by Susan Stoker, Cristin Harber, Cora Seton, Lynn Raye Harris, Kaylea Cross, Katie Reus, Tessa Layne
Sinful Seduction
Under His Protection
Deadly Fallout
Sworn to Protect
Secret Obsession
Love Thy Enemy
Dangerous Protector
Lethal Game
Redemption Harbor Series
Resurrection
Savage Rising
Dangerous Witness
Innocent Target
Hunting Danger
Deadly Ops Series
Targeted
Bound to Danger
Chasing Danger (novella)
Shattered Duty
Edge of Danger
A Covert Affair
The Serafina: Sin City Series
First Surrender
Sensual Surrender
Sweetest Surrender
Dangerous Surrender
O’Connor Family Series
Merry Christmas, Baby
Tease Me, Baby
It’s Me Again, Baby
Mistletoe Me, Baby
Non-series Romantic Suspense
Running From the Past
Dangerous Secrets
Killer Secrets
Deadly Obsession
Danger in Paradise
His Secret Past
Retribution
Tempting Danger
Paranormal Romance
Destined Mate
Protector’s Mate
A Jaguar’s Kiss
Tempting the Jaguar
Enemy Mine
Heart of the Jaguar
Moon Shifter Series
Alpha Instinct
Lover’s Instinct
Primal Possession
Mating Instinct
His Untamed Desire
Avenger’s Heat
Hunter Reborn
Protective Instinct
Dark Protector
A Mate for Christmas
Darkness Series
Darkness Awakened
Taste of Darkness
Beyond the Darkness
Hunted by Darkness
Into the Darkness
Saved by Darkness
Guardian of Darkness
About the Author
Katie Reus is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Red Stone Security series, the Redemption Harbor series and the Deadly Ops series. She fell in love with romance at a young age thanks to books she pilfered from her mom’s stash. Years later she loves reading romance almost as much as she loves writing it.
However, she didn’t always know she wanted to be a writer. After changing majors many times, she finally graduated summa cum laude with a degree in psychology. Not long after that she discovered a new love. Writing. She now spends her days writing dark paranormal romance and sexy romantic suspense. If you would like to be notified of future releases, please join her newsletter. Find the link on her website: https://katiereus.com
A HERO’S HONOR
A Resolution Ranch Novel (Book 1)
Tessa Layne
Shady Layne Media
www.tessalayne.com
Meet the Heroes of RESOLUTION RANCH
Inspired by the real work of Heroes & Horses… Chances are, someone you know, someone you love has served in the military. And chances are, they’ve struggled with re-entry into civilian life. The folks of Prairie are no different. With the biggest Army base in the country, Fort Riley, located in the heart of the Flint Hills, the war has come home to Prairie.
Join me as we finally discover Travis Kincaid’s story and learn how he copes in the aftermath of a mission gone wrong. Meet Sterling, who never expected to return to Prairie after he left for West Point. Fall in love with Cash as he learns to trust himself again. Laugh with Jason and Braden as they meet and fall in love with the sassy ladies of Prairie. Same Flint Hills setting, same cast of friendly, funny, and heartwarming characters, same twists and surprises that will keep you up all night turning the pages.
A HERO’S HONOR – Travis Kincaid & Elaine Ryder (On Sale Now)
A HERO’S HEART – Sterling Walker & Emma Sinclaire (On Sale Now)
A HERO’S HAVEN – Cash Aiken & Kaycee Starr (On Sale Now)
A HERO’S HOME – Jason Case & Millie Prescott (Coming 2018)
A HERO’S HOPE – Braden McCall & Luci Cruz (Coming 2018)
A HERO’S HEART (On Sale Now)
The town superstar has just met his match
When retired Army Captain and Prairie’s favorite son, Sterling Walker, returns home to join Restoration Ranch, he finds himself face to face with his biggest rival – Emma Sinclaire, the sole daughter of Prairie’s oldest family – all grown up, gorgeous, and glaring daggers at him.
Will it be winner take all in this battle of hearts?
