by Liv Brywood
When she burst into tears, his smile faltered. But she quickly wiped them away.
“Yes,” she whispered. “This is so crazy, but I love you too and I never want to let you go.”
“Then don’t.”
When he slipped the ring on her finger, her mom came barreling out of the house.
“Ooh, lemme see it!”
Kim held up the sparkling three-carat princess-cut diamond. He’d searched through every jewelry store in Dallas before walking into Tiffany’s. He wanted to give her the best of everything, so skimping on the ring was out of the question.
“You did well, young man,” her mom said.
“Thank you, ma’am.”
“I heard you’re a beast with a barbecue,” her mom said.
He glanced at Kim, who grinned. “She knows.”
He breathed a sigh of relief. If her mom already knew and had accepted him, then there was nothing left to do but carry his fiancée off into the sunset.
“Let’s all go inside so I can put your future husband to work,” her mom said.
“Oh boy,” Kim said.
“I’ve got a rack of ribs in the fridge and a barbeque out back. I want to see what he can do,” her mom said.
He grabbed Kim’s hand and followed her mom into the house. They spent the rest of the afternoon talking, laughing, and celebrating. When night fell, her mom headed to bed, leaving them alone in the backyard.
“Your mom’s hilarious,” he said. “I’m glad she accepted me, bear and all.”
“She loves you,” Kim said. “Furry beast or not, she just wants me to be happy.”
“Come here.”
As he took her into his arms, his bear whispered, Ours. He smiled and couldn’t have agreed more. He’d finally found his perfect mate.
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Don’t miss the next book in the series
Renegade Cowbear (Lone Star Cowbears, Book 2)
When her sister is shot by a crazed gunman at a mall, Violet drops everything to return to Lost Hills, Texas. She dreads small-town life and can’t wait to get back to her company in San Francisco. But when she runs into Aaron, her first and only love, she tries in vain to resist the sexy cowboy’s bedroom eyes and rock hard body. One night of unbridled passion leads to disastrous consequences and she’s forced to make an impossible choice.
Cowboy bear shifter Aaron Grant doesn’t care that Violet has a life in San Francisco. He wants her back. After spending a decade pretending to be content with their long-distance friendship, he’s ready to claim his fated mate. But before he can confess his love, he must find a way to tell her the truth about the big, furry secret and risk losing her forever.
Excerpt
As Violet fed the horse another carrot, Aaron carried the basket deeper into the barn. A low rumble of thunder rattled the doors. The horse stepped back into the stall and froze.
“We might have to cut the tour short,” Aaron said when he returned. “It’s starting to get dark outside.”
“I guess we should head back.” Her shoulders slumped.
“Hey, don’t worry. We can do this another time,” Aaron said.
“I love this barn.”
“A lot of hard work went into it. I like showing it off.”
“Do you bring a lot of people here?” she asked.
She only cared about one particular type of people: women. He hadn’t mentioned a girlfriend, but maybe he was doing it to be polite.
“I’ve brought friends here in the past, but no one special.”
“No hot dates?” she joked. Her clenched belly relaxed.
“Not since you.”
He turned and strode toward the door, leaving her standing there with her jaw hanging open. Her heart flip-flopped in her chest. What did he mean? Surely he’d dated someone in the last decade.
As she followed him outside, a crack of thunder pierced the air. The scent of ozone swirled on a gust of wind. She wrapped her arms across her chest. The temperature hadn’t dropped by much, but it was enough to give her a slight chill.
“We should hurry,” he said.
She nodded. But before she could take a step, fat drops of rain splashed into her hair. The sky broke open, unleashing a torrent of rain.
“Run for the cottages,” Aaron said.
Sheet lightning flashed to illuminate growing puddles of muddy earth. By the time she reached the closest cottage, her boots were soaking wet.
Aaron quickly ushered her onto the porch. The large overhanging roof protected them from the rain. Without thinking, she backed into his arms. He wrapped them around her like he’d done it a thousand times before. She snuggled against the warmth of his rock-hard chest.
“Do you remember that time it hailed?” she asked softly.
“The day after high school graduation?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll never forget it,” he said in a thick tone.
“We hid in the barn while all hell broke loose outside.”
“Hail the size of golf balls tore up part of the roof,” he murmured. He tucked her head under his chin and squeezed her tighter.
“I think about it a lot,” she admitted.
“You do?” He turned her around, still holding her firmly against him.
“I do.”
He brushed soggy strands of hair from her face and cupped her cheeks. The rough pads of his fingertips grazed her flesh, awakening it in a way no other man could. When he brushed his thumb across her bottom lip, she shivered with desire. She tilted her head and looked into his gray-blue eyes. Fire and longing burned in his gaze. He moved toward her so slowly that it felt like a dream. And when his lips finally met hers, she melted into him.
Buy Renegade Cowbear (Lone Star Cowbears, Book 2)
Zack’s Booty-Burnin’ Secret Barbecue Sauce Recipe
Howdy y’all. I’m here to spill the beans on my secret barbecue recipe. My fiancée Kim wants me to share my love of grilling with all y’all, so here we go.
