Title: Game On
Series: Texas Playmakers #2
Author: Joanne Rock
Publisher: Tule Publishing
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: August 8, 2019
Blurb
Heâs home to recover ...and rekindle a romance with his first love.
After a hitting streak propels him onto a major league roster, Nate Ramsey lands on the injured list. The one bright spot in a frustrating summer is returning home to Last Stand, Texas-- until he's tasked with confronting Keely Harper, an old flame whose business is running roughshod over his grandfatherâs farm. Nate accepted it when she ended things five years ago, but he wonât overlook a slight to the rest of the Ramseys. What game is she playing?
Keely has always carried the weight of responsibility for her dysfunctional family, so she canât regret the way she ended things with Nate. Cutting him loose to pursue his dreams was the kindest thing she could have done for a man with talent to take him far beyond Last Stand. Except now heâs back, and the fireworks between them havenât faded a bit. If she gives into the temptation of a kiss, will she be able to let him go again once his injury heals and baseball wants him back?
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AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU KOBO / APPLE BOOKS Excerpt
âMy grandfather asked me to talk to you,â Nate admitted, looking out the delivery van window to take in the changes around Last Stand in the year since heâd driven through the small downtown. There were some new businesses, but the vats from Outlaw Tequila were still there. The park was still trimmed and pruned, empty now but ready for use when the weather cooled.
âHow is Everett?â she asked, glancing his way as she stopped at a crosswalk. They waited for a mother pushing a stroller with one hand and holding a preschoolerâs hand with the other. âEveryone was worried about him after the accident this spring.â
The collision had devastated the town, killing the youngest Delaney, Rose, and her boyfriend. Rose had been just nineteen years old. When heâd heard the news, heâd tried calling his own youngest sister, Lara, whoâd left home at around the same age and hadnât looked back. The number he had for her didnât work anymore, reminding him how thoroughly sheâd cut ties with the family. He shook off those memories and focused on Keely.
âThank you. Heâs doing better,â Nate assured her, appreciating her concern. âFeisty as ever, so Iâm sure thatâs a good sign.â
âHeâs the one who sent you to talk to me?â Her voice sounded genuinely curious.
âHe says youâre growing wildflowers on Ramsey land,â he told her bluntly.
Straightening her shoulders, she reared back in surprise. âExcuse me?â
âHe claims he wanted to prep the ground in the east field to start his fall tomato crop, but that the plot is being used for sunflowersâand not by him.â Nate had stopped by the farm stand this morning, hoping the field manager would tell him something differentâthat Everett was confused, or thereâd been a misunderstanding. But Grant Wilkins had told him the same thing.
âWhat east field?â Keely shrugged her shoulders. âWe both know Harper lands border the Ramsey property. Does he think Iâm farming too far on his side? Because I have a survey map of our lands and I double-check it before I work any new grounds for Windy Meadows.â
âIâm sure you doââ
âAnd Iâm very respectful of all the borders,â she insisted, clearly offended. Or irritated. âI think highly of your grandfather, Nate, but he couldnât be more wrong about this.â
âShould we drive out there?â He hated to inconvenience her, but his grandfather was up in arms about the land poaching. âMaybe if we look at the map together, we can take some photos and get it all sorted.â
âI donât need to drive out there.â She shook her head, ponytail swinging as she huffed out a frustrated sigh. âIâve got a hundred and one things to do today, and none of them involve spending time with you to appease your grandfather.â
âOkay then.â He turned his attention to the road ahead and ground his teeth, seeing he had wasted his time. âIâll drive out there myself and see if I can figure it out.â
She said nothing, but she drummed her short nails on the steering wheel as if there were thoughts brewing.
âWhat?â he asked, wishing sheâd just spit it out.
She drummed for another moment as they turned at the faded old sign for Harper Ranch, a relic from four decades past.
âHow will you know what fields are freshly planted, let alone which are tomatoes and which are bluebonnets?â she shot back, her words barbed with the other things she didnât say.
Like how much she resented him being here.
Or how much she resented him, period.
âIâm sure Iâll think of something,â he told her mildly, unwilling to engage.
Heâd ticked her off, but heâd be damned if heâd let her get under his skin. He needed to focus on recovering as fast as humanly possible if he wanted any hope of salvaging his career. That meant he couldnât get tangled up in a drama with Keely, even though she still enticed him like no woman before or since.
Some relationships werenât meant to be.
âIs that so?â She tipped her head to one side, as if she needed to see him from another angle.
As if she didnât believe him.
âYes. You told me you donât want to help me sort through it, so Iâll manage on my own.â He was grateful when the old barn came into view, his truck parked between it and the ramshackle farmhouse where sheâd grown up.
âRight. But if I recall correctly, that just means youâll say whatever you think someone wants to hear while going ahead with what you had planned in the first place.â She braked to a fast halt and jammed the van into park before sending him a withering look. âAt least these days, I know what to expect from you.â
Levering the driverâs side door open, she hopped down to the dusty gravel and walked away as fast as her boots would take her. Had he thought she was non-confrontational? Damn.
Time had changed her, apparently.
Nate watched her go a moment too long for him to convince himself that it didnât matter, his surgical scar throbbing in painful time to the beat of her retreating footsteps.
Heâd known that his grandfather was sending him on a foolâs errand, so it hardly came as a shock that Keely hadnât given him a warm welcome. But since he wasnât about to let his grandfather set the lawyers on a woman who once meant everything to Nate, he would find a way to smooth things over between them.
Exiting the delivery van, Nate headed toward his truck, reminding himself that no hitter worth his salt let himself get down about the first strike.
He was prepared to go deep in the count. He just needed to dig in.
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Author Bio
Four-time RITA nominee Joanne Rock has never met a romance sub-genre she didn't like. The author of over eighty books enjoys writing a wide range of stories, most recently focusing on sexy contemporaries and small town family sagas. An optimist by nature and perpetual seeker of silver linings, Joanne finds romance fits her life outlook perfectly--love is worth fighting for. A frequent speaker at regional and national writing conferences she enjoys giving back to the writing community that nurtured and inspired her early career. She has a Masters degree in Literature from the University of Louisville but credits her fiction writing skills to her intensive study with friend and fellow author Catherine Mann. When she's not writing, Joanne enjoys travel, especially to see her favorite sports teams play with her former sports editor husband and three athletic-minded sons.
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