A Texas Cattlemanâs Club tale of best friends falling in love
Royal, Texas, is the perfect place for rodeo star Ryan Grant to slow down and finally show Piper Kindred sheâs the woman for him. When an accident sends Piper rushing to take care of him, her sexy bedside manner suggests to Ryan that seducing his best friend will be easier than heâd expected.
But Piper knows the lure of the rodeo circuitâand the risk of a broken heart, when Ryan realizes heâs not ready to hang up his saddle for good. She canât let herself fall for a cowboy. If only her heart would listen!
âYouâve seen me in a swimsuit. Itâs not a big deal.â
He couldnât stop his eyes from roaming over her bare skin and that valley between her breasts. When he met her gaze again, he didnât see desire like heâd hopedâhe saw uncertainty.
âYou mustâve really hit your head,â she joked, but the smile failed to meet the expectation of the joke. âYouâve never talked like this before or looked at me likeâ¦likeâ¦â
âLike what?â he murmured.
âLike you want me.â
âI know exactly what Iâm saying and what I want, Piper.â He purposely let his eyes drop to her mouth as he slid his hand up and over her bare shoulder. âYou know how special you are in my life and how much I value our friendship.â
âThen why are you looking at me like you want to kiss me?â she whispered.
* * *
To Tame a Cowboy is part of the Texas Cattlemanâs Club: The Missing Mogul series:
Love and scandal meet in Royal, Texas!
Dear Reader,
My response when I was asked to be part of the amazing Texas Cattlemanâs Club continuity series? Yes, please! Writing about hunky, sometimes rebellious Texans and the women who want to tame them⦠How could I say no?
You may already be familiar with Ryan, the hot rodeo star, and Piper, the hometown paramedic. These two have been best of friends since Piper socked Ryan in the eye in grade school. But you know what they say about best friendsâ¦they make the best lovers. :-)
Getting to know these two characters with their push-pull relationship was such a pleasure. With Ryanâs laid-back cowboy attitude and Piperâs feistiness, I couldnât wait for them to realize they were a match made in polar-opposite heaven.
This series was such a joy to work on with so many talented authors and friends. I do hope you enjoy Ryan and Piperâs friends-to-lovers story as much as I loved writing it.
For more information on any of my books, check out my website, www.julesbennett.com. I love hearing from readers, so drop me a line!
Happy reading!
Jules
National bestselling author JULES BENNETTâs love of storytelling started when she would get in trouble as a child and would tell her parents her imaginary friends were to blame. Since then, her vivid imagination has taken her down a path sheâd only dreamed of. And after twelve years of owning and working in salons, she hung up her shears to write full-time.
Jules doesnât just write Happily Ever After, she lives it. Married to her high school sweetheart, Jules and her hubby have two little girls who keep them smiling. She loves to hear from readers! Contact her at [email protected], visit her website, www.julesbennett.com, where you can sign up for her newsletter, or send her a letter at PO Box 396, Minford, OH 45653, USA . You can also follow her on Twitter and join her Facebook fan page.
First I have to thank Charles Griemsman,
editor extraordinaire, for his cheering and guidance as we worked together on Piper and Ryanâs story.
Second, to Shannon Taylor. Thank you doesnât cover all you did to help me. From reading my rough draft to talking me through scenes over the phone to making sure I had my cowboy âlingoâ down correctly. :-)
And last, to the other amazing authors
in this continuity. I had a blast swapping scenes and getting inside your heads for a bit!
Prologue
Twenty Years Ago
Piper Kindred was so sick of being snubbed by the girls who thought the only things worth talking about were their lip gloss shades and where they got their new outfit. She was also sick of being disrespected by the boys who didnât quite know how to handle her so they just ignored her.
Where did she fit in? God, she hated school. Even the third grade sucked. Sheâd switched schools so she didnât have friends yet, but seriously, if this was how the rest of the year would go, sheâd rather be home riding her horse or learning to rope. School was overrated anyway.
Especially considering that at recess for the past two days all sheâd heard were brats mocking her. Today was no different.
âLook at her belt buckle.â
âWhat kind of name is Piper, anyway?â
âDude, did you see that clown hair?â
Piper rolled her eyes at the annoying kids trying to get on her nerves. It was working, but sheâd never let them know it.