Ingredients
2 to 3 tbsp. pastured lard or bacon fat
1 small onion (minced)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
¼ cup tomato paste
½ cup cider vinegar
1 cup blackstrap molasses
1 cup unrefined evaporated cane juice
2 tbsp. fish sauce
½ tsp unrefined sea salt
2 tbsp. onion powder
2 tbsp. garlic powder
2 tbsp. chipotle chili powder (This’ll burn a fire in your britches, so if you want to use less, I won’t tell.)
Directions
Get yourself a cast-iron skillet and heat it up to medium. Toss the lard or bacon fat in and give it a stir. After it’s melted, add the minced onion and garlic. Fry until it’s translucent. It doesn’t take long, but wait for the edges to caramelize a bit. That’s part of what makes this finger-lickin’ good.
Now, turn the heat to low and add the tomato paste. It might splatter in the hot grease, so be careful. I like to use a stainless steel splatter screen to keep from getting hot oil on my britches. Add the molasses, cane juice, and fish sauce. Now you might be makin’ a face about the fish sauce. But trust me, that’s one of my secret ingredients, so you don’t want to leave that out. Keep on stirring until the molasses dissolves. You’ll want the sauce to be all one color before you move on to the next step.
Go ahead and stir in the sea salt, onion powder, and garlic powder until they’re fully incorporated. Then slowly add the chipotle chili powder. Give it a taste as you go so that you don’t make it too spicy. I love a lot of heat in my barbecue sauce, but if you don’t, then just add a pinch. Chili power gets hotter as you cook it, so just add a little at a time.
Cook the mixture over a low flame for an additional twenty minutes. Keep that flame low because you don’t want that sauce bubbling like a witch’s cauldron.
&n
bsp; When the time’s up, pour the sauce into a glass jar. I use a quart-sized mason jar. Give it a few minutes to cool down, then put it in the refrigerator for twenty-four hours. You’ll want to give the flavors time to mingle together. Get to know each other. Maybe have a little hanky-panky in the dark.
You can use my secret sauce to baste ribs, burgers, or add it to baked beans. I hope you enjoy it. If y’all make something with this recipe, be sure to let Liv know on Facebook. She’d love to see your pictures.
Don’t Miss the Grants’ Cousins in the Curvy Bear Ranch Collection
The Cowbear’s Secret Christmas Baby (Curvy Bear Ranch, Book 1)
The Cowbear’s Curvy Christmas (Curvy Bear Ranch, Book 2)
The Cowbear’s Christmas Shotgun Wedding (Curvy Bear Ranch, Book 3)
The Cowbear’s Christmas Bride (Curvy Bear Ranch, Book 4)
The Cowbear’s Curvy Valentine (Curvy Bear Ranch, Book 5)
The Cowbear’s Mail Order Valentine (Curvy Bear Ranch, Book 6)
The Cowbear’s Summer of Love (Curvy Bear Ranch, Book 7)
The Cowbear’s Secret Christmas Baby
Curvy Bear Ranch, Book 1
Description
Sexy cowboy Brady Grant belongs in Rachel’s past. But after a final round of chemotherapy fails to cure her son’s leukemia, she’s forced to hunt down the man who broke her heart. Her only hope of saving her son is to convince his father to undergo a dangerous operation. But before she can ask for his help, she must reveal the secret she’s been hiding for four years. Brady’s stunned by Rachel’s deception, but he can’t contain his bear’s carnal response to the BBW’s seductive curves. While he struggles to forgive her secret, he must risk his own life to save his son’s.
Excerpt
Rachel whispered, “You should go.”
When he didn’t immediately respond, butterflies beat furiously in her belly. His breath came fast and hard. His eyes glimmered with unspoken desire. Close enough to see the wash of stubble on his cheeks, she flicked her tongue out to wet her lips and, in doing so, made a huge mistake.
In an instant, Brady wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. His lips slashed across hers in a demanding kiss that stole her breath. Even if she’d wanted to fight him, she couldn’t. She knew, without a doubt, that she’d awakened the beast lurking inside him—his bear.
His tongue slid between hers, eliciting a gasp from deep within her chest. All thoughts of fighting him vanished as he claimed her mouth. She wrapped her arms around his neck and drew him down to deepen the kiss. It had been so long since she’d kissed someone that the overwhelming rush of pleasure made her half-faint with wanton need.
He broke away long enough to gasp. “Which room?”
“Two-fifteen.”
He scooped her into his arms as if she were lighter than a feather. When they reached the door, she yanked the keycard out of her jeans and jammed it into the lock. The second it clicked open, he kicked the door with his boot. He carried her inside and kicked the door closed behind him.
She couldn’t look at anything but the twin dark pools of desire in his eyes. The pure, masculine scent of erotic need rolled off of him in waves. She inhaled deeply, drawing in his essence.
After setting her down, he cupped her face with his palms. “If you want me to stop…”
She shook her head, unable to make her lips move. This was crazy, but she couldn’t think about the consequences now. She needed him, wanted him, and wouldn’t stop until she had him.
Buy The Cowbear’s Secret Christmas Baby (Curvy Bear Ranch, Book 1)
About the Author
I hope you enjoyed this book from the Lone Star Cowbears series. If you liked it, please leave a review. Reviews are extremely important for authors and I appreciate it every time a reader leaves a review. To leave a review, please click here.
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www.livbrywood.com
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