What attracts you to a person? Is it their looks? Or is it something more? For me, looks are a small piece of the puzzle. I love a person's mind more. A potential date who can talk about world events, crack a joke and enjoys a quick wit! Now that's got my attention. Often it can be a simple change to a person you've seen for years that will trigger a flash of attraction. The boy next door who is outside playing basketball on a hot day and takes off his t-shirt. Or the brainy young woman who takes her hair out of the bun. Just imagine all the romance tails about "fixing Mr. Right". In GRACE UNDER FIRE, our hero, Ryan sees his neighbor in something more than her usual work clothes and suddenly he's thinking of her in a new way.... EXCERPT: Ryan rolled his shoulders, and Satan pushed his nose into Ryan’s hand. Animals were more reliable than most people, but a trusty dog couldn’t shift this kind of tension. Grace had run free at his place as a kid, even when she was a bit more than a kid. He’d liked her, liked her loyalty to Danny even more, but he’d never given her a second look. Today’s kick to his libido had been unforeseen and irritated the hell out of him, given she treated him as if he had some contagious disease. The contrast between the virginal white-lace blouse and her usual work shirts had his head spinning. It softened her hard edges, made his fingers itch to unwrap this unexpected delight. Turns out her normal plain packaging was camouflage. Useful for projecting a no-nonsense persona in the still largely masculine farming world. Up close Grace Anderson wasn’t all cool businesswoman. Jeans and boots were standard. The flimsy white cotton with lace and frills caressing her breasts and gathered at the waist told a different tale. It matched the photo of the little girls on her label. A sentimental streak? Danny always swore she had a marshmallow centre beneath the quick temper, but that was a lifetime ago. Her wide-brimmed hat had lain discarded on a box behind her, and her sunglasses had been tossed aside when Ryan had arrived. Her clear green gaze had bored unflinchingly into his shades when she’d slapped him down. Confident, right enough, mixed with a hint of vulnerability to twist his gut. Danny would have responded to her sensitivity, although even at fifteen, he’d been oblivious to the appeal of her soft scent, cluster of brown curls, not-quite-pretty face and firm body. And Danny, or rather his brother’s death, stood between Grace and himself. Blurb: It’s deal or no deal when a new threat forces two independent neighbours to face a past tragedy. Artisan cheese-maker GRACE ANDERSON lost her closest friend to suicide, then saw her father swindled out of prime dairy land. Abandonment and mistrust cemented her determination to become the fifth generation on the family farm and to do it alone. A deterioration in her mother’s health starts the clock. Grace has three months to buy her parents out—a decade sooner than planned—or lose the farm. Neighbour RYAN WILSON is haunted by the belief he failed to prevent his younger brother Danny’s suicide. He’s returned to sell his mother’s farm. In eight years away, he’s built a fortune flipping farm properties and doesn’t do attachment—to land or people. The bank plays hard ball, forcing Grace to consider Ryan’s offer to buy part of her land. The sizzling attraction simmering between them is an unwelcome complication. She doesn’t want a business partner, he doesn’t want to care, but when someone tries to sabotage her purchase, she finds herself turning to Ryan for more than financial help. Can Ryan convince her accepting help is not failure? Can Grace escape her legacy of mistrust and teach him how to care again? GRACE UNDER FIRE is an award-winning story which brings readers along an emotional journey with the complex characters. Jennifer likes to think her readers get occasional hints of the deep passion of a Nora Roberts or the unshakeable loyalty of a Grace Burrowes where love conquers loneliness, distrust and fear. GRACE UNDER FIRE is now available in ebook and print. This small town romance is sure to tantalize and excite readers as they devour this emotional tale. Fans of Jennifer Raines can't stop talking about the story. Be sure to get a copy for yourself!! Buy Links: |