About the Book:
Title: Bad News Cowboy
Author: Maisey Yates
Genre: Romance
Age: Adult
ISBN #: 9780373788538
Publisher: Harlequin
Imprint: HQN
Series: Copper Ridge Series, #3
Publication date: August 2015 (Official on sale date: 7/28/2015)
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Pages: 512
Price: $7.99
Can the bad boy of Copper Ridge, Oregon, make good—and win the rodeo girl of his dreams?
Kate Garrett keeps life simple—working hard, riding her beloved horses, playing cards with her brothers. Lately, though, she feels a bit restless, especially when family friend Jack Monaghan is around. Sexy and shameless, Jack is the kind of trouble you don't tangle with unless you want your heart broken. Still, Kate could always use his help in learning how to lasso someone a little less high-risk…
Jack can't pinpoint the moment the Garrett brothers' little sister suddenly stopped seeming so…little. Now here he is, giving flirting tips to the one woman who needs zero help turning him on. Love's a game he's never wanted to play. But he'll have to hurry up and learn how before the best thing that ever entered his life rides right back out again…
Don't miss out on the previous books in the series, Part Time Cowboy and Brokedown Cowboy.
EXCERPT
In this scene, Jack and Kate are pretty much
at a boiling point in their relationships. Attraction is building between them,
but neither of them want it. Both of them still pretty determined to deny it,
but at this point it’s becoming harder and harder to do.
They’re working together to coordinate a
charity rodeo, and Kate is competing. In this scene she’s practicing barrel
racing when Jack shows up unexpectedly.
“What are
you doing here, Monaghan?”
“I decided
to come a little early and see Eli and Connor. Neither of whom are here.”
“So you
decided to come over and poke me with a stick?”
He lifted
his hands and spread them wide. “No stick.”
“Verbal
sticks, asshat.”
“Sure. I
have verbal sticks. Why the hell did you suck so bad?”
“What does
that mean? Why did I suck so bad? I
didn’t suck on purpose.”
“No, you
didn’t. But you can do better. So the question is, why did this run suck so bad?”
“I don’t
think there’s an answer to that question,” she said, sitting up straighter on
the back of her horse and crossing her arms.
“There is
always an answer to that question. And if you want to be a lazy-ass rider, then
the answer to the question is that your animal acted up. But if you want to get
better, then the answer is that you did something stupid. Always put the
control with yourself. Then it’s your fault when you lose, but then it’s up to
you to win.”
“Are you
going to have me wash your truck now?” Wax on, wax off.”
“I kind of
am your Mr. Miyagi at the moment. Your flirting guru. I might as well teach you
how to win rodeo events, too.”
“No one
asked.”
“But I am
the only one of the two of us who has competed on a professional level. And if
it is something that you really want, maybe you should accept my help instead
of being stubborn.”
“I’m not
being stubborn.”
“Babycakes,
you eat stubborn-Os for breakfast.” He wandered over to the open arena gate and
grabbed hold of the stopwatch that was looped over the top rung of the fence.
Even while he was here witnessing her failure, annoying her, she couldn’t
ignore how damn sexy he was. The way his jeans clung to his muscular thighs.
Did women
look at thighs? Was that even a thing? Or was it just a bad case of the Jacks?
“I’ll
reset your barrels.” He walked into the arena and made sure everything was
lined up, lifted the one she had knocked down. Then he walked back to the
fence. “Reset yourself, Katie.”
She
flipped him the bird while obeying his command. She had some pride, after all.
Then she
shut him out. Shut out his voice, shut out his presence and focused. The horse
started to move, and she knew that Jack would have started the time at that
moment. The start was a little bit slow, and she faltered going around the
first barrel. Then she shook her head, spurring Roo on harder into the second.
That went better. But she knew she wasn’t at top time. Not even her own top
time. She was too in her head, and there was nothing she could do about it
right now. Not with Jack here. Not with that whole list of professionals she
was going to be competing against in front of people.
Not when
she was going to be faced with the undeniable proof of whether or not she had
the ability to compete professionally and win. And down went the third barrel.
Kate
growled, bringing Roo to a halt. She slid off the back of the horse, walked
over to the barrel and reset it herself. “I’m gonna call it good now,” she
shouted.
“Do it
again.”
“No. I’ve
done it twice—that’s enough.”
“Your
horse can handle more than that. You know that.”
“I’m done,
Jack,” she said, feeling a whole lot angrier than the situation warranted. But
she didn’t care. Because all of this felt like a little bit too much. Because
she wanted Jack, and yesterday, just when she thought he might want her to, he
had walked away. He had walked away and acted as though it didn’t matter.
And now he
was here again, getting in her face, treating her like a kid. He was the worst.
He was worse than the run she had just done.
“Do you
want things to go well when you compete next month?”
“No,” she
said, her tone dripping with disdain. “I want to fail miserably in front of a
thousand people.”
“With
those skills, you will.” There was an intensity to him that was unusual. And it
matched her own.
This was
weird. All of this was weird. Sure, she and Jack sniped at each other, but this
wasn’t normal.
None of
this was normal, and she had no freaking clue what to do about it.
She turned
away from him and started fiddling with the barrel position again.
“You going
again?” he asked.
“Nope,”
she said. “I already told you that.”
“Stop
being a baby.”
She
snorted. “Kiss. My. Ass.”
“I don’t
think I’ll kiss it, actually.” She didn’t see his next action coming.
Literally, because she was turned away from him. The sharp crack on her
backside with his open palm didn’t hurt, but it sure as hell shocked her. “Now,
get that pretty ass back on the horse and do it again.”
Shock,
anger and undeniable lust twisted together in her stomach, forging a reckless
heat that fueled her next set of actions.
He had too
much control. She let him set the terms in the Farm and Garden, let him mess
with her, let him ramp up her attraction and walk away. He thought he was the
teacher, in everything, in all things, because he thought she was a kid, easily
dealt with. Wasn’t that what all of this was? Just him dealing with an
obnoxious kid. Teach her how to flirt, keep her out of trouble. No way. No
more.
He had too
damn much control, and he was too confident in it. She was going to take it.
Now.
She reached
out, grabbed ahold of the collar of his shirt and pulled him forward, catching
him just enough by surprise that she managed to knock him off balance and close
the distance between them as she stretched up on her toes to press a kiss to
his lips.
About the Author:
USA Today Bestselling author Maisey Yates lives in rural Oregon with her three children and her husband, whose chiseled jaw and arresting features continue to make her swoon. She feels the epic trek she takes several times a day from her office to her coffee maker is a true example of her pioneer spirit.
In 2009, at the age of twenty-three Maisey sold her first book. Since then it’s been a whirlwind of sexy alpha males and happily ever afters, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Maisey divides her writing time between dark, passionate category romances set just about everywhere on earth and light sexy contemporary romances set practically in her back yard. She believes that she clearly has the best job in the world.
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Giveaway:
5 sets of the Copper Ridge Series (Part Time Cowboy, Brokedown Cowboy and Bad News Cowboy)
This event was organized by CBB Book Promotions.
Thanks so much for hosting a tour stop!
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