Coming Home
Texas
By Laura Harner
Genre: M/M Romance
Out September 24, 2015
You know what they say—you can’t go home again—and Brandon Masters doesn’t want to. But when he gets a call that his father is down hard with a broken leg, he puts his thriving real estate business, his fiancé, and his life on hold and returns to his small town roots in Goldview, Texas, temporarily picking up the reins of the world he left behind. A dozen years gone should be long enough to erase the pain and humiliation he suffered when the town’s bad boy broke his naive teenaged heart.
Twelve years ago, Joe Martinez was left standing in the dust, his heart in his hand and his future on the line when the blond-haired, blue-eyed boy from the right side of the tracks left town without a backward glance. Or so he thought. Since then, he’s rebuilt himself from the boots up, to earn the respect of the community his father shamed.
When the now-Sheriff Martinez discovers Brandon has returned long enough to help his father recover, he realizes he’s been handed the perfect opportunity to get the answers he needs to move on—and maybe seek a little payback for pain and suffering. But businessman-Brandon has learned a thing or two about protecting his heart—and breaking down those walls may not be as easy as it appears. Irresistible force—meet immovable object.
“This is a fast paced book, and it's a great read. If you're a fan of Laura's work, this is a must have book. If she's new to you, this would be a great place to start falling in love.” ~ Goodreads Reviewer
“What to say about this book other then I loved it!!!” ~ Inked Rainbow Reads
Blinking at Joe’s sudden exit, Brandon followed, his own long strides barely able to keep up. “Slow down, Joe—I want to talk to you,” he said, nearly out of breath.
Although he had to have heard his name, Joe didn’t stop, just lowered his head like a steamroller and made for the truck. Brandon barely caught him when he slowed to open the door and climb inside. With a bit of a jump, Brandon managed to clamber onto the running board to stand between Joe and the door, preventing him from closing it and driving off.
Leaning inside, he got right up in Joe’s tight, angry face. “What the hell’s the matter? Talk to me…” he demanded.
Joe’s knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel. In profile, his features were set in a frown, his jaw clenched.
“You want to talk?” he ground out. “That’s different. Let’s skip the talk and you just run back to San Diego, Brandon. Save us all a lot of trouble.”
The words hurt more than they should have. More than was right. After what had happened in the tack room with Hugh, Brandon’s emotions were as frayed as an old rope, and just as likely to give under pressure. “You want me to go back to San Diego?”
Staring out the windshield, Joe pressed his lips tight together and said nothing.
“What’s wrong? What did I do?” Brandon asked, unable to hide the hurt in his tone.
“You came back to Goldview,” Joe replied, turning to face him. “I thought I was finally getting my shit together, then you come back and set me flat on my ass again.”
“What does that even mean? You’re the most put together guy in town, from what I can tell…otherwise no one would have voted for you for sheriff. I’m proud of you,” he added. “They couldn’t have hired a better man for the job.”
Joe snorted. “Right,” he drawled. “Let’s recheck those numbers. You drop in to take care of your dad—and suddenly I’m taking a sabbatical from my job. Today I beat a man half to death and was considering doing the same to my best friend. Randy was right. You’re trouble, and whenever you’re around, I seem to stay knee deep in it. You’re no good for me.”
Anger finally snapping, Brandon leaned in and got right in Joe’s face. “Wait—it’s my fault you decided to take a vacation and come out here to help work a ranch—something you haven’t done since college?” he asked indignantly. “Newsflash. I didn’t choose to come back here to make your life miserable. I had to come back to help my dad. This”—he leaned back and waved his arm—“had nothing to do with you.”
Brandon was breathing hard, wondering exactly why he’d chased after this confusing man. “I have a business in San Diego. A life, a home. A fiancé. If my dad didn’t need me, I wouldn’t have ever come back.” Brandon met Joe’s angry eyes. “I didn’t want you here. I don’t need you here. The thought of seeing you again is exactly what kept me away. So tell me again whose fault it is that you’re in this situation?”
Joe growled, and his arm shot out to grab Brandon around the waist, then he jerked him inside the truck. Barely ducking his head in time to keep from banging it on the frame, Brandon found himself caught between the steering wheel and Joe’s chest. He started to protest when Joe crashed their mouths together.
Slick and hot, they fit together like they’d never been apart, never stopped sharing their mind-numbing kisses. Their tongues slid together, their teeth bumped, their mouths moving to deepen the connection. Brandon moaned as he sucked eagerly on Joe’s tongue, a silent promise or an unspoken wish—either way, he knew what he wanted.
Heart racing, he slid his hands over Joe’s chest, then up to his neck, before dragging his fingers through the thick dark hair. It was like nobody in the world existed except the two of them. When Joe moaned, it came out like a sob. Need and desire, love and fate, all mixed up into one potent arrow that shot Brandon straight through his heart—taking down every one of the protective barriers he’d built.
Joe gentled the kiss, lapped at Brandon’s lips, then pulled back, breathing heavily.
