“So,” she said leaning across the table toward him. “Are there any women in your life?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Are you always so direct?”

“Well, you’re a good-looking man. I’m just curious.”

“How many guys are there in your life?”

She blushed. “Touché”

The waitress brought their meals and they ate in silence.

When he was finished, Brad put his utensils onto the plate and pushed it aside. “Are you ready for coffee?”

“I am stuffed. You could take me home and stop for coffee. It would give me half an hour to digest the steak.”

He looked at her for a long moment. Her heart accelerated as she wondered what he was thinking. “If you’d like to do that, we could,” he said soberly.

“Sure, let’s go. I might even offer you some dessert.”

Brad paid for their meal and then held the door open for her to step outside. His hand touched the small of her back as they walked to his truck. His touch sent a hot tightening into her belly and down into the heat of her femininity. He opened the door and helped her up onto her seat in the truck. He was smiling when he got in on his side. “These trucks are so high. It’s quite a stretch for a shorty like you to get your little tush up onto the seat.”

“Now, a gentleman wouldn’t have noticed,” she said with a sexy little giggle.

“I guess I’m not a gentleman then because I did notice.”

When they pulled up in front of her house, he got out and came around to open her door so he could help her get out. They didn’t hold hands as they walked along her sidewalk, but Shauna Lee felt giddy with anticipation. She smiled as she opened her front door and stepped inside, standing aside to let him in.

“You can leave those beautiful boots on the mat.” She spoke over her shoulder, as she moved into the kitchen and tossed her keys and her purse on the table. “Just grab a spot to sit and I’ll put on the coffee.”

Brad looked around the open kitchen and living room area. It was beautifully decorated, but he noted the lack of personal things; no pictures of family or friends and no books, just a top of the line TV and stereo.

He eased his long frame down on a kitchen chair. “Nice place.”

“It works for me,” she said with a warm smile. “Do you want a tour of the rest of the place while the coffee pot does its magic?” She smiled at him, raising an eyebrow. “There is a laundry room, bathroom and a bedroom with a queen-sized bed.”

“I just got settled here. Why don’t we just sit down and chat until the coffee is ready.” It wasn’t a rebuff. It struck her as meaning that there would be plenty of time later. As they talked, her eyes registered an unspoken invitation, her inherent sexual essence oozing out.

Brad smiled, accepting the cup of coffee she gave him. Her fingers brushed his softly, lingering with promise. When their cups were drained, he leaned back in his chair and looked at her, his gray eyes cool and intent.

“Shauna Lee, I told you I’m a hunter. I have hunted cougars in the wild. That is where I like to keep them: in the wild; with me doing the stalking.”

Her face went scarlet. “Are you calling me a cougar?” she asked, indignantly.

“I think the description fits you fairly accurately. You’re no teenybopper getting her first hormone flushes. If you were looking for a wedding ring, you’d have one. You’re successful, and I’m not blind; you’re hot.

“I’m not stupid either. You’re on the prowl for sex. You’ve been stalking me all evening. I’m no eunuch. I could take you to that queen-sized bed that you mentioned earlier and do it justice. But I seldom hunt where everyone else has been working the territory.”

He stood up. “I enjoyed your company today. I enjoyed having supper with you, but I’m not into playing this game. I’m not willing to be another one of your boy-toys.” He walked to the door and opened it.

“I’m sure you don’t want my advice, but I’ll throw it out there anyway. Figure out who you are,  Lee, before it’s too late. You’ve got a lot more to offer than sex, but you’ll never find that out if you keep running from real intimacy.

“Bed hopping with your ‘nothing serious, no strings attached, no risk attitude’ is never going get you there. One day, you’ll wake up and find yourself old and alone.”

He stepped out and closed the door.

She stood immobile for a second, stunned. She grabbed his cup off the table and flung it against the door. It shattered into a million pieces, but she didn’t even flinch. “Who the hell do you think you are, Brad Johnson?” she raged. “A shrink? Well, I don’t need one.”

She kicked the leg of the chair he’d been sitting on. “I’ve got news for you. I know just who I am and I’ve been old and alone since I was eighteen years old.”

“Shauna Lee, I told you I’m a hunter. I have hunted cougars in the wild. That is where I like to keep them: in the wild; with me doing the stalking.” 

Her face went scarlet. “Are you calling me a cougar?” she asked, indignantly. 

Twenty years ago, eighteen-year-old Shauna Lee Holt rose like a phoenix, out of the ashes of tragedy. Fierce determination focused her drive for independence. After graduation, she worked non-stop, scrimping and saving every penny. She purchased Swift Current Accounting and Bookkeeping Service. Now she is regarded as a successful accountant in the business community: but no one knows her personal, private hell. 

Brad Johnson recently moved to Swift Current, where he set up Windspeer Energy, a company specializing in small wind energy turbines. 

Brad feels an undeniable attraction to Shauna Lee, but he refuses to play her “nothing serious, no strings attached” game. As time passes, he falls head over heels in love with this tormented woman. Shocking fragments of her tragic past come to light, and he begins to realize that she may never be able to give him the emotional connection he desperately desires. 

This is a stand-alone book in the series, but the lives of Colt and Frank Thompson are woven into Brad Johnson and Shauna Lee Holt’s story. The couple, who seem to have everything, discover that grief and pain are no respecters of person. When they face the unimaginable, will their relationship be shaken beyond repair? 

This is a story of wrath, hatred, murder, betrayal, denial, and unconditional love.