Rough RiderBy Victoria VaneSourcebooks CasablancaContemporary Western RomanceFebruary 3, 2015ISBN: 9781492601159Two wary hearts …Janice Combes has two loves, bucking bulls and Dirk Knowlton. But Dirk only has eyes for a dazzling rodeo queen. How can Janice ever compete while mired ankle-deep in manure? Exchanging playful banter with Dirk is all Janice can expect—until the stormy night he knocks on her door dripping wet and needing a place to crash.Different Dreams…Dirk Knowlton is living the cowboy dream. Life should be good—roping, branding, backing broncs, riding bulls, but there's a void he can't seem to fill. After getting hung up by a bull, he wonders if this is really the life he wants. Restless and rebellious, he bolts…but there’s a certain cowgirl he can’t forget.When a battle-scarred Dirk returns to his Montana ranch he's determined to hang on at any cost. Janice has come back home to lick her own wounds. When old dreams turn to dust, can two wary hearts take another chance on love?Buy Links
Excerpt
from ROUGH RIDER by Victoria Vane
He
looked abashed. “We didn’t just have to leave the party, we got kicked out of
the hotel too.”
“Evicted
from your room?”
“Yup.
And there aren’t any others available in all of Casper.”
“I
know,” she said. “It’s why I’m camped out here.” She paused to digest what he’d
left unsaid. “So you and Rachel?”
He
shook his head with a scowl “We’re done now. Quits.”
“You’re
kidding.”
“Nope.
History. Case closed.”
“It’ll
blow over.”
“Don’t
think so. It was her idea to boot us. Said she didn’t give a shit if I had a
room tonight or not. Then I couldn’t even try finding anything outside of town
because my asshole brother took my keys so I wouldn’t drive. My next move was
to pilfer a blanket and pillow and camp out under the stars in my truck bed,
but then it started pouring on me.”
“So
you came here. How’d you do that with no wheels?”
“Walked.”
“Three
miles in the pouring rain? No wonder you look like something the cat dragged
in.”
“Can
I crash for a coupla hours? Maybe just camp out in the back seat of your
dually? All I need is to get warm and dry again.”
Janice’s
mouth went dry as sawdust. Dirk Knowlton. Cold. Wet. Here. Now. Wanting a bed?
She’d give her right arm to warm him up. Heck yeah.
Misreading
her silence he mumbled a curse. “Sorry, Janice. It’s my damned head. I’m not
thinkin’ right. It’s still throbbing like hell. Haven’t been myself all night.
M’pologies for being such a dumb-ass and imposing on you—” He turned to the
door.
“No!
Wait. It’s not that.” She grabbed his sleeve. “I was just thinking of your
injuries. You don’t need to make matters worse by sleeping all cramped up in
the truck.” She gnawed her lower lip and then blurted. “Y-you wanna just stay
here instead?”
“Here?
That’s mighty generous but there isn’t a whole lot of room for both of us.” He
glanced up at the gooseneck with a frown. “If you’ll just gimme a blanket, I’ll
take the floor.”
“You
don’t need to do that,” she said. “The bench here flips down over the table and
converts into a single. It’s really narrow and not very comfortable, but still
better than the truck. Warmer anyway. Besides you need to get dry.”
“You
sure about this?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
She smiled. “What are friends for? I’m sure I’ve got a shirt for you too.”
“Thanks,
Red. That would be great.”
Red? The single
syllable rippled warm and tingly, all the way to her toes. He followed up with
a lopsided grin that stopped her in her tracks. She turned to the small cabinet
that served a dual function as dresser and closet and shut her eyes on a
sigh—but the same air stuck in her throat the minute she turned back around.
He’d
shed the denim jacket. And the black tee. His bare torso with well-developed
pecs and a mouthwatering six pack greeted her. He was drying his face with his
discarded shirt. Janice tore her gaze away and cleared her throat. “Here.” She
thrust an extra-large Dixie Chicks T-shirt into his hands, a souvenir from
their Top of the World Tour. “I—I can get you a towel too.”
He
eyed the shirt skeptically. “No thanks.”
“What?
You don’t like female musicians?”
“Don’t
like their politics. Natalie should just shut up and sing.”
“Ah.”
She nodded slowly. The shirt was from the tour that caused the “incident.” A
lot of her friends had since thrown out their Dixie Chicks CDs, but Janice
still loved their music. “I Can Love You Better” was her favorite. The lyrics, she’s
got you wrapped up in her satin and lace. Tied around her little finger…but I
can love you better, perfectly summed up all the heartbreak and
frustrations of unrequited love; all her secret feelings for Dirk. She only
wished she could show him now that he was here. In the flesh. A big strong,
blue-lipped and teeth-chattering fantasy come true.
Victoria
Vane
is a multiple award-winning romance novelist and history junkie whose
collective works of fiction range from wildly comedic romps to emotionally
compelling erotic romance. Victoria also writes historical fiction as Emery Lee
and is the founder of Goodreads Romantic Historical Fiction Lovers and the
Romantic Historical Lovers book review blog.
Connect with Victoria Vane
Rafflecopter Giveaway for 3 copies of SLOW HAND by Victoria Vane:
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