Howdy! In honor of the launch of Cheryl Brooks’ new
erotic western series here’s a little intro to a few of the sexy cowboys – and
one cowgirl – that appear in the first book in the series, COWBOY HEAVEN.
Angela McClure
Born and raised on a Wyoming cattle ranch, Angela Kincaid
McClure had to grow up fast following the death of her mother at a young age.
An only child, she has been the lone woman on the Circle Bar K for most of her
life, and her father has always discouraged fraternization with the cowboys
employed on the ranch. Angela married her high school sweetheart, Cody McClure,
and enjoyed a very happy marriage, raising two sons who have no interest in
ranching. With her father aging rapidly, Angela and Cody took over the running
of the ranch until Cody was killed in a fall from his horse. Recovering from
his loss has taken some time, but after two years, Angela’s interest is once
again focused on male companionship. Unfortunately, no one seems the slightest
bit interested in taking on her forty-two-year-old self or the ranch. Her
father believes she should marry the ranch foreman, Rufus Bentley, but though
Angela had a crush on him in her youth and the sixty-year-old foreman is still
attractive, his total lack of personality and stern attitude leaves her cold.
She’s had her eye on Dusty Jackson, a handsome cowboy employed on the ranch,
but she has never received the slightest hint that he might see her as a love
interest. Love-starved and lonely, Angela finally finds solace when she picks
up stranded rodeo cowboy Troy Whitmore and makes him an offer he can’t refuse.
Dusty Jackson
Born Dustin David Jackson on a ranch in eastern Wyoming,
Dusty has never been anything but a cowboy.
Something of a loner, after graduating high school, he drifted from
ranch to ranch, eventually ending up on the Circle Bar K. He likes the people
he works with but there are other reasons for staying on, and just as many
reasons to leave. Blessed with good looks and a ready wit, he’s more than a
match for the men he works alongside, but when he’s around Angela McClure,
words fail him. He knows exactly what he wants, but he also knows that once he
takes that first step, there will be no turning back.
Troy Whitmore
Troy Whitmore was born and raised on a ranch in western
Oklahoma. He could ride almost before he could walk and was winning prizes at
the junior rodeos by the age of six. Too handsome for his own good, women have
always been plentiful, but with a tendency to hop from woman to woman and live just
a teensy bit beyond his means, by the age of thirty, he needs a woman with
enough money to sponsor his rodeo career. When his last “sponsor” dumps him on
the side of the highway while en route to the rodeo in Jackson Hole, he’s
picked up by Angela McClure, a forty-something widow with an eye for a handsome
cowboy and an imagination that fills in where reality leaves off. He’s more
than willing to add the perk of sex with the boss to his new job on Angela’s
ranch, but soon discovers that the rodeo circuit isn’t the only place where he
faces some stiff competition.
What do you
consider your greatest achievement?
Angela: My
sons. They’re the best!
Dusty: Hasn’t
happened yet.
Troy: My PRCA
calf roping championship.
Cowboy Heaven
By Cheryl Brooks
Sourcebooks Casablanca
Erotic Western Romance
March 3, 2015
ISBN: 9781492607458
Trade Paperback $13.99
When you find
yourself in cowboy heaven...
When lonely widow Angela McClure hires a gorgeous
hitchhiking cowboy with an affair in mind, she knows they’ll have to be
discreet: her old-fashioned father and the stern ranch foreman adamantly
discourage any interaction between her and the ranch hands.
Things can get hot
as hell...
Despite their attempts at secrecy, the heat between them
is undeniable. To divert suspicion, Angela forms a new plan: she’ll flirt with
all of the ranch hands. Suddenly Angela has a whole stable full of sexy-as-sin
cowboys to play with, but only one can win her heart.
Cheryl Brooks
is a former critical care nurse turned romance writer. Her Cat Star Chronicles
series includes Slave, Warrior, Rogue,
Outcast, Fugitive, Hero, Virgin, Stud, Wildcat, and the newest release, Rebel. She is a member of the RWA and
IRWA and lives with her husband and sons near Bloomfield, Indiana.
Praise for Cheryl Brooks:
“Really sexy.
Sizzling kind of sexy. Honestly, only Cheryl Brooks can deliver a line like, ‘I
can give you joy unlike any you have ever known’ and make you want to melt.”
—Bitten
by Books
“Ms. Brooks
delivers plenty of sexual tension, suspense, and pleasure in simply being
alive.”
