Title: Missing You: Lonesome Lawmen 3
Author: Pauline Baird Jones
Genre: Romantic suspense
Book Blurb:
A detective in mourning. A mysterious amnesiac. Her past is about to haunt them both…
On the anniversary of his wife’s death, all Luke Kirby wanted was to be alone with his memories. The homicide detective treks to his secluded family cabin high in the Rockies. But he never expected to find a beautiful, injured woman searching for memories of her own…
She can’t remember her name or how she made it to the kind stranger’s cabin. The few memories she has don’t seem to add up, but something tells her the reason she sought out Luke’s help is a matter of life and death…
When a massive storm threatens the cabin, the unlikely duo heads for lower ground. As an unknown force pursues them down the mountain, the only thing this Jane Doe knows for sure is that she wants Luke by her side. Maybe they’ll even have a chance, if they make it out of the Rockies alive…
Missing You is a suspenseful mystery infused with heart and humor. If you like puzzling whodunits, panoramic backdrops, and the healing power of love, then you’ll love Pauline Baird Jones’ sensational standalone in her Lonesome Lawmen series.
Buy Missing You to start a high-altitude adventure today!
Excerpt:
He’d sleep in front of the fire. It would be warmer and he could feed the hungry fire. He and Rosemary had slept downstairs the last time they were here. They’d made a bed for two on the floor. He’d use the couch. Wouldn’t be the first time he’d done time on one. Life with Rosemary hadn’t been all smooth and easy. The Kirby men had a weakness for spirited women.
He did a quick run upstairs for a couple more quilts. There was a sturdy mega-sized lap quilt kept folded over the back of the couch, but it wasn’t enough on a night like this. He also grabbed some pillows to soften the hard arms on each end. Back downstairs, he noticed that the quilt wasn’t folded over the back, but spread across the seat. In the flickering light from the fire, it almost looked like there was someone under it. For a minute, chills snaked down his back, until common sense reasserted itself.
If someone was here, it was a squatter who’d likely used the unlatched window to get in. He bit back an expletive. Couldn’t kick a dog out on a night like this. So much for being alone. He dumped his blanket load on a chair. Odd that whoever it was hadn’t heard his noisy arrival and made their presence known. It was enough to make him uneasy, so he pulled his gun. As a cop, he’d learned to err on the side of caution. He knew which boards creaked and took care to avoid them as he approached the couch. Keeping the figure covered, he reached out and flipped the edge of the blanket back and saw—
Feet.
Or more precisely, a pair of hiking boots and blue-jean covered legs below the knees. Good boots. Not a squatter then. Maybe a hiker?
Luke felt a bit ridiculous and a little anxious about the lack of movement as he moved to the other end. Being alone with a body wasn’t what he had in mind either. This time when he flipped the blanket back, he saw hair. Lots of it. Tangled and blonde enough to make Marilyn Monroe jealous. The ends of most of it were hidden under the part of the blanket that still covered her middle, except for a bunch that hung over her face and off the edge of the couch, forming a question mark on the wood floor.
It seemed Goldilocks had come calling but found only one bear.
He stowed his gun and knelt down beside her. Bits of dried brush, brown grass and twigs were caught in the tousled strands of her hair. She had a thick fleece jacket on, with bits of dried brush stuck to it, too, and it had been torn in several places. One of her arms hung off the edge of the couch; the hand at the end of the arm was bare and badly scratched. A couple of her nails were broken, the edges ragged and torn.
“Who’s sleeping on my couch?” he muttered, as he gathered up the trailing strands of hair, icy cold and soft as silk, to expose her face. It was scratched, too, and there was a nasty looking bump just above her temple. A thin trail of dried blood disappeared into her hairline. The bones under the scratches were good, the kind that wear well over time. Her jaw was strong and determined. Laugh lines at the corners of her mouth and eyes seemed at odds with a mouth that was full and rather sad. Her thick lashes lay in dark fans against her pale bruised skin, hiding her eyes. Equally dark brows arched over them.
It was hard to be sure because memory was so unreliable, and his memories of Rosemary as a young woman were buried under her last months of wasting away from ovarian cancer, but she kind of reminded him of a young Rosemary, or her sister, if Rosemary had had one. It was a bit eerie on a dark and stormy night. If her eyes were blue when she opened them, he might just have to join the X-Files fan club.
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
Author Store eBook: https://payhip.com/b/DF0Oe
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Pauline_Baird_Jones_Missing_You?id=lVmfAgAAQBAJ&hl=en
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1198961
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/missing-you-the-lonesome-lawmen-book-3-by-pauline-baird-jones
What makes your featured book a must-read?
"Missing You" delivers an enticing blend of suspense, mystery, and romance set against a panoramic backdrop. This enthralling tale is a must-read for lovers of puzzling mysteries, emotional love stories, and dramatic scenery.
Giveaway –
Enter to win a $35 Amazon gift card:
Open Internationally.
Runs August 8 – August 21, 2023.
Winner will be drawn on August 22, 2023.
Author Biography:
USA Today Bestselling Author, Pauline never liked reality, so she writes books. She likes to wander among the genres, rampaging like Godzilla, because she does love peril mixed in her romance.
Social Media Links:
Website: https://paulinebjones.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/paulinebjones
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/paulinebjones