Blurb:
Widow Veronica Torres needs something
desperately—invisibility. Escaping the clutches of her conniving brother-in-law
and traveling incognito in the RV she traded for online sets her on a collision
course with her new destiny, and a barreling fiery red 18-wheeler.
Trucker Mike Masterson steams at the close call.
First, he nearly sideswipes her. Now, she ends up at the same rest stop with
mechanical trouble. Maybe, she deserves to sweat it out in the June heat since
she has the attention span the size of a pea. But, the child in her company
deserves better. What else can Mike do besides cart them to his garage for
repairs?
Will their burgeoning relationship ignite more
fireworks than the upcoming Fourth of July celebration? Or will the sparks of
six nights and seven days of summertime sizzle—fizzle to an end?
Available September 12, 2012
Pre-Order/Buy:
http://www.bookstrand.com/cutie-and-the-cowboy-trucker
Excerpt:
Veronica approached the door and immediately
remembered the rattletrap sounds from earlier. She decided to steal a look at
the situation.
But first, she kneeled in front of her son for an
eye-to-eye chat. “Sammy, Mama’s got to check the roof.” She stepped into the RV
for something to hold his and Bingo’s attention for a while, and came out with
a big red ball. Strapping the dog leash around his wrist, she instructed, “I
want you and Bingo to stay right here and play. Can you do that for me?”
“Where are you going?”
She recognized the tremor in his voice. “I’ll never
leave you alone, Sam.” A humongous substantiating hug brought a smile to his
face. Veronica kissed him until his giggles chimed on the wind, signifying his
acceptance of what she’d said. “Stay where I can see you. Okay?”
“Okay.”
Veronica monitored the scene, checking to see if they’d
garnered any unwarranted interest, before climbing up the side ladder to the
roof. Looking down on him from the top rung, she reminded Sam, “Stay put.” His
acknowledgment sent her on her hands and knees along the hot metal roof, to the
troublesome area.
The lid moved easily at the touch of her hand. Screws
hung in their holes, giving her the idea of tightening them with her fingers.
That worked only so well, not well enough to make a tight seal. Only one thing
to do. She maneuvered her way back to the ladder, peered over the edge, and
almost had a heart attack.
“Sam!” She screamed his name, and he looked straight
at her, then to the man sitting at the picnic table. She looked at the man,
too. Veronica scrambled to grab the ladder for a fast descent. A couple of
erratic steps nearly cost her dearly as she slammed hard against the side of
the motor home when the ladder moved.
She readjusted her grip. “Get over here, Samuel!” she
demanded between spastic heaves.
If she thought things couldn’t get any worse, she had
another think coming.
A metallic noise captured her attention while she was
suspended midway between heaven and Earth. Her eyes widened as she pinpointed
the problem. It was the fasteners at the top of the ladder. They popped loose
with a scraping sound—one at a time—while she watched.
The feeling of floating washed over Veronica as she
steeled herself for impact. At the same time, she thought of her baby boy below,
witnessing the scene. Several seconds passed without any pain inflicted on her
body, causing her eyes to open. She still clung to the ladder although in a
horizontal position, staring up at the deep blue sky, hands glued in place,
rear end sagging, and her sandaled toes hooked backward over the rungs.
She scoped out the distance left to tumble to the hard
ground, finding a wonderful sight to behold. The bottom of the ladder had
stayed anchored even as the metal above bent perpendicular to the RV. Veronica
let go and thudded the two feet or so to the grass. She craned her neck as her
concern returned to Sam, who, by that time, stood next to her with tears in his
eyes. Bingo showed appreciation for the unrehearsed stunt by showering her with
kisses.
Veronica laughed nervously.
“Okay, okay, Bingo.”
What caught the breath in her throat as she attempted
to regroup were the man-size reptile-skin boots poised behind Sam and planted
widely on either side of his little sandals.
“Need help?”
Veronica noticed the cocoa-brown hands clamped on Sam’s
shoulders. They bore the pinkish spotted discoloration of healed burn scars.
That in itself was an insignificant matter. The sight of his grip arrested any
relief she felt at overcoming her close call. Struggling to free herself from
her caged position, she scraped to her feet, grinding grass stains into the
knees of her jeans, desperate to come to the rescue.
“Take your hands off my son!” She attacked, reaching
to snatch Sam away from his clutch.
His top lip curled under the full, neatly trimmed
salt-and-pepper mustache he sported.
She backed up a few steps, never wavering under his
gaze shielded by mirrored shades and a soft-looking crushable Stetson. Her own
disheveled reflection in his lenses broadcast alarm, but not the uncertainty
swirling in the center of her abdomen. Her butterscotch complexion deepened as
she stared him down. Or better yet, up and down, for even at her five-nine
height, he was still head and shoulders taller.
“I’ll take
that as a no,” he intoned with a
rumble, turned on his booted heels, and stomped away.
Read the entire first chapter at Mickie's
Muttterings.
Bio:
I'm a cruise-loving, people-watching,
picture-snapping baby boomer with time on her hands. So, I write sweet and
spicy relationship-based mainstream contemporary romantic love stories.
Find me at:
Twitter - @MickieSherwood
Mickie
Sherwood
~~Sweet, spicy romance –
a heartbeat away~~
1 comment:
Thanks, Lindsay for this opportunity to share my latest romance. Cutie and the Cowboy Trucker is a #1 Bookstrand Mainstream Bestseller. Yea!
You can read the entire first chapter.
http://mickiesherwood.com/blog/2012/08/25/cutie-and-the-cowboy-trucker-an-african-american-love-story/
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