Review: Soft Place to Fall by B.A. Tortuga

Rating: 4.5🌈

Soft Place to Fall is a heartbreaker of a book. Full of a broken partnership , a past of broken dreams and broken promises, and a mother who is being shattered by that most Insidious of diseases, Alzheimer’s, this story is one guaranteed to have you sobbing.

Often.

It’s so well written that the pain and sheer exhaustion pouring off Stetson Major as he’s watching his mama rapidly decline tears at you. You feel every bit of his feelings and the fact that there’s very little left for Stetson to give, he’s done in.

That’s where the call goes out to his ex partner, the man his mama is calling for, to please come. And rodeo rider Curtis Traynor does.

What a story. One of reconciliations, of loss, grief, forgiveness, love, and the journey back to home and each other.

The men are strong characters and you absolutely feel the incredible loving pull they have for each other. It’s also easy to see how, in their youth, their stubbornness and goals drove them apart.

The woman dying of Alzheimer’s is difficult element as she’s so realistically portrayed. Muddled one moment, clear headed another, and then wild, anger filled, and needing to be restrained the next. If you haven’t experienced this, count yourself lucky. It’s often a very hard read. As it should be.

That’s balanced by the two men now , years later, still as deeply in love as they ever were, picking their way back to each other over obstacles still strewn across the path as it was years ago.

I was so emotionally connected to these men and their romance I didn’t even notice the pages flying by.

The only thing that kept this from an absolute 5 star rating was that I thought it wrapped up too quickly for everything that had gone on before.

I was still happy for them and us at the end.

If you love cowboys and want a heartwarming love story, look no further. Grab up Soft Place To Fall and a box or two of tissues and settle in for a marvelous read.

It’s one I highly recommend.

Synopsis:

Stetson Major and Curtis Traynor are about as opposite as two cowboys can get. Stetson is a rancher, tied to the land he loves in Taos, New Mexico, while Curtis is a rodeo cowboy whose wanderlust never could be tamed. But now Stetson’s momma is dying of Alzheimer’s, and she can’t remember that Curtis hasn’t been Stetson’s boyfriend for a long time. Curtis’s absence makes her cry, so Stetson swallows his pride and calls his ex-lover. To Curtis, Stetson is the one who got away, the love of his life. And Momma is his friend, so he’s happy to help out. Yet returning to the ranch stirs up all sorts of feelings that, while buried, never really went away. Still, the rodeo nationals are coming up, and Curtis can’t stay—even if he’s starting to want to, especially to support Stetson when he needs it most. Stetson and Curtis want to find a place where they both fit, to be there to catch each other when they fall. But family, money problems, and the call of the rodeo circuit might end their second-chance romance before it even gets started.

Soft Place to Fall

Review: Extraordinary Things (Star Shadow #4) by Beth Bolden

Rating: 4.75🌈

Extraordinary Things is the series finale for Star Shadow, Beth Bolden’s rock band romance.

While all five musicians got their HEA, the heart of the band and much of its drama centered around the couple Leo Humphries and Caleb Chance. It was the disappearance of Caleb that caused Star Shadow to disband and Leo to shatter. And it was his reappearance that eventually put them all back together…4 books later.

In Terrible Things, we got the background of the band, the group’s long friendship and the couple’s relationship. It was completely Leo’s perspective, including watching and being unable to help a Caleb who’s addiction to alcohol was spiraling out of his and everyone’s control.

It was raw, angry, and painful.

And I wondered about Caleb’s viewpoint in that book.

In Extraordinary Things Bolden gives us Caleb’s story and missing voice. A perfect way to come full circle and wrap up the series.

We’re able to go back into the past with Caleb, his addiction, his feelings about what drove him away from Leo and his friends. As well as what’s still driving him today. It’s a complicated and complex internal picture of a man still struggling with forgiveness and the destruction he caused to those around him.

The other side of which is Leo who also is trying to adjust his life to Caleb’s needs as well as his own.

Bolden’s story, the band’s new dynamics, and ongoing trust issues are beautifully defined and well written. I love that communication works out to be key to forward movement here. Frank discussions and finally a leap of faith in each other’s feelings and strength.

This is an emotional story who’s journey starts with Terrible Things. For me books one and four are the jewels here but the others are the necessary pathways to get there.

Read them all in the order they were written with pleasure. I’m highly recommending them.

