Rafeâs eyes were closed, his chin tipped up, as he stretched the kinks from his musclesâ¦.
My, how sheâd love to run her fingers down the naked length of him. She could only imagine how hard, how sculpted, his body would feel.
Libby tightened her grip on the chopsticks until she feared theyâd snap in half.
Soft blue denim hugged his butt. And what a nice, tight butt it was, too.
Libby grinned. She was being so bad. She knew it, and it was so unlike her. But what harm was there in checking out the view? she wondered, her smile widening.
What sheâd really like was to see his slick, black river of hair flowing free against the bare flesh covering the wide, strong expanse of his muscular back. To feel those silken tresses against her own naked flesh. A loose and languid chuckle rose in her throat, and she did her best to stifle it.
âWhat has you grinning from ear to ear?â he asked.
DONNA CLAYTON
is fascinated with Native American cultures. After researching the traditions and philosophies of various Pacific Coast Indians, she strove to create what she hopes is a richly textured history and a strong present-day sense of community for the fictional Mokee-kittuun tribe featured in her story. An award-winning, bestselling author, Donna lives in Delaware with her husband, two sons and Jake, her four-year-old Border collie.
Meet the Coltonsâa California dynasty with a legacy of privilege and power.
Libby Corbett: High-powered attorney. She came home to clear her fatherâs name. But now that her life is in jeopardy, this take-charge woman must entrust everything to one manâa man who has a chip on his shoulder almost as big as her own!
Rafe James: Native American rancher. A proud loner, he knows the only way to help the town through its crisis is to get close to the one woman who threatens to topple all his defenses.
Blake Fallon: Tough-to-tame director. In spite of his rules against mixing business with pleasure, anyone can see thereâs something going on between the Hopechest Ranchâs director and his loyal assistantâ¦.
Todd Lamb: Ruthless tycoon. Now that heâs been named head of Springer, Inc., all the long hours heâs spent devoted to his work are about to pay off. Or are they?
This book is joyously dedicated to fellow authors
Maggie Price, Jean Brashear and Cara Colter. Ladies, you made this a rollicking adventure, and Iâm grateful to the bones to have had this chance to work with you.
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
T he steps of the courthouse were crowded with camera-wielding media, placard-waving radicals and other individuals who were just plain curious. And to think, Prosperino used to be such a sleepy little town.
With traffic at a standstill, Rafe James sat in his pickup truck watching the circus unfold before him. The irate anti-oil-company chants of several ringleaders could be heard even though his windows were rolled up tight against the chilly March morning.
Having lived most of his life on the Crooked Arrow Reservation, Rafe didnât travel into town often anymore. Nearly everything he needed could be bought or bartered for right on the reservation, so Rafe didnât have much to do with the outside world these days. There simply wasnât much need, unless he had a side job going.
Two different insurance companies called upon him at times to do a little investigative work. And he also used Prosperino as a base for meeting with buyers for his beloved horses. Equestrians from all over the world had purchased the Appaloosas he bred and trained. He didnât think of this as a bragging right, just fact. A fact he took pride in.
For the most part, Rafe kept to the rez, among his own kind. However, heâd found himself drawn into town every single day since David Corbett, the vice-president of Springer, Inc. had been arrested. The need for information regarding the oil companyâs problems had Rafeâs investigative antennae on alert, urging him to listen to gossip, devour each newspaper article he found on the case, study every word of the local evening news. Hell, the story had hit the national news lately. And it was going worldwide, he realized when he saw the CNN van parked up the street.
No way was David Corbett guilty of the disregard for human life and attempted murder charges he was currently facing. The man was too honest, too fair-minded, too compassionate, too honorable to have intentionally tainted the water supply with DMBE, or any other chemical, for that matter. Rafe didnât care what the EPA had discovered, or that the evidence shed a poor light on Springerâs ex-VP. And Rafe wanted to laugh when heâd read the FBIâs so-called theory.
Oh, someone had deliberately contaminated the water. And that someone was involved with Springer. But the Hopechest Ranch for children hadnât been the target as the FBI believed. And neither had the town of Prosperino.