A rising star at Kansas City’s internationally acclaimed Royal Fountain Media, Emma agrees to personally oversee the marketing and fundraising campaign for Resolution Ranch. But she never expected to come face to face with her high school nemesis, Sterling Walker, let alone have to work closely with him. As they face off across the boardroom, she can’t deny her attraction to the smart, sexy, soldier who engages her in battle at every turn.
When a moment of carelessness threatens to shut down the fundraiser before it starts, Sterling will put everything on the line to protect Emma’s reputation. Will it be enough to win Emma’s heart for good? Or will the fallout be the ruin of Resolution Ranch?
WELCOME TO PRAIRIE!
Where the cowboys are sexy as sin, the women are smart and sassy, and everyone gets their Happily Ever After!
Prairie is a fictional small town in the heart of the Flint Hills, Kansas – the original Wild West. Here, you’ll meet the Sinclaire family, descended from French fur-trappers and residents of the area since the 1850s. You’ll also meet the Hansens and the Graces, who’ve been ranching in the Flint Hills since right before the Civil War.
You’ll also meet the heroes of Resolution Ranch, the men and women who’ve put their bodies on the line serving our country at home and abroad.
Prairie embodies the best of western small town life. It’s a community where family, kindness, and respect are treasured. Where people pull together in times of trial, and yes… where the Cowboy Code of Honor is alive and well.
Every novel is a stand-alone book where the characters get their HEA, but you’ll get to know a cast of secondary characters along the way.
Get on the waiting list for Prairie Devil and the rest of the Cowboys of the Flint Hills
Additional books in the series:
PRAIRIE HEAT – Blake Sinclaire & Maddie Hansen (on sale now!)
PRAIRIE PASSION – Brodie Sinclaire & Jamey O’Neill (on sale now!)
PRAIRIE DESIRE – Ben Sinclaire & Hope Hansen (on sale now!)
PRAIRIE STORM – Axel Hansen & Haley Cooper (on sale now!)
PRAIRIE FIRE – Parker Hansen & Cassidy Grace (on sale now!)
PRAIRIE DEVIL – Colton Kincaid & Lydia Grace (on sale now!)
PRAIRIE FEVER – Gunnar Hansen & Suzannah Winslow (coming in 2018)
PRAIRIE BLISS – Jarrod O’Neill & Lexi Grace
PRAIRIE REDEMPTION – Cody Hansen & Carolina Grace
PRAIRIE DEVIL (Book 6 On Sale Now)
He’s the Devil she shouldn’t want
Thrown out of the house when he was seventeen, bad boy Colton Kincaid left Prairie in the rear-view mirror and never looked back. Determined to make something of himself, he scrapped his way to superstardom at the top of the rodeo circuit, leaving behind a string of broken hearts. He’s perfectly happy with his no-strings-attached life until a chance encounter with hometown good girl Lydia Grace leaves him questioning everything and wanting a shot at redemption
She’s the Angel he can never have
All Lydia Grace needs is one break. After having her concepts stolen by a famous shoe designer, she returns home to Prairie to start a boot company on her own. But when her break comes in the all too sexy form of Colton Kincaid, she wonders i
f she’s gotten more than she’s bargained for.
They say be careful what you wish for
To get her boot company off the ground, Lydia makes Colton an offer too good to refuse, but he ups the ante. Will the bargain she strikes bring her everything she’s dreamed of and more, or did she just make a deal with the devil?
Help a Hero – Read a Cowboy
KISS ME COWBOY – A Box Set for Veterans
Six Western Romance authors have joined up to support their favorite charity – Heroes & Horses – and offer you this sexy box set with Six Full Length Cowboy Novels, filled with steamy kisses and HEA’s. Grab your copy and help an American Hero today! All proceeds go to Heroes & Horses
Visit www.tessalayne.com for more titles & release info
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CHAPTER ONE
“Uh, Travis?” The sweet feminine voice that had haunted his dreams for months spoke as a coffee pot entered his line of sight. “Did you want some more coffee?”