Star Shadow series:

Terrible Things (Star Shadow #1)

Impossible Things #2

Hazardous Things #3

Extraordinary Things #4

Synopsis:

Leo and Caleb have been through hell—addiction, destruction, and even a five year separation—but they’ve come through on the other side with their love stronger than ever.

Caleb knows he’s earned Leo’s forgiveness. He wants to believe he deserves it, but just when Leo needs him more than ever, a voice in his head insists that maybe he doesn’t. It’s so loud, he can’t block it out. So loud, he’d do anything to silence it.

Including risking everything he and Leo, and the rest of Star Shadow, have built together.

Extraordinary Things is a continuation of Leo and Caleb’s love story from Terrible Things. It should not be read as a standalone.

Review: Terrible Things (Star Shadow #1) by Beth Bolden

Rating: 4.5🌈

Terrible Things is another terrific start to a contemporary rock band romance series by Beth Bolden.

Set in southern California, the location allows the author to fold in characters from her other series (Kitchen Gods, Food Truck Warriors) into making guest appearances where needed. Or even serving up as locations ala Terrior Restaurant and Chef Aquino.

Star Shadow is a defunct teenage rock band that disbanded when one of its members disappeared at the height of its world tour. Unable to continue, the band crumbled under the pain and betrayal.

The remaining four members keeping in contact personally while going different directions professionally.

That’ll the surface facts that the story opens up with.

The truth behind that traumatic breakup and the repercussions that are still hammering at the band members presently begin with the return of that missing musician and friend. Caleb Chance. He wants to resume that ill fated tour

Where he’s been, what happened all those years ago, and the deeply held pain and torn relationships is the beginning here.

The format the author employs includes the use of Interludes, important chapters from the past that highlights a pivotal moment in this couple’s and the band’s journey. Whether it’s from the moment they met or the moment it all imploded, the Interludes work better here then any flashback because the contrast emotionally between past and present if often stark and telling.

Told from the perspective of Leo Humphries, the man Caleb Chance left behind and who’s leaving shattered him almost completely, a one person pov makes this a strong story. It’s an unusual choice because I think most writers would have included Caleb’s as well given his own personal demons and battles. But to do that justice would have doubled this story easily.

Their romance, their tortuous journey back to each other, to forgiveness and love is hard and raw. And honestly as it deals with Caleb’s addiction to alcohol and how Leo had to deal with the everyday ramifications of having a alcoholic lover, maybe be hard to read if this is a trigger.

For me it also left some parts feeling less than fleshed out here too with regards to Caleb’s rehabilitation. He used aversion therapy at the end but there’s no real explanation here of that. Just that all other type of rehab clinics hadn’t been effective.

I would have expected something more definitive here. Especially considering that the men are honest about other stages and parts of their feelings and expectations for their new relationship.

I’ve come to relish and prefer stories where the relationships are emotionally adult. They talk, communicating their feelings, thoughts, and share elements with their partners those aspects of their lives that bring them closer together . Or learn how to do that…it’s a process.

That’s shown here in all its pain, truth, recovery, and love.

It’s quite the journey.

I wonder where all the books will take us and them. I intend to find out. I recommend you start here.

Star Shadow series:

Terrible Things (Star Shadow #1)

Impossible Things #2

Hazardous Things #3

Extraordinary Things #4

Synopsis:

When Caleb Chance walked out in Detroit five years ago, leaving his band, millions of his fans and his lover behind, Leo knew he could never forgive.

Some things, no matter what the cause, are unforgivable.

But Leo never expected Caleb to show up again, clean and sober and wanting to get their band, Star Shadow, back together. He definitely never expected to agree to Caleb’s plan.

He never expected to confront the love of his life again—or the disaster of his past, the hopelessness of his future, and every terrible thing he’s been carrying inside him.

But maybe some things aren’t so terrible after all.

Review: Thack’s Angel: Midnight Rodeo #12 by BA Tortuga

Rating:4🌈

It’s a great concept, a hell’s rodeo full of supernatural beings that tours like a regular rodeo around the US, only the bulls are really demons doing hell time for their bad deeds and the rodeo staff and bull riders are a very interesting mixture of supernatural beings of various species.

The books, 12 including this one, follow the members of the rodeo along a usually rocky path to romance as we also learn about their histories.

