Today, I’m inviting you to meet the hero of my
upcoming release, THE MOST UNSUITABLE COURTSHIP. Those who read the first two
Kincaid books have already met Storm Kincaid, brother of Pearl and Sarah. Now this half-Cherokee/half-Caucasian man has
his own story.
Tell us about your childhood.
I lived in Pipers Hollow, Tennessee until I was
fourteen, and my half-sister Pearl married Drake Kincaid. That was a lucky day
for me. Drake took us to Kincaid Springs, Texas and eventually adopted Sarah and
me. As a child, my grandfather, Tom Black Bear, taught me about tracking and hunting food.
Drake took over and taught me how to get along in the white world. I’m sure
lucky to have both men in my life.
What do you do for a living now?
I have a ranch near that of Drake and Pearl. Our
sister Sarah and her husband live in town. Ours is a large family.
How did you meet Rena?
Killers murdered my best friend and his pregnant
wife. I wanted to take off and kill them, but Drake and Grandpa Kincaid stopped me.
Grandpa secured a temporary appointment as a Federal Marshal so I could round
up those killers legally. Waiting was hard, but Grandpa works fast as a
telegraph, and I only lost a day.
When
I saw smoke, I rode in. I found the barn and house burning with all the
livestock slaughtered. An elderly man
lay dead in the dirt. He’d been beaten and tortured, but I didn’t see a woman.
I sensed one, though. Sure enough, she was hiding in the durndest place you
ever saw. She spoke good English but
with a thick German accent. She had come from Bavaria, imagine that. And she alternated
between sad and angry, and said she was going to kill at least one of the men
responsible.
Is
that how she came to be riding with you?
I
tried to talk her out of it. Figured I’d leave her in town until I regained her
valuables. Planned to give her some money and a letter to my family—you know,
in case I couldn’t come back. They’d have welcomed her. But that Rena is one
stubborn woman. Said she was going after those men whether I let her come with
me or not. I reckoned she’d be safer with me than riding all alone.
We had us quite a ride, let me tell you. We battled flooded rivers, dust storms, killers,
and each other. We rescued three orphans along the way. If you have kids, you
know how much they change your life. Getting back to the ranch was pure relief.
Ranch work is hard, but seemed like a vacation after our ride across Central
and North Central Texas.
I
believe you’ll enjoy our story. That is, if you enjoy western historical romance
with plenty of action and adventure thrown in.
Excerpt from THE MOST UNSUITABLE COURTSHIP
She emerged from
the brush straightening her trousers and shoving her pistol back into her
waistband. “Where do you think those men are going?”
“Indian
Territory. They’ll steal all they can before they reach the Red River and leave
no survivors to identify them. They’re selling off the stolen stock along the
way, so that will slow them some.” He wondered if she knew how to use the gun.
“But I saw their
faces.”
He sent her what
he hoped was a frightening stare. “If they knew that, you’d be dead for sure.”
She shivered,
but glared at him. “Do not think to frighten me. I will do everything I can to
kill these men and reclaim my gold and my mother’s locket. It is not that I
care about the jewelry that once belonged to Abram’s wife. But to him, it meant
a great deal, and I want it because he gave it to me.”
Storm wanted to
shake her. Not that he hadn’t lived all his life with stubborn women. At least
his oldest sister Pearl made sense. He’d worried about shy Sarah, especially
when she’d appeared head over heels with a con man. Now that Sarah and Nate
were married, she had life figured out. Nate had surprised everyone, even
himself. Storm suppressed a smile and worked up his anger again at his
traveling companion.
“We can be in
Llano by nightfall. We’ll get a couple of rooms there and you can rest.”
She shot him a
suspicious glare. “You think to abandon me in that town. If we stay somewhere,
we will be in the same room so I can watch you.”
Shocked, Storm
wondered what he could do with this woman. “We wouldn’t be allowed to stay in a
decent hotel. You want to sleep over a saloon? Besides that, folks will be
shocked when they see you in those trousers. You want people to think you’re a
fallen woman?”
With her chin
raised, she placed her hands on her hips. “I am a good woman. You can tell them
we are married and I wear britches to ride more easily.” She held up her hand and
wiggled her fingers. “I have a wedding band, see?”
He raised his
hands and backed up a step. “Oh, no. I’m not even pretending to be married. If
I were ready to marry, which I’m not, I’d pick a woman who knew when to let a
man do his job.”
“Ha, and when I recover my dowry, I will marry a
man who knows a woman can do as much as a man.”
He swept a
formal bow. “And when you marry, will you be wearing the lovely gown you now
wear?”
She appeared
angry enough to use that Colt on him. “You are wrong to…to talk so. I do not
have the English words to tell you what I think, but do not try to leave me
behind. If you do, I will go after the men alone.”
Disgusted, Storm
stomped over and retrieved the horses. “Then let’s go.”
They rode into
Llano in late afternoon. Since they arrived mid week, the town appeared
peaceful and quiet. Storm spotted a hotel by the livery he remembered.
“If you’re
determined to stick to me like glue, let’s stable the horses.”
At the stable,
she staggered when she dismounted and he thought she might fall. He grabbed her
arms. “Steady. You’re not used to riding so long.”
“Ja, my legs do
not work so well. Do not worry, I will be fine in a minute.”
She remained
quiet while he dealt with the hostler and insured his rifle and saddle would be
safe. He threw his saddlebags over his shoulder and retrieved the two
pillowcases and box he’d tied to the saddle pommel. They ambled the block
toward the hotel.
He indicated a mercantile. “Just what we need.
After we get our room, let’s head for that store before it closes. You probably
need to replace a few things that burned.” When she glared at him. “I’ll give
you the money, all right? I don’t want folks thinking my wife runs around in men’s clothes. If anyone gets nosy, tell them
you lost your bag crossing a river.”
She sniffed and
sashayed as if she wore a ball gown instead of ill-fitting men’s trousers. “I
will keep track and repay you when I kill those men.”
THE MOST
UNSUITABLE COURTSHIP will be released on October 30th in print and
ebook. A Facebook Launch Party will be held at https://www.facebook.com/events/680138592007079/?ref=2&ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming
from 10:00 am until at least 8:00 pm with prizes at random times all day. You don’t have to be present to win, but
winners will be drawn from those who comment during the day at some time.
Thanks for stopping by!
