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Book 5 of The Wyatt Brothers of Montana Series

Classic Romance

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Three and a half years ago, Tommy Wyatt was in Las Vegas for the National Finals Rodeo. He had only one thing on his mind—winning another national championship—until he met a beautiful young med student who changed his life.

Blake Eden is in the last few months of her general practice residency, interviewing for jobs and eager to move forward. But before she can seize her future, she needs to settle some things from her past—like bringing closure to her impulsive marriage to rodeo champion Tommy Wyatt.

When Blake shows up at the Salinas Rodeo demanding Tommy sign their divorce papers, Tommy makes it clear he isn’t interested in signing anything. When he married Blake, he meant his vows. Now Tommy has one week to convince his secret wife they’re meant to be together.

Classic Romance

Montana Cowboy Promise

read an excerpt →

Three and a half years ago, Tommy Wyatt was in Las Vegas for the National Finals Rodeo. He had only one thing on his mind—winning another national championship—until he met a beautiful young med student who changed his life.

Blake Eden is in the last few months of her general practice residency, interviewing for jobs and eager to move forward. But before she can seize her future, she needs to settle some things from her past—like bringing closure to her impulsive marriage to rodeo champion Tommy Wyatt.

When Blake shows up at the Salinas Rodeo demanding Tommy sign their divorce papers, Tommy makes it clear he isn’t interested in signing anything. When he married Blake, he meant his vows. Now Tommy has one week to convince his secret wife they’re meant to be together.

Montana Cowboy Promise

Book 5 of The Wyatt Brothers of Montana Series

Classic Romance

Themes & Archetypes

Cowboy, Marriage

Tule Publishing

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Montana Cowboy Promise

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Chapter One

Tommy Wyatt tugged his cowboy hat a little lower, keeping the light drizzle off his face. Rain was good for Central California as Monterey County grew important crops—strawberries, lettuce, tomatoes, spinach and more—but he wasn’t sure if this was fog or rain. Either way, tonight’s rodeo was held at an indoor arena, which would keep fans and competitors dry.

Tommy was returning to his rig from the arena when everything suddenly felt different. The energy around him was different. He wasn’t superstitious—he had too much faith for that— but he did have a sixth sense his family called uncanny.

His brother Billy used to tease him and say he was like Spider-Man, with the Spidey-sense tingle. Well, whatever it was, his sixth sense was tingling now, telling him something was up, and so when he turned the corner and spotted Dr. Blake Eden on her phone two hours from her home, he wasn’t shocked.

Not completely.

But surprised enough, as he hadn’t seen his wife in three years.

He was also intrigued. The fact that Blake was here in Salinas meant she wasn’t hiding from him anymore. She wasn’t avoiding him. She’d come to deal with what they’d done. Good girl. He’d been ready for a long time.

Tommy walked toward Blake, footsteps muffled by the dirt. He was glad he wasn’t competing until much later. No one wanted to climb on a pissed off bull right after a huge shock.

Fortunately, she hadn’t seen him yet, too absorbed in her call, giving him time to study her, appreciate her.

His wife was, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen—and that was saying something, as every week he was at a rodeo or fairground where they were crowning a young, stunning beauty queen. Beautiful women trailed after him, slipping him their number, finding him at his hotel, or having a drink with his brother at a bar. But he wasn’t interested in any of them. He only had eyes for Blake, and now, at long last, she was here.

His wife, the doctor.

From their first conversation, he’d been blown away by her mind, and that face.

Clear light, green-gold eyes. High, prominent cheekbones balanced by full, lush lips.

Sun kissed curls. Skin lightly bronzed, as if dusted with too much gold.

Her beauty had knocked him sideways, and then she thanked him for his help, and he was done. Her voice…low, husky, her diction…smart, educated, precise. Most cowboys would recognize they were outsmarted, outclassed, but Tommy wasn’t your average cowboy, either.

No, he hadn’t gone to college, but he wasn’t slow. His high school guidance counselor had called him in one day at the end of his junior year to say Tommy had scored perfectly on the SAT test, and asked what colleges was he applying to?

Tommy liked Mrs. Smith, she was a nice lady, always trying to help her students dream bigger, work harder, and so Tommy was polite as he told her he wasn’t going to college. He was continuing as he had been, competing on the rodeo circuit. He was a cowboy. He liked being a cowboy. College wasn’t for him.

