Love and Leprechauns at the Flying J Ranch by Kyra Jacobs

Hello everyone, and Happy Saint Patrick’s Day week! I’m so grateful that Liz invited me to stop by today and share a St. Patty’s Day-themed excerpt from my latest book release.

In case you hadn’t heard, the third (and “final) book in my Miles of Montana romance series, THE RODEO COWBOY’S REDEMPTION is now out in the wild. This book is about Norah Miles, the middle child of the family, who has given up on finding love in Marietta and is considering moving to Bozeman, Montana to reboot her career. The bane of her existence at the start is Rhett Foster, her younger brother’s best friend and former rodeo partner, who kissed her last summer by the campfire then ghosted her. She plans to stay as far away from him as possible at the Flying J Ranch, but life has a funny way of taking plans like that and tossing them right out the window. Of course, having a hopeless romantic of a grandfather who loves to play Cupid doesn’t help her cause, either…

Yes, the series is centered around the three Miles siblings (Sam, Jaxon, and Norah) and their journeys to find love. But if you’ve read any of the series, then you already know that one of the best characters in this cast is Eli Miles, their grandfather (aka Gramps). Come to think of it, many of my books involve an older relative or neighbor, ever ready with their quick wit and wisdom.

In the Miles of Montana series, Gramps tends to appear out of nowhere when secrets are being spilt. In the spirit of St. Patty’s Day, I thought I’d share a fun excerpt from the book that involves Norah and the two women her brothers are dating. They’re in the lodge helping prepare food in its giant kitchen, and Norah has just admitted that yes, there is something going on between her and Rhett. (See? Plans right out the window!) Gramps doesn’t know about the budding romance yet, so the girls have to think fast to cover up their chatter when he walks in. The coverup leads to Gramps telling an embarrassing story about young “Norberry” Norah. (If you want to learn how Norah got that nickname, you’ll have to read the rest of the story.) Here’s the excerpt:

Norah grabbed a hand towel and snapped it toward Char, nipping her in the butt. “You hush your mouth. If Jax hadn’t busted in and then gone back to spill the beans, neither of you would ever have known.”

“Oh, I think we would have figured it out eventually.” Natalie pushed her veggies aside. “I mean, we’ve all already noticed that you’re not giving him the death glare anymore. Once you start sitting next to one another, the others are going to put two and two together.”

“Well, that’s not going to happen, so I need you two to keep this quiet.”

The women looked to one another and burst out laughing.

“I’m serious,” Norah insisted. “This isn’t a public thing, okay?”

Char’s face sobered. “Why not? I mean, it’s not like your family has a long-standing feud with his.”

“Or your company is trying to build a giant resort next door,” Natalie added.

“Because.” She stopped. What could she tell them that wouldn’t mean she dug tonight’s hole any deeper? Lord only knew, she couldn’t tell them she was thinking about leaving. Her two future sisters-in-law might holler Katy-bar-the-door before that could happen.

“Because, we’re not supposed to do this kind of thing while his family is doing work for ours.”

“Oh, yeah.” Natalie grinned. “You probably need to keep it on the down-low while Foster Construction is here, working on-site. No colluding with the customers. I know all about those rules.”

“Well, not ex—”

“And how to break them, from what I’ve heard.” Char bumped her elbow into Natalie. “It still kinda stinks, though. I mean, it’d sure be nice if just one of us didn’t have to start a relationship by sneaking around.”

“Who’s sneaking around?” Gramps asked from the doorway behind her.

Norah threw the girls a pleading look. The less her family knew, the easier it would be when she and Rhett went their separate ways. There’d be no hard feelings, no bad guy. It might not be conventional, but this was the arrangement they’d agreed on.

“Hudson,” Char said with a shake of her head. “He keeps saying he’s gonna catch himself a leprechaun. Were you the one to put that idea in his head, Eli?”

Norah turned to find her grandfather wearing an ear-to-ear grin. And, thankfully, it wasn’t aimed at her.

