The day I fell in love with Cowboys

It was a hot, mid-summer day while visiting my maternal grandmother during school vacation. 


She lived in a trailer park with a lovely creek. 







My little sister, Teri, and I spent countless hours playing in or near the water. We’d slide down a large, flat rock into a waist deep pool, catch and release crawdads, and ‘fish’ with poles Grandma helped us make out of sticks, white string, and safety pin hooks baited with bits of marshmallow. 




Although I was getting older, around twelve, I still enjoyed messing around by the creek with Teri. But that day my sister stayed home, sick. And Grandma, in her late sixties and suffering from arthritis and bad knees, was only up for a few hours of either Crazy Eights or Uno. I usually brought books to read when she needed to rest or watch her show. 

I’d forgotten that day. 

Grandma, bless her heart, said I could read one of her books. Sigh. 


I read books like: Misty, Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew, and Island of the Blue Dolphins. She read sweet romances, which didn’t interest me at all, and old westerns. I could watch Lawrence Welk with her or read a book by Zane Grey. I plucked Riders of the Purple Sage off the shelf, hoping not to be too bored. 

 And I fell in love. 

I read through Grandma’s entire collection that summer. 

Those old western novel cowboys were flawed men who may have done wrong in the past but had the quiet strength and conviction to do right by those they loved whatever the cost. 

My kind of heroes, then and now. 

All my cowboys are inspired by the men in those westerns. 

Nate Rolfe in 

The Lone Cowboy of River Bend, 

the final book of my Men of Fir Mountain Series, is a prime example. 

 Loyal, steadfast and determined, he won’t return to his beloved homestead until the trouble makers threatening his extended

family are rooted out.

The Lone Cowboy of River Bend 

The Men of Fir Mountain

Book 3

Buy links
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The Lone Cowboy of River Bend: The Men of Fir Mountain Book 3

Welcome back to Fir Mountain

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Google Play

First you met

The Outlaw of Cedar Ridge 

Then

The Lawman of Silver Creek

Ready for another cowboy?

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 iBooks  | Google Play    

The man they’re all talking about…

Nate
  
one of
The Men of Fir Mountain

The man they’re all talking about…

Gossip has spread far and wide about the broken-hearted recluse of River’s Bend – and who will be the lucky girl to heal him!

But Nate Rolfe knows his isolated homestead offers no life for a woman. Plus, he has more pressing matters on his mind than unwanted female attention, such as tracking the elusive band of cattle rustlers plaguing Fir Mountain, and the plight of his family’s determined new housekeeper, Hannah Brooks, who is like no woman he’s ever met before.

…and the woman who could win his love!

Hannah will do anything to protect her illegitimate daughter, but with no family, no job and soon no home, the future looks bleak for a woman of her reputation. So now she has no choice but to turn to the family her outlaw lover warned her against contacting before he died. Only, Nate is nothing but kind to her and little Jemma.

As she is drawn into Nate’s life – and tempted into his arms – Hannah must decide if she can trust him with both the truth of Jemma’s birth, and her own bruised and wary heart…

Exerpt:

Nathaniel Rolfe quickened his stride, heading toward the Trail’s End Saloon on the edge of Silver Falls City, where he’d arranged to meet his friend, Matthew Marston. People littering the streets and plank sidewalks hindered him, slowing his pace. The sensation of someone staring at him prickled his skin just before a young woman planted herself in his path.

“You’re him, aren’t you?” She matched his sidestep when he tried to dodge her. “You’re the-”

“No,” Nate broke in, hoping to stop her loud, high-pitched voice from cutting through the ruckus of the crowd and drawing more unwanted attention to him.

Her hands clapped together like an excited child. “Yes, you are.”

Nate gritted his teeth. It was odd how women had been taking an undue interest in him lately. And how did she notice me in this mess of people?

It didn’t make any sense. He wasn’t unusually handsome. His facial scar wasn’t that remarkable. He wore the same basic clothing as most of the men on the street, sturdy leather boots with signs of wear, blue jeans, an oil- cloth duster over a wool-lined coat and a brown hat that had seen better days.

“I can’t believe I spotted you.”

Neither can I. But he didn’t question her. Asking the others had been pointless.

All Nate knew was that someone had spread romanticized gossip about him in the last several months while he’d been helping Matt, the Sheriff of Silver Creek County, and his cousin, Ben, track rustlers. Only Heaven knew why. And how random women recognized him on sight remained a mystery. At times like this, he could swear someone must have drawn up a sketch of him, then passed it around the county, woman to woman, like some sort of wanted poster.

