Here's the next installment of the Glendora Hill gay western series, "The Sheriff and the Outlaw." It's a stand alone book that doesn't have to be read consecutively with the rest of the series, but it does return the general storyline back to the first time the main characters met and fell in love. In some ways this could have been the first book, but we thought it would be interesting to create a book in the series that told more of the back story, with more detailed history about the main characters, Sebastian and Avery.
You can find it here, and here on allromanceebooks. I'll keep posting links in future posts as I get them. As always, the book will be up on the publisher's web site, and distributed in most places where e-books are sold. It's $4.99 at the publisher's web site, which is important to remember.
Blurb:
When Sebastian loses his wonderful husband of ten years in an
accident, he’s not only emotionally devastated, but also financially ruined. He
can’t turn to family because they turned their backs on him when he told them he
was gay, and Sebastian’s late husband owed so much he’s about to lose
everything, including the mobile home he spent so many years making perfect. But
just when Sebastian thinks there’s no hope at all, he inherits the meager estate
of a distant uncle he’s never even met.
The fictional town of picturesque Glendora Hill, Texas appears to be perfect, which is exactly what Sebastian and his teenage son need after all the heartache they’ve gone through. But it’s not going to be easy. And as they begin to make new lives in this odd but friendly little town so far from their lives in Houston, Sebastian stops playing by the rules for a while. That is until the town’s cowboy sheriff, Avery Baldwin, confronts Sebastian about a few rules he’s overlooked.
As Sebastian rebuilds his life and the dilapidated property he inherited, with perfectly pruned shrubbery, a bright white porch swing, and two very strapping young studs he takes in as tenants, he also discovers a few secrets about his past through the one man who seems to understand him. And as the secrets of Sebastian’s childhood unfold and emotions he thought were dead forever begin to reawaken, he’s terrified of the only man who can actually help him move forward.
I always state up front these excerpts are from raw versions and may contain a few issues...they work better with HTML than PDF files, which is why I post them. The final, published book is fully edited. The storyline hasn't changed at all.
As the afternoon
unfolded, Sebastian had to go into the garage and dig out one of his uncle’s
old folding tables. When people started arriving, it seemed many of them had a
covered dish in hand. Jesse Mae from the dry cleaners brought her famous
ambrosia, with little marshmallows and pineapple. Erlene from the Country Way
Beauty Shop where Angie had her hair permed and teased brought her famous fudge
brownies, with walnuts and M&Ms. Sebastian lost track of all the food after
Marsha from the Twist and Knit Shop handed him her famous meatballs in tomato
sauce. There were enough desserts to fill a bakery in Houston, including a
massive tray of Shiva cookies from Elsie Goldberg. Even Kick’s boss, Joe
Hennessey, from the hardware store showed up with something. His wife, Dot
Hennessey, handed Sebastian a covered baking dish and said, “It’s my famous
stuffed mushrooms. Everyone in town will be expecting them.”
One of the few who didn’t show up with something to eat
was Luanne from the dress shop. And that’s because she seemed to have both
hands full with Judd on her arm. She literally clung to the man in a way so
obvious Sebastian noticed other people murmuring about her. For a moment, as
she walked into the tent area with Judd, the entire room went silent and
glanced in her direction. At a closer glance, Sebastian noticed she was probably
in her early forties. She wore a bright yellow dress with an empire waist,
white vinyl pumps, and boxy looking purse to match. For the first time,
Sebastian noticed her heavy make-up and the way all that mascara gave her
raccoon eyes. From her long fake yellow fingernails to her teased bleach blond
hair, Sebastian thought she would have made an interesting drag queen. In fact,
she reminded him of a female impersonator he’d known in Houston named, Miss
Demeanor. He wondered if Judd’s attraction to Luanne had anything to do with
Judd asking him if he’d ever done drag, as if insinuating he would love to see
Sebastian in drag.
