It Started with a Cowboy
Page 32
She swallowed again and gave a small nod of her head.
A tiny flicker of hope lit in his gut as he waited for her response. He could practically see her thinking—watch the emotions cross her face in the furrow of her brow and the way she chewed on her bottom lip. Oh man, he loved it when she did that; the way she sucked her bottom lip under her front teeth always did crazy things to his insides.
“Okay. We can try being friends.” She gave him a sidelong glance, the hint of a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “On one condition.”
Uh-oh. Conditions are never good. Although he would do just about anything to prove to her that he was serious about being in her life again.
“What’s that?”
“I need someone to be the other pirate for the party. I already asked Logan if he would wear the other costume, and he refused. I was planning to ask Dad, but I have a feeling I’ll get the same response.”
He tried to imagine Hamilton Rivers in a pirate outfit and couldn’t. Ham was old-school cowboy, tough as nails and loyal to the land. He wore his boots from sunup to sundown and had more grit than a sheet of sandpaper. The only soft spot he had was for his daughter. And Rock had broken her heart.
If there hadn’t been enough animosity between the two families over their land before, Rock had sealed the feud by walking away from Quinn.
And now he had a chance to try to make it up to her. And to keep an eight-year-old kid from being disappointed. Even if it meant making a fool of himself.
He squinted one eye closed and tilted his head. If he was going to do it, might as well do it right.
Go big or go home.
“Aye, lass,” he said in his best gruff pirate impression. “I’ll be a pirate for ye, but don’t cross me, or I’ll make ye walk the plank.”
Her eyes widened, and she laughed before she could stop herself. An actual laugh. Well, more like a small chuckle, but it was worth it. He’d talk in a pirate accent all afternoon if it meant he could hear her laugh again.
She took a step forward, reached out her hand as if to touch his arm, then let it drop to her side. “All right, Captain Jack, you don’t have to go that far.” She might not have touched him, but she offered him a grin—a true grin.
Yeah, he could be a pirate. He could be whatever she needed. Or he could dang well try.
The front door slammed open with a bang, and Quinn jumped. As if on cue, her brother stepped out on the front porch.
Anger sparked in Logan’s eyes as he glared at Rock. “What the hell are you doing here?”
For more Cowboys of Creedence,
check out book one in the series
Caught Up in a Cowboy
On sale now
Acknowledgments
As always, my love and thanks goes out to my family! Todd, thanks for always believing in me and for being the real life role model of a romantic hero. You cherish me and make me laugh every day and the words it would take to truly thank you would fill a book on their own. I love you. Always.
Thank you to my sons, Tyler and Nick, for always supporting me and listening to a zillion plotting ideas. And for all of your technical help when I call you with crazy oddball questions. I love you both with more than my heart could ever imagine.
I can’t thank my editor, Deb Werksman, enough for believing in me and this book, for your amazing editing talents, and for always making me feel like a rock star. Thanks to Dawn Adams for this incredible cover that perfectly captures the awesomeness of Colt James. I love being part of the Sourcebooks Sisterhood, and I offer buckets of thanks to the whole Sourcebooks Casablanca team for all of your efforts and hard work in making this book happen.
Huge shout out thanks to my agent, Nicole Resciniti at The Seymour Agency, for your advice and your guidance. You are the best, and I’m so thankful you are part of my tribe.
A big thank you to my parents—all of them. I appreciate everything you do and am so thankful for your support of this crazy writing career. Thanks to my mom, Lee Cumba, for so many lunches where we talk writing and plots. And thanks to my dad, Bill Bryant, for spending hours giving me ranching and farming advice and plot ideas.
Special thanks goes out to Jonathan Maberry for indulging me at the very end of the Pikes Peak Writers Conference and offering me technical advice and your ideas for my heroine’s self-defense moves.