The Lone Cowboy of River Bend 

The Men of Fir Mountain

Book 3

Buy links
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 Kobo  | iBooks  | Google Play    

First Fight Friday: Progeny of Sin: Dark Dreams by Aaron Speca & Dawn Treadway

Goats solve their differences head-on. They don’t give the silent treatment or yell, they butt heads then it’s over.


Cowboy Marvin has learned humans resolve issues differently especially those romantically involved. His curiosity sparked, he has invited authors to stop by on Fridays and share the first fight out of their latest book.

Fellow Harper Impulse authors

Aaron Speca & Dawn Treadway 

    
are here for...

First Fight Friday 

with a scene from

 Progeny of Sin 

Dark Dreams

The Devil wants his due… 

The Daemon wants his out… 

Jade just wants it all to be over.

You don't always get what you want.

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She started muttering to herself, “Okay, this is too weird. I was just outside, and the sky was dark. Now I’m in somebody’s loft, where I can plainly see out that window,” she pointed a dizzy finger toward the floor-to-ceiling casement, “the sun isn’t even down; it is clearly twilight out there.” She was talking to herself out loud, to hear her own voice more than anything. She turned her body to figure out exactly where she was, and her chin ran smack into the denim-covered legs and steel-toed combat boots of the man who was responsible. And she screamed as loud as she could.

Nias fell to his knees and put his hand over her mouth.

“Woman, you are obviously upset, and at this point I can understand that, but if you would stop with the screeching and remain calm, I can explain everything.”

That was good because she wanted some answers. “Where am I? How did I get here? Did I pass out? Did you give me drugs? Are you some kind of kidnapper? If you are, I will let you know now you definitely have the wrong girl. I haven’t a dime in the world, so you might as well just save yourself the trouble and let me go!” Her words came out rapid-fire, a battering tempest of chatter that she could see nearly overwhelmed him.

In response to her questioning this large dark-haired man merely began to laugh out loud.

“I’m sorry, did I amuse you?” She squinted up at him.

“No, hellion, I just find your way of communication different, that’s all, and no I am not a kidnapper, I have not given you drugs, you did not pass out, and you are in California; San Francisco to be precise. As for the way you got here, I transcended us.”

“You what?”

“I transcended us – a process Daemons use to move around.”

“Daemons?” She looked up to take a real, solid look at this maniac…and ran smack into the eyes of the gorgeous man from the physical disturbance this morning in her bookstore. Criminy, I have been abducted by the hottest lunatic ever. Jade looked around her, trying to assess the likelihood that she could escape and outrun him. She saw an open window and on the opposite side of what seemed to be a living room, the front door. Door is further, but I probably won’t break a leg if I go for the door. Door it is. She shoved him away and was up and running!

Before she took three steps, he was in front of her, a giant wall of muscle. She turned on the tips of her replacement stilettos and bolted for the window. This time he gave her five steps. He was in front of her again. Mr. Tall, Dark, and Broody gently picked her up with one of his arms behind her back, swung her legs up and over his other arm and carried her to the divan, where he smoothly sat her down and smiled.

“Can I continue? Or would you like to take another turn about the room? If it’s exercise you’re looking for I can think of much better ways to expend your energy.” He folded his arms, as if daring her to make another run for it. His golden eyes flickered with unmistakable amusement.

“Oh, for crying out loud, fine. I will listen to what you have to say. Only because you outweigh me by at least a hundred pounds, are way quicker than I am, and clearly you are willing to use force to have your way.” She was waving her index finger in the air, much like Matt did when he got excited. “But stop grinning at me; I am a hostage, not a plaything.”

“Pity.” His eyes did a swift head-to-toe assessment of her body. “I can assure you I wish this could be done any other way. Unfortunately the circumstances at hand have forced me into your life.”

“That I can see,” she hissed.

“Jade, I’m afraid our time together has just begun,” he said, squinting his eyes a bit. “I, or rather my family and I, require your assistance, and your gifts. We know you have the ability to sense emotion; we also know you can, in various degrees, affect emotions around you. Also your ability to tell if beings are lying may come in handy as well.”

“How in the world could you know that? Or my name? Who the hell are you?” If it were possible, this conversation was starting to freak her out even more than what had already happened.

