Back in April, seven best-selling and award-winning
authors as well as myself
got together to produce this anthology of eight
stand-alone Contemporary Western Romance novellas—stories of cowboys who are
also
firefighters, bronco busters, wealthy
ranchers, and just plain ol’ bad boys. The original boxed set is still on sale
for just 99 cents until April 1 at https://www.amazon.com/Come-Love-Cowboy-Kathleen-Ball-ebook/dp/B01D5876UK/ Several of the original
authors, myself included, have got together with four more authors—Hildie
McQueen, Kristie McCaffrey, Carra Copelin and Devon McKay—to bring out
stand-alone sequels and brand new stories in a further boxed set—available
June 1. Watch this space for information, but for now, get a head start and buy Come Love a Cowboy!
Here are the stories available in the current boxed
set.
Luke’s Fate
by Kathleen Ball
Meg O’Brien hoped never to lay eyes on the one man
who broke her heart. To her dismay, Luke Kelly arrives at her ranch a much
different and broken man. Can Meg ever forgive his callous treatment of her and
help Luke become the man he used to be?
Grant Me The Moon by Caroline Clemmons
All Tory Fraser intended was to show her high
school history club students a local archeology dig. How could she know the
excursion would involve a murder?
Three for The Win by Keta Diablo
Hollis should
have known better than to fall for a bone-melting man like Stede. He’s gone now
and Eli is left to pick up the broken pieces of her life.
Border Affair by Hebby Roman
When his partners’ daughter is
kidnapped in México, a self-made millionaire must confront his feelings about
their affair and the future of their relationship.
Leaving Necessity by Margo Bond Collins
Mac has one week to convince his ex-girlfriend
Clara not to sell his oil company. In this high-pressure reunion, can they
strike love again?
The Shape of Destiny by Julie A.
D’Arcy
A young male shape shifter. A beautiful female
ranch owner. Can love be born in a web of deceit?
Bad Boy, Big Heart by Andrea Downing
She’s a New Yorker escaping her parents. He’s a
Wyoming cowboy supporting his dad. One summer, two young people—three months to
find love.
Desert Heat by Patti Sherry-Crews
A single mother struggling to keep her guest ranch
puts her own desires on hold. When a handsome and persistent fireman sets his
sights on her, she must decide how much she’s willing to give.
Here
is an excerpt from my story, Bad Boy, Big Heart:
K.C. was licking
her lips over a piece of cheesecake when Breezy ambled over.
“I heard,”
she said in an undertone. “I’m so sorry, K.C. I really didn’t know or I
certainly would have told you. All I knew was Jamie could be very unpleasant
but nothing like that. You know, spoiled brat unpleasant.”
K.C.
gulped down another mouthful. “Well, he certainly was ‘unpleasant’ and a ‘spoiled
brat.’”
“Are you
all right? You know if you ever want to talk about it or need a shoulder, mine
is at the ready. And you know where to find me, though I suspect you have
another shoulder in mind.” She tipped her head toward Chay, who had just come
in and was chatting with one of the guests.
K.C.
glanced across as he squatted down to speak with a little girl, tilting his hat
back off his face and giving the child a wink as he rose again. Her stomach did
a back flip.
“So how do
you like the cheesecake?” Breezy was saying. “It’s my own recipe—chocolate
mocha cheesecake. You seem to be doing pretty well with it but, of course, you
may only be eating it to be polite.” She sauntered off in a stream of giggles.
And then a
second fork was coming from above into that cheesecake.
“Do you
always just take what you want?”
“Oh, shit,
I’m supposed to ask! Sorry.” Chay slid into the chair opposite her at the long
refectory table. He looked her in the eye. “May I please have a bite of your
cheesecake?”
“Why don’t
you get your own? In fact, shouldn’t you be starting with lunch and then dessert?”
“Had a
sack lunch and got in earlier than expected.” His fork dangled threateningly
over the waiting slice before he swung the fork like a pendulum.
“Oh, go on
then. I guess you deserve it.”
Chay
shoved a forkful into his mouth, having obvious difficulty chewing as he was
smiling so much. Finally he got it down, stretched to grab a napkin from
another clean place setting, and gave a wide grin to K.C. “Am I your hero,
then? Riding in to save the day? How are you?”
“I’m fine.
Thanks. Fine, but reluctant to keep telling everyone I’m fine.”
“Okay
then, message received.”
K.C.
studied him for a moment, melting at his pale green eyes. She suddenly reached
across and gently poked the small dimple in his chin. Oh dear, what was she
going to do about this man?
“You’re
supposed to ask, aren’t you? You can’t just go around poking people in the
chin, can you?”
“Golly. What
have I started?”
“I don’t
know. What have you started?” The smile was replaced by a very direct look.
“I…I’ve
been told things about you. I don’t want to be a summer romance. And I do have
to leave at the end of the summer, and the summer is fast fading.”
“It’s only
June, K.C.” He hesitated before, “What sort of things were you told?”
K.C.
looked around to make sure they weren’t being overheard. “That you like to…to
date the girls who work in the office because we leave at the end of the summer,
and it makes for a clean break.”
“True.”
K.C.
blinked at his honesty.
“But it
doesn’t mean it will always be the case.” Chay fidgeted on his chair. “What
time do you get off? Let’s go for a ride. You do ride, don’t you?”
“I
ride…English.”
“Oh, yeah.
Bob said something about that. That can be fixed. So what time?”
“Five-thirty
weekdays, Saturday noon as long as the check-outs are complete. Sunday is hit
or miss; I work virtually all day until all the check-ins are done.”
“Hmmm. I’m
taking out a pack trip tomorrow, back Friday. Meet me down at the barns as soon
as you’re off Saturday.” Chay swung out of the chair and stood, then leaned in
and stabbed one more bite of cheesecake. “Saving you calories,” he said. “You’d
be amazed at what goes into this.” And with that, he stuffed the piece in his
mouth and was off.
K.C. sat
there, turning over Chay’s words in her mind: ‘It doesn’t mean it will always be
the case.’ Yet the fact was, her Master’s degree meant two years…oh, what was
she thinking? That was way ahead and, while she knew she was deeply attracted
to Chay, it didn’t necessarily mean…. She stared at the remaining cheesecake on
her plate, then pushed it away.
What was ‘the case’?
And here
are a couple of reviews from Amazon:
“…How she {K.C.} and Chay overcome each obstacle is an
exciting, suspenseful, fun, and romantic read that is just pure enjoyment. I
loved the interactions between the two characters and how author Andrea Downing
so skillfully takes the reader on an emotional roller coaster ride right along
with the characters. The result is a fun, romantic, suspenseful story that
you’re sure to enjoy.” – Dali
“- Bad Boy, Big
Heart by Andrea Downing I loved this story. The backdrop of the Tetons made it
extra special. Chay was to die for and K.C. was a great match. The writing is
crisp and no nonsense. The story is really good. I was sorry when the story
ended since I wanted to know more about these characters.”—Debera
Well, Debera—you won’t have long to wait. City Boy, Country Heart comes out in a new boxed set June
1.
Please find me at:
Twitter:
@andidowning
https://twitter.com/AndiDowning
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