“We need to stop, Brandon.” With considerable effort, he dragged Brandon the rest of the way into the cab of the truck. In the process, he gave Brandon’s ass a good feel for the pressing need building between them. Then Joe eased Brandon onto the driver’s seat as he scooted across the bench onto the passenger side.
In a fog of desperate need, Brandon felt disoriented by the sudden change. “What—?”
“We have an audience.” Joe gave a chin nod out the windshield.
Brandon blinked slowly, trying to focus on anything other than Joe’s red and swollen lips. He looked out the front window. Randy and Hep had stopped a good twenty feet from the SUV, but plenty close to see exactly what had been happening. They wore suspiciously similar grins as they’d clearly been watching the fireworks in the cab of the truck.
“Aw, shit…not good,” he groaned and slammed his back against the seat.
Joe looked over at him. “Felt pretty damned good to me.” There was an edge to his voice; he almost sounded…sad.
Kissing Joe was beyond spectacular—just as it had always been. They could light each other up from zero to sixty in two point nine seconds. And wasn’t that just the problem? That kind of heat left Brandon defenseless. Being with Joe again…making love again…would be beyond perfect. Something Brandon had never dreamed possible—and something he wanted more than his next breath. Which was completely and totally wrong. He shouldn’t feel that way. Couldn’t feel that way.
“I-I’m engaged… I-I don’t cheat.”
“Brando, there’s something between us—some unfinished business. We need to get it out of our system so we can both move on.” Joe’s dark brown eyes would have been easy to get lost in, and for a moment, the temptation to agree with him was nearly overwhelming.
“Joe, we can’t go back in time. It wouldn’t change…anything. We’d both just wind up getting hurt. And E-Ellis would wind up hurt too.”
Joe twisted in the seat and grabbed Brandon’s shoulders. “Dammit, Brandon—to hell with Ellis. How the hell can you say you’re going to marry him when it’s obvious you want to be with me?”
Brandon jerked away and stared down at his hands, unable to look Joe in the face.
“I l-love him.” Brandon’s throat was so tight he thought he might choke on the lie. They would both be better off if Joe believed him—if Joe would stay away until Brandon headed back to San Diego. If Joe never knew how much thinking Brandon had to do about his relationship with Ellis.
Joe growled and thunked his fist on the dashboard. “Get out, Brandon.”
Nodding, Brandon blindly reached for the handle and jerked it up to open the door. Before he climbed out, he turned to look at Joe once more. His jaw was clenched so tightly he thought Joe’s teeth might crumble.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “Sorry I left like I did, and sorry I let things get out of control just now.”
“Get out, Brandon,” Joe repeated, his voice as rough as sandpaper. “But you think about what I said—you know I’m right. We need to finish this. If you change your mind, let me know.”
Brandon shut the door and stepped away, and it only took a second before Joe started the engine. He tore down the driveway, leaving a dust cloud—and Brandon’s aching heart—behind.
Although he had to have heard his name, Joe didn’t stop, just lowered his head like a steamroller and made for the truck. Brandon barely caught him when he slowed to open the door and climb inside. With a bit of a jump, Brandon managed to clamber onto the running board to stand between Joe and the door, preventing him from closing it and driving off.
Leaning inside, he got right up in Joe’s tight, angry face. “What the hell’s the matter? Talk to me…” he demanded.
Joe’s knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel. In profile, his features were set in a frown, his jaw clenched.
“You want to talk?” he ground out. “That’s different. Let’s skip the talk and you just run back to San Diego, Brandon. Save us all a lot of trouble.”
The words hurt more than they should have. More than was right. After what had happened in the tack room with Hugh, Brandon’s emotions were as frayed as an old rope, and just as likely to give under pressure. “You want me to go back to San Diego?”
Staring out the windshield, Joe pressed his lips tight together and said nothing.
“What’s wrong? What did I do?” Brandon asked, unable to hide the hurt in his tone.
“You came back to Goldview,” Joe replied, turning to face him. “I thought I was finally getting my shit together, then you come back and set me flat on my ass again.”
“What does that even mean? You’re the most put together guy in town, from what I can tell…otherwise no one would have voted for you for sheriff. I’m proud of you,” he added. “They couldn’t have hired a better man for the job.”
Joe snorted. “Right,” he drawled. “Let’s recheck those numbers. You drop in to take care of your dad—and suddenly I’m taking a sabbatical from my job. Today I beat a man half to death and was considering doing the same to my best friend. Randy was right. You’re trouble, and whenever you’re around, I seem to stay knee deep in it. You’re no good for me.”
Anger finally snapping, Brandon leaned in and got right in Joe’s face. “Wait—it’s my fault you decided to take a vacation and come out here to help work a ranch—something you haven’t done since college?” he asked indignantly. “Newsflash. I didn’t choose to come back here to make your life miserable. I had to come back to help my dad. This”—he leaned back and waved his arm—“had nothing to do with you.”
Brandon was breathing hard, wondering exactly why he’d chased after this confusing man. “I have a business in San Diego. A life, a home. A fiancé. If my dad didn’t need me, I wouldn’t have ever come back.” Brandon met Joe’s angry eyes. “I didn’t want you here. I don’t need you here. The thought of seeing you again is exactly what kept me away. So tell me again whose fault it is that you’re in this situation?”
