Desert Heat by Patti Sherry-Crews in Come Love a Cowboy

It sometimes seems Angel Harper is going to have to spend the rest of her adult life making up for her youthful transgressions—like running away with a two-timing, irresponsible cowboy on the rodeo circuit.

Now she is only trying to make things right. It isn’t easy for a single mother, trying to run a small hotel on her own. She is always two steps ahead of financial ruin, and she just lost a step. But she is determined to prove to herself and the memory of her parents that she can do it.

A chance encounter with handsome cowboy and firefighter, Boone Donovan, awakes a desire she’d rather bury. But he isn’t going to let her get away so easily.

Angel has been twice burned by love, and it’s not only her own heart she has to protect now. She has a son to think about. Can she trust Boone enough to let love into her life again?

Excerpt

Her face was flooded with heat. When she fell back to sleep this morning, she’d overslept. Normally, Angel would have been up a couple of hours ago and had the stables mucked out by now. The flies were thick and buzzing in the air ripe with manure. She fought back the urge to explain all this to him. She owed this man no explanation, she reminded herself.

“When’s the last time you had the fire inspector out here?” he asked, his back still to her, his hands on his hips.

“I don’t remember. Maybe a couple of months ago.”

He turned around to face her, his hands still on his hips and his coat pushed open to show the tight t-shirt underneath with suspenders riding up a lean torso.

“You want to try that again? I can look it up, you know?”

“I’d have to check. It’s been a while.”

“That would be my guess. I can see at least five violations just from where I’m standing.”

With a tight throat, Angel watched him walk around and inspect the horses one by one. “At least your horses look healthy. I can tell you take good care of them.”
He walked back over and stood in front of her. Too close. She stepped back. His eyes went to her chest. She looked down and saw to her horror her nipples were not only very visible beneath the thin t-shirt, but were standing at attention.

His eyes grew dark, and he swallowed hard. She could see a vein throbbing in his neck. Angel crossed her arms across her chest, feeling weak at the knees with this big hunk of a man standing before her.

Boone took a step closer, eyes now lifted to hers, lips parted. She could hear the breath coming hard out of his flared nostrils. He was so close, she could take in his scent. All man.
Her arms fell to her sides. She took a step closer so their faces were inches apart. A familiar thrumming moved through her body. Desire rearing its head.

“Mom! There are firemen in the yard! They said I can climb on the truck if that’s all right with you.”

Boone took a big step back. He practically jumped away from her.

Rory stood framed in the door, still in his pajamas, dark hair, sticking out all over his head. There was a dried patch of milk in the front of his top. On top of everything else she now looked like a negligent mother. He pushed his glasses back and looked at her.

“Yes, go on Rory, but then get dressed.”

Angel looked back at Boone, the look of lust in his eyes replaced by a blank expression. She was used to that. Men were interested in her until they heard she had a kid. Her anger which had been at a slow simmer, went up a few notches to boiling.

“Not so interested in getting to know me better now, are you? Kids have a way of taking the mystery out of a woman.”

“I don’t have a problem with kids. It’s husbands I have a problem with. Are you married?”

“If I had a man around here do you think things would be in such a state? I’m trying to do this all on my own, which is why I don’t appreciate you stealing business away from me. You know that, right? The contract you signed with Star was formally mine,” she spat out.

“Hey, first off I didn’t steal your business away from you. I didn’t go out looking for it. Clint came to me. And yes, Clint told me who you were after you left. Then when I was left holding two bowls of ice cream last night, I guessed you had it all figured out by then. I wanted to talk to you. To clear the air.”

“There’s no clearing the stench out of this air,” she said, instantly regretting her choice of words, because the un-mucked stalls reeked of urine and manure.

“I’m going to call the fire inspector and make sure he comes out here next week.”

“You spiteful…You’d do that to me because I stood you up?”

“I’m going to call him, because I’m worried about your horses. If there’s a fire, you’re in danger of losing more than a contract. Tomorrow when I get off my shift I’m coming back out here and bringing this place up to code. The brush needs to be cleared away from all sides of the stable, and these cobwebs are a fire hazard.

He gestured overhead. “You don’t have cages around those bare bulbs. You have extension cords running all over the place not to mention all the other things scattered around that would make clearing the horses out in an emergency a problem. And when we pulled in there was a low branch over the drive we weren’t sure the engine could clear. You’re a disaster waiting to happen.”

With that he pushed past her, brushing against her as he walked by.

“You don’t have to do that!” she called after him.

“Gonna do it anyway,” he said walking away, his back to her.

“I don’t want you…”

Without a glance back he waved to her.

Patti Sherry-Crews
Amazon Author Page

 COME LOVE A COWBOY
Eight stand-alone Contemporary Western Romance novellas from Bestselling and Award Winning Authors. From firefighters, bronco busters, and wealthy ranchers to bad boys, we have them all for you!  If you've ever wanted to fall in love with a sexy, alpha cowboy of today...now's your chance.

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