That Cowboy of Mine by Donna Grant-Review, Excerpt & Giveaway
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 26, 2022
Is he an enemy?
Dillon Young is proud that she inherited her aunt’s ranch. The problem: someone is trying to run her off and is willing to do whatever it takes. Strange, dangerous things keep happening. Dillion suspects her no-good neighbor and fellow wealthy rancher Hank Stephens. Never a man to get his hands dirty, he sends others to get the job done. So, when the irresistible Cal Bennett is found passed out drunk on her property, Dillion is on high alert. Until someone takes a shot at her and Cal springs to her rescue. When the hard-bodied, no-nonsense-talking cowboy points out that she may need some help, Dillion is inclined to reluctantly agree.
Or a lover?
Waking up on a stranger’s property with a shotgun in his face is not Cal Bennett’s idea of a good time. Never mind that the woman on the other end of the barrel is one of the most fiercely beautiful women he has ever seen. Things get more interesting when he finds himself shielding her from flying bullets. It’s clear that this smart, savvy woman could use a hand and he is all too happy to lend any part of his body she requires. His proposal: pose as lovers until they find out who is after her ranch. As the danger rises and secrets are revealed, the passion explodes between them. There is no turning back.
•••••
REVIEW:THAT COWBOY OF MINE by Donna Grant is a stand alone, contemporary, adult, romance story line focusing on ranch owner Dillon Young, and former bull rider Cal Bennett.
Told from third person perspective THAT COWBOY OF MINE follows in the wake of Dillon Young finding a hung over and injured Cal Bennett in one of her fields. Unable to remember what happened or how he go there, former bull rider Cal Bennett offers to work as a ranch hand, someone of whom Dillon is desperate since the walk out of most of her help. Dillon Young inherited the Bar 4 Ranch from her late aunt Dolly but in the ensuing time the neighbor Hank Stephens has insisted Dillon sell the ranch. Refusing to bend to Hank’s demands, Dillon finds herself the victim of several attacks, and if not for our hero, Dillon’s life would have already been lost. What ensues is the slow building romance and relationship between Dillon and Cal, and the potential fall-out as issues of trust force Cal out of Dillon’s life, ensuring our heroine is an easy target for the people desperate to take control of the Bar 4 Ranch.
Cal Bennett, like his father, has ridden the bulls for most of his life but his recent losses on the riding circuit found Cal wandering with no apparent aim in life. Unable to remember how he arrived at the Bar 4 Ranch, Cal begins an investigation of his own, believing the attacks against Dillon may be connected to his black out the night before. Dillon Young refuses to sell her aunt Polly’s ranch but someone is making life very difficult for our story line heroine. Unable to trust anyone including the man with whom she is falling in love, Dillon pushes everyone out of her life but leaves herself vulnerable to the people trying to take her down.
The relationship between Dillon and Cal begins when Dillon finds Cal alone on her ranch. Cal offers to help with the ranch by way of apology but Dillon continues to struggle with issues of trust in the wake of everything that has been happening until the present. The slow building relationship falters in the face of mistrust, and Cal refuses to be the cause of any further harm to our story line heroine. The $ex scenes are limited but passionate.
We are introduced to ranch hands Emmett Perkins, Dusty and Freddy Miller; neighbor Hank Stephens, attorney Isaac Gomez, Ranger Chet Thompson, and Sheriff Felps.
THAT COWBOY OF MINE is a story of power, greed, betrayal and vengeance. The premise is entertaining-the suspense is limited as most of the people responsible are revealed early in the story; the characters are wounded but spirited; the romance is intimate but limited and slow to develop.
Copy supplied by Netgalley
Reviewed by Sandy
From That Cowboy of Mine by Donna Grant. Copyright © 2022 by the author and reprinted by permission of St. Martin’s Publishing Group.
“When you put it like that, no,” Dillon admitted. “He’s an ass, but I don’t think he’s a killer.”
“Then again, he has let it be known he wants your place.”
Dillon didn’t respond until she had taken a left turn and straightened the wheel. “The Bar 4 is only fifteen hundred acres. Hank’s place is four times that size. Though, he has been buying up other ranches and property in the area for years.”
“I should tell you I know Hank.”
“Of course, you do,” Dillon said with a roll of her eyes.
Cal turned his head to her. “Just because I know him doesn’t mean I’m helping him or whoever is after your ranch. I’m not. I give you my word.”
“I don’t know you, Mr. Bennett.”
“And yet, you hired me.”
A beat of silence passed before she said, “So, I did.”
“If I were working for someone else, would I have saved your life this morning?”
Dillon shrugged and blew out a breath. “I don’t know.”
