It's time to claim what's his...
THE RIGHT RANGER
The Men of At Ease Ranch #3
Donna Michaels
Releasing June 12, 2017
Entangled Lovestruck
Haley
Wagner’s life just got a lot more complicated. As if turning her struggling
ranch around isn’t tough enough, she’s forced to call him for
help. With his hard eyes and even harder body, Cord is an irritatingly sexy
contradiction of hot and cold. How can she possibly hide her embarrassing
secret when just looking at Cord is a combustible event?
Former Army
Ranger Cord Brannigan has a secret, too. He promised his fallen teammate he’d
protect the tempting, fiercely independent Haley from a distance, but now
they’re stuck together for three weeks. Alone. Keeping his hands off will
take every ounce of control he can muster. And that control is slipping…
Excerpt:
As soon as
he cut the engine outside the barn, he heard a large crash from inside followed
by a slew of curses.
Haley.
With his
gut knotted tight, he crossed the yard and entered on a sprint. “Haley…Jesus,”
he muttered, finding her underneath a pegboard and a pile of tools. Sharp ones.
Shit.
“Now you
show up,” she scoffed.
He hoisted
the peg board and tossed it aside. “What the hell happened?”
“Had a
fight with a wall and lost.” A smirk twitched her full lips and gleamed in her
whiskey gaze.
“That’s not
funny.”
“Damn
straight.” She frowned. “It hurts like a bitch.”
He ran a
hand through his hair. “How the hell did you manage to knock this over?”
“Quite
well, actually.”
Smartass.
He knelt
beside her and leveled his gaze on her. “That’s not what I meant, and you know
it.”
“Did I?”
She tipped her chin and narrowed her eyes. “Hard to tell underneath all that
accusation and condemnation dripping from your tone. I’m not one of your
Rangers, Warlock. That hard stare of yours won’t work on me.”
Christ. He
didn’t need this shit.
She made to
get up, pushing a few tools out of the way, and that’s when he noticed the
blood dripping down her arm.
“Stay
still,” he ordered, grasping her unharmed arm to hold her steady. “Let me have
a look.”
A quick
inspection deemed it deep but not stitch-worthy, thank God. He yanked off his
shirt and wrapped it around her arm, ignoring her gasp as he tied it tight
until he could get her in the house for some proper first aid. But he didn’t
want her moving until he examined the rest of her body for injuries.
With his
training kicking in, he ran his hands over her, noting a small cut on her
cheek, another on the back of her hand, and a bruise on her other wrist, no
doubt from covering her face.
“You okay?”
he asked, staring into her dazed eyes. “Are you hurt anywhere else?”
She blinked
and focused her gaze on his face, then shook her head after she opened her
mouth and nothing came out.
Christ.
His insides
twisted when he took in the mash of clippers, hammers, screwdrivers, and pliers
scattered around them. She was lucky. So damn lucky.
After
helping her to her feet, he bent to scoop her in his arms.
“W-what are
you doing?” She wiggled as he carried her across the yard, trying his damndest
not to notice the soft curves brushing his chest.
“Taking you
inside to fix your arm. Stay still.” Awareness already spread through his body,
waking up parts that had no business enjoying the feel of his dead friend’s
widow cradled against him.
Haley
grunted. “I can walk.”
“Good to
know,” he replied, but continued to hold her as he stepped onto the porch. “Get
the door.”
With a loud
sigh, she reached out and twisted the knob. “Okay, you can put me down now.”
“Where’s
your first aid kit?” he asked, ignoring her protests.
She closed
her mouth and stared at him, her eyes twin pools of pissed-off brown. God, she
was gorgeous. And damn, he did not need to have his arms full of her hot
curves.
He muttered
an oath. “You can keep quiet all you want, but I’m just going to stand here and
hold you until you tell me.”
Even if it
killed him.
I Was Provided A ARC Through NetGalley
(Possible Spoilers)
Quite and stubborn, ex army ranger Cord Brannigan, just isn't himself lately, he has been caring around a lot of guilt the past couple of years, after the loss of one of the men on his team. And on top of that, he finds himself having to fight the explosive chemistry he feels towards the one woman he can't have. But that doesn't stop Cord from running to Haley Wagner's ranch, when she calls for help. The equally stubborn, sassy mouth woman, has held Cords interest for years, but as the wife of his fallen teammate, Cord knows he could never act on that attraction. But alone on her ranch, fixing up her land, and helping make her dream come true, those feelings are harder to ignore and hide.
Haley knows she's in for a hard few weeks, sharing her home with the sexy, quite, Cord Brannigan. He man be a ass at times, but he dropped everything to help her, and as the days past, Haley finds herself having a hard time hiding the attraction she feels for Cord. But, Cord being her late husbands friend and former teammate, secrets from the past, lies, and the worry of a broken heart, makes it complicated, to embrace the attraction the two share. Everyone around them knows that they are exactly what each other needs. Now if only they can let go and take that chance.
The men of At-Ease Ranch, and the spunky women who love them, their stories are must reads. The Right Ranger is for sure my favorite in the series. I just had so much love for the sexy alpha, Cord. And the sarcastic and sweet, Haley. They are both stubborn and independent holding onto a secret and filled with guilt, and longing for more, a fresh start. It is a beautiful, sweet, swoon-worthy, summer romance.
Tasty Q&A with Donna
Michaels
Describe
yourself in five words or less.
I love to entertain readers.
Name one
thing you won’t leave home without.
My cellphone. Yep, I’m one of them. But only because I am
usually waiting for an email or message from an author, publisher, editor…etc,
and need to multitask my personal life errands into my day, too.
What types of scenes are your most favorite to write?
My favorite scenes to write are the sparring scenes between the hero
and heroine. When the hero has met his match, or vice versa . There were
several of those scenes in The Right Ranger.
Are there
certain characters you would like to go back to, or is there a theme or idea
you’d love to work with?
Yes, there are several characters I’d love to go back to, but
shhh…don’t tell my other ones. The two that immediately come to mind are Kit
Katt and Pierce DeVein from my humorous paranormal, The Spy Who Fanged Me. They
are agents from different departments. She’s a black panther shifter and he’s a
vampire and they’re forced to work together to bring down a dangerous gnome.
Kit was by far the most fun I ever had writing a heroine. Between her can do
attitude, her capabilities, and the fact she has catlike tendencies that get in
the way at the most inopportune times, I would love to write another mission
for her and her man/vampire. 😊
Can you
tell us about your upcoming book?
Right now, I’m writing book 4 in The Men of At Ease Ranch series. This
is Vince’s book. He’s been the easygoing happy guy throughout the series, and
longs to have a relationship like his buddies have found. But, it’s like they
say, be careful what you wish for. He’s discovering that his idea of the ideal
significant other is flawed, relationships aren’t always easy, and they come
when you least expect it. He is definitely one of my fun characters to write.
Don't miss any of
The Men of At Ease Ranch!
Donna Michaels is an award winning, New York Times & USA
Today bestselling author of Romaginative fiction. Her hot, humorous, and
heartwarming stories include cowboys, men in uniform, and some sexy, primal
alphas. With a husband in the military fulltime, and a household of nine, she
never runs out of material to write, and has rightfully earned the nickname
Lucy…and sometimes Ethel. From short to epic, her books entertain readers
across a variety of sub-genres, and one has even being hand drawn into a Japanese
translation. Now, if only she could read it.
