Lady's Choice

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A TRUE DILEMMA

Her preference? What a joke! She didn't want any of them. Regina Nash's grandfather had sent a trio of men to Texas, along with a contract; and if she didn't sign, agreeing to marry one of them, she risked losing custody of her nephew. To escape the trap, Reggie devised a plan: To be the worst prospective bride ever; to be so unpleasant as to send any would-be groom high-tailing it back to Philadelphia.

One man wouldn't be tricked. Adam Barr, ex-lawyer, ex-con, one-time crush of Reggie's. He wasn't one of her three suitors, but he had delivered the contract for her grandfather and was charged with seeing it carried out. He knew Reggie's true self, which he swore to show her suitors. Using his charm and wit he had her acting smart, compassionate, and funny—and feeling beautiful. Trouble was, he'd outsmarted himself. He wasn't in the running—couldn't be—and yet he wanted Reggie for himself. Only one question remained: How could he become the... LADY'S CHOICE

April 2005
Leisure Books
ISBN 0-8439-5521-X

Lady's Choice
Mini-Teaser from Circle of Seven Productions

Click here to view the teaser (5 MB mpg).  (Recommended for download or DSL/Cable/T1.
 

RT BookClub

Griggs gives readers an entertaining, humorous, heartwarming read with the charm of an Americana romance and the grit of a solid Western.

Laura Marie Altom, Bestselling Romance Author

Ms. Griggs' Americana romance, Lady's Choice, satisfies like a tall glass of lemonade on a hot summer's day.  Her plucky heroine, truly heroic hero, and richly developed supporting cast made me laugh, cry, and above all...fall in love.

(from Chapter Three)

"Look, Miss Nash, I personally don't care a jot whether you marry one of these men or not. In fact, my only concern in this affair is to see that Judge Madison's wishes are carried out."

Adam leaned back against the post again. "Now, part of my instructions were that I make certain your interests are protected - within the scope of your grandfather's plans, of course. But that doesn't mean I can let you ignore the rules. On that score I will be scrupulously, might I say even ruthlessly, single-minded."

Her spine stiffened at his use of the word 'ruthlessly'.

"In other words, Miss Nash, I'd advise you not to use any of your feminine wiles on me. It will do you absolutely no good to try to play on my sympathy - I have none. It will do you no good to try to bribe me, there's nothing you could offer to make me betray the judge. And as for trying to seduce me," he shrugged, "let's just say it would be a wasted effort."

From the way her hands curled, he was lucky she didn't have a club handy.

My, my, but the lady did have a temper.

"Mr. Barr." She enunciated each word with great care. "I have no intention of using wiles, feminine or otherwise. I intend to be completely candid in my dealings with you and the other gentlemen, and I expect the same in return."

She impatiently tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and his focus shifted to the soft wisps framing her face. How long had it been since he'd stroked a woman's hair, buried his face in her neck?

He straightened abruptly with a silent oath.

Where had that come from? There was no room in his life for thoughts like that right now, especially when it came to the judge's granddaughter.

Pushing away from the rail, he stepped down, needing to put distance between them. "I'll get the contract for you to sign."

He wondered, not for the first time, why the judge hadn't considered him as a possible suitor for his granddaughter. Not that Adam wanted to tie himself down with a wife - but it stung a bit that he hadn't been on the list of candidates. What did the judge see in the other three that was missing in him?

"Grandfather actually expects me to sign a contract agreeing to his addle-pated plan?" The words bristled with outrage, a hint of the banshee they'd encountered earlier coming through.

"All parties to the contract are required to sign it." Adam jerked the packet from his satchel. "The other three signed it, I signed it, even your grandfather signed it. Now it's your turn."

She accepted the papers from him as if they were smelly rags. "I've never heard of the livestock being haggled over having to sign the bill of sale along with the buyer and seller."

Her wit and tongue were as sharp as any knife he'd wielded. She would have made a good lawyer. Adam was beginning to believe the judge had decided not to come himself for reasons other than the ones he'd stated. "If you refuse, then Jack goes to Philadelphia on the next train out."

