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HEAT
WAVE is now in print!
Join Bonnie Dee, Veronica Wilde, Jamie Craig
and me for a wild ride through the summer's
Heat Wave!
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A
bad marriage is like a fierce thunderstorm on a fragile
field of wheat. When a proud, Texas cowboy mixes with
a stubborn, Boston-bred lawyer, they need an act of
nature to give their marriage its second wind.
Read an excerpt
Read reviews
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Excerpt
for Second Wind
"Cathy,
don't, babe." The plaintive note in Rafe's voice almost
stopped her, almost made Cathy Walker take her suitcase
stuffed with nearly everything she owned back out of the
car.
Almost.
"You're
not being fair, Rafe. You know using that tone curls my
toes and your little-boy look turns me to mush." She
slammed the trunk lid and turned to face her husband. "But
I won't be swayed this time. You have to make up your mind
what you want. When you do, I'll make up my mind if I can
live with your decision."
"What
I want? I want you to be happy, God knows I do." He
lowered his head and rubbed the back of his neck until she
thought he might not leave any skin. "It's just…"
"You
knew I wanted to work, you've known all along that's what
I planned." She flung her arm out toward the wide-open
spaces that represented their ranch. Correction, Rafe's
ranch. "We need me to work. Yet you make me feel guilty
for every minute I give to my job."
He
looked up, his eyes ignited with emotion. "Of course
I knew you wanted to work, don't you think I'm proud of
you? Of what you've accomplished? At the same time, can
I help it if I wish you didn't have to? I want to be able
to support us, to provide for you in the way you're used
to. I'd move heaven and earth for you, you know that. I
can't be the kind of man you want, I guess."
The
fire lighting his dark blue eyes dimmed, replaced with despair.
"I don't have fine words and fancy manners you deserve.
Hell, I never even understood why you married me in the
first place, we're so different. I didn't want to think
about it too much, but I guess I needed to. Maybe then I'd
know what would make you stay."
"It's
easy, Rafe." She dropped her voice to a whisper. "I
know in your own way you love me, but…I need to be
part of your life. Not a piece of fragile porcelain held
at arms' distance, but nestled in a corner of your soul.
And I need-" Looking over the extent of his property,
she felt insignificant. This was what mattered to him, keeping
the ranch, making it work. She was no more than a piece
of the puzzle entitled Rafe's Perfect Life, like a tractor
or brood hen.
Just
as multiple generations of her family had practiced law
and dallied in Boston's political arena, generations of
Walkers had farmed and raised cattle on this land. Being
a lawyer in Boston didn't make one a Fitzgerald, and marrying
a Walker didn't make one a rancher. In truth, she felt no
more an integral part of the holding now than she had when
she arrived as a new bride, four years ago.
He'd
needed her trust fund to help pull the ranch out of a hole
the previous year, and her salary helped keep them in the
black. Still, as he'd asserted in the heat of their most
recent argument, the ranch wasn't in her blood.
To
bring the point home-he'd never told her, but she knew it
to be true-her name wasn't on the deed. She wasn't really
a Walker. That was his implication, and his belief.
That
was the way of life here. Men took care of the important
things, such as supporting their wives and maintaining the
family legacy. If they'd had children, maybe their relationship
would have been different, but she'd wanted to wait. Then,
she'd devoted so much effort to her job. The job he'd encouraged
her to accept but now seemed to resent.
Shrugging,
she said, "Maybe you're right. Maybe what we have isn't
enough."
"It's
all I have, damn it, all I can give. All I know how to give."
Cathy
shook her head and walked to the driver's door of the Ford
Thunderbird. If only he could say the right words, make
the right gesture to change her mind. At this point she
wasn't sure there was anything "right" enough.
"Wait!"
She
stopped, hand on the latch, but she didn't turn. Maybe,
maybe…
"Where
will you be, you know, in case something comes up?"
In
case something comes up. Not, "Where will you be in
case I discover I can't live without you." In a nutshell,
that was their problem and Rafe still didn't see it.
