Book #1
Frank Culhane may be the wealthy patriarch of one of Texas' most prestigious families, but his party girl daughter, Jasmine, is only interested in the money the ranch brings in--and the cowboys. Until the day she heads to the stables in search of their hot horse trainer and instead discovers her daddy's body in their prize stallion's box stall. Roper's rodeo career was cut short by an injury. Now, he's hungry to compete in reining events, like the prized forthcoming Run for a Million. In the meantime, until his family can afford their own breeding business, he's got to work for the rich ranchers who snub them--including the Culhanes. But when an autopsy reveals Frank was murdered, Roper lands on the list of possible suspects. A city outsider, Detective Sam Rafferty's investigation propels him into a tangle of simmering rivalries. For the ranch is now in the hands of an explosive partnership: Frank's young, glamourous second wife, Lila, and his scorned first wife, Madeline. Lila has a genuine passion for ranching. Madeline is determined to destroy her. Through Sam's interviews, more tensions surface--there are Madeline's grown children who've been bypassed for control of the ranch, the socially dismissed McKennas, and the breeders, politicians, and gangsters ready to profit from Frank's death. But tricky alliances are also brewing. While Lila and Roper clash, they discover a fire beneath their sparring. And with a killer still at large, the heat between Jasmine and Sam could put the case, and all their futures, on the line.