Point Blank Protector. Joanna Wayne

      “Zach Collingsworth,” he said. “I’m a neighbour, and I’d feel a bit more welcome if you’d aim that gun in another direction.”

      “You’re Zach?” she said, sounding a bit shocked. Guess he’d changed in fifteen years, as well. Unfortunately, the gun was still aimed right between his eyes.

      “I heard you had some trouble last night. I came over to see if I can help.”

      “That’s nice of you, but everything’s under control.”

      “Not if you plan on shooting everyone who stops by.”

      “Not everyone,” she said, “just the ones who look like trouble.”

      But his new voluptuous neighbour had finally lowered the gun. He took that for an invitation, so he grinned and headed for her porch. Suddenly renewing old friendships and offering comfort didn’t seem such a bad idea after all.

      CAST OF CHARACTERS

      Kali Cooper – She’s just inherited the Silver Spurs Ranch and trying desperately to keep it.

      Zach Collingsworth – The youngest of the four Collingsworth brothers.

      Langston, Matt and Bart Collingsworth – Zach’s three brothers.

      Lenora Collingsworth – Zach’s mother and acting CEO of Collingsworth Enterprises.

      Jeremiah Collingsworth – Zach’s grandfather who is recovering from a stroke.

      Randolph Collingsworth – Lenora’s beloved husband who has been dead for over twenty years.

      Aidan Jefferies – Houston homicide detective and good friend to Langston Collingsworth.

      Billy Mack – Neighbouring rancher.

      Ed Guerra – Local sheriff.

      Gordon Cooper – Kali’s late grandfather and previous owner of the Silver Spurs Ranch.

      Tony Pinter – Foreman of Silver Spurs Ranch when Gordon Cooper was alive.

      Gerald Pinter – Tony Pinter’s son.

      Hade Carpenter – Gordon Cooper’s stepson, and second in line to inherit the Silver Spurs Ranch.

       ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      Joanna Wayne was born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana, and received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from LSU-Shreveport. She moved to New Orleans in 1984, and it was there that she attended her first writing class and joined her first professional writing organisation. Her first novel, Deep in the Bayou, was published in 1994.

      Now, dozens of published books later, Joanna has made a name for herself as being on the cutting edge of romantic suspense in both series and single-title novels. She has been on the Waldenbooks bestsellers list for romance and has won many industry awards. She is a popular speaker at writing organisations and local community functions and has taught creative writing at the University of New Orleans Metropolitan College.

      She currently resides in a small community forty miles north of Houston, Texas, with her husband. Though she still has family and emotional ties to Louisiana, she loves living in the Lone Star state. You may write to Joanna at PO Box 265, Montgomery, Texas 77356, USA.

      Point Blank Protector

      Joanna Wayne

       www.millsandboon.co.uk

      This book is for all my Texas friends who have taught me about the ranching lifestyle and to every woman who enjoys reading about cowboy heroes. And a kiss to my hubby for not complaining when I became so engrossed in writing the book that I forgot to cook dinner.

      Prologue

      The night was pitch-black when Kali Cooper stepped out of her mud-encrusted Jeep to open the gate to the Silver Spurs Ranch. Her ranch.

      She still hadn’t quite gotten her mind around the fact that she was the actual owner of the spread she’d loved since her first and only visit fifteen years ago. But after months of court battles with the son of her late grandfather’s third wife, it was official.

      Grandfather Gordy’s will had been clear and absolutely legal. As long as she lived on the land for a year, it was hers. She planned to live here forever.

      The wind cut through her denim jacket and she could smell the approaching rain. She picked up her pace as lightning cut a jagged scar across the night sky followed by a loud clap of thunder.

      The weather channel had predicted a line of moderate to severe storms followed by an arctic cold front that was dipping all the way to the Gulf of Mexico and bringing with it temperatures near the freezing mark. Even for mid-February, that was cold for the Houston area.

      Wings fluttered above her and something rustled the grass as the gate swung open and clanked against the metal post. An eerie uneasiness crept along her nerve endings along with the awareness of just how alone she really was. According to her research, the closest ranch was Jack’s Bluff, owned by the very wealthy Collingsworth family, and even as the crow flies, that was over a mile away.

      She hurried back to the Jeep, drove across the cattle gap then jumped out to close and latch the heavy metal gate. Five minutes later, she pulled up in front of the old homestead.

      Caught in the ghostly glow of her headlights, the one-story structure seemed to crawl out at odd angles from the front porch. It was smaller than she remembered it, but then thanks to the feud between her father and grandfather, she hadn’t been here since she was eleven.

      That was the summer she’d experienced her first case of serious puppy love. The object of her affections had been Zach Collingsworth, and she’d fawned and drooled over him like the naive kid she’d been. Here’s hoping he wouldn’t remember her. With luck, he’d also be paunchy and balding, with a wife and several kids.

      She reached for her flashlight and was about to kill the engine and cut off the lights when she saw what appeared to be a person running from the house. Panic shot through her, but when another streak of lightning made the scene as bright as day, all she saw were tree branches swaying in the wind.

      She really was letting the isolation get to her. The house was empty and had been for months. The livestock had been sold and the help let go when her grandfather had died.

      She stepped from the car just as lightning struck again, this time a dazzling needle of electricity that followed a direct path from sky to ground and seemed to strike mere yards away. The thunder that followed was deafening.

      The first drops of rain pricked Kali’s face as she made a wild dash for the covered porch. She was stamping the mud from her boots when her gaze caught and held. She stared, at first not willing to believe her eyes, but the stream of crimson spilling out the door was all too vivid.

      Her heart slammed against her chest, and this time she didn’t try to convince herself she was imagining things. She started to run and was almost to her car before her powers of reason pushed through the adrenaline rush.

      Paint—not blood. That was it, of course. She sucked in a huge gulp of damp air as the picture became crystal-clear. Hade Carpenter only lost the ranch to her if she lived here for a full year. He probably planned to make sure she didn’t last a night, so he’d come out here with his Halloweenish tricks to frighten her away. Nice try, but it wouldn’t work.

      Bracing