Lissie Pettigrew isn't convinced the stranger who suddenly appeared on their land doesn't mean them harm, but she'll do everything she can to distract him from her younger sister.
The man was
tall, over six feet, with broad shoulders and a slim waist. Clean-shaven with
intense silver-grey eyes, he didn’t look happy to see them. This had to be
another one of Verity’s practical jokes. His denim jeans, leather vest with
deep pockets, and old-fashioned Stetson were straight from a costume store. His
thin cotton shirt hugged him like a second skin, Liemphasizing his buff body. The
only worrying detail was the gun and holster set.
Lissie pointed
her chin at the revolver in his hand. “That’s not a very nice way to greet your
hosts,” she said, trying to ignore the blood pounding in her ears. Verity had
pulled some major pranks in her time but this was the first time she’d hired an
actor to point a gun at her sisters. At least Verity had hired a hottie for
this job.
“Who are you?
Why are the two of you wearing men’s clothes?” The man frowned as he spoke, his
slow drawl sounding out of place in the 21st century, even in this
small country town.
“Who are you
and what are you doing lighting fires on our land?” Lissie smiled sweetly,
waiting for Verity to spring out of the bushes, yelling gotcha.
“I’m the one
with the gun. Maybe you’d better start talking. My name is William Dawson. Mr.
Dawson to you.”
“We’re innocent
cowgirls, looking for our sister, Mr. Dawson, sir.” Even as she heaped on the
sarcasm, it started to occur to Lissie this might not be a joke. His tone had
been disapproving. Impatience still clouded his eyes. That made her bolder, if only
to draw his attention away from Hope. “I’m Felicity and this is my sister,
Hope. That’s Felicity and Hope to you.” Now might be a time not to give him too
much information, she decided.
“I’ve been here
a couple of hours now and you’re the first people I’ve seen.” He kept eyeing
the truck nervously.
Lissie watched
him. “What’s wrong with you? Never seen an F350 before?”
“No.” He looked
at the girls one more time before slipping his gun back into its holster. “I
don’t even know what an F350 is.”
“C’mon,” Lissie
chided. “Have you been living under a rock? An F350 is a truck. They’re
everywhere. This is mine.” She pointed to the blue one she’d just hopped out
of. “And this one here belongs,” she pointed to Verity’s silver pick up, “to my
sister. Verity came out here earlier today. She was going to organize the
kitchen and bedrooms. Tomorrow the electricians are going to turn on the
electricity to the house.”
“Electricity,”
Will sounded out the word, as if it was Latin or Greek. “I’ve heard of that.”
Hope burst out
laughing. “Okay, Verity,” she said to the bushes, “good joke. You can come out
now.”
“I told you,” he
said fiercely, “I’m the only one here.”
Lissie grinned.
“I believe you, cowboy.” To keep his eyes off Hope, she moved closer, swinging
her hips. In case he was some sort of psycho, she needed to do everything she
could to save her little sister. She moved with far more confidence than she
felt. As she approached him, she caught his grass, leather, and onions scent.
It was a primal smell that spoke of hard work and honest labor. It was far more
appealing than she wanted it to be.
If he was part
of a practical joke, she’d make Verity pay. If he was something more dangerous
than that, she wanted all his attention focused on her. “What do you do when you’re not pranking
innocent girls? Are you a movie extra or something?”
He narrowed his
eyes at her as she sidled her body next to his.
She brushed some
dust from his shoulder. “I’ve been asking Santa for someone like you my entire
life. I guess the wait was worth it.” She ran her hand over the front of his
leather vest. “This is nice and soft, just like your lips, I bet.” She made a
kissy face at him.
He caught her
wrist. “What sort of a girl are you, talking to a man like that?” His grey eyes
glinted with outrage.
“I’m a modern
sort of a girl,” she said. “I take what I like.” She reached with her other
hand and stroked the dark hair that curled around his ears and under his hat.
“Nice.”
Before she could register what he
was doing, he grabbed her hands and pinned them behind her back. His long,
muscular fingers held her two wrists together effortlessly.
Blurb:
Identical twins, Verity and Felicity (Lissie) Pettigrew
inherit an abandoned farm in the remote hills of the Methow Valley. Little do
the twins know, but their windfall harbors a secret. While exploring the old
barn, Verity stumbles into a hidden portal and is instantly transported more
than one hundred years into the past.
In 1885, on the same farm, Will Dawson is saddling his
horse when a disturbance in a corner of the barn catches his attention. In his
haste to rescue the gorgeous woman in the center of the disturbance, Will is
flung far into the future.
Meanwhile, Lissie arrives on the farm looking for
Verity, but finds the handsome, slightly suspicious cowboy instead. From their
first words to one another, sparks fly.
Lissie’s modern manners and profane language offend
Will. His solution? Some old-fashioned discipline delivered on the spot.
Affronted by Will’s distinctly un-twenty-first century
approach to male/female relationships, Lissie challenges his authority at every
turn in spite of nearly always ending up over his knee.
Meanwhile, Verity must deal with life in 1885. Although
accepted into Will’s family, she longs to get back to the 21st
century and the man she loves.
Can Will live in a future in which progress comes at the
price of everything he holds dear? Can Lissie win him over, and teach him that
women can be independent and willful but still soft and sexy? Will Verity find
her way back to the man she loves?
Publishers note: This stand alone love story includes scenes of domestic discipline and
spicy romance.
Don’t miss these
other great books from Libby Campbell and Blushing Books:
The Romancing the Coast Series
Seeing Ronnie.(Book 1)
Holding Cynthia (Book 2)
Simon in Charge – 3 book boxset
About the Author:
Libby Campbell,
spanking writer and mischief maker
Libby Campbell writes in the bay window of her mock-Tudor
home, fueled by coffee, chocolate, and many cups of fragrant tea. Sharing a
love of hiking, road trips, and an occasional night of dancing, Libby and her
husband live on a rocky island in the Pacific Northwest.
Libby savors her evening bubble baths where she sings along
to her favorite music, safe in the knowledge that no one can hear her. She
loves all animals, but particularly small dogs with big attitudes and big ones
who think they are lap dogs. A woman for all seasons, Libby is happy cuddling
in front of a winter fire, watching a summer sunset, listening to birds in the
spring, and walking in the autumn rain.
Optimistic by nature, Libby wants a solid HEA in her reading
and her writing. She writes the stories she wants to read. To see what she’s
working on now, or how she formed her earlier novels, visit her Pinterest
boards where she pins pictures that inspire her characters and their worlds.
Connect with Libby
Campbell on social media:
Visit her website and blog here: Libby Campbell
Find her on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/Libby-Campbell-849543415164235/
Follow her on Twitter: @LibbyC26
Visit her Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Libby-Campbell/e/B01B75CENW
Pinterest: https://nz.pinterest.com/libby3054/
Visit the other participants joining in the
Hi Kathryn and Libby, this sounds like an awesome and interesting read. Enjoyed the excerpt :)
ReplyDeleteHugs
Roz