Um, yeah, can you tell I’m excited? Weekend, YES!! Payday too, YES!!!

April has kicked by butt from one end to the other. From the RT convention until now it’s been non-stop. This weekend will be beautiful weather-wise (another bonus) and I will have a few errands to do, but I should have time to write (yay!) and review my wardrobe for vacation.

Best news of all. 1 more week until vacation. *fist pump* I will be out of the country with DH, DS#2 (DS#1 will be watching the house) and my very good friend KC and her awesome hubby John.

OMG, I can almost feel the warm tropical breezes now…

Back to reality! I have yard work to do (boo!) that I will try to delegate to DS#2 but I’m sure I’ll be out there at some point helping.

What about y’all? Weekend plans?

I’ve got to concentrate y’all. Only 9 days until I leave for my cruise (ohboyohboyohboy) and I have vacation brain. :(

No matter that I have 17K to write before then and get everything set up for when we’re gone, I can’t focus!

I need some suggestions y’all – tips to get my brain on now time instead of Caribbean time (LOL).

Help!

After a post-release high, I’ve finally gotten back to Earth. Let’s get back in the swing of things, k?

Today’s eye candy for your viewing pleasure…

April has kicked my butt, let me tell ya. Between the Romantic Times Book Lovers Convention in L.A., a new release, real life and trying kickboxing for the first time, I have literally had my behind kicked.

Now that April is winding down, and GIDEON is out in the wild, I can finally take a breath. In fact, I just finished my newsletter and sent it out to the world. I’m giving away two bags of swag, including books, that I picked up at the RT convention. If you’re not a subscriber, you can sign up here.

I’m looking forward to this weekend. Tomorrow is a shopping day with Mom and my sister (hooyah!). Saturday night is book club and my Mom is coming with me (they won’t know what hit them :).

Sunday is Easter and I’m going to be spending it with family. Hope you all have a great weekend!

I’m absolutely thrilled to pieces to welcome Gideon to the world of published books. Yeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaw! Welcome to e-book release day for DEVILS ON HORSEBACK: GIDEON!

Gideon has been the rock, the captain to the rest of the Devils as they fought their way back to “real life” after their experiences in the Civil War. He has given much of his time and his energy, without ever stopping to consider his own needs. Or perhaps he was ignoring them? Ah, there we go…

After the one-armed Lee marries his soulmate, Gideon finds the rest of the world turning their attention to him. Why isn’t he married? Yes and why don’t we find him a wife? Ha, our fair captain panics and runs.

Oh, you can believe it. Gideon runs away but that brings him right into the life of Chloe Ruskin and her little family. Perhaps Gideon was meant to leave Tanger and run smack into her (and her pistol).

I’m going to post one more excerpt today as I celebrate the e-book release of everyone’s favorite captain, Gideon Blackwood.

Enjoy! *tosses confetti and runs around like a lunatic*

***

She woke suddenly, but she wasn’t scared or startled. For the first time she could remember, Chloe was warm and safe, protected. She’d slept beside Granny most of her life since there wasn’t a whole lot of room at the farmhouse. During the trip to Texas, she became used to sleeping with the two little girls pressed on either side of her. Yet none of those experiences made her feel like she did waking up wrapped in Gideon’s arms.

Since she’d met Gideon, nothing had been familiar, emotionally or physically. She’d felt things she’d never imagined, experienced things that set her flying to the stars and crashing to the earth. Up until this point in her life, there hadn’t been much she could rely on, but she knew in her heart she could count on him. This stranger, this man who happened to be in the same place at the same time, had changed her life in a few short days.

It was a sobering thought and one that made her pull away from the cocoon of his arms. She had no right to be there, no future with him, no matter how much she might wish it. After they found Granny and the girls, Gideon and Chloe would be strangers again. This experience would seem like a dream, one she could replay in her mind for the rest of her life.

His scent filled her with each breath she took in. It was a pleasant, manly smell she could definitely get used to. Her behind was snuggled up against his man parts, and although they weren’t hard, Chloe’s body stirred from the sensation of just touching him. She didn’t expect that, yet given her wanton behavior on the wagon, she should have. The man drove her to be a hussy, and damned if she didn’t like it. However, finding her family was more important than scratching her itch to make love with him again.

