E.E. Burke's BEST OF THE WEST: New Release from Linda Broday

Today's BEST OF THE WEST feature is a new release from bestselling author Linda Broday. After reading the first two books in the series, I've been impatiently waiting for this one! FOREVER, HIS TEXAS BRIDE is the last of the three-book Bachelors of Battle Creek series. Let's read more about it...

“There’s this thing between us that refuses to die. I’d like nothing better than to be able to…” His words faded. He’d give anything to change people’s views about his race… to be able to make her his wife. But the world wasn’t that simple. Not for people like them.

She was a pickpocket and he a half-breed…bound by a love that’s stronger than iron bars.

All his life, Brett Liberty has straddled two worlds: white and Iroquois. The only place he’s truly at peace is with his wild mustangs. Arrested for the color of his skin, he discovers Rayna Harper in the cell next to him. Rough and tumble Rayna has known little kindness, but Brett sees the depth of her heart hidden beneath layers of hurt and fear, and he refuses to leave without her.

Something about the damaged, flame-haired beauty calls to him. Yet even as the two outcasts are drawn together, terrible danger at the hands men eaten with hate threatens to tear them apart. Brett knows he should let her go, but he’s taken with the woman who looks at him as if he were just any other man...and melts in his arms as if the brush of his lips is enough to chase all her demons away...

Check out this excerpt from Forever His Texas Bride:

   “I had some dreams once—and hope.” Rayna hated the bitterness that crept into her voice. “But I learned that hoping and dreaming were for other folks, not me.”

   Brett took her hand. “Those aren’t allotted only to certain people. Anyone can have them.”

   “Not me. My heart can’t take any more blows.”

   “Courage is getting back up once we’ve been knocked down. Shame is in not trying. I’ll help you get back up.”

   “Why?”

   “Because I want to. I see a spark inside you just waiting to flare brightly.”

   “My father hammered into me that people like us don’t get to be normal…or liked. We’re outcasts. We stay with our own kind. I made a mistake in forgetting that.”

   “As Cooper would say, that’s hogwash. You’re just as normal as anyone. Stop limiting yourself.”

   Rayna inhaled the fragrant breeze, wishing she didn’t have to keep hobbling the yearning welling up inside at times so strong she couldn’t breathe. “I have to. It’s a lot less painful. If you don’t pin your hopes on things, your heart doesn’t get broken as often. Our fight is my fault. I have this problem of always thinking things mean more than they do. It’s just that I wanted what we had so badly to be true that I got lost in pretending.”

   He hesitated only a moment before putting his arm around her shoulders. “If I was able to take a wife for real, I’d want it to be you. But I’ll never marry anyone. I’m a color that no one appears to have a particular fondness for.”

   “It doesn’t make any difference to me. I see your heart, not your skin.”

   “Thank you, but it does matter a great deal to some.”

   Rayna rested her head on his shoulder. “Not to the people of Battle Creek. Mabel told me that everyone loves and accepts you.”

   “This town is only one place in thousands, and the resentment others harbor outside of here would fall to you also. I refuse to let that happen. No one will hate you because of me.”

   “It’s not because I’m no lady?”

   “No. I swear it.”

   “Do you think all this hating will ever change?”

   “I hope so.”

   Relief flooded Rayna. “Then I will wait for you.”

   “I can’t let you do that.”

   She lifted her head from his shoulder and sat up straighter. “I’m volunteering. I will wait however long it takes.”

   “Change may not happen in this lifetime,” he warned.

   “Then we’ll try to hurry it along.”

   “Dear sweet Rayna, I wish others could see things through your eyes. So you’ll let me try to help you?”

   “I suppose.” Rayna picked at a loose thread of her patched dress. “I’ll need something to do while I wait for the world to get some sense.”

   .…..They walked in silence for a minute. “Brett, I’m sorry for getting angry. Thank you for coming after me.”

   “You’re welcome.”

   With her arm tucked in the curve of Brett’s, Rayna’s heart settled. She swallowed the last of her resistance and bitter disappointment.

   As they passed under the shielding overhang of a big evergreen tree away from the glare of the saloon lights, she turned to stare into the dark shadows of his face. “Could I have something to remember the time when someone almost loved me? One final kiss? After this moment, we’ll be nothing but friends.”

   “I don’t think that’s wise.”

   She sensed Brett’s yearning as his hand rose to touch her, only to let it fall.

   Powerful need for one last feel of his fingers on her skin gave her the courage to beg. “One light brush of the lips between friends here in the darkness. It won’t mean anything.”

   “Rayna…” The word came out hoarse and wounded.

   Tingles raced up her spine as he gently traced the curve of her lips as though he, too, was filing a memory away. She lowered her lids in an effort to soak up the sensations. Her breath hitched when he lowered his sensuous mouth to hers.

