Heartland
by Sara
Walter Ellwood
GENRE: Contemporary Romance
BLURB:
Sex, drugs, and country music. That was the
lifestyle for Emily Kendall, a Texas girl who hit it big on the country music
charts--until she found herself pregnant and battling addiction. Now out of
rehab and seeking a new life for herself and her unborn child, Emily returns to
her hometown of McAllister. The last thing she's looking for is trouble, no
matter how good it looks in uniform. . .
A widower, single father, and former Army
Ranger struggling with PTSD, Sheriff EJ Cowley hashis own demons to battle
while keeping folks safe. The last thing he needs is a troubled celebrity
speeding through town in her bright red Mazerati. But when someone from Emily's
past threatens her safety and the peace of McAllister, EJ has no choice but to
protect her. And soon both will learn there's more to the other than meets the
eye. And that wounded hearts can love again. . .
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EXCERPT:
As
he reached in the glove box for his pad of tickets, he whistled between his
teeth. A Maserati with a Tennessee plate. His computer was in his official
Tahoe, which was parked at the station, but he could ticket the driver and
enter the citation when he got to the office. Opening the door, he picked up
his hat from the side seat and put it on his head as he slid out of the pickup.
He caught the female driver watching him through her side mirror and got a
glimpse of dark reddish hair and big-lensed sunglasses covering most of a
slender face from her reflection.
She
straightened in the leather seat and smiled as he stopped at the driver’s door,
ducking down to look at her. Despite the sunglasses covering her green eyes, he
knew her. The magazines and TV hadn’t done her justice. She was one of the most
beautiful women he’d ever seen. Her auburn hair was styled in a short pixie cut
that seemed to make her look even more like a fairy than he’d thought of her
when she was younger. A sudden flutter hit his gut and rattled his thoughts.
What the hell was he nervous about? He’d met famous people before. Besides,
he’d known this girl all of her life.
In
spite of the reason he’d stopped her, he smiled. “Well, if it isn’t Emily
Ritter. Haven’t seen you around here for years.”
Her
smile fell the moment the name Ritter slipped out of his mouth. “I don’t go by
that name any more and haven’t since I was fourteen.” She shot back as she
glanced at his badge and the nametag above it on his uniform shirt. “Edward
James Cowley.” The smile returned, but this time it held a hint of mischief.
She must have remembered how much he hated his full name and used it to get
back at him for his flub. “You’re the sheriff now? You get out of the Army?”
“I
got out a little over two years ago, and yes, I’m the sheriff.” EJ pushed the
brim of his hat over his forehead. God, he had to focus. “The reason I stopped
you wasn’t to engage in small talk. You were speeding. I’ll need to see your
driver’s license, registration, and proof of insurance.”
“C’mon,
since when does anyone care about speeding on this old stretch of cow path?”
She removed her sunglasses to reveal eyes the color of spring grass. They’d
always seemed to mesmerize him, even when she was a kid, and now wasn’t any
different. “Hell, the only people out here are my family, the Ritters, your
family, and the Campbells.”
Her
voice broke the trance her beauty put him under. She definitely wasn’t the girl
who’d followed him around when she’d come over to the Double K to visit John
Kendall, never knowing the old rancher was her grandfather.
“Actually,
I own the Campbells’ place. They sold the Arrowhead Ranch a year ago after
Uncle Joe had a heart attack. He and Aunt Sally moved to Arizona to be closer
to my mom and dad.” He had to remember this woman wasn’t the innocent little
girl he’d teased any more. Or a stunning woman he’d like to get to know better.
From what he’d heard on the radio and from the tabloid covers he’d read while
standing in line at the grocery store, she’d turned into a drug addict and
party hellion after marrying a British rock star. He didn’t even like her music
anymore, and there was a time, he’d thought she had the voice of an angel. The
thought of her throwing away her talent on booze and drugs sent a spear of
anger through him. Someday she’d undoubtedly end up as dead as Raquel had. He
held out his hand. “Your driver’s license, Ms. Kendall.”
She
reached for her purse, setting on the passenger’s seat, and pulled out her
license, then rummaged through the glove box for her registration and insurance
papers. As she handed the items to him, she smiled the sweet, breathtaking
smile he’d seen splashed on magazine covers and award shows, but it never
entered her hard eyes. “Fine. Here you go, Sheriff Cowley.”
AUTHOR BIO:
Although Sara Walter Ellwood has long ago left the
farm for the glamour of the big town, she draws on her experiences growing up
on a small hobby farm in West Central Pennsylvania to write her contemporary
westerns. She’s been married to her college sweetheart for over 20 years, and
they have two teenagers and one very spoiled rescue cat named Penny. She longs
to visit the places she writes about and jokes she’s a cowgirl at heart stuck
in Pennsylvania suburbia. Sara Walter Ellwood is a multi-published author and
publishes paranormal romantic suspense under the pen name Cera duBois.
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