Cowboy Tough

by Joanne Kennedy

  She wasn’t ready for this. She was still sorting out her life, trying to figure out where she was going.

  “Let me show you something.” He fished a folded sheaf of papers from his back pocket and handed them to her. She flipped through them. They were printouts from the Internet.

  “Equine Excursions in Provence” read the first one. The second showed reproductions of Van Gogh paintings alongside photographs of their subjects: the Chateau d’Auvers, the hospital at St. Remy, the Langlois Bridge. Another showed riders threading in single file through the breathtaking landscape of southern France.

  She looked up at Mack and blinked.

  “I found a guest house we could rent by the week,” he said. “It’s got room for us and eight students, plus a stable for horses. I’ve found two outfits we could rent riding horses from. They don’t have packhorses, but the country’s not that rough. We could take the supplies in a wagon.”

  “In France?”

  “They have openings in December. I don’t have much to do around here that time of year.” He grinned at Maddie, who had come to stand in the doorway. “Hank and Mom could take care of the place.”

  “So you’re saying…”

  “I’m saying we could set up our own Art Trek,” he said. “I’ll take care of transportation and logistics. You take care of the art side of things.”

  “I’d go,” Ed said. “You just let me know. You need a deposit?”

  Cat stared at him, openmouthed.

  “I’d go too.” Charles glanced at the woman beside him. “If Abby went.”

  “I talked to a lawyer in town about a contract,” Mack said. “For a partnership. We could host classes at the ranch in the summer and fall, travel in the winter.”

  “A lawyer? A partnership?”

  “Or a minister and a marriage. Your choice.” Smiling, he knelt at her feet. “I’m asking you to stay, Cat. I’m asking you to marry me.”

  She knew she had her mouth hanging open like an idiot, but she couldn’t wrap her head around what he was proposing.

  Proposing.

  She felt like the tree again, poised on the edge of a precipice. But this time, she wanted to let go. There was no fear in falling when you had a safe place to land.

  But was it really safe? Or was that wishful thinking? Anything could happen. She’d known Mack all of two weeks. How could she leave behind the life she’d worked so hard to build—leave it for a man? Edie had done that, and she’d barely painted anything since.

  But she’d changed for a man who didn’t care about her work—a man who thought only of himself. Mack had just proven that he cared about Cat’s interests as well as his own. They’d be partners. She’d help with ranching, and he’d help with workshops.

  And what was she leaving behind? A city of glass and concrete. It wouldn’t be much of a sacrifice to trade the hard-edged world of Chicago for the open spaces and big skies of the Boyd Ranch.

  Mack was still kneeling at her feet. “Step off the edge, Cat. Take a chance.”

  “I—I don’t know,” she said. “I don’t know what I should do.”

  “What do you want to do?” he asked.

  In a heartbeat, she realized that was the one question she could answer. She wanted to go back up to the cabin and sink into bed with him, bury herself in the sight and scent of him, and forget everything. When they were together, she had everything she’d ever wanted.

  She knew where she belonged.

  “I want to stay,” she whispered. “I want to stay, and in December I want to go to France.”

  “Good.” He swung her around, grinning, and swept her into his arms. “You can find that starry night for real.”

  “I think I already did.”

  He stood. “Is that a yes?”

  “Yes.” It came out in a whisper, but she’d never meant anything so sincerely in her life.

  He bent to kiss her. For a second she looked sideways at the students, but they were suddenly all captivated by Emma’s painting, exclaiming over some detail in the flowers she’d painted.

  Nobody was watching. She tipped up onto her toes and met his lips, and suddenly the birds were singing again. She could feel the still air starting to move, the breezes clearing the room and bringing in sunshine and sage scent and warmth. She was in the center of her universe, the place where she belonged, and for once the future looked like a smooth road rather than a struggle.

  She put her arms around Mack’s neck and deepened the kiss. She’d forgotten there was anyone else in the room until the clapping began again.

  When the kiss broke, she turned to see the group standing by the sofa, grinning and clapping. Dora and Viv had joined them, and Maddie and Hank stood in the doorway.

  “Hey, look,” Mack said. “We got a standing ovation.”

  And he kissed her again.

  Acknowledgments

  The image of the lone cowboy riding the range in solitude is at the heart of Western classics like Shane, Unforgiven, and High Noon.

  But though I like to think I’m “cowboy tough,” I could never have made it through the past year without the help of my friends. It takes a village to create a cowboy, and that village is Cheyenne, Wyoming. I’m lucky to live there, and I’m grateful for all the support my books receive from our uniquely Western community.

  I could fill another book with all the people who deserve my thanks, but I’ll have to limit myself to a few. I’d like to thank Colette Auclair for the rants, Cie Patterson for the eggs Benedict, and Laura Macomber for the martinis.

  Writers need other writers, and I’d like to thank Mary Gilgannon for the Mexican lunches, the Cheyenne Area Writers Group and my Saturday friends for always being there, and Carolyn Brown for being the best long-distance friend a cowgirl ever had.

  Writers need a backup team, and I have one of the best. My agent, Elaine English, has been an understanding friend through this difficult year, as has my editor Deb Werksman. I’m also grateful to Danielle Jackson, Dominique Raccah, and all my Sourcebooks sisters for their support.

  I was raised to be a writer by a family of readers, thanks to my parents Don and Betty Smyth and my sister Carolyn.

  But most of all, I want to thank my husband Scrape McCauley for being tougher than any cowboy and standing by me through the hard times. You are the best man I know and I love you beyond words.

  Are You In Love

  With Love Stories?

  Here’s an online romance readers

  club that’s just for YOU!

