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When the Rancher Came to Town
A Valentine Valley Novella
By: Emma Cane
Releasing September 23rd, 2014
Avon Impulse
Emma Cane returns to the amazing and romantic town for the latest installment in her sparkling series. When and ex-Rodeo star falls in love with the agoraphobic B&B owner, he must pull out all the stops to get her out of her shell.
Welcome to Valentine Valley!
The Silver Creek Rodeo is in full swing and everyone’s talking about the rancher who came to town…
Bed & Breakfast owner Amanda Cramer wants nothing more than a quiet, private life. Well, she wants guests too, but after her share of unwanted notoriety she’s gotten comfortable hiding out in her inn…perhaps a little too comfortable. When her newest guest arrives, tall, dark and breathtaking…Amanda begins to question her self-imposed exile.
Ex-rodeo star Mason Lopez knows all about the limelight. He’d avoid it if he could, but since one last ride could mean saving his family’s ranch, he’ll go all in. When he gets to Valentine Valley for the Silver Creek Rodeo, Mason checks into Connections B&B and finds himself immediately drawn to the beautiful, reserved woman who owns it.
Mason only has three days in town…can he convince Amanda to open her heart to him and welcome the world back in?
Excerpt:
(Set up: Mason Lopez has come to Valentine Valley to participate in theSilver Creek Rodeo. He stays at Connections B&B, owned by Amanda Cramer, who’s retreated to Valentine to put a Washington DC scandal behind her. They’re heading off on their first date.)
That evening, after three changes of clothing, Amanda ended up in sandals, white jeans—her skinny ones didn’t quite fit, dammit—and a pink, cross-draped sleeveless shirt. With her hair down and wavy around her shoulders, she thought she at last looked presentable.
But she was still nervous. She’d certainly liked Mason when they’d been sitting side by side on the deck and she’d looked longingly at his mouth.
Maybe he was taking pity on her.
She groaned aloud. Where had her self-confidence gone?
She went down to the dining room and busied herself laying out the peach pie, linen napkins, china plates, and coffee cups, even though she’d only have one guest tonight. Just as she finished adding more water to the Keurig coffeemaker, she heard a sound behind her and whirled.
Mason, all dark hair and eyes, leaned against the doorjamb, the pearl buttons on his Western shirt gleaming in the shaft of sunlight coming through the lace curtains. His jeans were slung low and hugged his hips, and she couldn’t help following the long line down to the toes of his brown cowboy boots.
She swallowed heavily. God, he was beautiful, and he was looking at her like some people look at peach pie. She felt another pang of doubt.She was a little too chubby, a little too tall—surely people would think they looked strange together.
She forced a smile. “Hi.”
“Hi. You ready?”
“I am.” She grabbed her purse from the dining room table.
He glanced at the pie. “Looks—and smells—really good.”
“Thanks. You can have some when you get back.”
He smacked his lips. “I might eat the whole thing.”
“If you could actually do that, I’d bake you another.”
He smiled down at her, dark eyes crinkling at the corners. “I’ll hold youto that.”
If she had to bake another pie just for him, maybe he’d be in the kitchen with her, leaning up against the counter, standing too close, sex appeal on a stick. She veered away from that distracting thought.
Author Info:
Emma Cane grew up reading and soon discovered that she liked to write passionate stories of teenagers in space. Her love of “passionate stories” has never gone away, although today she concentrates on the heartwarming characters of Valentine, her fictional small town in the Colorado Rockies. Now that her three children are grown, Emma loves spending time crocheting and singing (although not necessarily at the same time), and hiking and snowshoeing alongside her husband Jim and two rambunctious dogs Apollo and Uma.
Author Links:
Five Print Copies of A TOWN CALLED VALENTINE
hehe, cute. I like the sound of this.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for featuring my book excerpt today!
ReplyDeleteI sure do love western romance, Emma, and I sure do like your stories of Valentine. I grew up in a small town and on a small ranch in SoCal and went to rodeos all the time. And I still like cowboys in jeans. :-) Thanks for this post. jdh2690@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! Thanks so much for stopping by :)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Janice!
ReplyDelete