High-Stakes Colton
What’s a cowboy to do when he falls for the woman he’s investigating? Find out in the latest Coltons of Texas romance!Soul-scarred Texas Ranger Jake McCord is no stranger to hardship and heartache. Assigned to solve a kidnapping case, Jake enters Colton Valley Ranch as a horse whisperer…and watcher. His primary suspect? The victim's daughter, Alanna Colton.Alluring Alanna is the picture of competence and compassion as she trains horses and helps troubled teens work the ranch. Jake is immediately drawn to her, and their mutual attraction only intensifies as he struggles to keep a clear head on the case. But his troubles are just beginning, as others on the ranch arouse suspicion and threaten all Jake and Alanna hold dear.
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Whatâs a cowboy to do when he falls for the woman heâs investigating? Find out in the latest Coltons of Texas romance!
Soul-scarred Texas Ranger Jake McCord is no stranger to hardship and heartache. Assigned to solve a kidnapping case, Jake enters Colton Valley Ranch as a horse whispererâ¦and watcher. His primary suspect? The victimâs daughter, Alanna Colton.
Alluring Alanna is the picture of competence and compassion as she trains horses and helps troubled teens work the ranch. Jake is immediately drawn to her, and their mutual attraction only intensifies as he struggles to keep a clear head on the case. But his troubles are just beginning, as others on the ranch arouse suspicion and threaten all Jake and Alanna hold dear.
âMy brother might have hired you, Mr. McCord, but I run the stables, and I donât go for all that horse-whispering mumbo-jumbo or your sense of humor.â
Jake cocked his hip and set his hands on his belt buckle. âThereâs a saying that you canât step into the same river twice. Once you step in, you alter it, you affect its flow, you transform the soil and water mixture and you make a mark. Itâs a changed river. When Iâm finished with Diablo, he wonât be the same horse he was when I got here. Iâll guarantee that, Ms. Colton.â
He leaned in. He couldnât help it. Alanna was so attractive when she was setting her boundaries. Tangling with her was more dangerous than French-kissing a rattlesnake. He should heed his instinct, but it wasnât in his nature to back down, even though it was in his best interests.
* * *
The Coltons of Texas:
Finding love and buried family secrets in the Lone Star Stateâ¦
Welcome back to Colton Valley Ranch! Things are starting to get interesting and confusing around the disappearance of Eldridge Colton, and the investigation needs a sure thing.
Burned-out Texas Ranger Jake McCord shows up at Colton Valley Ranch undercover to spy on Alanna Colton, who is the current suspect in the kidnapping of her father, Eldridge Colton. Heâs been hired as the âhorse whispererâ to tame a black stallion. While there, Jake discovers that her controlling brother is running roughshod over Alanna, who is fighting for her own independence in running the stables.
It makes Jake wonder if she would go to nefarious lengths to take her father out of the picture. While deception and intrigue are all in a dayâs work for Jake, what happens when his beautiful suspect doesnât follow true to form? Could this Colton be innocentâa sexy risk to his heartâand instead be up to her pretty neck in danger?
The chemistry between Jake and Alanna brings a bit of heat to the ranch and I had a sweet time getting these two in and out of heated arguments, sexy situations and their final showdown. I hope you enjoy High-Stakes Colton, the ninth book of the Coltons of Texas year-long miniseries, and donât forget to look for the last three books for the conclusion of this intriguing mystery.
Happy reading!
Karen
KAREN ANDERS writes a suspenseful and sexy mix of navy and civilians investigating murder, espionage and crime across a global landscape. Under the pen name Zoe Dawson, sheâs currently writing romantic comedy, new-adult contemporary romance, urban fantasy, syfy and erotic romance. When sheâs not busy writing, sheâs painting or killing virtual mmorpg monsters. She lives in North Carolina with her two daughters and one small furry gray cat.
To cowboys and lawmen.
God bless them.
Contents
This county was probably one of the prettiest places on earth, as far as Texas Ranger Jake McCord was concerned. And heâd been to a few. Rolling grassland was carved by deep gullies and dotted with copses of oak and pine. It was so damned beautiful with the prickly pear cacti, emerald green color and blue sky.
He squinted slightly as he reached for the thermal coffee mug on the dash. At least the road was decent, largely due to the influence of the wealthy Coltons who owned and lived on this one-hundred-thousand-acre, billion-dollar spread: Colton Valley Ranch. The ranch was his current destination and located just outside of Dallas.
He was fortunate to woo a wealthy woman, Darla, and after purchasing the land and beginning what would become his vast ranch, Eldridge Colton, now also an oilman, had amassed a substantial fortune.
The road made a sweeping curve over the rise, and before him lay a piece of flat land, the cut banks along the southern boundary giving it a plateau effect. Beyond the trees, ranch buildings came into view, and sunlight glinted off a running horse weather vane atop a huge arena. Various outbuildings and five stark white barns with red Xâs on the doors. The apartments for the hands built out of a former barn and steps from the working barns were situated right in the center, the space between blocked into paddocks. About a mile away the big rear of the mansion loomed with more paddocks and pastureland, along with another stable, most likely where the Coltons kept their family horses as the arena and barns were at least a mile away. He felt immediately at ease here, the spread reminding him of the ranching heâd done before his stint in the Texas Highway Patrol and getting accepted as a Texas Ranger.