A found family of sorts each character is a reappearing member in every story. So it’s nice to continually reconnect with them book to book.

Thack is the demon is charge of the Darque and Knight supernatural rodeo. As we start the story , one central torment is the loss of his angelic mate years ago without a trace or explanation. Who unexpectedly now reappears out of nowhere.

Years lost, with no memory of who he is and where he belongs, Uri is drawn to the strange rodeo in the town he’s passing through. A rodeo who’s staff remember who he is and more importantly a rodeo that may change contain the being most centrist to regaining his past and his heart.

This is a strange, sexy, poignant second chance at love, lovers reunited story. A two person narrative that works perfectly to bring out the pain , anger, and pathos of years of lost love. Also the mystery and anguish of Uri’s journey back to his mate and found family is explored from many sides as the revelations come.

It helps to have read the other books to be familiar with the peripheral characters but not totally necessary as their dynamics are also somewhat laid out here.

I adored the Thack/Uri reunion and that of the fam but found that of the villain reveal a bit rushed. For me, it needed a little more foundation for it to have felt satisfying. Also fire demon/ice demon? Did I miss something there?

At any rate, that element kept me from rating it higher.

This is a terrific series and a fascinating concept. Love the characters and couples. Not familiar with it and them? Check it out! I’m recommending it!

Thack’s Angel (Midnight Rodeo, #12)

💀Midnight Rodeo series:

Welcome to the Pack #1

Oklahoma Rain #2

Big Bear, Little Bear #3

Light a Rocket #4

Freaked Out #5

Tails and Whiskers #6

Above the Fold #7

Vampire Protection #8

Shifting Responsibility #9

Brownie’s Sway #10

The Dragon’s Dilemma #11 by Julia Talbot

Thack’s Angel #12

Synopsis:Demon Thackery has been running the actual rodeo show at the Midnight Rodeo since anyone can remember. He has a damn good life on earth: he loves his job, he has good friends, and he has a personal assistant who understands that a good horn rub has nothing to do with sex. Only one thing is missing. His angel Uri, who disappeared years ago without even a goodbye.

When Uri rides into the Midnight Rodeo on his Harley, he has the sense that he’s been there before. And when the regulars see him, they know that the proverbial stuff is about to hit the fan. Thack is going to lose it when he sees Uri. Except that Uri can’t remember anything about his past, and he has no idea why he left.

Uri knows one thing for sure when he sees Thack; that he big demon is his mate. Period. Even if someone wants to keep them apart, now that Uri is back, there will be no separating them. Or at least that’s the plan. Can they get Uri’s memory back and keep everything else together?

Review: The Play of His Life by Amy Aislin

Rating: 4.5 🌈

It’s play hockey time so I can’t get enough of my favorite sport, that includes reading about it in my romances.

Amy Aislin is in that top group of authors I recommend who write outstanding hockey romances. Her stories include both great characters but just as importantly the fact that this author loves and understands the game of hockey in all its aspects. And feeds the reader that love and knowledge through various threads of storylines and themes.

Also with Aislin (as with other authors of hockey romances) , her characters, couples and stories are written so they intertwine into a rich satisfying tapestry of hockey, romance, and HEA. People, couples, teams, the Toronto Trailblazers, Glenn Hill College Mountaineers (college team), Burlington, Vermont, Vancouver…. People, places, teams that weave together in book after book, a delightful rich and colorful ongoing flow of love that has never ceases to amaze me.

The Play of His Life is a perfect example of this. I even remember when Riley got hurt on the ice…. In another story. Then he was a solid member of the Trailblazers. Until his injury took him out of the sport he loved. We sort of wondered what happened to the likable Riley. But never found out.

Until now.

But here we delve into the complicated background and painful history of not just Riley but the man he left behind.

And the second chance at love they both get. Yes, one of my favorite tropes.

With a two person POV that I always find works so well, Aislin gives us the background of both men, all the way to kindergarten through all their formative years, to first love and then the issues that divided them and tore them apart for years.

It’s touching, moving, funny, frustrating, and , raw. I loved it, these men, and their journey back to each other and HEA.

Plus , yes we get to see so many ok’d friends as well, as usual.

The writing is so good I could free the biting cold coming off the lake, feel my hands freezing in the cold winds, and the absolute joy in a young boy hitting his first pucks. Magic.

Consider this and all the Amy Aislin stories highly recommended.

