Contemporary Romance
Date Published: 8/1/2013
Getting fired over a workplace meltdown was bad enough, but getting dumped at the exact same time by her boyfriend-slash-boss was the ultimate humiliation. With no real friends in L.A. and perennially absent parents, Daphne Simms has no one to turn to. To heal her heart, she runs to the only true home she’s ever known—her grandmother’s rural Texas ranch, called Crazy. She knows ranch folks will be a far cry from those she's known in L.A., but she certainly doesn’t expect to be greeted by a cranky cowboy shoving a shotgun in her face.
Mick Williams has lived and worked on Crazy for twenty years. Though he’s utterly devoted to Daphne’s grandmother, he’ll be damned if he’s gonna let a city slicker like Daphne sashay in and disrupt his nice, quiet life. When the future of Crazy is threatened, Mick and Daphne must join forces to keep the ranch afloat, but the heat of their attraction makes working together more complicated than either of them imagines.
When their physical and emotional connection deepens, Mick tries to turn away from the woman he’s convinced he doesn’t deserve, so Daphne has to pull out all the stops to convince him that the heart of Crazy is big enough for the both of them.
Mick Williams has lived and worked on Crazy for twenty years. Though he’s utterly devoted to Daphne’s grandmother, he’ll be damned if he’s gonna let a city slicker like Daphne sashay in and disrupt his nice, quiet life. When the future of Crazy is threatened, Mick and Daphne must join forces to keep the ranch afloat, but the heat of their attraction makes working together more complicated than either of them imagines.
When their physical and emotional connection deepens, Mick tries to turn away from the woman he’s convinced he doesn’t deserve, so Daphne has to pull out all the stops to convince him that the heart of Crazy is big enough for the both of them.
EXCERPT
At some point
during the night, Mick pulled the covers over their bodies and they dozed in
each other’s arms. He woke up with Daphne snuggled in to him with her head on
his shoulder. As he watched her sleep, he’d never felt so at war with himself.
One side railed
against the Mick who was lying in bed next to Daphne, telling him that there
was no way that a cowboy with no roots, no real family, no ties would ever be
good enough for a woman like her. The other side wanted so badly to stay here
in her warm arms, wanted to believe he was good enough, that he almost
convinced himself.
He closed his eyes
and willed his mind to still. He’d calmed crazed cattle, lived on the streets
as a teenager, and survived a druggie mother, why was he scared now?
He was as terrified
of losing Daphne as he was of keeping her.
How could he
possibly keep her? They had nothing in common except Missus B and Crazy. As
much as he loved Missus B, he knew he wasn’t part of the family. She said he
was, even Daphne had said he was, but blood runs thick. Being like
family wasn’t the same as actually being family.
He was the hired
help. Sissy’s jibe had hit so close to home because deep down that was how he
felt. And everyone knew the hired help couldn’t live happily ever after with the
princess.
Daphne stirred and
snuggled into Mick, sighing as she cinched her arm around his waist. With that
simple touch, Daphne wiped away any thought he had about living without her.
Damn status and family, how was he supposed to walk away? But how could he
stay?
“Stop thinking so
loud,” Daphne mumbled.
He laughed and
kissed her hair. “Sorry,” he whispered, stroking her hair and back. “Go back to
sleep.”
She propped herself
up on her elbow and looked down at Mick. She reached up and gently brushed his
tousled hair out of his face. She trailed her fingers over his temple and down
his cheek, and he couldn’t help nuzzling into her hand to accept the caress.
He grabbed her hand
and kissed her fingers. “Guess I need to shave, huh?”
Her teeth flashed in
the darkness when she grinned. “Actually, turns out I’m kinda into the scruffy,
outdoorsy type now.”
His heart skipped a
beat. Or three. “Daphne…” he started.
“Mick.” She frowned
in mock severity.
Absurdly he
bristled. “Are you picking a fight while we’re naked in bed?”
Daphne gasped.
“We’re naked?”
He groaned and
rolled his eyes. The woman never took anything seriously and he said as much.
Daphne straddled
him and braced her palms on his shoulders. “You take things too
seriously. What on earth has got you in such a lather so early in the morning?”
He gazed up at her,
shrouded in sheets and faint moonlight, with her hair shimmering around her
face, and couldn’t think of one damned reason. “I can’t think when you’re on
top of me like that,” he admitted.
She leaned back
with a coy smile and pushed the sheets off her shoulders, exposing herself
fully. “Finally, a fault I can take advantage of.”
And she did.
Cate Baylor has been a technical communicator for over fifteen years. When she's not writing, she suffers from hobby addiction, which includes (but is not limited to!) reading, jewelry making, crochet, knitting, scrapbooking, cross stitching, and home DIY. She lives in Houston with her geeky husband, three neurotic cats, and precocious Yellow Lab named Tex. She comes from a long line of Texan farmers who are likely rolling over in their graves knowing she’d much rather stay blissfully air-conditioned than suffer outside in the Texas heat. She's a die-hard Texans fan but hasn't decided whether she's willing to embrace the Astros as an American League team.
Connect with Cate on her web site or her Facebook page. You’ll also find her author profile on Goodreads and LibraryThing.
Connect with Cate on her web site or her Facebook page. You’ll also find her author profile on Goodreads and LibraryThing.
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