Cowboy
Just in Time, Hearts Across Time #1
Blurb: When event planner Amanda Totten falls through a barn trapdoor and
finds herself in the arms of an 1890’s cowboy, she scrambles to find a way back
to the future. She has a life and obligations—her fledgling business and her
mother’s financial needs. But the less stressful lifestyle, and her deepening
love for Gavin Medley, is calling to her heart and she is torn between past and
future.
Has God given her a chance at love?
Gavin Medley has been working for years to regain his family homestead. As ranch foreman, he has nothing but a dream of a place and family of his own. But his love for Amanda is making him think that having his own ranch isn’t as important as having someone to love for the rest of his life.
Amanda returns to the future, and Gavin is shattered. He tries to go forward in time, but fails. Believing it's God’s will, Gavin resigns himself to living without the love of his life.
But love transcends time, and Amanda and Gavin need each other. Can Amanda return to her cowboy?
Has God given her a chance at love?
Gavin Medley has been working for years to regain his family homestead. As ranch foreman, he has nothing but a dream of a place and family of his own. But his love for Amanda is making him think that having his own ranch isn’t as important as having someone to love for the rest of his life.
Amanda returns to the future, and Gavin is shattered. He tries to go forward in time, but fails. Believing it's God’s will, Gavin resigns himself to living without the love of his life.
But love transcends time, and Amanda and Gavin need each other. Can Amanda return to her cowboy?
Extract:
Don’t tell God how big the storm
is…
Gavin
finished the statement. “Tell the storm how big your God is.” The phrase
erupted from his past at the same time he jumped and whirled.
Where
had the woman come from? He crouched behind her.
She
groaned. “Wha…what did you say?”
He
took her by the shoulders and rolled her from side to back. “Lie still for a
bit. You mumbled not to tell God how big your problem is. I finished the
statement. Take it easy. I’ve got you.”
She
shook her head. Color seeped back into her face. Her eyelids snapped open. Eyes
the color of spring grass stared at him.
“I
heard you speak from the loft and about fell over myself. Nobody’s supposed to
be up there, and nobody except for critters down here with me. I was ready to
climb up and investigate. Didn’t have a chance. The next thing I knew, you
dropped to the ground.”
She
closed her eyes again, and grimaced.
“I was too far away to reach the ladder. You
fell through the trapdoor and landed here on the lower level of the barn. I had
no chance to grab ya.”
She
winced. No doubt, pain probably shot through her skull.
“Where
in the world did you come from?”
She
raised an arm and rubbed her eyes. “I thought I was alone here on the acreage.
The owners said it was uninhabited.”
“Don’t
know what you mean by acreage. Been a ranch as long as I’ve been alive. You
fell. You’re on the ground. That’s your trouble right now. But God is bigger.
At least that’s what my ma used to tell my pa and me. She advised us to tell
the storm it didn’t have a dream of getting the best of us.” I’ve got you now, though I’m not sure what
to do with you.
She
opened her eyes. Her pupils looked as round and unfocused. They drifted closed.
“I
feel your confusion. Been kicked by a bronco a time or two. Orient yourself.
Don’t drift off.”
“Your
voice is dreamy.”
His
lip lifted but this was no humorous situation. “I’m awake. Last time I checked
I’m a man, not a dream.”
“Why
can’t I focus? I’m not insane, only anxious to get my event business going
strong.” She attempted a cough to clear her throat. It sounded dry.
He
wanted to give her a drink. To be honest, he had no idea what to do with her,
or what she was talking about.
“Dirty
grit in my mouth.” She spat. “Sorry. Bad manners. Never in my life have I laid
on the ground with my face in the dust.” She sniffed. “I can’t place the smell.
Hay? Sweet grain? Something else?”
“You
smell animals. Cows and horses with a dog or cat in the mix. Hay. Molasses. And
yes, moist manure.” He bit back a grin over the face she made.
“Really?
Gross. There were no animals when I arrived. The barn’s supposed to be empty.
