Title: Her Guardian Angel Cowboy
Series: Texas Knights Series #1
Genre: Contemporary Western Romance
Release Date: September 1, 2021
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Ward Ramsey hires female ranch hand Jayme Bonner against his better judgement. Something about the desperation in her eyes and that letter of reference she hands him makes him do it. But when she lets her boy out of her truck, his heart jolts. The woman and her son bring back memories of a tragedy that he’ll never forgive himself for. No way could he have them on his place. But because he’s a man of his word, he’ll give her two weeks to prove herself.

Jayme needs sanctuary for herself and her son Dusty from the dangerous ex-con on her trail. She’d put him in prison nine years ago, and now that the system had let him out early, he’d make good on his threat to kill her. She’s been on the run for weeks and with this job, she can put Dusty in school and remain out of sight, far from south Texas where the treacherous man knows to look.

What Ward doesn’t count on is caring for his very capable ranch hand and her adorable eight-year-old son. The boy’s blonde curls and insatiable curiosity are irresistible though the connection to his own terrible loss tears at Ward’s heart. When dangers draws near, he must decide. Will he set his pain aside and put his life on the line for this mother and son?

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Chapter One

With her son, Dusty, asleep in the bedroom, Jayme Bonner picked up the mail and shuffled through it. Her gaze froze on the last, unexpected envelope sporting the logo of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Collapsing on the couch, her mind in lockdown, she feared what this might mean.

Hands shaking, tensing her muscles for impact, she ripped opened the letter, growing instantly lightheaded as blood drained from her face. Dirk Blacke still had six years left on his sentence, but they’d let the man out of prison. When she’d been notified of the hearing, she had been assured there was little chance he would be released because of his list of infractions inside. Unable to face being in the same room with the hateful man, she hadn’t attended. Blacke had attacked her and tried to kill her. Now that he was free, he’d keep his promise to finish her off.

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Two weeks later, Jayme opened her grit-filled eyes to the first light of dawn. Dew dappled the windshield, and she rubbed her cold hands together to warm them. Dusty lay across the seat, his mop of golden curls in her lap. Even after sleeping another night in her old truck, her boy never complained. He tried so hard to make things easier on her. At eight years old, he cared more for her needs and feelings than any grown man ever had.

After leaving her last job in the middle of the night, without giving the foreman more notice than a note left in the darkened barn, she’d run fast and hard from the hateful convict on her trail. Dusty was her life; she’d do whatever it took to protect him. Faced with this threat, running was her best—her only—option.

In the rearview mirror, the dark circles visible under her eyes were testament to her exhaustion. She massaged her temples. They’d traipsed from one small North Texas town to another, stopping in at every feed store and gas station asking for leads on work. There were three more months of school left this year, and Dusty was falling behind. Every day lost increased the pressure.

She was a ranch hand, but being a woman looking for a man’s job was no easy thing. A tip the day before had seemed promising, but it turned out to be an offer for more than ranch work after the guy had gotten an eyeful of her. And she damn sure didn’t want a job like that.

Lord, please let me have some luck today. My boy needs to be in school. She was down to her last fifty dollars, and that didn’t go far when you were driving an old Chevy truck. She hated that Dusty had been living on the cheapest food she could buy for the last couple of days. She clenched the steering wheel until her knuckles cracked. Something had to change.

Starting up the truck, the engine loud in the quiet of the sleepy town, she patted Dusty’s soft cheek as he turned over and lay on his side.

She drove out of the little parking lot of the saddle store in Throckmorton and headed down Highway 380. There were some sizeable ranches up in Haskell and Stonewall counties. Surely Howelton, where she was headed, held more promise than the other towns they’d been through recently.

After thirty minutes of driving past green wheat fields running all the way to the flat horizon, she came to the small farming community. The donut shop coming up on her left was more than she could resist. Her son needed a treat, and he loved donuts more than anything in the world.

The truck’s engine stopped, and the constant vibration from the old engine stilled. In the silence Dusty sat up and knuckled his face. He spied the display through the picture window and turned wondering eyes her way.

She nodded her head and grinned.

Throwing his slender arms around her neck, he squealed like a baby pig and jiggled his short golden curls.

She laughed and tickled him. Her son had a way of lifting her heart, even on the toughest days.

He shrieked, “You’re going to make me wet my pants.”

“Come on in, honey. Use the restroom while I get your donut and some coffee.”

“I’ll be quick.”

He hauled his cute little butt into the store and asked where the bathroom was. She shut her door, her own rear end sore from having slept sitting upright night after night, and walked inside.

