Retribution — Fran Shaff

The Tender Mysteries Series continues with the most compelling novel yet, Retribution, Book Three.

April, 1896: Susan Willet vows to capture and boil in oil the man who's kidnapped her sister Bonnie.

Sheriff Sam Feist realizes Susan is a passionate woman. Her feisty verve is one of the things he finds most attractive about her. However, when she insists on going after a ruthless kidnapper, he's got no choice but to tell her to stay out of lawmen's business.

Susan promptly ignores the handsome sheriff's advice. No one is going to stop her from going after Bonnie. Neither will anyone hinder her from keeping her pledge to seek retribution for her sister's kidnapping.

As Susan and Sam separately pursue a dastardly abductor, they cross paths. Tensions soar, and hearts break when dangerous liaisons put lives in peril and lead to a violent confrontation which changes Susan's life forever.

Excerpt:

Setup: Sam and Susan have crossed paths as they've been searching separately for Bonnie and her kidnapper.

The first rays of light broke over the horizon when he saw Miss Susan, who was thirty feet away, lifting a heavy saddle onto her horse. She was totally oblivious to his presence.

He stood as silent as a post watching her, remembering how she'd felt in his arms the night before--soft, warm, round and precious.

He was a cad for not rushing to aid her with her weighty burden, but he couldn't help himself. He was mesmerized by everything about her, and all he wanted to do was look at her.

He could hardly believe the little slip of a woman with fiery red hair and strong, determined brown eyes could enrapture him the way she did. He'd barely given a second thought to any woman he'd met since he'd turned sixteen, fifteen years before, and now he thought about Miss Susan more than he should, much more than he should.

She cinched up her saddle as the arrival of dawn progressed. Early beams of light met her face, and, suddenly, she was awash with a heavenly beauty.

Sam's breath caught somewhere between his nose and his lungs.

If he lived to be two or three hundred years old, he'd never see anything more beautiful than Miss Susan was at that moment.

She bent to double check her work, straightened up and stroked the horse's mane before she caught sight of Sam.

Novel Spot says: “Ms. Shaff has been writing romance since 1999, filling pages and imaginations. Her heroines are strong women who don't need to look for Mr. Right, or even Mr. Right Now. Her characters are happy with who they are and are willing to wait for the one thing that we all want: love. And when they find it, they're willing to work hard to keep it, no matter what anyone says or believes.”

CataRomance says: “Fran Shaff is a wonderful storyteller, and she knows how to pull her readers immediately into the world of her characters. I like this author's writing style, and it makes for a fast-paced and entertaining read.”