PREDICTING THE ACADEMY AWARD WINNERS!

I'm no expert, but I love movies and moviegoing.  I've seen most of the titles below and every year, I make my guesses.  It's fun to see how close I come.  I have to admit I'm intrigued to see how well James Franco and Anne Hathaway do as the hosts this year.  

Did you have a favorite movie this year?  Will you watch the Oscars?  Going to an Oscar-watching party?  This year there may not be any clear cut winners, but here are my choices underlined. See if you agree.  

Best Motion Picture of the Year



Nominees:


127 Hours (2010): Christian Colson, Danny Boyle, John Smithson


Black Swan (2010): Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver, Scott Franklin


The Fighter (2010): David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman, Mark Wahlberg


Inception (2010): Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas


The Kids Are All Right (2010): Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, Celine Rattray


The King's Speech (2010): Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin


The Social Network (2010): Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Ceán Chaffin


Toy Story 3 (2010): Darla K. Anderson


True Grit (2010): Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Scott Rudin


Winter's Bone (2010): Anne Rosellini, Alix Madigan


Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role


Nominees:


Javier Bardem for Biutiful (2010)


Jeff Bridges for True Grit (2010)


Jesse Eisenberg for The Social Network (2010)


Colin Firth for The King's Speech (2010)


James Franco for 127 Hours (2010)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role


Nominees:


Annette Bening for The Kids Are All Right (2010)


Nicole Kidman for Rabbit Hole (2010)


Jennifer Lawrence for Winter's Bone (2010)


Natalie Portman for Black Swan (2010)


Michelle Williams for Blue Valentine (2010)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role


Nominees:


Christian Bale for The Fighter (2010)


John Hawkes for Winter's Bone (2010)


Jeremy Renner for The Town (2010)


Mark Ruffalo for The Kids Are All Right (2010)


Geoffrey Rush for The King's Speech (2010)


Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role


Nominees:


Amy Adams for The Fighter (2010)


Helena Bonham Carter for The King's Speech (2010)


Melissa Leo for The Fighter (2010)


Hailee Steinfeld for True Grit (2010)


Jacki Weaver for Animal Kingdom (2010)

Best Achievement in Directing


Nominees:


Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan (2010)


Ethan Coen, Joel Coen for True Grit (2010)


David Fincher for The Social Network (2010)


Tom Hooper for The King's Speech (2010)


David O. Russell for The Fighter (2010)


Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen


Nominees:


Another Year (2010): Mike Leigh


The Fighter (2010): Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson, Keith Dorrington


Inception (2010): Christopher Nolan


The Kids Are All Right (2010): Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg


The King's Speech (2010): David Seidler

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published


Nominees:


127 Hours (2010): Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy


The Social Network (2010): Aaron Sorkin


Toy Story 3 (2010): Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich


True Grit (2010): Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Winter's Bone (2010): Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini


Best Animated Feature Film of the Year


Nominees:


How to Train Your Dragon (2010): Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders


The Illusionist (2010): Sylvain Chomet


Toy Story 3 (2010): Lee Unkrich

LOSING THE PILLSBURY DOUGHBOY!

A SAD PASSING  (this brought tears to my eyes - you'll see why)

Please join me in remembering a great icon of the entertainment community. The Pillsbury Doughboy died yesterday of a yeast infection and trauma complications from

repeated pokes in the belly. He was 71.

Doughboy was buried in a lightly greased coffin. Dozens of celebrities turned out to pay their respects, including Mrs. Butterworth, Hungry Jack, the California Raisins, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies, and Captain Crunch. The grave site was piled high with flours. 96Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy and lovingly described Doughboy as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded.

Born and bread in Minnesota , Doughboy rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with turnovers. He was not considered a very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on half- baked schemes. Despite being a little flaky at times, he still was a crusty old man and was considered a positive roll model for millions.

Doughboy is survived by his wife Play Dough, three children: John Dough, Jane Dough and Dosey Dough, plus they had one in the oven. He is also survived by his elderly father, Pop Tart. The funeral was held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes.


If you smiled, please rise to the occasion and pass it on to someone having a crumby day and kneads a lift.


(We all need a lift and this one made me laugh until I cried)

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VALENTINE'S DAY GIVEAWAY WINNNER IS DONNAGH

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Donnagh - please contact me at charlenesands@hotmail.com  and I'll get your prize to you!!!

Heartfelt thanks to all who have stopped by with Valentine Greetings!! 

