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Sander's Protection #2
Out of the Dark
THE LADY AND THE LONER
Horse trainer Victoria Flynn had learned the hard way that good-looking men just plain couldn't be trusted. But she was in big trouble, and she had nobody to turn to but a man who was too damn handsome for HER own good -- a long, lean Texan with a lazy smile, and strangely haunted eyes.
A lifetime's worth of hard lessons had taught Cole Bannister never to let ANYBODY get too close -- But Tory Flynn wasn't making it easy. The rodeo-star-turned-private-investigator was ready to help her find out who was out to destroy her ranch -- but he wasn't ready for the way she made him dream of changing his solitary ways....
Horse trainer Victoria Flynn had learned the hard way that good-looking men just plain couldn't be trusted. But she was in big trouble, and she had nobody to turn to but a man who was too damn handsome for HER own good -- a long, lean Texan with a lazy smile, and strangely haunted eyes.
A lifetime's worth of hard lessons had taught Cole Bannister never to let ANYBODY get too close -- But Tory Flynn wasn't making it easy. The rodeo-star-turned-private-investigator was ready to help her find out who was out to destroy her ranch -- but he wasn't ready for the way she made him dream of changing his solitary ways....
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
1 person is currently reading
33 people want to read
About the author
Justine Davis
252 books216 followersAuthor biographies are supposed to give you all those statistics, books written, awards won, etc. and I will, I promise...but first let me tell you about this ornery little tomboy (back then, the boys had all the fun...) who was always the one to make up the stories the neighborhood kids would "play". For those who came of age in the computer game era, this is something that was done usually in the backyard, by any number of summer-bored children, with props where appropriate. (Did you know a 55 gallon drum tied to a picnic bench makes a very cool horse?) It wasn't until much later that this tomboy realized two things: A) not everyone made up stories in their heads all the time, and B) in real life, the boys that had already had all the fun now seemed to always be winning.
But I digress. I was born on a farm down in Iowa....well, not quite, but close; Boone, Iowa is in the middle of farm country, but I arrived at a hospital. In a snow storm. Make that a blizzard. My sister tells me she knew my destiny when I was very young, because when I first saw the Disney classic Old Yeller, I was apparently so upset that I promptly went home and rewrote the story. In my version, the dog lived, of course. Should have been a clue.
Possibly in response to that blizzard I was born in, I've been a West Coaster since before I was a year old, and intend to stay that way. I have a history of staying. I started my first full time job right out of school (well, there was a very brief sojourn at a place where they made, among other things, burial vaults, but I prefer not to recall that one...) and stayed for twenty-one years. I've been married to the same wonderful guy for going on two decades now. We lived in our last house for seventeen years. (I won't even mention how many dumpsters we filled moving after that long....)
Readers seem as fascinated by my first career as they are with my writing. My time in law enforcement was many things, exciting, nerve wracking, and irritating, but most importantly never, ever boring. It was fascinating enough that I didn't think about writing seriously for several years. I kept a journal, and wrote long letters, collected quotes, mentally rewrote movies, and still made up those stories in my head, but never dreamed of actually writing for publication. I was having too much fun helping to catch bad guys, and being continually amazed at the situations people get themselves into. And eventually I walked away with a wealth of background and story ideas, and knowing some truly great people who work very hard to keep all of us safe. I'm proud to have been one of them, and I'm very aware that I have had the great good fortune of having had two jobs in my life that I love. Many people don't get even one.
But now that I'm in the delicious position of being able to make a living telling those stories in my head, I promise my readers two things: A) I'm staying--I'll keep writing as long as you keep reading, and B) in my stories, the girl--tomboy or not--always wins!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
And now, the official stats:
Justine Dare Davis sold her first book in 1989, and followed that up with the sale of nineteen novels in less than two years. Her first four books were published in 1991, and she saw all reach the finals for either the Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award or the Romance Writers of America prestigious RITA Award. She has since won the RITA award four times, along with several Reviewer's Choice awards and three Career Achievement awards from Romantic Times. At the 1998 national conference, Justine was inducted into the RWA Hall of Fame, making her one of a very select group of just eight writers. She also had four titles on the Romantic Times "Top 200 of All Time" list. Her sales now total more than 45, and her books have appeared regularly on best seller lists, including the USA Today list. She has been featured in several local newspapers and nationwide by Associated Press, has appeared on CN
But I digress. I was born on a farm down in Iowa....well, not quite, but close; Boone, Iowa is in the middle of farm country, but I arrived at a hospital. In a snow storm. Make that a blizzard. My sister tells me she knew my destiny when I was very young, because when I first saw the Disney classic Old Yeller, I was apparently so upset that I promptly went home and rewrote the story. In my version, the dog lived, of course. Should have been a clue.