The livestock long gone, yet this gagging smell makes a lie of that.” She
flailed her fingers. “Hurts to breathe. Why am I so disoriented? Nothing makes
sense. Especially you.”
“Ma’am,
I assure you I’m real. Falling like that, makes sense to me for you to be
addlebrained.” He could say the same for his head. A beauty fell before him. He
had nary a notion as to where she’d come from, other than the loft. “My name’s
Gavin. Can you move?”
“My
muscles don’t want to obey my mind. Where exactly am I?”
He
took her small hand in his. Her fingers twitched. He rested his other hand on
her forehead.
Her
chest heaved in what still looked like a futile attempt to garner a deep
breath. “What happened?”
“Darned
if I know. All I ken is you took a fall. The air left your body.” Please, God, don’t let her be paralyzed.
“At least, you had a soft landing.”
The
beauty tried again and finally drew a breath that made her chest heave. She
blew it out. Her eyelashes kissed his palm.
He
exhaled and finally took a look at her, all the way to her feet. What in
tarnation was she wearing, and what in thunder would he tell his boss when the
ranch family returned?
***
Iron
arms rolled her against a sturdy chest. Amanda filled her diaphragm. Thank You, Jesus.
Every
muscle twitched from neck to ankle. The wonderful pillow of a man’s chest
cushioned her upper body.
A
dude on the acreage? For real? Nothing made any sense.
She
couldn’t see a thing due to the masculine, sweaty, horsey, yet blessed weight
of a warm hand on her forehead. A big hand. A calloused earthy hand.
The
instant she convinced herself it was safe to move on her own, he removed his
hand and cupped the back of her head. She looked up into intense eyes with
starburst lines at the corners, shadowed by the cowboy’s gray hat.
A cowboy?
No
one else was supposed to be here. “Where’s my cell phone?”
He
dipped his head. She could no longer see his eyes, not that she could discern
the color. Her vision now filled with the top of his cowboy hat. A cowboy hat
in eastern Nebraska?
Unbelievable.
She closed her eyes, hoping to focus. Think,
Amanda. Think.
“Ma’am?
Be still, please. Let me see if you have injuries. Can you move your arms and
legs?”
Ma’am?
She had to be dreaming.
She
forced herself to concentrate, purposely isolate individual muscles and joints.
The muscles finally obeyed her brain. Everything seemed to be in working order.
Worked too well, in fact.
No
man’s hands had ever roamed over her in such a way, reminding her of a thorough
airport security search. She closed her eyes while tremors of electrical
stimulation followed the entrancing touch of his fingers over her neck,
shoulders, arms, legs.
He
pulled out her New Testament. “Strange place for a book.” He cleared his
throat. “But you shore don’t have room for pockets.”
“I
need to get up. I have a party to plan.” She thrashed and squirmed. Strong arms
held her down. She experienced no pain anywhere besides her head. Nothing
appeared broken. Amanda Totten, figure
this out.
She
braved another peek, away from the cowboy’s blue checkered shirt. Shadows and
dirt revealed nothing as she stretched her neck forward and attempted to rise.
Her body would be a king-sized bruise. “What happened? Who are you? Where’s my
pho—” Some instinct told her to stop talking.
“My
name is Gavin Medley, ma’am. And I am totally confounded as to what you’re
doing here. Where’d you come from? What’s your name?”
Pelican: https://pelicanbookgroup.com/ec/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=37_46&products_id=1495
Bio:
Nebraska country girl LoRee Peery writes
fiction that hopefully appeals to adult readers who enjoy stories written from
a Christian perspective, focusing on the romance. These include novels and
novellas for women and men in the Contemporary, Romance, Historical, Time Travel,
and Mystery/Suspense categories. She
writes of redeeming grace with a sense of place. Her Frivolities Series and
the book based on her father’s unsolved homicide, Touches of Time,
are available on Amazon. She is who she is by the grace of God: Christian,
country girl, wife, mother, grandmother and great-, sister, friend, and author.
Connect with LoRee through these links: www.loreepeery.com
Comments
Good luck and God's blessings with your new book
PamT