western fiction | Mary J. McCoy-Dressel ~ Contemporary Romance

Tag: western fiction

Short Snippet Saturday: Firstborn

Posted at 7:24 am by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on September 17, 2020

Howdy! Welcome to another Short Snippet Saturday post. Sure has been a while, huh? Finally, something different from my #WordlessWednesday posts of late. Here’s a snippet from my upcoming release.

I titled this snippet Firstborn. Today is my firstborn child’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Chris! It finally happened. He’s now older than me. 😀 Below, Judy mentions her firstborn. When I began this series, I didn’t know her secret until later on in the series.

Judy has two men interested in her. Which one will she choose?

This snippet features our ranch matriarch Judy Carlson. She’s leaving the home of one of the men after a pleasant sunset walk together. However, before leaving, he revealed information she didn’t want to know. She’s disheartened on her lonely ride home. I changed one of the lines to avoid spoilers.

“Get home safely.”

It had been her intention. Her shoulders shook due to the uncanny chill that had passed over her. She drove away. No, no, no. She couldn’t deal with his issue. Bill. Why’d you have to die on me? Tears slipped from her eyes, but she cowgirl’d up and swept them away. Grown women didn’t cry. No matter how much she swiped, they continued to fall.

Judy started the CD, turned up the volume, and blasted Alan Jackson’s tunes. “Chasing That Neon Rainbow” came on at the perfect moment. Thank you, Bill, darlin’. Time flew by too damn fast for her. All she wanted to think about now was the happiest moments with her Bill. Their wedding day, the birth of their boys, and buying the Double Dutch.

How handsome and gallant a young man Bill had been standing at the alter in a rented suit, his blue eyes twinkling in the little church near their college campus. He wore his dark hair on the longer side, kind of how Jase wore his now. How the two of them had said I do. Eight months later, their firstborn had arrived in the world. They knew how it looked, but Jase had been born a month early. That was her story, and she stuck to it to this day.

She took the long way home to allow for a good cry because she couldn’t deny, grown women did cry. By the time she’d arrive home, her eyes would’ve lost the redness surely to be there. At the Double Dutch, one never knew which family member would be at her home. Tristan could be in one of the barns doing his own evening chores.

This is book #5 in the Double Dutch Ranch Series: Love at First Sight. See the other books in the series at this LINK.

Begin the series with Book One now.

Stay safe and well. Thanks for reading.

Sunset image: rauschenberger at Pixabay. Judy in a field of flowers: Created by me at PicMonkey – Image from PicMonkey.

Posted in #AmWriting, Double Dutch Ranch Series, Short Snippet Saturday | 2 Comments | Tagged Double Dutch Ranch Series Love at First Sight, mary j mccoy dressel, Seasoned Romance, senior citizen, western fiction

Book Hooks: ~ Stop by for a Hook!

Posted at 7:27 am by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel, on July 1, 2015

#MFRWHooks

Book Hooks is a weekly meme hosted by Marketing for Romance Writers as part of the MFRW Authors Blog. My chance to hook you? Today I’m here with another excerpt from my #Western #Romance newest release, Of the Cowboy’s Own Accord. At the bottom of the post you’ll be able to visit other participants in the weekly Meme. Thanks for stopping by.

Here we go:

“You are giving me a lot of orders. I’m not one of your soldiers. No one can control my emotions—apparently not even me.” She swiped tears from her cheeks.

Crying? So, she cried. Of course she didn’t want him to go. He held his hand out for hers, and she entwined their fingers when she took it. “It’ll be okay. We’ll take the next days as they come. Worry about the last day on the last day.”

“Yes, we will. We’ll take the next nine months of your deployment as they come, too, until you get home. It sounds like a plan to me. Time will go by fast, right?”

“Of course.” The first night they’d met—the song they’d danced to—the words haunted him. “I want to make love to you tonight good enough to make it last until I get home.”

What’s This Book About?

Sensual Contemporary Western Romance Series

Army Ranger Dane Carlson never means to fall in love before leaving for another tour of duty, but unexpectedly, he does. While deployed, he finds himself being sent home early to the family ranch to make a heartrending decision. Little does he know he isn’t the only one making decisions. His first priority is to rekindle the flame after losing communication with Gracelyn Clark. The woman who owns his heart and has since the moment their gaze connects. But now, nothing is the same as when they met.

The first round of news is surprise enough, yet Gracelyn continues to release shocking information detrimental to their future. Can they make it work after so few days together seven months ago? Adjusting to many new things in his life isn’t easy as it is, so to pull himself back to the man he’s become, could be the biggest test of all—in order to protect his own.

Challenges abound even as Dane and Gracelyn come to terms with the decisions they’ve made. Whatever tomorrow brings, their only choice is acceptance—to take one day at a time and face life as it comes.

Amazon #1 Best Seller in Contemporary Western Fiction