It's a Blog Hop!!
And, it's new release week around here...Hold Tight...the long awaited sequel to Ty Hard is now available.
Obviously you'll find a lot of Holden and Drew, but you'll see Ty and Cass, too. Plus get a glimpse of the guys from the NEXT two books in the Willow Springs Ranch series.
Here's a look at the blurb and first chapter. Stop by all week for more excerpts from Hold Tight. There will also be give-a-ways from my other June new release, Redemption (Three's Allowed), the hot new MMF, and keep watch for a reissue of an old favorite---
The blurb:
Sheriff Holden Titus had organized his fresh start down to
the last detail. Except for the part about the bomb that blew his plans all to hell.
Now he’s running out of time, without a job, without a home, and struggling to
get back on his feet. Literally.
Despite the impolite rejection, Drew knows he didn’t have
the wrong impression months ago when he asked the sheriff to dance, but he
never expected to have Holden’s life in his hands. Literally.
Thanks to some meddlesome matchmaking, the two men are now
temporary housemates at the Willow Springs Ranch and Drew is determined to help
Holden heal, both physically and emotionally. Even if it means he has to drag
the other man kicking and screaming to physical therapy…and out of the closet.
In fact, that might be kind of fun.
The problem is, Holden doesn’t consider himself in the
closet…but not all secrets are created equal.
Prologue
“What the fuck do you mean he’s on the way to the Willow
Springs Ranch?” Sheriff Holden Titus shouted into his phone as he hurried into
the kitchen.
Ty and Cass stopped their conversation to look at
him as he struggled to untangle the Velcro tabs on his Kevlar vest. God this
was just another cluster-fuck. Everything had been under control. Then one of
his goddamn deputies located the suspect the entire county was looking for and decided
to let him go? He shouted directions at the hapless officer who’d drawn the short
straw and had been the one to call in the fuck up. Now the suspect appeared to
be driving straight here to the ranch, the location of the original cattle killing
crime. He hoped to God the man wasn’t looking to come after ranch-owner Cassidy
Cartwright or his partner Tyler Hardin.
Holden wrapped up his conversation with a few
terse orders then turned to face the two men. He apprised them of the
situation, noting the way Cass moved closer to Ty while the former Navy SEAL
seemed to bow up slightly, as if he was preparing for battle. He knew the man
could handle himself, but given his struggle with PTSD, he’d just as soon the
two men go somewhere else for a bit. Just in case the fugitive had fighting on
his mind.
“I suggest—” His words were lost in a thundering
explosion that rocked the kitchen to its foundation, shattering glass and
raining hell upon all three of them. He couldn’t exactly say his life flashed
before his eyes, but the regrets certainly did. In the remaining seconds of his
life, Holden Titus saw a perfect vision of the future he would never have.
Chapter One
Holden
pulled back on the right wheel and turned his chair in a slow circle as he
looked around the room once more. He knew he hadn't forgotten anything, but it
was a compulsion with him to leave everything in order.
“You
ready, big guy?” Tyler asked from the doorway.
“More
than goddamned ready,” he said.
“Oh,
no, Mr. Ty. You're not allowed to wheel the sheriff out.” Annie, the petite
Asian nurse who had tried her best to terrorize Holden for the last six weeks
brushed the former Navy SEAL out of her way, like he was nothing more than a
pesky housefly. “The rules say it must be one of the staff. Let's go Mr. Crabby
Pants. Ty, you grab his bag. Did you bring the low car like I told you?”
“No,
ma'am. We have to drive the truck to get to Willow Springs Ranch.”
“I'm
not a damn invalid,” he said, automatically picking up the thread of their
daily grousing match.
“Oh
yeah? I don't see you walking out of here on those two fine legs.”
“Bitch.”
“Yes.
But you're going to miss me.”
He
would, but he wasn't going to admit it. No one spoke as he endured the
indignity of letting Tyler lift him into the cab of the truck. Then Annie
climbed onto the running board of the ranch truck, and pecked him on the cheek.