She’d been so disappointed. Tommy was the brightest student Marietta had seen in years. How could he not avail himself of the scholarships and opportunities out there?

Sweet Mrs. Smith. Such a kind woman. Tommy owed her a visit the next time he was home in Montana.

But now he had a visitor. A visitor he was very much looking forward to talking to.

So what if they’d only ever had three days together? So what if those days had been an intense roller coaster?

For him, it had pretty much been love at first sight. He still loved her. He wouldn’t have married her, and waited for her, if this wasn’t the real thing. No one knew, either. His family didn’t know. Her family didn’t know. They’d had a secret marriage for years, and during this time, Tommy Wyatt, rodeo champion, had been biding his time, waiting for her to make the next move. And now, finally, she had.

***

The baby hair at Blake’s nape lifted.

She felt a shiver race through her. She shifted the phone, looked around. He was here, wasn’t he?

She glanced around again, and there he was, standing in front of a beer truck, watching her. The air was misty, damp, half rain, half fog, and she could feel the moisture in her curls, feel the wetness on her face, and suddenly her heart ached. She hadn’t expected that.

“I have to go,” she whispered to Bryce, mouth drying, legs going weak. “He’s here.”

“Are you going to be okay?” Bryce asked.

Bryce was so good to her. “Yes,” she said lowly, her chest growing tight. “I’ll call soon.” She hung up and slipped the phone into her coat pocket, staring at the man who had turned her world inside out one December, making her want things she couldn’t want.

Making her feel things she’d never felt before.

Making her take risks that she would have never taken otherwise.

The three years and three months since Las Vegas disappeared, fading into nothing, and she saw him just as she’d seen him that first night when he’d stepped between her and danger, protecting her from the bad guys. Protecting her from harm.

He’d saved her and smiled as if it had been nothing.

He’d kissed her gently on the cheek, despite the blood on his own.

“Hello, Tommy.” She forced a smile, cold and hot, shivers racing through her, her heart pounding so fast, too fast.

“You look beautiful.”

A lump filled her throat. Just like the night she’d met him in the casino, he was wearing his black cowboy hat, and a thumb was hooked next to his big silver belt buckle. His jeans hugged his legs. He was even leaner than the last time she saw him, wide shoulders, deep chest, narrow hips, long strong legs. Thighs and glutes with impressive power.

Making love to him was earth shattering. Tommy loved her as if there was no tomorrow. He’d held her as if he would always be there to keep her safe. Whole.

No one else would ever make her feel that way.

And just seeing him again made her miss what could have been. How she’d loved him those few days. How she’d wanted what she’d seen in his eyes.

His beautiful blue eyes met hers now and held.

“It’s been a long time,” he said.

She nodded, unable to speak. When she’d left him in Las Vegas three years ago, she’d promised him they’d soon be together. She’d promised him that she just needed a few days to break the news to her family, and then he’d join her, and she’d introduce him to them, and then they’d go to his family in Montana, and they’d do the same thing.

So Blake went home to her family for Christmas and he went home to his and they spoke almost every day. Every day he asked her, Have you told your family yet? And every day she had a reason why she hadn’t. Her grandmother wasn’t well, and her mom was taking care of her. Her dad was stressed with changes at work. Her dad’s brother had just had a heart attack and was at the hospital. There were problems and worries and she didn’t want to be a problem or a worry for her family. He said he understood. He told her, wait, we can wait. Take care of yourself. Take care of your family. So she did, and every day she realized what a mistake she’d made. Every day she struggled with what she’d done. Tommy Wyatt was handsome and wonderful—heroic in every sense of the word—but Blake’s world was complicated, and she didn’t need a hero. She had to be her own hero. There was no room for marriage, or a man.

It was on January 19th that she sent him a text, saying they made a mistake. They needed to acknowledge that they’d been impulsive, and foolish, and they needed to dissolve the marriage. Would he do it, since he lived in a state where divorce was fast and relatively easy if there was no contention, and there shouldn’t be

Tommy had answered her text with a text. I don’t make a commitment and run from it.

Frustrated, she answered him. We don’t even know each other!

It didn’t seem to matter when we were together in December, he replied.

