Silk and Stakes

von Ariana Crowne

68 Seiten, Taschenbuch

Kurzbeschreibung des Verlags

In the heart of Kentucky's thoroughbred country, an independent equine veterinarian finds herself bound by a one-year marriage contract designed to protect her family's struggling breeding farm from a rival syndicate. The arrangement demands shared residence with a returning heir whose guarded demeanor and commanding presence challenge every boundary she has set.

Determined to keep her veterinary practice, her horses, and her emotions separate, she approaches the union as a temporary shield. Yet dawn workouts across rolling pastures and the pressures of a critical racing season draw them into a charged proximity that blurs professional lines. Arguments over control of breeding decisions ignite into unexpected intimacy, while late-night emergencies in the stables reveal vulnerabilities neither anticipated.

A former fiancée's appearance at a paddock gathering forces a public claim that stirs genuine jealousy and tests loyalties. Quiet revelations about hidden support for the farm's debts deepen the emotional stakes, turning contractual duty into something far more possessive. When a rival buyout offer threatens to dissolve the marriage and secure the land without him, a thunderstorm-trapped night in the old farmhouse cabin forces a choice between independence and partnership.

Through competitive sparring on horseback, tense negotiations at Keeneland sales, and the quiet tending of horses at dawn, the two navigate family skepticism, syndicate threats, and their own guarded hearts. Protection begins to resemble respect, and respect evolves into devotion. As the racing season secures their legacy and the contract year concludes, they renew their commitment on the land they both refuse to lose, forging a future chosen rather than inherited.

• Reihe: Independently published
• ISBN: 9798175891097
• Sprache: Englisch
• Erscheinungsdatum: 20.09.2026
• Größe: 229 x 152 mm
• Verlag: Independently published