Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication Date: 12/31/2019
Publication Date: 12/31/2019
These hardworking cowboys give everyone a second
chance…
When single mom Jessica Cook is at the end of her
rope, she takes her 16-year-old daughter to Turn Around Ranch. The ranch has a
great reputation for teen therapy, and Jessica prays there’s room there for her
and Chloe.
Wade Dawson’s first priority is to keep the ranch
afloat to help teens and their families. But he can’t seem to keep his
boundaries when it comes to Jessica—she’s talked her way into a job on the
ranch so she can stay near her daughter and her tenacity and courage are truly
impressive. Not to mention she’s a natural beauty and sparks fly whenever he’s
in her vicinity.
But as one crisis after another befalls the ranch,
Wade is going to have to decide whether he can afford to let a woman get under
his skin…
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My thoughts:
A Cowboy Never Quits was an enjoyable slow burn romance. The characters ere interesting. I really liked Jessica. I could feel her desperation to do anything it took to help her daughter. I loved what the people on the ranch did to make sure she and Chloe could stay. As I said, the relationship between Jessica and Wade was a nice slow burn. Their HEA was really sweet. What I enjoyed the most about the story was Chloe's perspective. I enjoyed watching her go through her transformation. It was a nice addition to the book.
A Cowboy Never Quits was an enjoyable slow burn romance. The characters ere interesting. I really liked Jessica. I could feel her desperation to do anything it took to help her daughter. I loved what the people on the ranch did to make sure she and Chloe could stay. As I said, the relationship between Jessica and Wade was a nice slow burn. Their HEA was really sweet. What I enjoyed the most about the story was Chloe's perspective. I enjoyed watching her go through her transformation. It was a nice addition to the book.
Excerpt:
A
hint of sympathy flickered through Gruff-and-Grumpy’s eyes, but then the
firmness crept back in. He reached up and readjusted his cowboy hat, which set
off some kind of wave that made the other two brothers do the same.
Seriously, why do they have to look like they belong on the
cover of Ride a Cowboy
Weekly?
Wait.
That sounded dirtier than she meant it. Not that she’d exactly take it back.
They
practically dripped masculinity, their bodies speaking to hours of manual
labor, and the effect kept hijacking her jumbled thoughts. It’d been so long
since she’d more than half-heartedly checked out a guy that apparently now she
couldn’t even handle being in the presence of handsome men.
Back
when she was in her early twenties—before guys discovered she came with baggage
and a five-year-old—she used to be fairly decent at flirting her way into
getting a guy to help her out with things like clearing that late fee or giving
her a few more weeks on the rent. Once she’d even talked her disgruntled
landlord into mowing the overgrown lawn he was harping on and on about. Clearly,
she’d lost it, because the expressions aimed her way were immovable ones that
conveyed disbelief in exceptions or wiggle room. Or the charity she’d shed her
pride to ask for.
A
spinster failure-of-a-mom at thirty-one. Well, it took fifteen years, but Mom was
right. Just when she’d
been so cocky about how much she’d accomplished. Now she wanted to Frisbee the
employee-of-the month plaque she’d received from her boss last week, for all
the good it did her.
“We’re
sorry you drove all the way here only to have to turn back,” Mrs. Dawson said,
tucking behind her ear the sandy-brown and gray strands of hair that’d fallen
from her bun. The woman had a frail sense about her, her skinniness and the
dark circles under her eyes speaking to a recent—or possibly even
current—health issue. “I can give you some referrals, and I’ll see if my
contacts know of a good counselor in your area.”
In
a daze, Jess blinked at the woman, defeat weighing against her chest and
tugging down her shoulders. She truly had failed. And curse her DNA for passing
on traits she wished it would’ve held back. In a lot of ways, her daughter was
too much like her: stubborn to a fault, blind when it came to guys, spurred on
by the words no and can’t, and turning the word guideline into loose suggestion.
If
they simply returned home, it’d be harder and harder to keep Chloe from bad
influences. This past year she’d struggled to fit in at school, and her
solution had been to find the worst possible group of “friends.” Friends who
ditched and smoked pot and encouraged Chloe to sneak out at night so she could
go meet a guy like Tyler. He was two years older and a whole mess of bad
influences on his own. Rebellious, disrespectful, and mysterious—the same
things Jessica had been attracted to at Chloe’s age.
