Title LOVE HORSING AROUND
Author SONJA GUNTER
Genre CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Publisher SATIN ROMANCE/MELANGE BOOKS
Book Blurb
Alisa Highland’s, love for horses and barrel racing has been put through a lot, since coming off a suspension from the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association. Hardships and obstacles, push her to her limits and turns to the cowboys to make ends meet to save her ranch.
Dr. Lance Rangle, her ex-fiancé, returns to help his father with the veterinarian clinic. An emergency visit brings Alisa and him, face-to-face. Their encounter reveals they still have feelings for each other.
The past lunges forward, and their unfinished business comes front and center. Will their love be enough to survive life’s new hurdles?
Excerpt
Through the falling snow the Countryside Veterinary Hospital building appeared. Alisa hauled ass into the parking lot. Jamming the shifter into park, she hurried to the trailer. The horrid stench gagged her. With shaking hands, she unlocked the side door. “May I help you?” Did Dr. Rangle have a cold? His voice was deeper than normal. “Can’t you smell it? I don’t know what’s wrong. I stopped —I checked on him—and found him—he seems to be in pain. He’s been whinnying and shit all over.” Freeing the lead rope, the shadows hid Dr. Rangle and then she saw he was positioned at the opened rear gate. “Ready here,” he shouted. His voice barely audible, but yet she heard the anxiety in the two words. “Back, Xavier, back.” Her commands didn’t work. Xavier resisted and reared up. She clicked her tongue again and again until he stepped backward out of the trailer. “I’ll take it from here.” Again, despite the situation she thought Dr. Rangle sounded different. She extended her hand and the rope to him once he’d moved out of the shadows. Alisa’s eyes widened. Her heart thumped in her chest. The man next to her wasn’t old Dr. Rangle, but his son Lance. The one and only man who she’d loved and now hated for all time. When had he returned? This was really bad juju so close to Christmas. “You didn’t have to be so rude to Patty, my receptionist.” “I know who Patty is. What are you—never mind. Where is your dad?” “He’s in South Dakota. I’m the veterinarian on call.” Lance put a gloved hand on Xavier’s nose. “What did you feed this horse?” “His name is Xavier. I gave him regular feed and some I purchased at the competition in Oklahoma. I didn’t have—I used more than I brought, but I got the same brand I feed at home.” “Did you check to make sure it was fresh? If you happen to have any left, I’d like to run some tests on it. I will take him inside. Use the hose on your boots before you come in.” “Yeah, right.” Lance led Xavier around the building to a side entrance. Alisa followed hastily. Just inside of the door to the left, a sink had a hose attached to the faucet. She rinsed off her boots then went into the hospital. The tile floor emphasized each of her strides. She pushed open a pair of blue doors. Squinting from the flood of bright lights, she found Lance sitting at a workstation with small machines. Gone was his shoulder length brown hair, it was now short, and he was sporting a close-cut short beard and mustache. He didn’t look up when she entered, which was okay. She didn’t want to look into his brown eyes. His rigid pose along with his foot tapping on the chair showed he was angry. Couldn’t he let the past go? She had, or so she told herself she had. Her stress level elevated a notch, and she held in the urge to run. The last time she had been in this area of the clinic was etched into her memory forever. Lance’s dad, Dr. Rangle’s angry words, reverberated in her mind. Buster’s whinnies, his blood everywhere, and her lie to protect her mother flooded before her. She’d loved her mother, despite every cruel word and all her actions. It had been the night from hell, and here she was again the same, but different. Old Dr. Rangle wasn’t in front of her, but Lance was.
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub)
Author Biography
I was born and raised in the cold and beautiful Minnesota, but I escaped to Illinois for seventeen years to raise my two boys, and now I call Florida home. My husband Andy, who’s always been my hero, has put up with my late night computer typing and endless stacks of papers with my stories on them. We have one furry friend as family: Chip, a sixteen year old ragdoll cat.
Life has been full of ups and downs, but I’ve made it through the hard times. I love to travel and go to Disney World to trade pins. I’ve been a bowler for many years, and you can catch me writing my next novel at the lanes.
I encourage you to check out my web site, www.sonjagunter.com for more info and don’t be surprised if I let my Norwegian heritage come through in my stories.
Go Vikings! You betcha!