This Kiss. Debbi Rawlins
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Hang on!
It’s gonna be a wild ride...
Champion bull rider Ethan Styles knows he should avoid injury before the National Finals. But riding in Blackfoot Falls’ charity rodeo is worth the risk. Inviting a hot little buckle bunny to his room? Also worth it...until she handcuffs him to the bed and tells him she’s a bounty hunter!
Sophie Michaels had a huge thing for Ethan in high school. The chance to see him again—even if it’s to bring him in—is irresistible. Except it’s not quite that easy. Until the charity rodeo is over, Sophie is glued to Ethan’s side all day...and all night. She knows she should return her fugitive to justice, but once you have a cowboy in your bed, you never want to let him go.
I think I’m starting to have a thing for rodeo cowboys. In This Kiss you’ll meet Ethan Styles, a champion bull rider and the third rodeo hero I’ve written for the Made in Montana series.
During late spring and throughout the summer, there are a number of rodeos that take place close to my home. I like most of the events—not so much others, which I’ll refrain from naming though you’ll probably be able to guess from reading this book. But something occurred to me while doing some research, and by that I mean I begin “skimming” one of my rodeo books and forget to put it down. It seems my growing fondness for this true American sport has a lot to do with the cowboys, for whom rodeo is not just a sport or a job but a way of life. These men are a different breed. So much passion and dedication. What’s not to love?
The heroine, Sophie, is a bit younger than most of my heroines, but she is so perfect for Ethan, I couldn’t resist.
I hope everyone is enjoying their summer!
All my best,
This Kiss
Debbi Rawlins
DEBBI RAWLINS grew up in the country and loved Western movies and books. Her first crush was on a cowboy—okay, he was an actor in the role of a cowboy, but she was only eleven, so it counts. It was in Houston, Texas, where she first started writing for Harlequin, and now she has her own ranch...of sorts. Instead of horses, she has four dogs, four cats, a trio of goats and free-range cattle on a few acres in gorgeous rural Utah.
Contents
“GOTCHA!” SOPHIE MICHAELS grinned when she saw the motel’s address on the computer screen. After a quick sip of morning coffee, she sent the file to her partner, Lola, who was sitting in the next office.
The rush from getting her man lasted barely a minute. Sophie sank back in her chair and sighed. Lately, the thrill of success was fleeting and not all that sweet.
Locating the deadbeat dad was rewarding because, well...he had three kids to support. But if he was going to jump bail anyway, couldn’t he have done a better job of covering his tracks? For God’s sake, a fourth grader could’ve found him.
After four years the job was finally getting to her. Too much sitting at the computer. Too much of the same old thing every day. Skip traces, lame excuses, shaken or resigned parents putting up collateral for their wayward children or, almost as frequently, the roles being reversed. Here in Wattsville, Wyoming, nothing much exciting happened. Oh, they had bank robberies occasionally and liquor store holdups, but those types of criminals tended to be really stupid and that made her job boring.
Sophie sighed. Working in the bail bond business wouldn’t be forever. Mostly she’d signed on to help Lola get the company off the ground. Sophie looked on her cousin more like a sister. And Lola didn’t mind that Sophie was sticking around only until she’d figured out what to do with her life.
Rolling her chair away from her dinged-up metal desk, Sophie dropped her chin to her chest and stretched her neck to the side. Feeling the strain of muscles that had been worked too hard earlier at the gym, she tried not to whimper. At least not loud enough for Lola to hear.
The front door to the reception area squeaked open and she glanced at the clock. “Oh, come on,” she muttered. How could it be only eight-fifteen? It felt like noon.
They were expecting Mandy, the third member of their team, to return from Jackson Hole sometime this morning. But in case it was a potential client, Sophie got up. When she heard Hawk’s voice, she promptly sat back down. And wished her door was closed. Hawk was Lola’s sleazy boyfriend of three months. Sophie didn’t like him, but so