New Release - Wild Wind (Banyon Pride Series Book 1) by Donna L. Stephens

Olivia Faren is devastated when she discovers her fiancé and her best friend have a secret—they’re having an affair behind her back. Olivia can’t leave the city fast enough, longing for the peace she hopes to find in the Arkansas country farmhouse she’s inherited. Though the house has seen better days, Olivia is determined to make it a home for herself, and also for the baby she’s carrying—a secret of her own. They’ll make it just fine without any man in their lives.

But then Rain Banyon, powerful half-Cherokee owner of the Rocking B Ranch, focuses his silver gaze on her, and suddenly she’s not sure of anything anymore. Although Rain mesmerizes her, he’s much too handsome and daring to be trusted. With her world turned upside down, giving her heart to this Casanova rancher would wreak even more havoc on her peace of mind.

Threatened by her ex-fiancé’s obsession with her, Olivia tries to let him know she’s no longer interested, but he’s determined to hold on—no matter the cost to him, Olivia, or their unborn child. Can Rain be the man to protect her and keep her safe from this WILD WIND?

EXCERPT:

     “Who are you?” She tried to turn her head toward the gravelly voice, but even that brought pain in her neck. His features weren’t clear in the dim light.

     “Rain Banyon. I live near here. Happened to be behind you and saw that deer jump out in front of you. Watched your car go off the road.” He moved the flashlight to her face. “Are you in pain?”

     “Some…when I move.” Her voice came out hoarse.

     “Yeah. You may have a broken rib or two. The steering wheel’s bent some where it rubbed against your upper chest.” He touched her shoulder. “Lie still. We’ll get it checked out in the emergency room at Mercy Hospital in Fort Smith.”

     “I don’t need to go to the hospital.” Olivia’s voice trailed off, and she closed her eyes, a sense of doom closing in on her. She did need to go to the ER to make sure her baby was all right, even if she were just two months’ pregnant.

     She sighed. Her plan had been to wait awhile before tell­ing anyone in Mulberry about her pregnancy. Although it shouldn’t matter, her new teaching job might depend on her keeping her pregnancy a secret. And the longer she could wait before sharing her pregnancy the less chance of Matt, her ex-fiancé, finding out. She longed for stability for her baby, not the turmoil of having a womanizing father. Olivia hunched her shoulders and tried to stop shivering.

     

New Release — Tough Month for a Ranger: A Texas Ranger James C. Blawcyzk Novel by James J. Griffin

It takes one tough man to make it as a Texas Ranger, and Jim Blawcyzk certainly qualifies. But surviving this particular month has been full of trials he never expected—and quitting never entered his mind.

After single-handedly arresting a ring of murderous cattle rustlers he caught red-handed, his next case is something that affects him for weeks. When a mentally-challenged young man is shot down right alongside him after Jim has guaranteed his safety, it sends the hardened Ranger into a downward spiral of self-doubt. Only a few days later, he barely escapes death again in a violent West Texas dust storm while transporting three felons.

Things finally come to a head in an all-out race riot when a Tejano deputy sheriff is gunned down, allegedly by a young black man. It’s up to Jim to find out what really happened, and what secrets the murdered deputy’s partner—who happens to be white—is keeping.

Can Ranger Jim Blawcyzk get to the bottom of what really took place that night, before an entire county explodes in violence? He will—or die trying—because no matter how dangerous a situation might be, it's no match for a Texas Ranger determined to uncover the truth. no matter the cost.

EXCERPT

     “All right, boys, you can stop right where you are,” Jim ordered. “Texas Ranger. Keep your hands where I can see ’em. Y’all are under arrest for cattle rustlin’.”
     One of the men eased his hand toward the pistol on his hip. Without even seeming to move, Jim shifted his rifle, so it was pointed directly at the man’s chest.
     “Uh-uh. I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Jim said. “Unless you think you can keep on breathin’ with a big ol’ hole blown clean through your lungs.”
     Reluctantly, the man lifted his hand away from the weapon.
     “That’s better,” Jim said. “You two on the ground. Get in front of the others where I can see you.”
     The men did as ordered.
     “You can’t keep all of us covered, Ranger,” the man who’d started for his pistol said, with a scowl. “You just bit off a helluva lot more than you can chew.”
     “Maybe so,” Jim said, with a shrug. “But that’s not your worry, because if any of you or your partners try somethin’ stupid, you’ll be the first to take a bullet. I can guarantee I’ll take at least two or three of you with me before I go down. Any of you want to take that chance, that you’ll still be standin’ upright after I hit the ground?”

     

New Release -- BLUE SPRINGS by John D. Nesbitt

Wilf Kasmire is surprised to hear from his ex-girlfriend, Dawn Jenkins—and even more puzzled when she asks if she can stay with him “for a while.” The note of worry in her tone has Wilf agreeing—against his better judgment, but also wondering if she’s in trouble. Her stay with Wilf is cut short when she disappears without a note—and Wilf realizes he was right to be concerned.

When another young woman’s body is found nearby their small Wyoming town, Wilf knows he’s got to assure himself of Dawn’s safety. But as time goes by, the clues he finds tell him otherwise. Now, someone’s after Wilf, too, and he’s determined to discover if the would-be murderer is the same man who has abducted Dawn.

With little help from the local authorities, Wilf must stand alone against the man he believes is involved in a drug ring—a criminal who is likely responsible for at least two killings. A man who intends to murder Wilf, as well. But the need to know what happened to Dawn burns hot, and Wilf Kasmire is not one to admit defeat. Can he survive long enough to piece together the evidence he needs to bring the murderer down first? Nothing is certain in BLUE SPRINGS…

“Nesbitt is a true artist” — Western American Literature

EXCERPT

     Wilf pulled in parallel to the curb in front of the sheriff’s office. In the parking lot next to the building, two patrol cars and a white Jeep Cherokee, all with foot-high yellow-and-black lettering, sat with their noses lined up even. Past the vehicles, a man in uniform stood smoking a cigarette. Beyond him, the sidewalk led past the two-story part of the building that held the jail. Wilf remembered seeing prisoners in orange outfits walk that way toward the courthouse, and he was glad not to see them now.
     He got out of his pickup, waved to the cop, and went in the front door of the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department. Inside, he waited at a glass reception window until a hefty woman pushed herself away from a desk and came to the counter.
     “How can I help you?”
     “I’d like to report a missing person.”