Possibly in response to that blizzard I was born in, I've been a West Coaster since before I was a year old, and intend to stay that way. I have a history of staying. I started my first full time job right out of school (well, there was a very brief sojourn at a place where they made, among other things, burial vaults, but I prefer not to recall that one...) and stayed for twenty-one years. I've been married to the same wonderful guy for going on two decades now. We lived in our last house for seventeen years. (I won't even mention how many dumpsters we filled moving after that long....)
Readers seem as fascinated by my first career as they are with my writing. My time in law enforcement was many things, exciting, nerve wracking, and irritating, but most importantly never, ever boring. It was fascinating enough that I didn't think about writing seriously for several years. I kept a journal, and wrote long letters, collected quotes, mentally rewrote movies, and still made up those stories in my head, but never dreamed of actually writing for publication. I was having too much fun helping to catch bad guys, and being continually amazed at the situations people get themselves into. And eventually I walked away with a wealth of background and story ideas, and knowing some truly great people who work very hard to keep all of us safe. I'm proud to have been one of them, and I'm very aware that I have had the great good fortune of having had two jobs in my life that I love. Many people don't get even one.
But now that I'm in the delicious position of being able to make a living telling those stories in my head, I promise my readers two things: A) I'm staying--I'll keep writing as long as you keep reading, and B) in my stories, the girl--tomboy or not--always wins!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
And now, the official stats:
Justine Dare Davis sold her first book in 1989, and followed that up with the sale of nineteen novels in less than two years. Her first four books were published in 1991, and she saw all reach the finals for either the Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award or the Romance Writers of America prestigious RITA Award. She has since won the RITA award four times, along with several Reviewer's Choice awards and three Career Achievement awards from Romantic Times. At the 1998 national conference, Justine was inducted into the RWA Hall of Fame, making her one of a very select group of just eight writers. She also had four titles on the Romantic Times "Top 200 of All Time" list. Her sales now total more than 45, and her books have appeared regularly on best seller lists, including the USA Today list. She has been featured in several local newspapers and nationwide by Associated Press, has appeared on CN
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 4, 2011
Horse trainer Tory Flynn is desperate and heart sick. Three horses under her care have died under mysterious circumstances. It appears that someone is trying to put her Uncle's ranch out of business and they've got to find out who and why before another innocent animal dies and their reputation is shattered.
When Tory walks into Cole Bannister's office and requests his investigative services he initially turns her down. After three terrible tragedies that he holds himself responsible for he refuses to get involved. But against his better judgment he does.
This is a romance so it's no surprise that the culprits are found and the two fall in love but first they have to overcome a lot of personal baggage. Cole is drop dead gorgeous and the heroine despises him on sight. You see, her Dad was a beautiful, lying, sack of doggy dung who was the worst kind of womanizer. With only her dad as an example Tory believes all pretty men are ugly on the inside. So she's scared to death of her attraction to Cole and fears she's following in her doormat Mom's footsteps and fights it for all she's worth. Completely understandable. Cole, naturally, is much more than a pretty face but he'd like the world to see him that way so he hides his painful emotions and only dates air-heads who don't care if he has feelings. In his mind any decent woman is too good for him. He has a lot of healing to do and personal demons to face before he can love with all of his heart. He's a classic wounded hero.
Tory loses her baggage sooner than Cole does, he carries his around for the entire story. A bit too long for my tastes. I wanted to see them both happy and in love for a few more pages than I got. This is what would be classified as a very angst-filled read. Fortunately, there were quiet moments of humor to relieve the tension; Cole's cat, whom he denies is his, made me smile and brought out Cole's gentle side early on. His vehement denial of ownership is just such a man thing that I couldn't help but laugh every time the cat popped up.
