THE CANARY
Wings of the West Book 9
By Kristy McCaffrey
Western Romance
Book Blurb:
Arizona Territory
1899
Sarah Ryan grew up in Texas digging up animal bones and potsherds, but she always dreamed of searching for the extraordinary dinosaur fossils in the American West. When a wealthy benefactress gives her the opportunity to join the team of esteemed paleontologist Dr. Allan Brenner, she eagerly accepts. But when she arrives in the wild and wooly town of Holbrook, Arizona Territory, ready to start digging, she’s faced with the very real obstacle of being a female in a world dominated by men.
Dr. Jack Brenner is looking for his father who disappeared into the Painted Desert two months ago. Mounting an expedition to find him, Jack is suddenly saddled with Sarah Ryan, a young paleontology student hired as an intern to his father. When Jack’s guide refuses to let Sarah accompany them into the wilderness without a chaperone—and a colleague threatens her—he finds himself in a pretend marriage to protect the determined woman whose passion for paleontology was something he once possessed. But he has bigger problems than his beautiful new wife—his father is pursuing a controversial theory about the origin of birds, and it’s attracted the attention of men who would rather destroy evidence than excavate it.
Sarah is the daughter of Logan and Claire from THE DOVE.
The Wings of the West Series Reading Order
Book One: The Wren
Book Two: The Dove
Book Three: The Sparrow
Book Four: The Blackbird
Book Five: The Bluebird
Book Six: The Songbird (Novella)
Book Seven: Echo of the Plains (Short Story)
Book Eight: The Starling
Book Nine: The Canary
Book Ten: The Nighthawk (Coming Soon)
Excerpt
“Dr. Brenner,” Eldon Kimball said, not bothering with niceties. “I thought we understood each other.”
Jack stood, ready to go head-to-head with the man.
Skip stood as well and said, “Mr. Kimball, you’re just in time to meet Miss Sarah Ryan. She’s a paleontology student sent to help us with our dig.”
Kimball’s face began to take on the look of a bull about to charge.
“And she’s Jack’s fiancée.” Skip smiled widely as he delivered the lie.
Jack swung his gaze to Skip, as did Sarah, her jaw hanging open.
“Dr. Brenner’s fiancée?” Kimball sputtered.
“Yes,” Skip replied, warming to his prevarication. “Didn’t he tell you about Miss Ryan? Well, he’s a bit shy about the love of his life. And truly, we weren’t certain she was going to make it, but then she did. And here she is.” He gestured widely toward Sarah. She was frozen in her seat, her cheeks having gone pale. “So don’t worry about having a woman on the team,” Skip continued. “We’re all quite happy with Miss Ryan. She’s very capable, and Jack of course will look out for her.”
Kimball was speechless. Jack was too. And if the shocked expression on Sarah’s face was any indication, she was just as blindsided.
“Where’s Allan Brenner?” she asked.
“That’s Jack’s father,” Skip said.
From the confused look on Sarah’s face, it was clear she’d somehow mistaken him for his father. Jack wasn’t sure if he should be pleased or offended. His father had a distinguished career, but he was also much older than Jack. He would need to explain this mix-up to her but that would have to be later. First, he needed to take care of this little lie of Jack and Sarah being engaged.
“Skip,” Jack said, “I think we should clarify this.”
“No,” Sarah said, rising to her feet and extending a hand to Kimball. “It’s fine. It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir. Jack has said good things about you.”
She had moved from confusion to acceptance with lightning speed. Jack wasn’t sure what to do now. And her use of his first name sounded nice, dammit.
“I can’t say the same about you,” Eldon said, taking her hand like it was dirty rag.
Jack’s patience with the man was at an end. None of them were happy about Sarah’s sudden appearance and addition to the team, but it was time they all remembered their manners. Including himself.
“Eldon, take a seat,” Jack said. “I’d appreciate if you treated Miss Ryan with the same courtesy as the other team members.”
The Canary is available in digital and print.
Apple Books: https://kmccaffrey.com/CanaryAppleBooks
Google Play: https://kmccaffrey.com/CanaryGooglePlay
Author Bio
Kristy McCaffrey writes contemporary adventure stories packed with smoldering romance and spine-tingling suspense, as well as award-winning historical western romances brimming with grit and emotion. Her work is filled with compelling heroes, determined heroines, and her trademark mysticism. She believes life should be lived with curiosity, compassion, and gratitude, and one should never be far from the enthusiasm of a dog. She also likes sleeping-in, eating Mexican food, and doing yoga at home in her pajamas. An Arizona native, she resides in the desert north of Phoenix. To learn more about Kristy’s books, visit her website.
