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Chapter 1

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP Katie Suon to the shoulder, she glanced in the rearviewon the backseat She wasn’t sure if she should be relieved they weren’t butting their horns against the car doors or alaron would soon -apart exterior

“Stop,” she said, her voice firm

Two of the orphaned goats that she’d picked up while scouting locations for her friend Georgia’s bachelorette party ignored her The third, the youngest of the bunch and the only girl, looked at her, and then back at her brothers, as if trying to decide who should have the final say The big brothers won and the baby goat reached for the seat belt

Outside the car, the thu the wagon to a stop, she cut the engine and cli with her hands on her hips, she surveyed the dae

Shredded tire? Check

Bent rim? Check

She moved to the rear of the car and opened the trunk, silently cursing her fitted green sundress and strappy sandals It was the perfect outfit for an early fall trip to visit vineyards and other potential venues in and around Independence Falls, but she’d rather have her cowboy boots and jeans for fixing her car

“Don’t even think about trying to escape,” she said, staring down her four-legged passengers Pulling the spare tire out of the truck, she quickly closed the rear door and set the spare beside her wagon She’d forgotten the jack, dammit

Returning to the trunk, she opened it and began searching through the extra horse gear and other randonored her, preferring to destroy her car than try to escape

“Where is it?” Her brothers always made sure she had a jack in her car When it ca with her life, overprotective was the tip of the iceberg when it cas And road safety? They drove andThey would never let her leave the house without a spare, a jack, and flares Just in case

She heard a loud rip and glanced up to see one of the boy goats holding a large chunk of her backseat

“Stop that,” she said

But the roar of a oats tearing apart the wagon’s interior She waited for it to pass her But instead it slowed, then cut out altogether

Everyone in Independence Falls knew her station wagon Nine out of ten residents would stop to offer a hand Most would probably worry what her brothers would do if they found out someone had driven past her

But just in case this wasn’t a friendly face froon small town, Katie reached for the nearest heavy object—the jack, finally—and prepared to swing it at the person on the bike Her brothers had taught herretted it

One hand on the jack and the other pressed against the floor of the trunk, Katie glanced over her shoulder

“No, no, no,” she murmured “Not you”

Wearing a black leather jacket and blue jeans that casually hugged his ht on his bike, his work boots resting on the ground He pulled off his hel his wavy brown hair And just like that, her mind stumbled into the past

“Come here, honey” His deep brown eyes promised erotic adventure He held out a hand, theto be touched “Now”

Katie obeyed, swinging one leg over his thighs and settling onto his lap She felt the hard ridge of his erection against her despite the layers of clothing

Katie ground her teeth together, pushing the mental picture away Maybe later, when she was alone, she would revisit the Liaht now she’d be damned if this man saw even a hint of desire in her eyes

She tolerated Liaia, had become Katie’s closest friend But that’s where Katie drew the line And she refused to let s between theer