Twila's a redneck and proud of it. Harland's a P.I. with a target on his back. An explosive situation!
Twila Taunton doesn't expect to find herself ducking bullets when she invites hunky P.I. Harland O'Connor to the company picnic. Pretty soon she forgets she's vowed never to allow a man into her life again. Even worse, his equally hunky twin brother, Horton, makes her forget she's allergic to cops. With her cocky small-town Southern attitude, Twila steps in to pinch-hit for Harland while he recovers from the shooting. Her lack of city- sophistication and disregard for political correctness help her solve some tough cases. And then someone tries to blow her up. She and Harland and Horton are soon caught in a dizzy, dangerous tangle that could cost them more than their lives.
Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
The words of a co-worker bitch started the whole thing.
She hadn't done a very good job of tracking my whereabouts that morning, and obviously didn't know I was in one of the restroom stalls, with my pants on the ground.
"I wonder if that little redneck, Twila will be able to find a half-decent man to bring to the picnic?" Snickers from the other bitches. "She's gotta be a lesbian, or something. I've never seen her even look at a man, and besides, what man is going to want to be seen with fat white trash like her?"
Those pants were pulled up and zippered quicker than a gunslinger can draw his revolver, but not quick enough. If she had still been there when I burst out of my stall, I would have kicked her ass to kingdom come, but she had left, and the opportunity had passed.
The only thing I could do now to save face was go to the picnic, which I had previously not intended to do, and bring a man twice as hot as any of the pasty faced city boys they would drag along. I just happened to know the perfect one.
It would break the promise I had made to myself never to have anything to do with any man ever again, on account of what Jimmie-Ray did. But what harm could it do, I asked myself. I couldn't let them get the better of me. After the picnic, it would be Sayonara to Harland O'Connor.
Despite all that, I still couldn't believe this was me at a corporate picnic. Surreal wasn't the word for it! It was...well...super surreal. If you knew me, you would know that the last place in the world I would ever be was at a corporate anything. Especially not in Yankee territory.
And that wasn't all. Not only was I lying on a checkered blanket--probably a designer brand blanket if there is such a thing--at a corporate picnic, but despite all my best intentions, I was lying beside a man, probably the man of most women's dreams, and at that moment he was all mine.
Harland--who names their kid Harland?--was tall, probably around six three or four, and ripped. I mean, There wasn't an ounce of fat on his body. It was all lean muscle, and he had the tightest little buns. His shoulders were broad, and his arms, one of which was rubbing against my shoulder, were tanned and hard. His hair was brown, with sun-bleached yellowish highlights all the way through, and the way he wore it all messed up like a surfer dude who had just been out riding the waves was smoking.
His eyes were mesmerizing. I had to avoid looking into them because once they locked with mine I couldn't tear my gaze away. They were deep, deep brown, with long brown lashes, and so warm,--the most bedroomy eyes I had ever had the good--or bad--fortune to stare into. It was like looking at a bed with a down comforter on a cold night. I was in dangerous territory, and I was amazed at how the close proximity of a hot male body had changed my attitude.
He had high cheekbones and a strong, square chin, but it was his lips that held my attention the most. They were not too thin and not too thick, and there was always the hint of a smirk on them, like he was mocking me somehow. I had not yet had the pleasure of feeling them on mine, but I knew I was close.
Professional Reviews
Redneck P.I.
Self-proclaimed redneck, Twila Taunton, doesn't fit in well with the corporate world in Boston. When her date for a company picnic gets shot life gets even more complicated. The gorgeous Harland O'Connor has a cop, Horton, for his twin brother. Twila decides her allergy to policemen can't stop her involvement with them. She takes a risky job as Harland's assistant in his private investigation firm while he's recuperating from the gunshot wound. Luckily this Alabama born redneck girl is tough because the situations she gets into would defeat a lesser woman.
Trish Jackson pens a tale that will have you on the edge of your seat from the suspense when you're not rolling on the floor laughing out loud. Imagine Twila's dilemma as she has to chose between two hunks. If that isn't enough we have pot smoking, hard drinking Aunt Essie and her pet, Piggy Sue. The characters in this tale are unique to say the least. Dialogue and Twila's introspection into her life and situations is unequaled by other more mundane tales. This is one of those rare books I'll read again just because it makes me smile so much.
Several murders and some family disputes make for some great sleuthing as we try to solve them before Twila, Horton, and Harland do. None of them are easy to solve and this writer would hazard to guess most readers won't figure them out before the author is ready to unveil the real villains. If you read for enjoyment like I do this is one of the best of the year. Romance, suspense, and fun fill the pages making it harder to put down than most.
Falling to a rare sentinel illness and separated from her charges during a retrieval mission Xevera Nanay encounters the biggest threat to her survival but more importantly her autonomy when paramedic Michael Constantine recognizes and imprisons her