Make love. It wasn’t quite an apt description of what they’d done, but it felt right to her. Chloe had never been attracted enough to a man before to want to do more than kiss him. And now she wanted to yank his trousers down and do all kinds of amazing things over and over. She knew it wasn’t right, and even as her body heated at the thought, her mind pulled her back. Chloe swore her nipples complained at the craving for his touch and his tongue, not that he was hers to lose.

Pitiful as could be, she extricated herself from his arms and shivered in the cool morning air. She’d forgotten she was wearing only a man’s shirt. As she was padding barefoot toward the creek, she stopped in her tracks. Last night she’d left her dress and underthings on a bush by the water to dry. They were now draped over another bush close enough to the fire to have dried completely. The man would never stop surprising her.

She took her clothes and went down to the creek to wash and piss. A mist hung over the top of the gentle water, giving it an eerie look. A shiver shot straight up her spine, and she hugged herself to stop it. What was she afraid of? There wasn’t anybody around, and Gideon was sleeping twenty feet away. The feeling persisted though, and she rushed through cleaning up and yanked on her clothes. They were a little stiff from being cold, but at least they were clean and dry.

A small regret niggled at her. She shouldn’t have left him lying there asleep and alone. If Granny were there, she would have told Chloe to follow her heart and be with him again. But Granny wasn’t there and that was the reason Chloe hadn’t followed through with the urge to be with him. She had to find her family, rescue them from whatever monsters had taken them. It was war, and she had to be a good soldier.

A twig snap brought every nerve ending to life. It didn’t come from the direction of the wagon, so it wasn’t Gideon. She crouched down, reaching for the knife in her boot, only to realize she was still barefoot. Her boots were with Gideon. She was unarmed but surely not helpless. Chloe searched the ground for a sturdy branch. No chance she would give up without a fight. She wrapped her hand around the thickest stick she could find and waited. Her heart pounded as the twig snap turned into footsteps, stealthy ones to be sure, but she could hear them. Gideon had taught her that—to stop and listen in utter silence. She’d thank him later, if she was still alive.

The steps grew closer and closer, pausing, then restarting. She was going to stand up and start screaming like a wild woman if whoever it was didn’t get on with it. Finally they stopped just five feet from her hiding place. She gripped the stick, her breath coming in short, soundless gasps, then stood.

She raised the stick and swung with all her might, only to recognize the back of Gideon’s head just seconds before she knocked him on his ass.

“Jesus Christ, Chloe,” Gideon howled as he clutched his head. “What the hell are you doing?”

She threw the branch and dropped to her knees. “Oh shit, Gideon, I’m sorry.” She reached for his head, but he batted her hand away. Chloe told herself not to be hurt by the gesture. After all, she’d just conked him. Hard.

He glared at her. “When you didn’t come back to the camp, I thought something had happened to you. Hell, woman, did you have to hit me so hard?”

“I thought you were one of the kidnappers or worse.” She ached to touch him, soothe the hurt she’d inflicted, but she just sat there and accepted his well-deserved scolding. “I’m sorry.”

“I guess I don’t have to worry about you getting hurt, then. If all you had was a stick and you managed to crack my skull, you don’t even need your knife.”

She spotted her knife on the ground by his feet. He had gotten concerned and gone looking for her. It wasn’t a big gesture, but damned if it didn’t make her lose control.

For the first time since her family had gone missing, Chloe burst into tears.

*

Gideon watched her from the corner of his eye. After her surprising tears and the knock on his head—which still hurt—he didn’t know what she was thinking. Just when he thought he had her figured out, she did something unexpected. Like crying. Of all the women he’d known in his life, Chloe was the last person he expected to break down like that. She was tougher than he was, for God’s sake.

She had pointed at the knife, then at his head and cried some more. He hadn’t known what to do but hand her his handkerchief and wait. She had gotten to her feet with the knife and handkerchief in hand and left him sitting on the forest floor with his head throbbing and his mind whirling. She had caught him off guard with the stick, but there was no real damage to speak of, although he’d probably be picking bark out of his hair for a few days.

By the time he made it back to camp, she had stopped crying. She had also packed the bedrolls, made coffee and put the leftover cornpone out to eat. He ate gratefully, keeping an eye on her, wondering what she was thinking. If she was more like every other woman, he might have asked her why she had cried, but he didn’t dare. They needed each other, and he was already on uncharted ground with her.

