The Walker Five Series (Audiobook)

Each book is narrated by Kate Marcin

Conflict of Interest (book 1)
Elle resigned herself to being the responsible one. She moved her and her recovering dad out of the city to a small town. Her new job keeps his medical bills at bay, and caring for her dad soaks up her free time. But she’s never had a social life anyway. It’s been just the two of them for so long she doesn’t know any different.

After returning home from the army, Dillon jumps into business with four of his cousins. He’s the oldest and the unofficial leader of the farm and ranch operation. But it’s lonely at the top. At the end of the day, he comes home to an empty house, memories, and the promise made to his dad before he died. It’s time to follow through on that promise and make an appointment with the new counselor in town.

By doing that Dillon ruins his chances with the smartest and most gorgeous woman he’s ever met just by walking into her office. He’d rather get to know her instead of talking about his problems. She’d rather transfer him to a colleague and never see him again. Dillon gave up on therapy, but he’s not giving up on the chemistry he felt for that one hour he had with Elle.

Just Elle’s luck. Dillon’s handsome, charming, and persistent. But she’s walked this road with her dependent dad. If Dillon can’t face his demons, not even she can help him, and she won’t stick around to watch.

Mustang Summer (book 2)
If only his family wasn't putting her brother in jail.

Brock Walker, part-time mechanic and full-time farmer, prefers figuring out what’s wrong with an engine over deciphering people’s actions—especially women. But when his standard aloofness prevents him from landing the classic car of his dreams, help comes from an unexpected source: the sister of the man his family put in jail.

Josie Alvarez, part-time bookkeeper and full-time Daddy’s girl, knows the last chance for her father’s failing garage is the collectible car she’s been sent to acquire. But after hearing the history under the hood, she can’t bear to hand it over to her dad, who’d just flip it and sell it. Bad blood between her family and Brock’s doesn’t overshadow his passion for the classic car, so she jumps in to help Brock negotiate the car’s future.

Walking away from the car proves easier than leaving the quiet mechanic. He’s refreshingly different from the other men in her life, opening her eyes to her own potential. And she’s the only woman to ever accept him as he is, without underestimating or coddling him. Brock’s cousins don’t want her on Walker land, but he wholeheartedly disagrees…until Josie’s desperate father comes up with a plan that’ll save himself, but pit family against family.

Long Hard Fall (book 3)
He's just the man she's looking for.

Cash Walker always leaves a lady’s bed before morning—after all, he has a day full of chores waiting on his ranch. So when he wakes up one morning to his latest catch creeping out of the room, he figures he had it coming. Until later the same day, when she shows up in his barn. Turns out, she’s come to town to talk about the one subject Cash refuses to discuss with anyone.

Abbi Daniels is tired of being the responsible woman her parents expect her to be, but even she can admit that jumping into bed with the last guy to see her brother alive wasn’t her smartest move. Cash won’t talk about the day her brother was killed, but she refuses to leave town without answers. Only the more she’s around Cash, the less she wants to return home and the more she feels like her old self again.

With Abbi around, Cash’s no-commitment resolve breaks down. Around Cash, Abbi finds the freedom she’s craved for so long. But how will their fragile connection survive when all the things left unsaid between them come to light?

Guilt Ridden (book 4)
When the space between is too vast.

After the sudden death of his fiancée, Travis Walker has thrown himself into work, and he's interested in purchasing neighboring land to expand his farm and ranch. That is until Kami Preston hears of his plans for her family’s property.
Kami’s dream of opening her own business will have to collect dust like all the old junk in her dad’s barn. As a widow with a young daughter, she’ll have to use all her resources to turn a profit on the derelict ranch her parents used to run. But that's better than having it fall into Walker hands.

Travis should be rooting for her to fail but he’s there every step of the way, with his easy smile and heavy equipment. Kami's grateful for his help, and for him. But the more time they spend together, the clearer it is that only one of them has moved on from a lost love.

Mail Order Farmer (book 5)
Destined to be a bachelor…

As Aaron Walker watched his cousins settle down, he expected to meet that special someone, get married, and maybe even start a family. But women tend to run once the “I live with my parents” revelation comes out. Technically, his parents and brothers live with him, but no one seems to be interested in the finer details. The answer? Online dating.

