Dark Veils

Grant McCrea's long and tall, lean and mean. Or at least he was, until flying his last sortie mission in Afghanistan. Military Intelligence had it all wrong, and he flies his men into an ambush. He's the lone survivor, taken captive and held for fourteen months before his rescue. So now, he's coming home to what? His parents have perished in a crash over the Yucatan while he was in Afghanistan. And his home, the massive McCrea Ranch is about to be reclaimed by the State of Texas since the original Spanish Land Grant hasn't been fulfilled with another McCrea heir.
For Grant, his legacy is a curse, and he'd just as soon walk away from it all. But- he can't. He owes his parents. The land has been in his family for too many generations of McCreas. He can't default now, strictly because he's too tired and war-worn to deal with the issues of finding a wife and having a kid...real fast.
Emotionally, he's drained- until his pompous uncle and greedy aunt push their 'almost' adopted Russian daughter on him. Juliette's about to be deported back to Moldova, where she has no life, no future. For Grant, it's the perfect 'quick fix'. He's known Juliette since her teens. The young girl he remembers is quiet, submissive, and easy on the eyes. So long as she's docile, unassuming, and fertile, she'll fit the bill as well as well as any other woman.
All he wants now is an uncomplicated, peaceful existence. However, his hopes go up in flames when his bride shows up at the church in what appears to be only her nightgown. His mouth drops open while she's strutting down the aisle to the tune of bagpipes playing a lively jig. Looks like Juliette Kamazschek's grown into a sassy, precocious, rebel. Apparently, she's not the peaceful, unassuming, wholesome type, either. And yeah, she's easy on the eyes.. since she's now drop-dead gorgeous, with a recalcitrant nature and an obstinate, unbreakable will.
Bare, beneath her satin nightgown, Juliette wobbles a little here and a little there while holding tightly to the old Scotsman leading her down the aisle. With her dark, gypsy curls falling in a disheveled waterfall to her waist, dark emerald fire shooting from her eyes, she clenches her teeth all the way to the altar. Before his family, neighbors, and the entire O'Bryan clan, Grant watches her fake-stumble through her vows. No way is she going to 'honor or obey' anybody!
With a quick, hidden movement, Grant drops his hand to his side and pinches his best man. Hard. When Brody grunts low, he knows he isn't dreaming. In just a few seconds, she's going to be the newest McCrea bride. HIS! Without deliberation, his next thought flies right off his tongue, “Aww Shit!”
It's not a marriage made in Heaven, but it's not going to be a boring one, either. Grant and Juliette need each other, and it's through those needs they form a bond of sorts, which appears to be working until Grant begins having flashbacks from his MIA captivity. Grant's in denial. And Juliette's in love, but with whom?...The tall, sexy rancher.. or the soldier who has trouble distinguishing her from 'the enemy.' Thus, their battle begins.