Wishing on a Rodeo Moon (Women of Character) (31 page)

Restlessly,
Anna nudged her gray mare toward a well-worn dirt path that led down to the
barns and house.

She’d
survived worse. Somehow, she’d get through this too. Anna touched her
right cheek and curled her fingers against the scarred flesh, her fingers
tracing the faint ridges almost absentmindedly. Her face had once been her
biggest asset. Now it brought her only anger and at times self pity. She hated
feeling sorry for herself, but God Almighty she was only human.

Giving
in to a reckless edge of emotion, Anna urged her mare into a bone-jarring trot
down the hillside. When they reached level ground, the spring wind tore against
her as they loped across open pasture. She inhaled the clean air into her
lungs, reveling in the familiar thunder of hooves beneath her. Gradually, the
sting of failure lessened. Self-absorbed and prideful these last two years,
she’d allowed the fire that ruined her face to take over her life.

She had
to live with her mistakes, but somehow she’d find a way out of this mess.

Jacie’s
stomach churned as she stared at the ground two thousand feet below. What
insanity made her put herself through this punishment ― just to prove she
wasn’t washed up as a stunt woman?

"Just
do it," she muttered. "You've done it thousands of times before. Get
your foot out the door and jump."

Automatically,
she ran her fingers over her knee support and then the pull ring on her
parachute harness. Lastly, she braced the toes of her boots against the door
lip.

She had
to jump. Skydiving was her life. It had always defined who she was; a member of
her family’s business, Aerial Antics. Her brother Con would pull her off
this job if he thought she wasn’t ready. She couldn’t go home with
her tail between her legs. Her family would try to put her back in cotton wool.
Again.

How long
did she have to pay for one dumb mistake ― two ― if she counted the
one she’d made thinking Brad loved her.

With a
low growl of impatience, she stepped out and an updraft pulled her up and away
from the plane. As she plunged downward, a flashback to her parachuting accident
thirteen months ago at Angel Falls came dangerously close. She could see again
that mountainous ledge of rock, nothing but water and uninhabited jungle below
her, the glorious release as she began her freefall, and then her parachute
failure. . ..

Her
chute opened. Years of training took over and the tightness eased inside her
chest. Of course she could do this, she’d been jumping far too long to
stop now.

As her
feet touched solid earth a gust of wind lifted and pulled her forward, past the
camera crews, past the gathered crowd. She caught a glimpse of surprised faces
and then she came to a dead stop as her body lightly impacted with another. She
had a fleeting impression of a hat flying through the air and they both fell to
the ground in a tangle of arms, legs and billowing parachute.

A woman,
a man and a child with nothing in common but their respective troubled pasts.
Three wounded souls determined to survive alone until they realize all they
need to heal is each other.

On the
verge of a nervous breakdown, Christie reacts by running away, emotionally and
physically. Down to her last twenty dollars, she’s determined to fulfill
her dead sister’s last wish -- to locate their sister Judith who left
home twenty years before. Her quest brings her into the lives of Garrett,
Judith’s husband, and the emotionally fragile Hannah, Judith’s
daughter. Christie is devastated to learn Judith died two years before. When
Christie insists on getting to know her niece, Garrett agrees on the condition
she doesn’t reveal her identity. He hires her to work at his horse farm
but what he doesn’t count on is the turmoil and hope Christie brings into
their lives.

Christie’s
own emotional journey forces her to come to terms with her family’s
alcoholism and her perception of herself.

#

Women
of Strength Time Travel

Once
Upon a Remembrance:
Book 1. Photographer Isabeau Remington
travels to 1894 Virginia and falls in love with a man she must ultimately leave
behind when she returns to her own time...but things are not always as they
seem.

Modern
day photographer Isabeau is pulled from the present time and thrust back into
the year 1894 in Virginia. She must help save Hawk Morgan, a man threatened by
a killer, a man endangered by his own erased memories. Hawk must survive in
1894 so his present day ancestor Pierce Morgan, will be alive in Isabeau's
future.

Isabeau
begins to fall in love with Hawk Morgan but with both their future's uncertain
and a killer on the loose, neither one of them may have a tomorrow to look
forward to.

Soulmates
Through Time:
Book 2. Thrust from her own time in
1822, Elise has been separated from the man she loves for 24 years. She has
adjusted to modern times, raised a daughter, and become successful in her own
right. When she stumbles upon the way back, she must make the decision to step
back into that time.

Will
Darien still love her and will Elise be able to turn back the clock and regain
the love they once shared? Does she want to turn back time?

Treasure
So Rare:
Book 3. Erik Remington Captain Erik Remington
has been haunted for three years by a black haired sea witch. They spent seven
glorious days and nights before she vanished as mysteriously as she appeared.

In 1850,
when his ship is pulled into a strange vortex, he ends up in middle ages
England. Forced to assume another's identity, Weinroof of Camdork, he travels
to the home of the man's affianced, the Lady Iliana. This world is nothing like
the England of history books. Danger lurks everywhere, even the skies. As
Camdork, he meets the Lady Iliana and instantly recognizes her as the woman
who's haunted him.

Iliana
wants nothing to do with Camdork and will defy her Queen to not marry him. All
she sees is the man known as a murderer, whose attack four years before on an
innocent maiden haunts her memories.

Iliana
has her own secrets, but her unwavering mission is to find the perfect green
gem and restore it to her people. Camdork stands in her way, so she must kill
him if she ever wants to see the return of her old life.

#

Romantic
Short Stories

Two
Babies, a Cowboy and Sara:
Short, sweet romance,
24,000 words. When Sara is appointed co-guardian of her deceased cousin's
infant girls, their father Lucas is glad to accept Sara's help in caring for
the twins. For Sara it's a labor of love and also a dream come true since she
can't have babies of her own.

For
Lucas, having Sara on his ranch is a reminder of how his life could have turned
out so very differently, if only he'd met Sara first.

Short,
sweet romance with a hint of suspense. Trey's boss is old, sick and his days
are numbered; and he wants to see his missing granddaughter Katharine before he
dies. Trey will do almost anything for the old man, even if it means having
artist Sacha Fortune pretend to be Katharine.

Sacha is
forced to assume the other woman's identity, because if she doesn't comply,
Trey will expose her criminal past to the art world which has so recently
embraced her art.

But
Sacha has more to lose than Trey could ever guess.

Thanks
for reading!

Faeries
Series Coming soon!

Visit
my author page at
http://www.GraceBrannigan.com
to read all my contemporary, time travel, faerie stories and short romantic
stories.

Grace
Brannigan