B.J. Daniels returns to Cardwell country in Ambush Before Sunrise—plus a bonus story!
Ambush Before Sunrise
Wrangler Angus Savage has come to Wyoming to help Jinx McCallahan get her cattle to high country. He’s signed on for the dangerous drive, eager to reconnect with the woman he knew when they were kids. Now in the wilderness the no-nonsense cowboy and the strong-willed rancher must navigate the trail’s many hazards—like her treacherous ex who wants her back...or dead.
Gun-Shy Bride
The discovery of human bones by the Winchester Ranch rocked the small town and its deputy sheriff, McCall Winchester. The grave held answers to questions that had long haunted her, and nothing would stop her from getting them...not even the return of Luke Crawford.
She touched the hair curling at the nape of his neck, wanting the kiss to never stop.
At the sound of Max ringing the chow bell, he let her go. She drew back, shaken by the kiss. “We shouldn’t have done that.”
“I’m not going to apologize for kissing you. I’ve wanted to since the first time I laid eyes on you. Only back then, I was just a boy who thought the way to get a girl’s attention was to give her a hard time.”
“I’m still a married woman,” she said, hating that she sounded breathless. Had she ever been kissed like that? “And I’m your boss.”
He nodded. “If you’re saying that I have bad timing, I couldn’t agree more.” He grinned. “But I’m still not sorry.” With that, he touched her cheek, a light caress before he rose, retrieved his shirt from the tree, pulled on his boots and left, saying, “I’ll see you back in camp, boss.”
B.J. Daniels is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author. She wrote her first book after a career as an award-winning newspaper journalist and author of thirty-seven published short stories. She lives in Montana with her husband, Parker, and three springer spaniels. When not writing, she quilts, boats and plays tennis. Contact her at bjdaniels.com, on Facebook or on Twitter, @bjdanielsauthor.
Books by B.J. Daniels
Harlequin Intrigue
Cardwell Ranch: Montana Legacy
Steel Resolve
Iron Will
Ambush Before Sunrise
Whitehorse, Montana: The Clementine Sisters
Hard Rustler
Rogue Gunslinger
Rugged Defender
HQN
Montana Justice
Restless Hearts
Heartbreaker
Sterling’s Montana
Stroke of Luck
Luck of the Draw
Just His Luck
Visit the Author Profile page
at Harlequin.com for more titles.
New York Times and USA TODAY Bestselling Author
B.J. Daniels
AMBUSH BEFORE SUNRISE
&
GUN-SHY BRIDE
Table of Contents
Ambush Before Sunrise
Gun-Shy Bride
Excerpt from Heart of Gold by B.J. Daniels
Ambush Before Sunrise
This book is for anyone who’s fallen for the wrong person—and gotten lucky and found the right one. It’s never too late for love.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter One
JoRay “Jinx” McCallahan stormed into the sheriff’s office, mad, frustrated and just plain beside herself.
Sheriff Harvey Bessler looked up from his desk in surprise, saw her and groaned good-naturedly. “Let me guess. T.D.?”
“What am I supposed to do about him? I’m already divorcing him. I’ve got a restraining order against him—like that does a lick of good. I’ve run him off with a shotgun. But short of shooting him, he just keeps coming back.”
“All you have to do is call when he breaks the restraining order on him and we’ll pick him up.”
“And he’ll be back on the street within hours even madder and more determined to drive me crazy.”
Harvey nodded sympathetically. “Unfortunately, we don’t have anything else we can hold him on. Unless he is caught in the act doing something illegal...” The sheriff motioned her into a chair before he leaned back in his own to eye her over the top of his cheater glasses. “How are you doing other than that?”
She scoffed as she took a seat. She’d been coming to this office since she was a child. Her father and Harvey had been best friends up until Ray McCallahan’s recent death. Because of that, Harvey was like a second father to her. She’d been fortunate to have such good men in her life.
Until T. D. Sharp.
The sheriff got to his feet and came around his desk to call out to the receptionist. “Mabel, get this girl a cola from the machine. Get me one, too.” He turned back to Jinx. “Remember when you were little and you’d come in here with your papa to visit? I’d always get you a cola. It always made you feel better.”
Just the mention of her father made her eyes burn with tears. She missed him so much and she knew Harvey did, as well. “That was back when the worst thing that happened to me was falling off my bike and skinning my knees.”
He laughed. “True enough. Not that you let a little thing like a skinned knee stop you. You’ve always been strong, Jinx.”
She didn’t feel strong as she heard Mabel come to the door with two bottles from the old-timey machine in the break room. Harvey took them and gently closed the door.
“I’m afraid this is the best I can do right now,” he said as he handed over her cola. “What’s T.D. done now?”
She took the drink, feeling embarrassed for the way she’d barged in here. T.D. wasn’t Harvey’s problem; he was hers. She took a sip from the bottle Mabel had opened for her. It was ice-cold. For a moment she felt like a kid again as the sheriff went around behind his desk and lowered his weight into his chair with a creak and groan.
“Other than bad-mouthing me all over town? He’s got it where I can’t find anyone to work out at the ranch and I’ve got cattle that if I don’t get them to summer pasture...” Her voice broke. She took another sip.
“I don’t doubt T.D. did everything you’re saying,” Harvey said quietly. “He been out to your place again?”
She waved that off, knowing if Harvey picked him up it would only make T.D. worse, if that were possible. She hadn’t come here for that. She knew she