“My name is Nias, and let’s just say I have it on the best authority.”

“Well, then, Nias, do you know where this curse came from? Can you tell me?” She wasn’t sure why it had come out as a question and not a demand; maybe it was fear at finally having an answer. What she did know was even discussing its origin made her recall all the pain and sadness it had brought into her life. If there were a way to find out where it came from, possibly there would be a way to get rid of it. She would do almost anything to accomplish that.

“That, I cannot do. I am not at liberty to inform you of any more than you have to know in order to help us.”

“Why am I even having this conversation, then? For all I know, you found out somehow, got Matt drunk, maybe, I don’t know.”

Then it hit her. The strangest thing about this situation was she could tell he wasn’t lying. She always got a feeling when someone lied to her. Almost like a sharpness at the back of her neck and behind her eyes, like a fierce headache was coming on, and she wasn’t getting it from him. So there were only two possible conclusions; one, he believed what he was saying so strongly that it didn’t come out at her as a lie, which meant her half-sarcastic comment was correct and he was insane. Or two, he was being truthful. Surprisingly to her, it wasn’t the possibility of the former, complete insanity, worrying her the most; it was the possibility of the latter, that his story could reflect the truth, causing the bubble of nervousness and trepidation to rise up from her gut.

“Well, can you get rid of it? I want to get it out of me; it is awful, to tell you the truth. You are looking at this thing as a gift, but it isn’t. This thing has made me a freak. My own parents couldn’t handle it. Or I guess it was me who found it hard to tolerate their loathing of my oddity. It wasn’t just them; try making friends when you know their every feeling and lie. It crashes into my head, and did I mention it hurts? Can you, they, who, whatever, make it go away?”

* * *

Nias was not completely surprised to see the look of pain in her eyes, but it had an effect on him he did not expect. He had an overwhelming need to make that look, the causes of that look, go away, but he knew it was impossible. He needed the part of her causing that pain.

“No, I can’t. I was asked to find you, explain the situation, and obtain your help. And to be honest, I doubt they would be willing to take away something they find useful.” He couldn’t help but place his hand on her forearm, to touch her, to soothe her. And then, as quickly as he had placed it, and felt the warmth of her skin, her eyes flickered straight towards his own, and he yanked his hand away.

He would not do this. This human would not affect him. He pulled himself together and got back to the business at hand.

“My brother has been kidnapped by some very bad individuals.”

“I feel his pain, as I seem to be in the same situation.” He appreciated her sharp wit and snappy comeback, and smirked despite himself.

“Trust me, Jade, you are not in the same situation. I will not hurt you. If you try to run, I will bring you back. But I will not ever hurt you.” And he suddenly realized he meant every word of it.

* * *

Again Jade could feel he wasn’t lying. He meant what he said, and strangely she didn’t feel like she was in any immediate danger.

“I need to get to him, and I need you to use the abilities you possess to help me do it. The place I have to take you is evil beyond your reasoning; it will be like nothing you have ever seen or imagined,” he continued to explain.

Jade shuddered at the sincerity and seriousness in his voice. “Where is this place and who are these people?”

“I cannot give you any more information right now, but we need to start with your training immediately, if I ever expect to see my brother alive again.”

“Why in the world would I get involved with this? It sounds extremely dangerous, and I’m sorry to be harsh, but it just isn’t my problem.” Even as she spoke the words, she thought of the one and only thing that could possibly make her do something so crazy; to actually have a normal life, to be rid of this blasted curse. This man might not know where the curse came from, but even if there was an infinitesimal chance she could find its origin and maybe, just maybe, find out a way to make it stop, she wanted to try.

“Unfortunately, Jade, the moment you came into contact with me you started being watched and it became your problem. The Shaitan have eyes everywhere. They have, no doubt, seen you by now, so you are involved already. You’re just not safe without me or one of the Djinn beside you anymore.” Nias looked into her eyes and she thought she saw a tiny glimmer of regret. Then she experienced a flash of anger that he had put her in this position. If what he said was true, he had already endangered her life.

All thoughts of agreeing to this madness had flown out of her mind. She clenched her teeth as she responded.

