In the small town of River Black, Texas, sits the Triple C—a working cattle ranch that sustains the town. But it also holds painful memories and shocking secrets for the Cavanaugh brothers....
When the Cavanaugh brothers return home for their father’s funeral, they discover unexpected evidence of the old man’s surprising double life—a son named Blue, who wants the Triple C Ranch as much as they do. The eldest son, Deacon, a wealthy businessman who couldn’t wait to leave the ranch and move on with his life, is looking to use his powerful connections to stop Blue at any cost. He never expected the ranch’s forewoman, Mackenzie Byrd, to get in his way.
Mac knows Deacon means to destroy the ranch and therefore destroy her livelihood. But as the two battle for control, their attraction builds. Now Deacon is faced with the choice of a lifetime: Take down the Triple C to feed his need for revenge, or embrace the love of the one person who has broken down every barrier to his heart.
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Two hours later, hot and sweaty, his stomach barely appeased by the two sandwiches he’d already eaten, Deacon sat beside Mackenzie under the shade of a birch tree and watched her eat her first sandwich. Her hat was resting on the grass, and the breeze off the lake a few feet away was sending dark strands of her hair flying about her beautiful, dirt-smudged face.
Hell, a body could get used to this. Working hard alongside such a woman, his muscles being fed by hours in the saddle and under the sun instead of in the sterile private gyms in his office building and penthouse.
The thoughts moved uninvited through his mind, and he turned to the picnic, which was set up on a blue and white striped cloth on the grass, and grabbed a third sandwich, along with a handful of chips and a bunch of grapes.
“You sure worked up an appetite, cowboy,” Mac said, eyeing his plate.
“Thank God you had the good sense to pack enough for--”
“An army?” she finished good-naturedly. She grinned and crunched a slice of pickle.
Deacon laughed. “I was going to say a country boy.”
She cocked her head, pretended to study him. “Not sure you can call yourself that anymore.”
“I told you--”
“I know what you told me, but I think you been out of the game too long.” She shrugged, then popped the rest of the pickle in her mouth.
“There’s a statute of limitations on calling yourself country?”
She nodded. “Yes. It’s ten years.”
The flash of amusement in her blue eyes made his heart flip over like a damn fish on the bank. Out of its element and unable to breath. “That written down somewhere or did you just make it up on the spot?”
“Oh, it’s common knowledge,” she said, taking her half of a brownie she’d cut in two earlier.
He watched her eat it, watched the moist chocolate slip between her teeth. “So, if I go back to the house and ask Sam about this, you think he’ll back you up?”
“Oh, Sam will always back me up.”
“There’s gotta be someone I can ask.” He dropped his chin and gave her a serious look. “Someone impartial. Someone who either isn’t in love with you, thinks you’re the prettiest girl they’ve ever seen, or goes to bed dreaming of getting a kiss like the one we had last night.”
Her cheeks flushed instantly, and she dropped her gaze. “Hey, Deacon, about that. I’m sorry--”
“No, I didn’t mean anything, Mac,” he started, feeling like an asshole for shooting off his mouth.
“I don’t know. Maybe we should talk about it?”
“No. It was a mistake. Right?” He tried to catch her eye, but she wasn’t having it. “You were drinking, I was...there.”
She turned to face the lake, her jaw tight. “Right.”
Shit. The last thing he wanted was for her to feel uncomfortable. He didn’t like it. And he didn’t like that she’d agreed with him about the make out session meaning nothing.
“Hey,” she said. “You gonna eat the other half of that brownie?”
“You avoiding talking about our kiss, Mackenzie?”
“Maybe.”
He pushed a hand through his hair. Maybe he should avoid it, too. But his mouth opened anyway and he started babbling on. “Truth? It was amazing, Mac. Shit. It was hottest motherfucking kiss I’ve ever had. It deserves to be talked about. Might even deserve to be commemorated on a plate or something.”
She groaned. “The brownie, Deacon,” she said again, her eyes still trained on the dessert. “You gonna eat it or what?”
“Depends.”
“On what?”
“If you’ll let me feed it to you.”
Her head came up, and her eyes narrowed. “You have issues.”
“That a yes?” He picked up the brownie, smiled at her. “How bad do you want it, Mackenzie?”
She shook her head at him. “Not bad enough to humiliate myself.”
“Come on now. Don’t get all bent out of shape.” He leaned toward her and waved the brownie under her nose, then swiped a bit of the frosting on her upper lip. “Every man knows that women can’t resist chocolate.”
She licked it off instantly. “Where did you hear that?”
“You.” He shrugged. “And somewhere else, too. I’ll tell you if you open up and take a bite.” Deacon broke off a piece of brownie and waited. When she let him slide it between her lips, he felt his entire body tense.
“Lucky brownie,” he whispered.
Her eyes cut to his. They were worried and confused, and glazed with attraction like they’d been last night.
Deacon knew he should stop this, end this. It was so damn dangerous, playing around with her feelings, and shit, his own. But they were so close, and her eyes were on his, and her sweet, salty scent was pushing into his nostrils.
He bent down and whispered, “I know I’ve never tasted anything better than your mouth. No hotter, sweeter place in the world.”
Author of the Bestselling Mark of the Vampire series, Laura Wright spent the early years of her life immersed in the worlds of singing, acting and competitive ballroom dancing. But when she started writing, she knew she’d found her true calling. Laura lives in Los Angeles, California with her husband, two children, three dogs, two frogs and two fish. She’s been thrice nominated for a Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award, and loves hearing from her readers.
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Laura, I loved the Bayou Heat series, but to hear about your newest series under your solo name is wonderful! Thanks so much for this good news and this blog post. jdh2690@gmail.com
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