Firebrand of Desire
(Desire, OK, Founding Fathers 7)
Erotic Romance, Historical, Menage, Romantic Suspense, MFMM, HEAMary Snyder buries her family and leaves the only home she’s ever known to travel alone to a family she’s never met. The trip proves more dangerous than she expects, and she’s on the brink of death when three men save her.
Working on an outpost at the Circle T Ranch in Oklahoma, Ron Mason, Cabe Whitfield, and Dell Barstow find Mary, shot and half frozen, never suspecting that their lives will soon be changed forever. Taking her for their own, they move to the main compound of the ranch, but a stranger in their midst threatens everything.
For Mary, experiencing pleasure for the first time is easy, but falling in love with three men rocks her to her core. With her fate in their hands, she learns about trust and that love is too precious to deny.
Excerpt
Ron Mason finished his breakfast, downed the rest of his coffee, picked up his hat, and rose. “I’ll be in the barn.”
They’d already fed and watered the horses, and he wanted to start checking and oiling the tack.
With this weather, they wouldn’t be doin’ much else.
Amused at Cabe Whitfield’s grunt of acknowledgment, Ron shared a look with Dell Barstow. “Looks like we won’t be fixin’ fence for a while.”
Dell rose and picked up his own hat, smashing it on his head before lifting the collar of his coat to cover his neck. “Yeah, and when we do, it’s gonna be a lot worse. I’m sure these snow drifts and winds are gonna knock down some of them.”
Ron donned his hat and pulled up his own collar. “Yeah. It’ll be a lot of work before they bring the herd back. Thanks, Marty.”
With a wave of his hand, the cook went back to working on their next meal.
He, Cabe, and Dell, along with Marty, worked one of the outposts of the Circle T ranch, a large ranch that paid well and where the owners were fair.
The cattle had been moved closer to the main compound at the beginning of fall, leaving the four men alone for the winter.
Eb and Jeremiah Tyler, the owners of the large ranch, had stocked them with supplies for the winter, leaving them to protect against predators, both animal and human, that could be headed for the ranch, along with repairing fencing.
Only the most trusted ranch hands worked at the compound, where the wives and children lived.
They hadn’t yet earned that distinction.
Ron slid on his gloves and left the chow shack, holding on to the door to keep the wind from ripping it out of his hand.
Cursing, he let Dell and Cabe out before slamming it shut again.
With his head bent, he trudged his way through the deep snow and biting wind toward the barn.
As Cabe opened the barn door, the gust of wind coming from the interior of the barn hit Ron at the same time Dell cursed.
“What the hell?”
The barn door on the opposite side stood wide open, and a horse he didn’t recognize stood near one of the stalls, happily munching on hay.
Dell raced to the open door, pulling it closed with another curse and stopping abruptly. “Hell!”
Throwing off his hat, Dell ran into the open stall. “Shit. Ma’am? Ma’am! Hey!”
Ron glanced at Cabe, his heart pounding as he looked down at what appeared, at this distance, to be a pile of clothing. “Is she alive?”
He raced toward Dell, with Cabe right beside him, the large man moving faster than his size would suggest.
Stunned to see a woman lying in a heap in the stall, Ron moved forward, kneeling next to Dell as the other man rolled her to her back. “Fuck. That’s blood, and she’s out. Damn near frozen. Alive, but barely.”
Dell grimaced. He pulled her coat aside to see that she wore a gun belt, a pistol in both holders. “Looks like it’s her thigh and shoulder.” He moved her coat and shirt aside to look at her shoulder. “Gunshot. She’s wearing both pistols, and her rifle’s in the scabbard. She never drew.”
“Take care of her. I’ll get Will.” Cabe turned and walked away, the sounds of him getting his horse from the stall loud in the quiet of the barn.
Ron nodded but doubted if Cabe saw him. “We need to get her to our cabin.”
Dell slid his hands under her. “I’ve got her. Get the damned door.”
Cabe led the other horse to a stall and gave her some feed and water. “Must be hers. If this horse got her here, she deserves to be warm and fed.”
Ron hurriedly opened the door Dell had just closed, fighting the wind to close it again.
Hearing her moan, Ron tried to block as much wind as possible from her as Dell carried her through the deep snow, cradling her tightly against his chest.
It took several minutes to cover the short distance to their bunk, and Ron’s foot slipped on the slick wooden steps that led to the door. “Careful!”
Dell nodded to acknowledge that he’d heard and slowly took the steps, with Ron gripping his shoulders from behind to steady him.
Once inside, Ron fought the wind to close the door again and rushed to rebuild the low fire in the fireplace.
Dell worked the coat and boots off of the young woman and paused. “Her clothes are not only bloody but they’re soaked and frozen in places. She’s past shiverin’. We’ve gotta get her warm.”
With his heart in his throat, Ron helped Dell strip her out of her frozen clothes, using a rough towel to dry her as gently as possible and wipe away the blood that had begun to flow again. “Damn it.”