Operation Ginger Avenger [Divine Creek Ranch 24] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read online

  Divine Creek Ranch 24

  Operation Ginger Avenger

  Jessica Bright came to Divine, Texas seeking refuge for her and her unborn child from the man who had held her captive. With time she’s overcome the trauma, but in her eyes she isn’t just a hot mess, she’s the hot mess.

  Tank Drummond and Troy Burnett have watched patiently as Jessica has gotten her life on track—perhaps too patiently. When a bit of innocent online matchmaking help from Tank’s mother goes viral, they’re pushed into pursuing Jessica even though they risk scaring her off completely.

  Enter one scary dude doing the bidding of her original captor from his permanent prison cell. Four Bits owes Trevor Dornan a big favor and he always pays his debts.

  Right or wrong, the ladies of Divine and Lusty, Tank’s mother, and even little Bella take matters into their own hands and pull off an adventure that will go down in Divine history as…Operation Ginger Avenger.

  Genre: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Romantic Suspense, Western/Cowboys

  Length: 109,011 words

  OPERATION GINGER

  AVENGER

  Divine Creek Ranch 24

  Heather Rainier

  

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  OPERATION GINGER AVENGER

  Copyright © 2017 by Heather Rainier

  ISBN: 978-1-64010-873-8

  First Publication: December 2017

  Cover design by Harris Channing

  All art and logo copyright © 2017 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  If you find a Siren-BookStrand e-book or print book being sold or shared illegally, please let us know at

  [email protected]

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  DEDICATION

  This story is dedicated to single parents who willingly take on the roles of mother and father and do their level best for their kids. Often far from perfect, the fact that they never give up makes them heroes in my eyes. This story is also dedicated to the brave adults who gladly shoulder the responsibility of parenting children they didn’t create. A happily ever after is even sweeter when the kids from these blended families go on to be simply amazing adults because they were loved, encouraged, and accepted.

  This story is also dedicated to my one true love. My husband.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  I live in South Central Texas, writing the type of novel I love to read: more erotic and edgy than the mainstream, with plenty of sweet romance mixed in. My love of romantic fiction began as a teenager when my mom gave me copies of Kathleen Woodiwiss’s “The Flame and the Flower” and Bertrice Small’s “Skye O’Malley.” To this day I’m pretty sure that was her idea of the “birds and the bees” talk.

  My husband and I met in a scenario very much like the ones I’ve written about. He was the alpha hero who stepped in when this “damsel in distress” needed rescuing from a nefarious pervert. It’s no wonder I went on to write erotic romance when I had him to inspire me.

  When not pounding on my keyboard, I’m usually busy corralling my kids or loving on my smokin’ hot husband, who thankfully loves to cook.

  For all titles by Heather Rainier, please visit

  www.bookstrand.com/heather-rainier

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I’d like to thank the crew of individuals who put so much hard work into helping me make this series into what it is. Thank you, to the staff of Siren-BookStrand, and to my amazing publisher. Thank you for believing in me.

  Thank you also to the inspiring friends who have my back and crack the whip behind the scenes to help me complete, correct, beautify each manuscript so that it fulfills readers’ expectations.

  And thank you to the readers, group leaders and admins, bloggers, followers and friends, who are as passionate about the written word as I am. Thank you for sharing, supporting, encouraging, and for buying my books from legitimate retailers so I can make a living doing what I love.

  Seize the day, baby!

  Love, Heather

  CAST OF MAIN CHARACTERS IN BOOK READING ORDER

  Divine Grace

  Grace (Stuart) Warner is a published author. Jack Warner is a building contractor. Ethan Grant co-owns The Dancing Pony nightclub. Adam Davis is an HVAC and electrical contractor. The men are distant cousins and owners of the Divine Creek Ranch. They have a daughter, Rose Marie and a son, Grant Jason.

  Her Gentle Giant (Part One & Two)

  Rachel (Lopez) Wolf does the books for Discretion and is a stay-at-home mom and a published author. Eli Wolf was one of the bouncers at The Dancing Pony and is now an EMT. They have one son, Levi.

  Heavenly Angel

  Teresa (Palacios) Martinez is a stay at home mom. Angel and Joaquin Martinez handle the breeding operation on the Divine Creek Ranch. They have two sons, Michael and Eleazar, and a daughter, Isabella.

  Rosemary’s Double Delight

  Rosemary (Piper) Garner manages her husbands’ business, Garner Custom Furniture. Wes and Evan Garner are self-employed furniture craftsmen. They have one son, Thomas.

  Spurs and Heels

  Juliana (Meyer) Peterson is the buyer for Discretion. Ash Peterson is the foreman of the Divine Creek Ranch. They have a son, Will.