A Justine Davis book is always a treat and I recommend this one, especially for those who like wounded characters and loads of internal conflict, but if you're not quite up to reading 240 plus pages of angst you may want to hold off on reading this one until another day.
When Tory walks into Cole Bannister's office and requests his investigative services he initially turns her down. After three terrible tragedies that he holds himself responsible for he refuses to get involved. But against his better judgment he does.
This is a romance so it's no surprise that the culprits are found and the two fall in love but first they have to overcome a lot of personal baggage. Cole is drop dead gorgeous and the heroine despises him on sight. You see, her Dad was a beautiful, lying, sack of doggy dung who was the worst kind of womanizer. With only her dad as an example Tory believes all pretty men are ugly on the inside. So she's scared to death of her attraction to Cole and fears she's following in her doormat Mom's footsteps and fights it for all she's worth. Completely understandable. Cole, naturally, is much more than a pretty face but he'd like the world to see him that way so he hides his painful emotions and only dates air-heads who don't care if he has feelings. In his mind any decent woman is too good for him. He has a lot of healing to do and personal demons to face before he can love with all of his heart. He's a classic wounded hero.
Tory loses her baggage sooner than Cole does, he carries his around for the entire story. A bit too long for my tastes. I wanted to see them both happy and in love for a few more pages than I got. This is what would be classified as a very angst-filled read. Fortunately, there were quiet moments of humor to relieve the tension; Cole's cat, whom he denies is his, made me smile and brought out Cole's gentle side early on. His vehement denial of ownership is just such a man thing that I couldn't help but laugh every time the cat popped up.
A Justine Davis book is always a treat and I recommend this one, especially for those who like wounded characters and loads of internal conflict, but if you're not quite up to reading 240 plus pages of angst you may want to hold off on reading this one until another day.
June 2, 2018
3.25 stars
This is Cole's story. The pretty handsome guy who after something terrible happened to someone he was protecting five years ago only does research now. Then the heroine, the niece of the man he owes his life to comes asking for his help. Someone is sabotaging their place, killing the horses they train and damaging their reputation. The hero grudgingly agrees to help. The heroine has an aversion to charming, handsome men like her father (who is a faithless, manipulative cad). Of course the hero makes the heroine see how unfair she is being. For him his genetics and so-called handsome features haven't really done any good for him, the women he likes doubt him and rest treat him like a bed notch. I liked seeing a hero who was vulnerable and doubtful of how helpful he could be. The romance too wasn't bad, even if the heroine just asks him for a sexual relationship at first. All in all not bad.
This is Cole's story. The pretty handsome guy who after something terrible happened to someone he was protecting five years ago only does research now. Then the heroine, the niece of the man he owes his life to comes asking for his help. Someone is sabotaging their place, killing the horses they train and damaging their reputation. The hero grudgingly agrees to help. The heroine has an aversion to charming, handsome men like her father (who is a faithless, manipulative cad). Of course the hero makes the heroine see how unfair she is being. For him his genetics and so-called handsome features haven't really done any good for him, the women he likes doubt him and rest treat him like a bed notch. I liked seeing a hero who was vulnerable and doubtful of how helpful he could be. The romance too wasn't bad, even if the heroine just asks him for a sexual relationship at first. All in all not bad.
September 28, 2017
2.5 actually.
That wasn't painful at all (said with much sarcasm).
Basic plot - h and her uncle run a horse training facility. 3 horses have died. They're suspicious so the uncle sends her to his old buddy - the H - who he knows works for a security firm, for aid.
The H - it's like Ted Striker is a romance hero. Oh, he doesn't *talk* about it, but he's constantly in his head about *3* whole incidents where things went south. And you know, two of those were directly related to someone else charging off without listening to the voice of reason. But. You know. It's all his fault. Because. You know. He's jinxed. And he's just sure either the h or his old buddy is next. Well, yeah. If you keep moping around instead of say, duct taping one or both to chairs and let you - the former Ranger (I assume - army, special forces) - do your job.