Not
that her daughter was blameless. Chloe had made plenty of bad choices. She’d
dived fully into the party lifestyle, snuck out yet again, and gone on the
joyride in the stolen car while under the influence. It was a slippery slope,
which was why Jess wanted her at the best place in the state.
Even
the others were out of her price range. A counselor might be as well. Maybe
they’d just move to a different state entirely. Leave it all behind and
eat…ramen. Get a nice box hut under a bridge. Really live out the scenarios
people had thrown at her when she’d refused to give her baby up for adoption.
Feeling
both levels of failure, Jess shakily stood. “Thank you for your time.”
“I’ll
walk you out,” Gruff-and-Grumpy said, and she wanted to shout that she didn’t
want chivalry. She wanted her daughter enrolled in their program and a way to
pay for it.
“It’s
fine. I’ve got it. Unless you’re scared I’ll just drive away without my kid,
and then you’ll have to take her.”
“Well,
I am now.” An almost-smile crossed his face.
She
almost returned it, but her lungs constricted more and more as she walked
toward the door.
There
in the corner, she caught sight of a wall of flyers on a corkboard. Along with
a schedule that outlined class time, equine therapy time, and a few other
events she couldn’t quite make out, she saw a neon-yellow paper with the words Help Wanted across the top. Even better, it was for a job here
at Turn Around Ranch.
“You
guys are looking for a cook?” It was as if she’d stepped out of her body and
someone else had taken control—someone crazy and reckless, personality traits
she’d tried very hard to suppress through the years. When you had a kid who
depended on you, impulsiveness went out the window, and recklessness wasn’t an
option. Still, even as she told her mouth to hold up before it landed her in
trouble, the next words were pushing from her lips. “You’re in luck. I just so
happen to be one.”
Those
dark eyebrows lowered again, only visible under the brim of his cowboy hat when
he was giving the signature scowl he’d given her from the moment she’d stepped
inside the office. “You’re a cook?”
“Oh,
we’ve been looking for a cook for forever and a day,” Mrs. Dawson said,
scooting to the edge of her chair.
Hope
edged in desperation bobbed up inside Jess. She’d told her boss she needed some
time off, and he’d been super understanding. He might not be as cool about her
taking…a month? Two? Whatever. This was her daughter. Jobs came and went, but
if she lost Chloe, she’d regret it forever. “Perhaps we could help each other
out. If you let my daughter into your program, I’ll stay and cook while she’s
here. The only other thing I need is a bed to sleep in. I’m not even picky as
to where that bed is.”
“Under
the stars, then?” the looming cowboy next to her said.
“Okay,
I’d prefer a roof over my head. Like a lean-to, at least.”
That
almost-smile quivered his lips, but he tamped it down. Why was he so determined
to keep up the steely front? Or maybe it wasn’t a front. Right now, she didn’t
care, and since she clearly wasn’t going to get anywhere with him, she turned
to Mrs. Dawson. “I can have a list of references to you within a matter of
hours. My bosses all love me.” At least that was true. At one point she hadn’t
known how to balance books or create databases, but she’d learned. Cooking had
never been high on her priority list, but she could learn to do that as well.
There were Google and the Food Network, and she could make a box of mac and
cheese like nobody’s business. How hard could it be?
***
Excerpted from A Cowboy Never Quits by Cindi Madsen. © 2019 by Cindi Madsen. Used with permission of the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of
Sourcebooks, Inc. All rights reserved.
About the author:
Cindi Madsen is a USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary romance and young adult novels. She sits at her computer every chance she gets, plotting, revising, and falling in love with her characters. Sometimes it makes her a crazy person. Without it, she’d be even crazier. She has way too many shoes, but can always find a reason to buy a new pretty pair, especially if they’re sparkly, colorful, or super tall. She loves music, dancing, and wishes summer lasted all year long. She lives in Colorado (where summer is most definitely NOT all year long) with her husband and three children.
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