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    Tame My Heart: A Harbor Falls Romance, #6
    Tame My Heart: A Harbor Falls Romance, #6
    Tame My Heart: A Harbor Falls Romance, #6
    Ebook121 pages2 hours

    Tame My Heart: A Harbor Falls Romance, #6

    By Maddie James

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    About this ebook

    What's a small town cop to do when the love of his life runs away when he pops the question? Call in the matchmaker for backup, of course!

     

    Katie Long is not about to be saddled with commitment. She has dreams, plans, and she's working hard to fulfill them. Her relationship with local Harbor Falls police officer Chris Marks is fine just the way it is. Why does he think they need to change it up?

     

    She knows why. She just doesn't want to deal with reality. But when Chris pops the question, reality hits her square in the face and she panics.

     

    After Chris exhausts all hope of reasoning with Katie, he hires Suzie Hart to set him up with a romantic dinner for two, hoping she will work some of her matchmaking magic. Suzie does all she can to set the mood but Katie isn't about to be wooed. Then Suzie learns something about Katie and supplies Chris with a couple of items that might tame her wild heart, after all.

     

    Will Katie react differently this time, when Chris pops the question?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSand Dune Books
    Release dateFeb 27, 2018
    ISBN9781622374786
    Tame My Heart: A Harbor Falls Romance, #6
    Author

    Maddie James

    Maddie James writes to silence the people in her head. They finally quiet down when their stories are told. Author of 50+ romantic novels, novellas, and short stories, Maddie writes romantic fiction in contemporary, paranormal, and romantic suspense worlds. She’s mighty partial to her cowboys. Maddie began her romance writing career as a traditionally published author in 1997 and has published with several traditional and small press publishers. Currently, she works as an independent author publishing through her own imprint. Besides writing romance fiction, Maddie writes non-fiction under another name. Winner of the Calico Trails Cameo Award (Roses & Rawhide) and the Romance Book Scene’s Best Novella Award (Red: A Cajun Seduction Tale), Maddie has been listed as a Top 100 Contemporary Romance author at Amazon, and a Rising Star of Western Romance at iBooks. Affaire de Coeur says, “James shows a special talent for traditional romance,” and RT Book Reviews claims, “James deftly combines romance and suspense, so hop on for an exhilarating ride.”

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      Book preview

      Tame My Heart - Maddie James

      Tame My Heart

      Harbor Falls Romance: Sweet Hart Inn, Book 6

      What’s a small-town cop to do when the love of his life runs away when he pops the question? Call in the matchmaker for backup, of course!

      ****

      Katie Long is not about to be saddled with commitment. She has dreams, plans, and she’s working hard to fulfill them. Her relationship with local Harbor Falls police officer Chris Marks is fine just the way it is. Why does he think they need to change it up?

      She knows why. She just doesn’t want to deal with reality. But when Chris pops the question, reality hits her square in the face and she panics.

      After Chris exhausts all hope of reasoning with Katie, he hires Suzie Hart to set him up with a romantic dinner for two, hoping she will work some of her matchmaking magic. Suzie does all she can to set the mood but Katie isn’t about to be wooed. Then Suzie learns something about Katie and supplies Chris with a couple of items that might tame her wild heart, after all.

      Will Katie react differently this time, when Chris pops the question?

      Cast of Characters

      Main Characters

      Katie Long (local librarian)

      Chris Marks (local police officer)

      Secondary Characters

      Sydney Hart (Sugar High Bakery)

      Matt Branson (Harbor Falls police officer)

      Also appearing in this story:

      Bea Brammel (library assistant)

      Lyssa Larkin (puppy walker)

      Old friends you’ll see again:

      Mary Lou Picketts

      Nash Rhodes

      Shelley Hart Branson

      Gracie Hart

      Prologue

      Suzie Hart Matthews silently observed the contrast in the two scenarios presenting themselves in front of the Harbor Falls Methodist Church.

      A smug and satisfied feeling passed over her as Nash Rhodes, tall, handsome, and wearing tight wranglers, ostrich boots, and a tauntingly sexy, black Resistol cowboy hat, strode down the concrete walk leading from the church while carrying his smiling and radiant Mary Lou Picketts, dragging the train of her wedding dress behind them.

      A wedding dress she didn’t get married in because she’d called off her wedding. Not to Nash, but to Barry Phillips. Thank God, the girl had seen the light in time.

      Anyway, Suzie couldn’t help but smile knowing she’d done good work. A matchmaker she was becoming and a good one at that. Yes. Perfect. She had perfectly matched two more hearts and was quite proud of that fact, if she did say so herself.

