By: Angi Morgan
Congratulations to "Julie G.", the winner in Angi's giveaway. Thank you to all who participated!
It’s always great to be on JRS and with romantic
suspense readers. I thought I’d share a little from book 2 of my West Texas
Watchmen series that’s hitting shelves this week. I’m so honored that Romantic
Times Magazine chose THE CATTLEMAN as
a Top Pick and gave it 4 1/2 stars. So to celebrate, leave a comment to be
eligible for a $10.00 gift card.
“Morgan pens
a lovely comeback story of a hero fighting his inner demons and struggling with
PTSD. With equal parts action, romance and compelling characters, she hits all
the right notes.” ~RT Magazine
Nick didn’t have nearly enough ammo for a gunfight. Neither
did Beth. As soon as she announced they were giving up, he turned off the
satellite phone and shoved it in Beth’s pocket.
“Are we
going somewhere?”
“Down.”
“But I thought–”
“I said that in case they were listening.”
“Cluing me in on your plans might be nice.” She stepped between the trees and around the large rock they’d grown around.
“No time. Can we talk about this later?”
“I’m supposed to be the big time DEA agent and Mr. Rancher over here is…” Beth mumbled as she led the way.
Nick
couldn’t hear much of her complaints but got the gist. They were more about
being caught unprepared than about him trying to save their behinds. That was
just fine. She skidded along, grabbing rocks to slow herself, mad at their
situation but not whining about it.
Maybe it was time to admit that he liked her more than just a little. But this was not the time or the place to admit it to her. A rock fell and hit his shoulder.
“Beth.” He pointed up and behind them. “They’re coming down.”
“Then we need to move faster. Take the lead. I don’t suppose there’s a cave or even a…a large crevice close by that we can use for cover?”
“Put your gun away. You need both hands for this. Stay close so I can get to you if you slip.”
On a normal day, it would take several hours to just walk down the road to the bottom of this mesa. Coming straight down the side was dangerous. Very dangerous. They moved in silence. Breathing hard. No time for water. Their legs working overtime battling the steep descent.
Beth’s legs were already sore from riding yesterday. She skidded, let out an “oh no” and her hand landed in the middle of his back. He braced himself at her warning, catching a solid foothold and grip.
“These boots were not made for climbing.” She brushed off the near fall with words, but she was stiff against the rock face.
“You might lose one or two of those rhinestones,” he teased.
“We might fall to the bottom. Do you think I’d be better off climbing barefoot?”
“Better keep `em on.” He smiled and knew he needed to quit teasing. He should be serious. They were in deep trouble with no way out.
An avalanche of emotion dropped on his head like the rocks above them could at any moment. Thinking about the woman instead of the problem was a sure sign he liked Beth…a lot. Maybe too much.
Of course it
was too much.
He anchored himself and held out his hand, ready for her to come to him. She hesitated, barely raising her arm. He latched onto her fingers and her feet moved slowly. He waited. Bodies close together, eyes level with his and wide with curiosity. A ray of sun broke through the clouds and turned them several shades lighter.
Men–bad men–were chasing them down a mountain.
There was no place to hide. Nowhere to escape.
What did he do? He kissed her.
Not a good-bye. Not an invitation. Not just because she was close.
His girl was in his arms and her lips were smooth against his parched ones. Their tongues did a short dance and he felt more confident. She restored something in him that had been missing the past year. He lifted his head, unable to help the smile that spread across his face. He expected a stern set down from her about how they were in a hurry.
But, shoot, from the way she looked at him, maybe he’d given something back to her, too.
The wide-eyed moment was gone. She looked up and behind them, steadying herself with her hands on his shoulders. “We should probably get…”
“Moving. Right. You going to be okay?” he asked, really curious if the near fall had bothered her as much as the thought of losing her had bothered him.
Small rocks skittered past their heads. “Great. More than great. Excellent. Let’s go while we can.”
Choosing or
creating a path where the javelinas didn’t traverse was hard enough without the
added thoughts about Beth. He could hear the grumbles about being caught off
guard, about not doing her job, not protecting her asset.
“Is that me? Am I your asset?”
“Of course you are.”
“Beth, I’ve told you this before. I can look after myself.”
And just like it had been scripted, he heard the lone shot of a gun and zipped back to the cliff wall, covering Beth’s body.
“There’s something to be said about perfect timing.” Beth drew her handgun from its holster.
