Blood & Water: Primrose Valley, #2

By Amber Aames

Shane Dodgson is in love with Ellie Winters, but their families are fueding over water rights. His family ranch can't survive without water, and neither can the Winters' farm. Their love is forbidden and futile, but they can't resist each other. When the situation escalates, and violence erupts, it risks everything on both sides. Blood is thicker than water, but is love strong enough to overcome the tensions between them?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Publishers' Portal
• Release date: Jul 4, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393802372

Book preview

Chapter One

Shane Dodgson had no good reason to ride past the boundary of the Dodgson land once he verified for himself that the stream remained unharmed. It was a point of contention among his family and the Winters’ clan. It wouldn’t be the first time the Winters had tried to tamper with the flow of water, so the Dodgsons had to check it carefully every morning. He’d already done that, so there was no good reason to keep riding, except for the hope he might catch a glimpse of Ellie Winters.

That was a foolish hope and a fool’s errand, yet he rode on, entering Winters’ land a few seconds later. He paused at the boundary, waiting to see if Ellie would ride by. He’d observed on several occasions recently that she tended to ride this time every morning. He’d found himself naturally adjusting his own schedule, though he knew there was little point in doing so.

He couldn’t deny Miss Ellie enthralled him. He didn’t think she could be much older than nineteen or twenty, so she was at least five years younger than him, but she had grace and maturity that extended beyond her years. Her lovely fall of blond hair had a way of catching a man’s gaze, and her vibrant blue eyes made him long to get lost in them.

Not that he’d seen them more than a few times up close. That usually happened when they were in church, or occasionally, he had run into her at the Owens’ general store. They’d not exchanged more than a dozen words due to the feuding between their families, but that didn’t keep Shane from longing for her with all his heart. Could he love someone he’d never truly met, and only from afar? He felt like he did, but he didn’t know enough to be sure, since he’d never truly been in love before.

He caught his breath as he heard her horse before he saw it. Normally, she was cantering along, but today, the horse was bolting, and she was clinging to its back. It all happened in a blur, leading him to assume the horse was out of control, and she was about to fall off. With a nudge of his heel into Sampson’s side, he urged the brown quarter horse to pick up speed, planning the best way to intercept Ellie and her runaway horse.

Sampson was up to the task, quickly gaining speed and matching the pace Ellie’s painted horse set. Shane stretched forward, reaching out and grabbing Ellie to pluck her from the saddle and into his arms.

She jolted heavily into him, and Sampson spooked for a moment before kicking up slightly and landing with a thud that sent a jolt through him and Ellie. He tightened his arms