  Where you can:

  • Meet great authors

  • Party with new friends

  • Get new books before everyone else

  • Discover great new reads

  All at incredibly BIG savings!

  Join the party at

  DiscoveraNewLove.com!

  Cowboy Crazy

  by Joanne Kennedy

  Sparks fly when sexy cowboys collide with determined heroines in a West filled with quirky characters and sizzling romance. Acclaimed for delivering “a fresh take on the traditional contemporary Western,” Joanne Kennedy’s books might just be your next great discovery!

  From stable to boardroom…

  Sarah Landon’s Ivy League scholarship transforms her from a wide-eyed country girl into a poised professional. Until she’s assigned to do damage control with the boss’s rebellious brother Lane, who’s the burr in everybody’s saddle. He’s determined to save his community from oil drilling, and she’s not going back to the ranch she left forever. Spurs will shine in this saucy romp about ranchers and roots, redemption and second chances.

  Praise for Tall, Dark and Cowboy:

  “Another steamy, suspenseful offering from the popular Kennedy.”

  —Booklist

  “A sassy and sexy wild ride that is more fun t
han a wild hootenanny!”

  —The Romance Reviews, 5 stars

  For more Joanne Kennedy, visit:

  www.sourcebooks.com

  Tall, Dark and Cowboy

  by Joanne Kennedy

  She’s looking for an old friend…

  In the wake of a nasty divorce, Lacey Bradford heads for Wyoming where she’s sure her old friend will take her in. But her high school pal Chase Caldwell is no longer the gangly boy who would follow her anywhere. For one thing, he’s now incredibly buff and handsome, but that’s not all that’s changed…

  What she finds is one hot cowboy…

  Chase has been through tough times and is less than thrilled to see the girl who once broke his heart. But try as he might to resist her, while Lacey’s putting her life back together, he’s finding new ways to be part of it.

  Praise for Cowboy Fever:

  “HOT, HOT, HOT…with more twists and turns than a buckin’ bull at a world class rodeo, lots of sizzlin’ sex, and characters so real you’ll swear they live down the road!”

  —Carolyn Brown, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Red’s Hot Cowboy

  For more Joanne Kennedy, visit:

  www.sourcebooks.com

  Just a Cowboy and His Baby

  by Carolyn Brown

  She’s got her eyes on the prize…

  Gemma O’Donnell wasn’t the first woman to win the ProRodeo buckle for bronc riding, but she was darn well going to be the second. What she didn’t count on was her main competition sweeping her off her feet.

  He’ll do whatever it takes to win…

  Trace Coleman isn’t really after a title—he needs the cash prize to buy his dream ranch. But one sexy, determined cowgirl keeps getting in his way. In his effort to take her out of the running, he risks losing both the title—and his heart.

  They’re both in for a little surprise…

  Everybody’s world is turned upside down when a pint-size bundle of joy gets dropped right into Trace’s lap… and suddenly all the stakes are higher.

  “Brown is a superstar…Full-throttle fun.”

  —Wendy’s Minding Spot

  For more Carolyn Brown, visit:

  www.sourcebooks.com

  One Hot

  Cowboy Wedding

  by Carolyn Brown

  A marriage made in Vegas…

  Hunky cowboy Ace Riley wasn’t planning on settling down, but his family had other plans for him… The only way to save his hide, and his playboy lifestyle, is to discreetly marry his best friend, Jasmine King.

  Can’t possibly last…

  Feisty city-girl Jasmine was just helping out her friend—that is, until their first kiss stirs up a whole mess of trouble, and suddenly discretion is thrown to wind.

  One hot cowboy, one riled up woman… And they’ll be married for a year, like it or not!

  Praise for Carolyn Brown’s Spikes & Spurs series:

  “An old-fashioned love story told well…A delight.”

  —RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars

  “Tender and passionate love scenes…endearing and quirky characters…an absolutely adorable story.”

  —The Romance Studio

  For more Carolyn Brown, visit:

  www.sourcebooks.com

  Jesse

  by C.H. Admirand

  Loneliness will take a man places…

  Jesse Garahan has plenty of Irish charm, but having had his heart demolished twice, he’s sworn off women forever. Until the fateful day he meets Danielle Brockway and her tiny daughter on their way to their new home in Pleasure, Texas.

  But there may be places he doesn’t want to go…

  Fiercely protective of her little girl, Danielle isn’t about to let Jesse get anywhere close enough to hurt either of them, no matter how much longing she sees in his eyes…

  Praise for Dylan:

  “Readers will be left panting.”

  —RT Book Reviews, 4½ Stars

  For more C.H. Admirand, visit:

  www.sourcebooks.com

  About the Author

  Joanne Kennedy is the author of five Western contemporary romances: Cowboy Crazy; Tall, Dark and Cowboy; Cowboy Fever; One Fine Cowboy (nominated for a RITA award for best single title contemporary); and Cowboy Trouble. A transplanted Easterner, she ran away from home to the West at the advanced age of thirty-two and was delighted to discover that cowboys are real and chaps are leather pants with no seat.

  At various times, she dabbled in horse training, chicken farming, organic gardening, and bridezilla wrangling at a department store wedding registry. Themes that have remained constant throughout her life are Jack Russell terriers, a tendency to confuse fiction with real life, and a stubborn belief in romance that led to multiple dysfunctional relationships with inappropriate men before she finally got it right.

  Now older and hopefully wiser, she lives in Cheyenne, Wyoming, with two dogs and a retired fighter pilot. The dogs are relatively well-behaved.

  Joanne loves to hear from readers and can be reached through her website, www.joannekennedybooks.com.