Howdy, ma’am. I’m Rand Sinclair the middle brother in the Bachelors of Battle Creek series – Twice a Texas Bride.
1. Tell us about a special memory you have of your significant other that you’d never forget.
The thing I’ll never forget if I live to be a hundred is finding Callie Quin and six-year-old Toby hiding in an old outbuilding on my ranch in the dead of winter. They were half-frozen and starving but Callie came at me with fire in her eyes and a big club in her hand. Lord, she was a beautiful sight. Her fighting spirit was the thing that struck me about her. She was willing to die to protect Toby. I brought them into the house and got them warm and fed. I knew I had to keep her there somehow so I offered her a job as cook. She was running from something powerful bad. I found out later the outlaw Nate Fleming had her in his crosshairs.
2. What is the craziest thing you’d do to prove you love your partner?
After a night of lovemaking, I left Callie, who was my wife by then, sleeping. I got the baby and snuck down the stairs to the kitchen. After I fed Wren, I set to work making pancakes for breakfast so I could surprise Callie. Now, bear in mind that I don’t know the first thing about cooking. As the former owner of a saloon, I never had to learn. Anyway, my adopted son Toby tried to help, but the six-year-old, who was awful free with advice, proved to be just as green. We had eggs and flour and dough strung to high heaven. Callie came down in the middle of it all. I thought she’d be mad, but she just smiled (looking very rested I might add,) gave me a kiss that singed my toenails and told me she loved me.
3. What is your idea of perfect happiness?
A fire on a cold night, Callie by my side and our children safe and warm and happy. Not to mention the anticipation of having my wife in my arms later and kissing her like no tomorrow. That’s as perfect as it gets.
Twice a Texas Bride
By Linda Broday
Bachelors of Battle Creek, Book 2
Sourcebooks Casablanca
Historical Western Romance
May 5, 2015
ISBN: 9781492602842
$7.99 Mass Market Paperback
About the Book
“Linda Broday’s books always take me back to a west that feels true. Her love stories run deep with emotion. A delightful read.” —Jodi Thomas, New York Times bestselling author of Promise Me Texas
Callie leaned into him, borrowing his strength. “I’m so tired of being scared, Rand.”
“Running away won’t change that. Trust me with your secrets. There’s no reason to hold back any longer.”
She knew he was right. It was time to come clean.
“Start with your name,” he said.
Left with emotional scars from his time in an orphanage, Rand Sinclair has vowed never to marry. But when he discovers Callie Quinn and a small orphan boy hiding on his ranch, he can’t help but open his home to the desperate runaways.
Callie has been betrayed by every man she’s ever known. While she’s grateful for Rand’s incredible kindness, she knows it’s only a matter of time before he shows his true colors. But she needs this safe haven—maybe the outlaw on her trail won’t find them here. Yet as Rand slowly uncovers her secret fears, they each come to realize that the only way to keep her safe is for Rand to risk everything to offer her the protection of his name…and his heart.
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Excerpt from TWICE A TEXAS BRIDE by Linda Broday
Toby barreled out the kitchen door, trailed by Biscuit. “What’cha doin’?”
“Hi, pardner.” Brett ruffled Toby’s dark hair. “I brought you something.”
“What is it?”
“Your very own tepee.”
“To keep?” Toby’s eyes widened and his big grin spread.
“Maybe. We’ll see how it goes. If you mind your elders, you can keep it. If not, I’ll have to take it back.”
“I’m the best boy in the whole world.”
Brett’s grunt seemed to say that time would tell as he arranged twelve long poles on the ground and began tying the tops of three together with a length of rawhide. “Where do you want to put this, Rand?”
“Let’s move it over by the woodpile, where it’s out of the way.” He was going to be the only white man with an Indian tepee on his ranch. How had this sorry state of affairs come to pass? But he wouldn’t say no. It meant too much to Brett and to Toby.
Callie came from the house looking fit to be tied. “Hello, Brett. I hope this isn’t what it looks like.”
“Miss Callie, I wanted something special for Toby to play in, that’s all. If you draw the line at him sleeping out here, that’s all right. It’s up to you to decide when and how often you want the boy to use it.” Brett gave her a smile. “I’d never undermine you.”
“This could be very magical to a child,” Rand said gently.
“Please, ma’am?” Toby begged. “I wanna be an Indian.”
Biscuit gave a loud whine and spun around in a circle as though she too was adding her two cents’ worth.
“Please?” Toby persisted.
When she lifted her eyes to Rand, he gave her a lopsided grin and a wink. Getting tangled up in her warm whiskey gaze could be quite pleasurable, he found.
“Oh, all right.” Callie threw up her hands. “But I won’t have you sleeping out here, young man. You’ll play in it only when I give you permission. And you’ll have chores to do each day before you can play. Understand?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“It’s too dangerous out here at night anyway, with that mountain lion hanging around,” Rand said. “I’ll keep an eye on him during the day. I don’t want you to worry.”