—Romance Junkies
“Incredibly sexy
and wonderful to read all around.”
—Night Owl Romance
“Fun…unique…and
wicked sexy! Cheryl Brooks knows how to keep the heat on and the
reader turning
pages!” —Sydney Croft
3 copies of COWBOY HEAVEN by Cheryl Brooks
(Rafflecopter will
run from February 21-April 6)
Chapter 1
There he was again. That same cowboy I’d seen on the drive
into town, still walking, still carrying a big green duffel bag on one shoulder
and a saddle slung over the other. He’d been traveling in the opposite
direction and hadn’t bothered to look up as I’d passed him earlier. I’d barely
glimpsed his face then, but I saw it quite clearly now. A glance over his
shoulder revealed his bleak, exhausted expression. He might have been near the
point of collapse, but he obviously wasn’t prepared to admit defeat.
Not yet, anyway.
I couldn’t believe no one had picked him up in the three
hours since I’d last seen him. He hadn’t looked very fresh even then. I had no
idea where he was headed, but in the middle of Wyoming, there wasn’t much
within walking distance, no matter where you were going.
He turned toward me, sticking out a halfhearted thumb as I
came closer, his face streaked with dirt and sweat and what might have been
tears. A black Stetson shadowed his eyes, and his boots and jeans were dusty
and worn. His sweat-soaked denim shirt clung to his chest, unbuttoned halfway
to his waist, the sleeves ripped out. He probably wasn’t trying to look cool,
even though he did. No, he was likely trying to get cool, in any way he
possibly could. My truck was air-conditioned and comfortable, and there was
plenty of room for him and his meager belongings. I could no more have left him
there than I could have ignored a starving child.
As I pulled over to stop, his eyes closed and his lips moved
as though uttering a prayer of thanks. His knees buckled slightly, and for a
moment, I thought he truly would collapse. Instead, he took a deep breath and
stood up straight. Lifting his chin, he aimed luminous blue eyes at me and flashed
a dazzling smile. His silver belt buckle suggested this man was no ordinary
ranch hand but a down-on-his-luck rodeo cowboy who, unless I missed my guess,
was heading for Jackson Hole.
A real heartbreaker of a rodeo cowboy, too. Up close, he was
even more handsome than he’d been from a distance. Long and lean with tanned,
muscular arms, dimples creased his cheeks and black hair curled enticingly from
the open edges of his shirt. Several days’ growth of dark beard surrounded
full, sensuous lips, darkening a jaw that my fingertips ached to caress. More
ebony curls peeked from beneath his hat, making me long to yank off that
Stetson to discover what else it was hiding. Oh yes, there was enough gorgeous
cowboy to sway a much stronger woman than I ever claimed to be. Tears stung my
eyes as something in his expression reminded me of Cody.
My dear, sweet Cody… He’d been gone for two years now, but I
hadn’t forgotten that look, and I doubted I ever would.
Determined to mask my roiling emotions, I searched for something
amusing to say as I rolled down my window. “Lost your horse?”
My clever tongue was rewarded with another heart-stopping
smile. Cody used to say funny things just to make me giggle—which wasn’t
difficult since I tend to find humor in nearly any situation—but brushing up on
my own repertoire of one-liners to keep this guy smiling seemed like an
excellent idea.
His grin was sheepish as he tipped up the brim of his hat.
“He sort of drove off without me.”
“Drove off?” I scoffed. “Somehow I doubt that. Seems like he
would’ve needed help.”
My handsome cowboy gave me a grim nod. “Oh, he had help all
right. My girlfriend dumped me on the highway and took off with the truck, the
trailer, and the horse—all of which were actually hers, by the way. She was
kind enough to leave me my saddle and my clothes, although a cell phone
would’ve been nice.”
I shook my head. “Nice, yes. Helpful, no. They don’t work
very well around here. Which kinda makes me mad—I mean, where would you need a
phone more than if you were stranded out in the middle of nowhere?”
He glanced around at the vast expanse of sunbaked rangeland.
“Is that the name of this place? Nowhere?”
“Sure is.” I couldn’t help giggling. “Want to get out of
nowhere?”
“Yes, please,” he replied. “And as quickly as possible.”
“Throw your stuff in the back and hop in,” I said. “We’ll
leave nowhere and go…somewhere.”
He did as I suggested, and suddenly the interior of my truck
was filled with the pungent aroma of hot, sweaty, dusty—but cologned—cowboy.