Special acknowledgement goes out to the women who walk this writing journey with me every single day. The ones who make me laugh, who encourage and support, who offer great advice and sometimes just listen. Thank you Michelle Major, Lana Williams, Anne Eliot, Kristin Miller, Ginger Scott, Selena Laurence, Cindy Skaggs, and Beth Rhodes. XO
Big thanks goes out to my street team, Jennie’s Page Turners, and for all of my readers: the people who have been with me from the start, my loyal readers, my dedicated fans, the ones who have read my stories, who have laughed and cried with me, who have fallen in love with my heroes and have clamored for more! Whether you have been with me since the first book or just discovered me with this book, know that I write these stories for you, and I can’t thank you enough for reading them. Sending love, laughter, and big Colorado hugs to you all!
About the Author
Jennie Marts is the USA Today bestselling author of award-winning books filled with love, laughter, and always a happily-ever-after. Readers call her books “laugh out loud” funny and the “perfect mix of romance, humor, and steam.” Fic Central claimed one of her books was “the most fun I’ve had reading in years.”
She is living her own happily-ever-after in the mountains of Colorado with her husband, two dogs, and a parakeet that loves to tweet to the oldies. She’s addicted to Diet Coke, adores Cheetos, and believes you can’t have too many books, shoes, or friends.
Her books include the contemporary western romances of the Cowboys of Creedence and the Hearts of Montana series, the cozy mysteries of The Page Turners series, the hunky hockey-playing men in the Bannister Brothers Books, and the small-town romantic comedies in the Cotton Creek Romance series.
Jennie loves to hear from readers. Follow her on Facebook or Twitter. Visit her at jenniemarts.com and sign up for her newsletter to keep up with the latest news and releases.
Caught Up in a Cowboy
USA Today bestselling author Jennie Marts welcomes you to Creedence, Colorado, where the cowboys are hot on the ice
After an injury, NHL star Rockford James returns to his hometown ranch to find that a lot has changed. The one thing that hasn’t? His feelings for Quinn Rivers, his high school sweetheart and girl next door.
Quinn had no choice but to get over Rock after he left. Teenaged and heartbroken, she had a rebound one-night stand that ended in single motherhood. Now that Rock’s back—and clamoring for a second chance—Quinn will do anything to avoid getting caught up in this oh-so-tempting cowboy…
“Funny, complicated, and irresistible.”
—Jodi Thomas, New York Times bestselling author
For more Jennie Marts, visit:
sourcebooks.com
You Had Me at Cowboy
These hockey-playing cowboys will melt your heart, from USA Today bestselling author Jennie Marts
Mason James is the responsible one who stayed behind to run the ranch when his brother Rock took off to play hockey for the NHL. Women have used Mason to get to his famous brother before, but he never expects to fall—and fall hard—for one of them…
Tessa Kane is about to lose a job she desperately needs—unless she’s clever enough to snag a story on star player Rockford James. But when her subject’s brother starts to win her heart, it’s only a matter of time before he finds out who she really is… Can the two take a chance on their love story after all?
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Reckless in T
exas
He’s a hotshot in the ring…but love is a whole new rodeo.
Violet Jacobs is fearless. At least, that’s what the cowboys she snatches from under the hooves of bucking horses think. Outside the ring, she’s got plenty of worries rattling her bones, including her family’s struggling rodeo. When she takes business into her own hands and hires a hotshot bullfighter, she expects to start a ruckus. She never expects her heart to be on the line.
Joe Cassidy didn’t plan on staying in Texas, but Violet is everything he never knew he was missing. And the deeper he’s pulled into her beautiful mess of a family, the more he realizes this fierce rodeo girl may be offering him the one thing he never could find on his own.
“Look out, world! There’s a new cowboy in town.”
—Carolyn Brown, New York Times Bestselling Author, for Tangled in Texas
For more Kari Lynn Dell, visit:
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Cowboy Summer
Fall in love with Joanne Kennedy’s sweet and sexy cowboys in a brand-new series!
Jess Bailey left Cade Walker years ago, trading small-town simplicity for city sophistication—but she’s still a cowgirl at heart. She heads home when her dad announces he’s selling the ranch, and comes face to face with all she left behind. As for Cade, he’s ready to win back the woman he still loves—but can she really abandon the career she worked so hard to build?
“Get set for the ride of your life.”
—Fresh Fiction for How to Wrangle a Cowboy
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sourcebooks.com
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