They packed up and were on their way before the sun was fully up. He was glad of the daylight and picked up a set of wagon tracks straight off.

“Do you see anything?” Her voice was a bit rusty, and he thought it might have been due to the hysterics earlier but didn’t think it wise to say anything.

“There’s some tracks but not fresh ones. At least twelve hours old.” He pointed at the side of the trail where the grass had grown high. “Keep your eye on the grass. If you see any that’s been trampled or stepped on, let me know.”

She nodded and focused intently on her task, giving him a chance to study her. Chloe’s face was drawn, with circles under her eyes and a tightness to her mouth that made her lips almost white. The clouds obscured the sun, and she hadn’t put her hideous hat on. The light breeze tickled the explosion of curls on her head.

She was beautiful. Beautiful.

Gideon stared at her, rendered mute by his recognition of just how lovely Chloe Ruskin was. Her beauty struck him between the eyes, stealing his thoughts. He could imagine waking up to her every morning, being able to stroke her freckled skin and kiss her plump lips. It would be a life he could love. Hell, a woman he could love.

His throat went dry, and the world beneath him shifted. Gideon knew what he was thinking, feeling and accepting. Well, holy hell. He did need to leave home to find where, and with whom, he belonged.

With Chloe Ruskin.

He should be smart enough not to let her go now that he’d found her. But he hadn’t ever fallen in love before, and his experience with women was limited enough to make him into an idiot.

***

Welcome to day #4 of excerpts from Devils on Horseback: Gideon! Only 1 more day until release. Tomorrow!!

Gideon can’t believe how out of control he gets with Chloe, and how much he can’t stop himself.

***

After they were far enough away to be safe for now, he climbed up into the wagon and sat beside Chloe. He set the shotgun in front of them on the floor and held out his hands. She just raised one brow.

“What makes you think I’m gonna let you drive?”

Gideon gritted his teeth. “Because I’m the man here.”

“I’d say we’re equal partners, Blackwood. We were a team back there, and you’re gonna have to let me hold the reins now and again.”

It made sense, of course. Logic over emotion and all that, but he didn’t give a shit about logic. He just wanted to feel as if he was in control, even if he wasn’t.

“For right now, just hand it over.”

She must have seen something in his expression, because she sighed dramatically and gave him the reins. Gideon wondered if she were humoring him but didn’t want to take that thought any further. Right now he would focus on the trail ahead of them and getting back to where they had been as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the team was old and plodded along slower than he thought possible. They would need some fresh blood to pull this wagon, or they would never catch the people they chased.

They moved along at a snail’s pace, the sound of the merchandise in the wagon behind them clanking and banging together as the wheels hit dips in the trail. It was a strange kind of music—one he did not want to get used to hearing. He planned on getting rid of the wagon as soon as they found the Ruskins. For now he would endure it and its hideous stench.

“Do you think we can find our way back to the packs we left behind?” Chloe’s voice was surprisingly calm.

“Maybe, but with all the shit in this wagon, we don’t need any supplies.”

She murmured something he didn’t quite catch. Five minutes later, she apparently could not control her tongue any longer. “I want that pack back. It’s likely all we have left of our things, and I don’t want to show up on my aunt’s doorstep with nothing but dirty drawers and bugs in my hair.”

“This is the same trail we followed west. If we keep going, we’ll end up where we were this afternoon.” He could almost feel her grinning at him. “But there’s no guarantee we’ll find the exact spot, and we can’t afford to be poking around in the woods.”

She nodded. “I understand that, and I would probably say the same thing. But in this case, I can find the spot.”

“How is that possible? It was a bunch of trees with no distinguishing landmarks.” Gideon thought maybe she was trying to trick him into searching for the packs. There was no chance she could find a bush in the middle of the thick woods they had left them in.

“Distinguishing landmarks? You sure do talk fancy.” She shook her head. “I cut an X in the tree bark.”

“You did what?”

“You heard me. I marked the tree with my knife when you was getting captured.” Chloe sounded so damn smug, his annoyance notched up further.

