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(Make sure you stay until the end. I've included an unedited snippet)
There's something about a romance novel that can make a person feel...special.
Especially a contemporary western romance.
Maybe it's the contrast between the grit of the ranch and the softness of romantic chemistry. The way a cowboy can get his hands dirty, wrangle cattle, mend a fence, and work the land through a thunderstorm without flinching, and then turn around and unravel a woman with just one look.
The modern-day cowboys aren't just riding their horses across dusty prairies any longer. In novels, they're fighting to save ranches and farms, ex-military heroes who are running away from something or toward something, carrying old scars, champions chasing one last dream. Readers expect these cowboys to be stubborn, small-town charmers who always expected a bull to know them flat onto their backs but never love.
Oh, and the women they love? Yee-haw! They're just as gritty and stubborn. Independent. Sharp-witted. Ready to stand her ground. They don't need rescued, at least not in the traditional sense. They stir up trouble and can handle any situation that comes their way. They force a cowboy to break free from all the demons and scars.
I've been asked a dozen times: What makes a contemporary western romance an addiction to write?
It's not the attraction. It's the conflict.
The tension in that moment of an exchanged glance, touch, or run-in that changes their lives forever.
And of course, what's a cowboy without his ranch?
Dust under his boots.
Bonfires on lonely nights.
Country music and a beer.
The scent of leather, whiskey, and summer heat.
A ranch is a perfect atmosphere for love.
I'd like to guess that in every cowboy's heart, he's looking for a woman brave enough to tame the storm inside him.
BLURB from The Texas Ranger: Saddled Up:
Texas Ranger, Ben “Bear” Lane, has spent his life chasing criminals and living by the badge. When it comes to matters of the heart, he has one steadfast rule: “badge before babes”. When his team, Texas Heat, is ambushed, they are placed undercover in a small-town working a ranch. He's about to face the fight of his life. Nothing rattles his control like Aasia Powers, a brilliant scientist who's been his friend since he arrived in town.
She makes Bear realize some rules are meant to be broken. She could be the only thing that brings him to his knees.
Every laugh, every glance, every touch burns a fire right through him, dissolving every doubt. One slip could put the mission—and them both—in danger, especially when suspicion leads directly to her. Danger puts her in the crosshairs of a ruthless enemy.
Fin’s Creek is full of drama and suspicion. Secret pregnancies. Family drama.Friendships on the line.
Bear and Aasia must navigate responsibility, broken relationships, and the complexities of the past as their emotions deepen and temptation becomes impossible to resist. Boundaries will be tested. Trust will be questioned. Danger is moving in, and Bear is losing focus. Will he tell her his secrets, or will he continue to be an “honest liar” and lose her?
What Bear knows...he's saddled up for whatever may come. Revisit this charming, complex town, Fin's Creek, where love grows in the Texas heat.
A scream fell off her lips and she jumped up, feeling
the softness of Bear’s face bumping her.
“What the…?” His voice pulled her out of her shocked
state.
She wasted no time. She came off the bed and landed
both feet on the floor. Pointing, she couldn’t seem to get her voice to work.
Finally, she stammered, “Rat. There. It was watching.”
He climbed to his feet, reached over and switched on
the lamp. The dim lighting lit the small space. The rat was gone.
“It was there. I saw it. I did.” Just as soon as the
words were out, she realized Bear had one hand clamped over his nose and blood
seeped from between his fingers. She had bloodied his nose. “Oh no! I’m so
sorry. I’ll grab something.”
Aasia raced into the bathroom and grabbed a clean
towel from the rack. Bear was sitting on the bed, still cradling his nose in
his palm.
“Let me see,” she said gently.
He lowered his hand and he had two trails of wetness
streaming from his nostrils.
“I’ll be okay,” he said confidently. “It’s just a
nosebleed.”
“I’m going to help you.” She shook out the towel and
pressed the terry cloth against his injured nose. He looked up at her and she
could see the humor in his gaze. She was grateful he could find the humor in
the situation, but she wasn’t quite there yet. “Bear…I…”
“Stop. This is nothing.” She did manage a smile when
hearing how he sounded with the towel pressed against his face, muffling his
words.
“I hate rats. Since I was a child. We used to have
them and sometimes they’d come into my bed.” She pulled the towel away,
checking the condition of his nose. “It’s not broken and the bleeding has
stopped.”
He took the towel away from her and used his thumb to
lift her chin so she’d look at him. “Hey, it’s okay. I understand.”
She met his gaze and what she found there made her
heart skip a beat. He truly wasn’t angry or bothered. “Thank you for
understanding.”
“Maybe this was for the best. You deserve more than a ramshackle
camper.”
Aasia felt closer to him than she ever had. She sat
down on his lap and wrapped both her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.
“You are an amazing man, Bear.”
“I’m glad you think so, but you’re cutting off my air
supply.”
She quickly let go. “I’m truly not trying to
beat you up.”
He chuckled. “How about we get you out of here?” He
lifted a tendril of her hair and tucked it behind her ear.
“I agree.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to catch the rat and take
it home as a friend for the kitty you rescued?” His teasing made his eyes light
up.
“That’s not even funny. I think that’s where Pedora
would draw the line.” She stood and found her clothes.
She found him watching her. His expression trickled excitement
through her. “You’re going to probably a bruise on your nose.”
“I’ll come up with a good story to tell the boys.”
“Yea?”
“Yea. How I got attacked by a lioness, she knocked me
to the ground and nearly consumed me with her sharp teeth, but I managed to
save myself from her claws.” His eyes sparkled.
“You’re full of jokes, aren’t you?” She threw her
shirt in his face, and it fell onto his thigh. He lifted it and inhaled her
scent from the material.
Something changed between
them. An understanding of sorts. She realized the rough and tough Bear had a
softer side, and she wanted to investigate it further.
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