Lily

The counsel has tried year after year, to no avail, to get the man to donate.

Now the task is on her shoulders. She's just a bookstore owner. She has no

skills in the art of persuasion. Just ask her ex-husband. No matter how

much she tried to get him to stay home with just her, she never had the lure

to keep him there. She thought living in wacky Dame City meant she'd be

able to avoid men. She definitely didn't want to hike out to the meanest

man's ranch and beg for anything.

Ford Gentry has things on his mind other than whatever new, stupid ploy

the ladies of Dame City are thinking up. He has work that needs to be done.

He always has work that needs to be done. He makes damn sure he is never

idle. Idle hands mean ghosts creeping in on him. After serving three tours

in Afghanistan, he'll do anything to avoid those ghosts. He just wants to be

left alone with his cattle. But something in him reacts to Lily's distrusting

eyes. For the first time in years, his body is reacting to a woman. It won't

work, though. Women mean distractions. Distractions mean he'll lose his

intense focus and his mind could wander. It won't work.

Lily has no choice but to try to fight for the donation. After being so rudely

turned away and having the defeat so readily accepted by the counsel, she's

determined to get the stubborn ass to give something, even if it's just a

measly piece of straw. She fights him for the donation, using every tool the

ladies of Dame City can give her. Ford doesn't stand a chance against their

combined will. Or does he? The man didn't survive three tours by giving in

easily. Lily won't stop, though. The ladies are counting on her. She's

counting on herself. Ford is the first man she's been able to be around

without wanting to pluck his eyes out. It has to mean something. She's

determined to get him to play nice with her. Or naughty.

As the ladies of Dame City always say, "Use what God and your momma

gave you: body to lure 'em in and brains to keep 'em coming."