MY VERSION OF A MODERN-DAY COWBOY By Kathleen Lawless @kathleenlawless

 

I write in several different genres, but the bulk of my books are set in the American West where cowboys ruled the range and capture our hearts. Over the years and the generations, as the American West was settled and the demand for beef grew, helped along by the arrival of railroads, cowboys continued to adapt, whether it was their equipment and technique, or the type of clothing they required due to weather or other factors. 

I like to think my heroes have adapted as well.  My latest hero, Blaze, is my version of a modern-day cowboy.  Riding onto Blue Sky Island on his Harley, Blaze is a legend in his own way as the world’s greatest stuntman.  The bike also gave me license to dress him in leather chaps, which I still think of as one of the sexiest things a man can wear. 

I also see the work of a stuntman as being very similar to that of a cowboy, with grueling physical labor and long hours, both parties facing danger head on every day.  At the end of each day, when Blaze climbs onto his Harley and rides off into the distance, their lives seem not so different.  The man.  The legend.

Here’s where my heroine and Blaze meet in ONE FANTASY FALL

“You’re early.”  Kaitlin opened the door to see a man clad in dusty, formfitting leather, his shaggy caramel-colored hair badly in need of a trim.  She stepped back a pace.  “Come on in. Let’s see what you look like under all that road dust.’’

The stranger stepped past her and into the front hall. “You must be Kaitlin. Steve said—’’

“My brother knows I can’t resist a challenge.’’ Kaitlin circled the man, eyes narrowed as she inspected him from all angles. Actually, in the right clothes, this one should clean up quite nicely. And he did possess a certain undeniable something.

“One good thing. We should be able to fit you off the rack..” Broad shoulders tapered to lean hips, which were hugged by a modern-day version of cowboy chaps in supple-looking black leather.

“But those chaps. The look is all wrong unless you’re auditioning for a cowboy commercial.” The garment in question sheathed him like an intimate glove, up over snakeskin boots to hug an impossibly long length of leg, before ending in a V of faded denim below his belt. The scrap of exposed denim was the exact same shade as his eyes.  Realizing where her gaze lingered, she looked away and hoped she wasn’t blushing.

He rocked back on his heels and crossed his arms over his impressive chest.  One side of his mouth quirked up in an endearing half-smile.  “I wasn’t expecting an audition.”

“This is only the beginning.  Tomorrow is your photo shoot and Bethany, from the modeling agency, needs your portfolio before she meets with the client.” She cocked her head. “I’d better book you a facial. You look like you haven’t slept in two days.” Something in the way he turned those gray-blue eyes on her caused an unsettling flutter in her nether regions.

“Good guess. Considering I just drove straight through from California.”

Kaitlin’s jaw dropped. “What were you doing there?”

“I live there.”

Dead silence hung between them and Kaitlin felt herself flush.  Weren’t people supposed to outgrow adolescent blushing?  Apparently not her. Even her ears were burning. “Somehow, I get the feeling you’re not my brother’s friend/wannabe model I was expecting.”

“Is that what he told you?”  The newcomer braced one shoulder against the doorframe as if he had every right to be there, thumbs hooked in the pockets of his jacket.

She blew out a breath that didn’t do a thing to help cool her down.  “I’m sorry.  Were you looking for Steve?  He’s at work right now.”

His half-smile turned into the real thing.  The change in expression deepened the grooves in his cheeks and gave him a lazy look that matched his careless pose.

His smile was addictive and Kaitlin caught herself starting to smile back.

“How about I introduce myself properly? The name’s Blaze.” Lazily his right

hand stretched toward her, broad and sun-browned with a faint line of scars

visible across the first two knuckles. “I’m your date for the weekend.”

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B096CRGV1L

Kathleen Lawless blames a misspent youth watching Rawhide, Maverick and Bonanza for her fascination with cowboys, which doesn’t stop her from creating a wide variety of interests and occupations for her many alpha male heroes.   

Her hero, Steele, in HER UNDERCOVER COWBOY, is a modern-day cowboy, so when she was wooed by a man called Steel— while he’s not a cowboy, he is an alpha male and her forever hero.  Which is why all of her stories end Happily Ever After.

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