Snippet Saturday - Final one!

This is our last Snippet Saturday.   It's been a fun Saturday tradition for a long time, alas, it's ending. A big shout out to Lauren Dane for making it all happen for all these years. Be sure to click on the links at the bottom of this blog to find the other authors who've contributed to the snippets. To leave you on a high note, I've chosen my latest Ugly Stick Saloon release. This tradition continues!

BOOTS AND ROSES

by Myla Jackson 

 

Welcome back to the Ugly Stick Saloon!

Blurb

Bunny Leigh really shouldn’t care that her ex is days away from getting remarried. Yet the fact he’s getting hitched to the woman he cheated on her with stings more than she cares to admit.

It’s that sting that drives her to impulsively throw a bid in the annual Ugly Stick Saloon Cowboy Auction. To her surprise, she lands not only one of the best-looking men in the tri-county area, but two. The prospect of keeping up with two younger men has the shy florist quaking in her flower pots.

Little does she know, best friends Cory McBride and Jack Monahan made doubly sure their favorite florist won them both. But now they have their work cut out for them, convincing her they want more than one steamy night. They want a chance at forever.

Warning: A cop, a cowboy and a flower shop owner make the petals fly! And look what happens when the Ferris wheel stops at the top. Bring a fan, the heat’s rising at the Ugly Stick Saloon.

Samhain Publishing
Barnes & Noble Nook
Amazon Kindle
Kobo

Excerpt

“So it’s agreed?” Cory leaned back in the booth at PJ’s Diner at ten past eleven o’clock that morning. “The date is set. It’ll be the both of us, and we’ll behave like gentlemen. No expectations of anything afterward?”

Jack sighed. “I had hoped for more. I hadn’t realized just how obsessed I was with her until I counted the number of bud vases in my closets. Do you realize I’ve been in that flower shop once a week for six months? I have twenty-six vases taking up room at the house.”

“Take them back to Bunny. She could use them for your next twenty-six purchases.”

“I can’t do that. Then she’ll know I wasn’t buying them for my mother.”

Cory shook his head. Jack had a heart as big as his shoe size. “Well, don’t think I’m going to let you win her over all to yourself. I’ve been delivering flowers for her for the past three months, even though I don’t need the money.”

“You know? We’re pretty darned pathetic if you ask me. Why the hell have we been beatin’ around the bush when we could have fessed up and been datin’ her all along?”

“I didn’t want to commit to anything until I finished my undergrad degree. And with med school looming, I’m still straddlin’ the fence. She put her ex through dental school. I wouldn’t blame her if she ran screaming from a relationship with me, because I’m going to be gone to school in Dallas all week, every week for four years.”

“Yeah, you got it rough.” Jack’s lips quirked upward on the sides. “Which should make her decision easy. She’ll choose me.”

“Over my dead body. I thought of dating her first.”

“I’ve been courtin’ her in my own way for six months.”

“Buying flowers for your mother?” Cory snorted. “Look, buddy, we’ve already agreed to share Bunny. Stick to the plan. We need to get her used to the idea of having both of us. Which means we need to let her see us separately, get to know each of us individually, and then ease her into the idea of both of us.”

“I’ll take lunch today, since I’m working the night shift,” Jack jumped in.

“Okay. Which means I gotta coax an invite to the Temptation Garden Club meeting tonight.” Cory let out a long breath. “Joy.” He pushed back from the table. “Between now and then, I need to get back to my computer. The stock market is supposed to be falling today. I want to get in on some good stock sales.” He planned on doing just that…after he stopped in the flower shop to see Bunny.

“Yeah. I need to check on some construction supplies for the house.” Jack tossed bills on the table and stood. “Guess I’ll see you later.”

Cory pushed through the door and turned left.

“Hey, isn’t your truck parked over there?” Jack pointed to the right.

With a sigh, Cory realized he wasn’t going to get by with a lie. “I thought I’d stop by and see Bunny first.”

“Not before me, you aren’t.” Jack let go of the door and stepped out smartly, heading straight for the Sweet Temptations Flower Shop.

Cory tore out after him, running to catch up and overtake the big cop. By the time they reached the shop, they were sprinting to the finish line.