Joe growled, and his arm shot out to grab Brandon around the waist, then he jerked him inside the truck. Barely ducking his head in time to keep from banging it on the frame, Brandon found himself caught between the steering wheel and Joe’s chest. He started to protest when Joe crashed their mouths together.
Slick and hot, they fit together like they’d never been apart, never stopped sharing their mind-numbing kisses. Their tongues slid together, their teeth bumped, their mouths moving to deepen the connection. Brandon moaned as he sucked eagerly on Joe’s tongue, a silent promise or an unspoken wish—either way, he knew what he wanted.
Heart racing, he slid his hands over Joe’s chest, then up to his neck, before dragging his fingers through the thick dark hair. It was like nobody in the world existed except the two of them. When Joe moaned, it came out like a sob. Need and desire, love and fate, all mixed up into one potent arrow that shot Brandon straight through his heart—taking down every one of the protective barriers he’d built.
Joe gentled the kiss, lapped at Brandon’s lips, then pulled back, breathing heavily.
“We need to stop, Brandon.” With considerable effort, he dragged Brandon the rest of the way into the cab of the truck. In the process, he gave Brandon’s ass a good feel for the pressing need building between them. Then Joe eased Brandon onto the driver’s seat as he scooted across the bench onto the passenger side.
In a fog of desperate need, Brandon felt disoriented by the sudden change. “What—?”
“We have an audience.” Joe gave a chin nod out the windshield.
Brandon blinked slowly, trying to focus on anything other than Joe’s red and swollen lips. He looked out the front window. Randy and Hep had stopped a good twenty feet from the SUV, but plenty close to see exactly what had been happening. They wore suspiciously similar grins as they’d clearly been watching the fireworks in the cab of the truck.
“Aw, shit…not good,” he groaned and slammed his back against the seat.
Joe looked over at him. “Felt pretty damned good to me.” There was an edge to his voice; he almost sounded…sad.
Kissing Joe was beyond spectacular—just as it had always been. They could light each other up from zero to sixty in two point nine seconds. And wasn’t that just the problem? That kind of heat left Brandon defenseless. Being with Joe again…making love again…would be beyond perfect. Something Brandon had never dreamed possible—and something he wanted more than his next breath. Which was completely and totally wrong. He shouldn’t feel that way. Couldn’t feel that way.
“I-I’m engaged… I-I don’t cheat.”
“Brando, there’s something between us—some unfinished business. We need to get it out of our system so we can both move on.” Joe’s dark brown eyes would have been easy to get lost in, and for a moment, the temptation to agree with him was nearly overwhelming.
“Joe, we can’t go back in time. It wouldn’t change…anything. We’d both just wind up getting hurt. And E-Ellis would wind up hurt too.”
Joe twisted in the seat and grabbed Brandon’s shoulders. “Dammit, Brandon—to hell with Ellis. How the hell can you say you’re going to marry him when it’s obvious you want to be with me?”
Brandon jerked away and stared down at his hands, unable to look Joe in the face.
“I l-love him.” Brandon’s throat was so tight he thought he might choke on the lie. They would both be better off if Joe believed him—if Joe would stay away until Brandon headed back to San Diego. If Joe never knew how much thinking Brandon had to do about his relationship with Ellis.
Joe growled and thunked his fist on the dashboard. “Get out, Brandon.”
Nodding, Brandon blindly reached for the handle and jerked it up to open the door. Before he climbed out, he turned to look at Joe once more. His jaw was clenched so tightly he thought Joe’s teeth might crumble.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “Sorry I left like I did, and sorry I let things get out of control just now.”
“Get out, Brandon,” Joe repeated, his voice as rough as sandpaper. “But you think about what I said—you know I’m right. We need to finish this. If you change your mind, let me know.”
Brandon shut the door and stepped away, and it only took a second before Joe started the engine. He tore down the driveway, leaving a dust cloud—and Brandon’s aching heart—behind.
I live on waterfront property in Arizona because I've always wanted to be an oxymoron. I once enjoyed hobbies such as gardening and travel--now the characters my head compel me to tell their stories, so I write. (It doesn't actually help quiet the voices--but it keeps the folks in the white jackets at bay.)
I love to tell stories of people who find themselves in unusual situations (attracted to a best friend, in a haunted house, kidnapped for his own good, etc.) and then have to find way to push through whatever it is holding them back from finding love. I'm a big believer that love comes in many flavors, so among my titles you'll find MF, MM, and multiple partners of various combinations. In other words, love outside the lines. Suspense included, no extra charge.
My home is filled with an ever-revolving cast of characters--some of whom are actually real--and outside of writing and watching my Diamondbacks baseball, I am building my own version of the Willow Springs Ranch to turn into a writer's retreat.
With over fifty published novels and novellas, I'm rapidly approaching a half million books sold! I want to thank each and every reader who's taken a chance on one of my books--that makes you family.
HOSTED BY:
No comments:
Post a Comment