With some resistance Libby had learned to make the kind of strong, tar-black brew the men wanted.

Maybe if it quits rainin', Miss Libby can get the coffeepot goin'.” I think we're all gonna have to sit up with 'em tonight. “Yeah, and that herd is still pretty nervous. Joe leaned forward and rested his forearms on his saddle horn. I should have known better.” He watched as Rory cut across the range to rope a steer that was attempting an escape. “I'd hoped we could get through one drive without a stampede. At least he'd been able to grab his slicker from the back of his saddle before he started chasing the cattle, so he wasn't as wet as some of the boys. Tyler nodded and tipped his head down to drain the ring of water that had collected in his hat brim. “That was a little too close for me.” Rain continued to pour down on them, but the noisiest part of the storm had passed west toward the mountains. But at least they'd turned them before they plunged off the cliff. They might have to round up a few head-there hadn't been time to count them yet. Tyler looked at the milling, tightly herded cattle with a sense of profound relief. Hot tears welled up in her eyes, and she let them come because she could think of no reason to stop them, either. But given her miserable circumstances and her growing fear, she couldn't come up with even one. Picking her clammy, cold skirts away from her legs, Libby tried to think of a convincing reason why she shouldn't feel sorry for herself.

Her hair hung in limp, wet hanks on her neck and back. The lightning had moved on, but the storm continued to howl around her. She still thought that hitting the rattlesnake had been far more luck than anything else, but having the gun on her lap would make her feel a little safer. Thank God Tyler had insisted that she learn to shoot this thing. The sulfur head blazed and in the glaring kerosene light, she grabbed up the shotgun and a box of shells with hands that trembled.

A taste of heaven by alexis harrington