Luanne walked up to Sebastian and flung out her right
hand as if she expected him to kiss it. When she saw he had no intention of
either kissing her hand or shaking it, she brought her hand back to Judd’s
chest, rubbed it, and said, “I’m so sorry we’re late, sugar. Judd and I got
busy with something and the time just got away from us. You know how it is when
there’s a big strong man around the house.”
Judd and Sebastian exchanged a quick glance, and Judd
seemed embarrassed by her actions and her attitude. But it was apparent that he
was afraid to say anything aloud, so Sebastian smiled and said, “Don’t you
worry at all, honey pie, sugar. You’re not late at all. And this party is going
to go on for the rest of the day.” Then he turned his back on her and went over
to check on the band. He’d run into her kind before, and he knew how to handle
them.
It was going on four o’clock in the afternoon and the
band still hadn’t started playing. So Sebastian asked why and the drummer told
him they were still waiting for the guitar player to arrive. He told Sebastian
the guitar player was also the lead singer and they couldn’t start without him
unless Sebastian was willing to just have the instrumental, and then he assured
Sebastian the guitar player would be there by four o’clock and he’d never
missed a performance in his life.
Sebastian shrugged and moved closer to the buffet table
he’d set up for the all the foods other people had brought. He was amazed to
see that most of the food was being eaten, including the dishes he’d had
catered. And he was even more amused when he overheard some of the comments.
Angie was standing next to Dot Hennessey’s stuffed
mushrooms with Normie Lynn from the bait and tackle shop. As Angie bit into one
of the stuffed mushrooms, she made a face and said, “I can’t believe Dot
brought his hot mess with her again.” Then she giggled and said, “I wouldn’t
feed this to my cat. I’m glad I brought my mac and cheese casserole.”
Sebastian smiled and moved to the other end of the table
where Elsie and Dot Hennessey were talking. They were standing over Angie’s mac
and cheese casserole. When Dot Hennessey took a spoonful of mac and cheese, she
made a face, giggled, and said, “You could put up wallpaper with this clump of
glue she’s trying to pass off as mac and cheese. I’m glad I brought my stuffed
mushrooms.”
Then Elsie waved across the table at Angie and said, “Hey
sweetie. We’re loving this mac and cheese. It’s the best one you’ve ever made.”
Angie waved back and said, “And these are by far the best
stuffed mushrooms I’ve ever had, Dot. You’ve outdone yourself this time.”
“Thanks, hon,” Dot Hennessey said. And then she turned to
Elsie and whispered, “Now I have to figure out where to dump this crap.”
So much for everyone’s famous dishes. And these weren’t
the only vicious comments Sebastian overheard as he made his way through the
tent. He heard two women talking about how ridiculous the prices were getting
at the beauty shop, and then kissing the owner when she walked over to them. He
heard two men talking about whether or not unmarried Angie from the sheriff’s
office had ever had a man, and snickering about what would happen if she did at
this point in her life. But the most interesting thing he overheard by far that
afternoon was when he walked up behind a group of women and found them
whispering about Luanne from the dress shop. He’d only met them in passing and
didn’t remember their names. But what they said made his jaw drop.
“I wonder if the black widow slaps that big old cowboy
around like she did with the last husband,” one woman said.
“Probably not yet,” another woman said. “She likes to
break them in slowly.”
“She sure does like them big and dumb,” a third woman
said. “He’s probably hung like a horse.”
Sebastian smiled.
“I just hope that sweet guy finds out about her before
it’s too late,” a fourth woman said.
Then someone else joined them and they changed the
subject. Sebastian glanced at his watch and saw it was four o’clock now and the
band still hadn’t started playing. He decided to go into the shop to check on Kick
and to see if he needed any help. As he crossed through the tent, he couldn’t
stop wondering what those women were talking about when they referred to
Luanne’s former husband. There was something about her he didn’t trust, and it
went far beyond the nasty way she’d treated him earlier.