Toby hugged Callie, then threw his arms around Brett’s waist. “Thank you. I’m glad we came here.”
Brett returned Toby’s hug, then knelt to rub Biscuit’s head. “Now tell me where you got such a fine-looking animal.”
Rand stood watching the pint-sized squirt relay what little facts he knew. He already loved this little kid. Whatever had happened to them, it made him happy that he could help bring a light to the boy’s eyes. He remembered how dull they’d been when he’d first found them in the run-down bunkhouse last week. His mind turned back time to the days following his, Cooper’s, and Brett’s escape from the orphan train. To avoid detection, they’d slept during the day and traveled by the light of the moon, eating food whenever they found some or managed to kill a rabbit or squirrel. Cooper was always the one to watch over them and fight when things called for it. He’d once tried to kill Tolbert Early in a bathhouse for attacking Brett.
Toby had that same protective instinct. Rand only prayed he could help the boy stay a boy a while longer. Once you became a man, you could never go back.
“Where are you, brother?” Brett asked.
“Just thinking that you’d best explain what we need to do.”
With Biscuit supervising and pretty much getting in the way, they all pitched in erecting the tepee, which was made from buffalo hide.
Working side by side with Callie proved the best part. Each time their hands touched, a current ran up Rand’s arm. He couldn’t imagine what might happen if the touching involved a bed and the scent of night around them. He’d probably just explode faster than a load of nitroglycerin. Likely find pieces of him three states over.
The haunted look had begun to fade from her eyes a little, and she wasn’t as tense and anxious as when they first arrived.
Maybe, just maybe, the fear would be gone soon.
And then he intended to kiss the daylights out of her.
Of course he’d go slow. He closed his eyes and watched it play out in his head.
He’d start by kissing each eyelid, then move to her shell-like ears and trail kisses down her long slender throat.
Tiny nibbles at the corners of her mouth.
Trace the seam with his tongue.
Breathe her fragrance.
Whisper tender words.
Only then would he press his lips fully against hers and take all that she wanted to give.
And then…
“Rand!”
It took a minute to sink in that someone was trying to get his attention. “What?”
“Where did you go?” Brett asked. “I need you to help me get these sewn buffalo hides around this tripod and cone I’ve made. Of course, if you’d rather take a nap—”
“Just show me what to do,” Rand snapped.
As they worked, Rand’s gaze kept straying to Callie’s soft, round curves. The woman was going to be the death of him yet.
Even so, he was realizing he’d die a happy man if he could only get a taste of her lips.
TEXAS MAIL ORDER BRIDE (Book 1)
It was strange how a day could go south quicker than a steam locomotive on a downhill slope...
Rancher Cooper Thorne thinks his life is finally on an even keel. But when mail-order bride Delta Dandridge steps off the stagecoach and claims he sent for her, he scrambles to set her straight. The tempestuous woman makes him see red and also challenges all his vows to remain a bachelor. It turns out Delta Dandridge is going to set Cooper Thorne straight about a few things...
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About the Author
Linda Broday now resides in the panhandle of Texas on the Llano Estacado. At a young age, she discovered a love for storytelling, history, and anything pertaining to the Old West. Cowboys fascinate her. There’s something about Stetsons, boots, and tall rugged cowboys that get her fired up! A New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Linda has won many awards, including the prestigious National Readers’ Choice Award and the Texas Gold Award. She blogs regularly at www.PetticoatsandPistols.com<h
Connect with Linda Broday
Website – www.LindaBroday.com<http://
Twitter – https://twitter.com/lbroday
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/
Goodreads – www.goodreads.com/Linda_Broday
Praise for Linda Broday
“Broday understands the West and its lure. Without stinting on the gritty reality of a rough Texas life, she brings strong characters and deep emotions into a very realistic western romance that pulls no punches.”—RT Book Reviews, 4 stars, on Redemption
“Linda Broday is a wonderfully talented author, who has a knack for bringing the west to life.”—Roundtable Reviews
“Broday’s style of storytelling is captivating; readers become emotionally involved in her stories, and are not disappointed with the outcomes.”—The Best Reviews
“A compelling tale... sure to touch western romance fans seeking a sentimental love story.”—RT Book Reviews, 3 stars, on The Cowboy Who Came Calling
Rafflecopter Giveaway
3 copies of TEXAS MAIL ORDER BRIDE (Book 1)
Open 4/27 – 6/1
Thank you so much for letting me tell about my book! I really appreciate it. It's great to be here on Book Chatter. I really enjoyed writing this book. Rand and Callie burrowed deep into my heart. Their story is very special.I shed a lot of tears during the writing of it. And I was really glad I could them their Happily Every After!
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