LONE WOLF COWBOY – Maisey Yates
A Gold Valley Novel
HQN Books
ISBN: 978-1-335-47464-3
August 2019
Contemporary Romance

Gold Valley, Oregon – Present Day

Vanessa Logan left Gold Valley as soon as she turned eighteen because she could no longer try to live up to her parents' expectations. Unlike her twin sister, Olivia, Vanessa was always a “failure” and a “bad daughter.” She even proved it when she got pregnant and doesn't remember doing the deed due to abusing drugs. During the intervening years, life has been difficult for her, but now she's sober and has found painting as an outlet. To even her own surprise, Vanessa returns to Gold Valley to work as an art teacher for troubled youths at a new school being opened by the Dalton family. Her first day there, she encounters a man from her past: Jacob Dalton. It was Jacob, an EMT at that time, who helped her as she miscarried her baby when she was seventeen.

Of course, Jacob remembers Vanessa. He has spent most of his adult life rescuing others, either as an EMT or as a wildland firefighter. Yet, he couldn't save the one person who mattered: his friend, Clint, who died in a fire and left behind a widow and a little girl. Jacob can see that Vanessa is still troubled by her rocky past, but he admires her for her ability to fight her demons and using what she's learned to help others. They'll be working together at the school, so it's no wonder they run into one another. Jacob and Vanessa discover they're attracted to each other, and it soon turns into a fiery passion that might be best forgotten…but it can't.

LONE WOLF COWBOY is a tale that proves our heroes and heroines don't have to be perfect for us to grow to care for them. Vanessa couldn't be as good as Oliva, so instead, she went the other way and “proved” to everyone how bad she could be. But it led to some bad choices, mainly drugs and alcohol. But the reality of an unplanned pregnancy that she didn't want to admit to, made her finally realize that she needed to get away. No one except Jacob knew about her pregnancy and miscarriage and coming back—and seeing Jacob again—is like a punch in the gut. She appreciates that he has kept her secret all these years. He just doesn't know how she ended up pregnant.

Vanessa and Jacob's instant attraction has them ending up having sex, and both are stunned by their reaction to the other. As they circle around each other trying to assess their feelings, it soon becomes clear that once isn't enough. They try to keep their fling a secret, but things have a way of coming out. Meanwhile, Vanessa tries to get up the nerve to visit her parents for a possible reconciliation. Will she get the chance?  Will their secret fling end up being discovered?

LONE WOLF COWBOY is filled with emotion and redemption for both Vanessa and Jacob. She was the bad girl who left in shame and returns with her head held high. Jacob hasn't been perfect himself, but is his self-blame for his friend's death warranted? Their passion for each other will sear the pages of this tale and, as they deal with the fallout from their affair, be prepared to start rooting for them to succeed. Don't miss LONE WOLF COWBOY, another sizzling tale from Maisey Yates.

Patti Fischer