the road. “We’re headed to the whorehouse before you end up dead or courting a mountain shrew.”

Garret laughed, and didn’t argue. Watching that woman knock Strafford down a few notches had lightened his mood.

Finally, a bit of justice in this world.

Buy Mountain Wild

Maria Santos had gone to Aristo in order to win a royal commission which would put her jewelry designs on the map. Designing Queen Tia’s necklace for her birthday would finally get her business off the ground and enable her to stop living in the grinding poverty which had dominated most of her life. She had certainly not planned on falling in love – or into bed with a gorgeous man! But when she encounters Alexandros, she finds herself unable to resist the charismatic and handsome stranger. However, her passion turns to horror when Alexandros reveals that he’s really Prince Alexandros Karedes!

Alexandros had been drawn to Maria’s innocence and lack of guile; so different from the usual kind of cold, calculating woman he usually dates. Yet when he mistakenly thinks that she used him to win the royal commission, he throws her out the kingdom and forbids her to ever set foot in Aristo ever again. Devastated, angry and betrayed, Maria flees back to New York and tries to get on with her life, despite her broken heart. With a mountain of debts, a selfish mother who expects Maria to support her and a shattered dream, Maria’s future looks set to be as troubled as her childhood. But things are about to get even more complicated for her…

Although Alexandros had vowed never to have anything more to do with Maria, his mother begs him to go to New York and to bring her to Aristo in order to design her necklace, after the company the King had selected went into liquidation. Alexandros is not exactly thrilled to find himself face to face with the woman he thinks betrayed his trust and judgment – but when he claps eyes on her again, his old feelings for her come rushing back.

Alexandros is determined to make Maria pay for betraying him – and what better way is there to wreak his revenge on her than by forcing her to be his mistress. What was meant to be a no-strings affair soon begins to get a lot more tangled and Alexandros soon loses his heart to his reluctant mistress.

However, Alexandros is a Prince and Maria a mere commoner. Will he be forced to make a devastating choice between royal duty and the woman he has grown to love?

In Billionaire Prince, Pregnant Mistress, Sandra Marton is as fabulous as ever! Maria was a wonderful heroine and I loved her quiet strength, resilience and dignity whilst Alexandros’ Alpha charms are impossible to resist! Wonderfully written and imbued with steamy love scenes, passionate emotion and nail-biting drama, Billionaire Prince, Pregnant Mistress is another classic from the exceptionally gifted Sandra Marton!

Jordan Ware can’t believe the changes in her life. She lost her mother and has found a twin sister. Now according to her mother’s will, the two women must switch places for three weeks. Jordan has always loved the west. From the movies to the horses, Jordan has longed to visit a ranch and experience it all. Now her chance has come, complete with a hunky cowboy, who also happens to be her sister’s fiancé.

Cash Landry is not sure what to make of Jordan, the city woman out for a western experience, but he does know she is sexy and desirable. When trouble comes her way, Cash has no problem protecting her but he wants more. With her time out west limited, Cash knows he must work fast.

Cara Summers did an excellent job with the twin plot. Maddie and Jordan were unaware of each other until the death of their mother. From there the plot twists as the two women are again separated. The similarities and the differences in their lives is clearly illustrated and it was a delight to discover double correlations between Maddie and Jordan. Cash was perfect for Jordan. Sexy and capable, he is a man anyone would want in their lives. Effortlessly tying in the two books and resolving all loose ends, Cara Summers has it all in Twin Seduction, a book to keep you up until you have devoured every page.