AGAINST THE WIND Unable to resist trouble the "no account Raines boy", Jackson Raines finds himself entangled with the high school beauty who humiliated him so many years ago. Enemies of her dead husband bring trouble. And despite their history, Jackson is the one man who can save her and her daughter ...

Excerpt

She wet her lips, which sudden felt stiff as paper. “Hello, Jackson.” He was even taller than she remembered, around six-foot-three. He had changed in sixteen years, each of his features now more distinct, his dark brown eyes more intense. She remembered the slight cleft in his chin but now a faint scar bisected one of his nicely shaped eyebrows.

A little tremor of awareness went through her that she was surprised to feel. It had been years since she had felt any sort of attraction to a man. After Andrew, she thought maybe she never would again.

“Do you...umm...work here on the ranch?” she asked.

The corner of his mouth edged up. “You might say that.” He looked over her, saw the boxes she had been unpacking. “I’m afraid we have a problem. Mrs. Jones made a mistake. The cottage is not for rent.”

Her stomach tightened. “That...that can’t be right. It was listed on the Internet. The details have all been worked out.”

“I’ll see your money is returned. And I’ll pay for any extra trouble this might have caused. Just tell me how much and I’ll write you a check.”

Her voice rose. “I don’t want a check! This is going to be our home. Holly and I...we need this place. We love it here already.”

Just then the little girl raced into the living room. “Mommy--there’s a nest of baby robins under the roof right outside my window!”

“Please,” Sarah pleaded, looking up at Jackson again. “Isn’t there any way you could speak to the owner, tell him how important it is for Holly and me to stay?”

She glanced away, afraid he would notice the glitter of tears in her eyes. “She just lost her father. She needs this, Jackson. Please...I need it.”

Jackson looked down at Holly who was staring at him as if he were a real life hero--which, to her, being a cowboy and their savior last night, he was.

He took a deep breath and slowly released it. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt if you stayed for a while. Just don’t get too comfortable. If things don’t work out, you’ll have to find another place to stay.”

Relief hit her so hard her knees went weak. A bright smile broke over her face. “So you’ll talk to the owner? You’ll make sure it’s okay for us to stay?”

He made a scoffing sound. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.” He turned and started walking.

Sarah ran after him. “Wait, I meant to ask.... What’s the name of the man who owns the ranch?”

He kept on walking, his boots crunching in the snow. Over his shoulder he called back to her. “Jackson Raines.”