He told himself not to react, to let her have her moment of triumph. Overall, Gideon was the better soldier, even if she’d been the one who freed them from their captivity. She was a young woman, cocky and sure of herself. There was no reason for him to get riled up.

But damned if he didn’t.

Before he even realized what he was doing, Gideon dropped the reins and yanked her close to him for a bruising kiss. It was a clashing of lips, teeth and tongue, different from their midnight sex. This was primal, elemental and overwhelming. Perhaps it was because they had faced danger together and escaped. He knew he was lying to himself, but thinking wasn’t an option at the moment.

In fact, he could hardly breathe.

The salty taste of her lips gave way to the sweetness of her mouth. The hot, wet recesses beckoned him until he was so deep he couldn’t distinguish where she ended and he began. He hardened in an instant, pressing against his trousers, eager to find release with Chloe. To his shock, her hand started pulling on the buttons to free him. He was about to stop her when she spoke.

“Please, I need. Now.” It was a fractured thought but one he understood.

He yanked at the offending buttons until the evening air hit his overheated skin. Her hand surrounded him, and he groaned into her mouth. Thank God she wore drawers with a slit. The ugly dress bunched around her hips. Chloe straddled him, never breaking the kiss, and soon he was poised at her entrance, which was already wet with arousal.

It was wrong, it was foolhardy, it was loco. He couldn’t stop if someone put a gun to his head.

Gideon had never been as aroused or as hard as he was at that moment. She sank onto him, inch by inch, her tightness surrounding him, embracing him. He gripped the seat beside him until the wood almost splintered under his fingers. It was only through sheer force of will he did not find a relaese in the first five seconds. She was perfectly made for him, as if someone had engineered her tiny body to accept, welcome, enclose his.

***

Welcome to day #3 of excerpts from Devils on Horseback: Gideon! Only 2 more days until release. Yeehaw!

Gideon and Chloe run into another obstacle in their quest to find the missing wagon and the missing Ruskins…

***

She wanted to punch him. He’d been rude, bossy and insulting, not to mention the fact he’d manhandled her. For pity’s sake, the man had carried her like a sack of potatoes. Then when his cock had pushed against her, he’d acted annoyed. Gideon Blackwood was a mean son of a bitch, and she’d do best to forget ever having given him her virginity.

Chloe took a deep, slow breath and focused. If the wagon they heard was hers, she would need her wits about her, not stuck in a rut thinking about a stranger. She pulled the knife from her boot, and he found a sturdy branch to use as a club. Pitiful weapons to be sure, but Gideon and Chloe also had the element of surprise.

She gripped the handle so hard her knuckles popped. Blood whooshed through her veins, pumping her full of energy until she almost vibrated. Her legs tensed as the sounds grew closer, then closer still. The wagon was only about fifteen feet away. Her heart thumped hard, yet she retained her control, ready to do battle with those who would harm her family.

Gideon turned and pointed at her, then to her right. He pointed at himself, then to his left. She didn’t know exactly what he meant but surmised he was telling her to take the back of the wagon while he would go to the front. Chloe nodded and crept closer to the opening in the bushes as silently as she could. When she glanced back, she was surprised to see he was ten feet from her and nearly at the edge of the trail. For a big man, he moved like a shadow.

He stopped with a fist in the air, and she froze in place. Her breath came in short bursts as adrenaline surged through her. This wasn’t the first time Chloe had done something potentially dangerous. It was exciting to be doing something, to be fighting for what was hers, to take a stand and hold firm. Perhaps if she’d been a man, Chloe would have fought in the war with the same kind of excitement mixed with fear. She watched and waited until he glanced her way and, with a nod, jumped out of the brush.

She ran to the back of the wagon and skidded to a stop. This was not her family’s wagon. It belonged to a peddler or something like that, covered with bits and pieces of things for sale. As she turned to find Gideon, a bloodcurdling cry split the air and a shiver raced down her spine. Chloe raced around to the front of the wagon to find Gideon with his hands up and a woman pointing a shotgun at him.

Ironically familiar sight.

“I shall not let ye steal my soul, ye devil!” The woman was dressed in a drab gray dress with a poke bonnet that had seen better days. She held the weapon with ease, telling Chloe she could easily kill Gideon if desired.

“I said I was sorry, ma’am. I thought you were someone else.” He spotted Chloe and gestured with his head. “There is my, ah, wife. She can tell you I meant no harm to you.”