  Maya’s Triple Dare

  Maya (Daire) Warner is a registered nurse. Kendall, Boone, and Richard Warner are brothers and partners in the MWTD Cattle Ranch.

  Summer’s Indiscretion

  Summer (Heston) Webster is a co-owner of Discretion. Ace Webster and Kemp Whittier are partners in a security and private investigation operation.

  Lydia’s Twin Temptation

  Lydia (Webster) Carlisle is a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef. Chance and Clayton Carlisle are twin brothers who own the Rockin’ C Ranch.

  Their Divine Doctor

  Doctor Emma (Guthrie) Rivers is a family practitioner in Divine. Duke Rivers and Gage Randall are IT consultants.

  Divine Phoenix

  Lily (Valentine) Cook works with her husband at Clay Cook Jewelry. Clay Cook is a jeweler and sculptor and Del Cook is a rancher and former private military subcontractor.

  Sparks Fly! A Divine Creek July 4th Family Reunion

  Jayne (Sheridan) Carter is head librarian at the Divine Memorial Library. Seth Carter is a tattoo artist and owner of Divine Ink. Sparks Fly! features their introduction and sexy reunions with all the previous main characters in the series, centered around a July 4th family reunion.

  Margot’s Hunger

  Margot (Heston) Redman is co-owner of Discretion. Jake Redman is a security subcontractor. Gil James is the foreman at the Rockin’ C Ranch.

  His Tattooed Virgin

  Jayne (Sheridan) Carter is the head librarian at the Divine Memorial Library. Seth Carter is a tattoo artist and owner of Divine Ink
. They have a son named Toby.

  Tiny Dancer

  Camilla (O’Neal) Parks owns the Twisted Bull night club and Chantilly’s Steakhouse. Ben Lawrence and Quinten Parks are partners with Ethan Grant in the Dancing Pony nightclub. They have twin boys, James and Joshua.

  Tangled In Divine

  Gwen (Henderson) Alvarez is a horse trainer and teaches barrel racing techniques. Julian Alvarez and Chris Potter run the Bucking H Ranch in Colorado and the Bucking H2 Ranch in Divine. They’re proud parents of a brand new bouncing baby boy, Peter Christiaan Alvarez.

  Lucy’s Revenge

  Lucy (Carter) Owen is a licensed massage therapist and owner of A Divine Retreat. Patrick Owen is an architect and Beck O’Malley is a beekeeper. They have one son, PJ.

  Maizy the Bear Charmer

  Maizy (Owen) Welsh is an online educator focusing in Pre-K and kindergarten instruction. Cody Welsh, Heath Lindsey, and Spencer Ketchum provide security at the Twisted Bull nightclub.

  Awakening Veronica

  Veronica (Benedict) Stinson is a bestselling romance author. Hank Stinson is the Sheriff of Divine County and Travis McDaniel is the facility coordinator for a local boys’ ranch.

  Divine Charity

  Charity (Stuart) Connors is a phlebotomist and Grace Warner’s sister. Justin Connors is a Master Welder and metal artist and Val Teller and Ransome Cross are retired bounty hunters.

  Brokenhearted Beauty

  Leah (Woodworth) Elder is the manager of Stigall’s Department Store. James and Vincent Elder are local police officers.

  Absentminded Angel

  Presley Ann (Woodworth) McCulloch is a self-employed seamstress. Kendry and Jared McCulloch are both firefighters and new to the town of Divine. They have one son, Whit.

  Lumberjack Weekend

  Violet Tyler is the proprietress of Violet’s Emporium. Josh and Lucas Abbott are partners with their father and brothers in Abbott Brothers Construction.

  Bunny and the Beast

  Bunny (Carrigan) Hazelle is a sassy submissive and electronic jack-of-all-trades at Hazelle House. Joseph Hazelle is the owner and practicing Dom at Hazelle House in Morehead.

  How Cassie Got Her Grind Back

  Cassie (Villalobos) Cutter is the co-owner of Divine Drip and a budding songwriter. Ivan Cutter is a world class chef and co-owner of Divine Drip. Samson Cutter is a 911 emergency dispatcher in Morehead.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  About the Author

  Acknowledgments

  Appendix

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Landmarks

  Cover

  OPERATION GINGER

  AVENGER

  Divine Creek Ranch 24

  HEATHER RAINIER

  Copyright © 2017

  Chapter One

  October

  The Rockin’ C Ranch

  “I look at it this way, guys,” Lydia Carlisle said as she turned away from the stilled image on the computer monitor. “At least your dicks aren’t hanging out.” Lydia covered her giggle-snort but failed to mute it.

