Melinda Dozier : Book/Author Spotlight: Lorelei James Blog Tour

I'm thrilled to be a part of Lorelei James' blog tour. At this stop you can read her book blurb and an excerpt from her newest romance, Gone Country. Also, Lorelei is giving away, winner’s choice, a Nook or Kindle, up to $250 value, to one winner from all the different tour stops. Winner will be selected via Rafflecopter on 12/12.

Be sure to read all the way to the bottom to enter the giveaway!

Isn't this a beautiful cover? I could stare at it for hours.

TITLE: Gone Country

AUTHOR: Lorelei James

PUBLISHER: Samhain

GENRE: Erotic Western

RELEASE DATE: December 11, 2012

BOOK BLURB:

GONE COUNTRY - Rough Riders book 14

She’s a little bit country, and he’s…not.

Arizona businessman and long-lost McKay love child Gavin Daniels has been awarded sole custody of his teenage daughter Sierra for one year. In order to steer Sierra back on track after a brush with the law, he pulls up stakes and heads to Wyoming, looking for support from his ranching family...even if he isn’t sure where they fit in the McKay dynamic. He’s prepared for every contingency with the move: the less-than-enthusiastic response from his daughter, learning to run his corporation remotely, but he’s thrown for a loop when his new housemate, Rielle, is a whole lot sexier, funnier and sassier than he remembered.

Rielle Wetzler has finally overcome the stigma of having hippie parents and being a young single mother. In the two years since she sold her ailing B&B to Gavin Daniels, she’s become financially stable running the homespun businesses she loves. But now Gavin is in Sundance to claim the house that’s rightfully his. Although Rielle knew this day would come, she isn’t prepared to leave the home she built for herself and her now-grown daughter. And to further complicate matters, her long-dormant libido is definitely not ready to live with this newly buff Gavin—who isn’t a cowboy, but has the take-charge attitude to prove he’s all McKay.

Sharing a roof, their troubles and their triumphs is too much temptation, and before long, Gavin and Rielle are sharing a bed. But sharing their hearts and lives forever? That’s a whole ’nother ball of wax.

Warning: Contains a feisty, independent heroine who doesn’t need a man to take care of her needs outside the bedroom and a sweet, sexy and bossy hero who’s up to the challenge of proving her wrong

EXCERPT:

Late Saturday afternoon Gavin pulled into the parking area of the former Sage Creek Bed and Breakfast.

The five thousand square foot, two-story structure had large windows stretching along the main and upper floors. This time of day the sun reflected off the sections of glass in tones of amber and rosy-gold. The siding had been crafted out of rough-hewn lumber and applied vertically, horizontally, crossways, creating the impression of depth. A copper-colored tin roof covered a wide-planked porch that spanned the entire length of the front side. The porch supports were notched logs, worn into a smooth vanilla-hued patina in some places and left rough with chunks of bark in others. The concrete work at the base of the house was covered by round, grayish river rock, so the foundation appeared built from cobbled stone. The steps continued the western theme, constructed from old railroad ties, the centers shored up with marbled-looking concrete. Even the split-rail fence separating the parking lot from the porch resembled an old-fashioned hitching post. The overall impression of the place was rustic with western flair. Charming. Welcoming. Homey.

Homey. As Gavin listened to the engine cool, he had to remind himself this was his home. He’d owned it for almost two years, but he’d never cooked a meal in the kitchen. Never washed a load of clothes in the laundry room. Never flopped on the couch and watched a Cardinals football game. He’d always treated this place like a hotel.

No more.

He glanced at his daughter, gauging her reaction to their new home. “So, Sierra, what do you think?”

She peered over the top of her pink sunglasses. “It’s bigger than I thought. Rustic, but it works in this setting with the different types of trees as a backdrop. It looks more like an upscale hunting lodge than a single family dwelling.”

The kid knew the lingo after being around the real estate business her whole life.

“Holy crap. Who is that?”

“Where?”

Sierra pointed. “There. By the fence.”

Gavin saw a shapely, jean-clad ass bent over a wheelbarrow. The woman stood and turned to grab the wheelbarrow’s handles, giving him a front-and-center view of her low-cut tank top. The full swells of her cleavage bounced nicely as she started downhill. Her face was hidden beneath the bill of a brown and gold University of Wyoming ball cap.

“You don’t know her?” Sierra asked. “Is she seasonal help or something?”

“Maybe.” Where was Rielle? She always met him on the porch with her pack of dogs.

They climbed out of the Lexus. Gavin continued to stare from behind his sunglasses at the woman heading toward them, showing a lot of sun-kissed skin. When she removed her cap, revealing artfully tousled short blond hair and smiled at him, Gavin’s jaw nearly hit the dirt. “Rielle?”

“You were expecting someone else?” She stepped closer, slipping off her glove before offering her hand. “You must be Sierra. I’m Rielle Wetzler. Your dad has talked about you nonstop.”

“Most of it bad, I’m sure.” Sierra smirked and Gavin held his breath, waiting for the snarky sixteen-year-old to emerge. “I’ll admit Dad said nothing to me about you.”

Gavin was tempted to correct his daughter, but Rielle had already engaged his sometimes-prickly child in conversation.

Sierra started sharing her favorite parts of their tourist excursions. Rather than stand and gawk at this sexier version of Rielle, he returned to his car and began unloading luggage and tried to figure out how they were going to make this situation work.

The circumstances were unconventional, but his buyout offer hadn’t exactly been normal either. After they’d hashed out an agreement, he’d asked her to stay on the premises as a caretaker, although she refused payment for the position. His property manager called her every other month to check in. Gavin and Rielle were friendly, but he didn’t know her. He hadn’t seen Rielle beyond her role as his personal chef, maid and property custodian. And because of that line—she’d essentially worked for him—he’d never noticed such a hot woman existed beneath the tie-dyed clothes and Marcia Brady hair.

You’re a superficial asshole.

Maybe, but it didn’t change the facts. Gavin hauled luggage to the porch, his depraved brain compiling a list of Rielle’s overlooked attributes. When he turned around Rielle and Sierra were staring at him. “What?”

“Dad. I said I’d help you like three times. Didn’t you hear me?”

“No, sweetheart, I didn’t. Thinking about too many things, I guess.” R-rated things about the scantily clad and surprisingly hot Rielle that he couldn’t share with his daughter. “Let’s leave this stuff here and do a quick tour.” He faced Rielle. “Is that okay?”

She shrugged. “It’s your house.”

He detected tension in that answer and knew they needed to discuss specific living arrangements tonight.