Jessie Evans shares 4 cowboys she's thankful for
Jessie Evans, author of Diamonds and Dust (out this week!), joins HEA to share her love of cowboys. Yeehaw!
Jessie: The American cowboy — bigger than life, tougher than nails, able to tame wild horses and wilder women with one arm tied behind his back and an easy "yes, ma'am," tumbling from his lips.
*sigh*
As a writer of contemporary Western romances, I'm thankful for the American cowboy all year round. I love writing strong heroes with hearts of gold who would do anything for the women they love. But this Thanksgiving I'm looking behind the big muscles and sexy drawl at some of the real-life men who inspired the cowboys of my Lonesome Point, Texas series.
Cowboy No. 1: The devoted dad
Growing up in the South, I went to my share of rodeos and ate more than my fair share of greasy truck-stop diner food while waiting for the next round of competition. One morning, I was eating breakfast with my family at one such diner when a rodeo cowboy came over to our table with two dolls from the gift shop. He said he'd been on the road for three weeks and missed his little girl. He planned to send one doll to her, but wanted to give me one, too, to brighten my day the way he hoped someone was brightening his daughter's. Even at 6, I knew that was probably one of the sweetest things I'd ever heard, and I pretended to be thrilled to bits and pieces with that doll — even if it was a stuffed clown and therefore terrifying. Pike Sherman, the hero of Diamonds and Dust, is Lonesome Point's devoted dad. When he learns that he and his old flame have a daughter together, he fights to make up for lost time and be a father any little girl would be lucky to have.
Cowboy No. 2: The good old boy with a naughty side
We Southern women don't kiss and tell — unless we're at girls' night and there's wine involved — but I will say that there is nothing sexier than a man who knows when to say "yes, ma'am," and when to talk dirty behind closed doors. Robert "Bubba" Lawson from Saddles and Sin is an aspiring country music star and consummate gentleman, but even sweet cowboys can have a sinful side.
Cowboy No. 3: The cowboy who never quits
When I was 9 years old and first starting horseback-riding lessons, my teacher was a cowboy with only one hand. He'd lost the other in an accident, but he was back on a horse days after he was released from the hospital, figuring out how to saddle and ride and make the best of his new normal. Sawyer from Leather and Lace, the first in the Lonesome Point series, is my "never say die" cowboy, a man who keeps fighting no matter what life throws his way.
Cowboy No. 4: The secret romantic
They may act tough, but when cowboys fall, they fall hard. I know so many women who married their first cowboy love, but I've also been lucky enough to see couples separated by time and circumstance find their way back to each other. There's nothing sweeter than a second chance or a man who has secretly carried a torch for the first woman who ever won his heart. Carter from the holiday novella Twelve Dates of Christmas: The Ballad of Lula Jo, is a treasure-hunting cowboy who returns to Lonesome Point to woo his old flame and prove it's never too late for love to find a way.
I could go on, but the American cowboy is bigger than any one man or character. He's a symbol of the American spirit, a rugged adventurer who isn't afraid to venture out into the unknown and fight to find his place in the world against often impossible odds. And that is why the cowboy makes the perfect romantic hero. Never is courage, passion and the strength to look fear in the face and move bravely forward more necessary than in affairs of the heart.
Here's the blurb about Diamonds and Dust:
The home run neither of them expected…
Pike Sherman is a legend in Lonesome Point, a hometown boy who made it to the big leagues. Literally. Professional baseball acquired one hell of a pitching arm and its latest celebrity bad boy when the gifted Pike was drafted seven years ago. Pike's broken heart came along for the ride, too, but he kept that private, and since leaving Lonesome Point has kept his distance from his hometown. But when Pike's little sister, Mia, begs him to be the Dude of Honor at her wedding, he can't refuse. He takes advantage of a break in the season and returns home to find himself thrown together with the one woman he never wanted to see again.
Tulsi Hearst is on the verge of losing her Equine Therapy business, and letting down all the kids she's come to love. After a mix-up with the grant board, she needs to concentrate on finding more funding, not dealing with Pike Sherman, the boy she sacrificed so much for, and the one person she's ever lied to. And what a lie it is… Pike would hate her if he found out. She knows she should stay far away from the brooding man her summer love has become, but Tulsi can't resist a slow dance with the only boy who ever made her blood rush.
After just a few days back in Lonesome Point, Pike can't imagine life without the girl he left behind, but when Tulsi's secret is revealed, his heart is broken all over again. The only thing worse than losing Tulsi, is losing six years with the daughter he didn't know he had.
Find out more about Jessie and her books at www.jessieevansauthor.com.