  “This isn’t funny,” Tank Drummond muttered as he raked his fingers through his hair. Most of the time, he found the goofy sound she made, which was a cross between a giggle and a snort, kind of cute.

  “Your hair is going to start falling out if you keep yanking on it, Tank. And I’m not laughing at you so much as I am entertained by your mom. Thanks to her, single, eligible women are experiencing lady-boners across cyberspace because of you two.” She giggle-snorted again, and he was sure she was downright laughing at their predicament. Heat rose from his neck up to his cheeks as their bosses’ wife enjoyed herself at their expense.

  Tank and his best friend, Troy Burnett, had been greeted that morning by an e-mail from Tank’s mom, Maryetta, telling them she’d made a surprise for them. His first thought was that she had fresh baked brownies on the way to them via UPS or that she was coming for a visit.

  The surprise, as it turned out, was a video personal ad featuring him and Troy that she’d posted online to YouTube, thanks to a tech-savvy friend. By the time they watched it for themselves, it had already gone viral and they’d been tagged in it on social media.

  After discovering the video in her social media newsfeed, Lydia had hightailed it to their house located near the main ranch house.

  Pointing to the number of views on the video link, she said, “Look at it this way. The video rates higher on the adorable-ness scale than it does in shock factor. That’s why I say at least your dicks weren’t hanging out…not that your mom would do that to you because that would be creepy. But the fact that she uploaded it to YouTube instead of a dating site means your visibility is potentially greater.”

  “And more embarrassing,” Troy said as he glanced at the computer screen and cringed, scrubbing his hands over his face. “I mean, did Mom have to go on about my abs like that?”

  “She made it clear that she’s not really your mom, just Tank’s, and that, while she loved you like a son—”

  “She’s not blind, yeah, yeah, I remember what she said,” Troy blurted out, his cheeks turning ruddy to match the heat that filled Tank’s. “And did she have to mention she preferred only fertile women, willing to give her grandbabies, contact us?”

  “At least she didn’t show off any nekkid baby pictures of you,” Tank muttered.

  Lydia squeezed both their shoulders and failed miserably at looking sympathetic. “It’s not really all that creepy. She sounded like a mom who loves her boys and wants to see them happy with some ready, willing, and able young women. You treat me like a sister, but I’d never deny how cute your tight little tushes are and how drool-worthy those abs and biceps are. Now you’ll just be inspiring wet panties all over the Internet, as well.”

  Troy held up a hand and shook his head, his eyes wide. “Because of a video our mom posted. The effect is tainted. Tainted!”

  Lydia busted out laughing, and although he didn’t share her levity, he could at least muster a smile for her, until he thought of the rest of the guys on the ranch and their friends in town finding out about his mom’s matchmaking ploy. He could just imagine Chris Potter’s hyena laughter. Hell, they deserved his ridicule for laughing at him when they saw him dressed in his baby sling, wearing his baby boy, Peter.

  “Have you checked the e-mail account she set up for you? At least she didn’t give out your personal e-mail addresses. That was pretty helpful.”

  “Helpful? None of this is helpful. Jessica will see that and probably never speak to us again. Hell, she’ll probably run in the other direction.”

  “Give the girl some credit, guys,” Lydia replied as she followed them out of the office, pulling her phone out of her pocket. “This could be just the push she needs.” She giggled at whatever held her interest on her phone and typed a speedy reply before putting it away.

  Troy’s gaze met Tank’s, and the same concern showed in his eyes. As shy as she was, if this made headlines or,
heaven forbid, women discovered where they lived, it could wind up pushing her out of their lives for good.

  On their ride into town, his phone buzzed. He pulled it out and swiped the call icon. “Drummond.”

  A familiar voice said, “Hey, handsome! I have a little favor to ask of you and Troy.”

  “Sure, Grace. Anything you need.” He knew better than to say that to Grace Warner, but she was one blonde bombshell he couldn’t say no to.

  A feminine chuckle sounded over the line. “Hear me out before you say that. Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t you participate in the Highland Games a couple of years back?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Excellent. Then you probably own kilts, don’t you?”

  Shiiit. “Well, yeah.”

  “Sweet!” By the time she’d explained what she needed, he was regretting his word choice.

  “What?” Troy asked as he pulled into the feed store parking lot.

  “Out of the frying pan and into the fire, that’s what.”

  * * * *

  Sweat trickled between Jessica Bright’s shoulder blades, and she did her best to breathe steady as the blood pressure cuff tightened. She was in for a routine follow-up on lab work with Dr. Emma Rivers. The visit was nothing major, but doctor’s offices and hospitals always made her nervous. The cuff pinched a little, and she shuddered as cold chills raced over her forearms.