In honor of Father’s Day, I’m sharing the first book in the Flagman’s Folly series, in which a solitary rancher discovers he’s the daddy of a deaf four-year-old daughter.
Title A Rancher’s Pride
Author Barbara White Daille
Genre Short Contemporary Romance
Publisher Harlequin Books
Book Blurb
His Whole World Is In Her Hands...
Sam Robertson’s life just changed. In one short day, he found out that he’s a daddy; that his beautiful little girl, Becky, is deaf; and that her aunt, sign language teacher Kayla Ward, intends to fight him for custody.
There are plenty of reasons Sam shouldn’t fall for Kayla. A city girl like her has no place on his ranch, particularly when she’s his ex-wife’s gorgeous sister. But thanks to the judge’s orders, Sam’s spending a lot of time with Kayla, trying to give Becky the stable home she’s never known.
Despite their ongoing custody battle, Sam and Kayla’s love for Becky brings them closer than they ever expected, and Sam knows that no matter who wins in court, he could still lose—Kayla or his daughter.
Excerpt
The sounds of sneakers slap-slapping on the pine floor made Sam stop speaking and stare over Kayla’s shoulder.
From the archway connecting the kitchen and living room, Becky burst into the room. She gave a high-pitched shriek and broke into a grin.
Kayla whirled away from him. As Becky flung herself forward, Kayla opened her arms wide. The force of their meeting nearly rocked the woman back on her heels. Sam put his hands out to steady her, but she caught her balance on her own. As he watched, she hugged Becky, let go, and started gesturing in the air in front of her.
Becky’s little arms waved in response.
While the exchange went on, Sam stood motionless.
Becky gave another high-pitched yelp and moved away to run into the kitchen again.
Kayla turned to him. “Becky went to get her dolls,” she said in an expressionless tone. “Like any four-year-old, she wants to show off her toys.” Her eyes turned icy-blue. “But you don’t know that, do you? You couldn’t understand a word we were saying.”
Before he could blurt out the heated response that shot into his mind, Becky reappeared in the doorway. Behind her, she pulled along her doll-filled wagon. At least Ronnie had heart enough to leave the kids with some toys.
His heart lurched at the sight of the cart. A feeling of warmth spread through him. He’d kept that wagon upstairs in an extra bedroom, never knowing whether a child of his would ever play with it. She sure seemed attached to the thing.
She parked the wagon at the end of the sofa. Then she turned to her aunt, brought the fingertips of each hand together in a small circle, and tapped her hands against each other.
“More,” Kayla informed him.
He said nothing.
Becky ran across the living room and up the uncarpeted stairs to the second floor.
“She signed more,” Kayla explained. “But you didn’t understand that, either.” Her voice trembled. Her arms went poker straight at her sides. “It’s ridiculous to think you can keep Becky here when you can’t even talk with her.”
Now, his heart bucked as if she’d spurred him.
Buy Links
Barnes & Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ranchers-pride-barbara-white-daille/1100382659?ean=9781459202337
Author Biography
Barbara White Daille lives with her husband in the sunny Southwest. Though they love the warm winters and the lizards in their front yard, they haven’t gotten used to the scorpions in the bathroom. Barbara also loves writing, reading, and chocolate. Come to think of it, she enjoys writing about those subjects, too!
Barbara wrote her first short story at the age of nine, then typed "The End" to her first novel many years later...in the eighth grade. Now she's writing contemporary romance on a daily basis. Sign up for her newsletter to keep up with the latest in her writing life: https://barbarawhitedaille.com/newsletter.
Social Media Links
Website https://barbarawhitedaille.com
Amazon author page http://www.amazon.com/Barbara-White-Daille/e/B002J6B0QQ
Harlequin author page https://www.harlequin.com/shop/authors/23759_barbara-white-daille.html
Entangled author page http://entangledpublishing.com/category/barbara-white-daille/