Taming Jenna
by Charlene
Raddon
BLURB:
THE
WRONG MAN
Deserted
by her father at the tender age of seven, Jenna Leigh-Whittington had taught
herself to ride, shoot, brawl…and steer clear of the opposite sex. But now, in
a lonely Utah canyon, the Pinkerton agent has drawn her gun on a rugged
stranger—only to discover that, far from the dangerous outlaw she’d been
tracking, he is Branch McCauley, hired gun…and the most irresistible rascal
ever to tempt and torment a woman!
THE
RIGHT WOMAN
If
there’s one thing McCauley trusts less than a female, it’s a female who packs a
six-gun. But what a woman! Vowing to bring the sensuous hellcat to heel,
McCauley has no inkling that their passionate battle of wills has just begun.
Taming Jenna will be the most seductive—and satisfying—job he’s ever taken on.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt:
Jenna scowled
as she studied the man by the flickering glare of his campfire. He had the
right build and appeared close to thirty, Mendoza's age. But something didn't
fit.
The Denver
police chief had described her quarry as a spoiled aristocrat, too busy wooing
Lady Luck and every other female to be much of a train robber, let alone a
killer. But the rogue in front of Jenna looked too lean and hard to be spoiled,
too wary and aloof to be a ladies' man.
To Jenna he
seemed the perfect gunslinger: cold, tough, and ready to spring. Like a big
yellow cougar perched on a ledge. Or a rattler, tightly coiled. Either way, his
bite would be deadly.
In spite of
the cool night breeze, sweat oozed from her pores. She couldn't forget that
lightning draw. Why had she come here? How had she expected to take an outlaw
Pinkerton's other agents had failed to bring in? No, she refused to think that
way. She was every bit as capable as any man to capture Mendoza. She had to
believe that, the same way she had to do what she'd set out to do. Only one
question remained: Was this Mendoza or not?
"Who are
you, mister?"
"Who am
I? Hell, who are you? "
Blast! Did no
male exist in this empty wilderness who wasn't so taken with himself that he
couldn't cooperate for a change?
She took a
calming breath. A body could catch more flies with honey than vinegar, old
Charley Long Bow used to say. Jenna figured flies might fancy the hairy
creature facing her, so she decided to try being friendly. "Listen, I
smelled your coffee and hoped you might spare a cup, is all. You can understand
me being a mite leery of walking into a stranger's camp without knowing who I'm
hooking up with."
Firelight
glinted on the man's straight white teeth as his whiskers parted in a cold
smile. "Don't recall inviting company, but I'll play your game. Name's
Branch McCauley. Now it's your turn."
His smile
unnerved her. It held no humor, only a lethal sort of grimness that cannoned
her stomach into her throat and made her wish she'd wired William Pinkerton for
instructions instead of going off half-cocked this way. "I'm Jim...Jim
White," she lied.
"All
right, Jim, how about some honesty? You come here looking for me?"
"I'm not
looking for anyone named Branch McCauley. If that's who you are, you've nothing
to worry about."
The wide,
innocent eyes McCauley studied held honesty. He relaxed. "In that
case...be glad to pour you some coffee." He reached for the battered
graniteware pot. His visitor's next words froze him in a half-stoop: "I'd
feel more welcome if you'd set aside your gun first."
Cool as
Montana sleet, McCauley straightened, hand poised above his holster.
"Reckon you would. Wouldn't do much for my sense of well-being,
though."
So much for
trying to be friendly, Jenna thought. What now? She clenched her knees together
to still their shaking and swallowed the fear knotted in her throat.
"Look."
McCauley shifted his weight to one leg. "Why don't you put your gun away
and have a sit? Could be I might know something about the hombre you're
hunting.
Hombre.
Sounded Spanish. Like Mendoza. It must be him. She had to get his gun away from
him. Surprise seemed the best means. She squeezed the trigger of the .44 Starr.
The bullet kicked dirt onto the man's scuffed boots. He jumped and let out a
yelp as though she'd set his feet afire.
"Dammit,
kid, going up against me won't get you anything but a six-foot hole in the
ground."
"Shut up
and toss over your gun or I'll turn them boots into sieves. 'Course, my sights
might be a bit off." She raised the muzzle toward his groin.
"You
made your point," he growled as he unbuckled his gun belt and tossed it
over.
Instead of
the fancy weapon she had expected a gunslinger to own, an ordinary, six-gun lay
at her feet. No ivory handle or engraved barrel. Only an ordinary .44
Peacemaker, crafted and worn for one reason—to kill. The thought did funny
things to her innards.
"All
right," she said, getting back to business. "You aren't going to like
this, mister, but I don't know any other way to be sure who you are. Drop them
trousers to your ankles."
"Do
what?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Charlene
Raddon began her fiction career in the third grade when she announced in Show
& Tell that a baby sister she never had was killed by a black widow spider.
She often penned stories featuring mistreated young girls whose mother accused
of crimes her sister had actually committed. Her first serious attempt at
writing fiction came in 1980 when she woke up from a vivid dream that compelled
her to drag out a portable typewriter and begin writing. She’s been at it ever
since. An early love for romance novels and the Wild West led her to choose the
historical romance genre but she also writes contemporary romance. At present,
she has five books published in paperback by Kensington Books (one under the
pseudonym Rachel Summers), and four eBooks published by Tirgearr Publishing.
Charlene’s
awards include: RWA Golden Heart Finalist, Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice
Award Nomination, Affair de Coeur Magazine Reader/Writer Poll for Best
Historical of the Year. Her books have won or place in several contests.
Currently,
Charlene is working on her next release.
Twitter:
@CRaddon
Hi Rita, Thanks for the visit.
ReplyDeleteI want to thank my host for having me here today.
ReplyDeleteHi Charlene, I guess I am stalking you again. What can I say I love your books and ladies you must get Taming Jenna, its a fabulous read. You will fall in love with Jenna!
ReplyDeleteStalk all you want, Gail. Thanks for visiting.
ReplyDeleteThe more I read about this book, the more I know I must read it!
ReplyDeleteRita, you've won again. Contact me and let me know which of my books you want. Thanks for being so faithful.
ReplyDelete