Excerpt:

Fran idly watched a red and white truck pull up and park three lengths ahead of her. When two men got out, their vast differences caught her attention. The driver was Cody Jonas, while the second man looked shorter and heavier. He wore a shirt in colors even louder than Cody's, a shirt so new it still had wrinkles from its packaging folds. With that shirt, he sported stiff new jeans, flame-red cowboy boots and a big white western hat.

The attire might not be familiar, but the walk was. She'd often seen that swagger, the flaunted arrogance. It could be no one if it wasn't Sal Gambruzzi. Nobody else had quite the same exaggerated parody of cocky coolness he affected. Without further conscious effort, she made her decision.

Though the map in the phone book wasn't the greatest, she had studied it intently. She'd already looked up Ben Yazzie's address, too. Starting the SUV, she drove off, followed the directions she'd memorized. They led her right to 3252 Mariposa Way. The small tan-stuccoed and flat-roofed house faced east. Two juniper trees grew in the front yard, and a blue and white pickup sat in the carport. Unless Ben had another car, he was home.

Fran parked behind the pickup, climbed down and walked a few steps along a curved sidewalk. With a hand that wouldn't stay quite steady, she rang the door bell. When the chime sounded faintly from within, she held her breath.

For a long moment, she didn't hear anything else. Finally, the sharp rap of footsteps approached the door and it jerked open in front of her. Ben stood just inside, dressed in jeans and boots, a denim shirt hanging open to reveal a wedge of bronze, muscled chest.

"Yes?" His gruff tone added to that impression.

"I . . . er . . . ."

"Fran? I didn't recognize you at first. That's some get-up. Something wrong?" His expression softened slightly as he recognized her.

Her nerves were too taut to allow her to appreciate the humor, although she knew she looked peculiar. "Can--uh--may I come in?" As much as she hated to intrude, she had to find shelter. Maybe within a set of walls, the chill expectancy shivering along her spine would ease. Although she kept trying to tell herself Sal would have no way of tracing her here, she couldn't convince her fearful heart.

Ben nodded as he stepped back. "Sure. Come on in. I called the Lake View while ago. When they told me you'd checked out, I didn't know what to think. What's going on?"

Fran eased past him and walked to the nearest seat, a simple sofa upholstered in textured beige. Because her legs felt as if they would not support her another moment, she didn't wait for an invitation to sit. Sinking onto the sofa, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"I guess I've got to tell you. It's not just me now, not just my trouble. Sal Gambruzzi is here! I saw him with Cody Jonas, not ten minutes ago, walking into a bar down on Canyon Boulevard, the one called 'The Kiva'."

Ben made a face as if he'd tasted something nasty. "I know the one. But who in hell is Sal Gambruzzi?"

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Author BIO: Gwynn Morgan, lifelong Arizona resident, finds endless inspiration in the natural beauty, ethnic diversity, colorful history and marvelous variety of the American southwest. She brings a strong flavor of this exciting region into every one of her novels which she calls “romantic adventures.” On the drawing board at present are some historical tales set in the environs of Tombstone, Fort Huachuca and Bisbee as well as more Arizona-set contemporary stories. “So many ideas, so little time,” she frequently laments.

Bitten hard and early by the writing bug, she wrote her first verse at age eight and soon afterwards began to try her hand at fiction. Serious pursuit of a writing career was put on hold while she went to college, found employment with the U.S. Government, married and raised a family. Finally after ending a twenty-five year civil service career, she found her niche in writing romance--but romance with a unique Arizona Ambience.

Gwynn now lives in a rural area of Cochise County, Arizona’s southeastern corner, an area rich in history and natural wonders. She shares her rustic little home with two canine companions, Sadie and Rico, for whom she serves as chauffeur and household staff. Although she has been an active and volunteering member of a number of writing-focused organizations including Romance Writers of America and several of its chapters, she has now drawn away from most of her volunteer efforts. This was necessary to allow her to concentrate on writing and rebuilding her life following the sudden death of her partner and husband of thirty two years late in 2003. She plans to complete some joint efforts they had worked on together as well as to continue with her own projects.

In between hours at the keyboard, she enjoys a wide range of creative and outdoor activities such as reading, Celtic/ethnic music, rock-hounding and lapidary, astronomy, nature photography, sewing and crafts, hiking, back-road driving in her fiery red Mazda pickup, the Red Hot Mama, and spending time with her children and grandchildren.

Gwynn presently has six novels available from four different small press publishers and several others in the queue for release in the next couple of years. Penny’s Luck, Book 1 of the Copper Stars of Cochise series debuts in June 2004 and will be followed by Mollie’s McGuire and Jessica’s Legacy. The series celebrates the courage and devotion of law enforcement personnel in Cochise County as they fight drug smuggling, cattle rustling, and all the common problems of modern police officers--and still find time to fall in love.