No Second Chance features a horse rescuer. She teams up with a corporate mogul to fight a mutual enemy. At risk is her home, her horses, her heart, and her life. You'll want to check out this intriguing romantic suspense right away. Proceeds will benefit a real life animal rescue organization, Days End Farm Horse Rescue in Lisbon, MD.
When she handed him a short rope, he doubled the thick cotton line and draped it around his neck as she had done. Grain bucket in hand, he followed her into the towering corn stalks.
“Where are they?”
“They’re in here somewhere.”
Devlin trailed after Hope and her dog, swatting at the leafy obstacles in his way. There was enough starlight for him to make out his hand in front of his face. Thoughts of Hope’s warm soft bed surfaced. Along with that flash of thigh. “Why don’t you whistle them up?”
“I would, if I’d lost a pack of dogs.” She paused. “Shhh. I hear something.”
He listened. Cornstalks rustled all around him in the gentle night breeze. He didn’t hear hooves clopping, but Hope inched forward.
It occurred to him someone owned this property, someone who most likely owned a shotgun.
“Won’t this farmer be upset by the horses trampling his corn?”
“Shhh.” She stopped him with a palm to his chest. “Wait here.”
The shape of her warm hand seared through his thin shirt, branding him with her touch. His pulse quickened, and he reached to cover her hand, but it was long gone.
A faint trace of her herbal shampoo lingered in the chilly air. She’d vanished in the darkness.
Great. Just great. How the hell would he find her? He was tired and sleepy. He couldn’t afford to spend the entire night chasing after runaways. He wanted a soft warm bed – and Hope.
With those thoughts in mind, he headed off to find her, shaking the grain bucket as he walked. “Here, horsey. Come eat the nice grain.”
To his right, a ghostly white horse lifted its head out of the corn and snorted. He watched in dismay as the horse ran from him. He swore out loud.
Hope appeared and wrenched the bucket from his hand. “Nice going there, Ace. Noel’s probably halfway across the corn field by now. Remind me not to bring you next time.”
He charged after her. “Next time? How often does this happen?”
She vibrated with anger. “Often enough that George Main will be over in the morning demanding to be paid for his damaged crop. My horses shouldn’t have gotten out. Last time a horse got out, the catch on a snap hook failed. Since then, I’ve replaced every snap hook on the farm. This was no accident. Someone did this on purpose.”
He believed her. “We’ll call the cops when we get back.”
“These horses didn’t deserve to be frightened like this.” She hurled the words over her shoulder.
“I’m supposed to be giving them a second chance, not putting them in harm’s way.”
His mouth tightened. If this incident was related to his company’s troubles, he had a prime suspect in mind. His cousin. If not for his mother’s protectiveness of Ray, Devlin would’ve fired Ray long ago. “Don’t worry. The cops will figure it out.”
He glanced from the towering stalks to the few littering the ground next to him. “The horses may have caused minimal damage, but that’s all.”
“What you don’t understand, city boy, is that farmers live on a slim margin. In a lean year, a five percent crop loss can mean the difference between making it or not.”
His teeth ground together. He had a Masters Degree in Business Administration. He’d cut his teeth on profit and loss margins. “I admit to being a glorified bean counter. I don’t know much about farming, but I can fix this. I’ll call George Main and square things with him tomorrow.”
“You do that.” Moments later, she stopped. Shadowy outlines of horses appeared in the faint grayness ahead. She tugged on his arm. “Sit down,” she whispered.
He sat. This strange experience kept getting stranger. “What are we doing now?” he whispered back.
“Pretending we aren’t interested in the horses.”
His annoyance spiked when the dog nudged in between him and Hope. “Why are we out here if not to catch the horses?”
“This will work. Trust me.”
He was running low on trust and long on suspicion. What had he gotten himself into? His thin shirt didn’t keep the chill of the night away. An idea formed in his head. It was reckless, but he had nothing to lose.
He crawled over the dog and scooted behind Hope, her warmth and herbal fragrance heating him up faster than a lightning strike.
She craned her neck around to look at him. “What are you doing?”
“I’m taking consolation where I can get it. It’s cold out here. Sharing body heat is a time-honored tradition for keeping warm.”
“Oh, for goodness sake. Why didn’t you stay in the truck?”
“Because I wanted to help. And I didn’t want you wandering around alone at night.”
She stiffened. “You think I can’t handle this?”
This was not his night. “From what I’ve seen, you can handle anything. My point was safety related. If something goes wrong, this way there’s a backup person to get help.”
“Why didn’t you say so in the first place?”
He tamped down his irritation as she leaned into him. Her alluring fragrance filled his lungs, clouding his thoughts. He’d sure like to kiss her. He nuzzled her silky hair.
WANT MORE? NO SECOND CHANCE IS AVAILABLE NOW. BUY LINKS ARE BELOW. PROCEEDS BENEFIT DAYS END FARM HORSE RESCUE IN LISBON, MD.
Maggie Toussaint
No Second Chance, ISBN 9781601541628
ebook:
Buy it from The Wild Rose Press or
Buy it from Fictionwisesee the trailer at
http://www.maggietoussaint.com/ 