The word wife made Chloe lose her balance for a second, but she kept on walking, strangely pleased to have the man at her mercy again. It was an inappropriate moment to be having such thoughts, but they persisted anyway. Things had been topsy-turvy since she’d lowered her own pistol the day before. Impossible to think it had been just over one day, but time didn’t lie.

The stranger turned to look at Chloe but kept her gun firmly pointed at Gideon.

“This your man here?”

Chloe’s gaze met Gideon’s, and she saw so much in that split second, it startled her. Partly because she wanted to have someone to call her man, and because she saw the same kind of longing in his eyes.

“Ah, yes, ma’am. This here is Gideon.” Chloe stumbled over her words just as much as she’d done with her feet moments earlier. Mr. Blackwood made her awkward inside and out.

“You best drop that knife, girlie, and come on over to your Gideon.”

The older woman’s voice was hard as granite. Chloe wasn’t taking any chances, so she scurried over to his side, hiding the knife in the folds of her skirt.

“Don’t think I don’t see that knife. Unless you want to be picking up your man’s brain offa the ground, you’d better throw it to me, so’s you can’t reach it.” The woman knew how to handle a weapon. She threw rope at them while keeping her bead on Chloe and Gideon.

“Tie one of his hands to one of yours, and make sure it’s tight.”

“What? Why?”

“’Cause I said so, that’s why. I ain’t letting two strangers get hold of all my treasures. I don’t trust nobody. Until that big man is tied up, this gun is pointed at his head.”

Chloe bent down to pick up the rope, frantically trying to devise a way out of actually tying them up, but he stopped her thoughts with a harsh whisper.

“Just do it. We have nothing to steal but the packs we left in the bushes.” He held out his hands. “If she wants a battered tin pot, she can have it.”

Chloe wanted to protest but knew he was right. If the woman had a hankering for what they had, she could take it. After all, everyone seemed to be helping themselves to the Ruskin family’s belongings. Why not let her join in? Bitter thoughts raced around as she tied the rope around his wrist with a yank.

“Easy, little one. She said tight, not cut off his hand.” Gideon sounded as frustrated as she was.

“Sorry.” She loosened the knots a bit so his hand wasn’t turning purple anymore.

“Hurry up there, girlie. I ain’t got all day. Tie your hand to his.” The stranger watched closely as Chloe finished off the knot, leaving another six feet of rope dangling.

What if the woman made them walk behind the wagon tied like a dog?

Chloe wanted to pick up her knife and cut the rope, but again Gideon stopped her.

“We’ll get free. Don’t worry. I’ve escaped from knots tied by tougher folks than you.” He squeezed her hand.

Chloe turned to their captor. “Now what?”

“Now put your other hands behind your back and wait.” The woman climbed down from the wagon. As she moved closer, the smell hit first. It was worse than anything she’d ever encountered before, ten times worse. Obviously this strange peddler woman hadn’t bathed in a very long time, perhaps even a year. The rancidness of her body odor made Chloe’s eyes water. Gideon coughed, then cursed under his breath. The woman tied their other hands with the rope. She pushed it against Chloe’s mouth. “Now tighten it with your teeth.”

Chloe bit down on the filthy rope. It tasted of dirt and rotten potatoes. Frustration roared through her, and she wanted to spit at the stranger.

What else could go wrong?

***

Welcome to day #2 of excerpts from Devils on Horseback: Gideon! Only 3 more days until release. Woot!

Let’s join Gideon and Chloe as their lives take a hard right turn and they are left stranded…

***

Chloe’s heart squeezed so tightly she could hardly catch her breath. In a matter of minutes, her entire family had disappeared. Was someone playing a cruel trick on her? The remnants of their life, the contents of the wagon, lay where they’d been stacked the day before in the grass. The campfire still burned, the coffee pot sat nearby, yet Granny was gone, as was the newly repaired wagon and Gideon’s horse. They’d left everything exactly as it laid waiting to be loaded, like a house had emptied itself and flown away into the bright blue sky.

A wave of anger welled inside her. Their journey hadn’t been perfect, but nothing had gone too terribly wrong until now, until Gideon Blackwood rode up to “save” them. Maybe he orchestrated the entire thing and was now planning on getting rid of her to make it complete.