Synopsis:The last person Christian wants to run into on a visit home to spend time with his mom over the holidays is his former best friend-turned-lover-turned-ex. But there Riley is, in all his tall, chiseled, blondness. The same guy who walked out on him six years ago, breaking his heart in the process. Who knew he’s still in love with the jerk?

Two years ago, Riley was injured out of the NHL, but he’s got his own bakery now and a quiet life selling quiches and cupcakes to his customers. Then Christian unexpectedly walks back into his life, forcing Riley to question his choices. Especially that one choice he made six years ago that walked him out of Christian’s life. Now if only he had the courage to tell a boy how he really feels about him…

The Play of His Life was originally published in 2017. This updated version has a brand new cover, but very little new content aside from grammar and typo updates and the addition of the bonus epilogue that was originally available via subscription to Amy’s newsletter.

The Play of His Life

Review : Fathers of the Bride by Marshall Thornton

Rating: 5 🌈

I’ve so often associated Marshall Thornton with his outstanding but often gritty , and dark stories and series (Boystown series and Pinx Video Mysteries series, both must reads) that I forget this author also writes extremely funny, effervescent novels.

Such as Fathers of the Bride, just released.

Incredibly witty, often with on point dialogue so sharp you could cut a razor thin slice of wagyu to serve up to whom ever is being dissected over an immaculately prepared menu. Talk about spew worthy sentences and comments made! Oh my!

A lovely wine or cocktail at hand and sitting around the table, characters so memorable and utterly charming as to win their way swiftly into your heart.

This book was just what I needed.

It starts off with a sharp little prologue from their daughter, Kelly Kettering-Lane. She begins remarking how much her name sounds more like a street address then an actual person. I immediately love her. It only gets better as she tells us her fathers ruined her wedding. Oh the glee!

Then we jump to Chapter 1 and already the anticipation is high!

We meet one father first, Miles Kettering-Lane . Very flamboyant, very ummm the House and Garden network host you would have in your mind…. If it was an updated version of Charles Nelson Reilly.

Not familiar? YouTube or Google him. He’s magnificent. And his commentary on his returned daughter is one for the ages, for framing and one a lot of fathers would agree with.

In other words, he’s perfection.

When he says agoraphobia has gotten a bad rap? Spew moment number 1.

Anyway moving on because I could quote this man all day.

This daughter/ father relationship was intimate and so wonderfully built that I pictured them easily.

I had a great surprise coming. Been debating how much I should say.

But when father of the bride 2 shows, Andy Kettering-Lane, it’s completely marvelous because Thornton shows us a father/daughter dynamic that works just as deeply and lovingly but in a completely different way.

I was dumbfounded as I how much I adored how the shifts in dynamics felt real and moving. Each man displaying a different knowledge of their daughter and the same for the daughter.

And into this falls a complicated son in law parents uh foursome dynamics. You have to read it, trust me. Then there’s Andy’s young influencer boyfriend Raj and his ever present streaming. Yeah we know him.

The wedding zillas start growing, things get immediately and hysterically out of control, including feelings.

Those pesky things.

Miles and Andy are ground in their long personal history, the love that never seemed to have left them, and a house that holds nothing but love and memories.

Ok I really need to start rereading this again. Just writing this review reminds me of all the things I love about the story and want to relive.

Take it from me. You need love and laughter, lively snark, outstanding spew worthy dialogue, and a second chance at love story in your life. Fathers of the Bride is it. Grab it up, start reading now! I highly recommend it!

Synopsis: After more than two decades together, Andrew Lane and Miles Kettering-Lane are going through a nasty divorce. Not only are they unraveling their relationship but also their business—Miles once had a popular home show on cable with Andrew serving as his producer/manager—the failure of which they blame on each other. Now, they’d be happy to never, ever see each other again. But the daughter they both adore, Kelly, announces she’s getting married, and that means one very important thing: a wedding.

Thrown together, at event after event—meeting the in-laws, planning the wedding, throwing an elaborate engagement party—the two clash over everything until, their future in-laws, Bradley and Pudge Lincoln and Terry and Lissa Collins, try to take over the entire wedding. The Lincoln-Collins’ are very wealthy, to quote Pudge, “People think we’re in the one percent but that’s so embarrassing. We’re barely in the two percent!”

