Cowboy Meets Cowgirl

My next release, Cowboy Meets Cowgirl, comes out in May and I’m excited about the third book in my Return to the Keller Ranch series. Set in Montana, it’s the story of four siblings who eventually find their way back home. This is the story of Em, the only girl in a family of rambunctious boys. She’s also a twin and the youngest, so she’s had to prove herself over and over again. Because of that, she’s a feisty woman.

In this scene, she’s returning to the family ranch during a work hiatus and she plans to renovate the old homestead house. The problem is finding a contractor, because the only available firm is owned by a guy who once fired her and there is no way that she’s working with him.

“Colton!” Trace Montero shifted his grip on the sheets of reclaimed teak paneling that he’d foolishly tried to unload alone. He’d been doing fine until his foot slipped in the mud created by the recent storm. Gritting his teeth, he pushed and managed to shift enough of the load back onto the tarp-covered truck bed to avoid dropping it into the puddle at his feet, but he was still on the heavy end and couldn’t get traction.

“Colt!” he bellowed.

“Do you need a hand?” The unexpected feminine voice startled the hell out of him, and he almost lost his grip.

“I’m good,” he grunted, trying again for some traction.

“You’re not.”

As he fought to regain his balance, the mystery woman shouldered past him to take hold of the heavy panels. Together, they shifted the load back where it belonged.

“Thank you.” Trace stepped back, feeling self-conscious at being rescued by a stranger. The feeling evaporated when he recognized Em Keller. 

Talk about a blast from the past. And not a good one.

“Well, well,” Em said in a low voice. Her eyes, which were remarkably close to the color of the clouds that hung low over Copper Mountain, narrowed in a no-nonsense way, but before she got beyond pleasantries, Trace jerked his head in the direction of the truck. “I need to get this paneling under a roof. It’s expensive.”

He also needed a minute to figure out how to tackle the situation. Phil, his partner, wasn’t from Marietta, so when he’d asked Trace to cover for him in a client meeting, he’d had no way of knowing that the client, now staring at Trace with thinly veiled animosity, wouldn’t be a client for long if she met with Trace. Or that Trace wasn’t particularly interested in working with her.

Em took a step back as wet spots began to form on her dark jacket and rain beaded on her long, wheat-colored hair. “I’ll find Phil.”

“He got called away and won’t be back for an hour or more.” Rich-people problems, one of the realities of working in home construction in an area where the wealthy liked to have summer homes. Trace and Phil tried to direct most of their business toward what Phil called “regular folk,” but every now and again they took on a wealthy client for short jobs. Some were great to work for and others, not so much.

“I’m supposed to meet with him.”

“I know.” Trace took a breath before saying, “Why don’t you wait for me in the office? This will only take a minute.”

He got into the truck without waiting for an answer and drove it around the end of the lumber shed and directly into the prefab metal building known as the barn, where they kept their vehicles. A moment later, he squinted against the rain as he rolled down the oversized garage door. It landed with a thud, splashing water on his already soaked boots.

He found Em standing just inside the office, her coat still zipped to her chin and her hands in her pockets, obviously ready to leave. “Do you work for Phil?” she asked.

“I’m his partner.”

Her mouth opened in a silent ah. “You’re the M in KM Construction.”

“I am.”

She considered the situation, then said, “This isn’t going to work. I’ll take my business elsewhere.”

“If you want.” He didn’t want to work with her, but he was a little curious as to where she was going to take her business. It wasn’t his place to point out how overbooked most contractors were. That said, his easy acquiescence had her eyes narrowing again, as if she suspected there was something he wasn’t telling her.

“You think I’ll have a hard time finding someone?” she asked.

“Possibly.”

Em gave a small snort and turned to the door. She was reaching for the handle when he said,

“I had no choice but to fire you.” He’d been a probationary crew boss on the now defunct Somerset Guest Ranch and had followed the rules to a T . . . except for a small bend he’d made for his friend.

“You didn’t fire Jesse Blevins,” Em said, as if he’d spoken his thoughts aloud.

“I did not.” Trace ran a hand over the back of his neck, wishing Phil hadn’t been called away. Then he dropped his hand and let go with a simple truth. “You aren’t going to get another contractor unless you wait until late spring or summer. If you go with us, I’ll recuse myself from the job. Phil will be back later this afternoon. I can have him—”

Em drew herself up. “I wouldn’t hire this firm . . .”

Her voice trailed, but what she’d been about to say was obvious.

Trace raised his eyebrows. “If it were the last contracting outfit on Earth?”

“Well put.”

I hope you enjoyed the excerpt. I’m looking forward to releasing this book and I’ll post another excerpt in May along with a release day give away. Until then…Happy Spring!