He’d most likely showered that morning, but it had been one helluva day. The
forecast called for the upper nineties—quite a heat wave even for
mid-August—and though the humidity was low, some temperatures are best avoided
no matter how dry the air.
“You’re a lifesaver,” he said. “I thought that sun was gonna
roast me alive.”
“As hot as it gets in these parts, I never go anywhere
without water, enough food for a couple of meals, and an umbrella in case I’m
ever forced to hike. Want a sandwich?”
“You bet.”
I tossed a nod over my shoulder. “The cooler’s on the
backseat. Help yourself. There’s plenty of water.” Although, at that point, a
cold beer probably would have been his first choice.
He pulled out two bottles of water and a sandwich, downing
the first bottle in three swallows.
“Better now?”
“Much.”
“Let’s see now…” I said as he unwrapped the sandwich. “A
cowboy dumped in the middle of nowhere with a saddle and no horse. There’s got
to be a country song in that.”
“If you mean a song about a guy bein’ picked up by a girl in
a flatbed Ford, I think the Eagles already did that one.”
“I love that song,” I said wistfully. “Guess I always wanted
to be that girl.”
“Well, now you are.” He took a bite of the sandwich, chewing
it quickly. “How does it feel?”
“Not much different.” This wasn’t entirely true. I wasn’t in
the habit of picking up gorgeous cowboys—and this particular cowboy’s presence
had me feeling strangely excited. Oh yes, I was very aware of him, and if my
brain hadn’t noticed him, my erogenous zones were there to remind me. “For one
thing, this isn’t a flatbed Ford, and I’m not what anyone would call a girl
anymore.”
He paused in mid-bite. “Why? Have you had a sex-change
operation?”
“Nope,” I replied with another giggle. “You can’t call a
forty-two-year-old a girl. Well, maybe you could if you happened to be
eighty-two yourself, but I’m pretty sure I outgrew the girl category a long
time ago—about the time that song was popular.”
Despite the fact that I never once took my eyes off the
road, I was aware of his prolonged scrutiny—an assessing gaze that left
delightful tingles in its wake.
“Some things improve with age.” He turned toward the window.
“You don’t seem like the type to dump a guy in the middle of nowhere.”
Having heard the catch in his voice, I did my best to keep
my tone light. Bursting into tears in front of a perfect stranger probably
wasn’t on his bucket list. “True—unless he was really obnoxious.”
This particular cowboy would have to have been homicidal or,
at the very least, abusive for me to throw him out. He was the most adorable
cowboy I’d ever laid eyes on, including the one I’d married.
“I wasn’t being obnoxious.” He fairly bristled with
indignation, which seemed to have won out over heartbreak. “I was asleep. I
thought she was stopping for gas when I felt the truck slow down. She asked me
to take a look at the tires on the trailer, said she thought one had gone flat.
While I was checking the tires, she dumped my saddle and duffel bag on the side
of the road and drove off. I found this tucked into the saddle.” Reaching into
his shirt pocket, he handed me a torn, sweat-soaked scrap of paper.
It’s not working out. Sorry.
“Ouch,” I said with a sympathetic wince. “That’s pretty
hard.”
“Yeah.” With an absent nod, he stuffed the note back into
his pocket. “I don’t even know what I did wrong. Don’t guess I ever will.”
He seemed nice enough, and he certainly wasn’t ugly. Maybe
his girl had breakup issues. As irresistible as he was, I couldn’t imagine
breaking his heart while gazing into those eyes of his, and I didn’t even know
his name.
She’d probably gone about it the best way possible—a quick,
clean break before losing her nerve completely. One glance, one smile, and
she’d have forgotten why their relationship wasn’t working. I wasn’t looking
forward to dropping him off at the crossroad to the ranch, myself. I had a
sudden, overwhelming urge to take him home and wash him, feed him, and tuck him
into bed—my bed, to be precise.
I had my doubts about that part. He couldn’t have been more
than thirty, and young men generally didn’t seek solace from older women—not
that kind of solace, anyway. Consoling him seemed impossible, so I changed the
subject.
“Where were you headed?”
“The rodeo in Jackson Hole,” he replied. “I’m a rodeo
cowboy.”
“No shit,” I drawled. “I’d never have guessed that. I don’t
suppose your girl left you with any money, did she? I mean, I’m not going to
charge you for the ride or the lunch, but I’m not going all the way to Jackson
Hole, either.”
