“Sure it is.” She led him down the hall to the kitchen and sat him in one of the chairs by the table while she gathered supplies. “You’ve got a cut on your head. I’m going to bandage it up, but I want to clean it.”
Avery’s touch was so gentle, so careful. He found himself leaning into it. She stepped back. It froze his blood in his veins. What had happened? What had made her so angry, so cold? She held herself pointedly away while she applied some butterfly bandages to the cut above his temple.
Then she came around to stand in front of him.
“You probably have a concussion.” Avery surveyed him with her gorgeous blue eyes, the color of the sky and burning with intelligence. “You’ll need to get it checked out at the hospital as soon as you can.”
He heard what she was saying, but the thing was—the thing was—Tucker couldn’t take his eyes off her.
“You look older,” he finally managed.
Avery flicked her eyes toward the ceiling. “Well, of course I do, Tuck.”
“What—” Something dawned on him, slowly, painfully slowly. “What year is it?”
She named the year.
Tucker felt like he’d walked straight off the edge of a high cliff and plummeted toward the ground. Confusion battled with irritation.
“Is that a prank, Avery?” He frowned at her. This was by far the worst headache he’d ever had. “You look older, but—are you kidding me?” He stood up and went down the hall to the bathroom. He’d been here so many times growing up, to get the doctor or to pick something up from him. Tucker flicked on the light and peered at his own reflection. He cursed under his breath. He looked older too.
“Mom? What’s he doing? Who is that guy?”
The little girl’s voice rang out from the kitchen, clear as a bell.
“Shanna, he’s—” Avery’s voice trailed off. So the girl’s name was Shanna. Avery’s daughter. He felt vaguely ill. When had she had a baby?
“Tucker?” Avery appeared in the doorway to the bathroom. “Are you all right?”
“I’ve got amnesia,” he blurted. “It’s the only thing that makes sense, because—I can’t remember. The time must’ve gone by, but I can’t remember it.” Shanna came to stand in the hall behind her mother. “You have to help me out, here.”
Avery shot him a skeptical look. “Yeah? Amnesia? Is that what you think?”
Frustration twisted in his chest, constricting his heart. “Why are you being so aloof with me?” He didn’t understand, and that lack of understanding felt like a knife wedged between his ribs. “I don’t understand what’s going on.”
“Why don’t I give you a ride home?” His heart beat faster, fighting against this quick dismissal. “I’ve got the truck out front. We can hop in and be there in a couple of minutes. You can collect your horse tomorrow.”
“Fine. Great.” Tucker followed her to the front door.
The snow came down hard outside, and Avery stopped at the front door, looking out.
A whiteout.
“Doesn’t look like good driving weather,” Tucker put in.
“No.” She turned around and crossed her arms over her chest. “You can stay here until the storm passes, but this isn’t going to be good. I need to get to my patients.”
“What patients?”
Avery narrowed her eyes. “I’m a veterinarian. I took over Doc’s practice.”
A joy he could hardly explain lit him up from the inside out. Avery had always wanted to be a vet, and now she was. He’d missed the process, somehow, but who cared? She’d gotten where she always wanted to go.
“Congratulations, Avery. That’s amazing.” Tucker held out his arms to give her a hug.
Avery stepped back.
The joy fled.
She glared at him, eyes filled with pain and confusion, saying nothing.
Tucker swallowed a lump in his throat, worry pulling his soul taut until it was ready to snap.
“Okay, then,” he said. “Can I use your phone?”
Grab your copy of The Cowboy’s Second Chance Family
September 24, 2020
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BLURB
Ian Grant isn’t a man who accepts help easily. After promising his young son that he could participate in the strawberry festival, and then missing the admittance deadline, Ian’s in a bind and forced to ask the mayor for a favor. The mayor agrees, on one condition: his niece has run into hard times and needs a safe place to stay: Ian’s place to stay. She’s great with kids and Ian needs someone to look after his rambunctious son Andy while he ranches. Ian agrees, expecting some college-aged girl who’d flunked Algebra. Instead, he finds a full-grown woman—a beautiful and sassy one to boot.
Katie Rylie has always dreamed of helping others by teaching them to cook. Her online persona was thriving—until a scandal with her forthcoming cookbook rocked her career. Not only did she have to pay back the entire advance, but her once-loyal fan base has turned against her. Defeated and with nowhere to go, Katie feels it’s better to hide out in the country until she can get her life back together. The offer of a free home, an open range, and a wily six-year-old to focus on sounds like just the escape she needs.
When Andy’s diet restrictions force Katie to become creative in the kitchen, she finds herself drawn back into the food world, just as she’s falling in love with Ian and Andy. But Ian, who likes having control of everything, doesn’t know how to ask Katie to become a permanent part of their lives.
If their love is ever going to work, Ian and Katie will need to learn that having it all doesn’t mean giving anything up.
Grab your copy of The Cowboy’s Surprise Nanny (Grant Brothers Book One)
from
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* * *
EXCERPT
Chapter One
The summer was shaping up to be one for the records, Ian reckoned. He could smell it in the air, feel the extra electricity crackling. On the Grant Ranch, left to him after the crash that killed both of his parents, Ian was careful to look after the state of the land. It was going to