Be sure to check out the snippets on these other authors’ blogs:
Lauren Dane
Caris Roane
Eliza Gayle
Lissa Matthews
McKenna Jeffries
Shiloh Walker
Taige Crenshaw
HelenKay Dimon
Myla Jackson
Leah Braemel
Felicity Heaton
Jody Wallace
Shelli Stevens
Mari Carr

SNIPPET SATURDAY - Boys of Summer

Nothin's hotter than summer in Texas unless it's the Annual Cowboy Auction!

 

BOOTS AND ROSES

by Myla Jackson

Samhain Publishing
Barnes & Noble Nook
Amazon Kindle
Kobo

BLURB

Welcome Back to the Ugly Stick Saloon

Bunny Leigh really shouldn’t care that her ex is days away from getting remarried. Yet the fact he’s getting hitched to the woman he cheated on her with stings more than she cares to admit.

It’s that sting that drives her to impulsively throw a bid in the annual Ugly Stick Saloon Cowboy Auction. To her surprise, she lands not only one of the best-looking men in the tri-county area, but two. The prospect of keeping up with two younger men has the shy florist quaking in her flower pots.

Little does she know, best friends Cory McBride and Jack Monahan made doubly sure their favorite florist won them both. But now they have their work cut out for them, convincing her they want more than one steamy night. They want a chance at forever.

Warning: A cop, a cowboy and a flower shop owner make the petals fly! And look what happens when the Ferris wheel stops at the top. Bring a fan, the heat’s rising at the Ugly Stick Saloon.


EXCERPT

“I don’t need a second chance. Once was bad enough. I don’t think I’m ready to float that boat again.” Although the two men on the stage could more than set her sails. Holy hell, they were built like brick houses, all muscle—hard, finely chiseled muscle.

“If not for love, then date for fun or a release from stress.” Audrey threw her hand in the air.
Why not satisfy your sexual fantasies? Anything to get you out of your shell, girlfriend.”

“One thousand dollars!” Charli shouted into the microphone. “Ladies, this is twice the spice for the money. Don’t stop now.” She nodded toward the throng. “One thousand one hundred from number forty-one.”

“A thousand dollars?” Bunny did the math in her head. “I’d have to sell a lot of roses to afford those two.”
“Raise your paddle. Remember, I’ll double whatever you can afford.”

Even as Bunny shook her head, her fingers tightened around the paddle’s wooden stick. “I can’t.”

“Yes. You can. It’s just a date,” Audrey insisted. “Think about what Cory can do with that whip. And Jack has handcuffs.”

Cory cracked the whip, and number thirty-seven raised her paddle, bumping the bid up another one hundred dollars.

Bunny’s heartbeat accelerated. She had over two grand in savings for a rainy day and maybe to pay off her ex when she got a little more saved. That money was not earmarked for a hot date with two sexy men.
It still galled her to no end that Ray got half of her business in the divorce, Texas being a community property state. Out of the “goodness of his heart” Ray had let her keep the flower shop, as long as she paid him for his half over time, as a loan. He never let her forget it either, always giving her his unwanted opinion on how to run the flower shop. Spending so much money on a date would have him questioning her ability to stay in business. He might even foreclose on his loan.

“Going once,” Charli said.

“What?” Bunny’s breath caught and she leaned so far forward on her stool she almost slid off.

“Going twice.” Charli paused. “They’re a steal at twelve hundred dollars. Come on ladies, won’t one of you bid thirteen hundred?”

Bunny’s hand shook, her grip clenching on the paddle. Before she could analyze her actions, she raised her paddle.

“Is that Bunny Leigh back there near the bar?” Charli shielded her eyes from the glare of the stage lights.
“Y’all gonna let Temptation’s best florist go home with the two most drool-worthy men in the county?”

Cory and Jack stared across the room, straight at Bunny, both smiling.

Her pulse accelerated until she thought for certain her heart would jump right out of her chest. Her gaze panned the room, praying someone else would raise a paddle quickly before she bought the cowboy and the cop.

Charli grinned, and before anyone else could get a paddle above shoulder-high, she pounded her gavel on the podium and shouted, “Sold!”


