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For the first time, his cowboy charm seems to backfire…
With his Texas ranching family’s lottery
win, TC Tomlinson is finally able to build a ranch with alternative
livestock. TC has a lot to prove, starting with his new ostrich herd, so when
he catches a beauty scooping up an escaped baby bird, TC chases her down,
assuming she wants to meet him for his money.
When Hallie Armstrong sees the
injured baby ostrich, she jumps into professional mode. A former vet tech,
she’s moved to Last Stand to work at her aunt's wildlife rescue and heal from
an attack. She’s skittish of the handsome cowboy, but when he starts to flirt,
she decides two can play at this game—the rescue needs fundraising, and TC is
an eligible bachelor.
As they brainstorm ideas for a bachelor auction
and work to solve the mystery of local sheep attacks, TC finds himself falling
for the feisty cowgirl. But when he learns she’s still in danger, his
protective instincts threaten to drive the independent Hallie away. Can TC
convince Hallie she can have her independence and him too?
RELEASE DATE: Jan 23 (preorder now!)
BookBub reviews:
“A charming story of a cute couple
destined for love.”
“[It] grabbed me right away”
“It was such good writing to have me caring about Hallie so much.”
Chapter 1
Hallie drove down
the country road between green fields. Nothing looked familiar. Was that
because she was lost or because her memory was faulty? She pulled to the side
of the road and stopped. She tipped her head back and closed her eyes. It was
fine. She had GPS. She could call for help if necessary. No reason to blink
away tears. No reason to get upset or frustrated.
Her brain was healing. Each week, she got a little better. That didn’t mean she’d never have setbacks. Anyway, maybe she was simply lost. She’d only moved to Last Stand a week ago.
Hallie got out of the car and looked around. A sudden rustling came from the ditch beside the road. Then an odd trilling noise filled the air. A bird or frog? But the rustling sounded like a large animal.
Hallie headed for the ditch, prepared to race back and dive inside the car if she needed to escape danger.
She stared down at a fluffy ball that rustled the grasses as it moved. It looked like a giant feather duster had come to life. A tiny head bobbed on a long neck. A beak opened and chirped. What was that thing? Some kind of bird, judging by the beak. A large bird, with a body the size of a basketball.
She looked around. No one in sight. So this wasn’t a bizarre prank. She was pretty sure she wasn’t dreaming, since she had the presence of mind to wonder if she was dreaming. Her memory might be shaky, but it had yet to give her hallucinations.
She crouched for a closer look. The animal chirped and tried to get up, but it quickly pitched forward, flapping short wings. It must be caught or injured somehow. She could do something about that. Many animals calmed down if you covered their eyes. That made it easier to handle them. She didn’t have a towel in the car, and on this warm spring day, she hadn’t brought a jacket. Oh well. Hallie peeled off her long-sleeved T-shirt, leaving her in a sturdy sports bra in cheerful purple and turquoise.
Hallie duckwalked into the ditch and tossed her shirt over the creature. She knelt beside the bird and wrapped her shirt around its head, loosely tucking the long sleeves around the neck a few times to hold the shirt in place.
The animal gave a few last pathetic peeps and settled down. She put her arm around its body. The gray-brown feathers were downy, silky against her bare skin, so it must be young. She gently straightened at the waist, still on her knees, revealing the bird’s long legs with knobby knees and two large toes on each foot. It might be young, but it would stand about three feet high. An ostrich? She’d never seen a young one, but she thought she recalled hearing about an ostrich farm around here.
Well, they apparently weren’t very attentive ostrich farmers, because this little critter had escaped and was far from the herd or flock or whatever ostriches had. It also had a gash on its leg, shallow but long, still oozing blood. Hallie didn’t have first aid material with her, but her aunt had plenty.
“Okay, let’s get you help.” She rose to her feet with a grunt. The bird must weigh fifty pounds.
She got the squirming bird in the car, dodging its bobbing head. Its beak might be covered with cloth, but it would hurt if it hit her. At least the thrashing hadn’t opened its gash any further. She glanced down at her jeans, which were covered with baby ostrich poop. It figured.
As she shifted toward the driver’s side door, she glanced down the road. An oversized red pickup truck was coming up fast. Hallie hadn’t noticed the truck approaching, and now it was within fifty feet. She slid into the car, yanked the door shut, and turned the ignition.
That truck was almost on top of her. She’d wait for it to pass.
She glared as the shiny red truck pulled past. It was enormous, so apparently somebody felt the need to compensate for something.
The truck swung across the road and stopped in front of her. A door slammed. A tall, lanky cowboy strode around the front of the truck, scowling.
Hallie gave a squeak worthy of the baby ostrich and hit the automatic door lock.
The man stormed up to her door. He had to lean way over to peer in at her. “What do you think you’re doing?” he demanded.
Hallie gaped at him. How was she supposed to answer that? She thought she was minding her own business. Granted, she was lost, maybe, but she didn’t want to ask this angry man for directions. She was pretty sure she hadn’t passed any signs marking this as a private road.
He rapped on the window. No way was she going to roll it down.
Hallie put the car in reverse. He was blocking the road ahead, so she’d go back the way she came. But she’d have to back up far enough to get away from him and then try to turn around on the narrow dirt road. His truck was bigger, so he’d take longer to make a turn, unless he simply drove into the ditch and through the edge of the field, which he probably could do with those big tires.
He tried her door handle. Thank goodness she’d locked it.
He knocked on the window again, his fierce face a foot away. “Open up!”
Hallie shook her head vigorously.