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY AND GIVEAWAY!!

To you, my friends, readers of romance

We kick our heels up in a happy dance!

We celebrate LOVE in any way

With cards and sentiments we do say

We have love in our life

Be it husband or wife

Friends or family, daughter or son

Love is in the air, with your special one

Your friendship and support I do dearly treasure

On this day of romance, I send you LOVE in good measure!  

Post a little Valentine comment here and you'll be entered into a drawing for a little LOVE, a $10 Amazon Gift card from me to you!!

WHAT'S A PARAPROSDOKIAN?

A paraprosdokian is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader or listener to re-frame or reinterpret the first part. It is frequently used for humorous or dramatic effect. Enjoy!

The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it's still on the list.

If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.


We never really grow up; we only learn how to act in public.


War does not determine who is right -- only who is left.


I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn't work that way; so I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.


Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.


Evening news is where they begin with 'Good evening,' and then proceed to tell you why it isn't.


To steal an idea from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research.

A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. My desk is a work station.


How is it one careless match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box to start a campfire?


I thought I wanted a career; turns out I just wanted paychecks.


Whenever I fill out an application, in the part that says "In an emergency, notify:" I put " A DOCTOR."


I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.


Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?


Behind every successful man is his woman. Behind the fall of a successful man is usually another woman.


A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.


The voices in my head may not be real, but they have some goodideas!


Some cause happiness wherever they go.. Others, whenever they go.


I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not sure.

I always take life with a grain of salt plus a slice of lemon and a shot of tequila.


You're never too old to learn something stupid.

To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.


Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.


A bus is a vehicle that runs twice as fast when you are after it as when you are in it.


Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine

Computer Meltdown! How My Life Has Changed!

Putting all your eggs in one basket is not a good idea, they say.  Luckily for me, I've always heeded that advice, so when my computer's hard drive died on December 30th, I didn't panic too much!  Just a little.  I knew we had a Back Up plan.  Thankfully and though I had to buy a new computer on New Year's Day, my files were rescued.  (For a few horrible minutes, I was told everything was corrupted)  

Being without a computer for those few days made me realize how heavily I depend on it -- for almost everything.   My writing, for one-- and my current contracted work in progress.  My calendar is loaded in there, all my yahoo groups, my photos and just about everything else.  

It really made me think about how times have changed over the past ten years.  We are in the digital, electronic age, to be sure.  Though, it was inconvenient not to have use of a computer (my hubby's iPhone helped me view my emails, at least), I found I had more time for myself.  I was more social in PERSON. I made phone calls (remember those before Facebook, Twitter and Texts?)   I saw my neighbors.  I read more. 

But you can't stop progess.  It seems we are heading for even more DIGITAL dependence.  I don't know where it'll end.  The world is embarking on newer technology all the time, ie: the latest device being the Sling Box.   Access to your computer from anywhere!  Wowee.  Do we really want to go there?

I consider myself lucky, though having to buy a new tower was an unexpected expense, my entire computer life didn't die when the hard drive did.  So, now I will save my work on all devices known to man, a Flash Drive, a secondary Hard Drive, and a Disk as well as sending my work out into cyber space to be retrieved whenever I need. 

Yes, life has changed.  
Happy 2011 everyone!!

We have a Kindle Winner!!

And it's Jeanne M.  from Rhode Island! 

Congratulations on winning the Grand Prize of a Kindle 3-G!! Thanks to everyone who joined in the fun with the Harlequin Historical Advent Calendar. 

Wishing you all a Happy, Healthy Holiday!! 

MOST ORIGINAL CHRISTMAS TREE !

 FROM KIM, MY FACEBOOK FRIEND!

SPECIAL THANKS TO KIM FOR LETTING ME SHARE THIS!! 

In the photo:

Nevada Barr, Judith Arnold  Delores Fossen, Linda Warren, Linda Conrad, Andrew Gross, Merline Lovelace, Catherine Mann , Roxanne St Claire , Patricia Rosemoor, Julie Garwood, Anna Adams, Helen Brenna, Charlene Sands, Robyn Carr, Kerry Connor, Laura Lippman, Linda Castillo, Jennifer Morey



Getting it Strait ... winner of my December 3rd giveaway.



If you picked George Strait -- you were correct!!  He was the inspiration for Cooper Garnett, tough, rugged and very handsome.  Remember him from Pure Country? 

