Righteous Lies (Book 1: Dancing Moon Ranch Series) (33 page)

"I know,
Gracie. And I know you mean well. But this time you're wrong."

Grace shrugged.
"Well, I don't have anything more to say. You'll keep doing what you've
been doing most of your life. But you'll never find a good man that way."

"Maybe I
don't deserve one," Justine said. "Maybe I deserve the Sean
Elliots
of the world. But I refuse to include Brad among
them because he's different." She took Brad's book from the counter by the
coffee machine and lifted her jacket off the peg.

"Where are
you going?" Grace asked.

Justine slipped
her arms into her jacket. "To see Brad. I finished his book and I want to
talk to him about it."

Grace tossed
her arms up in disgust, turned sharply, and went to rejoin the guests gathered
around the tree. And Justine tugged on her boots and trudged through the snow
to Brad's cabin. When she reached his front door, she hesitated before
knocking. If he'd wanted to see her he would have come for her, but he hadn't.
He'd been holed up in his cabin since she'd left him in the stables after
returning from the spring. But the fact was she wanted to see him, beyond
reason, in spite of everything her common sense told her.

Lifting her
hand, she rapped sharply.

When Brad came
to the door, he stood looking at her for several seconds before saying,
"This is probably not a good idea."

"I only
came to talk about the book."

"Hell,
Justine, you know that's not the reason you're here." He combed his
fingers through his hair and turned from her. "Come on in though. You're
letting in the cold."

Justine closed
the door behind her and stood with her back to it, wondering now why she'd
come. Of course it hadn't been to talk about the book. He knew it as well as
she did. Setting the book on a table by the couch, she said, when she turned to
face him, "You don't look like you've shaved in two days."

"That's
because I haven't."

"Have you
been writing?"

"No.
Things keep getting in the way."

"What kind
of things?" When Brad didn't reply, Justine said, "At the spring you
told me about what had been bothering you, and you said you felt better
afterwards, even though you had a few bad moments, so if you talk more about
what happened you'll finally get it out of your system. But you have to
talk."

"Okay, if
you want to know what's getting in the way of my writing, it's your face."

She stared at
him.

"And your
body."

She continued
staring at him.

"And the
fact that I want to do what every other guy wants to do with you. It's like you
weave a spell over men. You sprinkle some kind of magic dust and they want
you."

Justine walked
up to him and put her hands on his chest, and said, "Men don't want me.
They don't even bother to get to know me beyond my position in the corporation.
Even you took two days to ask me my name. By then, I'd crawled into bed with you
and was ready to give you whatever you needed. But that's who I am. The woman
men want to take to bed, but never want to take home to Mama. I wish I did have
some kind of magic dust. I'd sprinkle it on me and turn myself into someone
else."

Brad took her
face between his hands, and said, "You got in bed with me and gave me what
I needed, not what you needed or wanted. What you did was selfless. There was
nothing in it for you. And now I'm going to kiss you because I've been wanting
to do it since I first saw you, and I don't want you to knee me in the balls.
Just kiss me back."

"Is this a
test?" Justine asked, wondering what Brad's motive was.

"No, this
is me wanting to kiss you."

"Why?
What's your reason?" Justine asked. "Men just don't kiss Justine Page
without an ulterior motive."

"I have a
motive," Brad said, as he moved toward her.

"What is
it?" Justine asked, while feeling the whisper of his breath against her
lips.

"To tell
you you're a special woman." He kissed her then, a warm tender kiss that was
as unexpected as it was welcome. Justine curved her arms around his neck and
kissed him back, but when he opened his mouth to deepen the kiss, a loud
rapping on the door startled them, sending Brad releasing her abruptly and
falling back against the table, toppling a chair.

"That's
what I mean," he said, returning the chair to the table. "Loud noises
shatter my nerves."

Justine was
still feeling the effect of Brad's kiss, but when he opened the door, and a
blast of cold air hit her in the face, it brought her to her senses. She looked
over to see who it was, halfway expecting Grace, and saw instead, a woman who
looked to be in her mid-thirties, with a little girl, about five, clinging to
her. "Brad Meecham?" the woman asked.