“I appreciate you want to retrieve your brother, but I don’t know anything about these … these Shaitan, or Djinn, or Daemons, or whatever they are called. I have a business to run, I have a life!” A sad and pathetic life; one where I cannot keep a relationship intact, prevent my head from erupting into spontaneous bursts of pain or even manage to stay out of dreamland long enough to cope with the madness. But right now she didn’t care, she needed some air to breathe not full of super-hot “I’m a Daemon” guy. She needed to get away and think, time to sort through this mess.

She continued her tirade getting up and taking a step toward him. The tension in the room was palpable. “I am going to go, please do not stop me, do not contact me, do not drug me or drag me across the country anymore!”

She paused for a time, looking at him, and when he made no move to stop her, she stormed past him and out the door. To her surprise, he let her go.

As Jade walked out of the flat, she wondered what kind of fiendishness was truly involved in getting her there. She had been to San Francisco before, and as she looked around she realized quickly he was telling the truth on that count. Did he take her across the country, unconscious on a plane? Surely not a public one. How long was she out? She had not felt herself go under or come out of a blackout. What she did know was she needed to find a way home.

Luckily she was a credit-card-in-the-pocket, and not a purse kind of a girl, because she was going to need a cab ride and a plane ticket before that hot but vexatious man came looking for her. She was not sure why he had let her walk out, and right now she did not give two shits about the why’s, she just wanted as far away from here as she could get.

Unfortunately, as far away as she could get was two blocks, when something metal slammed into her stomach and then hit her over the head, and this time everything did go black.

Copyright © Aaron Speca
Copyright © Dawn Treadway
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Dark Dreams by Aaron Speca & Dawn Treadway 

Jade Shear is an ordinary girl with an extraordinary ability that’s literally about to send her to Hell. When Daemons discover Jade’s power to read and manipulate others true feelings, they force her to assist with the rescue of their sibling; thrusting her from her everyday normality deep into the Underworld with the tall, dark and deliciously demonic Nias Hu’dor assigned as her guide.

All Nias wants is to live out his life without being involved with anyone else. No more emotion, no more connections, especially to pain in the ass humans. But when he sees Jade twisting a long curl of her wild red hair, and showing off the most amazing backside he’s ever been privy to; Nias just knew he was staring at a world of trouble.

How could his family have enlisted him to obtain this girls
help to traverse Sheol?

This dark paranormal romance takes you from Jade’s everyday existence into the world of the Djinn Sentry; an army of demonic solders determined to protect the human race; and then plummets you straight down into the seething malevolent Underworld where a multi-levelled caste system of Shaitan and the Devil himself welcome you.

Progeny of Sin: Dark Dreams 

is available on 
Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Kobo ~ Nook 

Author Bios:

Dawn Treadway is the author of the award winning flash fiction story "The Prisoner". Presently she can be found in beautiful coastal California, with her exceptional children, Cooper and Waylon and two orange feline beasts. Dawn holds a Bachelor's of Science in Nursing and works in Mental Health. When not actively enjoying dark dreams, she is otherwise cultivating her love of everything dark, gothic and sexy as Hell.

Aaron Speca is an “accidental author” who fell into creative writing at the age of 39, joining a writing group at the behest of his wife and her friends. Since then, he has published two short stories with writing partner Patricia Laffoon, and is co-author with Dawn Treadway on the novel Progeny of Sin: Dark Dreams. He currently resides in Virginia with his wife, three children, and a precocious Boston terrier.

Follow Aaron Speca online

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Thanks for sharing Aaron & Dawn!

First Fight Friday: The Summer We Loved by Wendy Lou Jones

Goats solve their differences head-on. They don’t give the silent treatment or yell, they butt heads then it’s over.

Cowboy Marvin has learned humans resolve issues differently especially those romantically involved. His curiosity sparked, he has invited authors to stop by on Fridays and share the first fight out of their latest book.

Fellow Harper Impulse author 

Wendy Lou Jones  

       

is here for ...

First Fight Friday 

with a scene from 

The Summer We Loved

Dr Peter Florin is the sexy bad boy of St Steven’s hospital. Despite his love ‘em and leave ‘em attitude, every woman still wants him 
–and nurse Jenny White is no exception. 

Pete is haunted by a dark childhood and tragic loss. As she watches 
him spiral down into despair, Jenny realises she might be 
the only one who can drag him back. 

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Pete wiggled his foot. It wasn’t quite as swollen as before, but it still hurt to move. His throat was a little better, not half so painful now, but to his disgust, he still felt incredibly weak. One more night, he thought. Tomorrow he would get himself off home and face the music, alone.

