Eugenia Burnett has gotten what she wants. Her three sons are
married and she has three grandchildren, with the fourth on the way. But she
hasn’t given up her matchmaking ways. Now she’s moved on to the people she
knows and she’s matching widows and widowers together. Until one widower, Wyatt
Jones let’s her in front of a crowded restaurant that he’s not interested in
any of the women she keeps sending him except her. Sworn never to remarry, she
doesn’t need a husband or want one. She’s a free spirit doing what she pleases
and no one is going to boss her around. But Wyatt wants Eugenia and she says
no.
In this western historical romance novella, come back to the old west and spend Christmas with the Burnett family. See Eugenia meet her match in cowboy Wyatt Jones.
In this western historical romance novella, come back to the old west and spend Christmas with the Burnett family. See Eugenia meet her match in cowboy Wyatt Jones.
EXCERPT
The
door to the café opened, the cold wind slamming it against the wall. The
restaurant grew quiet with the sudden entrance, and Eugenia turned to see who
was making such a racket.
Wyatt
Jones stood in the doorway, his muscular frame filling the opening. His cowboy
hat sat at an angle on top of his head, and his large brown eyes scanned the
room.
In
his hand, he carried a duffle bag.
Eugenia
tried to ignore the big man as he strolled through the doorway and removed his
Stetson.
Their
gazes locked across the room, and he smiled, his full lips turning up in a grin
that made her body soften and her heart give an extra little ca-thunk. He spoke to the waitress, but
his gaze never wavered from Eugenia.
Uh-oh.
A tingle of nerves zinged through her bones. This couldn’t be good.
His
boots made a rhythmic thump, thump, thump on the wooden floor as he walked with
a determined stride straight toward her, his bag in hand, his spurs jingling.
Nervously, she licked her lips.
Myrtle’s
back faced the door, and she continued to blather about something. But Eugenia
couldn’t seem to focus on the words. All she could see was this handsome cowboy
walking her way. She couldn’t stop staring at him. She knew he was coming for
her.
She’d
already sent several women his way, and she didn’t think he was here to thank
her for curing his loneliness.
Wyatt
stopped at their table, touching the rim of his hat as he glanced at Myrtle.
“Morning Mrs. Sanders. Nice to see you.”
He
pivoted to Eugenia, his brown eyes dancing with merriment. Staring into those
earthy eyes, a warm
Oh
dear.
When
he finished, six clean, empty casserole dishes sat in front of her.
His
mouth turned up in that slow, lazy grin that burned a sizzle along her spine.
Why did this man make her feel like she’d raced her grandchildren around the
yard and couldn’t catch her breath? Why did this man make her more nervous than
a virgin on her wedding day? Why did this man have her wondering how his lips
would feel against her own?
“Eugenia,”
he said in that deep drawl that sent shivers skittering over her. “You’ve been
mighty busy, sending women out to my house. You’ve kept me and my men well fed
the last couple of weeks.”
“Glad
I could help,” she said, her voice sounding breathy and soft.
He
leaned in close and put his hands on either side of her, effectively pinning
her in the chair. She felt the urge to jump up and run, but resisted. She sat
there, stared him in the eye and refused to back down. No longer would she back
down to any man. Never again.
“While
I appreciate the effort, I’m not taking the bait. There’s only one woman in
this town that I’m interested in pursuing to become my wife.” The deep timbre
of his voice was low and commanding.
“And
pray tell, who would that be?” she asked, knowing she would have him hitched as
soon as possible.
“You,
Eugenia Burnett. You.”
ALL ABOUT SYLVIA
I got to know Sylvia as
we sat together at the President meeting at RWA Nationals this year and then we
kept running into each other since we seemed to be interested in the same type
of workshops. I really enjoyed her company and love her books. Oh yeah, so the
official bio:
Sylvia McDaniel is a
best-selling, award-winning author of historical romance and contemporary
romance novels. Known for her sweet, funny,
family-oriented romances, Sylvia is the author of The Burnett Brides a western historical western series, The Cuvier Widows, a Louisiana
historical series, and several short contemporary romances.
Former President of the
Dallas Area Romance Authors, a member of the Romance Writers of America®, and a
member of Novelists Inc, her novel, A
Hero’s Heart was a 1996 Golden Heart Finalist. Several other books have
placed or won in the San Antonio Romance Authors Contest, LERA Contest, and she
was a Golden Network Finalist.
Married for nearly twenty
years to her best friend, they have two dachshunds that are beyond spoiled and
a good-looking, grown son who thinks there’s no place like home. She loves
gardening, shopping, knitting and football (Cowboys and Bronco’s fan), but not
necessarily in that order.
Currently she’s written
sixteen novels and is hard at work on number seventeen. Look for her the first
Tuesday of every month at the Plotting Princesses blog.
Be sure to sign up for
her newsletter to learn about new releases, contests and every month a new
subscriber is entered into a drawing for a free book.
CLOVER: How often to
you get lost in a story?
SYLVIA: Not as
much as I’d like because…when I read I’m dissecting the story to see what the
author has done.
CLOVER: Heh, I know that feeling. It's hard to turn your inner editor off. But that's when I really know an author is fabulous, when I get lost anyway. Which era would
you most like to have lived in, fashion-wise?
SYLVIA: The
Victorian era. I love the dresses of that time period.
CLOVER: What do you do to unwind and relax?
SYLVIA: Watch a movie or read.
CLOVER: In that case, what’s your
favorite movie of all time?
SYLVIA: It Could
Happen To You – with Nicholas Cage and Bridget Fonda. It’s my feel good movie.
CLOVER: Oh yes, I can see why that would appeal to you since Nicholas Cage's character is such an honorable man, just like your heroes.
CLOVER: What could we
find in your heroine's purse?
SYLVIA: A gun.
CLOVER: Not even going to ask, just going to read the book to find out.
CLOVER’S GOTTA
ASK: What dreams have been realized as a result of your writing?
SYLVIA’S GOTTA
ANSWER: I’m no
longer working a day job, but working at what I love, writing. I feel blessed
to get to do what I love every day.
CLOVER: Congratulations. That truly is a blessing.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON?
I’m working on a short contemporary that will be
out for Valentine’s day.
ONE FORTUNATE
COMMENTER WILL RECEIVE AN eBOOK COPY OR PRINT VERSION OF THEIR CHOICE OF ONE OF
SYLVIA’S BOOKS.
Note: Please leave
an email address for notification. Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be
mailed to North America addresses only unless specifically mentioned in the
post. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants. Winners of drawings
are responsible for checking this site in a timely manner. If prizes are not
claimed in a timely manner, the author may not have a prize available. Get
Lost In A Story cannot be responsible for an author's failure to mail the
listed prize. GLIAS does not automatically pass email addresses to guest
authors unless the commenter publicly posts their email address.
DON'T FORGET to FOLLOW us on Twitter #GetLostStories or LIKE us on Facebook to keep up with all our guest authors and their prizes. ~ Clover
Sylvia's lucky winner for this post is May! Congratulations!!