Stunning, it was, but almost too rich for the eye. With a sudden ache, he longed for the starkness of the Davis Mountains of Texas, which were home.
His parents and siblings had called him every day since Kelly’s death. Abuelita, the wise old healer who was as much his grandmother as if they shared genes, had even made one of her rare forays on the telephone, performing a long-distance diagnosis.
“Cielito,” she’d said. Little sky, the pet name she’d given him as a child. She’d always said his sunny nature made her think of a cloudless sky, cielito sin nuves. “Come home. You should be with those who love you.” Ordering him, in no uncertain terms, to present himself with all haste for a limpia, or spiritual cleansing.
His sky was no longer cloudless; he had blood on his hands that would never wash out. Thank God Kelly’s brother had been lying about her being pregnant, but that relief didn’t lessen Liam’s responsibility for her death. He carried the weight of it on his chest until he couldn’t sleep at night for the smothering press of it.
He should have realized the last episode was different. He should have stopped her. Should have—
All the reassurances others offered dissolved to nothing in the face of knowing that he was the last person who had spoken to Kelly, the one to whom she’d reached out while her demons dug their claws into her throat and choked the life out of her. He could hardly remember the sunny, energetic starlet whose joy had attracted him so on the set of his first big hit.
Damn drugs. Try as he might, he could not understand how a person could know the damage they wreaked and still keep using them. He’d been there for Kelly, paid for rehab twice, would gladly have spent whatever necessary to fix her.
But he couldn’t understand what it was that needed fixing, not really. Life threw things at you. You dealt with them. Sure, a beer now and then was nice, but—
Too damn wholesome, Liam, a friend had leveled the charge once. You’ve never been tested in your entire charmed life.
It was true. His half-brother Rafael had almost died in a Special Forces ambush and still bore scars and a limp. His other half-brother, Alejandro, was a hostage negotiator, had seen the darker side of life in his years in law enforcement. Even his photographer brother, Dane, had faced dangerous animals and treacherous mountain peaks.
And here Liam was, with more money and women than any man should have, simply because of his looks. Dodging only reporters, not bullets. Disguising himself with dark-brown dye on hair long past its usual razor cut, he was reduced to driving down back roads, seeking some time to think without the constant questions, the screaming headlines.
His brothers were the heroes. He just played them.
Ladyville, the sign up ahead said. Gratefully, Liam turned from pondering the demise of the All-American Boy to wondering if this burg would have a café where he could take a leak and grab a bite to eat. His jeans were loose on his waist, the casualty of too many sleepless nights and no appetite.
He hadn’t even been able to attend the funeral to say goodbye to Kelly for fear of turning it into a circus. Her grieving family had deserved better.
Suddenly, Liam longed for his own family, wanted a taste of his mother’s biscuits badly enough to whip the car around and catch the nearest plane to Texas. Wanted to forget the time alone he’d thought he needed and instead sit in her sunny kitchen and let her fuss over him, listen to his kid sister Jilly’s early-morning grumbles. Walk out to the barn and hook a boot heel over a fence while comparing notes on the livestock with his dad.
But home was a good eighteen hundred miles away yet, and he had to buy gas and make a pit stop. This one-horse town was no bigger than tiny La Paloma, where Abuelita and Rafael lived, and there’d be nowhere to spend the night. Best to gas up and go, then get serious about heading straight to Texas in the morning.
That decided, he swerved into the parking lot of the only store in Ladyville and pulled up to the lone pump.
…Excerpt from TEXAS HEARTTHROB by Jean Brashear © 2016
The SECOND CHANCES series includes:
Click on the cover below to learn more
BOOKS by Jean Brashear:
Click on the covers below for more on each book
THE TEXAS HEROES series:
THE GALLAGHERS OF MORNING STAR
Secrets will be revealed and the lives of four people will be shattered as they learn that who they are and where they come from is not at all what they always believed.
Texas Secrets: Former SEAL Boone Gallagher returns to the only home he’s ever known only to find that the ranch has been willed to a stranger who doesn’t want it—and he must keep her there for thirty days, or it will be lost to them both.
Texas Lonely: A loner who’s lost faith in love is the only hope for a mother and child on the run
Texas Bad Boy: Disgraced bad boy has his chance for revenge against the beautiful society girl who chose money over his love
The Gallaghers Of Morning Star Boxed Set
THE MARSHALLS
Texas Refuge: Haunted former detective is the only sanctuary for an actress being stalked by a madman
Texas Star: Sexiest Man Alive becomes a white knight for a woman who keeps trying to escape him
Texas Danger: Down on his luck rancher is the only hope for a socialite on the run from the mob
The Marshalls Boxed Set
THE WORLD OF SWEETGRASS SPRINGS
Nestled in the Texas Hill Country, tiny Sweetgrass Springs was founded by four veterans of the Texas Revolution, and for over a century the town and their ranches grew and prospered. Nowadays, however, too many of the town’s children leave for the big city as soon as they can escape, and Sweetgrass is barely hanging on. The heart and soul of Sweetgrass is Ruby Gallagher. Her daughter vanished from Sweetgrass right after high school, but Ruby, owner of community gathering place Ruby’s Café, remains, keeping vigil, hoping for her daughter’s return. She is fighting to save her ancestors’ legacy, but the town is dying, and it’s breaking Ruby’s heart.
Then the granddaughter she never knew existed arrives and sets in motion a new life for this eccentric, lovable spot in the road…where hope never fades and love never dies. Readers call it “a special place for hearts that need healing.”
