Hi, is it Wednesday again? Ah, it must be time for another Book Hooks post. Today I bring you the first book in the Double Dutch Ranch Series: Love at First Sight:
Cowboy Boss and his Destiny
The grandma he mentions is the ranch mom who is featured in book five, coming this spring. Modified to avoid spoilers.
“Just a minute, please.” She glanced at Destiny who still cried. “Do you have someone coming for your child?”
“Yes, but I can’t wait.” He released Destiny to the floor. She held him as tight as she could.
The lady called back there and told him it’d only be a minute. A doctor came out and glanced at Destiny. Tristan knelt. “Honey, you have to wait here for a minute. Grandma will be here soon, real soon.” He pointed to a chair. “Go sit right there and don’t get out of it. Don’t talk to anybody.”
“No, Daddy. Don’t leave me.” She clung to him with both arms.
There was no expression on the doctor’s face whatsoever.
“Listen to me. Only for a few minutes. I have to go to the back.” He held her face. “This is the time you need to be big.”
She shook her head erratically, and shouted, “I’m not big.”
He picked her up and hugged her. “Take me back, please.”
They went through the doors to a conference room. “I’ll put a chair outside the door for your daughter,” the doctor stated matter-of-factly. He dragged a chair out of the room, pushing it against the wall beside the door while Tristan fell apart inside.
Tristan lowered her to the chair. He demanded that Destiny stay. “I’ll be right inside. Right here.”
She folded her arms across her chest and stared at the floor.
The doctor closed the door behind him but leaned against it for what seemed an eternity. Silence.
Tristan’s heart shattered. They were in a conference room. Ah, damn, this couldn’t be good.
From his experience with women, Tristan Carlson learned that some don’t want a ready-made family, and he and his four-year-old daughter come as a package. Then he falls hard and fast for Nora, but if she isn’t going to give him the trust he needs, their relationship won’t last. Without a warning, darkness falls over the entire Carlson family when a near-repeat of a devastating memory comes back to haunt them, and Tristan fears he and his child will have to suffer all over again.
When Nora Trinity returns to Canyon Junction, she doesn’t expect to fall for the handsome cowboy she lends a hand to in a parking lot. However, since then, she learns about a past that nearly destroyed him. Now she can lose everything if she can’t find it in her heart to trust he’s a changed man. Then why does he disappear at a time when Nora needs him more than she’s ever needed him before? Has she lost him, anyway?
Tristan and Nora’s bond is put to the test. They need to be strong enough to overcome issues of trust, family complications, and painful memories. They vow to prevail when circumstances beyond their control attempt to prove them wrong.
This book has gone through multiple changes since the first edition. In fact, in 2016 I revised the entire book and cut the length by… Hmm, A LOT. That isn’t all. I gave it a new cover. I removed so much for the purpose of adding book numbered 1.5 to make it one complete book and doing away with the original 1.5.
Thank you for reading. While here, click the image below to visit participating authors in this Marketing for Romance Writers Book Hooks blog hop.
Book Hooks is a weekly meme hosted by Marketing for Romance Writers as part of the MFRW Authors Blog. It’s a chance each week to hook readers on your current WIP or any previously published book.
Image credit – Father and Daughter: Pixabay – platinumportfolio
Well, now that I’ve taken care of my own questions and answers, I must admit… It took me two weeks to decide to unpublish. Right after, I nearly hyperventilated. I had to take deep breaths and laps around my apartment. My chest hurt. I thought I might have a heart attack. Then, suddenly, the tension of making the decision rolled off my shoulders.
Let’s put some boots on our guy’s feet. The cowboy boot fits nicely into the stirrup. They’re sturdy for whatever jobs he has to take care of during the day or night. He has more than one pair of boots. Sometimes you’ll find his boots to be dusty and worn—his favorites, but sometimes they’ll be shiny and new. Some ranchers are now wearing lace up boots for working. He’ll spill coffee on them, step in horse or cattle manure, or do a two-step on the dance floor. Hey, cowgirls… Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty. That’s why they make soap and hand sanitizer. He’s your guy. When he’s dog-tired after a long day of hard work, feel free to pull them off for him. He’ll thank ya for it. *Wink* Remember to thank him for it, when he does the same for you. He will on occasion.
Nope, this isn’t Saturday, but it’s a snippet. Read down far enough you’ll find it after a bit of whining. I’ve attempted to write a post all week, but I’ve been living in pain since last Friday, and each day seems worse than the one before. Due to my own stupidity, I injured my back and hip by doing something, well, stupid. The worse part is I knew better than to lift the two extremely heavy blue shopping bags at the same time. I knew better than to try to move a huge, filled ceramic planter on my patio. I rolled, not lifted it, but the bending over position while moving it did me in, I guess.
It feels like it did when I ruptured two disks in my back and suffered from Sciatica some years ago and missed six months of work. It wasn’t until I had a steroid shot in my back, that I found relief and life began again. At this point, I can’t stand and/or walk for even five minutes without pain, and I have to sit down, which means I can’t walk into my doctor’s office, which is a long walk from the parking lot.
Today I decided to post a snippet from 
with until last month returned to the forefront. Enough of this. She stomped on the gas pedal and took the speed up to sixty, and she wasn’t comfortable driving like this on rutted Rocky Road.
Glass shattered as he busted the window with the butt of the rifle. Glass covered her. Her cheek stung. “Get your ass out of there, Roxanne.”
and contented life. If Randy could be a part of it, her life would be complete, but…she isn’t the same woman Randy knew… She’s broken.