A plump woman with kind, gray eyes stood behind the ancient wood-and-glass display. “Good morning,” she greeted Jayme. “How can I help you?”

The aroma of coffee and fresh, hot bread filled the warm air. Jayme’s empty belly rumbled loudly, and she crossed her arm over her stomach. Had the store clerk heard?

The woman grinned. “Sounds like you got here just in time, hon.”

She’d eaten very little in the past few days after giving Dusty most of what she could afford. It was no wonder her stomach was complaining. Jayme smiled tentatively and pointed at the fluffy glazed creations. “I’ll have a large black coffee and one of those donuts, please.”

The woman poured her coffee, snapped a tight lid on the tall cup, then slipped a donut into a bag. Dusty skipped back into the room with an excited smile.

Jayme paid for her purchase and gave him his breakfast. “Here you go, buster. Enjoy.”

Dusty peered inside the small brown bag and frowned. “What are you going to eat?”

She swiped his hair out of his eyes. “I’ll have something later.”

He stared at the old hardwood floor, all the joy in his treat gone. “You’re hungry too.”

Her little man, always looking after her, trying to be the man of the house. “Just eat your donut, hon. We’ll find something for me soon. This town has great vibes. There’s bound to be work here.”

He stood still, his face stubborn.

Oh hell. She turned toward the counter to order another donut.

The lady handed her another bag. “No charge. I swear you deserve one for raising such a sweetheart.”

Tears burned Jayme’s eyes, and she lost track of what the woman was saying.

Dusty tugged on Jayme’s sleeve. “Mom, did you hear that?”

“What, honey?”

“She wants to know what kind of work you’re looking for.”

Jayme quickly wiped at the corners of her eyes. “Thanks for asking, ma’am. I’m a ranch hand, and I’m desperate for a job. We’ve been looking a while, and that old truck drinks gas like a drunk on Saturday night.”

The woman sighed and shook her head. “My name’s Noreen. I’m telling you now so’s you’ll know who to cuss when you leave this job in your rearview mirror. You’ll find work out at Ward Ramsey’s place. That ornery son-of-a-gun can’t keep help for nothing.” She tore off a piece of register receipt and wrote down directions to the ranch.

Jayme thanked her for her kindness as her belly worked its way into a knot. She didn’t have it in her to trust men much, but her managers had never been jerks. No matter what this Ramsey was like, though, she had to try.

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Title: Her Ride or Die Cowboy
Series: Texas Knights Series #2
Genre: Contemporary Western Romance
Release Date: October 1, 2021
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Handsome rancher Cash Powers has finally found the woman he’s been looking for all his life. What he hasn’t counted on is competing for her affections with a smooth-operating, wealthy attorney from the law office where she works. But competition is something he’s accustomed to from his days as a rodeo star. The lawyer doesn’t stand a chance.

Dallas Royal has spent the past several years struggling to support her young daughter and saving to return to college by working two jobs. Piper means everything to her and she’s sworn that her three-year-old won’t grow up in poverty as she did.

Abandoned by her daughter’s father, men have been the last thing on her mind as she’s worked toward her goal of returning to school and completing her law degree. The decision to date two handsome, very different men changed her life in an instant although each man found a way for her to make her daughter a priority.

As Cash learns to love Piper and shows Dallas what a wonderful life she can have as a rancher’s wife, Ethan plies her with lavish dates, an expensive nanny service, and a promise of a future where Piper will never want for anything.

Time passes and Dallas is unable to make up her mind between the two men and the situation comes to a head. Will Dallas finally make her choice or will her suitors call an end to the three-ring-circus their relationships have become?

Find out the dramatic conclusion to Her Ride or Die Cowboy.

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Chapter One

Now that was some nice cowboy booty. Dallas Royle was usually too busy to notice the patrons of the Last Cowboy Standing dance hall unless they were lined up in front of her ordering drinks, but the handsome man walking by was a treat for her eyes as she leaned on the bar during an unusual lull.

Ignoring the pounding beat of the crazy-loud Red Dirt country coming from the stage, she watched him return to the small table he shared with two other cowboys. He chose a chair pointing in her direction. His face, with its strong, square jaw and high cheekbones, was as sexy as his backside. He was a handsome devil, that was for sure.

