Jordan must save her farm from debt and sabotage – can she place her trust in a man from out of town?
Featured book this week is Secrets of Whitewater Creek by Sarah Barrie
Plus an excerpt!
Jordan must save her farm from debt and sabotage – can she place her trust in a man from out of town?
Born and bred on the land, Jordan Windcroft is tough. She’s had to be. Her life revolves around running her property almost single-handedly on next to no money, and waiting out her four years of probation, a rap that she took for one of her closest friends.
But there’s an end to her problems in sight. Her probation period is almost up, and if she can just make the cattle sale, there’s a chance she can pull herself out of more than ten years of serious debt and keep her precious farm. The last thing she needs is for Reid Easton to walk into town.
Detective Senior Sergeant Reid Easton drives into Whitewater Creek on a mission to wrap up a three year drug investigation; his only lead, Jordan Windcroft. The attraction between the two is immediate, but Reid is undercover and Jordan has a secret she can’t risk him discovering. Neither will jeopardise their cause, not for something as transitory as love.
Excerpt from Secrets of Whitewater Creek by Sarah Barrie
‘Miss Windcroft?’
Hmmm. Sounds as good as he looks… She blew out a breath at the sexy, deep voice then frowned at the direction her thoughts were taking. And considering getting it on with the guy coming in to make you homeless is crazy — even for you.
She turned off the hose and picked up a scraper to remove the excess water from the horse’s coat. Only then did she pause momentarily to look over her shoulder.
‘Who’s asking?’
‘Reid Tallon.’
Impatiently, she blew out a breath. ‘And what do you want, Reid Tallon?’
‘You.’
Startled, she took another, longer look, tipping her head to the side to consider him. Is he joking? He’d removed his sunglasses, and his expression wasn’t amused. It was assessing, maybe somewhat annoyed. She decided he was pissed off she’d kept him waiting; was just trying to get under her skin.
Well, two could play that game.
Deciding to bite, she dropped the scraper back into the box and slowly turned around. Leaning back on the rail, she took her time looking him up and down, a small grin playing at the corners of her mouth.
Yep, she could look at that all day, though her initial assessment had been a little off. He wasn’t quite the classic tall, dark and handsome — that didn’t fit. The angles of his face were a little too harsh, the look in those dark eyes a little too threatening.
Dangerous. She liked that even better. However, ‘Thanks for the offer…but no thanks.’
At his look of incredulity she quickly turned her attention back to the horse and smothered a grin before carelessly untying the mare and leading her off towards an empty yard.
He didn’t move, just waited until she released the horse, until she headed back in his direction. ‘Ever heard of probation, Miss Windcroft?’
Realisation hit with an uncomfortable jolt. Damn it, Barney mentioned something about leave…but this guy? ‘No way.’
‘Afraid so,’ he replied, crossing his arms, ‘You missed your appointment.’
‘You sure you’re not the pressure suit from the bank?’
‘No.’
She stared at him for a few more seconds, then said, ‘It’s some sort of joke — right?’
‘I have no idea what you mean.’
‘I mean,’ she began as she walked back towards the wash bays, ‘you’re six-foot-something-enormous, drop-dead gorgeous and built like Superman. You speak like you’re not used to taking bullshit and have an energy that screams ‘fuck with me and I’ll rip you into a million little pieces. Now, you’re either a highly paid stand-over man or the world’s next superhero. What you’re not, Reid Tallon, is a fill-in, small-town probation officer.’
She saw the twitch of his lips, the quick flick of appreciation in his eyes. ‘That’s quite the rap. I’m flattered.’
‘Don’t be. It was an observation not a compliment.’
‘Either way, we need to spend some time together Miss —’
‘Ok — first, you can cut that out.’ She hefted her gear into her arms and headed across to the stables. ‘The name’s Jordan. I haven’t been called Miss Windcroft so many times since the inquisition after the accident. Look…Reid.’ She paused to face him. ‘I don’t do house calls — I’m flat out twenty-four seven. Barney just pops up here every now and again for a cuppa to check I’m behaving myself. My probation’s just about up and the system has always worked perfectly. No point changing it now, is there?’ She waited while his gaze slid over her face — she was uncomfortably aware she probably had mud-spatter all over it — and he considered her statement.
‘Mr Barrington’s on leave, Jordan. For the record, I do things by the book, and my book says you report to the office.’
‘Your “book”?’ she countered, biting back another grin at the flicker of annoyance that came over his features. ‘Your book deals in fairy tales, big guy.’
Secrets of Whitewater Creek (first published as Deadly Secrets) is available in eBook and paperback from all good retailers.
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Read more about Sarah on MEET SARAH BARRIE and read the back cover blurb for Sarah’s next release Legacy of Hunters Ridge releasing 1 January 2016.