Book 10: The Mountain Monroes
The Cowboy Meets His Match
She could never love a cowboy…until she does!
Racing boat captain Olivia Monroe never imagined breaking up with the ocean and starting a fake relationship with too-charming cowboy Rhett Diaz. Now her family's insisting Olivia and Rhett take an adventurous road trip as a “couple.” Only somewhere between zip-lining and rappelling down a waterfall, Olivia's rediscovering her courage—and dangerous new feelings for Rhett. But how can a sailor love a landlocked cowboy…especially one with secrets?
Tropes: cowboy romance, adventure romance, road trip romance, strong heroine romance, clean romance
Excerpt:
Rhett Diaz had a way with the ladies and a weakness for a dare.
He knew he had an attractive mug and that he managed to string together words that often brought a blush to a woman’s cheeks. He knew fear rarely factored into his rationale. But when he’d dropped out of the rodeo circuit to help run the family ranch, his dating life and adventurous dares became pretty much non-existent. Second Chance, Idaho, offered little in the way of either.
He fingered the lips Olivia Monroe had just finished thoroughly kissing.
A warm mountain breeze tugged at the brim of his cowboy hat, as restless as Rhett was inside, wondering why Olivia would tell everyone standing in the parking lot of the Bent Nickel Diner that they were a couple, and then when it seemed like a half dozen of her family members were closing in with doubt, she’d kissed him.
Him, a cowboy she’d only talked to a handful of times. Rhett allowed himself a rueful smile.
That kiss was one that couldn’t easily be forgotten. Half plea, half passion. It had left Rhett and the rest of the Monroes speechless.
Across the narrow two-lane highway, the wisp of a woman in question disappeared into the medical clinic where her friend Sonny was recuperating from an apparent heart attack. She shut the door firmly behind her. Word had come down that an ambulance would be arriving soon to take Sonny to the hospital in Ketchum.
“We need to talk.” Shane Monroe took Rhett by the arm and headed toward the Bent Nickel. He was one of Olivia’s many cousins in town.
Without a word, Holden Monroe took Rhett’s other arm. He was cousin to both Shane and Olivia.
“Hey.” Rhett shrugged them off and tipped his hat back, ready for a fight. “I…” Overcome by protective instincts, he cut himself short of explaining how he’d been caught off-guard and lip-bombed by Olivia.
Olivia was gaunt, the way folks got when they were recovering from a serious illness or a devastating heartbreak. But her caramel-colored eyes held a spark of intelligence and, sometimes, humor. If she was being bullied by her family and had reached for him as her savior, he wouldn’t betray that trust.
Shane held up his hands. “We just want to talk.” He wasn’t as tall as Rhett, or as broad shouldered. But he dressed like a corporate man on one of those casual Fridays in the city—khakis, loafers, a crisp blue polo shirt—and he acted like he always knew what he was doing, even if Rhett sometimes suspected he didn’t.
“Just talk,” Holden reiterated. He was taller than Rhett, older than Rhett, and dressed like a cowboy, which was a bit mind-blowing since he was rumored to be a successful moneyman from Wall Street.
Rhett drew a long, slow breath, making it seem like he was thinking about walking away. In truth, he was thinking it might help Olivia if he knew what her family wanted, other than to send her away.
The Story Behind the Story
I’m always interested in characters who are at a crossroads - either because they are thinking about their “second act” or because they’ve experienced a monumental upheaval (i.e., rock bottom). Olivia was a successful racing boat captain until she wasn’t and drowned. This formerly brave woman has faced her own mortality. And who better to prod her out of her shell than an extreme-sports-loving cowboy?
Cookies: Olivia and her failures were mentioned in the previous two books, and there’s some interesting first-meets between this couple in A Cowgirl’s Secret.
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