“Where the hell is she?” Chloe had never been more furious in her life.

Gideon frowned at her. “How would I know? I was with you in the woods. In case you haven’t noticed, my horse is gone too.”

“You took them. Got into my drawers, distracted me and took my family, you bastard.” Red fury coated her vision as she stared at the man who may have destroyed all she had. No way would she accept the loss though. If she was anything, Chloe was a fighter, and she would fight for her tiny family. With a roar, she launched herself at him, taking him by surprise. She knocked him to the ground, and they rolled in the tall grass.

Snarling and snapping at him, Chloe tried her best to reach the knife in her boot; that way she could make him talk. However, he was too fast and knocked her hands aside so she didn’t have the chance.

“What are you doing?” He successfully grabbed her right hand, but she squirmed free. “Chloe, stop! I didn’t do anything to your family.”

“Yes, you did. Nothing happened until you got here.”

“That’s enough.” Gideon had apparently been trying not to hurt her, because in a split second, she was facedown in the grass with her arm twisted behind her and his knee resting on her back.

She had never experienced such fear and anger as she did at that moment. Alone in the Texas prairie with a stranger, one she’d bedded but a stranger still, Chloe was helpless. Her heart thumped so hard it hurt, and her breath came in short bursts. After a second or two of panic, Chloe reached down deep and found her determination, then let it loose. She wouldn’t stand for his bullying, not for an instant.

“Let me up,” she said through gritted teeth.

“Not unless you stop acting loco.” He was barely winded, the son of a bitch.

“Tell me where they are.” She tried to break his grip, but the man was obviously made of oak. She succeeded in almost breaking her own arm though.

“Stop moving or you’re going to hurt yourself.”

Chloe barked a laugh. “You’ve already done enough to hurt me.”

“I’m not trying to hurt you. Hell, I spent an entire day helping you. I do have honor, whether or not you believe that right now.” He eased his knee up. “I don’t know what happened to the wagon, my horse, the girls or Granny, but I promise you, I will find out.” She was surprised to hear sincerity in his voice along with a fierceness she hadn’t expected.

“Why should I believe you?” As the haze of anger faded, Chloe recognized she needed Gideon. Not only was she a woman alone, but she had no transportation—easy pickings for anyone with less-than-honorable intentions.

“I have no reason to lie to you.” He let her loose and stepped back, watching her. There was a stillness about him, as if he could have her on the ground again in seconds if he chose. Likely without much effort judging by how powerful and fast he had been.
It stuck in her craw. Chloe did not like being at anyone’s mercy.

She sat up and brushed her hair out of her eyes. “You have no reason to tell the truth either.”

“True enough, but I promise you, I did nothing to those girls or Granny, and I sure as hell didn’t make the wagon or my damn horse vanish.” He put his hands on his hips and looked around the clearing. “If you promise not to try to kill me again, I can track them.”

“I wasn’t trying to kill you,” she mumbled as she got to her feet. If she killed him, she might not find out what happened to Granny and the girls.

Gideon crossed his arms. “I think you would have if you could have, but I can respect that. Family is important to me too.”

She brushed off most of the dirt and grass from her skirt. Gideon should have scared her. He was big, strong and fast, and could overpower her. Yet she wasn’t afraid of him; she was afraid of never finding her family. She’d never admit it to him, but she did believe he had honor, that he would help her and, grudgingly, that she shouldn’t have accused him of wrongdoings. Unless he had a hidden partner, there was no way he could have done any of it. She wasn’t about to apologize, though—it might kill her to try.

“Get to tracking.” Chloe’s throat tightened as she walked toward the campfire.

“We need supplies. If we go after them with nothing but the clothes on our backs, we won’t last more than a day.”

“Maybe they only have a day.” Chloe didn’t want to add they might only have hours. The very thought made her want to vomit.
Gideon looked like an immoveable wall of man. “We are no good to them unless we’re ready. We have no water, no food. Hell, we don’t even have something to lie on to sleep.” He pointed at the furniture. “I’m guessing there are linens and such. We’ve got five minutes to see if we can make some packs to carry what’s left of the supplies. Maybe we can even find a blanket or two if we’re lucky. Go clean up the supplies by the fire while I search for things we can use. Five minutes, no longer.”

