*****
I’d like to thank Jenyfer for inviting me. I love this blog—all her stories of Egypt are like a free trip across the world. I’ve been lucky enough to have visited a few out of the way (for me) places like Australia and South Africa, as well as some of the more domestic sites. No matter where I go, I’m surrounded by writing fodder. Some years ago, I accompanied my husband to Montana where he was attending a scientific meeting. That left me with a lot of free time during the day, and when you’ve lived in Florida as long as I have, just looking outside is an adventure. One of his colleagues wanted to play hooky one afternoon, and asked if I’d like to go horseback riding. Now, I hadn’t been on a horse since I was in my early teens, but what the heck. It sounded like fun. He found a place where they took tourists on trail rides, and although I had some doubts about riding a horse named Hot Rod at first, we had a very pleasant two hours riding through the mountain trails. I put my faith in the horse, figuring he knew what he was doing. We were almost through with the ride when I asked our guide how long Hot Rod had been doing these gigs. He said, “Two weeks.” Good thing I didn’t know that when we started!
The memories of that excursion swirled through my head, and I played around with a short story, but never finished it.
Three books later, the Montana setting insisted on hitting the page, and the seeds for When Danger Calls were planted. I set the book in Montana and managed to work in bits and pieces of my riding adventure, although the trail rides play a very minor role in what is primarily an action-adventure romance.
Here’s a snippet. This scene takes place well into the book. Ryan, the hero, has invited Frankie, the heroine, to spend some time with him at his father’s ranch. He’s been reluctant to get involved because Frankie has a five-year-old daughter, Molly, and Ryan is still trying to get over the trauma of having another young girl die in his arms on a mission. Until this point, Frankie has rejected the thoughts of any relationship with Ryan because he has ignored and avoided any interaction with Molly.
*****
They walked to the barn, Molly falling behind until Frankie took her hand. When they reached the structure, Ryan inhaled the familiar, comforting scents. Horses, feed, manure. For the moment, all his other worries left. He turned to see Molly hiding behind Frankie.
“Come on, Peanut,” Frankie said. “We talked about this, remember. You wanted to ride. You even wanted a pony.”
“Over here,” Ryan said. “This is Sparky. See. He’s not so big.” He patted the mule between the ears.
Molly shook her head. “My braves are all gone.” She wasn’t crying—yet.
Ryan crouched to her level. “Maybe if you watch your mom, some of your braves will come back. But you don’t have to ride if you don’t want to.” He looked up at Frankie. “We can take a few turns around the corral and see if she changes her mind. I’m not in favor of forcing kids. They usually know when they’re ready.”
Frankie’s eyes telegraphed her pleasure, but he was surprised to find it was the way Molly’s had lost some of their wariness that warmed him.
Once Molly had agreed to watch, Ryan saddled Corky, and glanced down the row of stalls. “I think Hot Rod could use a little exercise.” He wandered to a brown and white paint. The horse snorted and shook his head.
“Um … it’s been years since I’ve been on a horse. I kind of expected a Buttercup, or a Dobbin, or something milder than a Hot Rod.”
Ryan laughed, and it felt good. “Don’t let the name fool you. He’s as docile as they come. Knows the trails better than I do.”
She didn’t look convinced, but he saw her glance at Molly and paste on a confident grin. “Okay, then. But let’s definitely start in the corral.”
An hour later, Frankie watched Ryan put away saddles and bridles, pitch hay, and curry the horses, all the while explaining everything to Molly, who was now enchanted and chock full of braves. After ten minutes of watching from outside the corral, Molly had allowed Ryan to settle her in front of him on Corky, and the transformation had begun. She’d gone from a death grip on the saddle horn to leaning forward to pat Corky’s black mane. Before long, she was willing to ride solo, with Ryan walking alongside, one hand on Corky’s bridle, the other on Molly’s back. The heart-in-her-throat at seeing her little girl atop such a mass of power disappeared when she saw the way Molly smiled at Ryan—and the way he smiled back. Not once had he given her that, look at me being nice to your kid look she’d seen too often. As a matter of fact, he’d hardly paid her any attention at all since they started riding. It had all been focused on Molly. Now the lump was in her throat, not her heart.
About When Danger Calls
If someone asks single mother Frankie Castor to clear a room, she’ll smile and find a vacuum cleaner. Ryan Harper uses a gun. Can they work together when their lives depend on it?
Frankie’s returned to her childhood home in Montana to help care for her mother. Her biggest worries are balancing the budget and the upkeep of an aging home. When she offers a man a ride home from the hospital, she never imagines she’ll end up having to choose between her daughter’s life and matters of national security that could cost the lives of millions.
Ryan returns to his family home to find a way to prove he didn’t leak vital information on a covert ops mission gone south. As he searches for the meaning of a file he’s kept hidden from the mission, he has no idea that international mercenaries have been searching for it—and him. When the mercenaries come after Ryan, he’s torn. Fighting for his country wars with fighting to rescue people he loves
Set against a Montana mountain backdrop, When Danger Calls is a story filled with action, adventure, and romance, where the stakes keep getting higher and higher.
When Danger Calls is published by Five Star Expressions in hard cover.
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When Danger Calls is a hard cover, library quality edition. Economy got you down? Please feel free to go to your local library and request that they add this book to their collection. You’ll get a free read, and the author gets the royalties.
Prefer digital books? I have four other romantic suspense novels from Cerridwen Press. Two, Finding Sarah and What’s in a Name? are also available in print. You can find them at www.cerridwenpress.com.
Like short stories? I have six romances with The Wild Rose Press.
Please visit my website and take a look at some free reads, some peeks behind the scenes, and more information about all my writing.
