Johnny approached Jessica warily,
not wanting to startle her. She was in shock enough as it was, he didn’t want
to add to her terror. And that she was terrified he had no doubt – he could
hear it in her screams, see it in her eyes.
“Jessica.”
He spoke softly, crouching down on the ground near enough to touch her, but not
reaching out for her. “Jessica,” he tried again. She looked at him through her
tears, but she didn’t say anything; she was traumatised. Then she turned back
to her family, pressing her face into their bodies, trying desperately to will
them back to life. Johnny watched, helpless, as she screamed her outrage at the
Indians, wailed her grief at losing her beloved, sweet mama, then turned her
wrath on her father, collapsing on the ground beside him, screaming at his
lifeless body the loudest of all.
“You
killed them!” she hollered, beating at his brutalised body with her fists. “It
was you who wanted to come west!” she yelled. “We were quite happy, me and
Mama! Now she’s gone and it’s all your fault! And Petey! He was just a baby,
with his whole life ahead of him! Now he’s gone too and it’s all … your …
fault.” She ground the words out between sobs, gasping for breath. Her
flailing fists stilled and she curled up against the dead man’s chest, sobbing,
her body shaking, a broken woman.
Placing a
gentle hand on her shoulder Johnny spoke softly in her ear in what he hoped was
a comforting tone. “Jessica, look at me.” She didn’t. Gently, he took her hands
in his own and disengaged her fingers from the death-grip they had on the lapel
of her father’s coat, wrapping his arms around her securely and pulling her in
close against his chest. “Shhhh,” he crooned softly, trying to calm her as
though she were a baby. It worked. She responded to him, her sobs easing. Her
shuddering slowly stilled, she got her breathing under control and began to
relax in his arms. And she clung to him tightly, so tightly, as though she
would never let go. Then she looked up at him and began to speak.
“They
came out of nowhere, they just rose up all around us, as though they came up
out of the ground. The wagons were completely surrounded. I tried to tell Papa
of the risk of Indians before we left Boston but he didn’t listen. And now look
... look at them now.” She burst into tears again, sobs wracking her body once
more as she stuffed her fist into her mouth trying to stifle her cries. Johnny
wrapped his arms around her tightly again, wishing he could shield her from the
pain, wishing she hadn’t seen her entire family, the entire wagon train, get
massacred.
Here are some of the photos that inspired me during the writing of this book (and its sequel The Code of the West) or you can check out my Pinterest board here
Blurb:
Orphaned by an attack on her family’s wagon train,
Jessica finds herself stranded a thousand miles from Boston, the only home she
has ever known. Only one man—a rough, dusty cowboy named Johnny—stands between
her and the perils of the west, and he quickly makes it clear that he is ready
to do whatever needs to be done to keep Jessica safe, whether she likes it or
not.
When the unlikely pair stumble upon a cattle drive and
they are both offered employment, Johnny doesn’t hesitate to accept. But after
Jessica loudly expresses her disdain for his plan and for cowboys in general,
Johnny decides it is time for drastic action. After a hard, embarrassing
spanking followed by a tearful apology to the trail boss, Jessica is left with
a sore backside and a strange yet undeniably powerful need to be held close and
comforted by her handsome protector.
With Johnny by her side—and claiming an ever bigger
place in her heart with each passing day—Jessica begins to adjust to life on
the trail. But a cattle drive is a dangerous place for anyone, let alone a city
girl with a penchant for disobedience. If he ever wants the chance to make
Jessica his wife, Johnny knows he’s going to have to take her firmly in hand
before she gets herself hurt or killed. Even if it means a painful, humiliating
bare-bottom strapping she’ll never forget, one way or another he’ll teach her
the ways of the west.
Publisher’s Note: The Ways of the West is an
erotic romance novel that contains sexual scenes and spankings, including
domestic discipline in a historical setting. If such material offends you,
please don’t buy this book.
There's lots of other hot excerpts to check out below:
Hi Kelly, you know I loved this book. Congratulations on the Kindle unlimited release :)
ReplyDeleteHugs
Roz
Thanks Roz! I think this might be my favourite book of all the ones I've written :)
DeleteOh so sad ... but at least there is hope for a bright future for Jessica. I enjoy the western theme, it offers up so much scope for creative storytelling.
ReplyDeleteThanks! This is probably the saddest scene, Jessica finds happiness after this :)
DeleteI love the western theme too.
congrats on the KU release. Such a sweet story
ReplyDeleteThanks Joelle! I love this story, I'm going to write more in the series :)
DeleteOh how heartbreaking. You had me tears. Great scene.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jennifer! I cried while writing it :(
Delete