Brad nodded,
and waited to see what the woman wanted.

"I'm Elsa
Moroz," the woman said, "Yvette Patel's sister. And this is your
daughter, Sophie..."

PANDORA'S BOX
to be continued...

If you want to read
on, here's the link to
Amazon

DANCING MOON RANCH SERIES

PREQUEL:
JUSTIFIED DECEPTION

Ruth
Crawford's on a quest to find her daughter, who was kidnapped four years
before. Ruth's private investigator is all but certain that ranch owner, Matt
Kincaid's, adopted daughter Annie is Ruth's own little Beth. But Matt's the
maverick in a powerful family of lawyers and politicians, so even though she
manages to land the job as nanny to Matt's willful, six-year-old daughter, Ruth
must tread carefully. She can't predict what Matt or his family might do if the
adoption is challenged. However, Ruth's carefully laid plans go awry when she
finds herself falling in love with the man who might have stolen her child.

BOOK
1: RIGHTEOUS LIES

Grace
Templeton thought the child she'd been carrying for seven months was the child
of her dead husband, and Jack Hansen thought the sperm he'd donated had gone to
the wife of his sterile twin... Until they learn that two vials of sperm at the
fertility clinic were accidentally switched. The shock sends Grace into early
labor, and the only place she can have complete bed rest is at the Dancing Moon
Ranch owned by Jack and his twin, Sam. But soon, Grace finds herself falling in
love with a hard-edged cowboy who appears to want to control every aspect of
her life, now that she's carrying his son. But Jack has his reasons. He also
has no intention of marrying, and Grace is determined to learn why.
  

BOOK
2: PANDORA'S BOX

Justine
Page used her beauty and her body to make her way up the corporate ladder. But
when a relationship with a CEO goes sour, and she finds herself without a job
or a place to live, she goes to the Dancing Moon Ranch to stay with her sister
and reassess her life. Brad Meecham, a war correspondent with post-traumatic
stress, who has taken a cabin at the ranch to try and deal with mind demons, is
intrigued by Justine, who's determined to put her checkered past behind. About
the time he thinks they could make a life together, a daughter Brad never knew
existed is delivered to him when her mother dies. Suddenly, he finds himself
with a child who wants nothing to do with anyone but Justine, and he knows
without question that a woman who slept her way to the top will never be a
candidate for step-mother. But then, Brad fails to factor in the power of love
to bring together a flawed woman and a troubled child, and his need to have
them both in his life.
  

BOOK
3: FALSE PRETENSES

Jayne
Hamilton has a dark secret she's carefully guarded and which she hopes will
stay hidden until she lands the job at Dancing Moon Ranch. But as Sam Hansen
interviews her, he’s uneasy. Things don't add up. Still, he hires her without
running a background check because his mother wants to retire from the guest
ranch end of the operation, and neither Sam nor his twin, Jack, want to take
over that job. A guest ranch manager would free them of that burden. But soon,
Sam finds himself blindly attracted to Jayne, even though he knows she's hiding
something... something that has to do with a child. But Sam also senses that
there's much more.
  

BOOK:
4 UNCERTAIN LOYALTIES

All
her life Sophie Meecham was told that modesty was a virtue and sex before marriage
was wrong, so when she learns that her step-mother slept her way up the
corporate ladder before marrying her father, Sophie’s so angry and
disillusioned she shows up unexpectedly at the Dancing Moon Ranch to vent to
her lifelong friend, Rick Hansen. Rick too is disillusioned. Sophie’s changed
from the woman he’d grown to love over the years, and even envisioned marrying.
In fact, she's so mad, she rebels against everything that’s been instilled in
her, even tries to have sex with Rick. But he wants no part of it. Although he
doesn’t want the woman Sophie is now, he doesn’t want any other man to have her
either. But soon after, a life-altering incident has Sophie looking at Rick,
her buddy, in a whole new light. It's also clear, the man she’s falling in love
with has fallen out of love with her, and it will be an uphill battle to prove
to Rick she's still the woman he'd always thought her to be.