“My father always says timing is the essence of all comedy, but there is nothing funny about getting shot. Nada.”
Excerpt and Covers provided by Harlequin Enterprises.
~
~ ~
THE CATTLEMAN is a special story. Nick was named
(not based) for my cousin’s son. He served in the military and does suffer from
PTSD as many in the military do. Sometimes ordinary people also suffer from
PTSD from a traumatic event. My heart goes out to them all.
Nick is a
returning character. He was originally in Protecting
Their Child where he was shot. DO YOU enjoy reading the stories of
returning secondary characters?
~
~ ~

Twitter @AngiMorganAuthr Book Trailers on YouTube
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I love to see characters again in another book... see how things are for them... if they get to share their own HEA! Always great to see your posts Angi! :)
ReplyDeleteLove seeing you, too, Colleen.
DeleteI'm really happy for my character, Nick. I hated to leave him hanging in Protecting Their Child.
sometimes
ReplyDeletebn100candg at hotmail dot com
Nice
DeleteI really enjoy when secondary characters get their own book. Sometimes you learn so much about the town and its people in one book that you hate to let it go, so it's always nice to continue the story with another couple. Plus, usually you're given more tidbits about the original characters in the future books too. amyp115 at yahoo dot com
ReplyDeleteI am giving lots of tidbits. :)
DeleteThanks, Amy !
Great post, thanks for sharing! I love when a secondary character gets his/her own story, especially if previously he/she was portrayed as some kind of antagonist. I'm a sucker for a good redemption story :)
ReplyDeletenatalija(dot)shkomare(at)gmail(dot)com
Oh Natalija...I want you to read Protecting Their Child first then. That is if you want to pick up THE CATTLEMAN. I feel the same way!
DeleteI love it when authors bring back secondary characters so that they can get their HEA.
ReplyDeleteI ahve several from other books...dying to tell their stories.
DeleteAwesome! I love her books! I would be honored to own one of them too!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Thanks Misty!! You made my day!
DeleteAngi Congrats on your new release and your wonderful review too. Cannot wait to read this book. I love reading stories about returning characters. I fell more invested with more back story. yenastone at aol dot com
ReplyDeleteThanks Tammy. I love to write them !!
DeleteAnd that review took my breath away.
Yes I do like when secondary characters get there own as long as you can read as a standalone.ssommer at npgcable dot com
ReplyDeleteGreat Sharon. Mine are definitely stand-alones. But if you read all of them...I think there's extra. Fingers crossed.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI love reading the stories of returning secondary characters. I like when books are connected by the characters, but can be read as stand-alones. Thank you for the chance to win one of your books! rachaelb2014 (at) gmail (dot) com
ReplyDeleteGood luck Rachael. And thanks for stopping by
DeleteYes, I do!
ReplyDeleteNice Martha. Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteI really love seeing secondary characters returning as protagonists. It's one of my favorite things about the romance genre. This looks like a great read!
ReplyDeletekaytaylorrea at gmail dot com
Thanks Kay ! I hope it is !
DeleteOh I really love when secondary characters get their stories told! It is so fun to revisit characters that feel like old friends. :) Great excerpt!
ReplyDeletebrookeb811 at gmail dot com
Woo Hoo, Brooke. It was challenging having all four couples in the same scene. Very challenging.
DeleteI love reading secondary characters with their own stories. They are memorable especially when they are the best friends of the main characters.
ReplyDeletekmccandle(at)yahoo(dot)com
Or ex-boyfriends? >>grin<<
DeleteI love reading stories featuring secondary characters! It's like revisiting the same world again.
ReplyDeletejulieguan AT gmail DOT com
It was fun writing that world. I definitely knew what it looked like.
DeleteSometimes beloved secondary characters just beg for their story to be told.
ReplyDeletemarypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
I just couldn't leave Nick hanging out there ... he had to get on the road to recovery.
Deletecongrats to Angie on the new release! I also love when secondary characters get the spotlight! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteefender1(at)gmail
Thank you Erin !
DeleteIf I am enjoying a secondary character I love following up with them. Sometimes I have to space my reading out, if I can't get the main characters out of my head, but I will always come back to a good author and a good cast.
ReplyDeleteThat's cool Amanda. A neat way of reading series.
DeletePS. schirmang678 (at) hotmail.com
ReplyDeleteGlad you stopped by.
Deletegreat post and it looks like another series I'll have to get
ReplyDelete