Jenny returned after lunch and came straight up to see him. “How is the wounded warrior, then?” she asked. 

“Bored,” he said.

“Obviously getting better, then. How about the ankle?”

“Hurting.”

“Your throat?”

He felt his neck and screwed up his face. “So-so.”

“Am I going to get anything more than one-word answers today?” she asked and his body responded. He let his gaze travel down the length of her and then slowly back up. His forbidden fruit he had lusted after for so long. She was stronger now. Could he dare to try it? Maybe, if he could shut her up for long enough. He beckoned her in closer with his hand. And she sat down on the side of the bed. Should he be doing this? His brain wasn’t happy, so he turned it to mute. He took hold of her hand and started stroking the back with the pad of his thumb. She looked into his eyes, a world of uncertainty watching him. 

“Thank you… for finding me,” he murmured and he let his fingertips play gently with the soft delicate skin of her forearm and hand. He could see fire in her eyes, as they widened before him. Her breathing quickened and her cheeks flushed. He hadn’t lost it. He leaned in, pulling her gently to him and-

“I talked to Anna from occy health today,” she blurted out, pulling back out of his reach and standing up, away.

Damn! Disappointment and sudden relief swept over him. Then it dawned on him. Wait a minute. What had she said? Pete couldn’t believe it. Bloody meddling woman! “What did you go and do that for?” he snapped. “I’ll ring the hospital when I’m God-damn good and ready! I don’t need you apologising for me.” He tried to stand up, but his weakened response was not having the dominating effect he had reached for and he crumpled back down, swearing. He let out a loud huff of discontent. The tension eased, but he wasn’t happy. “Go on, then. What did you tell them?”

“I just asked if ‘hypothetically’ I had a person in my care who had been missing for a while from work, how I should go about helping them back? ‘Hypothetically’.” She was looking straight at him now, cautious, but daring him to disapprove.

He sighed. “Just that?”

“No. We discussed things, but it was all ‘hypothetical’. I didn’t mention your name once.”

Like she’d actually have to. Pete doubted there were many other people who worked at St Steven’s who had gone AWOL from work in the past few weeks. 

So the game was up. Half the hospital would know by morning. He rested back against the pillows. “So… What did they say?”

“You have to ring them, Pete. And you have to be back in work on Monday. It’s been more than two weeks. Any longer and you’ll be out on your ear.”

He considered this. “Might not be such a bad thing.”

Jenny’s brow creased. “You are kidding me? After all the work and years you’ve put in? You have to get back in there and finish it, Pete. You have to get this exam done and complete the course. For heaven’s sake, you’re nearly there. You can’t throw it all away over… What the hell is this over, Pete? Because, for the life of me, I still don’t know. You won’t speak to me. You won’t share. You won’t tell me anything. You’ve been given so much in this life. Why do you have to be so ungrateful?”

Been given so much? What had he been given? He had had to fight for everything he had. Fight and work, and damn hard too. “You may have had a wonderful childhood and cruised on through till now, Jen, but I’m damn sure I didn’t. What do you want from me? Do you want me to spill my guts to you so you can feel like you’ve done your bit? So you can tick me off your list of lost causes? I’ve got nothing and no one and that’s all there’s ever been!” He took a deep breath and stared at the wall, wishing to God she’d just walk away. Just walk off and complain to her friends about the miserable excuse for a man taking root in her bedroom. But she didn’t. She just stood there and looked at him.

He could see her frame was tense. It might even be shaking. Her eyes were so unreadable; he never knew what was going on inside her head. As for having a crack at her? Hadn’t that just been a peach of an idea? He swore again, under his breath, and looked back at her. 

His gaze sunk to the bed. She should run away, far, far away from him. He didn’t deserve her care, or affection. She should kick him out on his ear for being inexcusably ungrateful, but instead, she quietly walked over and sat down next to him and took hold of his hand. It was a simple, innocent connection, but in that moment, Pete held his breath and felt her warm, loving touch mending him.

Copyright © Wendy Lou Jones

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The Summer We Loved by Wendy Lou Jones

Dr Peter Florin is the sexy bad boy of St Steven’s hospital. Despite his love ‘em and leave ‘em attitude, every woman still wants him 

–and nurse Jenny White is no exception. 