She eased off the brakes so the car started rolling backward. It was tempting to go fast and hope she rolled over his foot. That would distract him for a minute or two! But she couldn’t bring herself to hurt a stranger who had so far only yelled and scowled.
He skipped back from the car. Hallie let out a shaky breath and touched the gas. She couldn’t go too fast in reverse, though, or she might back into the ditch. Then she’d really be in trouble.
The angry cowboy ran after her, shouting something.
It took a moment for his words to penetrate.
“Give me back my ostrich!”
Whoops.
Her brain was healing. Each week, she got a little better. That didn’t mean she’d never have setbacks. Anyway, maybe she was simply lost. She’d only moved to Last Stand a week ago.
Hallie got out of the car and looked around. A sudden rustling came from the ditch beside the road. Then an odd trilling noise filled the air. A bird or frog? But the rustling sounded like a large animal.
Hallie headed for the ditch, prepared to race back and dive inside the car if she needed to escape danger.
She stared down at a fluffy ball that rustled the grasses as it moved. It looked like a giant feather duster had come to life. A tiny head bobbed on a long neck. A beak opened and chirped. What was that thing? Some kind of bird, judging by the beak. A large bird, with a body the size of a basketball.
She looked around. No one in sight. So this wasn’t a bizarre prank. She was pretty sure she wasn’t dreaming, since she had the presence of mind to wonder if she was dreaming. Her memory might be shaky, but it had yet to give her hallucinations.
She crouched for a closer look. The animal chirped and tried to get up, but it quickly pitched forward, flapping short wings. It must be caught or injured somehow. She could do something about that. Many animals calmed down if you covered their eyes. That made it easier to handle them. She didn’t have a towel in the car, and on this warm spring day, she hadn’t brought a jacket. Oh well. Hallie peeled off her long-sleeved T-shirt, leaving her in a sturdy sports bra in cheerful purple and turquoise.
Hallie duckwalked into the ditch and tossed her shirt over the creature. She knelt beside the bird and wrapped her shirt around its head, loosely tucking the long sleeves around the neck a few times to hold the shirt in place.
The animal gave a few last pathetic peeps and settled down. She put her arm around its body. The gray-brown feathers were downy, silky against her bare skin, so it must be young. She gently straightened at the waist, still on her knees, revealing the bird’s long legs with knobby knees and two large toes on each foot. It might be young, but it would stand about three feet high. An ostrich? She’d never seen a young one, but she thought she recalled hearing about an ostrich farm around here.
Well, they apparently weren’t very attentive ostrich farmers, because this little critter had escaped and was far from the herd or flock or whatever ostriches had. It also had a gash on its leg, shallow but long, still oozing blood. Hallie didn’t have first aid material with her, but her aunt had plenty.
“Okay, let’s get you help.” She rose to her feet with a grunt. The bird must weigh fifty pounds.
She got the squirming bird in the car, dodging its bobbing head. Its beak might be covered with cloth, but it would hurt if it hit her. At least the thrashing hadn’t opened its gash any further. She glanced down at her jeans, which were covered with baby ostrich poop. It figured.
As she shifted toward the driver’s side door, she glanced down the road. An oversized red pickup truck was coming up fast. Hallie hadn’t noticed the truck approaching, and now it was within fifty feet. She slid into the car, yanked the door shut, and turned the ignition.
That truck was almost on top of her. She’d wait for it to pass.
She glared as the shiny red truck pulled past. It was enormous, so apparently somebody felt the need to compensate for something.
The truck swung across the road and stopped in front of her. A door slammed. A tall, lanky cowboy strode around the front of the truck, scowling.
Hallie gave a squeak worthy of the baby ostrich and hit the automatic door lock.
The man stormed up to her door. He had to lean way over to peer in at her. “What do you think you’re doing?” he demanded.
Hallie gaped at him. How was she supposed to answer that? She thought she was minding her own business. Granted, she was lost, maybe, but she didn’t want to ask this angry man for directions. She was pretty sure she hadn’t passed any signs marking this as a private road.
He rapped on the window. No way was she going to roll it down.
Hallie put the car in reverse. He was blocking the road ahead, so she’d go back the way she came. But she’d have to back up far enough to get away from him and then try to turn around on the narrow dirt road. His truck was bigger, so he’d take longer to make a turn, unless he simply drove into the ditch and through the edge of the field, which he probably could do with those big tires.
He tried her door handle. Thank goodness she’d locked it.
He knocked on the window again, his fierce face a foot away. “Open up!”
Hallie shook her head vigorously.
She eased off the brakes so the car started rolling backward. It was tempting to go fast and hope she rolled over his foot. That would distract him for a minute or two! But she couldn’t bring herself to hurt a stranger who had so far only yelled and scowled.
He skipped back from the car. Hallie let out a shaky breath and touched the gas. She couldn’t go too fast in reverse, though, or she might back into the ditch. Then she’d really be in trouble.
The angry cowboy ran after her, shouting something.
It took a moment for his words to penetrate.
“Give me back my ostrich!”
Whoops.
The Accidental
Billionaire Cowboys series: When the Tomlinsons win a fortune in the lottery, the formerly tight-knit Texas ranching family is suddenly on edge. Everything changes when you’re rich, and often not for the better. Can these cowboy brothers find love when everyone seems to want something else from them?
Praise for book 1, The Billionaire Cowboy’s Christmas:
“I highly recommend this book. I look forward to the next book. Kris has a winning series here.”
“What a wonderful book! I loved every word of this book and highly recommend it.”
“I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait to see where these characters go next.”
“I can hardly wait for the next in this series. I highly recommend this clean, romantic Christmas story.”
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