“We may or may not have had some discussions about shamrocks and pots of gold earlier in the week. But if he needs trapping tips, have him talk to this one.” Her grandfather shuffled forward and gave Norah a gentle side hug. “She actually caught one when she was Hudson’s age.”

“Oh, Gramps. Please, not this story again.”

“Come on, Nor,” Natalie said. “I want to hear about this leprechaun you caught.”

Norah looked to her grandfather and grinned, unable to rain on his parade. “Fine. I came in from the prairie one early spring day and told Gramps about this pot of gold I’d found tucked under a pile of rocks near the river. Was all upset that I couldn’t reach it and worried the boys would get to it first. So, he went with me to try and help, but he couldn’t reach it, either. So he helped me build the perfect trap, let me set it, and then we left to give the leprechaun time to come out. Gramps told me to be patient; it could be a few days. Four—it took four—agonizing days.”

“Oh Lord.” Char smirked. “And what did you catch?”

Norah threw a look of mock annoyance at her grandfather. “A nest of green snakes.”

Eli bowed with laughter. “She was so excited, heard them moving around in that trap. I offered to help her open it, to make sure the slippery varmint didn’t get away. I’ve never seen Norberry run so fast in all my life.”

“Eli, come help me with this table.”

He wiped a tear from his eye and turned in the direction of Nana’s voice. “Coming, dear.”

Norah watched him go, then thanked Char and Natalie for keeping her secret.

“We’ve got you, girl,” Char said.

“Of course, that’s what we’re here for.” Natalie nodded. “And when you’re ready to tell the rest of the world, we’ll have your back then too.”

Guilt pricked her chest when she didn’t correct the misunderstanding as they both headed for the dining room. There wouldn’t be any telling the world, no happily-ever-after. And she was fine with that. Perfectly fine.

Laughter rang out from the group, the sound warming Norah’s heart. For many years, that laughter had had a deeper timbre, the men far outnumbering the women. Now, it sounded much more balanced. Felt that way too.

Where had these women been all these years, she wondered as she washed her hands. Norah grabbed a towel to dry them and turned to watch the others carrying on with her grandparents and felt the zing of a new emotion—jealousy.

But she wasn’t allowed to feel jealous of that happy scene in the other room if she was the one choosing to leave. Besides, it wasn’t like she was leaving and never coming back. She had all spring to hang out with Char and Natalie, maybe all summer too. Hopefully, they’d build a strong sense of sisterhood so she’d have even more to look forward to when she came back home to visit.

Except, tonight, leaving didn’t sound quite as exciting as it had before.

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I hope you enjoyed the excerpt. I hope even more that none of you find a nest of green snakes in your pot of gold. LOL If you’d like to read more, you can find links to this book and all of my backlist at kyrajacobsbooks.com. (And if you’ve enjoyed the Miles of Montana series, stay tuned—there’s more romance brewing at the Flying J Ranch!)

Wishing everyone a wonderful March, and don’t be a stranger—come find me over on Facebook and Instagram. If you’re lucky, you’ll even catch glimpses of Rudy the cat aka @myorangeeditor as he provides side-eyes in between naps on my writing desk. I’ll share some links below to help us stay in touch.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KyraJacobsBooks

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kyrajacobs_author/

 (and https://www.instagram.com/myorangeeditor/ for Rudy-isms)

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/Kyra_Jacobs

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kyra-jacobs 

About Kyra:

Kyra Jacobs is an extroverted introvert who’s always called Indiana home. Growing up in the Midwest means she’s well-versed in fickle weather, pork tenderloins that don’t fit on a bun, and sarcasm. Fueled by caffeine and funny memes, she weaves humor and chaos into her stories, which range from sweet romance to mysteries and even fantasy.

When this Hoosier native isn’t at a keyboard, daydreaming through her fingertips, she's likely outside, elbow-deep in snapdragons or spending quality time with her sports-loving family. Kyra also loves live music, searching for the perfect seashell, and is an avid college football fan. Be sure to stop by kyrajacobsbooks.com to learn more about her novels and ways to connect with Kyra on social media.