What is it about?
A year after her unexpected divorce and nine years after moving to Seattle, Shanna Parker needed a change. She accepted a position as a nurse practitioner opening a new clinic near her hometown hoping that the old adage, you can never go home, was not true because that is where she was going. Shanna secretly dreamed for years of a man who would not hesitate to make her toe the line. She stepped off the plane and ran, literally, into her dream man.
Zane Gideon was tired of the rodeo and buckle bunnies. He was at a crossroads in his life and was going home to his family’s ranch to start his new direction and that was when Shanna fell into his life. She excited him but he was a man who lived by his own standards which included being the lead in his relationships and that was not going to change.
Can Shanna handle it when the man of her dreams becomes the man of her reality? Is she brave enough to try again? Will Zane be able to settle down with one woman who comes with her own independent attitudes and ideas and constantly challenges his?
HERE IS A TASTE:
Shanna wondered too late, what she had opened herself up to with this man. She was quiet until they pulled into a favorite BBQ chain. One thing she did miss was good barbecue. And cowboys.
Shanna took a healthy breath as they approached the door to the popular smoke house restaurant. It was a comfort smell that she loved. She reached for the door handle and felt a warm rough hand instead of the metal of the handle.
“You are going to have to change your mindset, Shanna, because I can tell you right off that if you don’t let a man open your door then you will have a fight on your hands. You find yourself going out with a man who does not expect to open your doors then you drop him like a hot potato, ‘cause he is not for you.”
It took a few seconds for Shanna to release the door and it was obvious to Zane she wanted to say something, most likely argue the point but she didn’t. He admired that in her. She sat down before either the waiter seating them or Zane could hold her chair and she noticed the tight line of Zane’s mouth when he came around the table to sit across from her. Again she said nothing.
When the waiter left them with menus and the daily special to decide their meal choices, Shanna tried to ignore Zane by concentrating intently on the menu. She knew she might have irritated him and she was trying to come up with a reasonable response if he brought it up. Her reasonable answer was she had been gone a long time.
Zane set down his menu and took a long drink of his iced tea before saying anything. And when he did, he reached over to touch Shanna’s hand lightly to draw her eyes to his.
“It doesn’t hurt to let a man do simple courtesy things for you, sunshine.”
“I know.”
“Not everyone is like your ex.”
“I know that too.”
“And when a man wants to do something nice for you, around here, it is rude not to let him.”
“I remember.”
“Uh huh.”
“Well, I do remember. I just don’t want to be left vulnerable. You know, taken advantage of and if I let men do nice things for me, they could think something more was going on, like I am appreciative of more than their chivalry.”
“Well, don’t put me in that category with those wannabe men and don’t steal the privilege of allowing me to be a gentleman with you. I don’t take kindly to that, just so you know.”
She shook her head. “I won’t.”
Alyssa Bailey 