Thanks for welcoming me back to Cowboy Kisses!
As I said in my first visit, almost all my books
feature cowboys, one of my favorite types of hero. Another subset of faves is
the cowboy/daddy hero, whether he’s a daddy when the book opens or he’s about to
discover he has a child he never knew existed.
My upcoming book, The Rancher’s Baby Proposal, has a new twist for me. It’s the first
time I’ve written the story of a single dad who is raising his child from birth.
Don’t ask me why it’s taken me so long to get around to this story, because I love Reagan and his little boy Sean!
Watching the big, strong hero take care of his
infant son tugged at my heart. So did seeing Reagan’s struggle to do the right
thing for his child. Oh, and I can’t forget my surprise at how he handles the
feisty flirt who’s crushed on him forever. :)
Here’s a peek at the back cover blurb:
HER SECRET COWBOY CRUSH
Ally Martinez has always
been known as a fun and flirty kind of gal. But deep down she’s never forgotten
the cowboy who left town. When her crush Reagan Chase comes home after a
five-year absence, Ally knows this is her big chance. The guy I’ve always wanted. Only Reagan has something different in
mind…
Still reeling from his
last relationship, Reagan needs a babysitter for his month-old son. With Ally’s
help, he can get his family’s ranch ready for sale and get out of Cowboy Creek.
The problem? Ally is one seriously cute distraction. But Reagan will do
whatever it takes to keep his heart safe. Even if it means losing the only
place—and the only woman—he can call home.
And here’s a clip from early on in the book:
Just as Reagan’s
waitress disappeared through the doorway into the kitchen, the front door of
the shop opened, and Ally entered.
Her
long dark curls tumbled down almost to her waist and bounced as she walked
toward him. She had never been tiny, and she had filled out more in the years
since he had last seen her. With her gleaming dark eyes, rosy cheeks and snug
orange T-shirt, she gave the bright pink seats and decorations in the sandwich
shop some competition. He recalled her hanging around the schoolyard in grade
school. He had been a couple of years ahead of her. Even that long ago, she had
always acted larger than life—and been the life of the party.
Thinking
of Sean, he frowned. Maybe Ally as a babysitter wouldn’t be such a good
influence on a preteen or a teenager…but a one-month-old? What could it hurt?
Besides, even if she accepted the offer he planned to present to her, he and
the baby wouldn’t be here long enough for her to make much of an impact.
“Hi.”
Sounding a little breathless, she took the booth across from him. “I got here
as soon as I could.”
“Hope
you didn’t have to rush.”
“No
rush. No more than usual, anyhow. My papa says I never run at half speed when I
can take it up to full.” She laughed. “But I’m running behind now because, just
as I was leaving, one of the customers came to the register with a big order.”
Since
they had met up at the local hardware store, where Ally worked as a clerk, she
had slicked something on her lips, shiny and red as cherry candy. Suddenly, he
felt an urge to lean across the tabletop for a taste.
Whoa, Nelly.
He’d
been away from women too long. Or not long enough.
Sex
wasn’t supposed to be on his radar for a good while into the future.
Preferably, at least not till Sean turned twenty-one. He tried to think back to
his school days and the younger Ally, when the few years’ age difference
between them seemed a much wider gap.
“Is
something wrong?” she asked. “You’re frowning.”
“No.
Nothing’s wrong. I’m just trying to decide what to have. To drink.”
She
smiled at him. “So, how has the big, bad city been treating you all these
years? Well enough, I guess, or you would have been home again before now.”
“Houston
did treat me well, I have to admit.” The woman he had met just before
graduation was another story. “Going to school there was a good experience, one
I don’t regret. But I’m not in Houston anymore. I’ve got a job outside San
Antonio, sales manager for a distributor of farming equipment.”
She
blinked those big dark eyes. “Why would you be selling farm equipment, when you
have a ranch right here to come home to?”
“It
pays the bills.”
“Oh.”
His curt reply had thrown her. It didn’t keep her down for long. “Well, I can
certainly see the benefits of that.”
He
hoped so. Just as he hoped this meeting would benefit them both. But he wanted
to lead up to his idea slowly. And he didn’t want to say too much about the
past.
If he
had his way, neither Ally nor anyone else in Cowboy Creek would learn what
happened between him and the woman he’d loved and had thought loved him, too.
Links
Barnes &
Noble
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-ranchers-baby-proposal-barbara-white-daille/1124564570
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-ranchers-baby-proposal-barbara-white-daille/1124564570
Books-A-Million
http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Ranchers-Baby-Proposal/Barbara-White-Daille/Q92625305?id=6809026813830
http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Ranchers-Baby-Proposal/Barbara-White-Daille/Q92625305?id=6809026813830
About the Author
Barbara White Daille lives with her husband in the sunny
Southwest. Though they love the warm winters and the lizards in their front
yard, they haven’t gotten used to the scorpions in the bathroom. Barbara also
loves writing, reading, and chocolate. Come to think of it, she enjoys writing
about those subjects, too!
Barbara wrote her first short story at the age of nine,
then typed "The End" to her first novel many years later...in the
eighth grade. Now she's writing contemporary romance on a daily basis. Sign up
for her newsletter to keep up with the latest in her writing life: http://barbarawhitedaille.com/newsletter.
Social Media Links
Newsletter http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com/newsletter
Amazon author page
http://www.amazon.com/Barbara-White-Daille/e/B002J6B0QQ
Thanks to Julie and everyone here at Cowboy Kisses for welcoming me back to the blog.
ReplyDeleteHope you enjoyed the excerpt!