BOOK
5: BECOMING JESSE'S FATHER

When
Adam Hansen discovers his ex-fiancée, along with a son he never knew he had,
hiding in an isolated cabin on his ranch, in the middle of winter, and learns
she's being hunted down by her former husband, an ex-green beret, Adam vows to
protect them, even though he has no intention of getting involved with Emily
again. He's also trying to gain the love and trust of a three-year-old boy who
fears and mistrusts men. But while he's safeguarding Emily and Jesse, Adam
learns that Emily’s wanted in a non-custodial kidnapping to protect Jesse from
a dangerous step-father, who's also Jesse's legal father, since Emily gave
birth to Jesse while married to him. Still, Adam intends to protect them at all
cost, even if it means going against his family, and the law, and taking Emily
and Jesse into the mountains and beyond, if that's the only way to keep them
safe.

BOOK
6: BITTERSWEET RETURN

In
the jungles of Central America, archaeologists Marc Hansen and Kit Korban are
winding up a project. Marc walked away from his family after learning that all
his life had been a lie. He hasn't seen them in four years and doesn't plan to
return any time soon. Although Kit sees potential in the man, and his presence
makes her pulse race, he's carrying far too much personal baggage, so a
relationship with him is out. However, when she learns there's an unexcavated
Indian mound on his family's ranch, Kit talks Marc into taking her there. But
whereas Marc's mother welcomes him with open arms, it's not the same with his
father. Marc walked away from a mother who'd loved him unconditionally, and
Jack Hansen isn't ready to put that behind. But as Kit begins to peel back the
layers of a very complicated man, she also finds in Marc a man worth loving.
The problem is convincing Marc that, just because he's no blood kin, he's not
the outsider in the family he's always believed himself to be.

BOOK 7: CROSS PURPOSES (coming in April
2013)

Annie Kincaid's a wild horse
advocate. Ryan Hansen's a bronco buster. The fact that Annie's father hired
Ryan to oversee the trail horses and take guest ranch visitors on
trail
rides definitely doesn't sit well with Annie. She's
had her fill of hot-shot cowboys who think life's all about busting, breaking
or bulldogging, and of all the Hansen boys from the Dancing Moon Ranch, Ryan's
the cockiest of the bunch. Ryan also has a lot to learn about managing Annie
Kincaid. In the past he had no problem attracting women, but now he wants the
one woman who'll take special handling. But in the process, Annie also learns
something about Ryan she never could have imagined, something that has her taking
a second look. Still, she's not about to fall prey to the
"new-and-improved" Ryan Hansen, who has a long way to go to prove
he's the man for her.

CONTEMPORARY
ROMANCES

ADVERSARIES
AND LOVERS

When
Kate O’Connor learns that Ben Stassen's new corporate office will replace a
block of charming old buildings that include the Corner Cafe, where Grandma and
her friends have been lunching for half a century, she vows to stop it, taking
her case directly to the man. But that's not the way Ben Stassen sees it. He
built Stassen Sports from the ground up and he refuses to let a woman on a
mission stand in his way. But, Kate has advertising skills he can use, so
ignoring her crusade, he invites her to submit ideas for his ad campaign. And
Kate accepts—a strategic move to use against the man. But working with Ben
stirs feelings Kate hadn't anticipated, and when she at last finds the chink in
Ben's armor, the key to stopping his business venture, she also finds a
troubled man who refuses to be touched by love, and she’s determined to know
why.

BROKEN
PROMISES

Tess
O'Reilly can't forget the words engraved inside the ring Zak de Neuville gave
her when he promised to love her forever, then disappeared from her life
without a word.
Eskauldun fededun
--the
Basque is faithful. More appropriately, the Basque is faithless! And now Zak's
back in Baker's Creek. He's also the father of a boy who had to have been
conceived shortly after he left. Tess too has returned to Baker's Creek to help
her ailing father. After a lengthy estrangement from him because of Zak, she's
come home to rebuild the relationship they once had, before it's too late, and
she has no intention of getting involved with Zak again. The problem is, time
has done nothing to temper the white-hot flame that's once again building.

