Love in Deed, an all-new standalone contemporary romance from L.B. Dunbar, is now available in Kindle Unlimited!

Sometimes it takes an outsider to force us to see who we are. The real struggle is accepting what we learn. For Beverly Townsen, nothing could be closer to the truth. Virtually a shut-in, Beverly has pulled back from Green Valley’s community, preferring the isolation of her farmhouse and her daily routine of viewing home improvement television shows. When the opportunity arises for her own home improvement and a personal re-assessment, she’s not so excited about the reality of real life versus DIY programs.

Jedd Flemming understands physical pain and personal loss, but it’s never stopped him from bucking forward in life. A former military man and rodeo star, his life as a nomad comes to an end with false accusations and a family matter back in the Valley. It’s been a long journey to find his way home and once there, there’s nothing he wants more than to reclaim what he’s lost…and maybe the elusive female reclusive who holds a sliver of his past.

With an unprecedented proposition, Beverly finds a stranger living in her barn, raising horses on borrowed pastures, and plowing his way into her vacant heart. Old hurts linger, but sometimes love in deed is louder than words.

‘Love in Deed’ is a full-length contemporary romance, can be read as a standalone, and is book #6 in the Green Valley Library series, Green Valley World, Penny Reid Book Universe.

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My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

This is the hashtag-me-too era, buddy… You can’t just reach out and touch someone.

 

I’d believed all kinds of things about Howard. He’d love me forever. He’d make it good for me. He’d take care of us. An iron skillet of reality upside the head had finally made me see the light and realize Howard’s true nature. He loved women—all kinds of women—just not the one labeled his wife.

 

I called her Bee as I was leaving because the name is fitting. Her tongue stings like the pesky pollinator.

 

The glare I give my daughter could melt a candle without a wick.

 

I think it’s about to get as ugly as starved cannibals finding prey…

 

“Men are all hot air.” “Howard was hot air,” Jedd retorts. “I’m just hot.” Shaking my head, I can’t help the smile growing on my lips. He’s ridiculous but not wrong.

 

Her laugh is a lyric calling to me like a siren to a sailor.

My Review:

 

More Smartypants Green Valley? Why yes, thank you – bring it on! I always cross my fingers with anticipation yet approach with trepidation when I read this author as while I have enjoyed most of her books, heavy angst is just not my jam and her writing tends to be chockablock full of interpersonal conflicts and inner turmoil. And while this book was no exception to that standard, it wasn’t as arduous to endure as the storylines and issues were highly relevant and the writing was engaging with well-crafted and enticing storylines laced with clever spikes of humor and a slow-burning attraction that occasional sizzled and seemed destined to spark into an inferno.

 

Although, I will confess that for the first half of the book I had an ongoing and valiant struggle with the bitter and waspish character of Beverly as I found her rather horrid. Beverly had been dealt a bad hand and had become ill-tempered, snappish, and was wallowing in self-pity yet made no effort for improvement and was too prickly and proud to accept assistance. She was blatantly rude, leeching off her daughter, and just patently unpleasant. Beverly annoyed me greatly and was the type of person most people, me included; go out of their way to avoid. While he also had hidden motives, the character of Jedd was a saint in comparison. Yet despite all that, I was reluctant to put my Kindle down, I seem to be terminally bewitched by all things Green Valley.

 

 

Excerpt

“Momma,” she whispers, and I turn at the soft question in her voice. Her eyes scan my face. Does she fear she’ll look like me one day? Those bright eyes will dim, and lines will form in the corners. Will they be rivers formed from tears, or will she eventually find laughter? Does she wonder if her lips will match mine, permanently curled downward? Can my girl still smile? Will her hair go gray too young as mine did? Will the stress of her life turn her into someone lonely and lost?

I blink back the tears fighting for release. I won’t cry. Nothing left to cry over. It’s all gone.

“Do you fancy him?” my daughter asks, and I choke on the question.

“What…? I…of course not. Don’t be silly. I’m sure he’d be more interested in the likes of you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Hannah asks, brows rising in surprise.

“I’m sure I don’t need to explain the birds and the bees to you. Men like him only want young things and only want one thing from those young things. I don’t think he should stay here,” I sneer, recognizing the pulse at my neck and the thump of my heart. My daughter is a pretty girl, and this older man could be attracted to her for all the wrong reasons. Young girls go for older men to solve their daddy issues.

“He’s sleeping in the barn,” Hannah counters, her voice deepening in displeasure. Ticking off points on her fingers, she continues, “We don’t need to feed him. He’ll rebuild at his expense or hire what he can’t do himself. The back field will be plowed and prepped for spring planting.”

I snort in response, but my eyes return to Jedd’s movement. Into the barn. Out in the yard. My observation traces down his perspiring spine to the waist of his pants where his shirt has untucked. My fingers curl on the armrest of the rocker as my eyes outline the fine globes accentuated by those smooth pants. My mouth goes dry.

What is it about this man? Why am I suddenly lusting after him?

I can’t. That’s the bottom line. I can’t anything him. Under fifteen percent and tight pants and a perfect backside is still a man with empty words.

My eyes fall blindly on the reality television program. The only man a girl can count on is the fictional kind. I force my attention away from the barn, but my eyes seem to have a will of their own.

“We can’t have a stranger living in our barn,” I huff. Jedd stops, turning in his tracks with a pile of lumber on his shoulder as if he heard me, which is impossible on two counts: the panes of glass and his lack of hearing. Still, he stills, and his eyes narrow on the house as if he knows I’m watching him, I’m talking about him, and I don’t agree with this arrangement.

“Too late. He’s moving in.” Hannah definitively nods, dismissing my opinion as Jedd swings back around. She leans down to kiss my cheek and then exits my room, but I remain transfixed.

Suddenly, reality is more fascinating than television.

My eyes continue the cat and mouse game of watching Jedd disappear and then reappear. I don’t know how much time transpires, but eventually, the bed of his truck is empty. Still, I hold my breath as if the barn is a giant octopus, swallowing him whole. I fear he might disappear forever like Howard did, which is the silliest thought I’ve had in a decade. I don’t need Jedd. We don’t need Jedd. There will be no attachment to him.

But then, Jedd appears at the open barn door and gives a single wave toward the house, and I smile in spite of myself.

About L.B. Dunbar

L.B. Dunbar has an overactive imagination. To her benefit, such creativity has led to over thirty romance novels, including those offering a second chance at love over 40. Her signature works include the #sexysilverfoxes collection of mature males and feisty vixens ready for romance in their prime years. She’s also written stories of small-town romance (Heart Collection), rockstar mayhem (The Legendary Rock Stars Series), and a twist on intrigue and redemption (Redemption Island Duet). She’s had several alter egos including elda lore, a writer of romantic magical realism through mythological retellings (Modern Descendants). In another life, she wanted to be an anthropologist and journalist. Instead, she was a middle school language arts teacher. The greatest story in her life is with the one and only, and their four grown children. Learn more about L.B. Dunbar by joining her reader group on Facebook (Loving L.B.) or subscribing to her newsletter (Love Notes).

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