Jessica Nelson - Love on the Range

The wild west awaits...

Any other socialite would view being packed off to a remote Oregon ranch as a punishment. But Gracelyn Riley knows that this is her opportunity to become a real reporter. If she can make her name through an interview with the elusive hero known as Striker, then she’ll never have to depend on anyone ever again.

Rancher Trevor Cruz can’t believe his secret identity is being endangered by an overly chatty city girl. But if there’s one thing he knows, it’s that Gracie’s pretty little snooping nose is bound to get her in trouble. So he’ll use her determination to find “Striker” to keep an eye on her…and stick close by her side.

“Mr. Cruz, it is coincidental we’re heading the same way. Don’t you find it strange?”

“What I find strange, Miss Riley, is that you were able to keep your mouth closed for more than a minute.”

“I don’t think it necessary to be so negative. You don’t need to address me as miss. You may use my Christian name. Mr. Cruz?”

“Gracie, I’ve been traveling all day. You’re a nice girl, but I’m tired. I don’t want to talk.”

“Oh.” Gracie swallowed. “My apologies.” A nice girl indeed.

She was more than a girl—she was a woman. A capable, independent woman who didn’t need to rely on her parents or some unwanted fiancé for survival. And she’d prove it. She would find Striker and write an amazing article so the Women’s Liberator would hire her as an investigative reporter. Then she’d tell Striker what she thought of him.

A man should know when a woman fell madly in love with him.

JESSICA NELSON

In keeping with her romantic inclinations, Jessica Nelson married two days after she graduated high school. She believes romance happens every day and thinks the greatest, most intense romance comes from a God who woos people to himself with passionate tenderness. When Jessica is not chasing her three beautiful, wild little boys around the living room, she can be found staring into space as she plots her next story. Or she might be daydreaming about a raspberry mocha from Starbucks. Or thinking about what kind of chocolate she should have for dinner that night. She could be thinking of any number of things, really. One thing is for certain, she is blessed with a wonderful family and a lovely life.

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And ye shall seek me, and find me,

when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

—Jeremiah 29:13

Many thanks to my awesome family and friends, who have supported and encouraged me from the moment they found out I wanted to write books for a living.

I am in deep gratitude to those who have helped refined my writing skills while encouraging me to keep growing. These wonderful ladies have read my awkward sentences, plot holes and mean characters yet still managed to make me feel like my stories were important. Huge thanks to my Friday Crit Group: Linda Glaz, Camille Eide, Emily Hendrickson, Cheryl Linn Martin and Karla Akins. You girls rock!

Love to Anita Howard, my POM, a fabulous author who has read everything I ever wrote and still says I’m a good writer.

Big thanks to my blogger pals Eileen Watson and Terri Tiffany. Their advice for this story was invaluable to me.

To my agent, Les Stobbe, who is knowledgeable, supportive and always available to answer my many questions.

I’d like to give a heartfelt thank you to my editor, Emily Rodmell, for liking my manuscript enough to make me a published author!

The biggest thanks to Jesus, who put this love of writing in my heart. He’s awesome!

Contents

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

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Dear Reader

Questions for Discussion

Chapter One

Harney County, Oregon, 1918

Obsession was the way in which madness lay.

Despite that annoying truth, Gracelyn Riley couldn’t stop scanning the train platform for Special Agent Striker as she disembarked. People bustled everywhere, stirring up dust. Nearby, a mother held her toddler close while passengers crowded around her. Boards groaned and voices rose as people scattered, looking for their luggage and rides.

The whistle shrieked a warning to those lagging on the platform. The train had stopped briefly at this desolate Oregon county station before continuing on to California.

Gracie had hesitated traveling to this vast and untamed land until she’d learned Special Agent Striker lived here. He was the only reason she could endure going to a place as dreary as this. Though her parents considered traveling alone unsafe, even in these modern days, the threat of influenza loomed larger than their worries and prompted them to send their only daughter west. Had the fear of grippe not been so severe, her parents would surely still have her strapped to their sides.

Once she’d learned Striker made his home here, her plans changed. She’d finagled the promise of a coveted position as a staff writer with the Woman’s Liberator if she could procure an interview with the elusive agent. Sweet independence was within her grasp.

Unfortunately, she didn’t see among the passengers anyone who looked dangerous enough to be the mysterious Striker.

She stood on the platform until the crowds thinned and the train rolled away on a cloud of steam. Squinting, she turned a slow circle. Though several wagons parked nearby, they all looked full and their drivers busy.

Where was her ride?

Gathering her things, she walked to a bench situated outside the station door and sat. Her trunks remained inside. No doubt when the driver arrived, he’d go in and retrieve them. In the distance, mountains jutted into a never ending sky. Sparse landscape surrounded her.

She shuddered and pulled Jane Eyre from her Dotty bag.

A shadow fell over her.

“Ma’am, is this seat open?”

She looked up. The man beside her waited for an answer. With the setting sun behind him, the broad brim of his cowboy hat shadowed his face and hid all but his straight nose and strong chin.

“Yes, it is.” The bench at the other end of the platform held a family whose kids shrieked and laughed. Smiling, she moved to the side for the stranger. She remembered seeing him on the train, a lone figure in a back seat. Aloof and unapproachable.

Some exotic, spicy scent filled the air as he sat, and she slid him a look. He was rather handsome, though not in the way she was used to. This man wouldn’t fit in at a fancy Boston dinner party. His broad shoulders and tanned skin spoke of a ruggedness to which she was quite unaccustomed. These attributes intrigued her.