“Just
because the rules say we had to use the wheelchair to take you outside, doesn’t
mean you’re supposed to use it all the time. Get up on those legs and make them
work. You follow the doctor’s orders, and do your damn PT, Titus, or I’ll kick
your grouchy ass.” Without another word, she hopped down, slammed the truck
door closed and pushed the chair back through the automated doors on the front
of the glass vestibule of the long-term rehabilitation facility. Holden looked
out the side window of the truck as they rolled away from the building that had
been his home since his release from the hospital six weeks earlier. Now, he
technically had no place to call home. He blew out a frustrated breath.
“Look,
Ty…you don’t really have to do this,” he said. He immediately realized the
stupidity of the comment. What the fuck else was he supposed to do? His legs
didn’t yet work right, he couldn’t drive, and he had blinding migraine
headaches. Cass and Ty had already packed up his second floor apartment and put
his belongings in storage. The only place he had to go was the Willow Springs.
“Cass
and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Cass blames himself, you know. You were
at his house, trying to protect us. If you hadn’t been there you’d never have
been hurt.”
Blinking
rapidly and swallowing around the frustration, he tried to offer his own
reassurance. “I won’t stay long, Ty. I just need a couple of weeks to figure
out what I’m going to do. The docs don’t figure I can go back to…” he trailed
off. What the fuck was he going to do now? No job, no home, and responsibilities
weighing on him that weren’t going to go away.
Ty
patted him awkwardly on the arm, but kept his eyes on the road. “Holden, there
isn’t anybody on the planet that knows exactly how you feel right now, but I
expect I’m pretty damned close. You talk when you’re ready. We’ve got a few
things planned, including introducing you to Perry, my counselor at the VA.
He’s really good with PTSD. I mean, I’m not saying you have that or anything,”
Ty stammered. “We just thought…I mean Cass and I just thought it might be a
good idea.”
Holden
glanced over at the handsome man with the scar marring the right side of his
face, from hairline to jaw. Medically discharged midway through his Navy
career, no longer able to do the job he thought he’d do his entire life. He
remembered that Ty had come to WSR to spend some time with Gibby, his Navy
mentor and surrogate father, only to discover the man was dead. Suffering from
debilitating PTSD, Ty had been in a bad way, but Cass had taken him in and the
two men seemed to fit each other
just right.
“Thanks,
Ty. I don’t know what to feel.”
“You
feel what you feel. There’s no right or wrong. It’s going to be weird at the
ranch because that’s where everything happened.”
Thinking
about it, he decided he could tell Ty. “I don’t remember any of it. They’ve
placed Morgan in as acting sheriff, and he brought me some of the reports. I
know you said I was on the phone, but I have no memory of anything after
dinner.”
The
salsa beat of his ring tone interrupted his recollection. He pressed the button
on his new phone, courtesy of Cass. “Titus,” he answered. After the brief,
one-sided conversation, Holden closed his phone.
The
road was nothing more than two-lanes stretching endlessly into asphalt ribbons.
The waves of heat created ever-elusive puddles of water, mirages that hovered
always just in front of the truck but never attainable. A fucking metaphor for
his life.
It
would be easier to tell Tyler alone, before they arrived at the ranch. “Well,
it’s official,” he said. “The mayor accepted my letter of resignation based on
medical disqualification. The city wants to settle on an amount of compensation
as soon as possible. They’ll have to cover all medical expenses outside the
insurance, but that’s about it.”
“Talk
to Cass before you settle anything,” Ty said. “Trust me on this, Holden. Now, hang
on, it’s going to get bumpy,” Ty said. They turned onto the rough graded road
that wound for twenty-five miles before eventually leading to the Willow
Springs Ranch turn off.
Holden blew out a breath and shifted his legs to try
and get into a more comfortable position as the truck bounced over the rutted
dirt road.
****
Cass
stood looking out the window of his study in the long, low adobe main house. He
watched his lover lift Holden from the truck and place him in the borrowed wheelchair.
