Welcome to February…
Where Has the last few months gone? It seems I was trying to get ready for my FaceBook launch December 17th for THE COLTON CREEK COWBOY, and then came Christmas and New Years.
January flew by while I was trying to catch up with putting away all the holiday decorations, trying to find time plot my next book, stealing some time to be with my adorable grandkids.
Now, it’s February, and Valentine’s Day heading right for us. The time to show the ones we love how special they are. Over the past twenty years, I’ve written about a lot of heroes, mostly they’ve worn cowboy hats and boots. Beside their swagger, and their perfect jean-clad body, I’ve written about the kind of man who knows how to treat a woman. I might be from the city, but I’ve spent a lot time in ranching communities. The true cowboy isn’t a myth. He’s polite and considerate to everyone, especially to his woman. At least my men are.
And speaking for most women, we don’t expect an expensive restaurant–although we won’t turn it down–it’s the effort that counts the most. I see one of my cowboys bringing his date to his ranch for a special candlelit supper. He has baked potatoes in the oven and thick steaks on the grill. He has you seated at the linen-covered kitchen table with a single lit taper in the middle. He pours a glass of wine and tells you to relax while he cooks. With a towel tucked around his narrow waist, he turns back to his task, giving you a great view of… a man at work. Oh, yeah, that’s sexy.
In The Love Struck Cowboy, there are several times Colt Slater shows Lucia how special she is to him.
Here’s one of their dates…
At the Mountain High Restaurant, Colt met Lucia’s gaze across the dimly lit table. She was so striking he couldn’t stop looking at her, but it was more than her beauty that drew him. She listened to him talk about anything and everything. She understood his loneliness since his parents’ death.
“Being home is nice after all those months on the circuit.” He sighed. “I didn’t know how much until I brought you back here.” He turned his palm over and grasped her hand. “And I also realized how badly—“
The waitress arrived at their table. “Are you ready to order?”
Colt looked at Lucia, allowing her to go first with an order of fried catfish and rice, and he selected prime rib and baked potato.
Once the waitress was gone, he looked back at Lucia. “As I was saying, not until I brought you here did I realize how lonely a big empty house is.” He swallowed the tightness in his throat. “I like having you at the ranch. I like coming in the door and seeing you there.”
“I’m glad I came here, too. I’m glad I got to see the Lazy S. It’s so beautiful.”
He leaned closer, hating the fact that he might lose her soon. “Do you love it here enough to stay?”
She sucked in a breath unable hide her surprise. “Oh, Colt…”
Shaking his head, he raised a hand. “Don’t answer me yet. But just so you know, my feelings for you are only getting stronger.”
Lucia’s heart pounded frantically in her chest. How easy it would be for her to agree to stay. To make a life here with him, but she couldn’t stop thinking about another man, a man who could hurt Colt. She couldn’t let that happen.
She leaned forward and said in a soft, husky voice. Tu eres mi luz en la oscuridad. You are my light in the dark,” she repeated in English. “But I have no right to say this to you.”
The background music mixed with the conversation, but she only heard Colt’s words. “You have every right, Lucia. Te amo mucho.” His grip tightened on her hand as he leaned forward and whispered the words again.
The ache in her heart grew as she held back tears over his declaration. Words she wanted desperately to say back to this wonderful man. “Oh, Colt, you can’t say that, I must leave… someday.”
Her gaze searched her face, trying to see something that made him believe that he could change her mind. “Why can’t you, Lucia? Why can’t you stay and make a life here?”
“It’s just not possible, Colt.”
“There’s no reason why you can’t. I wouldn’t be easy, but I sure a good lawyer could help you. You told just a few days ago, you wanted to teach school.”
“That was before…” She glanced away, but he was having none of her silence.
He slipped out of the booth and came around to her side of the table. His gaze never wavered from hers as he sat down next to her in the high-backed bench seat, forcing her to scoot over almost against the wall. He reached out and cupped her face, capturing her full attention.
He touched her chin and made her look at him.
“Tell me, Lucia. Trust me enough to share whatever is troubling you.”
A tear slid down her cheek. “I wish… but I can’t, Colt. I’m confused about what to do.”
He wasn’t going to lose her. “I get that. It’s hit me like cattle stampede, too. From the second I saw you stepped off the Ferris Wheel in Cheyenne, you had me.”
He smiled. “Just so you know, I can stare at your pretty ebony eyes for the rest of my life and would die a happy man.”
She lowered her lashes and he caught the blush to her face.
With nothing to lose, he tossed more kindling into the fire. “I’ll tell you something else, Lucia. I can’t wait for our children to see them with your coloring, with your eyes.”
She gasped at his words, then his mouth captured hers and all rational thoughts left her head. This man had a habit of doing that. She gripped his arm and hung on as his tongue slipped inside her mouth and brushed against hers, causing her blood to pound in her ears. Oh, dear. She couldn’t deny him.
Slowly he pulled back. “Te querre para siempre. I will always want you. Just remember that, Lucia. Always.”
Love Struck Cowboy coming soon.
I hope you have a great Valentines Day with someone special. Enjoy, Patricia Thayer
The Colton Creek Cowboy
Return to ranching country with bestselling author Patricia Thayer—don’t miss the third book in her enthralling Slater Sisters series!
On the run… and right into a cowboy’s arms.
When being stalked by an ex-boyfriend, Tori Slater leaves the Montana family ranch to make a new life at Great-Great-Grandmother Rachel’s homestead, Colton Creek Ranch in Wyoming. Suddenly there a brand new complication when the caretaker’s grandson becomes her new business partner and soon her heart gets involved in the partnership.
Ex-cop, Logan McNeely, has his own dreams of a solitary life, raising free-range cattle on his neighboring ranch. Half his dream ends with his grandfather’s recent death. Then in walks Tori to add problems he didn’t need. He can’t seem to ignore her, and when danger comes to the homestead, more than his cop instincts kick in.
To save her, he has to save himself first before they can have a future together.
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