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n n​Boy meets girl. n nAuthor Charlotte Forsythe is determined not to be a victim again. Her Great Dane, Finn, makes sure of it. While vacationing with Finn in San Diego, Charlotte meets Navy SEAL Eric Outerbach. It doesn’t go well. Eric begs forgiveness. n nBoy and girl become friends. n nThey make a long distance friendship work through texts and phone calls. The film rights to two of Charlotte’s books are sold and she heads back out to California to supervise the conversion of written content to the silver screen. And the friendship’s not so long distance after all. n nBoy and girl fall in love. n nHow could she not fall in love with a handsome, sexy warrior like Eric? How could he not love a woman as gentle and forgiving as Charlotte? n nA guardian’s duty ends. n nFinn is mighty, but old. It’s time to pass on the duties of love and protection to someone else.n n

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Excerpt

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n​She walked off and the dog obediently fell into step beside her.
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n“You’re a good boy, Finn,” she said and gave him a light scratch between the ears.
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nThey returned to the hotel where one of the bellman greeted her by name with a broad smile.
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n“And how is old Finn today?” he asked, ruffling the dog’s ears.
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n“Feeling a little bruised. He crashed into a sailor today while chasing a Frisbee,” she replied with a rueful little smile.
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n“One of those SEALs?”
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n“Is that what they are?”
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n“Yep,” Fidel answered and pulled a dog treat from his pocket to give to Finn, who delicately took it from his fingers. “They train out there all the time. Grueling stuff.”
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n“Well, perhaps that explains the nasty disposition,” Charlotte muttered.
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n“So, Miss Forsythe, what are your plans for today?”
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n“I think Finn and I have had enough of the beach for this morning,” she said. “We’re going to lounge by the pool and relax for a bit.” She hesitated, then asked, “I saw some bistro type restaurants with outside seating alongside the beach. Is there something like that that’s not so close to the beach?”
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n“Sure,” Fidel said. “I know great place nearby that fits your bill. The service is quick, the food is good, and the staff are friendly. They also have outside seating along the sidewalk, so you can bring your dog.”
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nCharlotte thanked him and walked into the lobby, where another of the hotel staff greeted her and the dog by name with a big smile.
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n“Wow,” she said to herself. “When the website advertised this place as pet friendly, they weren’t kidding.”
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nShe led Finn to the pet relief area, which he made good use of. Then they returned to her room where she used the bathroom and changed into a modest, one-piece swimsuit. Before walking out the door she picked up a book and a small bag filled with gourmet dog biscuits. They walked to the large swimming pool. Charlotte found a comfortable lounge chair and Finn plopped down beside her. A hotel staff member rushed forward with a stainless steel bowl of cool, clean water and set it down beside Finn. Charlotte smiled her thanks and opened her book. Finn slurped his water, then crunched down the dog biscuits she slowly fed him.
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nBut the book failed to hold her interest. She kept thinking back to the big, muscular man whom Finn had accidentally crashed into. He’d be attractive if he weren’t such an ill-tempered jerk. Wow, again. Both for the hunky SEAL trainees who trained on the beach and for the incredible staff of the hotel who treated her and Finn like gold.
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n“You know, big guy,” she said softly, “if we ever come back, we are definitely staying here again.”
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nReally, except for that morning’s encounter, her vacation had been wonderful.
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n nGunslingers, ranchers, cowboys, gamblers, and more make their appearance in this exciting collection of short stories set in the American Old West. n nAuthor Holly Bargo takes an unflinching look at this most romanticized of American eras with bigotry, oppression, and hardship leaving their marks. Resilient and resourceful characters rise above those and other challenges with strength and, oftentimes, humor. Clean, sweet romance weaves its magic through many of the stories. n nThe 12 stories contained within this book were previously published, six in the collaborative collection titled Six Shots Each Gun published with Amazon bestselling author Russ Towne and six published in Holly Bargo’s own collection titled Satin Boots.n n Only on  n n nn n n n

