The
Shepherd’s Daughter
Dry
Bayou Brides
Book
One
Lynn
Winchester
Genre:
Sweet Western Romance
Publisher:
Dragonblade Publishing
Date
of Publication: September 27th, 2016
ASIN:
B01LVYT90X
Number
of pages: 97
Word
Count: approx. 26k
Cover
Artist: Dar Albert
Book
Description:
"Welcome
to Dry Bayou, Texas, where Southern Charm meets the Wild West..."
From
author Jackson d'Lynne writing as Lynn Winchester, a sweet and
romantic western sure to warm your heart!
Ray
MacAdams and Billy Ducharme have been best friends since her family
moved to his ranch fourteen years ago to start a new sheep ranching
operation.
Through
thick and thin, good and bad, fire and rain, their friendship has
only gotten stronger—so strong that nothing could possibly break
their bond, a bond that for Ray has suddenly changed from simply
friends to something deeper… Something that makes her dream of days
and nights beside the man she loves, something that makes her wish
she were more than just the shepherd’s daughter.
Then
Billy’s mail order bride arrives.
Rebecca
DuCastille is everything Ray is not: refined, well-mannered, and
pretty as a porcelain tea cup. How can Ray possibly compete for
Billy’s heart when his new bride is everything he could want in a
proper wife?
Can
the shepherd’s daughter convince her childhood friend that their
love for one another goes beyond friendship, or will Billy marry the
pretty interloper and leave Ray out to pasture?
Publisher
Note: This is a 'sweet'/'clean' romance.
Excerpt
“Billy
Ducharme, you get your good-fer-nothin’ hide down here this
instant!” Ray stopped pacing long enough to yell up at the hay loft
from outside the large, red barn. “You got to be done with your
chores by now, it’s near midday!”
She
and Billy were supposed to head down to Clipper’s Creek for the
fishing derby and she hated to be late. She didn’t want to miss out
on the prize for the biggest trout. She’d won it three years
running and she’d be pickled if she lost this year.
Where
is that man? She stood on her tiptoes and rocked back onto her heels,
all while balancing her armload of fishing gear.
She’d
been looking forward to this day for near six months. She even made
sure she woke up a few hours before her usual time in order to get a
head start on her daily chores; tending the two ewes who were
lambing, mending the fence that was struck by lightning two nights
ago, and checking with the gauchos to recount the heads to make sure
none of the sheep were missing.
Thankfully,
all were accounted for, which meant she didn’t have to go hunting
for a wayward ewe—that could’ve taken all day. She didn’t have
all day, not if she wanted to get to the derby.
Now,
to get Billy moving so they could get going.
The
whinny of a horse caught her attention and she stopped moving and
stared at the tall, wide doorway that led to the interior of the
barn. A bead of sweat slid down her forehead, over the bridge of her
nose, and dripped off the end.
“Come
on, you’re movin’ slower than molasses and Lord knows I can’t
stand the stuff!” She juggled the tackle and poles in her arms and
heaved a heavy sigh.
Her
sigh of frustration turned to a sigh of appreciation when Billy came
into view from around the barn door. He’d pulled his hat from his
head and was brushing the straw from it. Ray had to stop herself from
staring like a ninny at his rich, chestnut hair, dark brows, and
smooth, tanned face.
He
was tall, lean, walked like a man who knew his business, and had a
face she wouldn’t throw a dead frog at…unless he was cracking a
joke about her.
Ray
didn’t know when, exactly, her thoughts about Billy Ducharme turned
from sweet and annoying little sister-like to mushy and silly and...
Well, not sweet nor sisterly. But she wasn’t going to let her
sudden mental ailment mess up her chance to win the derby.
“There
you are. Shake a leg so we can get to the creek before they call the
last round.”
Her
urgent tone didn’t get him to move any faster. He actually slowed
down, slapped his hat back on his head, and gave her a big,
too-handsome smile.
She
hated it when he smiled like that. She fought to ignore the melting
sensation in the pit of her stomach and growled at him. “Don’t
you dare, Willem!” She only ever used his full Christian name when
she was annoyed at him.
He
only smiled bigger and walked slower.
She
narrowed her eyes and bit her lip to keep from yelling at him
again—it wouldn’t be proper to yell the things she wanted to say
to Billy at this moment.
By
the time he stood before her, looking down into her overwarm face
with a mischievous grin and glimmering blue eyes, she was
fuming—‘bout ready to toss the fishing poles on the ground and
wallop him.
“Whoa
there, Ray. You’ve got to learn patience one of these days or
you’re liable to get so worked up you’ll have a fit.” Ray held
her breath. “Now, if you had a fit and fell to the ground like a
startled heifer, I’d have to sell tickets. Lots of folks ‘round
here would pay good money to see that.” He laughed, his deep
chuckle breaking through the cloud in her head.
“Why
you—” she reached out to slap his arm, but dropped her armload of
fishing supplies, instead. “Ugh!” she called out in frustration,
staring down at the now scattered and tangled lines, poles, and
bobbers.
Chuckling
louder, Billy stepped closer. Ray stopped moving, thinking,
breathing—he was much too close for comfort.
About
the Author:
Lynn
Winchester is one of the pseudonyms of a hardworking California-born
caffeine addict, now living in the wilds of Northeast Pennsylvania.
Lynn has been writing fiction since the 5th grade, and enjoys
creating worlds, characters, and stories for her readers.
When
Lynn isn't writing sweet historical romances, she is writing spicy
paranormal romance as Jackson D’Lynne, and YA Sci-Fi/Thrillers as
DJ Sorber. When is isn’t writing at all, she is running a
successful editing business, reading whatever she can get her hands
on, raising her four children, making sure her husband is happy, and
binge watching shows on Netflix.
Website:
http://lynnwinchester.com/
Facebook:
https://www.Facebook.com/LynnWinWesterns
Tour giveaway $25 Amazon Gift Card
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This sounds like a great read! Thanks!
ReplyDeletecongrats on the tour, looks like a good book, and thanks for the chance to win :)
ReplyDeleteSounds like a book I would enjoy :)
ReplyDeleteI love Western romances!
ReplyDeleteI just loved the excerpt and the cover.
ReplyDeletei think this will be a great read
ReplyDelete