The Promise by Mariella Starr
Darcy Stuart has a reputation for being a rip-snortin’, gun-totin’, man-hatin’ woman and that is fine with her as long as it keeps worthless men off her doorstep. She has a promise to keep, a ranch to run, and a son to raise. She doesn’t have time to waste on scoundrels.
Born on the wrong side of the tracks, the defining moment in her life thus far has been the birth of her son. The maternal love she feels for Murphy keeps her going. She has been used and deceived by the men in her life, and she doesn’t believe any man is worth sacrificing her hard sought independence. Men’s words are cheap and their actions are generally false. She doesn’t give a plug nickel for any man who thinks he can seduce or cheat her out of the Circle S.
That is until a man from the past comes back into her life, and she can’t shake him. Deep down she’s not sure she wants to. He wants her and he won’t back down. While her goals are set in stone, Les Brewster seems to be chipping away at her very foundation. He opens her eyes to the powerful lure of sex and passion and melts her resistance under his firm hand and an unfailing determination to win her.
As a young and inexperienced young man, Les had admired his boss’s wife from afar. It was an innocent crush and that was as far as it went. She had been incredibly young, innocent and sweet, and he had moved on and away from a temptation that was one-sided. Fifteen years later though, she is a widow and fair game for the pursuing. Except she doesn’t want a man in her life, at least not as husband. That sweet peach of girl has turned into a ball-busting rancher who is in desperate need of someone to tame and settle her. He loves her wild spirit and he can see glimpses of the warm-hearted woman he knows is buried under that brittle shell. It’s going to take some patience to peel away some layers of hurt and distrust to find the lovely person that is trapped inside a promise she won’t break. In the meantime, he needs to discipline a foul mouthed, bad tempered shrew that needs to be reminded of how a lady should behave.