Other Authors Participating in Snippet Saturday:
Lauren Dane
Shelli Stevens
Leah Braemel
Jody Wallace
Caris Roane
Eliza Gayle
Lissa Matthews
Mandy M. Roth
McKenna Jeffries
Shiloh Walker
Taige Crenshaw
Delilah Devlin
HelenKay Dimon
TJ Michaels
Myla Jackson
Felicity Heaton   

Snippet Saturday - Life in a Small Town

Ever noticed how life in a small town can be so....friendly? Never friendlier than in Temptation, Texas:

 

BOOTS AND LACE

By Myla Jackson

Samhain Publishing
Barnes & Noble Nook
Amazon Kindle

Blurb

Welcome back to the Ugly Stick Saloon!

She wants no strings…but he wants it all.

After her philandering husband left her, Lacey Lambert found sanctuary, and a better class of friends, at the Ugly Stick Saloon. Where she learned that the best revenge—against her ex, and the “friends” who kicked her out of the Temptation Garden Club—is to live life to the fullest. 

Now that her best friend is moving out of her apartment building, she’s feeling a little lonely. And more than ready for a little commitment-free sex with the hot new downstairs tenant.

Freshly divorced, Nick McBride isn’t looking for another failed relationship. But when the luscious brunette offers no-strings sex—with him and his brother—he can’t come up with a good reason to refuse.
After he gets over the shock that she likes it loud, long, and in front of an open window, he finds himself wanting more time with her. Maybe even on a permanent basis. But it’ll take every ounce of his cowboy charms to convince her to let him sweep her off her feet.

Excerpt

“I can give you a boost.” Nick locked his fingers, cupped his hands and bent.

Cory stuck his foot in Nick’s hands and reached for the alarm. He could barely grasp it enough to unhook it from the old building’s high ceiling. “Got it.”

“Now, pull the old battery out and leave the rest hanging until you can get another battery. And hurry it up, will ya? My fingers are slipping.”

“Just a minute. The damned battery is being stubborn.”

“I’m serious, I’m about to drop you.” Nick swayed, his fingers slipping apart.

“Just…one…more…”

A knock on the door startled both men.

Nick lost his grip, Cory fell and both men landed on the floor as the door opened to the beautiful waitress from the Ugly Stick Saloon, wearing that breast-huggin white tank top, the shorter-than-short pair of jean cutoffs and bearing a tray filled with cheesy, gooey pizza.

She smiled, bent and scooped up both their towels, which had dropped loose when they’d fallen. Balancing the pizza tray with one hand and the towels looped over the other, she raised her eyebrows. “Having a little fun without me?”

Nick felt the heat rise from his chest into his face when he realized what this must look like. Cory lay draped across him in a highly suggestive position. At least he covered Nick’s privates from the woman’s view.

Cory laughed out loud. “Lacey, I wondered when you would show up. Kendall said you’d probably stop by to say hello.”

“Did she?” Lacey’s eyes narrowed. “What else did she say?”

Cory’s grin broadened. “She said to watch out that you were on the prowl.”

“She’s a bigmouth, but since I’m here…” She waggled her eyebrows, her gaze panning over both men’s groins. “Of course, if you’re gay, maybe you can let me watch, or I’ll pretend to be a boy and we can all have a little fun.”

Nick choked and jumped to his feet, his hands forming a fig leaf over his crotch.

Cory chortled. “Ah, Lacey, nothing like cutting to the chase. We were just trying to kill the smoke detector and fell.”

Lacey pouted. “Well, darn.” Her gaze went to Nick, sliding down his chest to where his hands covered his privates.

“Do you mind?” Nick held out his hand for a towel, the heat her gaze generated pooling in his groin.

“A shame to cover something so fine.” She grinned and tossed him the towel. “So, are you interested?”

Other authors participating in Snippet Saturday:

Lauren Dane
Shelli Stevens
Leah Braemel
Jody Wallace
Caris Roane
Eliza Gayle
Lissa Matthews
Mandy M. Roth
McKenna Jeffries
Shiloh Walker
Taige Crenshaw
Delilah Devlin
HelenKay Dimon
TJ Michaels
Myla Jackson