She rubbed the back of her neck and grabbed a wet towel, sweeping it across the slab of polished mesquite that made up the bar top. Her three-year-old daughter needed her mother focused on the right priorities, and a man was definitely not one of them. Piper had run a fever all day, coughing along with swiping at a runny nose. Pulling her phone out of her back pocket, Dallas checked the time. Forty-five minutes until her break.

She glanced at the dance floor, its polished wood a perfect surface for the fast-paced boot scootin’ that went along with the rowdy songs the band usually played. A slow tune wafted through the air now, though. Cowboys held their girls close, swaying in a gentle two-step. Remembering what that felt like, she quickly shifted her gaze, then knelt to straighten some napkins and boxes under the bar. What was wrong with her tonight? Had she thrown her brain in the blender when she made that last frozen margarita? She had a plan for her life, and she was sticking to it.

The rare respite ended, and three people at once appeared at the bar. Straining to hear their orders over the new, much louder song, Dallas flitted from one to the other, efficiently handing out beers, mixing drinks, and making change. Other customers replaced them until she found herself face-to-face with the handsome cowboy.

He smiled and handed her a five-dollar bill, almost shouting, “Bud Light, please, ma’am. Keep the change.”

Dallas pulled his longneck out of the ice, popped the top off, and turned back to the man at the bar. As she returned his smile, she took in more details of his appearance. Amber eyes sparked with self-confidence. A sturdy, working-man’s hand received the bottle she offered. His strong arms and broad shoulders stretched the material of his shirt. No doubt he could manhandle a 300-pound calf to the ground.

Raising the beer in salute, he said, “Thank you, ma’am,” and turned away.

She had no time to watch him and his fine rear end walk away. Customers vied for her attention non-stop until a familiar face showed up. This cowboy had his arm slung over the shoulder of a young woman. Dallas frowned in surprise. Nearly every week the man came up to her bar with someone new, but last time he’d arrived with a girl wearing his engagement ring. How proud she’d been, even showing Dallas, saying the guy had just given her the sparkling solitaire. Now the jerk was standing here with a different woman. Gut-sick, Dallas scowled at the asshole as the loud pounding music beat at her senses. She spun away, shoving her hair behind her ear. Let him wait for his beer. Moving down to the other end of the bar, she waited on the next customer. Men were such bastards. The words loyal and man should never be part of the same sentence.

Sometimes she desperately wanted to quit working at the bar, but all she had to do was remember how badly she needed the money so that she could return to college. Supporting Piper in the way that she deserved had to be her first priority.

A few minutes later, still ready to spit nails, Dallas nodded to the waitress who came to cover the bar for her break. Grabbing her phone and car keys, Dallas strode out of the saloon-style front doors into the parking lot. As always, her car sat in the back, so she turned the corner into the deepening darkness on the side of the building. She hurried past the trucks parked on her right, focused on her car ahead at the end.

A step from her car door, she heard gravel crunching behind her. She grabbed for the door handle as a tall, heavyset cowboy clutched her arm. Yanking back, she tried to free herself, but he gripped her tightly.

“Hey there, pretty thing.”

His slurred, drunken voice sent chills through her. Far from the front lot where others might hear her yell, she had no hope of help.

“Let go of me!” She jerked hard on her arm again. “Leave me alone, you creep!” She aimed a kick at his groin.

Suddenly the drunk’s head smashed sideways into the top of her car. The good-looking cowboy’s punch had landed perfectly, and he shoved the other man to the ground. “Go sleep it off in your truck before I call the police.”

The drunk got up. He staggered to a Ford dually pickup parked a few vehicles down the lot and got in.

Dallas rubbed her arm where the man had held her and stared at the cowboy. “Were you following me?” Still angry at the unfaithful cretin at the bar, she knew she wasn’t coming off as thankful as she should be.

“Nope. I’m parked over there too. I was out here getting some fresh air when that bozo grabbed you. Figured you needed help.”

“Oh.” What a relief. He didn’t seem like a stalker, either. “Well, thanks. Wish employees didn’t have to park all the way back here.” Reluctantly, she reached out her hand. “My name’s Dallas, by the way.”

“Cash Powers. Pleased to meet you.” His clasp was strong but gentle.

“I need to call my mom. That’s why I came out here. My daughter’s been sick, and I’m worried about her. So…” She glanced at her car door and back. “Thanks again.”

Tipping his hat, he backed up a step, then turned around and walked toward the front of the building.

Dallas narrowed her eyes. He was so darn good to look at, but that didn’t matter. Experience had proved that her decision to keep men at a long arm’s length was the right one. Sliding into the seat, she locked all the doors before dialing her mother’s number.

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