It’s rodeo season and I’m all about cowboys right now (and always!). I’ve also been excited about Tule Publishing’s great lineup for the Montana Born Rodeo, especially Barbara Ankrum‘s latest, Choose Me, Cowboy. which wraps up the series for 2015. A story about forgiveness, second chances and healing, Choose Me, Cowboy is the perfect book if you’re looking for a heartwarming read.
I invited Barbara back to tell us more about her new release. Please help me welcome Barbara Ankrum!
First, thanks so much, Jane, for sharing space on your blog with me today!
I’m thrilled to be a part of the exciting Montana Born Rodeo series with my October book, Choose Me, Cowboy. If you read last summer’s A Fair to Remember, (starring Olivia Canaday and Jake Lassen) you’ll recognize the heroine of this one as the second of the three Canaday sisters, Kate.
It’s common knowledge that Kate Canaday has issues around dating. Her men all have expiration dates. All except one. Pro-Bull-rider Finn Scott, the man at the crux of her long-standing commitment issues, has always been Kate’s Kryptonite, the one she tried to forget but never could. Six years ago, he married someone else and broke her heart. Suffice it to say, it was complicated. Now a divorced, single dad, Finn’s recent move to Marietta with his five-year-old twins puts Kate directly in the path of his tangled-up life. She certainly doesn’t want a second go-round at a broken heart. But let’s face it, Kate and good dating decisions do not go hand in hand. So, deciding to help Finn win a custody battle with his ex might be the worst mistake she’s ever made. Or it could just be her best mistake yet.
I hope you enjoy it!
Here’s a little excerpt from Choose Me, Cowboy:
Up in the treehouse, Kate rolled toward him and braced her head on her hand. But she said nothing, just stared through the darkness at him.
“What?” he asked.
“I used to love watching you ride. Well, technically, I was scared to death watching you ride. But you could ride those bulls like nobody’s business.”
A pleased smile lifted one corner of his mouth. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. I don’t think you should let anything keep you from doing the thing you love.”
He rolled a look up at the stars. “My kids have put a whole different spin on my priorities.”
She dropped her hand to the wooden floor between them and drew little circles in the dusty plank. “I know. I admire that about you. Mostly because I’m so not a grown up. At least, ask my family and they’ll tell you that. My many choices in men have been…well, let’s say flawed.”
He squinted at her in the dark, a funny look that made her ask, “What? Do you want to know how many?”
“How many what?”
“Men. How many men there have been?”
“No. I wasn’t going to ask that.”
“What were you going to ask?”
“I was wondering how they didn’t see in you what I do. How they let you go.”
Oh, no. No, no, no. Don’t say things like that to me.
He touched the diamond rings that dangled against her blouse.
She laughed and pulled the rings back. “I just have them there for safe-keeping. Don’t go getting any ideas.”
He rolled up on his elbow toward her now with a grin. “Like…what kind of ideas?”
“Like…like…that this means something.”
“Does it?”
She clutched the rings between her fingers like a nervous habit. “No.”
But even in the moonlight, under those stars, he could see the lie in her eyes. She could have kept them in a drawer, out of sight. But she hadn’t. They were nestled against her breasts, the precious metal warm from her skin.
Maybe the starlight was to blame, or the fact that they were up here in this treehouse when they should be doing the right thing. But he didn’t feel like doing the right thing. He didn’t feel like doing anything at the moment but what was wrong. She gasped as he slid his hand around her waist and pulled her close to him. “Maybe I don’t believe you,” he whispered against her mouth.
She swallowed thickly and flattened her palm against his chest. “You’re playing with fire.”
“Maybe I like it.” He tucked her against his hips, just so there’d be no mistaking just how hot that fire really was. A tremor of want went through her and her fingers curled into his shirt. “And maybe you do, too.”
“I don’t.”
“Prove it. I dare you.” His mouth hovered teasingly close, his lips barely brushing hers.
“Gawd,” she breathed against his mouth with a smile he could feel. “What’s the deal with everyone daring me lately?”
But then she kissed him, and it was no gentle thing. Her kiss was hungry and full of hot need. She opened to him, wanting his tongue, finding his with hers until they couldn’t get any closer. Until that kiss fused them together. He felt her arms tangle around his neck, restless and tugging him closer yet.
Damn, she tasted good. Red wine and sweet strawberries. And Kate.
An instant later she was on her back and he was on top of her, pushing his knee between her long legs and reveling in the soft press of her breasts against the hard plane of his chest. But he wanted—needed—her closer yet. He wanted inside her. Not just physically, but past that steely wall she’d closed around herself. He wanted all of her, not just the piece she’d agreed to loan him.
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Barbara Ankrum is the bestselling author of fourteen books, including her latest contemporary romance, CHOOSE ME, COWBOY, from Tule Publishing. Her bestselling western historical series, ‘Wild Western Hearts’ and her new ‘Wild Western Rogues’ series are available on all e-book platforms. Barbara’s books have been twice nominated for RWA’s prestigious RITA Award. She’s the mom of two wonderful, grown children and she lives in Southern California with her sweet husband, two cats and her scruffy Toto-impersonator-walking-companion, Maggie.
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So glad you stopped by to share with us today, Barbara! Readers, if you love the rodeo, be sure to grab your download of Choose Me, Cowboy soon. Barbara also has a treat for one of you lucky readers. For a chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card, leave a comment below and tell Barbara where your most romantic kiss took place! Contest ends Tuesday with winner announced on Wednesday.
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