Title: Blue Jeans and a Badge
Author: Nina Bruhns
Published in May 2005 by Silhouette Intimate Moments
Genre: Contemporary
ISBN: 0373274319
Things were certainly not what she expected, but after being thrown for a loop, almost literally, she was taking no chances. She was not going to let some hick sheriff take in her bounty, and collect what is rightfully hers. The man is also too good looking for his own good, and dumb as a stump. If he wasn’t, she figured he wouldn’t let the residents of the reservation string him along. They were making a fool out of him, and the sooner she is away from him the better. She is going to get Clyde Tafota, no matter what this stick in the mud, so-called sheriff tries. Luce Montgomery is good at her job and has been hunting bounties a long time. She is close, very close to her goal. There is no way she will let anything, or anyone, get in the way of her prize. She is only minutes away from getting out of the business of working for someone, and bringing in Tafota will be the turning point. Freedom is so close she can taste it, and it has put a kind of pressure on her. She is struggling with the situation, and her impatience, and the antics of the Indians and the sheriff, the dancing around they are doing is pulling her wires thin.
Luce has an agenda… get Clyde, take him back to St. Louis, collect the bounty, and then set up her own PI agency. The twenty percent is what she needs, the seven thousand dollars is her song of freedom, and Clyde Tafota is the instrument playing her tune. She keeps telling herself she doesn’t give a crap about Chief Philip O’Donnaugh, his plans, his wants or anything else about that luscious bod of his. Her schedule is set, and time is wasting away. She is tired of putting things on hold and as the plan draws closer to fruition, she is becoming more impatient. True, it is not a good thing to be at this point, but the excitement of reaching her goal is building. She is keeping it tamped down as best she can, because she doesn’t want to get sloppy at this point and lose it all. There is no room in her life right now for any thing but accomplishing her mission. No matter how she sizzles at the sight, sound and touch of the overtly handsome Chief of Pinon Lake’s Police, she cannot afford to be diverted from her goal. She had to admit the attraction is there, not only for the man, but also the country. She just doesn’t want to get lost in it and forget who she is and why she is there, she has too much riding on this…
Well, that is a first for him, and as Philip tries to shake of the effects of his meeting with the luscious bounty hunter, he can’t help remembering the feel of her as she rode him to the ground, how she felt as she groped for his ID, and the way she felt pinned under him in return. The part about her wanting to take Clyde Tafota back to St. Louis is something he didn’t want to think about too closely right now, but he would deal with it when it came up. Just the same, it has to be taken into account. Luce is a hardboiled lady, and although Philip doesn’t consider himself a “Lady’s Man” or a skirt chaser, he recognizes the signs of independence and the hands off attitude. He is surprised at the urge he has to make her his in spite of her attitude, and he knows she would run far and fast if he showed any of the settling down signs. The urge to settle down has him unsettled, and has really hit him out of the blue. Before Luce showed up he had thought about it as an event in the far distant future.
Now Philip finds that women aren’t the only ones to feel the “nesting urge” as the old men used to say. The longer he is around Luce, the harder it becomes for him to think of life without her, or her attitude around to pull at his strings. The sooner they can get this business with Clyde cleared up, the better. He cannot be sure what Clyde is thinking, and the danger is real on more than one count, but if there is one thing that Philip knows, it is how to close a case. Some are harder than others, and some have bad outcomes, and consequences, but his mind is firmly made up. He will see this through, and he will have Luce as his very own, or there is going to be a pretty darn good reason why not. He knows he is taking a big chance, but he feels that his happiness, and his future are hanging in the balance, and that is making him very nervous. His goal now, is to stick to her like glue, and come what may, be sure she is safe. Clyde or no Clyde, he is going to make sure that Luce Montgomery ends up right back her in his house, and in his arms…
Welcome to Pinon Lake, and another wonderful tale, Blue Jeans and a Badge, told by the hand and pen of Nina Bruhns. We have met Philip before, and now he has his own tale to tell. When the beautiful Luce Montgomery tackled him in front of Clyde Tafota’s shop, she didn’t know what she was getting, but then neither did he. In a swirl of mixed emotions, strong drives, some not so nice memories, and some beautiful scenery it is up to Philip to show Luce that he is her every dream, and that together, they can fulfill her every wish and goal. The question is, can he do it before she leaves, and if she leaves with her quarry, will he be enough to draw her back? These are things only time can answer, but first thing first, and number one on the list, is getting Clyde to Pinon Lake and hearing what he has to say. Then he has to convince Luce that she needs him as much as he needs her. He is sure that part will take a lot of doing, but he is more than willing to give it a try. told by the hand and pen of Nina Bruhns. We have met Philip before, and now he has his own tale to tell. When the beautiful Luce Montgomery tackled him in front of Clyde Tafota’s shop, she didn’t know what she was getting, but then neither did he. In a swirl of mixed emotions, strong drives, some not so nice memories, and some beautiful scenery it is up to Philip to show Luce that he is her every dream, and that together, they can fulfill her every wish and goal. The question is, can he do it before she leaves, and if she leaves with her quarry, will he be enough to draw her back? These are things only time can answer, but first thing first, and number one on the list, is getting Clyde to Pinon Lake and hearing what he has to say. Then he has to convince Luce that she needs him as much as he needs her. He is sure that part will take a lot of doing, but he is more than willing to give it a try.
As for the “Happy Couple”? Well Blue Jeans and a Badge, as always with a book by the inventive Ms. Bruhns, one can count on the path of true love being rocky but sure. It seems she has an unending supply of devious ways, and shenanigans to keep her hero and heroine so close and yet so far apart. The tension is incredible; the tale an impressive rendering of love to the nth degree, and the story is such a delicious read that ends all too quickly. All in all, Blue Jeans and a Badge is a book that you cannot put down, and are sorry to see end. Luce and Philip are people you would love to meet, and you root for them the whole way. In my opinion, you better hurry to Nina’s site, to Amazon.com, to Barnes and Noble, or to your favourite bookseller and grab a copy of Blue Jeans and a Badge before it leaves the shelves!!!
Yours in good reading,
Rose!
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