From the list of correct answers, the random winner of Charlene Sands'  December 3rd prize of a $15 Amazon Gift card is  SARA. 

Please email me at  charlenesands@hotmail.com  for your prize details! 

Thanks to all of you who visited my site and made a guess!!   You're all still entered in our Grand Prize Giveaway that will take place on December 23rd!!  

I hope you had fun.  Keep following the authors, for more chances to win!!

A KINDLE KIND OF CHRISTMAS ... Fun Giveaway and Advent Calendar

Dear Readers,


Well, here it is!  The Harlequin Historical Authors Advent Calendar giving you 22 chances to win a fun prize or the Grand Prize of a Kindle 3-G. 


Each participating author will have an activity planned on their website for their special day. You may be asked to comment on a blog, find an ornament, or visit a Facebook page. For each day you participate, your name will be entered into the Grand Prize drawing. At the end of the month on December 23, one day from the calendar will be randomly selected. One of the entrants from that selected day will be randomly selected to win the Kindle. The more days you visit, the better your chances! 

December 3rd -  Charlene's giving away a $15.00 Amazon Gift Card.

Here's what you have to do today -- Check out these hunky country western artists and guess which one I'd cast for the the part of my hero, Cooper Garnett in my Christmas anthology Western Winter Wedding Bells!   Post your guess today/tomorrow and I'll announce the winner chosen at random from the list of correct guesses tomorrow. Please stop tomorrow for the winner!  And be sure to visit as many authors as you can listed below.

I'll start taking your guesses on December 3rd!

Brad Paisley  #1

Blake Shelton #2

George Strait #3

Josh Turner #4

Here's a list of all the participating authors. Be sure to stop by their sites on the given day for a chance at more prizes!  Good luck!



http://www.lynnabanning.com/  Lynna Banning December 1
http://www.annie-burrows.co.uk/ Annie Burrows December 2 http://www.charlenesands.blogspot.com/ Charlene Sands December 3
http://www.jeannielin.com/ Jeannie Lin December 4
http://www.elizabethrolls.com/ Elizabeth Rolls December 5
http://www.debmarlowe.com/ Deb Marlowe December 6
http://www.barbaramonajem.com/ Barbara Monajem December 7
http://www.terribrisbin.com/index.php Terri Brisbin December 8
http://www.dianegaston.com/ Diane Gaston December 9
http://www.joannerock.com/ Joanne Rock December 10
http://www.emily-may.com/ Emily May December 11
http://www.blythegifford.com/ Blythe Gifford December 12
http://www.cherylstjohn.net/ Cheryl St.John December 13
http://caroltownend.co.uk/ Carol Townend December 14
http://www.deborahhale.com/ Deborah Hale December 15
http://ammandamccabe.com/ Amanda McCabe December 16
http://www.michellewillingham.com/ Michelle Willingham December 17
http://www.georginadevon.com/ Georgina Devon December 18
http://www.juliajustiss.com/ Julia Justiss December 19
http://www.michellestyles.co.uk/ Michelle Styles December 20
http://www.annlethbridge.com/ Ann Lethbridge December 21
http://www.denise-lynn.com/ Denise Lynn December 22


For official rules:  http://www.michellewillingham.com/blog/official-rules

A THANKSGIVING DAY DESSERT TO DIE FOR!!

BEST PUMPKIN BARS EVER... stop by and grab the recipe and a chance to win an autographed copy of Western Winter Wedding Bells!!  

http://community.eharlequin.com/content/silhouette-desire-author-blog

HAVE A HAUNTINGLY HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Are you trick or treating?  Going to a party?  Whatever you do, have a wonderful time! 



Halloween Haunts of the Old West or How to Get Rid of a Ghost!!

Learn how to get rid of a ghost!! 
Find me at Steamed on Monday, Oct 25th and you could win an Amazon Gift Card! 

Excerpt from Wearing the Rancher's Ring - Western Winter Wedding Bells

Cedar Flat, California

1883


CHAPTER ONE


Early December snowdrifts sent a powerful chill clear through Rachel Bodine’s body, despite her heavy winter coat and fur-lined boots. After checking on her livestock and closing the barn door, she scooted across the Double J yard just as Jess, her cook and Mikey Ray, her youngest ranch hand, came barreling up the road in the wagon.