“You give too many orders.”

He had turned away, heading toward what was left of her family’s goods, but he must have heard her anyway, because his shoulders stiffened. “Maybe you ought to follow some.”

Chloe wanted to tear off after Granny and the girls, but she knew he was right. Emotion had gotten in her way, more like overwhelmed her. She’d never been so scared in her life, even when she’d been in danger. Those girls had been through a lot. Although they were a handful, they deserved a loving home and a family. They sure as hell didn’t deserve to be kidnapped and have awful things done to them.

That was what was making her mind whirl—what might be happening to her family while she cleaned up the coffee pot and dishes. She used sand to wipe off the remnants of breakfast, trying not to think of which one of the girls had made that very mess. Chloe would not cry over this. She would be strong and smart, with or without Gideon’s help.

***

Happy Friday y’all! Today I’m posting the first excerpt from Devils on Horseback: Gideon. I took our beloved captain and threw him in the deep end straight off. Are you ready?

Set?

GO!

***

“Who the hell are you?”

Gideon Blackwood stopped in his tracks, a puff of dust kicking up from his boots. He kept his arms at his sides, his breathing even, although his heart thundered like a horse’s hooves. From the gruff, raspy quality of the voice behind him, he didn’t know who he was dealing with.

“My name is Gideon Blackwood.”

“What do you think you’re doing sneaking around my wagon, Gideon Blackwood?”
Ah, it was definitely a woman. Whoever she was, she’d be no match for a man of his size, no matter how angry she sounded. As a veteran of the Civil War and countless battles, midnight raids and numerous wounds, not much scared him.

He turned around slowly so as not to spook her. To his surprise, he found a short figure wearing a dress that could’ve been used to hold potatoes and a floppy, ugly-as-hell wide hat that completely hid her face. The one thing that kept his attention was the pistol in her hand. That hand wasn’t shaking either. He took stock of his opponent in the blink of an eye. She was barely over five feet tall, her shape hidden by the sack she wore. Gideon took a step toward her, and she cocked the gun.

“Answer the question.” Her tone was as cold as the metal of the barrel.

Gideon couldn’t judge her age since her face was covered and her voice deep for a female. She could be twelve or ninety, which meant he couldn’t estimate how fast she’d be if he decided to disarm her.

Damn.

“I was riding to Grayton to see a friend of mine. I saw the busted wheel on the wagon and thought I could help.” He never expected his attempt would result in having a woman hold a gun on him.

“Hero, eh? You a Johnny Reb?”

Gideon clenched his fists as he told himself to ignore the caustic nickname. He’d fought in the war for what he thought was right, same as every other man. It had been three years since the war ended, and she had no call to insult him. He had to keep his control, no matter what flew out of her mouth.

“We’re all just folks now, ma’am. I’m no hero, and I sure don’t want to be shot for trying to help out other folks in need. I’ll be on my way.” Gideon took a step away from the wagon. The stupid gelding placidly munched on grass while his master had a gun pointed at him.

“Hold it, mister. I didn’t give you leave to walk away.” She took a step sideways, and her boots crunched on the dirt.

“I don’t need your permission, lady. Now either shoot me or let me go, because I’m done standing here jawin’ with you.” This time he did walk toward his horse.

“Wait, uh, please.” The words seemed torn from her throat. “We do need help.” She sighed so hard he’d swear the grass moved from the force of it.

He almost kept walking. Almost. But the Southern gentleman inside him protested loudly. A woman asking for help was never ignored, no matter how ornery she was. Gideon sometimes cursed his sense of honor; it could be a pain in the ass.

Perhaps it was his own stress making him short-tempered. He’d left Tanger behind, along with all the pressures from his friends and family. If one more person had shoved a sister or daughter at him, proclaiming Gideon the most eligible bachelor in town, he’d have punched someone. Then his cousin Zeke, as sheriff, would have had to put his ass in jail. Instead Gideon had left town, or escaped was more like it. He had been headed to their friend Nate’s ranch over in Grayton, several days’ ride from Tanger if he was riding alone and unhindered.