I want out, she texted back. She knew it sounded cold, but she was scared and panicked. She’d forgotten herself. She’d lost sight of her studies and her goals. Marriage wasn’t part of her plan. It had to end, now. Maybe Tommy’s parents wouldn’t care that he’d done this, but her parents would be devastated. They’d feel betrayed. She married on a whim? She’d thrown caution to the wind? After all they’d done for her? After all they’d scrimped and sacrificed, leveraging everything—their home, their security—to send her to medical school?

She couldn’t fail them. She couldn’t disappoint them, not after everything they’d been through together these past ten years.

We can’t do this by text, he answered hours later, hours where she’d been in agony because Tommy was a good person, Tommy was wonderful, and if circumstances had been different, he would be the one. He’d be everything.

She answered, blinking back tears. You want a phone call?

His text was immediate. No, we need to see each other. This has to be done face to face.

Only she couldn’t do that. If she saw him at that point, she wouldn’t be strong enough to leave him, and so she just let it go.

She pretended he didn’t exist. She pretended they’d never promised each other forever.

“How long are you in town for?” he asked her.

“Just today. Will head back to the city tomorrow,” she answered, referencing San Francisco, where she was finishing her residency at San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center. She’d soon be done, and was already interviewing for jobs. She hoped to stay in the Bay Area to be close to her parents, as well as the outstanding medical facilities there. The ideal job would be somewhere in San Mateo or East Palo Alto, but Blake was realistic and knew she’d probably have to commute.

“I take it you didn’t come for the rodeo,” he said, looking at her in a way no one but him ever looked at her. Protective. Hungry. Proud. Fierce.

Her insides did another quiver and she remembered how he’d held her. As if she were priceless. Irreplaceable.

The lump in her throat grew. It hurt to swallow. “You told me we had to do this in person. Face to face. So here I am.”

“Smart of you to wait until I was in your neck of the woods, although I have been at the Cow Palace a couple of times since Vegas.”

“It’s been hectic with work. They’d said the days would be long. They weren’t kidding.”

“Do you really sleep at the hospital some nights?”

“When you’re lucky enough to have an hour to rest, yes.”

“How long until you’re able to practice on your own?”

“I have to pass my boards, and earn my license, but I’m in a good place for both. I’ve been studying a lot, getting ready for the exam. Hoping by May or June I’ll be done.”

“That’s impressive.”

“General practice is a much shorter residency than being a surgeon.”

“You should be proud of yourself. I’m very proud of you. But I never doubted you. You’re going to be an exceptional doctor.”

“Let’s hope.”

“No hoping. I have complete confidence in you. You are the smartest person I know. You are destined to do great things.” Her eyes burned. Heat washed through her, heat and that prickly awareness that made her feel raw, exposed. The fact that this big, tough guy—capable of fighting four guys at once—was always so good to her, so gentle with her, made her chest seize, her heart aching.

He deserved so much better. She knew it. He had to know it, too.

“Can we talk tonight, when you’re done?” she asked, digging her hands into her coat pockets, nails biting her palms.

“That’d be perfect,” he said, his voice deep, husky, both a balm and an irritant to her soul. She’d missed his voice. Missed those intense blue eyes. Crazy to think she’d married him after only knowing him for two days. Who did that? Not the cool, logical, driven Blake Eden.

Not that she was really all that cool and logical. Driven, yes, but her calm demeanor hid fire. Everyone else thought she was strong. Her colleagues called her the doctor of titanium and ice.

Only Tommy knew better. He was the one person who’d gotten behind her walls, storming them with his passion and humor, completely stealing her heart.

He loved her, and made her laugh, and then loved her some more.

With him in Las Vegas she’d laughed until she cried. And every night in Las Vegas, she’d held him, held tightly onto him, as if the world was ending, and in hindsight, it was.

“Should I put you on the pass list?” he asked. “Or are you going to be studying somewhere?”

She had planned on returning to her hotel room and studying. She’d planned on keeping her distance, making sure he didn’t get close and chip away at her armor, but seeing him now, she desperately wanted to see him ride, rope, and be the champion cowboy he was. “I can buy my own ticket,” she said.

He smiled slowly, his gaze heating. “I’ll put you on the list, and I’ll find you after.”

end of excerpt

Montana Cowboy Promise is available in the following formats:

Tule Publishing

ISBN: 9781956387537

March 29, 2022

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