“Miss Rachel! Miss Rachel!” Mikey Ray’s usual smile gone, he waved his arms high in the air to catch her attention. “We found an injured man up on the south pasture,” he shouted from the wagon.


Rachel’s heart pounded seeing a man’s body lying across her buckboard covered in a woolen blanket. Her mind flashed to her husband, Josh, coming home to her this way more than a year ago. Only Josh’s injuries had been fatal. He’d come home to her, dead.


She squeezed those haunting memories away with a quick blink of the eye and focused on the wagon. She couldn’t make out whom the man was, his face covered in a shabby beard and felt hat. Jess reined the two mares in and brought the wagon to a halt just steps from her front porch. “He’s in a bad way, Missy,” Jess said. “Looks like he’s been shot and robbed. He was on foot, his horse probably stolen too. Figured he’d freeze to death out there.”


Rachel gazed into the wagon. “Who is he?”


“Don’t know.”


“Okay, let’s see to him. Bring him into the house.”


“The house, Missy?” Jess asked, his bushy brows gathering like a storm. “You don’t rightly know him.”


“I know one thing, Jess, he’ll freeze to death out in the bunkhouse. He’s likely frostbitten. He needs warming up real fast.”


“But you alone with little Johnny, and this stranger?”


“I’m not alone, Jess. I’ve got Josh’s peacemaker and his Winchester and you’ve seen me use ‘em. Now, bring the man inside. I’ll build up the fire in the hearth. We’ll put him into Johnny’s room for now. Take off his wet clothes and wrap him in a dry blanket on the bed. Johnny fell asleep in the main room near the hearth so be as quiet as you can manage.”


Rachel went inside, tiptoeing past her sleeping little boy as he lay on a bundle of quilts and added logs to the fire. Her ranch hands moved the man inside her house and laid him on Johnny’s bed, the room partitioned from the main room by a curtain. She heard the injured man groan in pain. Quickly, she began heating water on the cookstove to cleanse his wound. She made as little noise as possible, hoping Johnny wouldn’t wake.


Once Mikey Ray and Jess had the stranger situated, they walked out of the bedroom. Jess had a scowl on his face – he’d been with her for years and since Josh’s murder he’d been overly protective.


“I don’t know about this, Missy.”


“Jess, do me a favor.” She took his arm and walked him to the door. “Cook up something good for the boys tonight, something to warm them on such a chilly night.”


“I’ll do just that and I’ll be bringing you a portion of supper when I’m through.”


Rachel cast him a smile. “You mean you’ll be checking up on Johnny and me.”


He scratched his jaw. “That too. I can ride into town to get the doctor.”


“You will, but wait until dawn. The weather’s real bad right now and I don’t need to worry over you trampling six miles through the night to fetch the doctor. I know how to help this man,” she assured him. Jess was getting up in age and was too stubborn to let anyone else go for help. Tomorrow, Rachel decided would be soon enough. Being a doctor’s daughter, Rachel had learned early on how to tend an injury.


She saw the men to the door and then turned her attention to the stranger out cold on her son’s bed. She sent up a silent prayer to her father and all his wisdom to give her the guidance she needed.


Rachel walked into the bedroom with a bowl of warm water and a bar of lye soap ready to cleanse and dress a wound. She looked at the man’s unshaven face and longish hair and couldn’t quite make out his features. His eyes were closed. She always could tell a man’s intent in the quality of their eyes.


Rachel sat down on the bed careful not to disturb him too much and peeled back the woolen blanket to take a look at the bullet wound. The injury was on the right shoulder and the blood had congealed from the frost. A good thing or he might have bled to death. Rachel was thankful once again when she noted the exit wound in his back. The bullet had slashed straight through and she wouldn’t have a need to go digging.


“You’ll be on the mend soon,” Rachel said quietly as she swabbed at his shoulder. She was fully aware of the man’s state of undress, but she’d seen a man naked before many times and wasn’t a wilting willow about it.


This man was powerful and capable, she presumed, by the breadth of his shoulders and the length of his body. A bandit had robbed him and left him to die out in the bitter cold. She could only look upon him as a victim for now, but she’d put Johnny to bed in her room and bolt the door at night. Rachel had learned the hard way that a widow had to keep from falling victim herself and the best way to do that was to always be on guard.


After she cleansed the wound thoroughly, she wrapped his shoulder in bandages, and then covered his frigid body with more blankets and a quilt. She rubbed his body over and over, up and down, watching for signs of improvement and hoping for some color to come to his face.