Andrew and Miles realize they have to work together in order to compete with the overbearing Lincoln-Collins’ and give their daughter the wedding she deserves. Along the way, they realize things just might not be over between them

Goodreads Sales link:

Fathers of the Bride

Winter Cowboy (Whisper Ridge,Wyoming #1) by R.J.Scott

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Winter Cowboy, the first story in a new series by RJ Scott, has a full and varied narrative plot/theme list.

As the first book in the series, it’s required (and does) set in place the history and universe for Whisper Ridge and it’s foundation characters.

We start with Micah Lennox and his sister, Rachel, and her children. The Lennox ranch. The town and its people. Daniel, now the town’s doctor, along with Micah and Daniel’s deeply troubled past. A past that includes a traumatic accident, prison, death, and more.

That’s the past. Turns there’s the present with much for multiple characters to deal with on a daily basis. We see elements of PTSD, past evidence of domestic violence, child battery (never seen but referred to), cults, and murder. The aftermath all that takes on a person, no matter the age. As well as everyone, including Daniel’s family, dealing still with the ramifications of that car accident years ago that shattered lives.

I haven’t even mentioned therapy (thankfully and responsibly the author shows the importance of getting help for all involved).

And we haven’t we begun to talk romance yet. We can talk lovers reunited, enemies to lovers, second chance at love? All fav tropes of mine. Yep. All here. Even hurt/comfort. A bit of that too.

Yes, Winter Cowboy carries a full load but in the very capable hands of RJ Scott it all melds together in a cohesive and moving story.

If I had a wish , it would be that Daniel and Micah had more time as a reconciled couple in the story, well yes maybe more than a bit more. I really wanted to get more a feel of them as a couple as we spent so much time on the deep traumatized past that kept them apart and broke up their lives. It was brutal constantly revisiting that accident while no one had really moved on. When they finally forgave themselves and each other the story was almost over. And I wanted more of them new and exploring what it meant to have a “us” again.

There is a “bridge” chapter/prequel after the end of Winter Cowboy that leads us into Summer Drifter, book 2 , in the Whisper Ridge, Wyoming series.

After reading it, I can see we will be getting deeper into the past events mentioned in Winter Cowboy. Hopefully we will see Micah and Daniel too at the next stage in their relationship.

I’m now looking forward to the next in the series and more of the Lennox Ranch and the tantalizing glimpse I saw of one of the main characters.

Read Winter Cowboy, Daniel and Micah and all the friends and family that’s making Lennox Ranch home!

It’s a wonderful story.

Series: Whisper Ridge, Wyoming

Winter Cowboy

Summer Drifter

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/38770040

The Rivalry (The Riptide) Kindle Editionby Beth Bolden

LGBTQ2+ Sports Romance

Rating: 🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈

Romance amongst the men of the LA Riptide Football team! How sexy, endearing, and just outright wonderful it is.

The first in a series, The Rivalry is typical Beth Bolden. Beautifully written, characters of charm and depth, and a story with many layers that grip you from start to finish.

It’s also typical in that along with a love story that engages your heart, the author explores more serious issues of child abuse, parental alcoholism and child abandonment. That’s for starters. But it’s never with a heavy narrative hand but as elements that are revealed through one man’s struggles to achieve happiness and love.

Realistic, painful, and eventually so rewarding to watch as Heath battles through both his emotional and physical trauma. And Sam , there with his own path to tread, needing support in his own battle with insecurity and new position and team.

What a story! What men and couple!

You find yourself cheering, laughing, and crying a bit for both men as they fight their way towards their happy ending. And what a delightful one it is. I could spend books upon books with the Riptide men.

Consider this a fantastic starting point and one I highly recommend.

Books In This Series (2 Books)- both highly recommended

The Rivalry

Rough Contact

by Beth Bolden

https://www.goodreads.com › showWeb resultsThe Rivalry by Beth Bolden – Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com › showWeb resultsRough Contact by Beth Bolden – Goodreads

A MelanieM Review: Wrecked by Jodi Payne and B.A. Tortuga

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

The call comes when Beckett Adler least expects it. He’s made a new life for himself in Vermont and has a law practice of his own. After four years he’s even stopped wearing his wedding ring. So when he finds out his husband, bull rider Skyler Paulson, has been seriously injured at an event, he isn’t sure what he wants to do. He knows what’s right though, so he heads down to Baltimore to bring his man home.

