Book 2: A Cowboy’s Fourth of July
The Cowboy Academy Series
Could a cowboy’s former crush…be his future?
Dix Youngblood has loved Allison Burns since he tutored her in high school. Now she’s a single mom trying to save her family’s Oklahoma ranch…from him. Foreclosing on bad debts is the only way to succeed as a banker. But he can’t refuse her request for help. From feeding piglets to posing as Allison’s fake boyfriend, Dix is soon pulled into the beautiful rancher’s life. Will she reawaken his cowboy heart?
Excerpt:
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Allison.” Dix set a paper on his spotless blotter, removed his suit jacket, hung it up, and then sat behind his desk across from Allison and her boot box of financial documents. He tapped his computer keyboard, presumably to bring up her file.
Allison stared nervously from Dix’s fine wool jacket to the pretty blue silk tie knotted at his throat. She always felt inadequate at the bank, imagining even the tellers knew more about money management than she did.
Don’t be nervous. It’s just Dix.
Dix. The boy with burnished copper hair who’d been her math tutor during her senior year. Back then, he’d been small for his age, quiet and shy, a target for would-be bullies. Along with his foster brothers, she’d stepped in to defend him a time or two with a word or a dark look.
Nothing about Dix was small today. His shoulders were broad and muscular enough to shoulder a hay bale with ease. He was tall, too. Taller than her average height, anyway. His body had caught up to his big brain in terms of potential. No one would dare pick on him. Women in town nicknamed him The Catch of the Day, because he was handsome, had a good job, and was like a fish-out-of-water. He wore suits where other men wore Wranglers and Stetsons.
Dix heaved a sigh, heavy enough to bode bad tidings. “Esther helped you fill out the loan application, didn’t she?”
“Yes, and we left several places blank.” Just like Allison used to do with her math homework, waiting until her tutoring session with Dix to figure things out. “I brought in some documents today. You’ve probably heard that my dad died three years ago. Mom got remarried a year and a half ago and moved to Oklahoma City. I’ve been trying to sort things out ever since. Consolidating our debt would sure help.”
“The Burns Ranch has several loans open and quite a few in default.” Dix sent his computer mouse dancing across a thin black pad. “And no proof of earnings for the past few years.”
Allison dug into her box. “I have copies of ranch tax returns.” Which she hadn’t had last time when she’d met with Esther. She handed them over. “And I brought my brother’s business plan.” She’d typed his scribbles up to make it look more legit. “You remember my kid brother Tucker, don’t you? He was something of a caution when he was younger. But he’s all grown up now, just like you…”
Oops. Tucker was nothing like Dix. Her brother was still a caution, still could be found out dating, drinking, and dancing ‘til all hours on the weekends in honky tonks from here to Friar’s Creek. But during the week, he was slowly figuring things out. And for that, she was grateful.
Dix looked like he’d figured things out long ago. He’d probably forgotten about her proposing marriage. He’d probably moved on from his parents and grandmother giving him up, too. Could she say the same? Had she moved on from derailed plans and discarded dreams? She didn’t think so. She was having problems getting over the peach shortage.
Dix glanced across the desk at Allison. His eyes were the shade of deep blue that rimmed a red Oklahoma sunset, almost purple. “Do you have profit and loss projections for the year?”
“W-w-what?” Get it together, Allison. You can’t lose this debt consolidation and those peaches all on the same day. She blinked, thinking fast. But she could think of nothing. “I…uh…might need help with that. My mother did the books and now…” She laughed self-consciously. “You know I was never good at math.”
Dix began flipping through the ranch’s tax records with cool efficiency. “Accounting isn’t math so much as good record-keeping.”
“I’m afraid I’m not much good at either one.”
The Story Behind the Story
Fresh off writing Christmas Town Bake-Off, I wasn’t ready to let baking competitions go. This helped me plot this book, which was about Allison needing to unravel her ranch finances, a topic that can be a little ho-hum. I created a feud between Allison’s family and another family in Clementine - a baking feud, that is, reignited every summer during the county fair. Both bakers are seeking peaches to make peach pie. But Allison’s rival buys up all the peaches in Clementine County. I love a baking rivalry, don’t you? Well, I hope you do. LOL.
I used to live in Dallas and as a casual California girl, I was amazed to come across full-on cowgirls of every age. Bling-bling and self-confidence. That awe and experience went into creating Dix’s grandmother, who dresses to the cowgirl nines every day.
Harlequin: (July 1, 2023)
Available everywhere July 25, 2023
Amazon Barnes & Noble Walmart Books-a-Million