Cal let the topic drop. It was obvious that Dillon was weary and scared, though she hid it well. If he hadn’t witnessed the shooting, he probably wouldn’t have believed the situation was so serious. Individuals and companies tried to acquire huge swaths of land all the time. Few millionaires and billionaires didn’t own land. Cal could well see Hank trying to purchase the Bar 4. But Hank wouldn’t try to kill Dillon for it.
“What else has happened?” Cal asked.
Dillon glanced at him, a frown furrowing her brow. “What?”
“Besides the attempt on your life, what else has transpired? Emmett referenced that things couldn’t keep happening.”
They reached the edge of town. Dillon slowed when she came to the stop sign and waited for her turn before continuing through town. “Small things.”
“Like?” Cal pushed.
Her nostrils flared, showing her irritation. “The gate being open sometime last night and the prized quarter horse stallion I just purchased—Legacy— getting out. A feed container I inspected the day before and found clean filled with rats. Fences that had just been checked ending up cut with cattle getting loose.”
“Do you think it’s someone working for you?”
“What?” she asked incredulously, jerking her head to him. “No. Absolutely, not.”
“You said you lost a couple of workers. Could they be to blame?’
She shook her head. “I saw the letters they received. Whoever sent them told the men to stop working for me or their families would be harmed. They didn’t want to take the chance, so they quit.”
“They could have written the letters themselves.”
“It’s a possibility I’ve considered, but they aren’t the only ones who received them. Everyone who works for me got one.”
Cal rubbed his right temple. “It sounds like someone is trying to make it impossible for you to run your ranch.”
“That’s exactly what they’re doing. I’ve sunk a lot of money into the new stallion. My aunt founded a breeding program that has sustained the ranch far better than cattle ever did. I’m continuing it. Without that stallion, I can’t recoup the money I invested.”
“Not to mention losing two workers, getting rid of the rats, and constantly fixing fence that was purposefully cut.”
She slowed again and put her blinker on to pull into the parking area in front of Ike’s. “Exactly.”
Cal pointed to his ten-year-old black Chevy Z71, the only vehicle in the parking lot. He waited until Dillon parked beside it before saying, “Whoever wants your ranch must not want to wait for you to throw in the towel. That’s the only reason I can think of for things to have escalated to the shooting this morning.”
“I wasn’t supposed to be in that part of the ranch. I was there looking for Legacy,” she said as she met his gaze.
“You think someone let the stallion loose so you would look for him?”
“I do.”
“How would they know where you would go?”
She shrugged and rested both hands on the steering wheel. “I’m the one who found the gate open. The horse would’ve had to go through two pastures to get to the other side of the ranch. It was a clear shot to where I went, which is why I chose it. I called Emmett to let him know what was going on.”
“But you told him you didn’t see any tracks.”
“I saw them leading toward the area you were in. After that, nothing.”
“So, that’s why you said I attempted to steal a horse.”
She twisted her lips. “Oh, you definitely did. Your mistake was trying to take Houdini. No matter what we’ve used to secure his stall, he always gets out. We leave it open if he wants to go in, but he prefers to remain in the pasture at night. I should also point out that he’s not let anyone ride him since Dolly died. Somehow, you managed to get a bridle on him and a saddle out.”
“Well, hell,” Cal said as he looked away, embarrassed. Her words jogged a faint memory of him struggling to get a halter on a horse. “I thought for sure that was a dream. Every time I put the saddle blanket on the horse and turned to get the saddle, I’d turn back around, and it would be on the ground.”
“That’s Houdini.”
He inwardly grimaced. “I’ve never stolen anything in my life. I’ve also never been that drunk. Please accept my sincerest apologies.”
She faced forward and sighed. “You don’t have to return to the ranch.”
Cal was shocked by her words. “But you just hired me.”
“Because Emmett was making a big deal of things.”
“I was there, Ms. Young. It was a big deal.”
Her head swiveled to him. “Call me Dillon. And it doesn’t matter who is around or where I am. If someone wants to kill me, they’re going to do it. You and I both know that.”
Anger sliced through Cal. “The hell they will.”
“You’re one man. What are you going to do?”
“Keep you safe.”
From That Cowboy of Mine by Donna Grant. Copyright © 2022 by the author and reprinted by permission of St. Martin’s Publishing Group.
Donna Grant is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the sizzling Dark King series featuring dragons, immortal Highlanders, and the Fae.
She was born and raised in Texas but loves to travel. Her adventures have taken her throughout the United States as well as to Jamaica, Mexico, and Scotland. Growing up on the Texas/Louisiana border, Donna’s Cajun side of the family taught her the “spicy” side of life while her Texas roots gave her two-steppin’ and bareback riding.
Despite deadlines and voracious reading, Donna still manages to keep up with her two children, four cats, and one long haired Chihuahua.
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