The h - high energy - she's always jumping to conclusions and charging off blindly. Her dad is Mr Suave, and a user. So she's sworn off anyone who she finds attractive and who fits the description (read, I'd never go out with anyone who'd have me). So she doesn't figure she's his type and any passes he makes at her are because...why exactly? She's also so willing to give everyone the benefit of the doubt that it never even occurs to her that one of her clients might be trying the same thing with her that her dad did to her mom. Oh, she notices his interest but she's not interested so disregards him completely. Since he's behind the mysterious equine deaths...this somewhat blind view of things means it never occurs to her to be the least bit suspicious about some guy who knows her dad having two horses in her barn, one who dies a mysterious death (and was insured for a million bucks).
Which brings something to mind - if you had in your barn a bunch of expensive horses, one of which was insured for a million bucks, why would you not have security of SOME sort? Cameras, a guard, SOMEthing.
That wasn't painful at all (said with much sarcasm).
Basic plot - h and her uncle run a horse training facility. 3 horses have died. They're suspicious so the uncle sends her to his old buddy - the H - who he knows works for a security firm, for aid.
The H - it's like Ted Striker is a romance hero. Oh, he doesn't *talk* about it, but he's constantly in his head about *3* whole incidents where things went south. And you know, two of those were directly related to someone else charging off without listening to the voice of reason. But. You know. It's all his fault. Because. You know. He's jinxed. And he's just sure either the h or his old buddy is next. Well, yeah. If you keep moping around instead of say, duct taping one or both to chairs and let you - the former Ranger (I assume - army, special forces) - do your job.
The h - high energy - she's always jumping to conclusions and charging off blindly. Her dad is Mr Suave, and a user. So she's sworn off anyone who she finds attractive and who fits the description (read, I'd never go out with anyone who'd have me). So she doesn't figure she's his type and any passes he makes at her are because...why exactly? She's also so willing to give everyone the benefit of the doubt that it never even occurs to her that one of her clients might be trying the same thing with her that her dad did to her mom. Oh, she notices his interest but she's not interested so disregards him completely. Since he's behind the mysterious equine deaths...this somewhat blind view of things means it never occurs to her to be the least bit suspicious about some guy who knows her dad having two horses in her barn, one who dies a mysterious death (and was insured for a million bucks).
Which brings something to mind - if you had in your barn a bunch of expensive horses, one of which was insured for a million bucks, why would you not have security of SOME sort? Cameras, a guard, SOMEthing.
May 19, 2025
Nostalgic.
September 8, 2013
Out of the Dark is the 2nd romance intrigue novel in the Target of Opportunity series by Justine Davis. When Tory Flynn goes to ask for Cole Bannister’s help, she does so as a favour to her dear Uncle Hobie, because it seems that the Flying Clown, their horse breeding ranch in Summer Springs, is being sabotaged. Against his better judgement, Cole Bannister (and his cat, Rocky) agree to help out. Tory is attracted to him, but she knows first-hand that it’s a mistake to trust someone as good-looking and charming as Cole. After all, her father, Jack Flynn had looks and charm, and broke her mother, Jeanie’s heart. Cole has issues of his own, carrying a load of guilt about people he has failed to save. So perhaps he could just deliver her sex, raw, hot and out of control, and then move on? This Davis offering has characters with a bit of depth and plenty of sexual tension between them; the intrigue is not all that intriguing, and the whole novel is a bit slow until that HOT scene in the study, when the pace picks up markedly. Liked the cat’s role in the climax. An enjoyable read.
January 16, 2008
Out of the Dark - Ok
Davis, Justine
Angie was surprised by the smoldering desire that coursed through her when she saw her former husband, Deke Blackwood, again. Seven years under the hot Texas sun had changed the handsome youth into a rugged, powerful man. And Angie was no longer his unsure teenage bride, but a beautiful, proud woman. Now she has come back to claim the one special joy that has been missing from her life--their daughter.
It was okay, but not great.
Davis, Justine
Angie was surprised by the smoldering desire that coursed through her when she saw her former husband, Deke Blackwood, again. Seven years under the hot Texas sun had changed the handsome youth into a rugged, powerful man. And Angie was no longer his unsure teenage bride, but a beautiful, proud woman. Now she has come back to claim the one special joy that has been missing from her life--their daughter.
It was okay, but not great.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews