River's End (River's End Series, #1)(102)

She shook her head. It was just too weird to contemplate. Ian would not purposely check on her. There would be no reason to. She never expressed any concerns over Drew or any other man she dated, for that matter. She always had dates. They weren’t new or exciting or interesting. Why would Ian have noticed this one?

She stared at her small room and her twin bed that took up most of the floor space. A nightstand held a tall stack of books and her small closet could barely shut with all her clothes and goods. She was too old to still live at home. Yet neither she nor her brothers had any plans to move out. She doubted if her brothers ever would. Rats showed more ambition than her brothers. They sometimes worked temporarily for ranchers or orchard owners in the surrounding areas. Sometimes, they worked for Shane. And sometimes, they just didn’t work.

She slipped into her bed and a heavy sigh escaped her. It wasn’t like her life was bad. It just wasn’t… good. There wasn’t much to look forward to, or anything she loved. There was working at the café, and at the Rydells, and her free time, which she spent with other loser men like Drew Nichols. Ian was probably right, but what other choices were there? Except for Shane, there wasn’t much. And Shane wasn’t ready for her… yet. So, for now, she could fill the time with Drew. They had been dating for a couple of months. It was fun. He was handsome and funny. And a good kisser.

He just thought it was high time they had sex.

She should have done it. What exactly was she waiting for? Shane? He would probably avoid sleeping with a virgin at all costs. He sure didn’t gravitate towards them. It would be good for her to get some experience before she was with him. So why not Drew Nichols? Only… something kept her from doing it. She watched it all through high school and after, as each of her friends and acquaintances started having sex. It was a big deal at first, knowing who did it. Eventually, however, everyone did it and no one talked about it very much. No one thought of it as a big deal to the relationship. Not like she did. She had to get over that.

There was nothing special in her life, and for some reason, she decided she wanted that to be special. And the only special man she knew was Shane. But he didn’t yet see her as anything more than his friend’s little sister. He didn’t even know she was in the room most of the time.

She slammed a fist into her mattress. He was most likely making out on her couch with Lauren Townsend right now. He would sometimes saunter off into her one of her brothers’ rooms to have sex with whoever he was hanging out with. She had even heard him before and it stabbed her heart as if someone were punching her chest.

Why couldn’t Shane see her? What did she have to do to get his attention? And how long was she going to waste her time on losers like Drew? When the man she most wanted was, no doubt, about to have sex in her house. With someone else. Someone who didn’t love him, not like she did. He had to discover eventually that she was the one for him, didn’t he?



Release Date: February 16, 2015.

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River’s Return Book #3 Release: TBD for Spring of 2015



Shane Rydell is better fit to ride his Harley than any of his family’s horses. He has spent his life trying to find a road that can travel between the family he loves and the open road he is pulled towards. He often leaves River’s End, but eventually, he always comes back as he can’t quite sever the connection to a place he doesn’t want to be from, but which, he always seems destined to return to.

Allison Gray has been burned deep enough she will never risk her heart again after a failed marriage that has left her devastated. A rare teaching opportunity brings her to the small town of River’s End where she is tapped to expand the curriculum of this rural school district; work that invigorates and inspires her, and helps her forget the devastation in her past.

When Shane Rydell walks in to attend his nephew’s conference, and once again, doesn’t recognize her, she decides then and there, he will never be a man she can trust or understand. But soon she is routinely drawn to the Rydell River Ranch to do work that only she can provide. This brings her in constant contact with Shane, and she finally begins to know the real man inside the hardened, charming shell Shane projects. But it will not deter her determination that she can never trust him to be part of her life, no matter how much he happens to be in it.