AUTHOR’S NOTE

Greetings, Reader-Friends!

I don’t always know which comes first for me—the chicken or the egg—but my life often imitates my story-art and vice versa. When going through a long-overdue breakup, I wrote about a relationship that was on life support and a husband and wife trying to decide whether or not to pull the plug. Sure, there were Mayan demons and an apocalypse in the mix, but the central question was universal: Do I stay or do I go? They stayed together. I split. Then, newly single, I wrote about a cop struggling to find herself in the aftermath of a shooting. And later, freshly in love and ready to write happier, more hopeful stories, I turned to a new pen name and a new series, and Mustang Ridge was born.

Five books and two novellas later, I’d like to invite you to turn the page and share Ashley and Ty’s story with me. It’s about how love can bloom when and where you least expect it—even between an artsy dreamer who’s out to prove herself, and a solid, practical cowboy who’d rather be alone than risk trusting his heart again. But more, this book is about fresh starts like the one I’ve been blessed with. And it’s about new beginnings . . . like the son I conceived while writing it, and whom I’m holding right now.

Thank you for being on this journey with me, dear Reader-Friend. Welcome back to Mustang Ridge, and I truly hope you enjoy Ashley and Ty as much as I do . . . and that maybe you see a little of your own story in theirs.

Love,

Jesse