IN
HOT PURSUIT

Inheriting
her uncle's yacht and living on it is just what Nellie Reid needs to get out of
the financial abyss she's in and put the lives of herself and her ten-year-old
son back on track. But what she initially thinks is a dream come true quickly
becomes a nightmare. Not only is the owner of the boathouse threatening
foreclosure for back rent, he claims he had an agreement with Nellie's uncle
for use of the boat for his whale study. But if Will Edenshaw cruises off on her
yacht, Nellie will have him arrested for grand theft! And Will hasn't the heart
to foreclose on a homeless, jobless widow. But once at sea, life aboard the
Isadora becomes perilous. Will's in hot pursuit, and there's no place Nellie
can run and hide from her heart. But there are also others in pursuit—a
grizzled old sea dog and a bald-headed man with a gun—and Nellie and Will don't
know why. But as they venture into rough waters, it's evident that whoever's in
pursuit is dead set on seeing Nellie... dead.
 

NEVER
TOO LATE

Marriage
counselors have long known that there are two things in life that tear
marriages apart: adultery, and the death of a child. Andrea and Jerry Porter
have been true to each other for almost twenty-five years, so adultery is not a
factor in their failing marriage. But two years before, they lost their son,
and the marriage has been spiraling downhill ever since. And then the
unexpected happens. Andrea and Jerry find themselves trapped together on a
luxury cruise neither want—a twenty-fifth anniversary gift from their three
grown daughters. Before long they find themselves drawn into a drug-smuggling
scheme by the smooth-talking Italian who singled Andrea out for flattery the
first day aboard. That's also when Andrea and Jerry begin to see each other in
a whole different light, one that not only allows them to come to terms with
their personal tragedy, but ignites a flame that had long since died
.

HISTORICAL
ROMANCES

HER MASTER'S TOUCH

She's the mystery debutante of the season, who arrived
on the London scene as if from out of nowhere. But Lord Damon Ravencroft knows
her dark secret. Two years before, when she was roaming with Gypsies and living
by her wits in India, he hired her as a housemaid, and she stole from him a
rare and valuable opal once belonging to the Empress Josephine. Damon intends
to be compensated for its loss, which set him back years in his quest to prove
his innocence in a crime he's accused of committing. The sizable dowry that
comes with Lady Elizabeth Sheffield's hand in marriage is a start. It's also
his price to keep her secret from all of London. But there's more to the
marriage of convenience that Damon proposes than Elizabeth anticipated, but by
the time she learns what it is, she's trapped into a marriage to a man who both
stirs her passions and fuels her resentment for the man she was forced to wed.

COLBY'S
CHILD

He's
a man with a dark past, a quick hand on the draw, and a soft spot for her
child. She's a widow who needs protection. A marriage of convenience is the
means of keeping her safe in a town populated by gold miners, dance hall girls,
and scurrilous men, until her gold mine is producing and she can return east.
But soon after Jenny MacDonald marries Jason Colby, she finds herself falling
in love with a man whose dark past is quickly catching up with him, the very
man who might have killed her husband.
  

COME
BE MY LOVE

When
Sarah Ashley arrives in Victoria, British Columbia to open a mercantile for the
manufacture and sale of bloomer costumes, she turns Governor Jonathan
Cromwell's colony upside down. But while her enterprise is diving the town and
disrupting every facet of Jon's life, he can't decide whether to seduce the
stunning suffragette into sweet submission, set more obstacles in her path, or
send her away to preserve his colony. But Sarah didn't liquidate her entire
savings and sail all the way from San Francisco to Victoria just to have her
dreams dashed by Vancouver Island's arrogant young governor. Come hell or high
water, she will establish her business despite Jon's unfairly imposed
obstacles... and a longing heart that tempts her to surrender her principles
for one night of passion with the insufferably handsome rogue.