"If
something should come up…?"
Her
tone must have alerted him to her thinking because he lashed
out. "You know what I meant."
"Yes,
sadly, I do." She got in and started the engine, then
lowered the window. "I'll be at The Hartman until I
figure out what I'm going to do, and I'll be in the office
as usual." Her work in the Hartman County prosecutor's
office had kept her sane during the past year. It had also
kept her away from home more than she'd expected. Her time
at the office provided most of the grist for their arguments,
but if she didn't feel comfortable at home, what else should
she do but work?
One
other time during the year, she'd packed her big Louie Vuitton
Pullman bag. Before she even got it to the car he'd lured
her back up to the bedroom where his probing, magic fingers
and the incredible sensation of his thick cock slipping
into her, blocked all other thought. Not this time.
The
enormity of her actions weighed on her shoulders. She wanted
to cry, to pound her hands on the steering wheel and scream
in pain and frustration, but she wouldn't. Not in front
of Rafe. Rafe, who loved her the only way he knew how but
not the way she needed.
"It's
someone in the office, isn't it?"
"What?"
His question startled her.
"It's
one of those lawyers you work with, a guy who knows how
to dress and which wine to order. Someone from Boston or
Chicago, who's anxious to take you back to the city."
He spit out the words then waved his arm toward the road.
"Well, go on, then. Go back to the high life in the
East. I don't need you." Spinning on his heel, he stomped
toward the barn, knocking his hat hard against his leg before
slapping it on his head.
Her
eyes burning with tears, Cathy raised the window and threw
the car in gear. Gravel erupted from under the tires as
the vehicle lunged forward, and dust filled the air. "I
hope you choke on your words, Rafe Walker," she ground
out, and thought she would choke herself from the ache constricting
her throat.
The
road into town ran straight, with nothing but the occasional
lizard crossing from one side to the other to break the
black ribbon. July heat rose in waves from the asphalt,
obscuring the distant view as her tears obscured the near.
They'd had no rain in weeks. The droplets running freely
down her cheeks and off her chin were the most moisture
their farm had seen since early May. Between her trial preparation
and the drought, no wonder things between her and Rafe had
come to a head. If only she could lay all the blame on weather
and her first murder case.
With
little to occupy her attention on the fifteen-mile drive,
her mind drifted to when she and Rafe met and how different
life had been.
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Reviews
for Second Wind
"It doesn't get much better than this.
… a keeper!" - 5 Hearts, Brenda, The
Romance Studio
"I
loved the emotion and the passion in this story; it's there
from the moment that the two meet and just builds as the
story progresses." - 5 Angels, (November Recommended
Read), Missy, Fallen
Angel Reviews
"Dee
S. Knight's SECOND WIND gives readers an inside look at
a marriage on the verge of self destructing. [Cathy and
Rafe are] both smart, headstrong people who you can't help
but enjoy reading about and I have to confess I love the
whirlwind ending. This story is a wonderful addition to
the Midsummer Night's Steam line and will leave readers
feeling good about the story they just read." - 4.5
Ribbons, Christine, Romance
Junkies
"…one terrific read…"
- 4.5 Lips, Alisha, Two
Lips Reviews
"…Ms. Knight cleverly shows the
true power of love. … often sizzling with explosive
passion… a wildly romantic story filled with steamy
sensuality." - 4.5 Stars, Amelia, eCataRomance
"Steamy, emotional, and beautifully written
SECOND WIND is a perfect way to end the day." - Sinclair
Reid, RRT
Erotic
"An emotional read, with sizzling, Texas-style
heat!" - Lisa Renee Jones, Author of Hard and
Fast
"…personable, warm characters … an uplifting
contemporary tale and [I] would recommend it." 4 Stars,
Francesca, JERR
"Emotional, heart-wrenching, sexy, beautiful…Dee
S. Knight writes with a style that will take your breath
away and leave you gasping for your Second Wind." -
Jodi
Lynn Copeland, author of Operation G-Spot
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