by Caroline Clemmons
Do you live where the winter storm has locked you indoors? Lovely
if you don’t need to leave home. Here in North Central Texas, we recently had “thunder
sleet”(a new term for me) that left two inches of ice. We were housebound for
several days. Being iced in was a cozy
treat for me, and a good time to snuggle with a cup of hot chocolate, a good
book...and my husband. Our pets also gathered around for cuddle time. Of
course, I worry about those who have to commute in that kind of weather—doctors,
nurses, paramedics, police, firemen, etc.
Weather often plays a part in my romance books. Bad weather can isolate a couple, present a huge obstacle, or propel
the story forward. Think of the tornado in THE WIZARD OF OZ, which certainly
moved that story forward (no pun intended).
A storm that starts as rain, then sleet, then heavy snow is definitely
a character in HIGH STAKES BRIDE.
The inclement weather helps the heroine, Alice Price, escape from the two men
pursuing her. That is, with the aid of rancher Zach Stone. What could be cozier
than being snowed in a warm cabin with a kind and handsome man? There are a few
surprises for Alice Price and Zach Stone: (1) the battered little boy who looks
as if he and soap are strangers, (2) his injured dog, and (3) the biggest
surprise...the dead man on the cabin floor.
Those aren’t the only surprises in store for either Zach or Alice.
She’s one of my favorite heroines. Like me, she is incident prone. ☺
I’ve never dyed my own hair the peculiar color Alice did, but I once
accidentally dyed Darling Daughter 2’s hair lavender. Talk about panic! Whew, no
wonder she won’t let me color her hair now.
Here’s a blurb about HIGH
STAKES BRIDE:
Now that her stepfather has died and can no longer protect her,
Alice Price is on the run from two stepbrothers who wagered her in a high
stakes poker game. But she’s only been off her stepfather’s ranch once in over twenty
years and has no sense of the landscape or direction. Determined to catch the
stage to Atlanta, she has two mules loaded with her belongings. From the first,
she encounters one setback after another. She is certain fate has dealt her a
losing hand...until she teams up with Zach Stone.
Zach is through with any woman not related to him. He camps out
for a little time alone before he heads home and admits he’s been jilted by his
mail-order bride. When he meets Alice and learns she is on the run, he lets her
tag along with him. Their ride through a freezing storm when she is already
exhausted leaves Alice with a case of pneumonia. Obviously, she needs some
place safe where she can recover. That’s when Zach comes up with a crazy
plan--Alice can pretend to be his mail-order bride until she recovers, make his
family hate her, then he’ll send her away Sounds easy enough.
Alice and Zach find a young boy named Seth in Zach's old
cabin. In order to convince the boy he won't be sent to an orphanage, Zach hires him to be his new ranch hand. Seth’s dog, Harry, accompanies the boy everywhere.
Life appears rosy, but lies tangle Zach and Alice into a web of deceit that
grows more and more complicated.
Seth
Of course, HIGH STAKES
BRIDE, Men of Stone Mountain, Book 2, is available in print and e-book and
is enrolled in Kindle Unlimited. Readers have loved this book. If you aren’t
familiar with it, I hope you’ll read it now. too. Here’s the url at Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/STAKES-BRIDE-Stone-Mountain-Texas-ebook/dp/B009F7JLTK/
Mary Alice Price
Here’s an excerpt from HIGH
STAKES BRIDE of when Zach meets Alice while he’s camped out:
Zach slipped into the bedroll and
waited, pistol in hand. He feigned sleep, wondering what kind of man tarried
nearby. Whoever it was could have picked Zach off, so the sidewinder must not
have murder on his mind.
Probably up to no good hiding out
like that, though, because any Westerner would share his campfire and vittles
with anyone who rode into camp. Zach wriggled into a comfortable spot and lay
motionless. Anger at recent events helped him remain awake.
The footfalls came so softly he
almost missed them. He opened his eyes a slit, but enough to see a thin shadow
move toward the fire. About then heavy clouds overhead parted and the moonlight
revealed a boy who scooped up a slice of bacon and slid it into his mouth.
The culprit set Zach’s tin plate
on the ground near the fire, ladled beans into it, and picked up a fork. He
squatted down and balanced the plate on his knees before he commenced eating.
Zach noticed he kept his left hand in his pocket the whole time.
Something must be wrong with the
thief’s left arm. Looked too young for
it to have been a casualty of the War. Lots of other ways to get hurt out here.
Whatever had happened to his left arm, his right one worked well enough. He
forked food into his mouth like he hadn’t eaten in a week.
Zach let him shovel beans for a
few minutes. Crook or not, anyone that hungry deserved a meal. When the kid
stopped eating, Zach couldn’t figure out what he was doing. It looked as if he used the fork to scratch
around on the ground, so he must have eaten his fill. Zach slipped his hand
from beneath the cover and cocked the pistol.
“Hold it right there, son. I’d
like to know why you’re eating without at least a howdy to the man who provided
the food.”
The boy paused, then set the plate
down slowly. “I left money here on a rock to pay for it.”
Odd sounding voice, but the kid
was probably scared. Zach slipped from his bedroll and stood, but kept his gun
pointed at the food robber. “Maybe.”
Zach walked toward the kid,
careful to train his gaze so the firelight didn’t dim his eyesight. Sure
enough, he spotted a couple of coins on the rock beside his pot of beans, or
what remained of them, and his empty plate.
He faced the intruder. “Why not
just come into camp earlier instead of sneaking in after you thought I was
asleep?”
“I—I was afraid you weren’t friendly.”
Zach thought he also heard the kid
mutter what sounded like “...or maybe too friendly.” Must be the wind, he
thought, as he neared the boy.
Zach motioned with his free hand.
“I don’t begrudge anyone food, but I hate dishonesty and sneaking around. Stand up so I can see you.”
The kid stood, hat low over his
face and his good hand clenched.
Zach reached to push the brim
back. “What’s your name?”
The kid stepped forward. “None of
your business, mister.”
A fistful of sand hit Zach’s face.
He heard his assailant run. Mad as the devil, Zach brushed grit from his eyes
and set out in pursuit. The kid was fast, he’d give him that, but so was Zach.
His longer legs narrowed the distance between them. With a running lunge, he tackled the kid.
“Oof. Let me go.” The lad was all
wriggles and kicking feet as he squirmed trying to escape.
Zach wasn’t about to let that
happen. They rolled in the dirt. In one move Zach pinned the boy’s good arm.
The hat fell aside and a mass of curls spilled around the kid’s face.
His jacket parted and unmistakable
curves pushed upward where Zach’s other hand rested. Zach stared in disbelief.
Registering his hand pressed against a heavenly mound shocked him and he jerked
his paw away.
“Well, I’ll be damned. You’re not
a boy.”
