Breaking the Cowboy's Rules by Leslie North - Book Tour + Giveaway
Breaking the Cowboy's Rules
Wildhorse Ranch Brothers Book 1
by Leslie North
Genre:
Contemporary Romance
Contemporary Romance
Ranch owner, Trevor Wild, loves nothing more than spending his day in the
saddle riding in the Texas sun. He’s passionate about being the
latest generation of Wild man to breed quarter horses on Wildhorse
Ranch. But in the aftermath of inheriting a bad business deal the
Ranch is in serious financial trouble, and this serious cowboy needs
to look outside the box to save his family’s pride and
joy.
saddle riding in the Texas sun. He’s passionate about being the
latest generation of Wild man to breed quarter horses on Wildhorse
Ranch. But in the aftermath of inheriting a bad business deal the
Ranch is in serious financial trouble, and this serious cowboy needs
to look outside the box to save his family’s pride and
joy.
Glamping guru, Sabrina Hearthstone, is the best of the best at what she does,
and she could very well be Trevor’s saving grace. The blonde beauty
arrives at Wildhorse Ranch ready to get the job done. She’s all
business when it comes to bringing a little luxury to the leather and
dirt clad Ranch. But soon she’ll realize that to renovate the Ranch
for Glamping she may have to renovate it’s cowboy too.
and she could very well be Trevor’s saving grace. The blonde beauty
arrives at Wildhorse Ranch ready to get the job done. She’s all
business when it comes to bringing a little luxury to the leather and
dirt clad Ranch. But soon she’ll realize that to renovate the Ranch
for Glamping she may have to renovate it’s cowboy too.
Sabrina is tempting on a whole lot of levels for Trevor—when
he gives into both her touch, and the 1,000 thread count bed sheets,
he finds that she soothes his soul. However, Sabrina’s world is a
difficult thing for the hardened cowboy to accept. Trevor will have
to learn to accept Sabrina and her changes to his world, not only to
save Wildhorse Ranch, but to save a love he never expected to find.
he gives into both her touch, and the 1,000 thread count bed sheets,
he finds that she soothes his soul. However, Sabrina’s world is a
difficult thing for the hardened cowboy to accept. Trevor will have
to learn to accept Sabrina and her changes to his world, not only to
save Wildhorse Ranch, but to save a love he never expected to find.
"Huh?" Sabrina glanced up
to take him in again, and dropped the side of the log she was holding. Trevor
grimaced and set his end down, also. The way his mouth tended to frown
naturally—and only deepen when he was annoyed or working—distinguished him from
his more approachable twin brother.
"No…I mean, wow. You really aren't, are
you?" Now that Sabrina had halted operations, Trevor straightened to
regard her in turn. The way she looked him over, with eyes as wide and
summer-blue as the Texas sky, made him acutely aware of just how closely they
stood.
"No. I really am not," he
agreed. He wondered how much Trent let her get away with while he was gone.
Sabrina Hearthstone had a face as pretty as an angel's—pair that with her
ridiculously tight, stone-washed designer jeans, and he doubted his brother had
been willing to deny her much. She was the living, breathing lyric of a country
song standing before him—the worshipped, vaunted city girl—and for the first time, Trevor contemplated how much
trouble he might be in having her on his property.
At least they had managed to agree on
one important detail so far: he wasn't his brother Trent. While the Sheriff of
Lockhart Bend might be willing to let certain behaviors slide, Trevor expected
a rigid adherence to his rules. If she already found him more serious, more
commanding, than his twin brother, then it might make his job a hell of a lot
easier.
"So, you must be Trevor,"
Sabrina deduced. "The owner. Unless you're triplets I wasn't aware
of," she appeared to mutter to herself. She extended a slender hand to
him, and Trevor removed one of his gloves before taking it in his own. He
wondered what his callouses must feel like rubbing against her soft skin. She
didn't draw back immediately, which he also found curious. They held the
handshake a few seconds longer than strictly necessary before Sabrina withdrew
and flushed a little.
"Sorry I mistook you for your
brother," she apologized. "I guess I didn't realize you'd be back
today."
"I keep
to a schedule," Trevor stated. "Which is something you're throwing
off already, Miss Hearthstone." He nodded toward the scraps she had
accumulated on the porch. "I’m tossing that wood out in the quarterly
clear-out.” She stared at him blankly. “That's tomorrow. You want to keep
any of it for arts and crafts, I expect you to go through it all today."
"Excuse me, Mr. Wild, but this
isn't for arts and
crafts," Sabrina protested. She gestured toward her woodpile
selections. "This is upcycling! I'm going to make good use of this stuff.
If we want to attract customers and garner favorable reviews, then we're going
to need to liven up the living spaces with a few rustic decorations."
Upcycling. Great. Another made-up word. Trevor hooked his thumbs in
his belt and didn't budge an inch, predicting his silence would be enough to
settle the matter. Generally speaking, it was. Today, however, his natural
powers of intimidation appeared to be diminished after the long drive. Sabrina
had her hands on her hips, her dark pink lips pursed in challenge. For the life
of him he couldn't decide if her expression was meant to convey a fight or
invite a kiss.
"And it's going to take me
longer than a day to figure out what I can and can't use here," she
clarified.
