Riding High
by Stacy
Finz
GENRE: Contemporary
Romance
BLURB:
When it's time to get
back in the saddle again, there's no better place than the picturesque mountain
town of Nugget, California . . .
A financial whiz with
her own advice show, Gia Treadwell is passionate about helping people maximize
their potential. But when her boyfriend--make that ex-boyfriend--steals
millions with an epic Ponzi scheme, Gia is promptly run out of town. It's the
perfect opportunity to revisit an old dream--one that apparently involves naked
cowboys . . .
Flynn Barlow didn't
expect anyone to walk in on him showering at the empty ranch where his family's
cattle have always grazed. Even more surprising, the new ranch owner plans to
turn it into a residential training program for women who need a hand up. A
smart, gorgeous woman with a worthy cause? In Flynn's experience, if it seems
too good to be true, it usually is.
Sharing the ranch
doesn't mean Flynn and Gia have to get along, but riding together isn't the
problem. It's the scorching chemistry they can't ignore. And if they figure out
a way to add trust to the mix, they'll soon be sharing more than just a ranch .
. .
EXCERPT:
Unconcerned
that she had a firearm aimed at his center mass, he gave her a brazen
once-over. Then he motioned his head at the gun. “I don’t think it’s loaded,
but you should never point a weapon at
someone
unless you mean to shoot him.”
“I’ll
shoot you.” It was a bluff. If push came to shove, Gia didn’t think she could
pull the trigger.
Again,
he eyed the rifle with indifference. “Yeah, I don’t think so. Otherwise you
would’ve removed the safety.”
“Give
me your pistol,” she said. He looked confused. “The one in the bathroom.”
“I
don’t have it.” He held out both his hands. “Feel free to pat me down.”
She
wasn’t getting anywhere near him. “Back up real slow.”
He
glanced behind his shoulder. “Where we going?”
“Into
the bedroom.”
“Yeah?
Sounds good.” He flicked his gaze over her, eyeing her from head to toe. The
guy thought he was a real comedian. “Why don’t you let me—”
“Not
now.” She needed to concentrate and was reevaluating the bedroom idea. But that
was where her cell phone was. Gia hadn’t seen a landline since she’d gotten
here. She lifted the rifle so that the muzzle was pointed directly at his
chest.
He
rolled his eyes but mercifully kept quiet. They made it to the master suite
without incident and with one hand Gia held the rifle against her shoulder,
using the other one to search her purse for the
phone.
Eureka!
She punched 9-1-1 with her index finger, put the phone on speaker, and dropped
it on the bed so she could resume holding the rifle with both hands.
“9-1-1,
what’s your emergency?”
Gia
would’ve sworn she saw her captive snicker. She promptly ignored him and told
the operator her situation. The cavalry was on its way, thank goodness.
“You
think I could put my shirt on before the cops get here?”
AUTHOR BIO:
Stacy
Finz is
an award-winning reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle. After more than
twenty years covering notorious serial killers, naked-tractor-driving farmers,
fanatical foodies, aging rock stars and weird Western towns, she figured she
finally had enough material to launch a career writing fiction. In 2012 she won
the Daphne du Maurier Award for unpublished single-title mystery/suspense. She
lives in Berkeley, California with her husband.
Author
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2 comments:
Thanks for hosting!
Thanks so much for hosting me.
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