Jackson

A Texas Ranger falls for a do-gooder attorney in this sassy, suspenseful romance from LaQuette (Lies You Tell). Attorney Aja Everett transforms her family’s land in Fresh Springs, Tex., into Restoration Ranch, a retreat that will offer a second chance to ex-convicts. But when the ranch is vandalized and strange accidents on the property become increasingly dangerous and frequent, many try to pin the mischief on Aja’s ex-con employees. Aja refuses to believe her staff, who have become like family, could be involved, so Texas Ranger Jackson Dean and his team are sent in undercover to protect Aja and catch the true culprit. Physical attraction between Aja and Jackson is immediate, and emotional attachment soon follows, but they both have troubled pasts, and their lingering guilt and pain present roadblocks on their way to happily ever after. As their romance heats up, so does the mystery, with a vast list of subjects and a tangled maze of possible motives making it clear that all is not what it seems in Fresh Springs. Jackson and Aja are both headstrong and determined, making for an entertaining battle of wits, and LaQuette infuses the writing with Southern charm and humor. Readers will be eager to return to Fresh Springs. Agent: Latoya Smith, LCS Literary. (Feb.)