"You signed a contract," he
said. "And part of that contract clearly states you agree to adhere to the
ranch's schedule." And my
rules, he was going to add, before Sabrina interrupted him
unexpectedly.
"How about time for
coffee?" she said. She turned away from him to start up the front steps to
the porch, before throwing offhand over her shoulder: "I assume there's
room in the ranch's schedule for that?"
The offer sounded like a tactical
maneuver rather than a true invitation, but he followed her up the steps to the
bunkhouse despite his suspicion. He couldn’t help noticing the sequins studded
around the back pockets of her jeans. The detail—and only that detail—drew his attention to Sabrina's pert
hindquarters. She sure could fill a pair of impractical pants. The denim might
as well have been painted onto those shapely, athletic legs of hers. He doubted
she could fully bend over in them but would have been willing to be proved
wrong.
"You were at a conference,
right? How did it go?" Sabrina smiled perkily as she took the bunkhouse
pot off the burner and poured them each a mug of coffee. Trevor hovered in the
doorway, studying her change in expression and still wondering if he was being
taken for a ride. He would have thought then that she certainly had the
cheerful demeanor to be successful in her chosen profession…if he didn't still have doubts that
her chosen profession actually existed.
"It went fine." The
impromptu conference had given him a lot to chew on, and he felt cautiously
optimistic about the future of Wildhorse's breeding program for the first time
since he had taken a chance and hired an adventure coordinator. If he was being
honest with himself, he didn't like the fact that he had to call on Trent to
help Sabrina move in. Trevor was the ranch owner, and he would have rather seen
to the matter himself—but his meeting with the other breeders in the area
couldn't be put on hold.
He accepted the mug of coffee Sabrina
handed him and settled back against the porch railing. The blonde leaned
against the outside of the bunkhouse, crossing her legs and folding her arms,
pursing her kissable lips and blowing steam off her own mug.
"I got in touch with your
company originally because the ranch needs another source of income," he
began.
"Obviously." She flexed a
grin to let him know she was on the same page.
"But I'm not giving up the
quarter horse breeding program. It's what we've done here for three
generations, since my grandad's day. It's the heart and soul of this ranch, and
it's what Wildhorse is known for." Trevor scowled, hoping to stamp his
next point home. "So, I don't want our programs intersecting, Miss
Hearthstone. You see to coordinating the campers and keep them out of my hair,
and I go about my business as usual, including paying your company’s fee."
"Fine, Mr. Wild. Just so long as
you understand what I most certainly won't be
doing is keeping our campers out of the stables," Sabrina fired back.
"You can't expect anyone to have even a half-baked glamping experience—nor
can you expect them to spread positive word-of-mouth and leave us glowing
reviews—if our customers aren't even allowed to experience the horses. You tell me what barns to stay out of,
and I will—but judging by the tour Trent gave me, there's plenty of stable
space for all of us. Besides," Sabrina continued as she smiled once more,
"contrary to what you may think, I've been around horses before. I happen
to know that most ranch animals enjoy the extra attention and go on to live
happy, more fulfilled lives as a result. You wouldn't deny your horses that,
would you?"
Trevor didn't like that she was
pushing for such a huge compromise already, but now seemed like the perfect
time to segue into what he really wanted to talk about: rules. He withdrew a
folded set of documents from the inner pocket of his jacket and passed them to
her.
"Then you stick to the schedule
I've laid out for you," he said. He allowed himself a moment to privately
relish the look of horror that crossed her face. He had guessed from the start
that she was the type of woman to flout the rules, but he intended to put an
end to that behavior before it had even begun. He sipped his coffee and watched
as Sabrina riffled through the multi-page document.
"This is…why are there checklists?" she asked
incredulously. She rattled the pages at him. "Do you actually expect me to
fill these out and turn them back in to you?"
Leslie North is the USA Today Bestselling pen name for a critically-acclaimed author of women’s
contemporary romance and fiction. The anonymity gives her the perfect
opportunity to paint with her full artistic palette, especially in the romance and erotic fantasy genres.
contemporary romance and fiction. The anonymity gives her the perfect
opportunity to paint with her full artistic palette, especially in the romance and erotic fantasy genres.
The truth of the matter is she loves her fictional persona, Leslie North, more than her normal,
day-to-day persona! Her bestselling books focus on strong characters
and particularly women who aren’t afraid to challenge an alpha
male. Inspired after years of travel, her stories are set all over
the world, from the tough streets of Russia to the beautiful beaches of the middle east.
day-to-day persona! Her bestselling books focus on strong characters
and particularly women who aren’t afraid to challenge an alpha
male. Inspired after years of travel, her stories are set all over
the world, from the tough streets of Russia to the beautiful beaches of the middle east.
Leslie fell in love with romance when she first picked up a scrappy, dog-eared romance book from her local library. She began writing soon after and the rest, as they
say, was history. She now lives in a cozy cottage on the British
coast and enjoys taking long walks with her two Dalmatians, George and Fergie.
say, was history. She now lives in a cozy cottage on the British
coast and enjoys taking long walks with her two Dalmatians, George and Fergie.
She LOVES reader feedback, and if you have any comments, don’t hesitate to contact her!
Follow the tour HERE for exclusive excerpts, guest posts and a giveaway!
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