He didn’t stir but for involuntary groans and moans of pain. Rachel had grown up hearing those sounds. She left the man with no name to check on Johnny a few times. When her son woke up, she fed him from the meal Jess had delivered to her, giving him bits of carrot and potato and spicy stew.


Johnny made the sweetest, sour face when he chewed on the stew, but he ate it. He had a hearty appetite just like his father in that regard.


After checking on her unconscious patient, Rachel bedded down with Johnny in her own room. She bolted the door shut, not that she’d feared the stranger at this juncture. The man was too weak to wake, much less move.


She napped in intervals and stoked the fire, keeping the house extremely warm and worked on her patient several times through the night with a technique her father had taught her, trying to circulate the blood. When her arms couldn’t take the struggle any longer, she retired to her bedroom for the rest of the night.


There wasn’t anything more she could do for the stranger.




Cooper Garnett slid his eyes open slowly, the lids weighted like bricks of clay. Through the narrow slits, a young boy appeared before him and Cooper searched his addled brain coming up with one conclusion. He’d died and gone to his maker and the Good Lord saw fit to reunite him with his son, Donny.


A female voice, soft as a summer breeze, cautioned the boy and Cooper lifted his lids to find a woman standing over him, her arm on her toddler son. “He needs rest,” she said to the boy.


A measure of happiness entered his heart as the blurry visions filled him with relief. He had to be in heaven, joining his family and putting him out of his misery. Jocelyn was here and so was his little son. It was too much to hope they hadn’t died in the fire that claimed their lives. It was too much to hope they hadn’t been robbed and left for dead in a burning house.


Cooper groaned, not from the pain shooting through his shoulder, but from memories that haunted him each day. He’d been too late to save them. He’d missed the murdering bastard by only minutes. He’d ridden in and witnessed hot flames sear through beams that fortified his house. Panicked and spurred on with dreaded fear, he’d bounded from his horse and ran inside, soot and smoke scorching his eyes. A falling post knocked him out and branded his back. A sole ranch hand coming back early from the range had rushed in and pulled him free before the fire claimed him. How often he wished it had.


But now, he was with Jocelyn and Donny again. Somehow, some way, they were here with him and tranquility surrounded him. Since that fateful day he’d never known more peace.


“Come on, Johnny,” the woman said taking the boy’s hand. “Let the man sleep.”


Johnny? Not Donny? Had he heard right?


Cooper’s eyes widened. His mind cleared from wishful sentiments. He focused hard and noted the boy’s blonde locks, the woman’s hair of the same hue. As she moved to brush by him, he grabbed her arm; the sudden movement making him wince. He strained to make out her features. “Who are you?”


“I’m Rachel.”


Her voice was soft, but wary and he recognized it now. She’d nursed him from his wound. She’d been the one taking care with him. Not Jocelyn.


Heartbreaking pain welled up inside, the disappointment hollowing out his gut and shredding it to pieces. His body sagged and he released her arm. “You took me in.”


“My ranch hands found you shot and left for dead on my land. Yes, I took you in. I’ve been tending to your wound.”


“The boy?” he asked, glancing now at a youngster that only resembled his Donny by size.


She set a proprietary hand on his shoulder and her eyes glowed with pride. “This is my son, Johnny Bodine.”


Cooper glanced away then closed his eyes. He couldn’t bear to look at the woman with her child, not when his immediate wishful hopes had been dashed. How fresh the heartache was still. The rawness of it burned clear through him.


“What’s your name?” she asked softly.


“Cooper Garnett,” he whispered.


“Do you know who shot you, Mr. Garnett?”


He focused on her concerned eyes. Pretty eyes, he noted grudgingly. Why didn’t she let him die? “Someone who wanted my horse and belongings, I suppose.”


She lifted her boy into her arms and he immediately clung to her neck, laying his head under her chin. The loving image was reminiscent of Donny and Jocelyn and Cooper remembered what he aimed to do and why he should be grateful this woman saved him. He couldn’t die, not until he claimed justice for his wife and boy’s death. “Where’s Mr. Bodine?” he asked.


“I’m a widow,” she whispered, as if the pain of that truth still hurt. “How’s your shoulder feeling?”


“Like it saw the front end of a stampede.”


“It’s healing up nicely. You’re strong.”