Texas Roots: A Paris-trained chef on the run finds Texas family she never knew existed and a sexy cowboy she doesn’t dare love
Texas Wild: Sexy SEAL turned Hollywood stuntman returns home to find his buddy’s little sister all grown up
Texas Dreams: Take two reluctant brides and two frustrated grooms, mix with both clans of Gallaghers and season with a SEAL or three, a movie star, a Hollywood Barbie and a country music giant—and get not one but two surprise weddings
Texas Rebel: A former rebellious teen turned billionaire’s reunion with his teenage sweetheart and a secret baby he never knew about
Texas Blaze: What happens when a shark lawyer in stilettos has a fling with a hot firefighter determined to find Suzy Homemaker?
Texas Christmas Bride: All he wants is the girl he thought he’d lost forever.
The Book Babes: Five women began as a reading group and became family…but now change is rippling through the group. (A surprise Sweetgrass Springs connection!)
Texas Hope: Can two brothers who never knew each other existed overcome the secrets of a woman who abandoned one son and lied to the other?
Texas Strong: Can a man who’s never trusted anyone and a woman who’s trusted all the wrong men defy the odds and open their hearts to each other?
Texas Sweet: When a stranger who holds the keys to her identity arrives in town, will the girl everyone knows as Brenda come to terms with her past or run again?
Be Mine This Christmas: The man he’s become is not the boy she once knew—and he may never forgive her, once he knows the secret she’s been concealing.
Texas Charm: He’s a country superstar; she’s a small town waitress. When the real world slams into their reverie, whose heart will be the one t
o break? (Contains an original song written for this book)
Texas Magic: One billionaire…one tomboy…one night of magic. Miracle or mirage?
Be My Midnight Kiss: It’s New Year’s Eve…and now or never for these two hearts
Boxed sets:
The Gallaghers Of Sweetgrass Springs Boxed Set 1 (Books 1-3)
The Gallaghers Of Sweetgrass Springs Boxed Set 2 (Books 4-6)
LONE STAR LOVERS
Heart-tugging, action-packed and passionate stories of the close-knit Sullivan/Sandoval family of four brothers and one sister, plus the three Morgan sisters, orphaned and separated for many years, whose lives reconnect as they become part of the family circle.
Texas Heartthrob: Hollywood’s hottest star is a man in disguise when he encounters a woman who’s lost everything…but her secrets. When the world catches up to them, will the price of their lies cost them everything?
Texas Healer: Special Forces medic holds the power to heal both a doctor’s injured body and her wounded heart…but she can’t stay in his world—and he can’t leave.
Texas Protector: A detective forever haunted by the night when he couldn’t save a young girl from trauma—now she’s a cop herself and he has to send her undercover to lure a murderer.
Texas Deception: A plucky crusader falls for a down-on-his-luck stranger—only to learn too late that he’s the villain determined to destroy her town
Texas Lost: A hard-nosed detective targeted by internal affairs and the woman who’s professional evaluation will make or break his career. A a growing attraction between them risks first his case…and then her life.
Texas Wanderer: When she’s lost all her dreams and is finally finding a place to call home, will she place her trust—and her heart—in the hands of a wanderer with secrets?
Texas Bodyguard: He’s undercover as a bodyguard to a film star because her best friend is his top suspect. When she comes to mean too much to him, confessing his deception means risking his career—but not coming clean with her could risk her life
Texas Rescue: A haunted warrior who lives in the shadows encounters a small, valiant woman who’s a champion of lost causes, and the vibrant light within her lures him from the darkness. When she is rocked by a brush with evil, can he make her feel safe again…and can she convince him that he deserves to live in the light?
Lone Star Lovers Boxed Set (Books 1-3)
SECOND CHANCES series
Love deserves a second chance…
Guarding Gaby: Gabriela Navarro believed she and Eli Wolverton would always be together…until he abandoned her.
Bringing Bella Back: They had the perfect marriage…until he lost his way. Then he lost Bella.
The Price He Paid: The golden boy and the rebel girl who cost him everything
The House That Love Built: Once they had it all: a home with a man who adored her, three children they cherished, a life filled with passion and promise. Until one troubled child cost them everything.
The Road Back Home: Can her family forgive what she can’t forgive herself?
Dream House: Her dream house is the scene of his nightmares.
DANGEROUS TO LOVE stories
Is he her enemy…or will he save her?
Dark, deadly and dangerous, they operate in the shadows, guarding the women they love but cannot have.
The Choice: Only one of them can win—and if they cannot learn to trust each other, both of them could die.
Mercy: He went to prison for twenty years to save her…can he save her again?
The Light Walker: A brand-new detective. A mesmerizing, mysterious billionaire suspect. A powerful attraction that threatens the balance in a battle between the dark and the light
Dangerous To Love Boxed Set
About the Author
A letter to Rod Stewart resulting in a Cinderella 16th birthday for her daughter might have been the first step on Texas romance author Jean Brashear’s path to being a New York Times and USAToday bestselling author of more than 50 novels in romance and women’s fiction.
Jean’s stories are hailed as “feel-good romance at its finest” and her quirky small towns are called “a special place for hearts that need healing.” All are evidence of Jean’s heartfelt belief that love is the most powerful force in the universe, and her stories reflect that bone-deep commitment to spreading her faith in the goodness that exists inside us all.
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