For one night she thought she saw the real Pete, but ever since then he’s kept his distance 

and so she has kept hers…

Only Pete is a man haunted by a dark childhood and a tragic loss, and as she watches him spiral 

down into despair, Jenny realises she might

be the only one who can drag him back.

So she does – at the risk of her own, already bruised and battered heart. For no matter what she tells herself, such a man is surely impossible to change – and even more impossible to resist.

‘One Stop’ Buy links:

The Summer We Loved

Check out Wendy's other books

First Fight Friday: By My Side

‘One Stop’ Buy links:
By My Side

   

‘One Stop’ Buy links:  

The Songbird and the Soldier

Wendy's bio:

My name is Wendy Lou Jones. I was born and raised in West Sussex, England and moved to Birmingham to study Medicine at University, where I was lucky enough to meet my husband. We now live in a little village in Herefordshire with our two grubby boys. I discovered a love of writing not long after my youngest son started school. And if you were to ask me what it was that made me make the switch, I’d tell you quite simply, that it started with a dream.

Follow Wendy Lou Jones online
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Thanks for sharing Wendy!

First Fight Friday: By My Side by Wendy Lou Jones

Goats solve their differences head-on. They don’t give the silent treatment or yell, they butt heads then it’s over.

Cowboy Marvin has learned humans resolve issues differently especially those romantically involved. His curiosity sparked, he has invited authors to stop by on Fridays and share the first fight out of their latest book.

Fellow Harper Impulse author

Wendy Lou Jones  

       
is here for ...

First Fight Friday 

with a scene from 

By My Side 

Kate is a nurse from A&E who is transferring a patient up to a
ward when she witnesses a consultant being far too severe on
a patient. Sadly, Kate has recently had experience of a 
surgeon being harsh to someone she loves and, incensed, 
she immediately goes off to find someone to tell. 

Lurking in a cupboard, venting at some colleagues, she is so distracted, she doesn’t notice the man himself coming up 
behind her and he is not impressed. Taking the matter 
in hand, he escorts her to Sister’s office to have it 
out with her and here is where we pick the story up…

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Mr Elliott was tall and dark: a striking man, whose features, suffused with even a modicum of warmth, might have been quite good looking on anyone else, but on him, they favoured only his gravitas. Unfortunately, in the serious light of her current situation, Kate couldn't help but quake.

She had to be strong. She had to stand up for the weak and the ill, the people who couldn't fight for themselves. It was going to be down to her to make him see how unfeeling he had been.

Grey-blue eyes bore into her as the silence lingered like a guillotine above her head and the trembling inside her began to grow.

"So you think, Nurse…" he said, deliberately peering closer at her uniform to read the name on her badge. "Excuse me, Staff Nurse Heath, that I should be reported for speaking plainly to one of my patients, do you? Maybe you would be kind enough to enlighten me as to why?"

Kate’s jaw clenched. He was patronising her, she was well aware of it, but while the little courage she had left remained, she was going to speak her mind. With the callous words of the surgeon who had recently treated her grandfather so appallingly hurtling to the forefront of her mind, she looked up into his steel-armoured eyes. 

"It was quite obvious that you were completely out of order in there," she said. "What gave you the right to judge that poor lad? I bet you don't even know the first thing about him; stuck up there in your ivory tower where life is so easy and Armani suits grow on trees. Who’s to say it wasn’t a genuine accident? But you wouldn't think of that, would you? You just laid into him. He was a quivering wreck by the time you’d finished."

Mr Elliott stood, poised in obvious frustration for a moment and then, when his voice finally broke, it was clenched and steady, as if a great force was being needed to keep it so. "And how should I have addressed the situation instead, may I ask?"

By this time Kate was rapidly running out of fire. She knew how to fight when her opponent shouted back, but this cool, calculated analysis had her on the wrong foot. She searched for something further to say, but came up blank.

"What, no sound advice? No words of wisdom?"

Kate bristled and shot him a glare, cursing her brain for letting her down right when she needed it.

"Maybe I had better remind you of your objections. I think the word 'bully' was in there, and from what I can remember you were attempting to incite mutiny on one of my wards. So would you care to elaborate on any of that? You were very free with your opinions a few minutes ago." He looked at her for a moment as her brain struggled hard to find the right words to say. "Maybe you should try running my team, doing my clinics and operating on my patients for a few days and then come back to me. At least then you might have some idea of what you're talking about."

"I wasn't questioning your abilities as a doctor,” she said, suddenly finding the spark she needed and tossing it right back at him, but her conviction was waning.

