California Moon
by S.I. Hayes
Blog Tour
LGBTQ Shifter Romance
Blurb:
Danny Johnston is a young
bounty hunter, who for three years to hone her craft has lived and loved as a
man. In pursuit of a lead to her family’s killers, Danny is thrown from her
horse and attacked by something she cannot identify.
Jake Dorsey is a man traveling
on his own while trying to leave his demons behind. When he finds Danny’s horse
and returns it, he is awestruck, aware of the bounty hunter’s reputation.
They decide to travel
together, if only to ease the burdens of traveling alone. Secrets and complicated
situations compound as Jake believes Danny to be a man, while Danny believes
Jake to be a Human.
When the truth is finally
discovered, will starting an affair prove simple or will Danny be left to make
the hard choice? Can she forgo vengeance for love or will the desire to keep
her blood oaths prove stronger?
DANNY
CHAPTER 1
I'm fucked, completely screwed, and not in that fun breasts
bouncin' up and down, sweat stingin' your eyes
kind of way. Although I may get that too if I don't do somethin' quick. There
are too many of them, and I'm exhausted already. I spent the better part of six
months trackin' that bastard Shaun Guiled, and not only have I lost him on the
brightest moon I've ever seen in my life, but now I'm surrounded by a handful
of savages. Ugh, totally fucked here, anyone around? Of course not, I work
alone. Only way to do it and keep myself alive. Well, till now. What was that
thing that jumped my ass? Wolf, bear? Whatever. I gutted it pretty good.
Probably went off and died. Should go have a look if I get out of this mess. I
need a distraction, if they rush me I'm in for it. I've heard the stories. No
need to get a firsthand account. From a distance no one can tell, but if they
get a hold of me... Well I don't want to think about that. Not right now. Maybe
later if I survive.
My right hand's tore up,
can't draw both guns. Shit! Damn it to hell! I pull my Colt from the left,
pointin’ it at them. Their heads tilt and they laugh at me. Ugh, I hate it when
people laugh at me. I pull back the trigger firin' into the air, their horses
spook, and I haul ass toward the woods. Immediately I hear the sounds of hooves
thunderin’ the cold hard ground. I'm not gonna be able to out run them, but
maybe I can disappear into the trees. My legs are burnin', my head's swimmin'
but I manage to make it to the woods. I spot what looks like a hollowed out
log. Prayin' it's not a badger den, I stuff my skinny ass in fast.
***
Phew, well that was close. I lay in that log till the sun came up.
Popped a squat on the other side, makin' sure not to make much of a stink.
Hehe. That badger I was worried about turned out to be a rabbit. Nothing like
breakfast in bed. Anyhow, I’m what some would call a Bounty Hunter. I call it
dishin' out justice and gettin' paid to put down animals that shoulda known
better.
It's a good gig, and I'm
pretty damn good at it. Better than slingin' dishes. My mamma was happy for the
coins I sent her from that, but hoo, if she thought I wasn't in New Arizona
bustin' tables she'd be mighty angry with me.
But I can't worry about that. See, mamma and daddy was killed by some of
those rustlers heading out to California. It was a mess. The paper report said
that a group of men entered the General Store and just shot up the place. But
I've seen the real reports. The place was destroyed, tore up somethin' fierce.
There were photos. Those photos told a more brutal story. Bodies piled up,
blood and gore everywhere. Some of the women inside were brutalized beyond
recognition. The owner’s wife lived, lucky they didn't see her. But she said
she knows she heard them talkin' about California. Seems to have lost her
little head about the whole thing. Ravin' about monsters and everythin'. I
don't know about all that, but I know my information seems to be on par with
her directions.
So I'm headed to
California. I can't let what happened to my mamma and daddy go without
retribution. I took on with some Bounty Hunters and have even made a bit of
money and a name for myself along the way. The name Danny Johnston is known.
That's a good thing, it keeps me left alone. No one goes against someone with a
name for them self. Least not if they wants to keep breathin'.
A few months back, I
finally got a photo of the guys who did my mamma and daddy in. Now I know
exactly who I'm lookin' for. And the rat bastard that I lost last night was one
of 'em. I wasn't gonna kill 'im, just knock ’im 'round real good till he told
me where his boss, Jimmy Deranged Straights was hidin'. He got that name
because word is he's crazy as a fox in a hen house. I don't care if it's true
or not. I'm gonna get him. But I got nipped by somethin' big just before those
Savage Wilds showed up. Not exactly sure what happened; one second I was
barrelin' down on my guy the next my horse reared and off I went on my ass.
Then this furry thing was on me, grabbed me and shook. Felt like it damn near
tore off my hand. Though it looks pretty good compared to how it felt last
night. Anyways, I stabbed it with my big ole huntin' knife, twisted and pulled,
and growlin', it ran off. That was when I heard the other horses. Looked up and
there were those savages just starin' at me. We know how that went. But what
got me here? That's kinda long, but I'll make it short.