“I didn’t figure you were.” His downcast expression suggested
his hope that he’d been wrong about that. “But at the time, I didn’t really
care.”
“Neither did I. I wouldn’t have left you there no matter
where you were going. It was…well, let’s just say it was something I couldn’t
bring myself to do.”
“Pick up lots of strays, do you?” Turning sideways, he
leaned back against the door, a move that not only drew my eye, but also gave
me a full-frontal view that made my breath catch in my throat. Oh yes, I’d
taken in lots of strays, but none that were anywhere near as attractive.
I shook my head. “Actually picking them up usually isn’t
necessary. They all seem to know where I live.”
“If you don’t mind my asking, where do you live? I mean, are
we close?”
Obviously, he hoped I lived somewhere near Jackson Hole. I
hated to disappoint him. “It’s about another twenty miles—most of which are not
on the main highway. I’ll let you out at the turnoff, if that’s okay with you.”
His face fell, but he nodded, apparently resigned to the
fact that this ride wasn’t going to be more than a brief respite. “Not much
choice, is there?” He gave a fatalistic shrug. “I don’t have enough money on me
to pay you to take me to Jackson Hole. I really should pay you for what you’ve
already done.”
I caught myself wishing that he did have enough money—or
that he would ask me to run off with him and follow the rodeo circuit, never
going home at all. I would have loved to throw caution to the wind and do just
that, but I had too many responsibilities. Not only did I have a ranch to run,
but I also had my father and my kids to look after.
No, scratch that. Chris and Will were both in college. I had
a hard time remembering that except when confronted with the sight of their
empty rooms as I passed by them every day. Out on the highway I could pretend
they were both there at home waiting for me—and Cody, too.
No, regardless of how much money this man might offer to pay
me, I couldn’t shirk my duties and simply up and disappear. Nor would I accept
his money. He obviously needed to hold on to what little he had stashed in
those jeans.
“I couldn’t possibly take money from you,” I protested. “I
wouldn’t be much of a Good Samaritan if I did, would I?”
“I suppose not.”
He shrugged again and we drove on in silence. Remaining
slouched against the door, he draped his left arm across the headrest and bent
up one knee, stretching his legs apart enough that my eyes were continually
landing on that section of blue jeans due south of that big, silver belt
buckle. From time to time he shifted his hips as though my glances made him
uncomfortable, and while I did try to keep my eyes on the road, every once in a
while they would stray back to him—and that enticing bulge in his jeans…
“What would it take to get you to drive me all the way to
Jackson Hole?” The hint of suggestion in his voice startled me almost as much
as the abrupt nature of his query.
Suddenly, my mouth was as dry as a gulch. Reaching for my
bottle of water, I took a sip and stole another peek at him. Those luminous
eyes peered at me from beneath lids that were heavy with sensuous intent.
His lips curled into a provocative smile. “I’d be willing to
bet there’s something I could do for you that would pay you back—or at least
make it worth your while.”
COWBOY HEAVEN
by Cheryl Brooks
3.5 of 5 Stars
by Cheryl Brooks
3.5 of 5 Stars
After two years of being alone since her husbands death, Angie is feeling like she will never experience love and excitement again. She feel like nobody will ever want a middle aged widow. When she picks up the handsome hitchhiking Troy who has hit rock bottom, her imagination might run a little wild. With Troy's presence in the Bunkhouse, things start to get a little out of hand and soon Angie is all to aware of the group of handsome cowboys right under her nose.
Soon it is clear that the ranch hands have stayed clear from her thanks to the many lectures from the Foreman. The more friendly everyone starts to get things start to get out of hand. Are these problems those of chance or not? Will Angela find a second chance at love?
Cheryl does a great job of keeping you intrigued and wondering what will happen next. Be ready for some hot sexy cowboys...
***Advanced copy provided in return for an honest review***
prequel e-novella
COWBOY DELIGHT
By Cheryl Brooks
Erotic Western Romance e-novella
“Out-of-this-world sexy... Brooks’ writing brings the
eroticism to life.” —Long and Short Reviews
Getting stranded has never felt so good…
Lauren Allen is on her way to meet her future in-laws
when her car breaks down on a scorching, dusty Texas highway. There’s no
shortage of handsome cowboys turning up to save the day, but she puts her trust
in local rancher Steve Williams. From the moment she shakes his hand, his warm,
calloused grip makes her hotter than she knows what to do with…
