Seattle Lumberjacks linebacker Zach Murphy is a beast of a player, and he’s about to capture the heart of the beautiful Kelsie Carrington-Richmond.
It's showtime.
After twelve years in the league, all Zach Murphy wants is a Super Bowl ring. He’s been about hard hits not smooth manners, about breaking quarterbacks not making small talk at cocktail parties. But now he’s shattered something else. After dumping a tray of drinks on the team owner’s snooty daughter and accidentally feeling up the Governor’s wife, his tenure with his team looks perilously short. And things are getting worse.
Life is looking up for Kelsie Carrington-Richmond. A onetime beauty pageant star and mean girl, she only recently stopped living out of her car. But both those times have passed. Her Finishing School for Real Men has a real shot, and the Seattle Lumberjacks have hired her to polish up their roughest player. Except…it’s Zach. Long ago she broke his heart. He’s just the beast she remembers—gruff, protective—but she’s nothing like the beauty from his past.
Yet, getting knocked down happens, and getting back up makes a contender. And they both have the hearts of champions.
Excerpt
Zach stopped dead in his tracks when someone stepped out of the shadows and blocked his path. As soon as the dark figure moved into the dim light of the street lamp, he recognized the tall, slender body. “Kelsie?” He glanced around, wondering if she waited for someone other than him.
She stalked up to him, fists shoved against her thighs. Her entire body radiated anger. “Did you tell him?”
He blinked several times and tried to make sense of her words. “Tell who?”
“You did, didn’t you?”
“Who’s him? Tell them what?”
“That you saw me.”
“I never told anyone anything.”
“You did. You called someone back home and told them.”
“I don’t have contact with anyone in Texas. Haven’t for years.” He tiptoed lightly around this female landmine. If the explosion didn’t kill him, the shrapnel from her anger sure as hell would.
“Are you sure?” She deflated a little. Her shoulders slumped, and her chin lowered. Her eyes dimmed a little.
“Positive. I might be a lot of things, but I’m not a liar. You should know that.”
The remainder of her anger fizzled like the remnants of a sparkler. “But if you didn’t tell him then who’s following me?”
Synopsis
Zeke Milligan is stuck between a rock and a hard place. He is desperately in love with Lynn, but a dark secret from his past continues to rear its ugly head. Worse yet, he persistently punishes the love of his life for events that took p