The chair moved easily enough over the hard-packed dirt. Holden expertly
maneuvered in a circle, then made for the low ramp the hands had added to the
front of one of the twin casitas. Over the years, the small adobe houses had served
as homes for the ranch cook and the ranch foreman. Currently both were empty
and it seemed like a good idea to put Holden in the recently renovated unit. Using
crutches and a wheelchair without help in his second floor apartment would have
been nearly impossible. Cass had wanted him in the main house, but Ty had been
right when he’d said although Holden was injured, he wasn’t going to need
permanent care. It was important that he kept a sense of independence all the
way through his recovery.
Cass
wanted to go help Ty, go greet Holden, but his feet might as well have been
nailed to the floor. What the fuck do you say to a man whose whole life changed
because of you? Oh, he knew in a logical sense it wasn’t his fault. The fucking
prick, Tony, had tried to kill them all. Still, if Holden had just left after
gathering his evidence instead of—
“Well
it’s just not the way it happened, now is it Cartwright, so get over your
damned self,” he said aloud.
He
moved to his desk and aligned the folders, checked through his list once more,
then sat to wait for Tyler and Holden. It wasn’t long before the two men
emerged and headed to the main house. Tyler was big enough to be a
professional running back at just a touch over six feet and weighing in at two
hundred and five pounds. Broad and hard in all the right places. Cass had to
quickly shift his attention to the other man or risk meeting their guest while
sporting wood.
Looking at Holden erased any thoughts of sex from
his mind. The man was still good looking, with his chestnut colored skin,
powerful arms, and barrel chest. But it hurt to see his big frame trapped in
the wheel chair. As the two men approached they chatted easily enough. Ty
casually walked alongside Holden’s chair, making no effort to help, as the
other man powered his chair over the hard-packed earth. The two of them had a
lot in common, both former Navy, both injured in explosions, both having to
carve out new lives for themselves from the ashes of important jobs. He hoped
what he had to offer would be enough. For both of them.
“Welcome, Holden. Good to see you here,” Cass
said. He felt awkward and foolish. What the fuck was he supposed to say?
“Cass.” Holden gave a brisk nod and he wheeled
into the study. He used his hands to brake the chair then rotated one wheel
until he turned to face the rest of the room. “I appreciate you having me here.”
Gesturing toward the window, he continued. “You went to a lot of trouble with
the ramps. And I sure wasn’t expecting one of the casitas. I don’t need much
more than a room, you know. I’ll be out of your hair—”
“Shut up, Holden,” Cass said. As soon as the words
were out of this mouth a sense of relief flooded through him. He grinned at the
shocked expression on Holden’s face. Suddenly he felt on steadier ground. This
wasn’t about his own feelings…he needed to make Holden feel at home.
“The three of us might be new at this friends
business, but I think we can manage. You’re welcome to stay as long as you
want. We’ve got two vacant casitas right now, and I see no reason at all you
shouldn’t stay in one of them.”
Blowing out a breath, Holden gave a quick nod. “All
right. Thanks. I’m not quite sure…things are just…” he trailed off, glancing
toward the window.
“Hey, Holden,” Ty said, moving to sit on a couch
near the wheelchair but not too close. “Don’t try to overpower what’s
happening. You’ve got some healing to do and a lot to think about, but you also
have some time. Okay?”
Holden nodded, looked at Ty, then over at Cass
before dropping his gaze to stare at his own legs.
“Yeah. Well…we’ll see. It’s
pretty evident my career in law enforcement is over. I’m not sure what the
fuck
else I’m cut out for.”
Cass winced at the bitterness in the tone. Ty looked
over and mouthed an order. “Tell him.”
There was a tightness in his chest as he realized
his lover knew more about the changes in Holden’s life than anyone because of
their shared similar experiences. If he wanted Cass to push at Holden a little
right now, then he would.
“Maybe. Do me a favor, Holden…take a look at this.”
Grabbing the folders from his desk, Cass crossed the room, and held out a
folder to Holden. When the other man made no move to take it from him, Cass
dropped it onto his lap, then took a seat on the couch next to Ty.
“Look at this record, tell me what you see.” He
turned his back to Holden and carried on a quiet conversation with Ty. After a
long pause he heard the rustle of paper and knew Holden had been unable to
resist looking at the contents.
Several minutes later, Holden interrupted. “Okay,
I’ve looked. What do you want to know?”