Cooper touched the spot where the bullet went through, bandaged now. He recalled the sharp shot slicing through him, catching him by surprise and jerking him from his horse. “You know doctoring?”


“My father was a doctor. I know enough. Doctor Reynolds was out here yesterday and checked on you. He said you’d make a full recovery.”


“You likely saved my life.”


“I probably did,” she said in earnest. “Good thing the boys found you when they did or you might have frozen to death. You’ve been unconscious for two days.”


“Son of a bit-” Cooper held up his oath and squeezed his eyes shut briefly. He was damn tired of losing time.


“You need more rest,” she said, ignoring his outburst. “You had fever during the night. I’ll bring you some broth shortly.”


His nod was slight and pained him some. “Appreciate it.”


He watched Rachel leave with her boy and then closed his eyes. He’d been tracking the man called Brett Hollings all the way from Nevada. He’d lost time, right after the fire to heal up from injuries to his scorched back. It had taken a full month to recover and get his mind in the right place. No man should have to witness his family’s demise. No man.


The only clue he’d had was that the ranch hand that’d saved him saw the robber fleeing the fiery scene, hanging onto the strongbox that held the Garnett payroll. He’d caught fire to the left side of his body and by all accounts, his face suffered burns that would be recognizable. He couldn’t figure out if the man deliberately torched the house, or if it’d been an accident during the commission of the crime, but the fact remained that Jocelyn and little Donny had died in that fire.


It had taken Cooper three months to find out the man’s name and another two to track him to the Cedar Flat area. His instincts told him it hadn’t been Hollings who’d shot him. Cooper had been careful not to arouse suspicion. Brett Hollings didn’t know he was being tracked and Cooper would make damn sure it stayed that way. Which meant that Hollings would still be in the environs.


Cooper meant to kill him.


Or die trying.




Rachel ladled broth with bits of beef and potato into a bowl and set it on a tray along with a biscuit. She pulled the curtain back and entered Johnny’s room. Cooper Garnett took one look at her and tried to sit up higher in the bed. His rugged face twisted in pain and he let go a vivid curse.


His impatience reminded her of Josh. Her husband was forever moving faster than his feet could take him. “Hold on, Mr. Garnett. I’ll help you sit up.”


She set the tray on a side table and reached around Cooper’s body, under his arms. “Hold onto to me,” she said, “and let me do the work. Whatever you do, don’t struggle with your bad shoulder.”


He pierced her with a look, his eyes dark, his brows elevated. Heat crept up her neck. It’d been a long time since she’d been this close to a man. Even though his beard covered most of his face she could tell, Cooper Garnett was a handsome devil.


He took hold of her around the waist, his fingers splayed over her hips. She couldn’t think about how good it felt having him touch her. She’d seen him naked from the waist up and knew he was sturdy and powerful. Her blouse brushed his skin and the tips of her breasts skimmed over his chest. “Now wiggle up slowly as I lift you.”


Cooper did as he was told, his gaze never leaving hers as he scooted up with her aid. Her heart fluttered and she turned away from him before he could see her blushing cheeks.


“There, that does it,” she said, reaching for the tray. She set it on his lap and continued to avert her gaze. “I imagine you can feed yourself, but if you need me-”


“Rachel.”


“What?” She met with his eyes.


“I can feed myself.”


She cast him half a smile and nodded.


“I’ll need my pants.”


“Why?” She hadn’t expected that. Why would he need his pants in order to eat? He wouldn’t be able to put them on unassisted and she wasn’t ready to help him. Not yet anyway. It was all she could do to stop from turning red as a tomato from lifting him up. For all her blustering about being a doctor’s daughter, she realized she’d never tended a man like Cooper Garnett before. Not without her father’s presence and assistance.


A grin slowly spread across his face. “Why do I need my pants? Can’t very well get up when nature calls without them now, can I?”


Rachel pictured him in his long johns and nothing else, the image so profound, she couldn’t meet his eyes. Instantly, she admonished herself for being such a foolish ninny. “I’ll get them for you once they’ve dried. I washed them out this morning along with your shirt. They were covered in blood.”


“I see.”


“Besides, I doubt you can put them on without re-injuring your shoulder. You’ll need help.”


One brow arched up as he assessed her. With a hard gleam, his eyes roamed from her blond hair to her shoulders and lower to her breasts, his gaze lingering just enough to bring more heat to her face before he met with her eyes again. “I’d best be putting my own trousers on.”