      As Nash disappeared with his bride into a late model pickup truck, her gaze swung to the other scenario.

      She knew the young man standing on the porch steps of the cottage across the street. He’d not lived in Harbor Falls long but she’d seen him around town. The woman he was talking, um, arguing with, was familiar enough. Suzie had known Katie Long since they were kids. The couple was making enough of a ruckus, however, for half of Harbor Falls to get to know them both darned quick.

      Katie seemed mad as heck about something. Suzie watched her stride quickly toward a small red sports car parked in the drive while giving the man a piece of her mind with every step. He followed, arguing back and flailing his arms. Suzie found it difficult to hear the actual conversation over the engine of the pickup truck.

      Nash and Mary pulled away from the curb and Suzie ambled toward her own car, trying not to eavesdrop.

      Much.

      What she did hear, however, sounded like a whole lot of trouble for the young man across the street. Chris Marks. One of Harbor Falls’ finest young new police officers.

      Katie got in the car and drove away. Fast. Suzie lingered only a moment and watched as Chris stood in the driveway looking after her, then finally hung his head and shuffled toward the house.

      Chapter One

      Katie Long’s fingers trembled even though she had a death-grip on the steering wheel. White knuckles popped through the flush of her skin. Her heart was about to beat out of her chest and an icky, nauseous feeling was creeping into her stomach. Dammit. She felt flushed and clammy all at the same time, heat shooting from her cheeks all the way down to the tips of her fingers and toes. Cold chills simultaneously rippled across her back. She was madder than hell.

      Get it under control, Katie!

      Her sight blurred and she shook her head in an attempt to clear the glaze from her eyes. Not happening. With a quick gasp, she gunned the engine of her Mustang GT and whipped to a pull-off on the side of the road, gravel arcing behind her as she narrowly avoided a culvert.

      Damn backcountry mountain road, she sputtered.

      She pressed the brake—much too hard, her body jolted forward with the rapid stopping of the vehicle—simultaneously avoiding bumping into the rock wall of the overlook. Letting out a ragged sob, she whacked her forehead on the steering wheel. She was tempted to bang her stupid brain against it.

      Repeatedly.

      Just in case repentance did come with beating one’s head up against something hard, she gave her forehead a good hit at the thing.

      Ow. Dammit. She leaned in and rested her forehead against the cool steering wheel and for a moment, just breathed. In. Out. In. Out. The even breathing seemed to settle her stomach a little. Good. Last thing she wanted to do right now was puke.

      At least she’d gotten out of Harbor Falls before she totally lost it. Wouldn’t do to have anyone see her cry. To have him see her cry.

      The sonofabitch.

      Then the tears rolled. Her hands shook, her heart jumped out of her chest, and her brain spun. My God, was she experiencing a slow, tortuous unraveling? Then what the hell, she let loose with a steady stream of sobs. Tears spilled. So unlike her.

      She was Katie Long!

      She didn’t cry.

      She was tough.

      Wild.

      Crazy.

      Left the boys and made them cry.

      Lifting her head, she leaned back against the headrest and at last switched off the engine. Her gaze drifted over the lazy, hazy backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains spanning the horizon before her. Dusk was in the process of settling in the mountains with sunset happening behind her. A purplish glow of light and shadows danced in the hollows and valleys of the landscape before her.

      No doubt the mountains were beautiful any time of day, and right now was no exception, but she could barely see the beauty beyond the fear in her heart that was slowly coloring everything off-hue.

      She swallowed, exhaled, and tried hard to let the scenery capture her. After a few moments, her breathing slowed again and her chest stopped hurting so much. She gulped back a couple of errant sobs and swiped at her runny nose. Then closing her gritty eyes in an attempt to slow the circling images and thoughts running through her head, she tried to concentrate, to think through what had just happened.

      Chris had turned the tables on her, that’s what had happened.

      She’d thought they were out for a night of dirty movies, monkey sex, and pizza. Instead, Chris had gone and done something stupid. Why did he have to ruin a perfectly good Saturday night? Dirty movies and sex had been their ritual for months. Their relationship had been fun, erotic, and flirty—and sometimes a little risky and kinky—but they both loved every minute of it. Katie was thrilled with the no-talk-of-permanency agreement and attitude of the younger-than-her police officer who enjoyed pleasing her sexually, in all the right ways and hitting every one of her buttons.

      Why the shit had he gone all goody-two-shoes on her?

      So unexpected.

      Letting go of another long breath, she blinked and stared again over the dim horizon. What was she going to do now?

      God, she must look a mess. She grasped the rearview mirror and angled it toward her, catching a ray of leftover sunlight. Oh, good Lord in Heaven. Her

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