He swung his gaze in the direction of her voice, finding Elaine Ryder’s big blue eyes staring at him with a hint of concern. It never stopped surprising him. How one morning she’d suddenly stopped avoiding his gaze and began meeting his eyes. As if, after two years, he’d finally passed some kind of muster.
It still rendered him stupid.
He grunted in reply to her offer of coffee, holding out his paper cup, missing the one Dottie used to hold for him at the diner, missing the diner. But it was gone. Demolished along with half the town in six minutes of devastation wrought by an EF4 tornado. All they had now was a food truck and a handful of picnic tables set up across the street from the rubble that used to be Dottie’s Diner.
Elaine reached to steady his hand as she poured, a new part of their daily ritual thanks to the tornado, and one he wouldn’t complain about. Or the zing that snaked up his arm and spiraled down to his cock. Every. Single. Time.
Across from him, his deputy chief and closest friend, Weston Tucker, made a disapproving noise in the back of his throat as soon as she left. “Real smooth, dickhead. No wonder you don’t get anywhere with the ladies. Usually, when you like someone, you engage them in conversation. Not growl at them.”
“You know I don’t date women in town,” he gritted out. How many times had they been over this?
“Or anyone, because of your damned rules.” Weston held up a finger. “Because there’s the age requirement,” he ticked off on another finger. “And how could I forget the education clause, and the no-sleeping-in rule?” He held up another hand. “Shall I go on? No one divorced or with kids, no one in the military or at work. And you practically have to break down a door to assure yourself it’s really locked. Maybe getting laid would help you lighten up. It would at least fix your crappy attitude.”
“My attitude is just fine,” he snapped.
Weston laughed, a rich belly laugh that rang across the crowded picnic tables. “Keep telling yourself that, Chief. Keep telling yourself that.” His face turned serious. “You about bit Elaine’s head off. You may be inept with the ladies, but you’re usually not an asshole. What gives?”
How could he explain? Even to his best friend? Travis contemplated the dark liquid in his cup, as the memory of his latest bad dream shuddered through him. “It’s nothing.”
“Let me guess. You overslept again?” Weston’s face softened briefly. “What was it this time? Up all night thinking about Elaine?” he teased gently.
“If only. More like pulling Warren out of the rubble, except it’s not his face I see, it’s my brother’s. Or McCall. Or Hamm.”
“When was the last time you talked to someone?”
Travis shrugged. He’d done plenty of time on a couch, and as far as he was concerned there came a point when it was just a crutch for crybabies.
“I know someone good.” Weston signaled Elaine for a refill.
“I’ll let you know.” Travis took a big gulp of the still hot coffee, trying not to wince as it scalded his throat going down. It was stupid, he knew. Weak. He wanted to feel her hand against his again. His coffee consumption had quadrupled since the tornado. But he couldn’t help it. He craved her gentle touch. The innocence of it. That fleeting contact did more to ground him than any of the rules he’d imposed on himself in the years since he’d left his SEAL unit.
“Don’t be an asshole this time,” Weston spoke low, eyes crinkling with mirth. “Use your words, big guy.”
Travis took the opportunity to peruse her as she stood over Weston’s cup and poured. She was on the short side, no more than five-five. Slender, but with enough curves to make his mouth water. He’d only ever seen her in what she wore right now – black Converse, slim fitting jeans, and a Dottie’s Diner tee. She had three. A black one, a pink one, and his favorite because it brought out the blue in her eyes, the blue one she wore today. Even though it was slightly baggy, it didn’t disguise her high, perky breasts or cover up the luscious curve of her ass. An ass he longed to cup as he pulled her close.
Weston cleared his throat, and Travis dragged his eyes to the sound. Weston rolled his eyes and smirked, then mouthed the word dumbass. Travis straightened and flicked a glance at Elaine.
Shit.