After her dad’s death and the loss of his income, Dalisay Cortez dropped out of nursing school. She and her mother live in Manila, struggling to make ends meet, one unexpected bill away from being forced to move in with overbearing relatives. Goodbye city life, and goodbye personal space.

But what if there was a way out…

To save them both from an isolated life on the family farm, Dalisay logs onto an international dating site. Falling in love online is one thing, but leaving everything she knows—including her mom—is harder than Dalisay imagined. What happens when Aaron’s idyllic farm life is just like the one she was running from?

Conflict of Interest (book 1), Chapter One:

Elle Brady tapped a foot against the side of her desk as she studied the insurance statement.

“I got bills,” she muttered, tossing it to the side. She rubbed her face, a flare of panic burning in her gut.

The “member responsibility” section of her explanation of benefits was absurdly high. She mentally tallied her other bills, including rent and her vehicle payments, and it equaled…not enough. Cutting down on groceries, again, might help, but she needed to buy quality food for her dad or he’d get sick again, and boom! More bills.

Her pager vibrated and she sighed, missing the more updated alert system her old job used. She peeked at it. Ah, her next patient. Wait—client. The Moore Mental Health Center insisted on not referring to their customers as patients. In a town as small as Moore, “client” went over better.

Week by week, she’d built her client base since beginning her new job. Her calendar for today was nearly booked. A welcome sight for a paranoid mind that whispered she might never build enough business to hold her job. A full planner meant a full paycheck, and she needed every dime to support her and her dad.

Elle checked the clipboard with her next client’s information and oriented herself with his name.
Dillon Walker, a first-time client.

A deep voice radiated through her closed door. “Is there a cube of cheese at the end of this maze?”

The receptionist chuckled. “It takes a while to get use to all the twists and turns.”

When the door opened, Elle’s gaze landed on the navy-blue ball cap that read “Moore Implement.” A tan work jacket stretched across broad shoulders and rugged blue jeans that’d seen better days completed a look that screamed farmer. A popular style around Moore, Minnesota.

Eyes as blue as the April sky outside her window stared at her.

She plastered a welcoming smile on her face. “Have a seat, Dillon.”

“How’re you today, Doc?”

Even though it was a common mistake, she chuckled.
“Call me Elle, please. I have a master’s in addiction counseling, not a Ph.D. in psychology, so I’m not a doctor.”

His voice dropped to a low timbre. “Whatever you want…Elle.” He shrugged out of his coat and draped it over the back of his chair.

Whoa. That was almost suggestive. She’d had male clients close to her in age before, but it wasn’t common for the person across from her to be interested in anything other than counseling. What was uncommon was her breathless sensation. Ridiculous—she was above that type of reaction to a client. She swallowed hard and gathered herself.

As he settled into his seat, she swiveled away from her desk to face him fully.

“So how do we do this?” Dillon’s hands rested on his thighs, but his fingers tapped nonstop. “You ask me questions, I answer?”

His bright gaze swept her body, interest apparent in their depths. Any other room but her office, she’d delight in his attention, but as soon as his name was entered into her schedule…well, off limits was an understatement.

Readying her pen, she prepared to take notes. “Why don’t we start by you telling me why you’re here?”
His gaze dropped to the floor, his mouth pressed in a firm line. While he formed the right words to explain what brought him into her office, she glanced over at his papers. Twenty-seven. Only a year older than she was.
His pause may not be so much about choosing his words, but more about spilling his concerns to a woman his age he’d never met before.

He switched his attention out the window. “My dad wanted me to come.”

“Why’s that?”

He adjusted his cap. Rearranged it again and finally took it off to reveal a head of reddish-brown hair. “He thought I’d been drinking too much since I came home from the
Army.”

“But you don’t think so?”

One shoulder rolled in a shrug. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having a few beers. I put in long days in the field, long hours helping work the family cattle. Sometimes it’s nice to kick back and chill at the end of the night.”

Yet, his dad worried about him—and he was here. Since the alcohol question was a little touchy… “You’re a farmer?”

“Born and raised,” he drawled. “You can’t throw a stone in this town and not hit one of us.”

Her lips twitched. Truth. The town of ten thousand was surrounded by fields in all four directions. “Do you enjoy it?”

“Other than the weather and seasons dictating my hours, I’m my own boss—mostly—and I get to drive tractors with tires taller than I am.”

I’m my own boss could also mean I like to be in control.