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COWBOY, CROSS MY HEART – Donna Grant
St. Martin's Paperbacks
ISBN-13:  978-1-250-16900-6
August 2018
Contemporary Romance

Baxter County, Texas – Present Day

Naomi Pierce is back in Texas to visit her best friend Whitney Nolan, and they are at the rodeo where Whitney is the Rodeo Queen of Baxter County.  Naomi and Whitney and their best friend Suellen were all involved in the rodeo in their teens until the fateful night their car was hit head-on and Suellen died.  Naomi still has the fastest time in the barrel racing category, but after the accident, Naomi moved to Washington D.C. and is now a photographer.  Naomi is having a blast taking pictures and reliving old memories when she sees two team ropers across the way, both good looking enough to be brothers, but one cowboy has a more serious look in his eyes, besides being out-of-this world handsome.  

After the ceremonies, while talking to Whitney and taking pictures all over, someone tries to knock Naomi down and take her camera.  Whitney has been acting strangely, what is going on?  But the good-looking cowboy comes to her aid, but she can tell Whitney knows more than she's saying.  Naomi takes the damaged camera and develops the pictures, hoping that she took a picture of something or someone she shouldn't. 

Brice Harper is with his brother Caleb at the rodeo for team roping, but they have done it so often it is almost too easy winning.  They had a bad childhood after their mother deserted them leaving their teenaged sister Abby to keep the family together.  After Abby married Clayton East twelve years ago, he took the two brothers to his ranch, and his parents took the two boys under their wings.  Clayton and Brice had both been in the service, and Brice owes Clayton for everything he has done for him and his brother Caleb.  Now he must tell Caleb he has purchased his own property for them both to start their own ranch raising horses.  But Caleb thinks Brice is leaving him behind, and before Brice can explain what he did, Naomi is in trouble.  

After Brice is beaten up and Naomi is pushed into the rodeo ring and almost run over by a cart and horses, Whitney finally admits several wealthy and influential men in town prey on some of the girls in the rodeo court and use them as sex toys.  Only one girl reported what happened and she was never seen again.  These men are determined to keep their private harem going and will tolerate no exposure from Naomi and are willing to do whatever needs to be done to shut her up.

Several men meet to figure out how to get rid of Naomi, and now Brice is after them to find out if one of the men's pictures was caught by Naomi.  At first, Whitney is too scared to say anything, and just when she gets her nerve up, she and her chaperone and Brice's friend Cooper are involved in a car accident, and the driver of the other vehicle runs away.  Will these men stop at nothing—including murder?

Secondary characters are the good friends of Brice: Cooper, Jace, and Brice's brother Caleb.  Abby and her husband Clayton have given the two brothers all the security they could want through the years, but they still struggle with the fear of abandonment.

COWBOY, CROSS MY HEART will have you looking for a hankie as Brice and Naomi must deal with the men determined to kill them, and for the hurt Whitney has gone through the past years.  But Naomi comes to learn and feel that Brice will always be there for her and protect her and deciding to move back to Texas seems meant to be.  Learn about cowboys, rodeo, family and true love when you pick up COWBOY, CROSS MY HEART this month.

Carolyn Crisher

 
   
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