She swallowed.


With his right hand, he lifted the spoon and dug into the broth. She watched him take a few spoonfuls without much fuss. “Course, if I run into a problem with the clothes, I’ll give you a holler, you knowing about doctoring and all.”


Rachel’s eyes went wide and a protest was hot on her lips until she noted a quick smile emerge from under Cooper’s beard.


She whipped around and her gown brushed the edge of the bed as she made her way out, closing the curtains with a swipe of her hand.


She marched into the main room and put a hand to her chest. “Heavens,” she whispered as an unexpected tremble coursed the length of her. Why was the sight Cooper Garnett and the deep timbre of his voice so, so … appealing? With only youngsters like Mikey Ray and her dear old friend, Jess around the ranch, had Rachel forgotten the heat of a real man’s gaze? Had she forgotten what it felt like to be touched intimately? Josh had been gone a year and a half now and how she missed him, but she was still young and her mourning time was over. She couldn’t abide the loneliness much longer. The winters were fiercely cold and lonely without a husband beside her.


“Maybe I should take Robert Livingston up on his offer for a buggy ride after church,” she murmured as she set Cooper’s clothes closer to the fire. Robert didn’t spark any longing in her, but he was steady and gentlemanly and held a good job at the bank. He was forever asking her to picnic with him. Maybe it was time she thought about it.


“Here he is, Miss Rachel,” Mikey Ray said, appearing in the doorway with Johnny. “We had us a good time in the bunkhouse with the boys, didn’t we, Johnny?”


Johnny bobbed his head up and down and ran to Rachel, clinging to her skirts. She patted his head and met with her son’s big loving eyes. “Did you mind Jess and Mikey Ray?”


“I minded, Mama,” her boy said. At a little over eighteen months old, Johnny was especially bright and talkative for his age. On cold nights, Rachel would sit down with him before the fire and read to him. He loved to listen, to mimic words and before she knew it, he was making short sentences on his own. As smart as he was, he was also adventurous for a little one and Rachel was forever trying to keep up with his antics.


She often asked Jess or Mikey Ray to watch him for an hour or two whenever they could spare the time to give her son some male companionship. As a result, both the men had come to love Johnny as much as Johnny loved them.


“How’s the stranger doing? ” Mikey Ray asked, standing in the doorway, taking a quick glance at the curtain.


“Come in outta of the cold and have a warm biscuit and I’ll tell you, so you can go back to report to Jess.” Rachel grinned, catching him but Mikey Ray just shrugged it off. He never minded doing Jess’s biding. The two fought like cats and dogs at times, but they also cared about each other like father and son.


Aside from one recent incident with a hired hand, Rachel considered herself fortunate in having a small, but dedicated bunch of ranch hands.


She buttered a biscuit and handed it to him. “The stranger’s name is Cooper Garnett and he doesn’t know who shot him. They robbed him of all his possessions and stole his horse. He came to, just a while ago. That’s all I know right now.”


Mikey Ray dug into the biscuit and with a nod, he spoke with a full mouth. “I’ll tell Jess.” He swallowed then took another bite and waited this time to speak once he’d finished the biscuit. “Mighty good, Miss Rachel.”


“I’ll send a batch to the bunkhouse.” Rachel set a dozen more biscuits into a basket and covered it with a checkered cloth. She had three other boys, the same age as Mikey Ray working for her that made up the whole of the Double J outfit. She was short-handed and couldn’t afford to keep up with the bigger, more prosperous ranches in the area who paid their men better.


“Here you go.” She handed the basket to him. “And be sure to share those biscuits.”


“I will. Thank you.” Mikey Ray strode to the front door, then stopped and turned. “Do you feel safe in here, now that the stranger’s awake?”


Rachel took a deep breath, remembering another time when she’d had to fend off the lurid advances of her foreman. Seems that some men thought that widow, meant willing. She’d never put herself in that position again. “I’m not in any danger. I sleep with my Winchester under the bed.”


“I’ll tell Jess that too.”


Rachel watched Mikey Ray close the door and leave.


“I won’t be giving you cause to use that Winchester.”


Rachel spun around to find Cooper Garnett leaning against the curtained wall, his chest bare but for the bandage on his right shoulder, and filling out his long johns with a capacity that made her blink, then blink again.


Heavens, the man gave her pause and palpitations at the same time.


“Unless you refuse to give me my clothes, Miss Rachel.”