Lindsay McKenna - Out Rider

With her return to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, New York Times bestselling author Lindsay McKenna shows how love can find a way out of the darkness...

A fresh start—that’s all Devorah McGuire wants. As a former Marine and current Ranger with the US Forest Service, she’s grown accustomed to keeping others safe. But when the unthinkable happens, she can only hope that a transfer to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, will allow her to put the past behind her for good.

Dev’s mentor at Grand Tetons National Park is fellow canine handler and horseman Sloan Rankin. He shows Dev the spectacular trails, never knowing the terror that stalks her every move. Despite her lingering fear, Dev feels an attraction for Sloan as wild as their surroundings.

With Sloan, Dev can envision a new life—a real home. Unless a vengeful man fresh out of prison succeeds in finishing what he started...

Praise for New York Times bestselling author Lindsay McKenna

“A treasure of a book...highly recommended reading that everyone will enjoy and learn from.”

—Chief Michael Jaco, US Navy SEAL, retired, on Breaking Point

“Heartbreakingly tender...readers will fall in love with the upstanding hero and his fierce determination to save the woman he loves.”

—Publishers Weekly on Never Surrender (starred review)

“McKenna skillfully takes readers on an emotional journey into modern warfare and two people’s hearts.”

—Publishers Weekly on Down Range

“Packed full of danger and adventure. Fans of military romance will appreciate the strong female characters, steamy sex scenes, and details of military life.”

—Booklist on Taking Fire

“This was a beautiful and heartwarming story. Grayson and Skylar are an awesome alpha pair.”

—Night Owl Reviews on Wolf Haven

“Readers will find this addition to the Shadow Warriors series full of intensity and action-packed romance. There is great chemistry between the characters and tremendous realism, making Breaking Point a great read.”

—RT Book Reviews

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Dear Reader,

This is a bittersweet note to all of you. Out Rider is the final book of the Wyoming series. Like you, I’ve grown to love Iris Mason of the Elk Horn Ranch and feisty Gus Hunter of the Bar H, the other matriarch of ranching families in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

In this book, I’ve tried to tie up a bunch of loose ends so that my loyal readers know “what happened next” to some of the other characters. I had a lot of fun doing it and I hope it brings out a few chuckles and smiles from you.

The entire series is being put into Audio.com for those who love to listen instead of read. Just type in any of the titles and they’ll be there for your listening enjoyment. I want to thank senior executive editor Tara Gavin for shepherding these last two books of mine (Night Hawk and Out Rider), because it was pure joy working with her in our creative synastry.

I wanted to write Sloan Rankin’s story for a long time. Most people don’t know that the US Forest Service has rangers who are farriers. They go around trimming and shoeing the mules and horses utilized by the Park Service. And I wanted to highlight their service because it’s an important one.

Sloan was a great character to play opposite Devorah McGuire, a US Forest Service ranger. Dev’s story happens more than one would think. She was in the military, a combat dog handler who hunted for IEDs in Afghanistan. Getting a job as a ranger and tracker is a dream come true for Dev. With her trusty female yellow Labrador, Bella, she’s running away from a dangerous situation, turning a page and hoping for a new start out in the Tetons. Only Dev didn’t expect to meet a man and his dog in a highly unusual way. But you’ll have to read the book to find out what happens next! Happy reading!

And thank you for taking this journey with me to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It’s a place I visit every other year with great joy. And I hope I’ve transferred some of the beauty of this magnificent area onto each of you.

Subscribe to my newsletter that is chock-full of exclusives, a giveaway and so much more at lindsaymckenna.com.

To Tara Gavin, senior executive editor, who has shadowed my 36-year career with her magic. What a team we were in the past (1980s–1999) and then now (2013–present). It’s a pleasure sharing this ongoing journey with you.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Praise

Title Page

Dear Reader

Dedication

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Extract

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

OH, HELL! Devorah McGuire gripped the steering wheel of her truck, knuckles whitening as she felt the unexpected sway of her horse trailer behind her. Automatically, she tensed, taking her foot off the gas pedal and signaling to move onto the berm on the four-lane highway leading into Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The traffic at 9:00 a.m. on a Tuesday going into the popular tourist destination was fairly heavy. Everyone was heading into work, she supposed. Her buckskin mare, Goldy, was in the back of a two-horse trailer. She hadn’t heard one of the four tires blow out, but she’d sure felt it. Her trailer had two tires on each side to carry a horse’s weight.

Slowing, Dev eased the truck off onto the shoulder. It was wide enough to be able to pull the trailer safely out of traffic, and would allow her to walk around and inspect the trailer to see which tire had blown. She was worried what Goldy, her ten-year-old trail mare, thought about the sudden blowout, but Dev didn’t sense the horse was agitated. If a horse was stressed, it shifted nervously around in the trailer and it could be felt by the driver. The May Wyoming sky was threatening rain and she hoped to reach the Grand Teton National Park, about twenty miles north of Jackson Hole, before the cranky weather arrived.

Climbing out of the truck, dressed in Levi’s, a red flannel shirt and work boots, she pulled on her heavy winter coat because it was near freezing.

“Hey, girl,” Dev called to her mare as she walked to the blue-and-white trailer. “You okay?”

Goldy whickered, turning her head toward her.

Dev saw the blown tire right away. The trailer had a double axle to bear the weight of two one-thousand-pound animals. The front tire on the driver’s side was shredded. More concerned about her mare, Dev went to the other side, opened the side door that led into a small compartment where she could check on her horse and stow hay and other items. Dev smiled at Goldy. “Hey, girl, how you doing?”