Sky knows his injuries are a career-ender, and he can’t believe Beck has come for him after all this time. He’s not a hundred percent sure what went wrong with their marriage and he has no idea how to be anything but a bull rider. But he wants this second chance, so he grabs at it with both hands.

There’s a lot Sky has to learn, from how to walk again to how to settle down with the man he loves. Beck needs to learn to open up and how to be more trusting. For their marriage to work again, both men will have to find a way to meet in the middle. Because neither of them wants to be wrecked anymore.

I’m really enjoying the writing collaboration of Jodi Payne and B.A. Tortuga.  This is my second story of theirs, the first being Land of Enchantment, and each story has been a real joy to read.  Each, of course, involves bull riders.  Here, the bull rider is the estranged husband of lawyer Beckett Adler.  Separated for four years, each has nevertheless still kept the other man close in their heart.  Even if secretly and apart.  One up in Vermont and the other on the rodeo circuit.

Wrecked by Jodi Payne and B.A. Tortuga brings both men back together right at the beginning of the novel.  It takes an agonizing phone call and a brutal fall to change the path of each man’s life once more.  I love how we dive immediately into the heart of Beckett’s pain and love.  The shock of seeing Sky again, his physical state, and the past rising up around them.  I was with them in the moment every step because of the writing here.

I am so used to BA Tortuga’s broken men and great characters, put that together with Jodi Payne’s and it just meshes so well.  The experience and knowledge of the rodeo world, the pain and injuries that bull riders will often undergo in their career, and the rehab (if lucky) that awaits them afterwards.  It’s all laid out here, folded in immaculately as part of the story and the relationship as they and Sky start to mend.

I will admit that second chance at love stories are such a favorite of mine.  I’m rooting for the couple to begin with, make one a cowboy and it’s double down time.  So it was very easy for me to believe this relationship and the fact that they still loved each other despite that many years apart.  I could see stubbornness being such a large part of not calling and then the time and fear helping the separation.  What also rang true, maybe, was Skyler’s doubt about his future. I’ve seen others go on to successful careers as ranchers or announcers but as this could be projecting his own personal demons I thought that was a big possibility.  In fact, I wished the story could have enlarged a bit towards the end to show Sky and Beck working their new journey out together, not just the more finished version we got.  Which, yes, I love immensely.

Wrecked by Jodi Payne and B.A. Tortuga is that wonderful feel great, second chance at love contemporary romance you will read in one sitting.  And then want more. Maybe a sequel to.  It left me smiling and it made my afternoon.  What more could I want?

Cover art is perfect!  Love that contrast between characters!

Sales Links:  Amazon

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 256 pages
Published July 23rd 2019 by Tygerseye Publishing, LLC
ASINB07TWK3Y8C
Edition Language English

Buy for $4.99 or read on  Kindle Unlimited

Check Out the new release from BA Tortuga! It’s Love the 2nd Time Around at Come Back Around (Leaning N #4) by B.A. Tortuga (excerpt and guest blog)

Come Back Around (Leaning N #4) by B.A. Tortuga

Dreamspinner Press
Published July 2nd 2019
Cover Artist: Alexandria Corza

Sales Links:  Amazon

 

Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words is happy to have BA Tortuga here today with an excerpt from her new story Come Back Around.  Welcome, BA.

 

 

Hey, y’all! I’m BA Tortuga, resident redneck and cowboy fanatic. Come Back Around is the fourth in the Leaning N Series in the Dreamspun line. It’s the story of two estranged dads, a wedding, two little girls, and the universe conspiring to bring a family together.

I love exploring the more traditional dynamics about parents in a love story, and Mat and Reid didn’t disappoint me at all.

***

Mat took the girls to supper, even though all he wanted to do was stuff them in his SUV and run.

Fuck, it was good to hold them and listen to them laugh.

At dinner, though, they swarmed over Alejandro, leaving Mat nothing to do but eat his amazing mashed potatoes and watch Reid.

Reid didn’t eat a bite; he just drank a glass of pinot and sat back in the corner, texting someone. Who? A new lover? Why hadn’t Reid brought the new guy here?

He needed to eat. Reid looked pale and tired. Damn it.

Jennifer sat down next to him. “God, those look good.”

“You want some? There’s an enormous bowl.” He had a feeling the chef, Geoff, loved special requests.