My mamma Purdy and daddy, Daniel Johnston, came out in sixty-five and
started farmin' right away. My daddy was smart, he was fast too. Grew corn and
raised horses. By the time I came along he had a good herd of them wild horses
he caught and broke. They named me Danielle after him, mamma always called me
that, but daddy called me Danny. Brought me up like the son they didn't have. Taught
me to ride, hunt, and fish the streams by our little house. House he built all
by his self, well mamma helped where she could. Her Irish blood makin' her good
and sturdy as my daddy always said. She tried her hardest to make a proper lady
out of me. Twirlin' my red hair and making a fuss. But it barely stuck. Unless
pushed and pulled up into a corset, I was skinny and shaped like a boy. I was
always gettin' dirty and takin' off my dresses. Damn things were so tight.
Never could understand how mamma could stand it. Runnin' 'round half naked of
course caught the eye of the boy of the farm and cattle rancher who sometimes
bought feed from my daddy.
Mike Whittler. He was a
couple years older than me. Just eighteen, but doin' good. They lived spittin'
distance away. so if I climbed the big old climbin' tree and shimmied on to the
tin roof, I could see him when he was workin'. The hot sun made him shine like
those golden wheat fields and he liked to work with his shirt off when he knew
I was lookin'. And boy did I get scolded for that! I didn't care. Neither did
he.
I told my daddy that I liked him and my daddy made that happen. The only
thing that made me sad was that Mike wanted to go to the New Arizona Territory
and make his fortune like everyone else. If we stayed, he would get his daddy's
ranch in time, and I wanted to stay in Neutah. But he wanted somethin' that
could be just ours. I didn't get it, but my place was with my husband, so at
sixteen I married Mike and off we went. It took some time to get there and it
was lawless as all hell on the road but still, we were good.
It was scary but beautiful. The canyons were impressive, but the closer
we got to Flagstaff, the less I was impressed. I missed the Neutah Mountains.
Snowcapped and tall, they were always sorta around. But not New Arizona,
thought the colors of the soil made it interestin’, never seen something
natural that was so red, ‘cept my hair.
Mike said he had big plans for us, that he wasn't gonna just be some
ranch hand all his life. I didn't care what he did so long as we were together.
But the work was scarce, and I started pushin' drinks and plates until he fell
into a Marshall spot. It took him away a lot, but we lived comfortably. Workin'
was nice, the clothes sucked, but I was a girl and needed to look the part.
When I did, I made good tips, which was helpful. But when I was home with Mike,
he didn't care what I wore. Said he preferred me naked any day. He was good to
me like that.
Then
he didn't come home anymore. I got word that he had been shot accidentally and
the infection got him. I mourned, was gonna go home, then I found out about my
parents. There wasn't anythin' I could do about Mike. Accidents happen, but
these robbers? I'm gonna catch 'em and I'm gonna get the bounty while makin'
sure they don't hurt any more people. I packed up all my stuff that I thought I
would need, including Mike's shotguns and colts. I don't know the caliber. I
used to, but I was never interested in all that. I only cared that they shot
straight and hit their mark when I used um. I chopped my hair to my shoulders,
slicked it back under my hat. Slapped on some pants. See, this new west, as
they have been callin’ it, is great if you're a man. Sucks to be a girl. Unless
you can pass for a boy. I pass. Safest way to travel alone is to be a man. I
may be young, and talk low, but I ain't stupid.
See, I
know it's dangerous for a gal, even one as crafty as I, to be alone out here.
Too many variables that could get ya killed. Too many lawless men roamin’
looking for a good squeeze. Done up this way I can hook up with others and ease
my traveling burdens without any guff. That's how I got started collectin'
bounties for cash. I'm real good with a gun, and even deadlier with a knife.
It's been two years since then. Now I've got a real direction of where Jimmy
and his crew is headin'. So I'm off to San Francisco Valley. He's supposed to
be holed up there enjoyin' his money. Let him get nice and comfortable. He
ain't gonna see me comin’. I just gotta sew up this hand and find my damn
horse!
Teasers
Shannon (S. I.) Hayes has
been telling tales for so long as she has been able to talk, and began writing
them down shortly thereafter. The In
Dreams... Series, The Roads trilogy, began in 2006 after a D&D campaign
ended, Hayes took the world and a series was created. It took five years as she
spent many months at a time in an undiagnosed Bi-Polar fog. In 2010, she
finally found the help she needed and she has been writing feverishly ever
since. Shannon is the Co-Author of Awakenings:
The Wrath Saga. She has several blogs and maintains her own website. S.I.Hayes.com.
In her own words... I have
a mind that is easily distracted and prone to wandering. Tangents are my forte,
and if you think my characters are going to fit a cookie cutter shape of any
kind, think again. They live, they love, they eat, sleep, and fuck. I believe
that people are inherently sexual creatures and my characters, be they human or
something altogether else, are no exception.
I don't adhere to a single
genera, I toe the line on several and wouldn't presume to be a master of any.
So I suppose you could call me jack-of-all-trade-paperbacks.
I am a truth seeker, in my
life, in my work. I’d apologize for it, but I kinda can't help m’self. It's my
best and worse personality trait, well mostly. Being Bi-Polar I guess you could
say that is the worst. But I believe that the disorder has made me,
well... Me.
I have taken this life and
twisted, carved, shaped, and molded it into the worlds of my characters. Albeit
with a chainsaw, and it has made all the difference.
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