As Cass turned to face Holden, Ty gave him an
encouraging wink. Ty had explained that what he’d mourned most when he was
first discharged was the sense of purpose that came with knowing you belonged,
that you were a part of something beyond yourself. They’d come up with
something that they both hoped would help Holden’s internal cop see that he was
still necessary. Ty had warned that the first reaction was likely to be anger
and rejection. So Cass steeled himself for both.
“Do you think I should hire this man?” Cass asked.
Holden’s eyes narrowed, drawing his brows together
in a frown line. His dark fingers tapped against the manila folder. “My first
instinct is to recommend against it, but if you insisted, then I would
recommend checking with the foreman at the last couple of places. I would
certainly have to know more. Why? Did he apply here?”
“This
was Tony’s record. I paid a fortune to a private security firm to acquire all
of these records. Of course, it’s a damn sight easier to figure out you might
have a homicidal maniac on your hands, after the fact.”
“Most
of the information in this report would be readily accessible with a simple
background check and a few calls to previous employers. Whoever you hired to do
this shouldn't have needed to charge a fortune,” Holden said, obviously
interested.
“That's
how I figure it, too. The problem is, we don’t have access to the data, even in
this day of the Internet, unless we pay for the specialized reports. For the smaller
ranches that’s just too damn much money. And who the hell has time to do the
searches and analyze the reports even if we did pay for them?
“I've
been talking with some of the owners around the tri-state area. There are
hundreds of ranch hands and itinerant workers during different times of the
year in this part of Arizona, Nevada, and California. This incident with Tony
wasn’t the only time one of us has been burned by hiring someone who could have
been weeded out with a simple search by someone more experienced than any of
us. We know cows. Or lettuce. Or horses. We want to hire you to figure this
background shit out for us.” Cass was about to go on, even as he saw the heat
building in Holden’s face.
He
held up a hand to try to forestall the coming storm, but the slam of the front
door distracted them all for a moment.
“Hope
you don’t mind I let myself in,” a voice called from the front of the house.
Cass closed his eyes briefly. Drew.
Otherwise known as Andrew Van, the local large animal veterinarian could be
heard taking off his boots and then moving toward them, a running commentary
about his reason for arriving unannounced.
“Hey,
Cass. Is Ty here? Did he get Holden yet?” Drew broke off as he stepped into the
study. “Oh. Hey, Holden. How are…” he trailed off as Holden made a sound that
could only be described as a growl.
“Bunch
of busybodies. I don't want your goddamn charity, Cartwright. I’m not a fucking
invalid.”
“What
the hell's going on? He shouldn’t be—” Drew said. His last word was lost as Holden
shouted at the young vet.
“And
I suppose you’re in on all of this shit. Did you come here to gloat? You
probably think I got what I deserved.” His gaze whipped back around to nail
Cass to his seat. “I’ll be out of here as soon as I can make arrangements.
Meanwhile, all of you leave me the fuck alone.” He wheeled his way toward the
front of the house. Ty hurried after him to hold the doors, leaving Cartwright
and Drew staring at each other in an uncomfortable silence.
“Well.
That went well,” Cass said.
“What
went well? What the hell were you thinking? He can’t be this upset, he needs
time and space to heal. I thought you understood that. Tyler knows damn well—
“Enough,
Drew. That was Tyler’s idea.”
“What?
To pick Holden up from the hospital and then give him a heart attack?”
Cass
raked his fingers through his hair trying to throttle back some of the tension
of the last few minutes. “Ty said the very worst part of his recovery was
loosing his place, of not belonging to something he thought he’d do his whole
life. He said when he realized, really
understood, that he couldn’t go back to active duty, he got so angry it
nearly drove him over the edge. He suggested we give Holden some place to
belong and somewhere to focus his anger.” Cass swallowed hard. “I don’t know if
it was worse watching Holden or thinking about Tyler going through that alone.”
Drew
stood looking out the window while they waited for Ty to return from helping
Holden settle in to his new place.
The
front door closed with a bang and a few seconds later Ty entered. He cast a
quick glance at Drew then moved straight for his lover. Unable to find the
words he wanted to say, Cass just folded Tyler against his chest and held him.
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