That shut her up. She snapped the papers with a humph and began scanning the document.

If she was looking for loopholes, she'd be disappointed. The judge had drawn up the document himself, and then had Adam review every syllable. Adam would bet the horse he rode in on that it was ironclad.

Outspoken, Judge Madison had said. How about opinionated and mule-headed. Along with spirited and articulate. He wondered which of the men would end up escorting the reluctant bride to the altar.

Everett seemed the best equipped to deal with her lethal tongue. The educated cynic would be able to give as good as he got in that department. But then again, he might consider himself a bit too sophisticated for a lady who appeared equally comfortable in overalls as in a dress.

Mitchell, on the other hand, wouldn't mind her provincial ways. He didn't let much rattle him. Always searching for the middle ground, Mitchell had diffused more than one tense moment during their trip. But did he have the strength of character to deal with the overbearing Miss Nash? His size not withstanding, the woman would likely ride roughshod right over him.

If a peaceful life was what Mitchell wanted, he wouldn't get it hitched to this virago.

That left Chance. The boy was younger than the potential bride, and rebellious enough to stand up to a riled bear, so Adam didn't think she would intimidate him. Adam suspected, though, in a battle of wills, Miss Nash would come out the winner.

Besides, would it be fair to shackle the kid to a wife before he'd had a taste of the independence he so obviously craved?

Judge Madison had been adamant, though, that one of the men he was sending to Turnabout was the perfect match for his granddaughter. He also insisted she would realize it herself, as soon as she bowed to the inevitable and got to know them.

Adam watched the emotions flash across her volatile features as she poured over the contract. Despite his earlier thoughts on the subject, it really was just as well he was only here to observe.

* * *

Reggie looked at the contract, the words blurring into a meaningless jumble. There had to be a way out of this. Marriage just wasn't an option for her – it hadn't been for a long time.

None of this made sense. Lordy, if only her grandfather had come himself so she could talk to him, could read his expression, hear the shades of meaning in his voice as they discussed this. They'd always been able to debate anything, no matter how much their opinions differed, and still come out respecting each other.

He'd never understood her easy acceptance of maiden aunt status, but she never dreamed he'd take things this far, even if he did believe it was 'for her own good'.

Clearing her head from the useless what-ifs, Reggie forced herself to read the document in her hands. From what she could gather, it said pretty much the same thing as the letter, but in much more formal, legal terms.

A sound caught her attention and she looked up to see Adam leading his horse to the shade of a nearby tree. At least he'd left off watching her with that unnerving stare.

She watched as he stretched. Rock hard muscles strained against the confines of his shirt - muscles she'd swear he hadn't had when she last saw him. A powerful reminder that this was not the same man she'd known all those years ago. This man was both powerful and dangerous.

A sizzle of something - fear? awareness? - prickled her skin.

Abruptly, Reggie turned her focus back to the contract, chiding herself for her reaction. She had no reason to fear Adam - Grandfather would never have sent him here if he hadn't trusted the man completely.

Quickly finding her place, Reggie skimmed over the next few paragraphs. What it all boiled down to was that, in exchange for her grandfather's generosity, the trio agreed to 'court' her, to truthfully answer any questions she had about their past and their aspirations. And ultimately, each of the men agreed to abide by her final selection without hesitation.

Reggie paused and reread that part again. Now here was something she could use. She was no prize catch to start with. The fact that her grandfather had offered such extravagant bribes showed he thought so too.

Best not to dwell on that right now.

Instead, she explored how she might take advantage of the small chink in the contract's armor. If she could hone in on just which of her would-be suitors was least enthusiastic about the idea of marrying her, and play up whatever would most intensify his reluctance, she might manage to get out of this yet. She just had to make sure, when she made her choice, the man in question would decide he was better off without the judge's bribe than hitched to her.

Tricky, but she could pull it off.

She had to.