Thank you for reading Ridge, Book #4 in the Texas Boudreau Brotherhood series. I hope you enjoyed Ridge and Maggie’s story.
Want to find out more about Lucas Boudreau and the excitement and adventure he’s about to plunge headfirst into? Keep reading for an excerpt from his book, Lucas, Book #5 in the Texas Boudreau Brotherhood. Available at all major e-book and print vendors.
Lucas (Book #5 Texas Boudreau Brotherhood series) © Kathy Ivan
Bad weather delayed Lucas’s homecoming by a couple of hours. After leaving Fort Worth, he’d had to pull over a couple of times, because the torrential rain made visibility impossible. His wipers hadn’t been up to the job, even on the highest setting, and since he wasn’t on a deadline, he could take his time.
The decision to head for Shiloh Springs had been a spur of the moment one, even though he’d been home a few weeks ago to celebrate with Ridge and his pretty new lady, Maggie, and catch up with the rest of the family. Rafe and Tessa’s wedding was still a few months away, but he’d never seen his brother happier. Antonio and Brody also seemed to radiate happiness, especially when they were around their newfound ladies.
Exhausted from investigating his latest story, the one he’d turned in the day before, he’d crashed for twenty-four hours straight. The investigative work for the story turned ugly early on, and the more he dug, the harder it became to stay objective. He had to hand it to his brothers, because they had to deal with the scum of the earth on a regular basis. As an investigative reporter, he only came in contact with slimy characters when he was researching, making sure he had his facts straight, and that his sources were impeccable. This story, though, it got to him, crawled beneath his skin and into his brain until he saw it, lived it, breathed it even in his sleep.
Shaking his head, he realized he’d been so engrossed in his thoughts, he’d missed his exit off the interstate, and he’d have to backtrack through the southern part of Shiloh Springs county instead of heading straight to the Big House.
Heading down Main Street, everything looked the same as he had when he’d been a boy. Not a whole lot changed in the small town, and that’s the way he liked it. He liked knowing even if he wasn’t living here full time, when he came back home, everything stayed exactly as it had been when he’d left. Oh, sure, a few things changed. Shops closed. New ones opened. Folks moved away and new ones took their places. But the essence, the heart, of Shiloh Springs remained.
Silhouetted in his headlights, he spotted a woman leisurely walking along the sidewalk, and immediately his chest tightened. His breath caught in his throat, because he recognized her.
Jillian Monroe.
Jill, the woman he’d known most of his life. They’d grown up together. Gone to school together. Shared a first kiss together. She’d been his first crush, all the way back in the sixth grade. He’d hated it when she’d left and gone away to college back East. Hated every minute she was gone, though he’d never admitted it to anybody. But when she came back, she was changed. Different in a way he couldn’t put his finger on. The laughing, friendly, loving Jill disappeared underneath a layer of silence, withdrawn and missing the spark she’d always had burning deep inside.
And she wouldn’t talk to him. Oh, she never went out of her way to deliberately avoid him, but the spontaneity, the joie de vivre, her zest for life, disappeared.
Slowing down, he rolled down the passenger-side window, and called out to her. “Jill. Want a ride?”
LINKS TO BUY LUCAS:
www.kathyivan.com/books.html