Now, of course, it would take him much longer, considering he had stopped to help someone. Or rather been held at gunpoint when he tried to help. Gideon needed to relax, to get away from the loco idea he required a wife. Just because his cousins Zeke and Lee and his half brother Jake had found marital bliss, didn’t mean Gideon had to. Although Nate was also happily married, his wife Eliza was a trouser-wearing straight shooter who would likely never try to force a female on anyone.

He needed to get to Grayton.

Gideon turned back toward her, hands on hips. “What do you need help with?” Too bad he sounded as gracious as she did, which was not at all.

“The wheel broke.”

“I can see that.”

She snorted. “I ain’t big enough to get the wagon up on my own, and Granny can’t get the new wheel on. We’ve been stuck here for a few days now.”

“There are two of you?” He glanced around but didn’t see another soul.

“Four, actually. The twins are in the wagon with Granny.” She gestured to the canvas that appeared to have strange-looking cargo beneath it.

“Twins?” Gideon hoped like hell it wasn’t babies. Not that he didn’t like young’uns, but he sure didn’t want to have to rescue a young woman, two babies and an old woman. Jesus, what the hell had he stumbled into?

“The branch I found to leverage up the wagon broke. If we can find a sturdier one, I can change out the wheel.”

Gideon eyeballed her. “Ma’am, you’re no bigger than a minute and likely no older than one either. I don’t think you could even get the wheel off, much less get a new one on.”

She yanked off the hat, and a mass of curls popped out in a color explosion worthy of a sunrise. The woman glared at him, and he realized his mistake in a heartbeat—she was at least twenty, if not older. And she had a temper to match that hair.

“I’ve managed to get us from Virginia to Texas, driving the wagon and keeping everyone else healthy and fed. All I need from you is half an hour to change out the wheel.” She threw her arms wide. “If’n you don’t want to help, then be on your way.”

“I told you I’d help, but I think we need more than just me.”

She snorted. “Then you ain’t no kind of Southern man I know. Be on your way, then.” The woman had the audacity to turn her back on him.

Gideon didn’t know whether to laugh or be insulted. This little bird had a lot of gumption, that was for sure.

“I didn’t say I couldn’t do it. I said I didn’t think you could.” He crossed his arms over his chest and widened his stance.

A breath hissed through her teeth. “You want to repeat that?”

“Not particularly. Do you want my help or not?” He looked around and spotted a likely branch on the side of the road. He’d also need a fulcrum, something to use to leverage up the wagon.

“Quit your foolishness, Chloe. The man is offering to help.” An even tinier figure emerged from behind the wagon. Her silver hair marked her as the granny, and her poke bonnet marked her as a woman who was from another era. She peered at Gideon. “And he’s big enough to get the job done.”

Chloe. A biblical name. How ironic was that? He and the Devils had biblical names—a fact that had made them hoot with laughter when they’d sat around darkened woods waiting for orders during the war. Now this woman had come into his life and she was saddled with a biblical name too. Fate surely was fickle.

“Thank you, ma’am.” He nodded to the older woman. “Gideon Blackwood.”

“I heard you the first time. I’m Henrietta Ruskin, and this here’s my granddaughter, Chloe.” She stood beside the younger woman, and he could hardly believe there was a six-inch height difference between them. Had he stumbled upon a group of tiny people with bad manners?

“Pleasure to meet you both, ma’am.”

Not really.

“I’ll get to work, then.” Gideon headed for the branch, ignoring the furious whispering of the women behind him. Something about Chloe made him want to get on his horse and ride as fast as he could out of there. Now that he was committed to helping the Ruskin family, he couldn’t leave just yet.

Damn.

***

I can’t believe how quickly it’s snuck up on me but Gideon‘s book releases in ebook on April 19! Less than a week! I’m excited to see the last devil get his story told.

He’s the captain, the one who takes care of everyone else. When the rest of the devils have their mates, Gideon finds himself alone and at the mercy of some relentless matchmakers. So what does he do? Run away!

Ha! Yep, the great Captain runs away from Tanger but life isn’t going to be easy for him. Oh no, no, no. He encounters the Ruskins and his life changes forever. Chloe turns him sideways and upside down and he finds himself in a place he never imagined. It turns into a road romance, which I love, love, love, and the interplay between them is at times hilarious and heartbreaking.

I hope y’all like it! :)

I’ll start posting excerpts tomorrow to count down to release. Go go Gideon!