   Hunger…

   Sweet ache…

   Torment…

   Desire blazed with the heat of a raging prairie fire.

   This first kiss without steel bars between them, was full of raw power, danger and beauty.

   Brett’s hands plunged into her hated curls, holding her just like she dreamed. This man, hunted and despised, seemed to pour all the secrets of his soul into this kiss. With a low moan, she slid her hand around his neck, drawing him closer.

    Delicious agony arced out like the branches of the old tree they were under, reaching, straining for more of the sweetness.

   The jolt of his thigh brushed her hip when she leaned into him. She knew she overstepped boundaries he’d set, but she couldn’t stop herself. Her need to store up memories for the lonely times ahead was too great.

   Touching Brett’s face, she met his dark stare. “I think my brother was right.”

   “What about?”

   “Kisses do have magic.”

Meet Linda

Linda is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. Her interest in reading and history came very early, so it was no surprise when she began writing western historical romances. She resides in the Texas Panhandle on land the American Indian and Comancheros once roamed, where ghosts from the past lurk around every corner. Humble roots and the love of family have become focal points of each book she writes. 

CONTACT LINKS:

Visit me at: www.LindaBroday.com

On Facebook: www.facebook.com/linda.broday1

Facebook Author Page:  http://www.facebook.com/lindabrodayauthor 

On Twitter: http://twitter.com/lbroday  

Amazon Author Page:  http://www.amazon.com/Linda-Broday/e/B001JRXWB2

BUY LINKS:

Amazon: http://amzn.com/1492602876

Barnes and Noble: http://goo.gl/TzYzOQ

Books-A-Million: http://goo.gl/wCSous

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/NO/book/id1021288044?l=en

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-ca/ebook/forever-his-texas-bride

Now, on to the questions...

E.E.: What sound or noise do you love?

Linda: The sound of the ocean is hypnotic to me. I love the waves, the horns on boats and the seabirds squawking overhead. It’s like I’ve come home. My soul feels at peace and I sleep like a baby. I can spend hours just sitting on the beach watching the waves.

E.E.: What was the first story you remember writing?

Linda: I wrote a story when I was in the seventh grade about a family of ants playing football in the family’s sugar bowl. This was big stuff for me then, but not so riveting now. It was a start though. I remember the deep yearning back then to tell the stories that were in my head.

E.E.: Do you read reviews of your books? If so, do you pay any attention to them or let them influence your writing?

Linda: Yes, I do to both questions. I want to know what readers and reviewers think about my books. I always welcome their comments except for the nasty ones that I ignore because some people get their kicks by being mean. Over the years I’ve learned that I can’t please everyone. Some will give you a negative review no matter what you do. The constructive criticism is great and I believe me I do listen. I’ve been known to change certain things in my stories because of reviews.

E.E.: Tea or Coffee? And how do you take it?

Linda: I prefer coffee with Splenda and one cream. I love the taste on my tongue and the warmth of the liquid sliding down my throat. Can’t beat it on a cold winter’s days. Or when I’m dragging. It lifts me up. Coffee doesn’t judge or criticize. It sits there like a silent friend.

E.E.: What one thing about your hero drives his heroine crazy? And what one thing about your heroine drives her hero nuts?

Linda: Brett Liberty is one of firm convictions. Once he makes up his mind there’s no changing it and this really gets under Rayna’s skin. She simply can’t change Brett’s mind about letting her live on his ranch and not for the lack of trying. And for Brett, Rayna has this obsession with superstition. Every single thing is a harbinger of bad things to come and her constant need to try to involve him in her beliefs drives Brett nuts.

E.E.: Which already filmed movie represents your writing style?

Linda: The Outlaw Josie Wales. That movie had everything—a strong hero that was driven to avenge the deaths of his wife and children, drama, suspense and danger. I just love this movie and even though I’ve watched it probably two dozen times I still find it gripping and full of raw emotion.

E.E.: What drew you to write western historical romance?

Linda: It was Angel by Johanna Lindsey. He was a ruggedly handsome hired gun with eyes as black as sin. I fell hard for him and I knew I wanted to write those bad boy heroes with a fast gun. But it was more than the character. I loved the danger and excitement and that yearning for something he could never have. And there was the love of a beautiful woman who had to try to tame him. That book sparked the deep desire to write like that.

I’m a big movie fan and, when I’m writing, I see everything unfolding in my mind like I’m watching a movie. What was the last movie you went to see and how did you like it?

Today, Linda will give away an eBook copy of FOREVER HIS TEXAS BRIDE  to a lucky commenter. Just answer the question and enter the drawing. "LIKE" and Tweet to improve your chances.

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