"Oh? Well, that is a relief." His tone had taken on a sarcastic quality that ignited the dying embers of her rage.

"No, it was your lack of compassion that I was questioning," Kate said. "It's not your right to play judge and jury, deciding who should be worthy of treatment and who should not. Are you absolutely certain he was the one to blame for the crash? It’s just as likely that he wasn’t. In fact we had one, just the other day, where a woman swerved to avoid a cat and crashed head-long into a van coming in the opposite direction."

Elliott's face paled. His stone wall cracked just a little as Kate could see the doubt settling in. For a second she could sense his turmoil and found new strength in his weakness. She looked at him straight in the eyes. "Precisely."

"Do you know what happened to bring him in here?" he asked, pausing for a moment to see if Kate would respond, but she didn’t. "No, you don't, do you? So I say to you, if someone had been a bit harder on that lad a few years ago, then maybe I wouldn't have another patient fighting for her life on ITU right now." He let out a small breath. "Maybe you should keep your nose out of business that does not concern you from now on and go back to… A&E?" He looked at her for confirmation of her department. "And concentrate on your own job. And the next time you try accusing someone of being 'unprofessional', I suggest you make absolutely sure your own behaviour is beyond reproach, or it might end up being you that gets reported for misconduct and not the poor wretch who finds himself on the sharp end of your malicious and ill-founded gossip."

Kate was defeated. Tears threatened to well up but she was damned if she was going to give him the pleasure of seeing it. She looked at the dull grey floor in front of her, Elliott's crisp black leather shoes firmly blocking her way. He hesitated for a moment, his brow crinkling and then he opened the door and stood back, letting her slip away in silence.

Copyright © Wendy Lou Jones

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By My Side by Wendy Lou Jones

Betrayed by her boyfriend and best friend, Lena is left empty; trapped under a weight of guilt and loneliness. Then, at her lowest point and when 
she needs it most, a mysterious stranger comes into her life with a tale of friendship, 
family, and finding love in the most 
unexpected of places…

Katy Heath is definitely not thinking of love
when she comes across consultant, Adam Elliott, berating some poor patient on the ward one day. 
In fact it is Dr Peter Florin who quickly has everyone’s hearts aflutter with his easy
smiles and practised charm.

Yet Katy comes to realise that there’s more to Adam than his determination to push everyone away and it’s not long 
before she finds herself longing to reach out to touch 
the man within, healing the pain of his past.

As Lena is drawn into Katy’s story, she begins to learn – just as Katy does - that the course of true love never did run smooth.

 'What a beautiful storyline this was. This is the first time I have read a book about a story within a story and at first I wasn’t sure if it was going to work but I soon became wrapped up in the story of Kate and Adam. It is full of emotion and romance and is very delicately written it was a very moving read... I have to admit to having a lump in my throat whilst reading this book it is a very emotional book and I won’t forget the ending of this book in a hurry. This book was both heartbreaking and at the same time an uplifting read it really is a thought provoking book. Pop this one on your TBR lists but have a box of Kleenex at the ready.'- 4 Stars from ReaLovesBooks

'Powerful and emotional is how I would describe By My Side, added to the fact that I just did not want this story to end. I loved the ending but as I was approaching it, I had to slow down my reading because I wasn’t ready to let it go just yet! Every step in Kate and Adam’s story was striking and important and at times, I felt like I was reading with a lump in my throat. Combined with Lena’s involvement, towards the end this book was always going to be a little different and unlike so many other emotional romance novels, it was the perfect ending.'
- 4.5 Stars from Reviewedthebook

By My Side

is available on 

Amazon ~ iTunes ~ Kobo ~ Sainsbury's ~ Nook

  GooglePlay ~ HarperImpulse    

Check out Wendy's debut book 

The Songbird and the Soldier

A really sweet and emotional read, and an excellent debut 
from Wendy Lou Jones.’ - My Written Romance

Wendy's bio:

My name is Wendy Lou Jones. I was born and raised in West Sussex, England and moved to Birmingham to study Medicine at University, where I was lucky enough to meet my husband. We now live in a little village in Herefordshire with our two grubby boys. I discovered a love of writing not long after my youngest son started school. And if you were to ask me what it was that made me make the switch, I’d tell you quite simply, that it started with a dream.

Follow Wendy Lou Jones online
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Thanks for sharing Wendy!