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n​Angels High: A woman who makes her living by winning at a man’s game learns to expect trouble, especially when the stakes are high. But when trouble finds her this time, Angelica Durant gets more than she bargained for.
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nComing Home: Life is hard. No one knows this better than Dessie Humphrey who’s trying to hold onto the family farm. When aid comes in the form of a wanted gunslinger, she’s in no position to refuse.
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nThe Escort: Buck hires on as an armed escort to accompany a rancher’s haughty daughter and her companion to Boston for her debut into polite society. Both young women are lovely, but the young companion catches Buck’s eye and warms his heart. He thinks he’s too old and jaded for this innocent girl; but, when danger strikes, he’ll risk his life for her.
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nHair Trigger: A female gunslinger returns to her hometown to claim her inheritance and get justice for her father’s wrongful death, but crashes into a statute of limitations.
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nHeart of Gold: A dying man begs an honest cowboy to take a fortune in gold through a lawless territory with Indians on the warpath. He didn’t reckon on becoming responsible for keeping the man’s daughter safe along the way.  
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nThe Lesser of Evils: Cast from the native tribe that adopted her and the only home she’s ever known to make her way in the white man’s world, Sun Gold finds herself faced with a language barrier and a choice she never wanted. 
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nThe Mail Order Bride’s Choice: Looking to improve her circumstances, an indigent woman travels across the country as a mail order bride to meet a fiancé who has plans for her other than marriage. 
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nPride and Peace: It’s an open secret on the Lazy Five that Jessie North is a woman, but that doesn’t stop Daniel Harper from reacting badly when he learns about it. Can he overcome his prejudice when the proud half-breed saves his life? 
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nResurrection: Undertakers bury the dead; they don’t resurrect bodies left for dead. But that’s exactly what Antonio DiCarlo does when a lovely Swedish immigrant lands on his doorstep. 
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nThe Rancher’s First Love: When a gravely wounded Chinese woman collapses on Clint Cheswick’s front porch, he doesn’t expect to compete with his half-breed foreman for her affection. 
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nThe Saint: A wounded outlaw throws himself upon the mercy of a Mexican priest. His demand for sanctuary gains him more than just temporary safety. 
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n​Survival of the Fairest: A woman kills her abusive husband and flees, heading west to restart her life under an assumed name. 
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Excerpt 

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n​“So, how’d you find out Jessie was female?” 
n“She was wounded that night. I tended her.” 
n“So, she owes you her life.” 
nThe foreman gestured with his empty hand toward the wranglers gathered around the campfire. “Prolly we’d all be dead if it weren’t for Jessie North. Her pa was Luther North and her uncle was Capt. Frank North.” 
n“So?” Dan scratched his head at the unfamiliar name. 
n“Even Wild Bill Hickock couldn’t match Frank. That girl’s got gun smoke running through her veins.” Since the look of disbelief hadn’t faded from the new man’s expres- sion, Cordell elaborated. “Capt. North and Luther led a troop of Pawnee scouts. It weren’t regulation, but Luther’s daughter tagged along with them. She been raised among Indian warriors and U.S. soldiers, and they taught her ever’thing they knew.” 
nDan scratched his head again, trying to absorb the oddity of a woman who understood soldiering and gun- fighting and resenting that no one had let him in on the secret sooner. “If you say so.” 
nCordell leveled a cold look at the other man. “You got any reason to complain about the job she’s doin’?” 
nThe wrangler shook his head. He wracked his brain for some valid complaint regarding the woman’s perfor- mance, but he came up with nothing. The foreman nodded.
n“You just continue to think of Jessie as one of the boys and you’ll be fine. If anyone in the crew catches you harras- sin’ her, then we’ll miss a good wrangler.” 
nDan’s blood turned cold. “Is that a threat?” 
n“Let’s just say that the last hand who thought Jessie was fair game never finished the cattle drive.” 
n“Who killed him?” 
n“Who d’ya think?” n

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