Pink splashed across her cheeks. Something he’d love if he hadn’t been caught staring, because it made her eyes sparkle. And was that the barest hint of a smile? She rounded the table and opened her hand, silently asking for his cup. “Thanks, Elaine.” He forced his voice into a normal register as he handed over his cup, embracing the zing that traveled up from his fingers when her hand brushed his.
“How’s Dax doing?” Weston asked, finally rescuing him.
A look of worry crossed Elaine’s face. She shrugged and gripped the coffee pot a little tighter. “As good as can be expected, I guess.”
Her voice was so soft and sweet. It slid over Travis and enveloped him like a warm blanket.
“Where’s he right now?”
Leave it to Weston to keep the conversation going. Weston was right. He needed to do a better job of talking with her. It was his job, for chrissakes. But at least where Elaine was concerned, Weston had appointed himself the unofficial public relations officer.
Elaine tilted her head toward the center of the park. “Over at the playground with a few of the boys from his class.”
Pride surged through Travis as he glanced in the direction of the playground. In the early aftermath of the tornado, the community had determined their top priority would be rebuilding the playground so the town’s children would have a safe place to play during clean-up efforts. It had been the perfect project to bring everyone together around a common purpose, becoming a touchstone of inspiration for the long months of recovery that lay ahead.
Say something, dumbass. Anything. He cleared his throat. “Well, ah…” Fuck. Why in the hell was he so tongue-tied?
“You’ll have to excuse Travis, here.” Weston smiled reassuringly at Elaine. “He’s a little short on sleep. He’s not usually such a caveman.”
She swung her baby blues to him, scrutinizing him with the same worry he’d seen on her face when he’d reunited her with Dax after the tornado. In spite of his discomfort, something in him growled to life under her attention. Made him sit a little taller.
“Do you prefer tea?” she asked in a rush. “Or water? Sometimes when I’m sleep deprived, coffee just makes it worse.”
Her concern warmed him. And for the first time that day, a genuine smile tilted up the corners of his mouth. “I’m fine, thanks.”
Once she’d moved away, he scowled across the table at Weston, who sat shaking with suppressed laughter. “Smooth,” he chortled. “You’ll have to do a better job talking with the ladies if you’re going to run for county sheriff.”
“No way. We’ve got enough to deal with here. I don’t need to run for sheriff.”
“Have you seen who’s filed?”
Weston’s voice filled with disgust.
Travis shook his head. “Don’t care. Williams only had, what, eighteen months left? So long as the new guy follows in his footsteps and stays out of our way, we’ll be fine.”
Weston made a disapproving noise. “This guy’s an asshat. Travis. None of the cops I’ve talked to over in Marion like him.”
“So he’s an asshat. As long as he does his job, who cares?”
Weston leaned forward. “Why not run? You’ve got the pedigree.”
“You do, too.”
“Maybe I want your job.” Weston grinned and stroked the scruff covering his chin.
“Give me a better reason.”
“Fine. Crime’s down since you became chief. Sense of community is up. And you need a new project.”
Weston had him there. He did need something new. He’d been feeling itchy for months, even before the tornado hit. Like it was time to make a shift. Problem was, to what? He was settled here. And while his long-term dream was to get the ranch up and running again, he didn’t have the people or the capital tucked away to do it for a few more years. “I’ll consider it.”
“Hey Travis, you gotta sec?” Hope Sinclaire swung a leg over the bench and took a seat.
“You bet.” Anything to stop talking about this county sheriff business. And get his mind off Elaine.
“I’m worried about Dax Ryder.”
Weren’t they all? The little boy hadn’t been the same since they’d pulled him and Warren Hansen out of the rubble of the tornado. Granted, it hadn’t even been two months, but the kid was obviously traumatized. And Hope’s uncle, Warren, had died protecting him. “Talk to me.”
“We’ve all invited Elaine and Dax out to the ranch to work with the horses, but they haven’t come. I don’t know why. But I thought since you’re one of the only adults Dax seems comfortable with at the moment, maybe you could offer to bring them out?”
Weston spoke up. “That would be a great photo-op for someone running for sheriff.”
“Shut up, Wes. I’m not doing that.”