“I’m not allowed to eat until after the ceremony. Elena will kill me if I don’t fit in my dress.”

“Not allowed to eat?” That seemed barbaric. “Man, I’m glad I didn’t have to wear a dress.”

“Yeah, it’s overrated, this dress thing. Alejandro is loving the attention from his nieces.”

“They adore him.” He met her pretty green eyes. “Thanks for getting them here.”

“Reid never once suggested that they not come.”

“Did he know I would be here, though?” He laughed, but it sounded hollow to his own ears. “Don’t. I know he had to. It’s Alejandro’s wedding too. I’m just being an ass. I could sneak you a granola bar later.”

She began to chuckle; then that turned into laughter. He shot her a look, and she opened her purse. In it were three granola bars—one with Lucia’s name, one with Daniela’s, and the third with Reid’s.

“Well, your people love you, kiddo.” He winked at her, laughing helplessly too.

“You all do. No question.” She closed her purse and snuck a bite of his potatoes. “Are y’all going to let Patricia eat him?”

“What?” His mama would never do that. He widened his eyes hugely, going for innocent, which he knew wouldn’t work. “I might let her chew a bit, just for keeping things from me.”

“Huh?”

Now he turned serious. “He got a nanny, Jen. Full-time. He’s supposed to disclose stuff like that. His custody depends on him having more time to take care of them. You know that’s the only reason I didn’t fight harder for at least split time.”

“So he was supposed to turn Pottery Barn down? Williams Sonoma? Come on now, after you ragged his ass and accused him of being worthless? He’s been busting his ass doing everything.”

“I never said he was worthless. Not once.” He was grinding out the words through gritted teeth, but he knew what he’d said. “When he accused me of avoiding him and the kids by working too much, I told him if he worked harder maybe I could stay home more. Sue me.”

“Hey.” A hand landed on his shoulder and Jennifer’s. “Y’all stop it. This wedding isn’t about me. I’ll see you at the rehearsal, honey. I’m going to put the girls to bed.” Reid kissed Jennifer’s head. “Night, honey. I love you.”

“Night.” Jennifer gave him a tiny smile. “Sorry, Mat. I’ll get out of your hair.”

He pushed his potatoes toward her. “No, I have work to do. Have at ’em.” He wanted to catch the girls and kiss them good night.

She started to argue, but the girls were already on the move, Reid talking hard to them. Hell, he had to put on a burst of speed to catch up, and honestly he didn’t want Reid telling the girls he wasn’t coming or something.

“…and after bath time, I’ll see if Papi can come and read us a book, give nighttime sugars, okay? He needs to finish his supper or his belly will hurt.”

Oh. He stopped dead, not wanting the kids to see he’d been trailing them. That was really decent. Seriously.

***

Much love, y’all.

BA

Come Back Around blurb:

Leaning N

Can two divorced dads get a second chance at a redneck wedding?

When Reid Porter agrees to be his best friend’s man of honor, he never considers that his ex, Mateo, will be there too. Which is ridiculous, because Jennifer is marrying Mat’s brother. Reid would never let Jen down, though, so he finds himself at the Leaning N Ranch with his two daughters and a whole lot of baggage about seeing Mat again.

Mat loves his baby brother and would do anything for him, including face the love of his life, whom he’s sure has moved on. When he and Reid come face-to-face after more than two years apart, they realize they’ve never let go. Now they have to do what they never could before—balance work, home, and children, while finding a way to come back around to each other’s love.

Available July 2: Amazon

About BA Tortuga

Texan to the bone and an unrepentant Daddy’s Girl, BA Tortuga spends her days with her basset hounds and her beloved wife, knitting, and eating Mexican food. When she’s not doing that, she’s writing. She spends her days off watching rodeo, knitting and surfing Pinterest in the name of research. BA’s personal saviors include her wife, Julia Talbot, her best friends, and coffee. Lots of coffee. Really good coffee.

Having written everything from fist-fighting rednecks to hard-core cowboys to werewolves, BA does her damnedest to tell the stories of her heart, which was raised in Northeast Texas, but has heard the call of the  high desert and lives in the Sandias. With books ranging from hard-hitting GLBT romance, to fiery menages, to the most traditional of love stories, BA refuses to be pigeon-holed by anyone but the voices in her head. Find her on the web at www.batortuga.com